D&D 5E Interesting Huge+ Encounters

randrak · Dec 21, 2016

Anyone know of any way to make huge and larger sized encounters interesting?

What I meant by it is that, say a party is fighting a Stone Giant...they are huge and by huge I mean that the players usually barely reach above their knees. Are there any cool mechanics such as, for example, having to damage the legs in order to bring their vitals down within range of their melee attacks? Should there be separate health pools for each limb? Rules for climbing up a giant to attack their vitals while their stand? Same for other huge and larger creatures, like dragons and hydras. I feel that just making them bags of hitpoints makes them boring.

iserith · Dec 21, 2016

There is an attack option in the DMG called Climb Onto a Bigger Creature (page 271). To make it easy, you could just say that melee weapon attacks from Medium or smaller creatures do half damage to the Huge creature unless the PCs climb onto the giant (or whatever) and attack while on it.

GMMichael · Dec 21, 2016

randrak said:
Anyone know of any way to make huge and larger sized encounters interesting?. . . I feel that just making them bags of hitpoints makes them boring.

I feel you're right. I would assign different hit point pools to limbs if PCs had to use movements to reach the other limbs. If not, you can just use milestones - 20 damage, a leg goes down. 40 damage, clubbin' arm goes down. 60 damage, hands and knees... etc.

If you want to know what part of the giant your PCs are attacking, just ask them. How successful they are is up to you.

Bitbrain · Dec 21, 2016

The main DM for my group lets us kinda-sorta hamstring large or bigger creatures in a fight.
He uses a critical hits chart, and if you crit with a melee weapon and roll the right number on the percentage dice, he'll have the creature fall prone, and permanently reduce its base walking speed to half unless it receives magical healing.

Gardens & Goblins · Dec 21, 2016

How about a 'Land of the Giants' scenario, where the players are somehow shrunk down to the size of mice? Perhaps even smaller? Then have them break into/escape from a laboratory filled with researchers, domestic animals, rats, spiders, washer women and their buckets of soapy death - all the terrifying stuff. Navigating a maze of test tubes, papers and books, the kitchen, the garden and so on could make for a memorable adventure.

Oofta · Dec 21, 2016

I handle it descriptively, not with rules per se. So as the hit points dwindle, the fighter's blow shatters a kneecap and giant staggers to one knee exposing a vital spot. The giant doubles over in pain from the lightning bolt, etc.

I've also let people climb on/jump on giants (I'll have to double check Iserith's reference the the DMG) which gives them advantage for the first hit and a little extra damage but opens them up to becoming a missile as the giant grabs them and throws them away (handled similar to a grapple check).

i try to be creative in my descriptions of giant fights. They cause avalanches by smashing cliffs, topple trees to crush their measly opponents and so on. They're forces of nature (especially the ones bigger than hill giants) and don't necessarily play fair and may have giant sized traps set up like a dam that can be broken sweeping away lesser creatures. I do try to be consistent and don't change the overall amount damage they do in a round but they shouldn't just be oversized orcs.

wicked cool · Dec 21, 2016

What I would do

Set the encounter in an area that has advantages for both player and giant

Stone giant-maybe its on a mountain path where you have the danger of being swept off or it uses boulders etc. however there is an outcropping above the giant that the wizard can teleport 2 or the rogue can climb up 2 and attack that way

Tony Vargas · Dec 21, 2016

randrak said:
Are there any cool mechanics such as, for example, having to damage the legs in order to bring their vitals down within range of their melee attacks?

No.

Should there be separate health pools for each limb?

That's been done before, going all the way back at least to the AD&D Monster Manual (published in '77!). More often for tentacles than for legs, though.

Rules for climbing up a giant to attack their vitals while their stand?

Nope. But a player could always declare the attempt, you just have to rule what check they need to make...

You could also leave all the above to description. An attack that does significant damage you can narrate as hitting a vital area as the giant stoops to attack you, or jumping onto a handy tree or ledge or running up a wall or taking a prodigous leap of wire-fu or whatever.

I feel that just making them bags of hitpoints makes them boring.

An issue with any high-hp 5e monster, really, regardless of size.

jgsugden · Dec 21, 2016

Adding complexity like this sounds more fun than it ends up being in the end.

You want to make these combats interesting. Heeding finely detailed rules does not capture interest. It destroys it. Interest is captured by telling an intriguing story. Rather than create interest in a battle with a giant by adding extra rules, create it by telling the story that will pull people they players into the combat.

You noted that the combatants can't reach above the knees of the giant. Tell that story (with input from the players) as they land their blows. Describe how they can't attack above his knee until they lure him into leaning over... Talk about how the constant cuts, bashes and scrapes to the legs cause the giant to stumble... Tell the story.

Razjah · Dec 21, 2016

I don't have a D&D 5th answer. But in past editions, I have skipped "proper combat" approach and changed a whole bunch. For 4th level characters to face a dragon turtle was about sneaking into the lair, hiding, then ambushing. Attacking it on land where it couldn't maneuver. Plus an alchemist throwing bombs down it's throat to deal substantial damage. It was all about opening up a few weak points for a couple huge hits.

I've done fights with a giant where the whole fight was moving. After so much damage, the monster stumbled and fell. Everyone climbed on and attacked vulnerable spots while maintaining their positions. It was less about armor and hit points and more skill checks to defeat a huge creature. Basically Shadows of the Colossus style.

I also did a fight with a dragon on an airship. They blasted it with cannons so it would close. Then each attack was directed at the head/neck as it snaked around trying to grab crew members.

But none of those used any official rules. More like a skill challenge approach from 4th.

D&D 5E Interesting Huge+ Encounters

randrak

First Post

iserith

Magic Wordsmith

GMMichael

Guide of Modos

Bitbrain

Lost in Dark Sun

Gardens & Goblins

First Post

Oofta

Legend

wicked cool

Hero

Tony Vargas

Legend

jgsugden

Legend

Razjah

Explorer

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