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D&D 5E GM: Who Do You Target? [READ OP BEFORE VOTING]
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
Fighters can't have nice damage.
Paul Farquhar
Legend
Seriously, one of the things players worry about is if their choices have any meaning. This is one situation were they might have meaning - if they choose badly the villain's current plan is defeated but they escape to try again.
FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
Here's my take. If the BBEG can be downed in 1 attack from the fighter then 1 cantrip from the cleric or wizard has a good chance of downing him as well. More importantly a magic missile is almost guaranteed to take him out.
Scenario 1 (Long distance total cover) - unless the bbeg is extremely fast he cannot ultimately outrun the rogue. He must stand and fight. Best to target the Wizard first as everyone else at least has a chance of missing (magic missiles don't miss).
Scenario 2 (Total cover on retreat path) - if there is nearby total cover where the bbeg can retreat to then he is likely best off trying to down the fighter and then move there. Having total cover against the wizard is more important, followed by cover against the rogue.
Scenario 3 (Total cover near PC) - misty step to that PC to avoid the OA. If multiple targets, then prioritize based on initiatives. You want to down someone preferably that goes after the cleric. If multiple PC's go after the cleric in initiative then rogue, wizard, cleric, fighter would likely be the best prioritization order.
Scenario 1 (Long distance total cover) - unless the bbeg is extremely fast he cannot ultimately outrun the rogue. He must stand and fight. Best to target the Wizard first as everyone else at least has a chance of missing (magic missiles don't miss).
Scenario 2 (Total cover on retreat path) - if there is nearby total cover where the bbeg can retreat to then he is likely best off trying to down the fighter and then move there. Having total cover against the wizard is more important, followed by cover against the rogue.
Scenario 3 (Total cover near PC) - misty step to that PC to avoid the OA. If multiple targets, then prioritize based on initiatives. You want to down someone preferably that goes after the cleric. If multiple PC's go after the cleric in initiative then rogue, wizard, cleric, fighter would likely be the best prioritization order.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Or to make it difficult-to-impossible for folks to answer coherently....
Lots of folks have answered coherently. :
:
Paul Farquhar
Legend
Co Herently is the name of the rogue.Lots of folks have answered coherently. :
payn
He'll flip ya...Flip ya for real...
Actually, its Co Herently Jr. named after his father the fighter.
That you, George Lucas?
Having given my Watsonian answer to the OP, I'm now going to give my Doylist answer, and one I see at a lot of tables (if this isn't what happens at your table, that's fine, ignore the remainder of this post).
Target the Fighter, always.
The Fighter generally has the highest chance of survival due to their large hit point total. Other characters might be able to use their abilities to get him back up, either by money or even having a Rogue steal money to pay for a resurrection*, scout ahead to avoid enemies while the party is weak**, etc. etc..
Adventures can quickly come to a screeching halt when a player character drops to 0 or worse, dies. Which character this happens to can have a knock-on effect whether your adventure continues or ends right there. Certainly, no adventure I know of*** has ever been written to accommodate losing players mid-adventure. The GM either softballs the remaining challenges or just accepts that the mission will fail and it might even lead to a TPK, rack 'em up and let's play again!
So if you are averse to this sort of thing, picking on the guy least likely to die, and less likely to have resources that might be able to get the party to safety or get the fallen character back in action. And that's usually the Fighter, in my experience.
*Unless you subscribe to a "death is cheap, I totally have a good spot for your next character to appear in a timely fashion, sure, animate the pile of dead Bards with your new Necromancer PC" style. Don't take offense if this is your preferred style, please. I'm simply trying to evoke some levity here.
**Assuming stealth is actually functional in your game, skulking around isn't just an invitation for a solo Rogue TPK, and you allow characters to actually flee rather than be forced to stay in initiative order with a good chance the bad guys can catch them. Again, don't take offense, please.
***If anyone reading this always designs their adventures to continue running smoothly when missing 1, 2, or more characters, I applaud you. It's just not something I am familiar with. I've attempted to do this in the past, and it usually either fails or falls flat due to an obvious deus ex machina.
Target the Fighter, always.
The Fighter generally has the highest chance of survival due to their large hit point total. Other characters might be able to use their abilities to get him back up, either by money or even having a Rogue steal money to pay for a resurrection*, scout ahead to avoid enemies while the party is weak**, etc. etc..
Adventures can quickly come to a screeching halt when a player character drops to 0 or worse, dies. Which character this happens to can have a knock-on effect whether your adventure continues or ends right there. Certainly, no adventure I know of*** has ever been written to accommodate losing players mid-adventure. The GM either softballs the remaining challenges or just accepts that the mission will fail and it might even lead to a TPK, rack 'em up and let's play again!
So if you are averse to this sort of thing, picking on the guy least likely to die, and less likely to have resources that might be able to get the party to safety or get the fallen character back in action. And that's usually the Fighter, in my experience.
*Unless you subscribe to a "death is cheap, I totally have a good spot for your next character to appear in a timely fashion, sure, animate the pile of dead Bards with your new Necromancer PC" style. Don't take offense if this is your preferred style, please. I'm simply trying to evoke some levity here.
**Assuming stealth is actually functional in your game, skulking around isn't just an invitation for a solo Rogue TPK, and you allow characters to actually flee rather than be forced to stay in initiative order with a good chance the bad guys can catch them. Again, don't take offense, please.
***If anyone reading this always designs their adventures to continue running smoothly when missing 1, 2, or more characters, I applaud you. It's just not something I am familiar with. I've attempted to do this in the past, and it usually either fails or falls flat due to an obvious deus ex machina.
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