|
3 years ago ::
Jul 18, 2010 - 1:13AM
#141
|
Date Joined:
Jun 26, 2004
|
If you really want to do that you should at least use average damage Vamroc.
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 18, 2010 - 6:29AM
#142
|
- Senior Volunteer Community Lead
Date Joined:
Aug 19, 2007
|
Using average damage is actually a pretty good deal for a DM (and table) sometimes. For example, I was scheduled to run a 4-combat SPEC in 3.5 hours, so I predid initiative, figured out average damage so I could do my turns quickly, even prepped knowledge check results. We did all 4 fights plus an optional 5th cause we still had time.
The DM and players being willing to _just go_ helps immensely for time saving. Who cares if it takes 6 rounds if each person takes 30 seconds or less for their turn?
Keith Richmond
Living Forgotten Realms Epic Writing Director
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 19, 2010 - 12:35AM
#143
|
|
|
If you really want to do that you should at least use average damage Vamroc.
The issue with average damage is that some creatures have reduction or insubstantial so if the charactor is starting with an average of 15 damage before insubstantial he's doing about 7 after and a PC who averages 15 or more is typically going to be the highest damage dealer on the table. Everyone else will be relagated to 8 or 9 points BEFORE INSUBSTATIAL imagine if someone decided to put a paragon level swarm in a high tier 7-10 do you know how long that fight would take when the highest damage dealer is only capable of 7 points and god forbid if it had resistance a party would have to crit on every attack just make any kind of dent.
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 19, 2010 - 12:49AM
#144
|
Date Joined:
Mar 29, 2001
|
Wouldn't that imply a problem with Insubstantial, and not the other regular combat stuff?
Putting everyone to max damage rolls changes EVERYTHING. Monsters would have to get their HP beefed up to compensate, damage reduction would have to increase across the board, etc.
All to fix a problem with Insubstantial.
I'd say, fix the actual problem.
-karma
LFR Characters:
Lady Tiana Elinden Kobori Silverwane - Drow Control Wizard
Kro'tak Warscream - Orc Bard
Fulcrum of Gond - Warforged Laser Cleric
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 19, 2010 - 7:09AM
#145
|
|
|
Using average damage is actually a pretty good deal for a DM (and table) sometimes.
In the last few Battle Interactives for Living Arcanis, we used average damage. It particularly speeded up spellcasters -- I was playing a psion, and instead of rolling large handfuls of dice each time for Energy Ball (or whatever), I'd just tell the DM, "empowered Energy Ball, 84 points electrical damage, DC 22 Reflex save for half" (or whatever). Unless I was making a saving throw, I was never picking up a die during most combats.
I wouldn't want to always do it this way, but in a situation in which time is of the essence, it's not a bad solution.
"Of course [Richard] has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives. It's 1183, and we're barbarians!" - Eleanor of Aquitaine, "The Lion in Winter"
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 19, 2010 - 9:13AM
#146
|
Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2008
|
If you really want to do that you should at least use average damage Vamroc.
The issue with average damage is that some creatures have reduction or insubstantial so if the charactor is starting with an average of 15 damage before insubstantial he's doing about 7 after and a PC who averages 15 or more is typically going to be the highest damage dealer on the table. Everyone else will be relagated to 8 or 9 points BEFORE INSUBSTATIAL imagine if someone decided to put a paragon level swarm in a high tier 7-10 do you know how long that fight would take when the highest damage dealer is only capable of 7 points and god forbid if it had resistance a party would have to crit on every attack just make any kind of dent.
My short response is "And?"
Longer response: Erm ... so, your point is that it takes forever to whittle down an insubstantial creature? That is sort of the way they work.
Sure, you can both speed up each round using max damage and not rolling it and the number of rounds all told that gets played. But the former speeds up the game and the latter speeds up the game -and- changes the tactics and power of the monsters.
So, yeah, I'd be against using max damage. Average dmg preserves the approximate tactics and way that monsters should work without giving the PCs too much of a boost in power.
|
|
|
|
3 years ago ::
Jul 19, 2010 - 7:58PM
#147
|
- Head of Insanity Division
Date Joined:
Jul 23, 2004
|
One anti-Alpha Strike gimmick that I have seen used a couple of times in the same recent mod is to give BBEGs some sort of "negate the initial attack" power, such as one fight where the main elite, for the first couple of rounds of combat, could grab a nearby civilian to use as a shield as an immediate interrupt. I would find this irritating if it was happening all of the time, but as an occasional gimmick it can put players on their toes about whether or not to go full-bore with their first attack. (The group I was running this for found it entertainingly evil, but that's a side benefit.)
After playing and/or running all of the Origins mods over the course of seven rounds of slot zeros and nine rounds at the convention (at all tiers) over the past couple of weeks, I saw maybe two cases where Alpha Striking was a problem. Of those, one involved two ranged rangers landing multiple crits each and the other involved the DM running what I knew to be a bad-ass encounter soft combined with some fortunate initiative rolls. In all the other cases a strong opening salvo either merely made the encounter manageable, was negated, or else wasn't enough to break the encounter. Could be that I was just lucky not to encounter the AS-focused tables, but I think that's more a testament to encounter design in recent mods which makes that more difficult to do.
Ed, is that you? I think one of the "two ranged rangers with multiple crits" was me at your table on Saturday night. It was Crazy how well the dice were rolling. 
Though that was my first paragon table, so I was still feeling out all of my new PP abilities, which honestly are stronger than I had expected.
But this thread has given me something to think about. Oftimes I think of it as my job as ranger to kill something before it goes - before that table, I don't think it ever happened twice in one module. Maybe I'll try a little restraint at GenCon and see how that works (or at least look to another player or two and ask "Whaddya think - AP?").
Cheers.
-VIC
Looking for work in IT or Logistics? Willing to relocate to western Michigan? Send me a PM.
|
|
|
