How do you describe a new encounter?

[Oryan77]

Players in my game brought up a concern that I think is a legit one. What methods or clues do you provide in game to PC's when they encounter a monster or npc that they aren't familiar with and might be too dangerous for them to fight?

I try to help out the best I can so they don't just charge into battle with anything & everything that might be too strong for them. Is it wrong if you don't even provide a clue and they find out the hard way? Personally, I don't think it should always be obvious that something is really tough, and I feel limited on how to get the point across before they decide to attack anyway. But I don't want to be fair and have them all die.

I also had this problem using a deity once. When I try to give clues that this person isn't someone you want to fight, I think they are good obvious clues, but then I find out that the player never got the hint. In the deities case, I described the PC approaching a huge throne with fancy well decked out guards lined up on each side, rows & rows of them. I described how huge & open the palace was for such small citizens. And the creature at the throne was much bigger for his race and during the interaction with him I would try to be dramatic with his every action, showing the beginnings of spells forming in his fists with ease and so on. To me, I thought it was obvious that he was a big deal, maybe not obviously a deity, but close to deity status. Turns out, after the game when I hinted that he was actually a deity, the player got surprised and said he was contemplating whether he should attack or not but he didn't know his way out of the palace so he could escape. And this isn't some hack-n-slash player that charges into every situation with weapons blazing, he's actually a good thinker.

Then there's just normal small encounters that happen to be tough. If PC's stumble on an encounter that could kill them, should they always have clues how tough it is so they don't die in a tpk? If so, what kind of clues would help point this guys power out? My way of thinking was that if you actually start fighting and realize right away how tough it is, you better plan to retreat right away. But my players are blaming our last session on me by saying their NPC guide shoulda given them a clue or something (as if the NPC knows more than they do).

What's your advice/opinion about this?

 

[Turanil]

Players often believe that the DM should only let them encounter monsters they could defeat, especially since the 3e CR stuff. I had an argument once with a player about this. So, I try to sometimes remind my players that encounters are not tailored to them, and that they can die if they don't hide from the random fire giant that they meet in the mountains. I try to make players roll Spot or Sense Motive checks or what not, to let them get clues about a creature power, but in fact I have no real method. If a player has decided that DM can only throw monsters they can defeat, they will even attack a god and thereafter complain bitterly for the TPK.

 

[Starglim]

You're on the right track describing a deity evoking magical effects with ease, almost thoughtlessly. It should be utterly competent, unable to fail at any task or be flustered by any situation. Its fingers are never dirty (unless they're always dirty) and it never seems tired or in a hurry. It always has at hand whatever small thing it wants.

It should be surrounded by superhuman effects and reactions so that nobody could mistake it for something mundane for more than a moment of stillness. Its tread should shake the earth, or its gaze should pierce the soul and send the onlooker reeling. The ordinary world should change as it passes, with plants sprouting or dying, a breeze brushing through as it moves, shifting shadows or a rare unexplained scent.

There are a couple of effects from the Lord of the Rings movie that might be worth looking at. Whenever someone drops or places the Ring down, it crashes down like a weight of tons. When the Balrog is approaching through Moria, it doesn't make any sound at all nor emit smoke or flames, just slanting beams of silent red light. If you can capture these sorts of impossible, out of place events, you'll be on your way to evoking a sense of something awful and majestic appearing.

 

[Starglim]

As for ordinary, but higher-powered encounters, it might help to show, not tell. Maybe you can arrange for the fire giant to do something to demonstrate its power without killing a PC, such as actually being out hunting some fairly strong creature that it can flatten with a rock as they watch.

 

[The Amazing Dingo]

Not that I'm dropping the responsibility solely into my players hands, but sometimes I think it is up to the PCs to determine if, what they're looking at, is too strong for them. I simple Divination of Weal or Woe could go a long way here. Hide, cast a quick spell and ask the question about the beast.

Sometimes, the players should have to think on their own and use their own resources before guessing. I know if I were capable of it, I would.

 

[dougmander]

I think it's fine to confront PCs with really powerful opponents now and then, as long as you give them the option to retreat, surrender, outwit the creature, or find its Achilles heel.

Maybe when the PCs are getting close to a powerful monster, you can give them some clues, such as:

-- the PCs come across a recent victim of the monster, demonstrating its power ("You see the charred remains of a powerful fighter in full plate armor. Her sword is still sheathed -- whatever killed her, didn't even give her a chance to react."

-- rumors of the creature, circulated by local villagers

-- for a deity, PCs with Knowledge (the planes) might have heard something about how dangerous the deity is.

The key is, to somehow communicate the danger level before the PCs have no option to avoid the encounter. Once they are in the monster's presence, it may be too late, but even at that point, you can still describe the monster in impressive terms, giving them strong hints that it's above their heads to defeat the creature.

 

[Tharian]

I don't know. I think it's kind of fun to say something along the lines of "The person in front of y ou seem to be radiating power that makes the hairs on the back of your necks stand on end as if trying to pull themselves from your body."

Other than that, if you are looking at a villain on a throne, you might talk about the stains that line the floor from where they had (possibly) had someone summarily killed with the wave of a hand.

Sometimes, it's not only what they can see, but what they can smell, feel or hear that makes a difference and not always will a player be thinking along the lines of those senses. After all, IRL, we may direct our gaze somewhere, but sounds and smells can sneak up on us or assault us.

Tharian

 

[Schmoe]

Faced with something as overpowering as a deity, I think that its mere presence should warp reality in unusual ways. There is a story hour (Piratecat's story hour) that captured this very well, IMO. The encounters with divine beings are toward the last 1/4 of the story hour.

For things that are less obvious, it becomes difficult to distinguish between dramatic description and a clue that the opponent overmatches the party. You can try to give clues by relating the creature's actions to the PCs' abilities. Here are two examples of an initial clash against a swordfighter, one a typical mercenary, the other a master swordsman who could shred the party:

Mercenary: "You open with your best lunge, and the swordsman throws his sword wildly up to parry, just barely saving himself from a deep wound along his chest."

Master Swordsman: "You open with your best lunge, and effortlessly his sword appears from nowhere to parry. As you struggle to recover your balance, you are forced to spin wildly away as the swordsman smoothly turns his parry into a counter you've never seen before. Only luck saved your neck."

Here's another example, using dire apes:

Dire Ape (a good match for the party): "The beast stands and beats its massive chest, letting out a brutish roar. Its foul breath puffs out in the cold air as crouches to leap at you."

Advanced, Fiendish Dire Ape (would decimate the party): "The beast towers over you, and its muscles ripple as it beats its massive chest. One look at its thick arms and claws tells you that if it got a hold of you, it could break you like a twig. Its skin is reddish and hard beneath the black fur, and unearthly malice gleams in its eyes."

That said, having been both player and DM, I know that it's a hard concept to convey. All I can say is that players should learn that every encounter should be treated with caution, and you should never enter battle without first thinking about how to escape or otherwise end the battle if the tide turns against you.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Most of the encounters my PCs come into contact with are defeatable. Sometimes they're easier than they'd appear, sometimes they're more difficult. But within the realm of possibility.

I do use "set-piece" encounters with higher-level creatures/powers when the action calls for it, but I don't try to mince words in such situations. These kinds of encounters are meant to foreshadow future threats, illustrate related plot points, or in some other way enhance the story without simply killing the party. I don't mind being particularly blunt so that the players get the idea.

"Down in the crater below you can see the immense bulk of a massive dragon. The creature seems silver at first, but as you study it you can see waves of irridescent light washing over its mirror-like hide. The magnitude of its power radiates up through the air, and you realize suddenly and unmistakably that you are looking down upon a creature that, were it awake, could destroy you with little more than a thought."

Or for something more mundane:

"You stare at the fighter in front of you. He holds his weapon casually, like a part of his arm. As you approach he makes a lazy pass with his blade. The manuever is quick, nonchallant, but you're skilled enough to recognize what you've seen. Here is a man that is well out of your class. A true battle with him would certainly mean your death."

No ifs, ands, or buts. If I put an Uber-creature into the game, I want my players to know and understand that. Otherwise, it's fair game.