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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 4775985" data-attributes="member: 386">Make them challenging.If the outcome of the encounter is in question until the end, you will have an exciting combat.edit: <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/233317-sandboxing-nentir-vale-emergent-features-keep-shadowfell-5.html#post4756997" target="_blank">Here</a> is a TPK with 5 8th-level PCs facing a human lich (level 14 elite) who summoned an angel of valor early on in the fight.&nbsp; It was a long combat, his defenses were high (even with Lead the Attack), but the outcome was in doubt throughout and it was very tense.edit 2: I think a more pressing issue for sandbox games isn't high-level areas but low-level ones.&nbsp; There are two reasons for this:1. The risk-reward ratio for going into high-challenge areas isn't good enough.&nbsp; Low-level combats still give you a lot of XP, so there's less systemic reward for facing the big baddies.&nbsp; 2. Easy fights in 4E can still take a long time to resolve, even if it's just a speedbump.&nbsp; The only way to make them interesting is, I think, when the PCs don't have access to an Extended Rest and get whittled down over time.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 4775985, member: 386"] Make them challenging. If the outcome of the encounter is in question until the end, you will have an exciting combat. edit: [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/233317-sandboxing-nentir-vale-emergent-features-keep-shadowfell-5.html#post4756997]Here[/url] is a TPK with 5 8th-level PCs facing a human lich (level 14 elite) who summoned an angel of valor early on in the fight. It was a long combat, his defenses were high (even with Lead the Attack), but the outcome was in doubt throughout and it was very tense. edit 2: I think a more pressing issue for sandbox games isn't high-level areas but [i]low-level[/i] ones. There are two reasons for this: 1. The risk-reward ratio for going into high-challenge areas isn't good enough. Low-level combats still give you a lot of XP, so there's less [i]systemic[/i] reward for facing the big baddies. 2. Easy fights in 4E can still take a long time to resolve, even if it's just a speedbump. The only way to make them interesting is, I think, when the PCs don't have access to an Extended Rest and get whittled down over time. [/QUOTE]

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