DangerousPuhson
Should be playing D&D instead
Thunderhold has a 60-yard hex scale. I dug up my map from storage and it's all crumpled. At least City-State is mostly intact (cover fell off - mwah mwah).
Mechanics Cross-Pollination Thread
- Thread starter Beoric
- Start date
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
I don't agree with this at all. Even as a DM (maybe especially as a DM) I have an easier time making rational in-world decisions if I put on the persona of the character and react to the situation as if I was there.
I decided it is probably 40 feet. Large overland hexes are 5 miles, and those are scaled down in the smaller overland maps to 25 small hexes to 1 large 5 mile hex, or 1/5 of a mile. I assumed that the same ratio would apply when scaling down to village hexes, i.e. it would be 1/25th of a 1/5 mile hex, which works out to 42.25 feet which is close enough; using a 5,000 foot Roman mile it would be exactly 40 feet.
DangerousPuhson
Should be playing D&D instead
Go with whatever is most practical, I guess. I personally ascribe to using a scale that matches travel distances of players (average movement is a 30-mile day in 5e, so I make hexes a divisor of 30 (3, 5, 6, or 10 miles) - though I also prefer to use a divisor of 40 too in case the party moves faster, so 5-mile and 10-miles hexes are good for my purposes. They can cover 6 5-mile hexes in a day, or 8 hexes if they move at 40', and 3 hexes if speed is halved, etc. Nice and round and easy to remember.
squeen
8, 8, I forget what is for
Not talking about as a DM, but, whatever...
Good Lord, how bright and goodly shines the moon!
Let us not waste time considering things that do not insure we arrive at our preferred destination (i.e. exactly where we started).
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Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Normally I do something similar. I actually like my hex sizes to work well with existing movement rates, so if my 4e character in plate has a move of 6, I like him to be able to move 6 hexes in an "outdoor movement" turn - makes it easy to adjust for difficult terrain, armor types, encumbrance etc. because the same basic rules apply as at the tactical scale. If the hexes are too large for that to be practicable, I use some other tricks that probably aren't worth going into. Given an odd scale in a published map and I will usually adjust the length of the "turn".
The reason I care about the intended scale for the JG stuff instead of making up my own is there are buildings on the map. Getting the scale wrong could lead to some odd results at some point. However, I note that (if I did my math right) with a 40' hex and a character with a move of 6 (corresponding to 3 mph), a turn length of about 10 minutes translates to a movement rate of 6 hexes per turn.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Ok 5e players. I want to get whatever the current starter kit is for my youngest kid - whatever is the equivalent of the old box sets. I understand there was a "red box" a year or two ago, but now I'm just seeing a black bock called "D&D Essentials". Is that what I should be getting, or is there another product out there I should be looking at?
DangerousPuhson
Should be playing D&D instead
Right here, hombre - the 5e Starter Set
Contains abbreviated rulebooks (mostly a barebones paperback PHB/DMG and some character sheets), dice, and the Lost Mines of Phandelver.
Or you can run a game of 5e entirely using only a normal 5e PHB, which is also a good start.
Contains abbreviated rulebooks (mostly a barebones paperback PHB/DMG and some character sheets), dice, and the Lost Mines of Phandelver.
Or you can run a game of 5e entirely using only a normal 5e PHB, which is also a good start.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Hmm, the Essentials kit looks about the same but with a different module (Dragon of Icespire Peak) and a DM screen. I will see if I can find the other at my local store, since Phandelver is supposed to be better than Icespire Peak, but I won't look that hard.
DangerousPuhson
Should be playing D&D instead
I have the Starter Box (got it to run my parents through Phandelver) but in fairness I've never cracked open an Essentials Box, so admittedly I'm not sure what's in it. All I know is that the Starter Box did us good and served its purpose admirably. Plus it's cheap as dirt.
Johann
*eyeroll*
Noooooooooo! Get him a used copy of the LBBs on eBay! Doesn't even have to be signed by Gygax.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Great plan! Start him on a game that noone his own age will play with him. And so easy to decipher; no need to get him Chainmail, I'm sure he'll figure it out.Noooooooooo! Get him a used copy of the LBBs on eBay! Doesn't even have to be signed by Gygax.
Honestly, I did think seriously about Mentzer, but that would be like sending him to school sporting 80s fashion.
squeen
8, 8, I forget what is for
Old School Essentials is the trendy B/X these days. Nice packaging too.
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Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Trendy among middle-aged white guys. My kid is not one of those.
I found the 5e starter kit and went with that.
The1True
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
I've still got my dinged-up, taped-together Red Box. I'll be starting my kids on that for sure when the time comes. But if they show any real interest in the game, I'll definitely be buying them the starter box of the latest version. It's okay for us to cling to the past, but we need the kids to keep the game alive (with their hard-earned $$$).
DangerousPuhson
Should be playing D&D instead
KILL THE HERETIC!
CRUCIFY THE INCORRECT ONE!
NAIL HIM TO HIS BELOVED OSE BOX SET AND LEAVE HIM TO THE GULLS!
/joke
The1True
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
TerribleSorcery
Should be playing D&D instead
Finally someone around here starts talking sense!
Johann
*eyeroll*
I prefer beheadings. So much fun when the executioner has to reset the guillotine five times to decapitate your high-level fighter!
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Question for 3e/PF players. I'm converting Sunless Citadel to 4e and I want to check my assumptions in terms of how powerful monsters are in relation to characters.
I gather that a monster of CR n is supposed to be an easyish encounter for a group of four characters of level n.
I also gather that most of the standard humanoid NPCs (that's demihuman for the grogs) with PC levels have a CR equal to their character level.
It seems like an NPC of level n would be a very easy encounter for a group of four PCs of level n, but I have read comments to the effect that monsters built as characters are generally significantly weaker than monsters built as monsters. I am assuming that to be true, that is an NPC of CR n would be significantly weaker than a monster of CR n.
Given those assumptions, in converting to 4e I am converting NPCs of CR n to be equivalent to PCs of level n; ie. a group of 4 NPCs of CR n fighting a group of 4 PCs of level n would be a very risky fight, generally with 50/50 odds. I suspect this is not controversial.
I am also assuming that a monster of CR n is a fairly standard fight for a group of 4 PCs of level n; ie. probably not a cakewalk but not particularly risky. Basically I'm assuming that 3e solo monsters and 4e solo monsters represent about the same level of challenge to the party.
Given the math of 4e, a monster of CR n converted to 4e would be exactly twice as powerful as an NPC of CR n. I am wondering if that holds up on the 3e side of the equation. In a fight between NPCs and a monster, would a fight between two NPCs of CR n against one monster of CR n be an even fight? Or are monsters tougher or weaker in relation to NPCs than I am assuming?
I gather that a monster of CR n is supposed to be an easyish encounter for a group of four characters of level n.
I also gather that most of the standard humanoid NPCs (that's demihuman for the grogs) with PC levels have a CR equal to their character level.
It seems like an NPC of level n would be a very easy encounter for a group of four PCs of level n, but I have read comments to the effect that monsters built as characters are generally significantly weaker than monsters built as monsters. I am assuming that to be true, that is an NPC of CR n would be significantly weaker than a monster of CR n.
Given those assumptions, in converting to 4e I am converting NPCs of CR n to be equivalent to PCs of level n; ie. a group of 4 NPCs of CR n fighting a group of 4 PCs of level n would be a very risky fight, generally with 50/50 odds. I suspect this is not controversial.
I am also assuming that a monster of CR n is a fairly standard fight for a group of 4 PCs of level n; ie. probably not a cakewalk but not particularly risky. Basically I'm assuming that 3e solo monsters and 4e solo monsters represent about the same level of challenge to the party.
Given the math of 4e, a monster of CR n converted to 4e would be exactly twice as powerful as an NPC of CR n. I am wondering if that holds up on the 3e side of the equation. In a fight between NPCs and a monster, would a fight between two NPCs of CR n against one monster of CR n be an even fight? Or are monsters tougher or weaker in relation to NPCs than I am assuming?