So what sort of challenges and encounters do we want to see in future APs?
I'd like to see more "talky" challenges where the PCs need to roleplay/talk their way through the obstacle. Yes I know not every group is going to have a diplomacy/bluff/high charisma PC, but you could provide the opportunity for PCs to acquire information for bonuses in the lead up to help with the challenge.
Must admit that I really enjoyed the riot in Shackled City challenge even though I had no skills to really influence the group's success. Something like that would be good too.
Defend an area, say a fort/stronghold/walled village, from a raiding party. I'd like to see one where the PCs have some time to build up defenses and prepare the area to hold back waves of enemies. I know its hard to do as it could be an XP mega boost or a wash as why would PCs hold up when they can just cut the enemy down with ease. But yeah I'd like to see some sort of defend and hold encounter/challenge.
I would have said chase scene, but with the Chase cards I think thats one any GM can slot in now.
But what about the rest of you? What do you wanna see?
A Dragon as the BBEG. Thats all i can think of right now.
Encounters which combine multiple styles of interaction
Ranged Combat + trap/lock removal
Persuasion + hazardous terrain
Melee combat, hazardous terrain + chase.
Etc
Werecorpse are you thinking along the lines of some sort of disarming a bomb with the rest of the party trying to hold off the enemy? I guess the Pathfinder equivalent might be shutting down a portal as enemies are coming through.
Oh yeah I think some good puzzles would be great.
Any other ideas or thoughts out there?
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I liked the idea of holding a line against waves of unknown attackers, but not from behind the walls of a fortress... more like the street attack in Brindol of Red Hand of Doom.
Additionally, that whole running around making a difference thing had a cool dynamic to it (I've seen similar things in the upper level AP mods, but having it all happen continuously with no rest looks interesting).
Werecorpse are you thinking along the lines of some sort of disarming a bomb with the rest of the party trying to hold off the enemy? I guess the Pathfinder equivalent might be shutting down a portal as enemies are coming through.
Oh yeah I think some good puzzles would be great.
Any other ideas or thoughts out there?
exactly,
ie defending an entrance from invading almost limitless morlocks(melee/crowd control), while picking a lock or deciphering a clue (extended complex multi-skill challenge),to access a mguffin/clue needed to stop morlocks summoning a beast from the far realms (later encounter), and at the same time convincing the underground fey guardian spirit to tell you how to access the "escape chute" (talky/persuasion or maybe skill check perception then disable gnomey traps) so you can make a break for it once you have succeeded.
kind of indiana jonesesque. His fights were generally not just to beat the bad guy and loot his body-- ie defeat thug and get plane started before nazis arrive (combat + skill check + time limit)
IMO having classes that are good at non combat skills they (along with everyone else) should feel that their contribution to critical encounters is important--so give lots of things that need to be done to make alternate skills shine.
Edit: Not just have it that "this encounter is a combat encounter so go get the drinks mr persuasion bard, i will go pick up the pizza when we talk to the fey guardian because i have no diplomacy etc skills". taking it in turns to shine is OK but having everyone have a chance to shine in a scene is better IMO.
if a group doesnt have the right people you need to have alternatives (ie 2 stage hard pick lock, or knowledge arcane,history,divine makes it one stage and at lower dc, or maybe persuasion could get guardian to give a clue etc as last resort int check takes longer (thus making the fight more dangerous) but can get it done anyway) just like you do in combat.
I think with the current skills system and traits there is no reason why all characters can't have a decent enough bonus to at least one Charisma skill to contribute to "talky" encounters with a bit of roleplay. But yeah it would be good to see the skill based characters have a key role in the success of a combat and those sort of ideas are a way to do it. I really like the ideas there and will probably try to work a variation of it into Serpent Skull's book 3. Plus it mixes things up from just see BBEG and then go all out assault on him/her.
I think the battlefield should become more of a factor for major encounters too. Some sort of element to it that the villains or PCs can interact with to change the momentum of the battle. For example:
* A creature with a frost breath could fight in an area with water that it can freeze making things slippery or potentially trap the PCs in place for a round or two.
* A major fire starting at one end of the battlefield moving forward forcing the two sides to move down the passageway.
* Knock down a key support beam/pole/column to send rubble tumbling down potentially damaging creatures/PCs in the area as well as serving as obstacles and breaking up the combatants.
More roleplaying encounters. More recurrent NPC's. More recurrent memorable NPC's, who can and will appear in other AP's, so to foster a sense of connection in the world.