|
6 months ago ::
Nov 30, 2012 - 4:03PM
#11
|
Date Joined:
Mar 17, 2010
|
As a result, plot and roleplaying trumps the Wizards or Clerics magical toolbox, as it should.
The villains couldn't come up with counter-measures, instead of meta gaming the problem away?
So every important NPC has Nondetection or Undetectable Lie up on them all the time, rendering your PCs spell choices obsolete when they matter most? Villains and NPCs should have abilities appropriate to their characters and the plot of the story. When you give them abilities specifically to counter your characters, you should really rethink your design (unless the NPCs in question were hired by the main villain to hunt down and kill the PCs, but that is a different kind of plot).
"Gotcha!" gaming is so 80's. I'm glad to be living in the 21st century.
Granted, in previous editions of the game, I houseruled the plotbusting spells out of my game, and compensated characters who had those abilities as class features (i.e.; Paladins). When they were making 4E, it seems like the designers were of like mind with me when plotbusting powers and abilities were considered.
Since Next will be taking steps backwards, it is a pretty safe bet that Detect Evil, Good and Lie will be back as well.
Edit: Just to be clear, isn't arbitrarily giving the enemies powers to counter your PCs countermeasures also "metagaming the problem away," except that you are also wasting PC resources in the process?
I think you're overestimating certain types of people, bad guys and crooks are not known for their foresight and discretion.
Besides, it happens not outside the game, but in the game, and is the sort of solution you'd expect in the real world. To put it another way, it is not exactly an arbitrary response by by something outside the world, it's more a solution to a problem by somebody in the world.
One dagger is a plot point. A thousand daggers is inventory. Thank you for disrailing this thread. 
|
|
6 months ago ::
Dec 08, 2012 - 11:29PM
#12
|
|
|
I think you're overestimating certain types of people, bad guys and crooks are not known for their foresight and discretion.
Not the random street gang, no. But that ancient red dragon? Yes. The cult ruled by the sinister confidence man? Yep. The evil mayor who's planning to sacrifice the town by performing a complex ritual over a long period right under the town's very nose? I think he's got some foresight and discretion.
Any mad overlord worth his salt is going to use those detection spells to their full advantage. It does kind of put a damper on the kind of intrigue you can do- usually- but I think it's going to depend a lot on the party and the enemy. There may be ways around it but the detection spells are pretty foolproof as far as I remember.
|
