{"id":177,"date":"2015-12-06T11:57:36","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T11:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=177"},"modified":"2015-12-07T11:04:41","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T11:04:41","slug":"an-opportunity-for-improvement-for-the-next-iteration-of-delvingdeeper-is-in-the-number-of-monsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=177","title":{"rendered":"The Number of Monsters"},"content":{"rendered":"

An opportunity for improvement<\/em> for the next iteration of #DelvingDeeper<\/a> is in the number of monsters appearing. #DelvingDeeper<\/a> V4 assumes around 8 players, whereas recent polls show that 4-6 players is now the norm.<\/p>\n

According to the original game, a group of 4-6 players can expect to run into 2-12 bandits, goblins, orcs (or similar) on the 1st dungeon level. Or 3-18 on the 2nd dungeon level. And so on. Those are some tough numbers for a group of six players–let alone a group of four.<\/p>\n

A magic-user may be able to nuke a few groups, but eventually it will come down to fight club with\u00a0the players outnumbered.\u00a0This is where player strategy is paramount. Retreating to choke points, use of missiles, spears, and plate armor really counts.<\/p>\n

This is also is where morale<\/b> is the players’ supreme advantage.<\/p>\n

#DelvingDeeper<\/a> V4 recommends non-player morale should be checked at one-third numerical losses across the board.<\/p>\n

This means a dozen bandits might be defeated by the loss of just four men<\/i>. Well now… this is beginning to look more plausible for our group of 4-6 players.<\/p>\n

Assuming a morale check is called, the bandits (or orcs or whatever) would require a throw of 9+ on 2d6 (28% likely) to carry the fighting to the players. On a roll of 6-8 they would hold their ground; presumably only attacking if attacked. On a roll under 6 they would retreat, flee, or surrender. Now it’s starting to seem almost too easy!<\/i><\/p>\n

But it won’t be. The dice will\u00a0be fickle, and opponents such as berserkers–who need never check morale–are all the more dangerous. Beware of these!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An opportunity for improvement for the next iteration of #DelvingDeeper is in the number of monsters appearing. #DelvingDeeper V4 assumes around 8 players, whereas recent polls show that 4-6 players is now the norm. According to the original game, a group of 4-6 players can expect to run into 2-12 bandits, goblins, orcs (or similar)… Continue reading The Number of Monsters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,19,20,21],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6hrAz-2R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":239,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=239","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":0},"title":"Delving Deeper V3","date":"March 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Story So Far: Delving Deeper V1+V2 Delving Deeper Boxed Set And then there was... Version Three The Prelude to V3 V3 was preceded by John Adam's pivotal decision on 17th March, 2013 (shortly after the release of V2) to publicly hand over stewardship of the Delving Deeper name and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Compedium\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.immersiveink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/V3_Booklets1-300x210.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":146,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=146","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":1},"title":"Planning What’s in the Hardback","date":"June 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Planning What's in the Hardback With the #DelvingDeeper hardback in the pipe at last, I've had to re-think where the line should lie between Reliquary and the Ref Rules. It isn't easy. Going waaay back the plan was the Ref Rules were to be a minimal, no-frills framework; Reliquary (and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Delving Deeper\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":163,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=163","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":2},"title":"Delving Deeper V1 + V2","date":"November 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Version One #DelvingDeeper first appeared in October 2012, some 10 months after I joined the team, as three digest-sized booklets comprising the so-called #DelvingDeeperReferenceRules. These were immediately available as PDFs at no cost--and\u00a0still are today. The #DelvingDeeperReferenceRules V1 comprise: Volume I: The Adventurer's Handbook Volume II: The Referee's Guide Volume\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Delving Deeper\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.immersiveink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/V1-Booklets-300x213.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":156,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=156","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":3},"title":"Here’s a Thing","date":"November 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(That's never likely to be seen beyond this post). \u00a0 So what the frig is Eyre Tor??\u00a0Or more appropriately, what was it? Way back--before I'd ever heard of the #DelvingDeeper project--I apparently had a bit of time on my hands. Around 2007-2008, I was running a D&D campaign that included\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Delving Deeper\"","img":{"alt_text":"Two Copies of Eyre Tor","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/i561.photobucket.com\/albums\/ss56\/waysoftheearth\/Blog\/Eyre%20Tor%206.1%20Cover%202010_zpszm24iqz8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":196,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=196","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":4},"title":"Tarrent and Nogrod","date":"January 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A dungeon level to break in the New Year Welcome to 2016, and welcome to this first level\u00a0dungeon. This was put together with\u00a0Original Dungeons & Dragons in mind, but should work seamlessly with any of its modern simulacra including of course #DelvingDeeper. Enjoy! The Map This dungeon level map is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"DelvingDeeper\"","img":{"alt_text":"Tarrent and Nogrod map Jan 2016","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.immersiveink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Tarrent-and-Nogrod-map-Jan-2016-798x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":150,"url":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/?p=150","url_meta":{"origin":177,"position":5},"title":"Early Hint of V5 Cleric","date":"July 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Because #DelvingDeeperReliquary will be the first time I'll need to ask \"real\" money for #DelvingDeeper (true, the Lulu softcover was a \"real\" $4.95, at\/just below cost price), I want it to genuinely be a step up from where DD is at today. There are dozens of retro-clones out there, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Cleric\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immersiveink.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}