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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6000956" data-attributes="member: 336">The problem that I've seen is that, too often, DMs will not create that fight with peons.&nbsp; I have seen very few EL -1, -2, or -3 encounters ever used. If the fight is supposed to be &quot;pointless&quot; as someone mentioned in another thread, then the DM should design it with that in mind.&nbsp; Not every fight must be a set-piece encounter against a solo monster, or an elite with his minions.&nbsp; There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a very short fight against 3 &quot;numbskulls&quot; that are not even a challenge.&nbsp; On the other end, the DM can also design a fight with a much tougher opponent that is a real challenge, but that is a glass-cannon.The beauty of 4e Monster/Encounter Design is that you can very easily do both.The &quot;problem&quot; is that the &quot;assembly required&quot; is not very well detailed for the novice.&nbsp; The encounter design section of the 4e DMG should have taken a lot more effort in explaining the &quot;philosophy&quot; behind the encounter, even the &quot;pointless&quot; combat, and how to easily accomplish it.The 4e monsters are infinitely tweakable, because of the underlying framework.&nbsp; DMs should be given clear, and concise instructions on how to &quot;tweak to taste&quot; for the specific desired effect.If you want to see a very interesting take on creating a dungeon-crawl system for 4e you should look at the &quot;system&quot; created by [MENTION=38140]Frylock[/MENTION].&nbsp; He goes into <a href="http://www.loremaster.org/content.php/214-How-to-Build-a-Dungeon-Crawl-for-Heroic-and-Paragon-Tiers" target="_blank">great detail on how to tweak the existing system</a> to accomplish what you want.I know it works rather well because we've been using it to play through the Giants Series (G1-G3) and we have playtested other classic modules with similarly satisfying effect.-</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 6000956, member: 336"] The problem that I've seen is that, too often, DMs will not create that fight with peons. I have seen very few EL -1, -2, or -3 encounters ever used. If the fight is supposed to be "pointless" as someone mentioned in another thread, then the DM should design it with that in mind. Not every fight must be a set-piece encounter against a solo monster, or an elite with his minions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a very short fight against 3 "numbskulls" that are not even a challenge. On the other end, the DM can also design a fight with a much tougher opponent that is a real challenge, but that is a glass-cannon. The beauty of 4e Monster/Encounter Design is that you can very easily do both. The "problem" is that the "assembly required" is not very well detailed for the novice. The encounter design section of the 4e DMG should have taken a lot more effort in explaining the "philosophy" behind the encounter, even the "pointless" combat, and how to easily accomplish it. The 4e monsters are infinitely tweakable, because of the underlying framework. DMs should be given clear, and concise instructions on how to "tweak to taste" for the specific desired effect. If you want to see a very interesting take on creating a dungeon-crawl system for 4e you should look at the "system" created by [MENTION=38140]Frylock[/MENTION]. He goes into [URL="http://www.loremaster.org/content.php/214-How-to-Build-a-Dungeon-Crawl-for-Heroic-and-Paragon-Tiers"]great detail on how to tweak the existing system[/URL] to accomplish what you want. I know it works rather well because we've been using it to play through the Giants Series (G1-G3) and we have playtested other classic modules with similarly satisfying effect. - [/QUOTE]

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