Roleplaying Systems

[Polyedit2000]

Section 7: Difficulty

In Dungeons and Dragons, enemies possess a Challenge Rating that is their version of Levels; ideally a CR of 1 is balanced for a party of 4.  However, a CR1 group of goblins is easier than a CR1 dragon.

Anyway, difficulty is not just for a long adventure.  These are obstacles that a player needs to face, and just because they gain more power and tools doesn't mean that things will become easier for them.

I just played a platformer called Cave Crawler which demonstrates two ways to increase the difficulty of the game:

Mechanics:  The tutorial introduce lava and spike balls.  From each level on, the game introduces a new enemy or obstacle, starting with a regular crab, a falling stalagmite and a pop-up hand to name a few.

Skill:  Spike balls only stay in place but deal one damage when touched and Lava instantly kills the player, but the tutorial introduces them as avoidable obstacles.  In later levels, there are more lava pits, spike balls hang lower on a ceiling, and platforms become smaller.

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Let me covert the two tests above into DnD terms.

Skills are a part of DnD gameplay in the form of d20 checks.  As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of a check comes in scales of 5 up to 30; each 5 represents a difficulty to beat with 30 being "Godly".  For example, a normal house door might be a 10, but a manor with a heavier gaudy door with a better lock might be a 15, and a king's vault is going to be a 20.  Sometimes, when the difficulty goes up, so does the consequences; a goblin might have a swinging log trap but a cultist can afford a swinging blade trap which can deal more damage from its sharpness and weight.

As for mechanics, there are many ways to introduce more difficulty.  For example, you might fight with goblin scouts that come with clubs and bows, but when you reach their lairs, not only will they add more enemy times like mages and wolf riders, but you also will encounter traps too.  In fact, their tunnel system is also a mechanic as you'll have to adapt from fighting in an open space previously.

At times, there may be two spikes in difficulty.  The first spike are bosses; in Cave Crawler, there is only one boss, but nol only does he have the aiming mechanic of the ceiling turret, but he is the only boss that jumps around.  In an RPG Maker comic, bosses tend to be a review of the mechanics you face, generally a mix of the enemies you have fought; you can think of the boss as a final exam.

The second spike can come in optional content.  In most rougelikes like Slay the Spire, some encounters will be marked differently because they will be stronger than normal enemies.  However, fighting these special encounters can reward the player with special rewards.

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Of course, there are some items that may or may not increase difficulty depending on how it is used.

For example, riddles and puzzles may look like they can become more difficult, but because we are playing on a forum, people might be able to look up the solution despite playing a dumb character.  In-game, some riddles can negate this outside knowledge based on the Intelligence stat which covers in-game history and knowledge.  Still, this should not discourage you from making your players thinks.

Another difficulty would be frequency and fortitude.  For example, your party defeats 4 goblins, then they would defeat 6 goblins the next time and end up fighting 20 goblins at a time; despite the goblins being the same level, it will take time to remove all the goblins.  One way that GMs would counter having to play 20 goblins is to treat the goblins as one unit, giving them some extra actions and a bit of HP, yet weakening them (removing some goblins and actions) when they are damaged.  The fortitude is the opposite with one enemy gaining more HP and some stats and attacks if faced later; this is basically raising the Challenge Rating of an enemy.

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Also, what stops a player from simply reattempting a challenge until they get it right? That depends on several factors:

Recovery - In a jumping challenge, failing once means you fall down.
Limited/Breakage - In a picklock challenge, it is possible that the tool may break, and you can't continue unless you have another picklock.
Alert - In a picklock challenge, a guard may arrive if you take too long to get through the door.

And there are several ways to define failing a challenge:

Bad Luck - You can try and try again.
Definition - Even if you're strong on paper, failing to push a rock defines your strength.
Observation - It's not your eventual ability that matters, it how many times the crowd can tolerate you.