Re: Balancing encounters?

Rupert Boleyn wrote:

> 
> My experience with GURPS and D&D3 is that it's no easier to run away
> ones you're losing in GURPS than in D&D, assuming similar sorts of
> opposition.

Once PCs hit the mid levels, there are plenty of spells available
to get the whole party out of trouble within a round. My group used
such spells a lot when they got in over their heads (though casting
Solid Fog (obscure vision, cut movement to 10%) on themselves whilst
surrounded by giants wasn't the best thing they ever did).

Haven't played GURPS Fantasy so don't know if there are similar
types of spells available (the one which changes the whole party
into birds was particularly useful).

Apart from a few monsters, CRs were pretty accurate for the most
part, and it was quite easy to balance encounters. At high levels
though, there are too many mega-death spells which can wipe out
the entire party in a single round (1000pts of damage, no save)
regardless of CR.

The most useful bit about D&D, as far as party running away goes,
was the availability of resurrection magic. It didn't matter if
PCs died - as long as one survived who could raise the others.

> There are plenty of things the PCs can run into in D&D
> that they can outrun (heavy human or orcish infantry for one), just as
> there is in GURPS. I suspect the main reason running away works better
> in GURPS is more the common choice of opposition than the relative
> merits of the systems.

When I ran GURPS, it seemed to be easier to go from healthy to
dead in a single round than it is in D&D at mid-levels, at least
with high tech weapons.

Actually, thinking about it, I always made it easy to run away
in D&D. Most creatures were happy to see the back of PCs, and
would rather stay in their home and tend their wounded than
immediately give chase to the 'murderers', and risk their own
death. Of course, after the PCs had come back two or three times,
and were seen to ignore surrender attempts, and slaughter
'innocents', all bets were off, and that was generally when PCs
died, because the 'monsters' knew they were fighting to the death
and had nothing to loose.

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