DnD and the Scenario Blues

DnD has a problem. It is supposed to be a game defined by the infinite possibilities. But it has become way too bogged down in being a miniature skirmish game. Way too often, the game boils down to a combat scenario, and worse yet, the most basic kind! You kill them before they kill you.

I have decided to start a series of posts called the DnD Scenario Blues. (DnD:SB.) In each post, I will explore another scenario that could be used in place of a standard bash n’ smash. I encourage people to use these, (even though I know only 2 people in the whole world read this blog.) Some will involve combat, some will not, some will be skill challenges, some will not.

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For my first offering. I give you, the breakthrough. There really is nothing revolutionary about this, but it’s the beginning for me, and so it is the beginning for this series. It started when I had my players face a different kind of challenge. They had to get through a horde of bad-guys to reach a point on the map. Really, it’s that simple. But it has revolutionized my game, and I knew it immediately.

The party was trying to find this oracle, who ran off without her wards for unknown purposes. They had to track her down through various means, but when they at last arrived, they saw hundreds of snake-like creatures attacking a huge warding sphere that was shielding the oracle. When I described the scene, it took a while for me to convince my players that I really meant what I said, "hundreds." I’ve thrown hordes at them, and with minions, and the all the new ways you can move in 4e, they have stopped quaking in their boots at the sight of all those glass beads. But 'hundreds' is a scale they had never imagined they would have to face. They were confused, trying to reason out how they could kill hundreds of monsters. And then one of them got it. "Look, guys, all we have to do is get to the sphere, she will let us in.*"

I saw the wave of revelation dawn over the players, and most of them started grinning and leaning forward, trying to get an idea of how to get through. They were engaged in a way I had only ever been able to achieve once or twice before. In short, it was awesome.

So, the breakthrough definitely fits in any DM's repertoire; but, what are the key points to making a good breakthrough scenario?

First and foremost, there has to be a lot of pressure. And I mean a lot, in most combat encounters; you end up with a 'fair' fight. Meaning it is, on it merits, 'beatable,' the breakthrough has to be a suicide mission if they stay and fight. Not because you are in any danger of players staying and fighting, but because you have to make each movement painful. The flip-side is that it cannot be impossible. Characters cannot pass through spaces that monsters occupy. Knowing this, it would be easy for the monsters to win, by positioning themselves into walls of monsters that would have to be defeated. This does, sometimes, present you a logic problem. If the monsters are smart enough, they would 'use the rules' and block players. There has to be some reason why they are less densely packed.

The second key point is summed up in one word. Minions, minions, minions. (Fine, one word, three times.) Monsters have to be able to be killed easily without entangling the characters for more than a round. Players will not risk attacks of opportunity at the beginning, and strategically, this makes sense; you’re not going to simply run the gauntlet, you would be cut down before you get there. But if the monsters are not minions, it turns into yet another slog fest.

The last key point is supply. Because monsters cannot bunch up too densely, and because they should be minions, you are going to find out that players are easily able to clear out large amounts of monsters, nullifying the difficulty if there is not a large (and I honestly recommend infinite,) supply of reinforcements. Working out how this work obviously depends on the encounter itself.

If you have used the breakthrough before, or have some really savvy players, you may want to throw some complications in there. The vast majority of monsters should be minions, but a few regular monsters, especially soldier-type monsters, make the encounter much more troublesome. Also, make use of the terrain, don’t be afraid to force the characters to deviate from a straight line. We have a house rule where we place pennies where monsters have died, one penny is difficult terrain, two is 'double-difficult' (taking 3 squares of movement to enter,) and three is impassible. This makes even the bodies of minions an impediment. Perhaps the most devious, add a time-limit, perhaps a door is closing or it takes time to open. Or, you could require the players to escort fragile NPCs through. (But remember, nothing should ever turn into something that is impossible, if the door closes, there should be a way to force it open again.)

In my game, the chose to move as a unit. So, I had them all roll initiative, and had them all move at the highest point (they had plenty of time to prepare before charging in, so it didn’t seem fair (or make sense,) to make them all go on the lowest initiative.) They were able to bust through about half the length of the field, but then they got hung up, because I had some non-minion monsters in there. But, they adapted well, eventually they broke off, and moved individually, but the fighter and paladin went first, to soak up the attacks of opportunity. Eventually, they broke through, and got their rewards.

The breakthrough is an excellent scenario for you to explore, but there are some concerns. First, expect to be rolling a lot of monster attacks, thankfully, the widespread use of minions mitigate that by having set damage. Also, a good breakthrough should probably take the place of a boss encounter, because the characters will be forced to expend a lot of healing surges and encounter and daily powers. The last concern is the reward. Experience should not be awarded for monsters slain, because the point of the scenario has nothing to do with killing, likewise, awarding experience for the number of monsters present would yield far too much. My suggestion is to award the same experience you would award for the most difficult encounter the group is capable of undertaking.

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The short version; breakthrough encounters are when the characters are required to get from point A to point B, and there are massive amounts of monsters in the way. In order for those monsters to provide the challenge, follow the guidelines below.

• Don’t skimp, the monsters should be able to tear the PCs apart if they stop.
• Use minions.
• Have many (infinite) reinforcements for the monsters.
• Make use of complications.



• A few regular monsters.
• Varied Terrain (bodies make difficult terrain.)
• Add a time limit, or maybe even a squishy to escort.

Have fun!

(* I have taken several liberties in explaining this story here, the real game was a little more complicated.)