Please cure my 4e illiteracy

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

You realize this totally discounts a sand-box style game.

Slightly more then encounter design guidelines and CRs, I suppose?

 

[Imaro]

To an extent yes. But not completely, unless sandbox games have you fight high level stuff at low level or low level stuff at high level to a large extent.

In a sand-box style game you basically interact with whatever you encounter...regardless of level.

 

[The Little Raven]

So how do the DC's in the PHB fit into your assumptions?

Page 42 is "Actions The Rules Don't Cover." DCs in the PHB are actions covered by the rules. It's for on-the-fly adjudication, not designing everything.

 

[Imaro]

Page 42 is "Actions The Rules Don't Cover." DCs in the PHB are actions covered by the rules. It's for on-the-fly adjudication, not designing everything.

Except for searching rooms, where the chart is used to set the DC's for examples... why is this different from everything else again?

Also this doesn't in any way address the discrepancies in dynamic DC's vs. static DC's... what's interesting is that people are arguing totally different justifications for the chart and static DC's totally dependent upon personal interpretation.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

In a sand-box style game you basically interact with whatever you encounter...regardless of level.

1) This would be ignoring the encounter design guidelines both in 3E and 4E. But that's okay, they are just guidelines.

2) The monsters encountered in a sandbox have still a certain level, indicating for which level(s) they would be appropriate. One could say that putting a particular monster into a spot the players can encounter, the DM set a level for that area. He could also take a spot where a skill check would be required for interaction and set a level for that check. It doesn't imply that only PCs of that level can go there, but it provides us an idea of how tough things gonna be for them once they get there.

 

[malraux]

Except for searching rooms, where the chart is used to set the DC's for examples... why is this different from everything else again

are all rooms the same?

 

[Imaro]

Slightly more then encounter design guidelines and CRs, I suppose?

Uhmm... this makes no sense. It's apples and oranges. You give me a Kobold berserker, he's not built on the assumption that his level and difficulty change dependent on the level of the PC's... building a skill system that is based off the level of the PC's instead of the difficulty of a particular action does.

 

[Derren]

are all rooms the same?

So I guess at level 20 all rooms the PCs enter, be it an inn, a warehouse at teh local docks or the BBEGs fortress are riddled with secret compartments, magical darkness and bleed into the elemental chaos and shadowfell at the same time just so that the high search DC can be justified?

 

[malraux]

Why do you assume they don't?
Requiring the PCs to only find level appropriate challenges is silly. A city wall they want to climb doesn't grow 30 ft, becomes slippery and catches fire just because the PCs gain 20 levels over a few months.

And when you your reasoning it makes more sense that the difficulty is determined by what the PCs want to do and not what levels the PCs are.

Did you read the rest of the post of mine you quoted? Because that would seem to address your complaint.

 

[malraux]

So I guess at level 20 all rooms the PCs enter, be it an inn, a warehouse at teh local docks or the BBEGs fortress are riddled with secret compartments, magical darkness and bleed into the elemental chaos and shadowfell at the same time just so that the high search DC can be justified?

Ummm, have you actually read the rest of my posts? Because I believe I have already address this point.