Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 slathe Sep 15, 2008 21:08:25	The group I game with is very small. We typically have 2 - 3 players and a DM (so a three or four person gaming group). Aside from the obvious changes (using a smaller XP pool for encounters) one thing I've noticed is that combat can get a little stale for us because there are less people to try and form good power combos with, and, overall, fewer powers that are getting used on the table that people get to see and be excited about. It's not that the group is ineffective, as I believe the DMG gives a really good way to re-balance encounters for smaller groups. Anyway I've been trying to find a way to add more options for my players with a house rule regarding powers. I've got a few of my own, but as I'm relatively new I thought I'd seek some advice on balance. We have only played in the heroic tier, so maybe the repetative problem disappears a little when you start your paragon path. Below are a few ideas of my own, but if you have any additional changes that you've found work well or would be non-gamebreaking, I'd love to hear them. 1) Allow players to use any of their listed powers for a given level, but only have slots equal to the normal power allocation (the downside here is that all characters effectively become the same because they all have access to the same powers, plus i think it imbalances gameplay substantially, but players do get a ton of options) 2) Let players choose two encounter powers for ever level, but they can still only use one of that level per encounter (or perhaps one of that level or lower per encounter) 3) When you hit the paragon tier, allow players to choose new powers without replacing their previous powers, so they have access to a wider array of encounter and daily powers (or perhaps making this an option only for encounter powers) 4) Use a gestalt system, and allow each player to take two classes and level them up at the same time. This would probably require rebalancing encounters for a party equal to 1.5 times the party size, or some other amount that would be hard to predict. It might also become a nightmare with multi-classing (maybe that would have to be cut out) Anyway, thanks for any feedback or suggestions. -Slathe
#2 aluman Sep 15, 2008 23:42:55	Something you might want to try is allowing the Encounter powers to recharge on a 6, and give everyone spell book type affect where you pick two and use one.
#3 tequila_sunrise Sep 16, 2008 8:04:47	1) Allow players to use any of their listed powers for a given level, but only have slots equal to the normal power allocation (the downside here is that all characters effectively become the same because they all have access to the same powers, plus i think it imbalances gameplay substantially, but players do get a ton of options) The house rule that I use is similar to this one; I call it Power Preparation. The differences are that PCs can only learn powers of their own class or their multiclass, and that they don't automatically get access to all powers of their level. This allows me to hand out a little extra loot in the form of spell books, prayer books and exercise manuals. Players like extra loot. :D TS