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Message: <blockquote data-quote="NewJeffCT" data-source="post: 5706241" data-attributes="member: 10784">yes, I was blessed with a large group of players, including two women.The problem with 3.5E (and 3E and PF) is that it took me a long time to put that lich together - selecting magic items, deciding which long term buffing spells it would have going, then the order in which they'd cast their short duration buffs and which ones would be from memorized spells and which would be from scrolls, picking spells for a level 19 wizard/archmage, deciding which ones would be quickened, empowered or maximized, coming up with any sort of contingency spell/effect, etc.  Picking skills & feats to enhance the various abilities, etc.Then, coming up with the strategy to Gate in the Balor and let it handle the party while the lich buffed up, and then the lich's dramatic entrance with the Time Stop and Force Cages.And, that was just two main bad guys (balor & lich), with those ogre zombie minions.Since the party had such a diverse array of attack options, I often had to "go big" in order to challenge them - multiple casters supported by a bunch of strong melee types.  (i.e., two high level drow clerics; two high level drow wizards; a drow duskblade; a drow marshall; 4 or 5 mid level drow fighters; a pair of drow rogues; a pair of hill giant barbarian slaves; maybe 20 orc barbarians; and I think one of the drow clerics had a horned devil greater planar ally... plus, I'm probably missing a few others)When you put together that big an encounter, it takes friggin' forever.  However, it was a great encounter that was won when the party cleric was able to cast her Mass Heal spell, but the party was able to stop the drow cleric from doing the same on her turn.The reason I like 4E as a DM is I can put together a big encounter in a fraction of the time it took me previously.  And, with fewer options on both sides, combat seems to run much quicker than it did before.However, despite playing 4E for almost a year & a half now, I still haven't quite found the balance in being able to challenge the players on a regular basis.  When they were level 8, I gave them a couple of level 8/9 encounters as a prelim to facing the BBEG.  Then, the BBEG was a level 12 solo, supported by some level 8/9 skirmisher types for a level 12 encounter.  However, after a tough first round, the encounter was a cakewalk for the PCs.</blockquote>

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