174
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of easy combat scenarios that don't need resource expenditure?
Others have mentioned other reasons, but here's another that I find particularly compelling.
In a game of D&D, it is generally accepted that the DM will build combat encounters to be difficult ...
- 1,506
136
votes
How can I engage players with melee monsters when players keep their distance?
The players may have gotten out of the boss fight I had intended
Excellent - I love it when players outsmart me, giving players the chance to feel clever and empowered is what being a DM is all about....
- 206k
129
votes
Accepted
How can I engage players with melee monsters when players keep their distance?
Play the monster like the ambush predator it is
If a monster is slow and has no ranged attacks, then it is most likely an ambush predator that relies on the element of surprise to catch its prey. ...
- 60.5k
84
votes
Accepted
How do I deal with a DM that throws encounters at us that are way above the party?
Talk to the DM
Give non-accusatory feedback
Express your point of view using neutral language and I statements. E.g. "When the encounter with 9 ogres ended in the death of all the characters, I ...
- 33.3k
81
votes
Accepted
How do I keep presenting progressively more challenging encounters to my PCs without making them think that the world is gaining Levels as they are?
There are many ways this could be explained, here are a few good story drivers that work:
Different areas have stronger and stronger enemies
Different areas in the world grow rougher and tougher as ...
- 6,456
81
votes
Accepted
How can I make my enemies feel real and make combat more engaging?
at the same time I have a hard time understanding exactly what else they would do.
That is the core of your problem. To make them interesting, or boring but "alive" you must understand why they are ...
- 23.5k
71
votes
How to challenge a pacifist party
Treat difficult social encounters like combat
Any encounter shouldn't be finished in one roll. The bandits guarding the bridge aren't going to roll over and let the party pass just because you asked ...
- 12.1k
71
votes
Accepted
What do I do with a party that is much stronger than their level?
CR and Encounter Building are not an exact science
If you find that your group is too effective (or too ineffective) in dealing with enemies, you will have to improvise and adjust the difficulty.
...
- 4,909
69
votes
Accepted
Accidentally let party wander into a high level situation, how do I help them get out without cheesing?
Telegraph the problem in advance
It sounds like the real danger here is that the group might communicate sincerely with the spymaster, and this could lead to the spymaster killing them all. You can ...
- 87.8k
68
votes
Accepted
Petrification at low levels
This pit-fall of Challenge Rating is anticipated in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
The DMG gives some guidance for designing encounters, and there is a sidebar on p. 82 that mentions exactly the problem ...
- 143k
66
votes
How can a boss enemy prevent being the most obvious target?
Don't make the boss the target until after the minions die.
Some of the most memorable encounters I've been in have involved powerful enemies that weren't the ones in charge. A simple fix to your ...
- 72.5k
64
votes
Accepted
How much XP does a monster created by Animate Objects add to an encounter?
Zero XP
If your boss can cast Animate Objects, that’s already factored into the boss’s own CR. Spells are always part of the caster’s CR, including spells that can add new opponents, whether by ...
- 243k
63
votes
Accepted
How does a DM deal with a PC with an abnormally high Armor Class?
Hit your fighter in the NADs1
AC isn't the only way to cause damage to a fighter.
Utilize creatures that force saving throws. High AC won't save you from a fireball
Give them hard choices. AC won't ...
- 12.1k
62
votes
Is this homebrew CR 12 monster too difficult an encounter for two level 4 characters?
Absent Extenuating Circumstances, Yes
According to Kobold Fight Club, which gets its information from the DMG, a party of two level 4 characters would consider 250xp worth of monsters Easy, 500xp ...
- 831
61
votes
What is the purpose of easy combat scenarios that don't need resource expenditure?
Combat as a mechanical resource
If you are using XP progression (which is the default way to play, according to the PHB) and you want to give your player characters some catching-up, then you could ...
- 31.4k
61
votes
How to make a villain when your PCs are villains?
Build a criminal network as your BBEG
I have had success over the years in using the Organized Crime family model (an example is mentioned here) to provide scalable challenges to parties of good, ...
- 142k
60
votes
Is this homebrew CR 12 monster too difficult an encounter for two level 4 characters?
Try it yourself
If you have a copy of their character sheets, run the encounter by yourself a few times playing both sides. You should get a decent idea about how outmatched the PCs might be.
- 25.9k
59
votes
Handling encounter elements that would realistically cause instant death
Group Checks, Success with a Cost, and Skill Challenges
These three concepts are meant to be used in tandem, but can be cherry picked to suit your style of play. I have the most experience using them ...
- 20.9k
56
votes
Accepted
Is this a deadly encounter?
Carcer and I can independently verify that all your math checks out.
That said, take a deep breath. I doubt this question was prompted by your lack of faith in your own math and reading skills, but ...
- 9,569
55
votes
Accepted
Depowering a high AC PC without killing the rest of the group
First things first, you have to identify the problem.
If his AC is too high, you could review his sheet and check if he didn't
calculate something wrong (it happens more often than you could believe).
...
- 61.4k
54
votes
Accepted
How do I make engaging Man vs Wild encounters that aren't excercises in rolling dice?
I used to play a game that was fun and exciting: you rolled a dice and depending on the result moved up some ladders or slid down some snakes and the first one to the top won, its name escapes me for ...
- 206k
53
votes
Accepted
How can a DM make a low-level melee rogue feel useful in combat when the party has no tank who triggers sneak attack for her?
For Druid + Rogue at level 1; combat is not necessarily required.
Focusing on the rogue's DPR is, IMO, you as DM viewing this party through a very narrow lens. I suggest that, since (1) you only ...
- 142k
51
votes
How can I make combat challenging, without simply making it take longer?
Quit being the DM. Be the monster.
From what you've said so far, you think like most DMs. This isn't surprising - it's how the modules and books train you to DM. You design encounters based on the ...
- 6,912
51
votes
How to balance combat encounter for magic user group that suddenly can't cast magic?
You are screwed
Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but you've painted yourself into a corner here. You told your players that magic users are "generally welcome, but some places hate them"....
- 36.3k
49
votes
Accepted
How to have enemies that use tactics while also making sure that the encounter is fun for all players?
Monsters aren't perfect
. . . so don't play them that way. The PCs make mistakes, so should the monsters.
In any battle, from a street fight to the Battle of Endor, mistakes will be made. The PCs ...
- 29k
47
votes
Players better at dealing damage than taking damage
This is normal. This is how the game works. Sorry?
Unfortunately, the way the numbers in the game are laid out, most fights are decided in the first 2-3 rounds. Even if they aren’t finished that fast,...
- 345k
47
votes
Accepted
What standard party size is D&D 5e designed for?
As you're aware, the DMG's guidelines for building encounters are designed for parties of three to five characters:
The preceding guidelines assume that you have a party
consisting of three to ...
- 144k
47
votes
Accepted
How much more dangerous is an encounter with the PCs outnumbered and how do I balance around it?
Alternative Solution: The enemies don't matter
You said that
My goal is to make coming out of the dungeon a frantic race against time.
Therefore, it doesn't really matter how many skeletons you ...
- 8,070
47
votes
Accidentally let party wander into a high level situation, how do I help them get out without cheesing?
Don't waste a valuable resource
These are 5th level characters. As pawns they are well above the norm.
When they confide in the Spymaster, rather than kill them, she uses them. Turns her ...
- 3,636
45
votes
Accepted
My PCs are too strong for a published adventure. How can I fix the content so it isn't trivial?
You should scale the encounters to increase the difficulty for your party.
The ability to scale encounters to your party is very important when you do not intend on following a campaign to the T. The ...
- 2,951
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