New Staff Blog: Run Away!

[Janaxstrus]

I know a lot of the PF modules/APs have morale for creatures built into the encounters.

Morale: The chuuls fight to the death to defend their home.


I would be happy with guidelines in the new Monster Manual, per creature, as opposed to rolls that can dramatically sway an encounter.

 

[Thaumaturge]

4E did not teach people to focus fire. It did precious little to teach them to stop, but the lesson was well in place before 4E was even a distant gleam. Heck, TSR was still going strong when D&D was teaching to focus fire.

If I may wade into the off-topic topic de jure, the bloodied system, I think, played a large part in encouraging people to focus fire. I could probably rattle off a good number of anecdotes from RPGA play over three editions about teaching people to focus fire, but I'll summarize my anecdotal evidence- I have to encourage focused fire much less in the current edition than in previous. Maybe we've just all learned better. Maybe I only game with better gamers now (unlikely), but that's been my experience.

People get a sense of progress from bloodied that is a carrot to the Ogre brute's stick.

Thaumaturge.

 

[gweinel]

I actually used morale rules in all editions of the game.
I had forgot that 3e had not implemented these rules.

 

[El Mahdi]

That contains the single most clueless statement made to date in the series of posts by the team. 4E did not teach people to focus fire. It did precious little to teach them to stop, but the lesson was well in place before 4E was even a distant gleam. Heck, TSR was still going strong when D&D was teaching to focus fire.

There may be good reasons for morale rules. Would be nice to have an article discussing those. I didn't even have the heart to read the poll responses. So I have no idea how those came out this time.

Dammit! It was, wasn't it...?!?

Just after I recently challenged anyone to show examples of 4E bashing in WotC's statements, and none were able to do so because there just hasn't been any...Evil_Reverend comes along and serves up a big old steaming meatball of bashing!!!

Stupid!

That post really smacked of the same tone as the releases leading up to 4E. Evil_Reverend is walking a very dangerous line, one that can do no good service for 5E. Just phenomonally Stupid!

They need to be very, very, very careful...and Evil_Reverend needs to seriously dial it back.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'd use morale rules if they were present.

What I use in most of my 4e games now is a morale algorithm. "If X, then Y."

"If the leader dies, the rest of the enemies flee."

"If the roc looses half its hit points, it escapes."

"If the party starts using fire magic, the yeti runs away."

"If the leader is attacked, the bodyguard focuses attention on those attacking the leader."

Etc.

(for the record, Evil_Reverend = Rob Schwalb, in case anyone cares. )

 

[Ahnehnois]

If I use a mechanical rule to determine an NPC's behavior, I must use that rule for all characters, including PCs, in the interest of fairness and consistency. If I use a die roll to determine a PC's behavior, that PC will (rightfully) complain that this represents mind control. Thus, I will not use any such rule, except for actual mind control (enchantments, etc.). Retreating should be a tactical choice (and one that is encouraged and facilitated a bit more IMO).

 

[El Mahdi]

Oh, come on. 4e absolutely teaches people to focus fire. Just because focusing fire didn't originate in 4e doesn't mean that 4e doesn't teach it.

My 3rd grade teacher definitely taught multiplication. I am confident that she was not the first to do so.

-KS

4E does not "teach" anyone to use focus fire. I dare you to find even one quote, or one section, describing focus fire as a tactic and how to use it in a 4E rule book. (And if you do, I'd bet you can find similar advice in every other D&D edition.)

The mechanics of the game may make it useful to use as a tactic, but it's definitely not the first edition for which this is true, nor does 4E explicitly promote it, describe it, or "teach" it...at least not any more than any other edition.

Come on, Man!

 

[Mattachine]

As I have the books, I know you are fibbing/misinformed.

They are in the AD&D 2nd edition books. Which AD&D are you referring to?

For me, AD&D refers to 1st edition, and 2e refers to second edition.
Sorry for the confusion.

Anyway, in 1e, morale rules are an add-on in the DMG, rather than a rule about monsters. Monster entries don't have them in 1e, nor is morale discussed in the 1e MM, MM2, or FF.

 

[Remathilis]

We learned focus fire in 3e; esp during APs. However, early 4e had lots of whittling attacks and high AC/hp foes, and that practically begged for wolf-pack tactics to take down a solider or an elite.

Sure, things got better when WotC woke up and fixed the math, but until those days...

 

[Mattachine]

By the way, my gaming groups didn't start focus-fire until 3e. The game shifted to encounters favoring fewer, but tougher, monsters.