Questions tagged [encounter-design]

For questions about designing challenging and engaging situations in which player characters come into contact (and often conflict with) NPCs, monsters, or other potential opponents.

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6 votes
2 answers
364 views

Balancing a combat around the surprised condition

I'm a new DM trying to put encounters together. My players are often either surprised by monsters (eg: mimics) or surprise the monsters (because they stealth into the lair) and I've noticed surpise ...
18 votes
4 answers
5k views

How can I quickly adjust encounters for variable party sizes?

Problem I'm running a campaign with 6 players, but they can't always show up1. That, by itself, would not be a problem, if I knew how many would come with enough time to prepare for it. The thing is: ...
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is this Library-encounter balanced?

I'm about to run a Wizard tower. I really wanted to run a Living Spellbook from Redditor /u/StoneStrix but had to scale it down. Since low-level spellcasters are kind of hard to find, I thought an ...
4 votes
4 answers
9k views

Is a young black dragon enough of a challenge alone for group of five level-5 characters?

I have a 5-member party in D&D 5e (ranger, fighter, sorcerer, rogue and bard) who are all level 5. They will soon be meeting with the "big bad", a young black dragon, in his lair which contains ...
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

What level should a party of 10 be in order to defeat a lich?

I'm running a homebrew campaign for a party of 10 players in DnD 5e (bard, druid, rogue x2, paladin x3, warlock, monk, cleric). I'm planning for a lich to be one of the major encounters before they ...
4 votes
2 answers
37k views

What level should my players be when they face mind flayers?

I'm running an adventure for 3 level 2 (at this time) players. They've come to a town that is overtaxed and starving, and the government hasn't made a move. It turns out that most of the leaders are ...
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to design a level 1 encounter with 7 level 1 characters

Me and my friends decided to play some D&D 5th edition. The issue is, though I am a long term DM I am only well-versed in the rules for 3.5e and Pathfinder 1st, same as Open Legend but it uses a ...
13 votes
4 answers
3k views

In Princes of the Apocalypse, is this monster “supposed to” kill a player character?

In Princes of the Apocalypse Ch. 6, has plenty of time and warning to prepare for his encounter with the party, along with the spells to do so: He is also in possession of a powerful magic item, ...
12 votes
6 answers
2k views

How can I make a single level 20 Warlock/Paladin a climactic challenge for a party of 4 level 12 PCs?

So, I know this question seems silly on face because of the level disparity (and I'd even be willing to adjust the character level down if necessary) but what I'm most concerned about are action ...
7 votes
6 answers
1k views

How can I justify not giving my villain the Wish spell?

Basically, I have a wizard as a villain who is ambitious, powerful, and has access to nearly unlimited resources. How can I justify giving him any ninth-level spell but not giving him Wish? Or, ...
25 votes
15 answers
4k views

What magic items would best make a (corrupt) city guard competitive with Paragon tier heroes?

The Problem Assuming that the guards in and of themselves are not worthy of being Paragon-tier, what magic items would best justify giving them Paragon-tier stats, narratively? I want to convey the ...
12 votes
3 answers
85k views

What is the CR/XP-Character Level relationship for opponents?

I can't seem to find information in the Monster Manual for how to design an opponent with class levels of an appropriate challenge for my 7th-level party. Perhaps this appears in the DMG? I want to ...
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

What is the damage output of an average level 20 character in dnd 5e? [closed]

I would like to know how much an average level 20 character is capable of doing per turn and per ten turns, and how much a level 20 party is capable of doing per turn and per ten turns. I intend on ...
-1 votes
2 answers
233 views

How to fix Orm Shieldbreaker's build? [closed]

Spoilers for Giantslayer book 5: if you suspect you're one of my players, don't read further! Preamble ramble Anvil of Fire, the fifth installment of the Giantslayer original Adventure Path for ...
9 votes
5 answers
4k views

How do I make an interesting escape from a fire?

So, the last session I tried to make an encounter where my players had to escape from a burning house. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a boring bunch of pass-or-suck checks. How can I make this ...
5 votes
1 answer
111 views

How should the encounter level calculated for creatures with Summon abilities?

When I write a campaign, I see most people will give an EL for every encounter they write. Basically, it would be equal to the encountered creature if that's an encounter with just one creature. And ...
7 votes
1 answer
879 views

How should I adjust CR if the monsters I introduce are fighting each other?

I'm planning a long one-shot, the setting of which is a large island with half of it sectioned off in an area where massive wild beasts roam and battle each other, through which the party must trek. ...
27 votes
2 answers
45k views

Why are all of the encounters in the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign Hard or Deadly?

Even with 5 players assumed, the adventure seems quite brutal. Could someone please explain why the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign has so many deadly encounters? Some examples: The very first ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to set up a Castle Siege? [closed]

I am running a war, for my players. They have won a battle pushing their opponent back into a citadel within the cliffs. I am looking for stories, suggestions, or more importantly rules on how to ...
2 votes
2 answers
568 views

What CR should my party of 9 be facing at level 16? [closed]

My party grew from four players to nine who are all level 16. I have taken over the campaign from the previous DM and need some pointers. I love all my player's dedication but they blew through an ...
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

At what level for a 4/5-player party would a CR 2-3 monster be considered a "miniboss"?

I'm working on a dungeon and I want to have a solo encounter with a single basilisk in the hallway. It isn't the last monster in the dungeon; that I'm going with a surprise, however it shouldn't be a ...
8 votes
6 answers
1k views

Looking for a DM solution to a Squishy group

I've been playing tabletop RPGs for a while off and on, only a little as a DM, but I get the basics of it. I've convinced some of my immediate and extended family (most of whom are NOT gamers, let ...
8 votes
3 answers
463 views

How to justify time-sensitive encounters without it seeming convenient?

I'm running an encounter in Cyberpunk Red where the baddies are chainsawing a hole into an immobilized car to kill the driver, and our heroes have to rush in before the bad guys finish drilling! How ...
3 votes
1 answer
203 views

What could attract the attention of hostile creatures? [closed]

So in my game of D&D 4e, the PCs are going to travel through the woods and the swamps, and an idea I have for this section, is that there's a type of creature in there that is more agressive than ...
3 votes
0 answers
752 views

How do I deal with an Umbral Sight Ranger's enormous advantages in Curse of Strahd? [closed]

I'm playing the module Curse of Strahd. The Tabaxi Ranger with the Umbral Sight ability causes a lot of problems. Fights take place in dark rooms or at night. Almost all undead have darkvision, but ...
25 votes
5 answers
13k views

Is the first encounter of the starter set really "deadly"?

Reading the DMG I'm confused by the encounter difficulty chart. It seems straight forward, but upon really testing it I've found that according to the chart, the very first encounter in Lost Mines of ...
15 votes
3 answers
3k views

How can I avoid accidentally deadly encounters from monsters that are more deadly than their challenge rating suggests?

Monster Deadliness: In the DMG (p.82) there is guidance about the calculating encounter deadliness. This is entirely based on the XP of the monsters encountered, and each challenge rating (CR) has a ...
2 votes
2 answers
184 views

How to properly boost monster damage?

So here's the situation: In D&D 4e, I have began to reduce monster's HP by a lot (at least by half or even more than that). The reason for this, is that I realized the combat encounters can take ...
6 votes
2 answers
685 views

How do I adjust combat encounters for a solo PC?

I am having one of my friends, who wanted to join, play solo so that I can get him to join the group. However, I am having trouble adjusting combat. He is an alchemist sorcerer. How can I create an ...
54 votes
6 answers
8k views

How can I make my enemies feel real and make combat more engaging?

As a newer DM, I have trouble making some of the more routine combats feel unique or urgent. I believe this is because the enemies my PCs are fighting tend to act like an AI, or just attack until they ...
39 votes
9 answers
10k views

What do I do with a party that is much stronger than their level?

We're playing D&D 5E. The party consists of 5 players, all currently level 11 (however, I've noticed this problem since they were level 8). I've been using the Goblinist random encounter ...
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

How can I design fun combat encounters for a party traveling down a river on a raft?

So in my adventure, it is possible that my players will travel down a river, on a raft. The river itself is haunted and they will come across enemies. I already have ideas for some specific enemies ...
41 votes
11 answers
26k views

Way to prevent teleportation

My party (average level 10) just had a pre-boss fight. That was an opportunity for me to make them spend some of their resources, because they thought that was actually the big bad boss fight. So we ...
2 votes
0 answers
140 views

What spells or abilities would a 17th level cleric use against a horde of demons? [closed]

I don't know much about clerics in 5e. I've got a very powerful cleric and a bunch of soldiers (some decorative, some battle hardened) defending an underground temple from a horde of demons. I'd ...
2 votes
2 answers
803 views

How to handle a party's bad choices? [closed]

Not too long ago I started a campaign in Pathfinder 2e, and at a certain point I hinted at an enemy group's location and (superior) strength, while telling the party to go somewhere else and complete ...
25 votes
9 answers
6k views

I want the most fun for my players but they got angry second session because of combat. Any tips?

So I am a new to D&D but I have researched hours upon hours about it, to the point I know more than probably all my players. They are 7 for now (third level bard, forge cleric, ranger, arcane ...
0 votes
2 answers
487 views

Any tips for running more action based and less tactical encounters? [closed]

I've been using "tactical minis" games for all my games as of now, specifically Savage Worlds and 4E which has been my bread and butter. Just recently we picked up D&D Next Playtest (Oct 2013) to ...
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Would Swimming be a Dex or Str Saving Throw?

I'm making a small challenge for my party on the way to a Dwarven camp. While travelling they encounter a 20ft wide river that they must cross. I'm just gonna improvise the whole thing to give them ...
7 votes
2 answers
523 views

Is there a system for determining the difficulty of a combat encounter with a monster is in Call of Cthulhu 7e?

Is there a system to determine how difficult an encounter with a monster or group of monsters is in 7th edition?
7 votes
1 answer
675 views

Non-Combat Encounter Rewards - A Homebrew Review

Awarding non-combat encounters with XP consistently for the party level - A homebrew review A frustration I have had for a long time is how D&D claims that there are three pillars to the game, ...
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

How would resistance to non magical weapons change a creature's challenge rating?

Suppose we took a normal monster - say, perhaps, a lion (CR 1) - and gave it resistance to non-magical slashing, piercing, and blunt damage. How much would this affect the threat to a party? I'm ...
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

How to calibrate combat encounters for high level play?

The DMG contains recommendations for the XP values of encounters that are supposed to help you create engaging but survivable combat encounters (page 82). They work pretty well for low- and mid-level ...
8 votes
2 answers
4k views

What's a reasonable Green Hag Coven encounter for a party of 3 level 8 PCs?

Novice DM trying to make my bad guys intimidating. My party is fighting a Hag Coven and I want to make this fight pretty hard without killing anyone hopefully. So three Green Hags (Coven Variant) are ...
13 votes
5 answers
5k views

What is the point of weapon type resistances?

I recently read the monster manual and every creature I came upon that had resistance or immunity to bludgeoning/slashing/piercing damage followed this with "from Nonmagical Attacks". What ...
44 votes
5 answers
2k views

How can we make overcoming a language problem interesting?

I am currently involved in a game of Fate Accelerated, and one of our goals is learning the system and experimenting with it. In this game, two characters may have a language barrier to overcome. One ...
8 votes
9 answers
11k views

How can I stun or hold the whole party?

Coming up to the end of the current story arc, I would like the main villain to become a recurring enemy, popping up at the most inconvenient of times as they do. There is going to be a large-scale ...
6 votes
2 answers
982 views

What printed spells and magic items would be especially useful for an 8th level Wizard to cast or craft to create a fortress?

The scenario is as follows - an 8th level Wizard, Dormouse Bladefist, has a cave mouth he wants to defend at all costs. He has some money and magic materials, and can probably craft some weaker magic ...
31 votes
9 answers
7k views

How to have enemies that use tactics while also making sure that the encounter is fun for all players?

I am currently running a 5e game for a party of 5 players (level 3). I tend to make my enemies use tactics. My encounters involving a large number of low-CR enemies tend to have roles (so a tank, some ...
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

How many ghosts can I use for an ambush?

I'm trying to set up an ambush in a tower where there are ghosts or some creature like them that has the ability to walk through walls. If I had a room 20 feet by 20 feet and a party of 5 Medium-sized ...
5 votes
1 answer
342 views

How should a GM go about handling a combat encounter against an enemy team of runners?

I have a group that is about to encounter another runner team in combat. They both want to do the same job and are going to be fighting for the package. The two thoughts I had were to make some of ...

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