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<blockquote data-quote="Irda Ranger" data-source="post: 3752852" data-attributes="member: 1003">It is the case for 4e Fighters though.&nbsp; Especially with Full Attack removed, and expected 1:1 ratios in monster encounters, the only way a Fighter approaches one:many is with Cleave or a Grenade weapon (or Whirlwind Attack, if that still exists).&nbsp; However, you still don't get true many:many, in the way that wizards-with-wands do.Interestingly, also recall that the Encounter examples Mearls has given there have been &quot;mixes&quot; of Monsters - ogres (brutes) backed up by gnoll archers (artillery).&nbsp; Like any good PC party, I think the designers recognize that a monster encounter needs to have its tactical bases covered, or the XP award will be &quot;off&quot; relative to the difficulty in overcoming it.&nbsp; A monster attack consisting solely of hostile centaurs charging with lances will be particularly susceptible to some elven archers and a well placed Earth to Mud spell* ...Every fight is a knock-down, drag-out one.&nbsp; Getting the jump on someone is not decisive.&nbsp; Cornered rats lose that &quot;special something&quot; that make them unique.&nbsp; You won't like them when they're angry.Having run out of cliches, it means to me that once anyone in a fight with this quality reaches &lt;50% HP, the fight ends quickly, but without certainty.&nbsp; If you have 100 HP, and the Dragon goes from doing 35 HP damage to 55 HP damage with a successful hit, the variability of outcomes has spiked.&nbsp; Suddenly each 20% of being hit becomes much more crucial, because you've left the &quot;If I'm hit, I'm hurt&quot; territory to enter &quot;If I'm hit, I'm a '-37 HP' kind of dead&quot; land.Or did the Dragon just get a bonus to hit, not a bonus to damage? I didn't read the article you are referring to.&nbsp; If it's just a bonus to hit, that means the certainty of outcome remains the same, but the rate of resource usage (in HP and Cure spells) accelerates near the end of the fight.It doesn't really change your tactics though.&nbsp; Due to Lanchester's Square Law, the quickest way to reduce the other side's combat effectiveness is to concentrate all your firepower on one guy at a time, killing him ASAP, so that the opponent's offensive power is reduced from x^2 to (x-1)^2.&nbsp; Spreading your damage around makes no sense, since this allows him to keep his (k) at x^2 for far longer.&nbsp; In a 'Bloodied' world, spreading damage around makes even less sense - but since the quantum outcome (choice of tactics) remains the same, it really doesn't change anything.Death spiral?* quite possibly the least poorly disguised military history reference ever.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Irda Ranger, post: 3752852, member: 1003"] It is the case for 4e Fighters though. Especially with Full Attack removed, and expected 1:1 ratios in monster encounters, the only way a Fighter approaches one:many is with Cleave or a Grenade weapon (or Whirlwind Attack, if that still exists). However, you still don't get true many:many, in the way that wizards-with-wands do. Interestingly, also recall that the Encounter examples Mearls has given there have been "mixes" of Monsters - ogres (brutes) backed up by gnoll archers (artillery). Like any good PC party, I think the designers recognize that a monster encounter needs to have its tactical bases covered, or the XP award will be "off" relative to the difficulty in overcoming it. A monster attack consisting solely of hostile centaurs charging with lances will be particularly susceptible to some elven archers and a well placed [I]Earth to Mud[/I] spell* ... Every fight is a knock-down, drag-out one. Getting the jump on someone is not decisive. Cornered rats lose that "special something" that make them unique. You won't like them when they're angry. Having run out of cliches, it means to me that once anyone in a fight with this quality reaches <50% HP, the fight ends quickly, but without certainty. If you have 100 HP, and the Dragon goes from doing 35 HP damage to 55 HP damage with a successful hit, the variability of outcomes has spiked. Suddenly each 20% of being hit becomes much more crucial, because you've left the "If I'm hit, I'm hurt" territory to enter "If I'm hit, I'm a '-37 HP' kind of dead" land. Or did the Dragon just get a bonus to hit, not a bonus to damage? I didn't read the article you are referring to. If it's just a bonus to hit, that means the certainty of outcome remains the same, but the rate of resource usage (in HP and Cure spells) accelerates near the end of the fight. It doesn't really change your tactics though. Due to Lanchester's Square Law, the quickest way to reduce the other side's combat effectiveness is to concentrate all your firepower on one guy at a time, killing him ASAP, so that the opponent's offensive power is reduced from x^2 to (x-1)^2. Spreading your damage around makes no sense, since this allows him to keep his (k) at x^2 for far longer. In a 'Bloodied' world, spreading damage around makes even less sense - but since the quantum outcome (choice of tactics) remains the same, it really doesn't change anything. Death spiral? * quite possibly the least poorly disguised military history reference ever. [/QUOTE]

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