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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6116655" data-attributes="member: 4937">What makes you do this if you don't want to? In 1e, a typical state block would be something like, &quot;Baron Smythe (F6) wears plate mail and carries a morning star +2&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Any details would be filled out as needed in the event Baron Smythe crossed steel with the players.&nbsp; There really isn't any need in 3e to do much more than that.&nbsp;&nbsp; I typically use 3-5 line stat blocks for even stated out NPCs, and typically these do not list out skills except maybe a couple I think we'll actually occur in play.&nbsp;&nbsp; If my rough quickly built stat block is wrong by a +/- a couple, I don't sweat it.&nbsp;&nbsp; It all evens out in the end and the chance that it makes a big difference on the outcome is pretty small.&nbsp;&nbsp; Often in a fight comes up unexpectedly, I build a stat block that looks like this: 50 h.p., AC 20, Atk +9 melee, (1d8+4 damage), saves +5.&nbsp; And I'm done.&nbsp; If it isn't worth it to fully stat out something don't.&nbsp; You can always simplify on the fly.&nbsp; What's hard is increasing complexity and rigor when you want to, but the tools don't provide for it.&nbsp; The real problem I have with your statement is the use of the word &quot;shouldn't&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; That implies that there is a way these things ought to be done.&nbsp; I don't think that this is an issue with an &quot;ought&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; You do what you need to do to achieve the result you want.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you need to make up something on the fly, you do something simple and quick that doesn't create a lot of overhead.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you are planning out a boss fight that is supposed to be the climax of a major story arc, then you invest as much detail into that encounter as you can manage. 4e shines in two ways.&nbsp; First, it encouraged the return to the old 1e standard of a monster being represented simply by its stat block in the monster manual, which for some reason - misapplied creativity, keeping up with the jones, or what - 3e got further and further away from.&nbsp;&nbsp; Second, it made it easy to wing combats that didn't count for much.&nbsp;&nbsp; But in terms of allowing you to wing the fights that matter, I don't feel at all that it was easier to do (good) 4e design than 3e design as something like my stat block for an epic boss fight with Tharizdun shows.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6116655, member: 4937"] What makes you do this if you don't want to? In 1e, a typical state block would be something like, "Baron Smythe (F6) wears plate mail and carries a [B]morning star +2[/B]". Any details would be filled out as needed in the event Baron Smythe crossed steel with the players. There really isn't any need in 3e to do much more than that. I typically use 3-5 line stat blocks for even stated out NPCs, and typically these do not list out skills except maybe a couple I think we'll actually occur in play. If my rough quickly built stat block is wrong by a +/- a couple, I don't sweat it. It all evens out in the end and the chance that it makes a big difference on the outcome is pretty small. Often in a fight comes up unexpectedly, I build a stat block that looks like this: 50 h.p., AC 20, Atk +9 melee, (1d8+4 damage), saves +5. And I'm done. If it isn't worth it to fully stat out something don't. You can always simplify on the fly. What's hard is increasing complexity and rigor when you want to, but the tools don't provide for it. The real problem I have with your statement is the use of the word "shouldn't". That implies that there is a way these things ought to be done. I don't think that this is an issue with an "ought". You do what you need to do to achieve the result you want. If you need to make up something on the fly, you do something simple and quick that doesn't create a lot of overhead. If you are planning out a boss fight that is supposed to be the climax of a major story arc, then you invest as much detail into that encounter as you can manage. 4e shines in two ways. First, it encouraged the return to the old 1e standard of a monster being represented simply by its stat block in the monster manual, which for some reason - misapplied creativity, keeping up with the jones, or what - 3e got further and further away from. Second, it made it easy to wing combats that didn't count for much. But in terms of allowing you to wing the fights that matter, I don't feel at all that it was easier to do (good) 4e design than 3e design as something like my stat block for an epic boss fight with Tharizdun shows. [/QUOTE]

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