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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Ways to assess an encounter early
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<blockquote data-quote="Ferghis" data-source="post: 6034944" data-attributes="member: 40483"><p>As a player, one of the main problems I have in an encounter is figuring out when to deploy daily and other resources. Sometimes it's easy, such as when a character really needs healing to stay in the fight (you spend the surge), or when targets are perfectly positioned for that area-affecting daily power. But I often horde my non-encounter resources waiting for either a dire circumstance or a perfect opportunity to use them. My defenders often finish the day with extra action points and several daily powers. This isn't necessarily a problem, but I had a character who used a particular daily once throughout his long career.</p><p></p><p>Another issue in 4e, again, perhaps only for me, is figuring out if you can take a certain enemy. Some knowledge or insight checks might convince the DM to give you some intel, but it's rarely gonna forecast the outcome of the fight. And 4e fights are often properly engineered so that the party is at the brink of losing, sometimes several times, before finally winning a fight. This is intentional: PCs have fewer HP than monsters, but many more ways to recover HP. Plus, it makes the fight much more fun.</p><p></p><p>In addition to the actual description of the monsters (which ought to be somewhat indicative of their roles or capacities), some intel is already coded into the game mechanics: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When an enemy is bloodied, you've usually inflicted about half its HP in damage.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hits and misses will allow players to gauge an enemy's defense.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Educated players will note that enemies using action points are elites or solos.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Enemies that drop after being hit only once are probably minions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The damage a monster inflicts is somewhat indicative of role and level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A monster knowledge check can yield the enemy's origin, type, typical temperament, keywords, resistances and vulnerabilities, as well as "what its powers do."</li> </ul><p></p><p>What kind of information would you be willing to reveal to an inquisitive player, and how or when would you make that information available?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ferghis, post: 6034944, member: 40483"] As a player, one of the main problems I have in an encounter is figuring out when to deploy daily and other resources. Sometimes it's easy, such as when a character really needs healing to stay in the fight (you spend the surge), or when targets are perfectly positioned for that area-affecting daily power. But I often horde my non-encounter resources waiting for either a dire circumstance or a perfect opportunity to use them. My defenders often finish the day with extra action points and several daily powers. This isn't necessarily a problem, but I had a character who used a particular daily once throughout his long career. Another issue in 4e, again, perhaps only for me, is figuring out if you can take a certain enemy. Some knowledge or insight checks might convince the DM to give you some intel, but it's rarely gonna forecast the outcome of the fight. And 4e fights are often properly engineered so that the party is at the brink of losing, sometimes several times, before finally winning a fight. This is intentional: PCs have fewer HP than monsters, but many more ways to recover HP. Plus, it makes the fight much more fun. In addition to the actual description of the monsters (which ought to be somewhat indicative of their roles or capacities), some intel is already coded into the game mechanics:[list][*]When an enemy is bloodied, you've usually inflicted about half its HP in damage. [*]Hits and misses will allow players to gauge an enemy's defense. [*]Educated players will note that enemies using action points are elites or solos. [*]Enemies that drop after being hit only once are probably minions. [*]The damage a monster inflicts is somewhat indicative of role and level. [*]A monster knowledge check can yield the enemy's origin, type, typical temperament, keywords, resistances and vulnerabilities, as well as "what its powers do." [/list] What kind of information would you be willing to reveal to an inquisitive player, and how or when would you make that information available? [/QUOTE]
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