tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post5008524024674055507..comments2024-03-25T22:48:31.750-04:00Comments on Dreams in the Lich House: A Tale of Two TrollsJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-92166304092862733222011-02-16T12:58:26.708-05:002011-02-16T12:58:26.708-05:00@JBM - that's a good question. You certainly ...@JBM - that's a good question. You certainly could run 4E with anything goes, make up your own random tables.<br /><br />What will happen is in a higher level encounter, the party will only hit on a natural 20, and the monster will only miss on a very low roll - like 1-5. AC and attack bonuses scale.<br /><br />It makes the game unsatisfying as a simulation when you extrapolate that out to how the world works - for instance, a single war troll would be nigh unhittable by any of the mooks in the town guard. In regular D&D, if you get enough town guardsman together, they can probably keep some of the larger predatory monsters "honest" because the AC's are in a narrower band of values.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-42799452567287107672011-02-15T12:34:03.394-05:002011-02-15T12:34:03.394-05:00Just wondering though, if you ignored "offici...Just wondering though, if you ignored "official" 4E theory and hit a party of 4E characters with a very tough monster or two (something equivalent to the trolls and your 2nd/3rd-level party) what would the outcome be? <br /><br />A pair of trolls in OD&D could cause a TPK for a low level party, or the party could get lucky. Might the same be true in 4E if you didn't worry about balanced encounters. I guess what I'm asking is: if you ran 4E the way we used to run OD&D and AD&D what would happen?<br /><br />Which makes me wonder ... the first official 4E adventure I read had a small white dragon as one of the encounters for a 1st level party. My first reaction was, "WTH ... well I guess the party can run away or at least half of 'em are rolling up new characters."JBMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13915780514486101083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-28369820363566524292011-01-29T14:04:40.854-05:002011-01-29T14:04:40.854-05:00It's the random surprises that keep me coming ...It's the random surprises that keep me coming back as a DM. I never realized until recently how much fun I have *improvising* at the table. Thanks for the great post!Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18158916950442942918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-88638528600384405042011-01-29T08:59:57.732-05:002011-01-29T08:59:57.732-05:00Yeah, I know it can seem at times we've flippe...Yeah, I know it can seem at times we've flipped over to the 4E-hate; that's not entirely true. It is a pretty fun table-top skirmish game, it just has very little in common with how older editions play and feel.<br /><br />The main thing is I'm giddy with how much fun is a free-form sandbox game. I'm going to have to develop a mantra lauding randomization to go right up next to X is for Killing.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031181424520125213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-67412246301670995912011-01-28T22:59:30.443-05:002011-01-28T22:59:30.443-05:00Further evidence on the awesomeness of the older D...Further evidence on the awesomeness of the older DnD editions as opposed to their new school counterparts. My group and I made many a memory on random encounters too.RobChandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07751057765555584823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-64266339281608326732011-01-28T20:30:10.315-05:002011-01-28T20:30:10.315-05:00I was gonna say something all witty and inimitable...I was gonna say something all witty and inimitable, laden with trenchant observations on the virtues of randomosity and the benefits thereof, but FrDave beat me to it! I'd quote him for Truth, but that would be repeating his entire post, so: see above. :-D<br /><br />4E seems more and more like a miniatures skirmish game the more I read about it.(Though minis aren't necessarily required, just encouraged....)<br />Interesting post on 4E Vs. Your current game.velaranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689908090884198784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4353391426294254427.post-50061515593483111012011-01-28T15:47:55.005-05:002011-01-28T15:47:55.005-05:00This is exactly why I have no real desire to Refer...This is exactly why I have no real desire to Referee 3e+ because the part I truly love about running a game is the surprise that I get from rolling for those random encounters, reaction rolls, morale rolls and random treasure. There are <i>entire plots</i> and <i>sub-plots</i> that exist in my current campaign because of random bits of goodness that I rolled on these tables. Without those rolls, I never would have dreamed any of them had I to plan them all out ahead of time. I much prefer the fun of <i>not</i> knowing what will happen every time I sit down at the table.FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.com