Milestone Alteration discussion - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Milestone Alteration discussion

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
DaBugbear
Jan 26, 2011 17:23:44 Got a question for the intrawebz...

I have lately been thinking of a change to the milestone rule which would allow for the PCs to EITHER gain an action point (as per usual) OR to recharge one spent Daily power.

This would have a couple of effects... it would keep players more willing to whip out a Daily which should theoretically help reduce fight times, and it would also stretch the adventuring day because you could continue to use your Dailies after you regained them.

My question is... how damaging to game and encounter structure would you think this change to be?
#2
slobo777a
Jan 27, 2011 3:42:22 Having more Dailies available will make fights go quicker only because the PCs are breezing through them without being challenged.

Is your problem that the players hoard dailies for bailing out of difficult encounters, meaning that they are used late in the encounter if at all, and the PCs often have them left at the end of the day? That definitely slows down encounters. There might be some other suggestions for helping with that . . .

#3
DaBugbear
Jan 28, 2011 15:11:14
Having more Dailies available will make fights go quicker only because the PCs are breezing through them without being challenged.

Is your problem that the players hoard dailies for bailing out of difficult encounters, meaning that they are used late in the encounter if at all, and the PCs often have them left at the end of the day? That definitely slows down encounters. There might be some other suggestions for helping with that . . .

Thanks for both replies, guys.

Yeah, it's sort of in the vein you put out there. I have a pretty fair grasp on encounter building, but my main issue is that I have a group of mixed experience players.. some so new they squeak, some so old they creak, if you get my meaning.

The more experienced players especially tend to hold onto their Dailies "just in case", and it is not uncommon for the "work day" to end with them sitting on one or two. And because the veterans are doing it, the newbies are too. I've told them to use them whenever they want, and try to encourage it with vivid description, etc, but the "limited" quantity of them really seems to make them hesitant to throw them out, sometimes even when they REALLY should!

I've talked to the group about it some, but it's hard to unring a bell, and after a fight or two, they revert back to their Daily saving accounts.

I was thinking that by giving them a way to "recover" the powers outside of an extended rest, it would encourage more uses of the powers. I agree about the staggered usage of dailies, but with a group SO hesitant to use a Daily power, it makes hard fights (N+3 level and above) really taxing, both game resource-wise AND time-wise.

#4
theapokalypseshovel
Jan 28, 2011 16:43:30 Have your cake and eat it too: Give them the opportunity to trade in a milestone for a daily on a highly irregular basis. After an encounter the party comes across an enchanted stream that lets them recharge a daily for the low low cost of one action point/milestone! All of your players who are holding onto their super good dailies get to recharge a lesser one or more likely keep the milestone, those who used their encounter changing dailies get another use of it! Of course the party doesn't run across a lot of magical streams or strange witches or something similar, but it is an occurance in your world, and it rewards players who are willing to play risky.
#5
DaBugbear
Jan 28, 2011 17:39:40
Have your cake and eat it too: Give them the opportunity to trade in a milestone for a daily on a highly irregular basis. After an encounter the party comes across an enchanted stream that lets them recharge a daily for the low low cost of one action point/milestone! All of your players who are holding onto their super good dailies get to recharge a lesser one or more likely keep the milestone, those who used their encounter changing dailies get another use of it! Of course the party doesn't run across a lot of magical streams or strange witches or something similar, but it is an occurance in your world, and it rewards players who are willing to play risky.

Ah, nice! That has the potential to work well... almost feels like drawing and Encounter card from Talisman. ;)

I have done things like that for specific encounters before, I just didn't think to move it to a more general concept.
#6
Neutronium_Dragon
Jan 29, 2011 12:17:22 To be honest, I'd be more inclined to simply allow them to recharge a daily after every second milestone, without charging them a cost to do so. If you're ever in a situation where they've reached four milestones, it would be reasonable to require that it be a different daily, but probably not necessary.

The only type of daily that they should not be able to recharge is the type that itself allows daily power recharge. These are usually only found among epic destiny utilities though, so they're not a common problem.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 DaBugbear Jan 26, 2011 17:23:44	Got a question for the intrawebz... I have lately been thinking of a change to the milestone rule which would allow for the PCs to EITHER gain an action point (as per usual) OR to recharge one spent Daily power. This would have a couple of effects... it would keep players more willing to whip out a Daily which should theoretically help reduce fight times, and it would also stretch the adventuring day because you could continue to use your Dailies after you regained them. My question is... how damaging to game and encounter structure would you think this change to be?
#2 slobo777a Jan 27, 2011 3:42:22	Having more Dailies available will make fights go quicker only because the PCs are breezing through them without being challenged. Is your problem that the players hoard dailies for bailing out of difficult encounters, meaning that they are used late in the encounter if at all, and the PCs often have them left at the end of the day? That definitely slows down encounters. There might be some other suggestions for helping with that . . .
#3 DaBugbear Jan 28, 2011 15:11:14	Having more Dailies available will make fights go quicker only because the PCs are breezing through them without being challenged. Is your problem that the players hoard dailies for bailing out of difficult encounters, meaning that they are used late in the encounter if at all, and the PCs often have them left at the end of the day? That definitely slows down encounters. There might be some other suggestions for helping with that . . . Thanks for both replies, guys. Yeah, it's sort of in the vein you put out there. I have a pretty fair grasp on encounter building, but my main issue is that I have a group of mixed experience players.. some so new they squeak, some so old they creak, if you get my meaning. The more experienced players especially tend to hold onto their Dailies "just in case", and it is not uncommon for the "work day" to end with them sitting on one or two. And because the veterans are doing it, the newbies are too. I've told them to use them whenever they want, and try to encourage it with vivid description, etc, but the "limited" quantity of them really seems to make them hesitant to throw them out, sometimes even when they REALLY should! I've talked to the group about it some, but it's hard to unring a bell, and after a fight or two, they revert back to their Daily saving accounts. I was thinking that by giving them a way to "recover" the powers outside of an extended rest, it would encourage more uses of the powers. I agree about the staggered usage of dailies, but with a group SO hesitant to use a Daily power, it makes hard fights (N+3 level and above) really taxing, both game resource-wise AND time-wise.
#4 theapokalypseshovel Jan 28, 2011 16:43:30	Have your cake and eat it too: Give them the opportunity to trade in a milestone for a daily on a highly irregular basis. After an encounter the party comes across an enchanted stream that lets them recharge a daily for the low low cost of one action point/milestone! All of your players who are holding onto their super good dailies get to recharge a lesser one or more likely keep the milestone, those who used their encounter changing dailies get another use of it! Of course the party doesn't run across a lot of magical streams or strange witches or something similar, but it is an occurance in your world, and it rewards players who are willing to play risky.
#5 DaBugbear Jan 28, 2011 17:39:40	Have your cake and eat it too: Give them the opportunity to trade in a milestone for a daily on a highly irregular basis. After an encounter the party comes across an enchanted stream that lets them recharge a daily for the low low cost of one action point/milestone! All of your players who are holding onto their super good dailies get to recharge a lesser one or more likely keep the milestone, those who used their encounter changing dailies get another use of it! Of course the party doesn't run across a lot of magical streams or strange witches or something similar, but it is an occurance in your world, and it rewards players who are willing to play risky. Ah, nice! That has the potential to work well... almost feels like drawing and Encounter card from Talisman. ;) I have done things like that for specific encounters before, I just didn't think to move it to a more general concept.
#6 Neutronium_Dragon Jan 29, 2011 12:17:22	To be honest, I'd be more inclined to simply allow them to recharge a daily after every second milestone, without charging them a cost to do so. If you're ever in a situation where they've reached four milestones, it would be reasonable to require that it be a different daily, but probably not necessary. The only type of daily that they should not be able to recharge is the type that itself allows daily power recharge. These are usually only found among epic destiny utilities though, so they're not a common problem.