Delves and the 4E DM learning curve
Over the weekend just past, I ran a level 5 delve as a one-shot, and much fun was had by all, as always with these.
One of the good things about the delve format is that it allows rusty-but-practising DMs like me some first-hand experience with how things have changed in 4E; what is deadly, what is not. Which is good for Cunning Plans in the future.
The main things to take away from this past delve are:
a) Wights have the potential to be just as nasty in 4E as they were in earlier editions. Sure, there's no level loss any more, but the loss of a number of healing surges can really put a party on their collective back feet. One particularly nasty way to use them is as a "softening up" encounter. Taken in isolation, a fight against a level-equivalent set of wights would not be too much of a challenge; however, put the party in a time-constrained scenario with little scope for an extended rest, and the half-dozen or so drained surges have excellent potential to leave the party scrabbling for healing resources a few encounters down the line. Then even what might be a relatively straightforward encounter can be fraught with danger with a striker out of surges and even the defender(s) running low; the players can't afford to be profligate, and the bonus healing from a leader's powers becomes pure gold, eking out every last potential point.
b) Auras. Oh my goodness, auras. Previous delves have already instructed me as to how unpleasant they are, but when combined with a confined combat locale and with a party that's already been hit for significant surge loss, they get positively sadistic. Add a movement-restricting trap on top of that and it can make for a shredder of an encounter that could leave the party feeling like a head of cabbage does as it's being turned into coleslaw. In the game played at the weekend the defender - who started with 14 healing surges - was down to three or four remaining before the party stepped up to take on the third and final challenge.
c) A normal knock-down drag-out fight is a good way to finish off a delve like this one; however, an "eggs in one basket" roadblock monster while attempting to pad the encounter's numbers with minions is probably a bad idea. The format practically begs players to hoard their daily powers for the final fight, so several tough monsters (brutes or soldiers) should be the order of the day if the boss is an artillery or lurker. Minions should be added for that cinematic "slaughter hordes of the enemy" effect rather than be expected to make any significant impact on the encounter.
With those things in mind, I'll probably attempt to make the next delve I run from whole cloth rather than rely on pre-designed content. It's about time to get the creative juices going.
One of the good things about the delve format is that it allows rusty-but-practising DMs like me some first-hand experience with how things have changed in 4E; what is deadly, what is not. Which is good for Cunning Plans in the future.
The main things to take away from this past delve are:
a) Wights have the potential to be just as nasty in 4E as they were in earlier editions. Sure, there's no level loss any more, but the loss of a number of healing surges can really put a party on their collective back feet. One particularly nasty way to use them is as a "softening up" encounter. Taken in isolation, a fight against a level-equivalent set of wights would not be too much of a challenge; however, put the party in a time-constrained scenario with little scope for an extended rest, and the half-dozen or so drained surges have excellent potential to leave the party scrabbling for healing resources a few encounters down the line. Then even what might be a relatively straightforward encounter can be fraught with danger with a striker out of surges and even the defender(s) running low; the players can't afford to be profligate, and the bonus healing from a leader's powers becomes pure gold, eking out every last potential point.
b) Auras. Oh my goodness, auras. Previous delves have already instructed me as to how unpleasant they are, but when combined with a confined combat locale and with a party that's already been hit for significant surge loss, they get positively sadistic. Add a movement-restricting trap on top of that and it can make for a shredder of an encounter that could leave the party feeling like a head of cabbage does as it's being turned into coleslaw. In the game played at the weekend the defender - who started with 14 healing surges - was down to three or four remaining before the party stepped up to take on the third and final challenge.
c) A normal knock-down drag-out fight is a good way to finish off a delve like this one; however, an "eggs in one basket" roadblock monster while attempting to pad the encounter's numbers with minions is probably a bad idea. The format practically begs players to hoard their daily powers for the final fight, so several tough monsters (brutes or soldiers) should be the order of the day if the boss is an artillery or lurker. Minions should be added for that cinematic "slaughter hordes of the enemy" effect rather than be expected to make any significant impact on the encounter.
With those things in mind, I'll probably attempt to make the next delve I run from whole cloth rather than rely on pre-designed content. It's about time to get the creative juices going.