Difficulty and Threat Levels (Alpha 0.3)

Difficulty Levels:

Within Quests of Change, monsters and NPCs can come in all shapes and sizes, ranging greatly the danger that they pose to adventuring parties. As a game master, knowing the strength of the monsters that players can encounter can significantly help to inform what' best suited for their party. 

In starting within Alpha 0.3, Quests of Change will be implementing a difficulty level system for all monsters present within the game. These difficulty levels will showcase the average strength a given monster is suited for and the manner in which that monster could be included in a campaign. It should be noted that some monsters feature more than one difficulty level. For example, a monster may simultaneously be classified as a Tier One Boss and a Tier Two or Tier Three Enemy. 

Featured below are the difficulty levels that monsters will appear with and the means in which said monsters are recommended to be implemented in a campaign. 

Please note that each of these recommended difficulty levels is accounting for a party of four party members, so GMs of parties featuring fewer or greater numbers of party members should be advised to scale difficulty accordingly with their party. 

Tier One Enemy: These monsters are intended to serve as minions or lesser foes within early stages of a campaign. Several of these monsters should serve as a balanced encounter for tier one parties (levels 1-5) without being too overwhelming. These monsters can still be used to serviceable effect for tier two parties (levels 6-10), but in greater numbers.

Tier One Boss: These monsters are intended to serve as single, threatening forces that can challenge tier one parties, potentially serving as primary antagonists for low-level play. While they may be threatening to tier-one parties, through the use of strategy, such parties should be able to defeat these foes.

Tier Two Enemy: These monsters are intended to serve as minions or lesser foes of intermediately leveled characters. Several of these monsters should serve as a balanced encounter for tier two parties (levels 6-10) without being too overwhelming. These monsters can still be used to serviceable effect for tier three parties (levels 11-15), but in greater numbers. While not the case for all monsters in this category, many of these monsters are simultaneously classified as tier one bosses.

Tier Two Boss: These monsters are intended to serve as single, threatening forces that can challenge tier two parties, potentially serving as primary antagonists for intermediate-level play. While they may be threatening to tier-two parties, through the use of strategy, such parties should be able to defeat these foes. For those looking for inevitable or potentially unavoidable transformations, these monsters can be used in tier-one play. 

Tier Three Enemy: These monsters are intended to serve as minions or lesser foes of high leveled characters. Several of these monsters should serve as a balanced encounter for three two parties (levels 11-15) without being too overwhelming. While not the case for all monsters in this category, many of these monsters are simultaneously classified as tier two bosses.

Tier Three boss: The most threatening monsters in Quests of Change, these monsters are designed to give tier three parties a run for their money, serving as major threats to even the most powerful characters players can create.

Threat Levels:

In order to help inform GMs and advise how specific monsters and items could be used to cater to the type of game one may wish to run, transformative and mind-altering effects will now be given threat levels. Threat levels dictate how much of a hinderance such an effect may have on a character, ranging from serving a little more than an aesthetic change, to a fundamental gameplay overhaul or an affect that may result in a character being taken out of commission. 

Monsters, Traps, and Magic Items with transformative and mind-altering effects will be tagged with one of the following threat levels below:

Mundane: This change is one entirely of flavor. This change may be an alteration to a character's appearance or mannerisms, but is does not have any influence on the mechanics of gameplay.

Inconvenient: This change affects gameplay in a manor that will likely require a player to take a different approach to a scenario. Includes affects that may slightly nerf a character through minor stat de-buffs, status effects, or changes made to a character's equipment or race.

Debilitating: This change significantly impacts a character's mechanics and their abilities in and out of combat. Most often comes in the form of cursed classes, personality traits, or effects such as Bimbofication that restrict or alter the  particular types of actions a character can make.

Disastrous: This effect completely takes a character out of commission, resulting in a character being unplayable for either a short or extended period of time. Examples of these affects include petrification, possession, or severe mind-altering affects.