Groups

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Groups
« on: May 07, 2011, 08:40:52 PM »
I'm having a little trouble with groups.  Like, a single fighter, 3rd level maybe, with a good damage roll, can eradicate an entire goblin warband in one roll.

I don't know if that feels right.

You've probably alread thought of this, but maybe a group of monsters ought to have HPs equal to a multiple of the group size.  Like: (vs a lone PC)

One (or two?) Goblin: Level 2, 5 HP, 1 Armor, 4 damage
A Crowd of Goblins: Level 2, 10 HP, 2 Armor, 6 damage
A Gang of Goblins: Level 2, 15 HP, 3 Armor, 8 damage
A Warband of Goblins: Level 2, 20 HP, 4 Armor, 10 damage

And then you do things like you do, but 5 damage drops it to a gang and then 5 more makes it a crowd and then 5 more leaves you with one or two.

Also, a "group" of one?  That confuses me.

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agony

  • 65
Re: Groups
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2011, 10:53:13 PM »
Yeah, I would ignore morale entirely for now and just use it as a GM tool to end the encounter early if things are becoming boring.

It is my understanding that a group does have the total hit points of the entirety of its members though.

Also, I think group damage is a bit soft and should be upped.

Re: Groups
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2011, 04:55:05 PM »
Ok, here's one.  Are there ever PC groups?  Like, groups of monsters I can understand, but they're always going to be going up against one (one or two?) PCs.

Or are my Fighter and three Warriors a "crowd"?

Or maybe it's just for those corner cases, like when the Bard leads the peasant revolt?

Eh?

Re: Groups
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2011, 05:09:53 PM »
i would say no, PCs cannot be groups.

and as far as the damage goes. one of the ways it was described in our group (if it was meant this way or not i dont know) is that a group is used to make an individual monster stronger. instead of having 3 goblins you could have 3 crowds of goblins to make the encounter harder. or a single goblin, a crowd of goblins and a warparty of goblins.

Re: Groups
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2011, 05:16:40 PM »
True, and maybe it's just a holdover from AW, but if you don't have PC (controlled?) groups, then the "difference in group size" rule is effectively meaningless and it should just say "Crowd: +1 Armor, +lvl damage > Gang: +2 Armor; +lvlx2 damage > Warband: +3 Armor, +lvlx3 damage".

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agony

  • 65
Re: Groups
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2011, 05:46:26 PM »
Yeah, you're right.  Groups are very odd as is and I'm not sure how they're supposed to fit in with combat.

Maybe give the PCs the option to fight as a group?  The leader/best fighter rolls and gets the added group benefits.  Very boring for the rest of the group though.

Re: Groups
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2011, 09:34:44 AM »
i would think that a group of NPCs on the PCs side would be okay, just not an actual group of PCs. also, the fighter gets an ability that makes them take damage like a crowd. so it kind of matters for that (at least for groups doing damage...)