Myrhdraak
Explorer
Having read read DM David’s blog and playing 4th Edition and doing some 4th Edition conversions from 3.5 edition I have to agree with some of his statements.
“In D&D next, a party can role-play, explore, and finish a few fights in a 2-hour session. In 4E, not a chance. At most, players can drop a sentry, and finish one battle.”
“My fourth-edition time budget means that I have to cut locations, enemies, and material like a sailor jettisons weight as my ship takes water. I must condense each location to a couple of key encounters, and two fights.”
“In D&D next, every combat encounter taxes the party’s resources, while in fourth edition, only big encounters challenge a party.”
However, 5th Edition will never give me the tactial combat that I also enjoy, which leaves me the choice of two lesser evils, or does it? Having just read Max Tegemark’s book “Our Mathematical Universe”, it got me thinking. If our universe can be decribed by value of 32 parameters, what is it that describes my 4th Edition combat universe, and most importantly - could I change some of those to get to a combat universe that plays differently and achieves another player experience (preferably the one I am after)?
Basically the 4th Edition (and 5th Edition as well to some sense) can be described with these combat parameters:
1. Monster’s and PC’s starting HP
2. Monster’s and PC’s HP/level progression
3. Monster’s and PC’s damage output per round (linear or variable)
4. Monster’s and PC’s attack and defense progression per level
5. Number of Healing Surges
6. Healing Surge Value
7. Healing and Power recovery per Short Rest
8. Length of Short Rest
9. Healing and Power recovery per Long Rest
10. Length of Long Rest
11. Death Save mechanism (or similar)
5th Edition uses other terminology but the basics are still the same, and both system universes can be compared as well as play exterience be compared.
What my new 4.5 Edition combat universe should achieve is:
“Deliver long immersive tactical combats for important encounters, but at the same time allow smaller and faster short combat encounters, but with the risk of taxing the party resourses in some way that matters.”
FINAL RESULT
The final result of this exercise is the 4.5 Edition Conversion Guide which managed to deliver the kind of experience I was after, a 4.5 Edition which allow me as a DM to mix and match longer tactical fights (4th Edition like), with short fast skirmish fights (like 5th Edition), and I can more easily port 5th Edition adventures to this new format as it is built on the same 3, 6, or 9 encounters per adventuring day format.
4.5 Edition Conversion Guide
/Myrhdraak
Also read my:
H1-E3: Demon Prince of Undeath Conversion
Pathfinder - Reign of Winter 4th Edition Conversion Path
The Sunless Citadell 4.5 Edition Conversion
“In D&D next, a party can role-play, explore, and finish a few fights in a 2-hour session. In 4E, not a chance. At most, players can drop a sentry, and finish one battle.”
“My fourth-edition time budget means that I have to cut locations, enemies, and material like a sailor jettisons weight as my ship takes water. I must condense each location to a couple of key encounters, and two fights.”
“In D&D next, every combat encounter taxes the party’s resources, while in fourth edition, only big encounters challenge a party.”
However, 5th Edition will never give me the tactial combat that I also enjoy, which leaves me the choice of two lesser evils, or does it? Having just read Max Tegemark’s book “Our Mathematical Universe”, it got me thinking. If our universe can be decribed by value of 32 parameters, what is it that describes my 4th Edition combat universe, and most importantly - could I change some of those to get to a combat universe that plays differently and achieves another player experience (preferably the one I am after)?
Basically the 4th Edition (and 5th Edition as well to some sense) can be described with these combat parameters:
1. Monster’s and PC’s starting HP
2. Monster’s and PC’s HP/level progression
3. Monster’s and PC’s damage output per round (linear or variable)
4. Monster’s and PC’s attack and defense progression per level
5. Number of Healing Surges
6. Healing Surge Value
7. Healing and Power recovery per Short Rest
8. Length of Short Rest
9. Healing and Power recovery per Long Rest
10. Length of Long Rest
11. Death Save mechanism (or similar)
5th Edition uses other terminology but the basics are still the same, and both system universes can be compared as well as play exterience be compared.
What my new 4.5 Edition combat universe should achieve is:
“Deliver long immersive tactical combats for important encounters, but at the same time allow smaller and faster short combat encounters, but with the risk of taxing the party resourses in some way that matters.”
FINAL RESULT
The final result of this exercise is the 4.5 Edition Conversion Guide which managed to deliver the kind of experience I was after, a 4.5 Edition which allow me as a DM to mix and match longer tactical fights (4th Edition like), with short fast skirmish fights (like 5th Edition), and I can more easily port 5th Edition adventures to this new format as it is built on the same 3, 6, or 9 encounters per adventuring day format.
4.5 Edition Conversion Guide
/Myrhdraak
Also read my:
H1-E3: Demon Prince of Undeath Conversion
Pathfinder - Reign of Winter 4th Edition Conversion Path
The Sunless Citadell 4.5 Edition Conversion
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