Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bawylie Jul 28, 2014 11:58:26	Beyond XP Budget: Increasing Challenge w/o Inflating Difficulty We've been given two tools to use when designing encounters: the XP Budget (XPB) and Challenge Rating (CR). Both tools are best understood as upward limits past which we generally should not exceed. (Occasional exceptions notwithstanding).  If you're like me (you handsome devil) or if your players are like mine (the clever bastards), these tools alone don't cut the mustard.  A standard encounter is simply too easy. I could just use Hard encounters or exceed the CR (or both!) but that's just inflating the mechanical difficulty - it puts the dice to the test, not the players.  No, what I'm looking for are ways to challenge the players' skill.  How can we design an encounter with Standard XPB & CR that plays Hard? After the usual processes (why are we even having an encounter, who's involved, what do they want?), we turn to the environment and circumstances. Yeah, I could put every fight on a burning highwire over a pit into the elemental chaos - but that still doesn't challenge skill.  We need to demarcate higher and lower ground, choke points, cover, blocking & difficult terrain, as well as lighting/shadows, and accessibility. We need to consider how AOEs will work, how to avoid ranged attacks, & how to string the melees along. We need a kill-box. (Oh! how we need a kill-box!). And we need to know how to use these things.  So I'm opening it up. Like the Budget Dungeon, I'm looking for your Deadliest Fair Fights.  Rules are: 1.) Design an encounter for 4 level 1 PCs.  2.) No monster can have a CR greater than 2.  3.) XPB falls between a standard & hard encounter (the closer to standard, the better).  4.) Any circumstances and terrain must include a kill-box! and a brief rundown of enemy tactics (how are they taking advantage of the circumstances, how they're baiting the kill-box, etc).  5.) Encounter has to have some purpose in mind. (Survive the zombie horde until help arrives, protect the priest until the ritual is complete, get the sandwich from the hobbit while there's still sandwich to get).  Don't feel bad if you can't/won't art. Art is nice but it comes down to how strong is your DM-Fu.    Edit: (per Sleypy, 4 PCs - not 5).
#2 mellored Jul 28, 2014 12:34:49	Terrain: A lifesize chessboard, where each black tile is in shadows, and each white tile is silenced. Once a person steps off a tile, it collapses into a pit. Tiles change colors on inititive 2.   Monsters: A few tremorsense creatures that have pushing attack. A few tremorsense creature that have pulling attack.   Player Challenge: Figuring out how the darkness rules work.   Get the party across the room.  No need to kill any monsters.
#3 iserith Jul 28, 2014 13:42:23	Can you tell me a little bit more about what you mean by "kill-box?"
#4 bawylie Jul 28, 2014 14:04:37	In military strategy, a kill-box is an area or zone into which a coordinated assault is directed from multiple directions.    For instance, a barracks or fortress is identified and the assailants decide to make a particular portion of it into a kill-box. The assailants then set up that portion such that whatever defenders get in there are target by multiple assailants from multiple directions (though not as a circular firing squad - usually see air and ground coordination).    In D&D, you might see a group of cavalry and artillery use a ravine as a kill-box.
#5 sleypy Jul 28, 2014 14:04:52	Since the math is based around a party of 4 maybe that should be the benchmark?