tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post2286994016190418614..comments2024-03-26T15:35:56.004-04:00Comments on Delta's D&D Hotspot: Underworld Overhaul, Pt. 2: Monster Level MatrixDeltahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-32590607729783652602018-04-30T21:09:22.070-04:002018-04-30T21:09:22.070-04:00That's a nice point -- and thanks for the obse...That's a nice point -- and thanks for the observation of the low move rates of some of those top-end monsters. I hadn't observed that before (and MV is not a factor in the simulation at all at this time). <br /><br />On the other hand, the simulation does assume every "expedition" is just a single encounter with all the party members at 100% perfect health. (Or in other words: they retire and rest up for a month after every encounter.) So I think that somewhat counterbalances the buffer from retreat options. I might hypothesize that before a party knows to retreat, likely one of their members will get dropped, and then from the perspective of the individual you're right back in the same lethality of the simulation as it stands. Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-52618179093774976352018-04-30T21:05:32.510-04:002018-04-30T21:05:32.510-04:00You're right -- it's not a tremendous chan...You're right -- it's not a tremendous change, nor did I want one. But it's a step the direction of improvement, and it gives a coherent system for insertions of other new monsters. I do think that Gygax in AD&D over-corrected, and I didn't want to be accused of too soft a game. Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-63586378452811755842018-04-30T21:03:06.328-04:002018-04-30T21:03:06.328-04:00(Which argues somewhat for a PhD in that area by y...(Which argues somewhat for a PhD in that area by yours truly.)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-17900599232078800402018-04-30T21:02:38.871-04:002018-04-30T21:02:38.871-04:00I'm so glad to hear that! This sort of came ou...I'm so glad to hear that! This sort of came out of me a few weeks back like unavoidable birth-giving. I think you're very right about magic powers changing stuff greatly if cunningly utilized. Would love to have that assessed someday by super-powerful AI. :-)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-29680979644682198142018-04-30T21:01:13.072-04:002018-04-30T21:01:13.072-04:00Very true. See also: 1E PHB p. 8, "An Explana...Very true. See also: 1E PHB p. 8, "An Explanation of the Usages of the Term 'Level". Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-5794184767401669472018-04-30T20:05:54.518-04:002018-04-30T20:05:54.518-04:00I suspect that a major reason behind the dearth of...I suspect that a major reason behind the dearth of high-level characters is foolhardiness -- they fight to the death against overwhelming odds and, well, die.<br /><br />An actual PC would have some more options for survival, even beyond magic. Avoiding Monsters (U&WA p.12) is very generous.<br /><br />Consider the three biggest killers in Monster Level 6: the Purple Worm, Vampire, and Basilisk.<br />Purple Worms and Basilisks move at 6", and can be outrun by literally anyone who's willing to throw away their bags to survive. (And isn't surprised and immediately eaten/stoned, that is.)<br />Vampires move at 12/18 and thus are much more difficult to escape, but they're also intelligent so dropping a bag of loot has a 90% chance of slowing them down.<br /><br />Let's consider the case of The Strategic Review 1's Solo Dungeon Adventures, for a lack of better options. Monsters are either encountered as Wandering Monsters on the Periodic Checks (hallways only) or in rooms/chambers.<br />If they're a Wandering Monster, the player must have either come from a room (and thus through a door and 4-in-6 chance to evade), a passage (something along the lines of a 60% chance of there being a turn or door in the last 60'), or a chamber (and thus likely a turn or door beyond that).<br />If they're in a room, there's a door that they just came through and a 4-in-6 chance of avoiding the encounter entirely by just closing the door and leaving immediately.<br />If they're in a chamber, refer to the bit on passages above.<br /><br />In any case, you'll note that there's a good chance of being able to evade a monster if you're at least as fast as it is (even before taking into account dropping food/treasure). Faster monsters are much trickier, however.<br /><br />I do understand why this is not modelled, however: the presence of doors/stairs/turns is hard to determine, it's tricky to figure out what the optimal threshold for caution is, and the entire section on dropping treasure would require bringing in an entire inventory management simulation.<br />It would require making an actual dungeoncrawl-lite simulator rather than merely a combat simulator, and that's a lot of feature creep.Neveronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290575926119589773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-62716802149787905072018-04-30T15:30:13.044-04:002018-04-30T15:30:13.044-04:00Likely I'm misunderstanding some part of the m...Likely I'm misunderstanding some part of the metrics being used, but can "literally no one made it to name level" part of what could be considered a workable solution? Haven't you just raised the lethality bar two levels? That's an improvement, but it still seems to have a rather large flaw.Keith Hannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11340239903203020361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-44258666151849486472018-04-30T12:22:17.111-04:002018-04-30T12:22:17.111-04:00Can I just say that this was a series of posts I&#...Can I just say that this was a series of posts I've been excited to see you tackle for a while now? I can't wait to see the completed series! As a sometimes OD&D GM, I think these adjusted tables will make a valuable tool.<br /><br />Also, I think if PC parties are surviving to the higher levels, it suggests that either the other non-fighter classes add a significant power boost to any party, or at least that the extra diversity is important. That, or it confirms that avoiding combat is a must for anyone hoping to reach high levels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-55370687485722300322018-04-30T08:56:45.245-04:002018-04-30T08:56:45.245-04:00This is great, but all this use of the word level ...This is great, but all this use of the word level can get dizzying. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.htmlBaquieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357103428591599364noreply@blogger.com