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<blockquote data-quote="Koloth" data-source="post: 9474955" data-attributes="member: 6706231">The typical solution to 1 vs Many is Area of Effect magic.&nbsp; One sleep or burning hands can thin the herd fairly quickly at low levels.&nbsp; Different spells achieve similar results as levels increase.&nbsp; Note, this works both ways.&nbsp; A single monster can drop several PCs just as easily as one PC can drop multiple monsters.&nbsp; Since NASCAR was mentioned, of the issues there is the near perfect balance between the cars.&nbsp; Many races are settled not on the track but in the pits with differences of fractions of seconds in changing a tire deciding a race.&nbsp; Exciting for some but boring if you like watching an auto race vs a pit race.&nbsp;&nbsp; Other races are settled by luck.&nbsp; Who survives the &quot;Big One&quot; wreck that takes out 10+ cars.&nbsp;&nbsp; Lesson for RPGs is perfect balance may turn out to be an encounter decided more by luck then skill.&nbsp; Or one that is a boring grind to see who has 1 hp when the other has zero.&nbsp; &nbsp; One of the mechanics I get frustrated with is Damage Reduction.&nbsp; &quot;Oh caddy, I would like the +1 cold iron fire sword.&quot;&nbsp; &quot;Its one of those, hand me the +1 blessed mace with ghost touch.&quot;&nbsp; If your golf bag of weapons is missing the weapon that matches the DR of the current opponent, you are rendered mostly useless for that encounter.Including non combat options for encounters(if the players think about trying one) often leads to more fun then yet another long combat slog.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Koloth, post: 9474955, member: 6706231"] The typical solution to 1 vs Many is Area of Effect magic. One [I]sleep[/I] or [I]burning hands[/I] can thin the herd fairly quickly at low levels. Different spells achieve similar results as levels increase. Note, this works both ways. A single monster can drop several PCs just as easily as one PC can drop multiple monsters. Since NASCAR was mentioned, of the issues there is the near perfect balance between the cars. Many races are settled not on the track but in the pits with differences of fractions of seconds in changing a tire deciding a race. Exciting for some but boring if you like watching an auto race vs a pit race. Other races are settled by luck. Who survives the "Big One" wreck that takes out 10+ cars. Lesson for RPGs is perfect balance may turn out to be an encounter decided more by luck then skill. Or one that is a boring grind to see who has 1 hp when the other has zero. One of the mechanics I get frustrated with is Damage Reduction. "Oh caddy, I would like the +1 cold iron fire sword." "Its one of those, hand me the +1 blessed mace with ghost touch." If your golf bag of weapons is missing the weapon that matches the DR of the current opponent, you are rendered mostly useless for that encounter. Including non combat options for encounters(if the players think about trying one) often leads to more fun then yet another long combat slog. [/QUOTE]

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