Boss fights are basically the best. They're the climax of the rising action, where the players really show their stuff, or suffer for it. They're also time for you to crack out earth-shaking badniks, with incredibly deadly abilities.
They're usually something that's fucking cool, too. A lich or a dragon, a god or an Old One. A tarrasque. Whatever. Something that kicks ass and players associate with corpses and tear-stained character sheets.
The best bosses are the bookends of campaigns, showing their faces early on in the campaign, intermittently pulling some strings, and then taking part in a major throw-down during the last or nearly last session.
During the Final Battle, PC deaths are possible or even unavoidable, depending on how difficult your campaign is. Total party wipeouts become a possibility that is more or less acceptable to your players, who wouldn't want the climax to be an easy fight. Heck, the harder it is, the happier the players will be, when they win (or almost win, which can be just as good).
Buzz-Kills
-Watch out for the fight being too easy, even if the players have an amazing plan. But similarly, it shouldn't be too hard in a way that isn't fun. Bosses should sizzle on your players' taste buds, one way or another, rather than be 1,000 hp wastes of time.
-The boss shouldn't be a one-trick pony. Ideally it should have two stages, where the boss alters or steps up its mode of combat, usually after it is reduced to half life.
-Watch out for save or die effects, or their cousins, domination/charm effects. A good rule of thumb is to give a boss the ability to automatically have an effect like these cause the boss to lose his next turn, rather than die. Or to have the effect wear off at the end of a round, in the case of dominate effects. This avoids you simply having a monster be immune to an ability, and gives the players their druthers.
Tips!
-Broadcast how difficult it's going to be to kill the boss, in-game rather than out of game. Out of game gloating can backfire way too easy. But in-game foreknowledge can impress your players into performing better, and possibly give them some tips about how to win.
-Outline what's at stake to the players if they fail to defeat the boss. It doesn't need to be a "save the world" scenario. There can be very clear, unpleasant consequences, without it being an earth-shaking scenario.
-The final session of the game can be the most important of the entire campaign. It's the one players will remember best, for chronological reasons. The boss should be memorable, and the fight should encapsulate and exemplify all the good things from the entire campaign.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Player Power Level
There are two kinds of game balance with regard to power level. First, the party's power level versus everything else, usually a dungeon or series of antagonists. Second, the party members' power levels versus each other --not necessarily in a PvP sense, but in the sense that they are consistently able to out-perform the rest of the party.
Temporary Superiority
Sometimes a party member is more suited to a particular situation, which is fine as long as it isn't a deliberate choice on the DM's part. If you feel like using undead, and the cleric is better at fighting undead, it's all right for that character to exhibit a superior ability to deal with his area of specialty.
Other times, a character is better at a particular level, but this is temporary. Fighters are (much) better than wizards at first level, in vanilla 3e D&D. This goes away as the characters increase in level, and is in many ways fun -- the wizard "pays" for his later superiority by being weaker early on. Indeed, he "earns" his later power merely by surviving.
The danger here is if there is a major trend in superior level. Even if it's just that the player is better than optimizing his build, it's a problem. Indeed, it's probably a bad thing that a character design system can be so well gamed, that players who are not as interested can be left so far behind in balance.
Lowering Top-Tier Effectiveness
In Team Fortress 2, a first-person shooter game that came out a few years ago, the game designers made the conscious choice to limit how much more effective a skilled player could be. Shooting someone in the head doesn't always inflict more damage, for example. Nor does having played longer give you access to weapons that are per se better, though it does give you more (sometimes more newbie-friendly) options.
The result is that, even though a skilled player is still obviously better during gameplayer, it isn't an automatic shut out. New players with quick reflexes can still compete with the pros, or at least contribute to the performance of the team. There is a narrower band within which player skill can improve that player's performance.
D&D should be the same way. More proficient (or interested) players should have an advantage for seeing rules possibilities that other players don't, but not a huge one. Playing D&D should be more about tactical decisions than character design. This doesn't sell rules manuals that are essentially catalogues that players can peruse through to "shop" for bonuses, but it does make for a more rewarding play experience. The player should be most rewarded for decisions made on the fly, not what happens when he's picking feats before the game begins.
When It Goes Right
Ideally, the adventuring party should be a smooth functioning machine, with each party member performing his equally important role under pressure, in dangerous situations with outcomes that are only partially predictable.
When things are working appropriately, there is a rising arc of action, with smaller encounters in a dungeon sapping some of the party's reserves and testing their ability to allocate resources, with mild possibility of things backfiring horribly.
Then you fight the boss (or whatever), and the boss truly tests the party's mettle. It's the apex of the rising action, making a player death or even a wipeout more likely than in the normal course of things. Great stuff.
When It Goes Wrong
Nullifying a particular player's advantages is a mistake. If you start deliberately crafting encounters that are resistant to an above-average power level player-character's abilities, or that hit on all his weaknesses, he will usually feel like you're picking on him. Using any form of negative reinforcement will just make that player unhappy.
The way to fix things is to increase the power level of all the party members, through means that bring them specifically into line with the other player. For my game, I introduce new spells for the underpowered casters' spell lists, extra class-specific feat options for under-powered rogues and fighters, and magical items that are more likely to help the under-powered players than the over-powered fella.
Does this make the entire party too powerful? Absolutely. But monsters and traps can always have their difficulty ramped up. Have them do more damage, have a higher armor class and saves, and generally amp things up. It might be a little faster than you expected, but that's fine, it's all in the game. And it's certainly better than having an incredibly over-powered player making everybody else feel like schlubs.
Temporary Superiority
Sometimes a party member is more suited to a particular situation, which is fine as long as it isn't a deliberate choice on the DM's part. If you feel like using undead, and the cleric is better at fighting undead, it's all right for that character to exhibit a superior ability to deal with his area of specialty.
Other times, a character is better at a particular level, but this is temporary. Fighters are (much) better than wizards at first level, in vanilla 3e D&D. This goes away as the characters increase in level, and is in many ways fun -- the wizard "pays" for his later superiority by being weaker early on. Indeed, he "earns" his later power merely by surviving.
The danger here is if there is a major trend in superior level. Even if it's just that the player is better than optimizing his build, it's a problem. Indeed, it's probably a bad thing that a character design system can be so well gamed, that players who are not as interested can be left so far behind in balance.
Lowering Top-Tier Effectiveness
In Team Fortress 2, a first-person shooter game that came out a few years ago, the game designers made the conscious choice to limit how much more effective a skilled player could be. Shooting someone in the head doesn't always inflict more damage, for example. Nor does having played longer give you access to weapons that are per se better, though it does give you more (sometimes more newbie-friendly) options.
The result is that, even though a skilled player is still obviously better during gameplayer, it isn't an automatic shut out. New players with quick reflexes can still compete with the pros, or at least contribute to the performance of the team. There is a narrower band within which player skill can improve that player's performance.
D&D should be the same way. More proficient (or interested) players should have an advantage for seeing rules possibilities that other players don't, but not a huge one. Playing D&D should be more about tactical decisions than character design. This doesn't sell rules manuals that are essentially catalogues that players can peruse through to "shop" for bonuses, but it does make for a more rewarding play experience. The player should be most rewarded for decisions made on the fly, not what happens when he's picking feats before the game begins.
When It Goes Right
Ideally, the adventuring party should be a smooth functioning machine, with each party member performing his equally important role under pressure, in dangerous situations with outcomes that are only partially predictable.
When things are working appropriately, there is a rising arc of action, with smaller encounters in a dungeon sapping some of the party's reserves and testing their ability to allocate resources, with mild possibility of things backfiring horribly.
Then you fight the boss (or whatever), and the boss truly tests the party's mettle. It's the apex of the rising action, making a player death or even a wipeout more likely than in the normal course of things. Great stuff.
When It Goes Wrong
Nullifying a particular player's advantages is a mistake. If you start deliberately crafting encounters that are resistant to an above-average power level player-character's abilities, or that hit on all his weaknesses, he will usually feel like you're picking on him. Using any form of negative reinforcement will just make that player unhappy.
The way to fix things is to increase the power level of all the party members, through means that bring them specifically into line with the other player. For my game, I introduce new spells for the underpowered casters' spell lists, extra class-specific feat options for under-powered rogues and fighters, and magical items that are more likely to help the under-powered players than the over-powered fella.
Does this make the entire party too powerful? Absolutely. But monsters and traps can always have their difficulty ramped up. Have them do more damage, have a higher armor class and saves, and generally amp things up. It might be a little faster than you expected, but that's fine, it's all in the game. And it's certainly better than having an incredibly over-powered player making everybody else feel like schlubs.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Carousing Table
Some grognard somewhere wrote a carousing table, with the idea that PCs could opt to try their luck every time they were in a town. This is my own take on it, with a few modified versions of that guy's ideas and some of my own. I wish I could remember where I got the idea from, or I'd give credit.
The idea is retro, but the stats are for my cribbed 3e rules.
Carousing Chart
When you have successfully completed a dungeon, you may spend 50 gp to roll on this chart:
1
Shotgun Wedding: Due to circumstances beyond your control, you have married an undesirable romantic partner. You suffer a -1 morale penalty to attack and spell DC for the entire next expedition.
2
Venereal Troubles: You couldn’t see the rash in the candlelight. You begin the first day of your next expedition diseased (unless immune), which lasts until cured.
3
A Big Misunderstanding: You end up in the stocks for three days. Probably for something arson-related. The harsh treatment causes you to begin the first day of the next expedition with 20 damage (minimum of 1 hp remaining).
4
Hangover From Hell: You suffer -1 to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
5
Wanted Man: You commit a series of petty crimes while under the influence, and need to lay low while in town. You cannot carouse the next time you complete a dungeon.
6
An Honest Mistake: Target of lewd advances turns out to be a witch. Make a Charisma check or you have a -2 penalty to saving throws for the entire next expedition. If your check succeeds, you enjoy a +2 bonus to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
7
Gambling Binge: You spend your time in gambling houses. You may wager up to 400gp. The DM flips a coin, and if you are correct then you double your money. If you are incorrect, the amount wagered is lost.
8
New Tattoo: You wake up the next morning with a headache and a new tattoo. It has a 50% of giving you a +1 or -1 modifier to a randomly determined ability score. Reroll for a new score if it would increase a stat beyond 20.
9
Rest and Relaxation: You enjoy a +1 bonus to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
10
Learn From The Master: You encounter a higher level adventurer of your class, who teaches you a few new tricks. You gain access to an additional class feat of your choice, until you go up a level.
11
Spiritual Experience: You go on a vision quest or something after smoking some really kush stuff. Henceforth, raising you from the dead costs 50gp less than it otherwise would.
12
Interesting Romantic Entanglement: If you aren't already married, you have developed an interesting romantic relationship. Your better half gives you a +1 bonus to an ability score of your choice, so long as you don't get married in a shotgun wedding.
The idea is retro, but the stats are for my cribbed 3e rules.
Carousing Chart
When you have successfully completed a dungeon, you may spend 50 gp to roll on this chart:
1
Shotgun Wedding: Due to circumstances beyond your control, you have married an undesirable romantic partner. You suffer a -1 morale penalty to attack and spell DC for the entire next expedition.
2
Venereal Troubles: You couldn’t see the rash in the candlelight. You begin the first day of your next expedition diseased (unless immune), which lasts until cured.
3
A Big Misunderstanding: You end up in the stocks for three days. Probably for something arson-related. The harsh treatment causes you to begin the first day of the next expedition with 20 damage (minimum of 1 hp remaining).
4
Hangover From Hell: You suffer -1 to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
5
Wanted Man: You commit a series of petty crimes while under the influence, and need to lay low while in town. You cannot carouse the next time you complete a dungeon.
6
An Honest Mistake: Target of lewd advances turns out to be a witch. Make a Charisma check or you have a -2 penalty to saving throws for the entire next expedition. If your check succeeds, you enjoy a +2 bonus to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
7
Gambling Binge: You spend your time in gambling houses. You may wager up to 400gp. The DM flips a coin, and if you are correct then you double your money. If you are incorrect, the amount wagered is lost.
8
New Tattoo: You wake up the next morning with a headache and a new tattoo. It has a 50% of giving you a +1 or -1 modifier to a randomly determined ability score. Reroll for a new score if it would increase a stat beyond 20.
9
Rest and Relaxation: You enjoy a +1 bonus to saving throws for the entire next expedition.
10
Learn From The Master: You encounter a higher level adventurer of your class, who teaches you a few new tricks. You gain access to an additional class feat of your choice, until you go up a level.
11
Spiritual Experience: You go on a vision quest or something after smoking some really kush stuff. Henceforth, raising you from the dead costs 50gp less than it otherwise would.
12
Interesting Romantic Entanglement: If you aren't already married, you have developed an interesting romantic relationship. Your better half gives you a +1 bonus to an ability score of your choice, so long as you don't get married in a shotgun wedding.
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