Broad term used to describe when the player characters meet with a group of NPCs. They can range from hostile to friendly, randomized to story-driven.
36
votes
13answers
754 views
How to communicate to the players that an encounter can be solved also through diplomacy?
When you play D&D, you are not supposed to chat with the enemy during encounters. The system is made for fighting. However, in some circumstances, it would be nice to make the players conscious ...
10
votes
5answers
258 views
Awarding XP for combat encounters in Dnd 4e
I am a very inexperienced DM. I have here what must be an obvious question, but I can't seem to find any solid clarification.
How is XP rewarded after a combat encounter? Is the total monsters' XP ...
5
votes
2answers
210 views
Frequency of combat encounters in Pathfinder
I'm starting a new self-designed Pathfinder campaign as the DM and I'm unsure how many combat encounters I should plan each session.
The characters will start at level 1. The group consists of 4 ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
Moldvay D&D First Round in Encounter
I'm confused about how to DM the first round of an encounter using Moldvay's rules, specifically, when is the DM supposed to use the Monster Reaction table on page B24.
Say a party encounters a group ...
17
votes
4answers
603 views
What challenge ratings can my party handle?
I play D&D 3.5. I have a party of 6 players and myself as a DM. In my "career" as a DM, I seem to have no to little difficulty with adding monsters and encounters. But I have never understood how ...
6
votes
5answers
512 views
How can I turn the Kobold Hall delve into a full-fledged Adventure?
For my first experience as a DM, I'm taking the Kobold Hall adventure included in the first DMG, and repurposing it. The overall idea is to turn it from a 5 encounter delve to a "Level 1 to Level 2 ...
15
votes
6answers
418 views
What would clever creatures do to protect their lair?
(This question is for fantasy worlds like in D&D and other such games.)
Usually, as the adventuring party goes up in ability, they end up facing stronger and more powerful characters. Let's say ...
14
votes
8answers
563 views
How do I adjudicate the natural tendency for hikers to spread in D&D 4e?
This question inspired by this rather grognardian post over on the Tao of D&D.
Functionally, the post asserts:
But suggest to a party that they're too far apart to hear one another as they ...
13
votes
5answers
325 views
Help with epic battle
As a core part of the campaign I'm about to start, I want to include a poem detailing the last stand of a valiant paladin against a number of giants. He dies valiantly to save a town the giants were ...
9
votes
2answers
218 views
What are good techniques to adapt module maps to 3D terrain and/or 2D tilesets?
This is slightly related to How to Use Module Maps but instead of being about how to adapt published small maps to 1" scale or using playmats, I'm interested in technique for adapting to pre-published ...
20
votes
4answers
377 views
How do I alert the rest of the party that a character within the party has stolen a major plot device?
I'm running a campaign in which a rogue has stolen a powerful necromantic focus (and is keeping it outside of the box that protects the world from it.) The party doesn't know, and I'm looking for a ...
4
votes
1answer
300 views
Is throwing other PC's possible? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you rule halfling tossing as a combat action?
Hello, one of my fellow players brought upon a good question to me; is possible to throw another PC almost like a ...
10
votes
5answers
602 views
How to run a chess inspired D&D4E encounter?
Is there a way that you could run a chess inspired encounter for D&D 4E? I'm thinking like the characters themselves are involved in a human chess game albeit still allowing them to keep some of ...
10
votes
1answer
187 views
How should I budget for ally/third party NPCs in 4e combats?
I've done a few combats recently where the PCs and their enemies were not the only participants in the fight. I wasn't sure how to budget XP in this case.
In the case of an NPC ally I see two ...
8
votes
2answers
561 views
What is the D&D 4E encounter system?
In answering a question on applying old-school rules to 4E, R.S. Conley suggests "Not use the encounter system. Just set up a region sandbox style and what the player find they have to deal with"
I ...
5
votes
2answers
242 views
How to fix this scenario for D&D Encounters?
I just finished running a D&D Encounters season 3 ep 11 session, and I'm dissatisfied with how it ended; I want to fix it next week with a bit of retroactive play before moving on to the finale.
...
5
votes
1answer
678 views
Are there any free tools for designing encounters or traps?
I'm trying to design a module and I was wondering if there were any free or open source encounter or trap designers for D&D 4e
Mostly I just like something that lets me fill in the blanks and ...
5
votes
2answers
216 views
How can I judge rarity of monsters?
One of the things I like about 4e is the scalability of monsters. If I say, for example, that kobolds are common I can then make then the most common monster for encounters for quite a few levels.
...
11
votes
8answers
376 views
10-100 Troglodytes is too many!
I'm picking on troglodytes as an example. In MMI, the number of troglodytes appearing in their lair(cave system/dungeon) is 10-100. Troglodytes are a nice, not-too-tough, HD2 monster with some ...
5
votes
1answer
303 views
What is an appropriate encounter in Deathwatch?
I've been reading through Deathwatch and I've finally gotten a grip on the fact that space marines are seriously tough characters compared to the other games in the Warhammer 40k RPG line. The ...
9
votes
5answers
294 views
Monster Complement for Fire Beetles
I've been writing an encounter with fire beetles in a sewer. I need a good monster to complement them while keeping it at a level 1 or 2 encounter.
