Archived from groups: alt.games.whitewolf (
More info?)
Stephenls wrote:
> Jasin Zujovic wrote:
>
>> Does Exalted include any guidlines on what kind of NPCs or what
>> adventures or challanges to use against PCs of a given experience
>> level (like in D&D, where you want to put an Xth-level party against
>> CR ~X encounters)?
>
> Exalted generally doesn't work that way -- you'll have to manage by
> eyeballing, sorta like RPGs in general before D&D3e's CR system.
>
> Remember that unlike in D&D, where BAB increases as a function of level
> and so more powerful characters will always be combat-capable even if
> they're not focused, it's entirely possible to have an Exalt with 400
> XP, none of it spent on combat Charms. You can't judge a character's
> power level based on how much XP they have.
It is good that I read the rest of the thread before hitting "send" on
my own reply, since I wrote essentially the same thing.
>> I've leafed through the Time of Tumult adventure(s) and didn't notice
>> any mention of the expected PC power level. That can't be right, can
>> it? If starting PC can finish it, doesn't that mean that experienced
>> PCs will wipe the floor with the enemies? If experienced PCs will have
>> fun, doesn't that mean that starting PCs have no hope against the
>> antagonists?
Nota bene: The Invisible Fortress adventure in /ToT/ is a very deadly
adventure indeed. A group of starting Solars could probably manage it,
but I would suggest you not unleash it on your players until they have
buffed up a little. If you don't pull any punches, it's still a good
challenge for middling Solars or veteran Terrestrials.
> Nah. Starting PCs will have more difficulty, and 100+ XP PCs will have
> it easier, but that doesn't necessarily make it more or less fun for
> either of them. If you feel like your PCs will power through the
> opponents provided, you can always up the numbers a bit.
>
>> How does a (newbie) Storyteller quickly gauge whether a potential
>> enemy will come out a wimp, just right, or overwhelming when put up
>> against the PCs?
>
> Wing it.
A note on winging it: There are plenty of ways to adjust the difficulty
of a combat without actually fudging the rolls. (And these are more
dramatic, too.)
Not all opponents are mindless fight-to-the-death types. Extras are
generally ordinary mooks and have no desire to part with their lives; if
the PCs quickly kill or disable several of them, the rest may rout.
(Fighting the Anathema is SCARY.) An Exalted enemy might be more pleased
to simply demonstrate his obvious superiority (like perhaps cutting a
distinctive scar into the face of one of the PCs) than to kill them all.
After all, dead opponents don't tell fearful tales of your battle
prowess. Other honor-minded foes might offer to spare the PCs in
exchange for a service or two (story hook!) and pragmatic enemies can
sometimes be bought off.
Also bear in mind that characters in the game cannot actually see the
stats on paper or hear the dice roll. If a PC gets off a lucky shot that
significantly wounds an NPC (especially in the first few rounds of
battle) the NPC may stop to reconsider whether the PC is more powerful
than he originally thought-- he may suggest a parley, begin fighting
more defensively, or withdraw and prepare to attack later with better
preparation or reinforcements.
--
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"Mmm! Power lines and paint chips! My childhood ROCKS!" -- Fighter,
8-bit Theatre
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