How do you make a super strong monster appear really strong when running an encounter

[Caliber]

As previous posters have already said, just using the right descriptions will be enough. But besides that, give some of the monsters the Awesome Blow feat. PCs always pay attention when something hits them and they fly through the air to land with a 'clang' some distance away.

Awesone Blow sounds ... well ... awesome!

Where, pray tell, can this feat be found?

 

[Crimsonite]

Hurting the NPCs is usually quite sufficient but it also pisses them off if they're catapulted into a lake after approaching an enemy.

You could have a random NPC (a bounty hunter, a weird zealot ranger, an over-zealous paladin or god knows what) attack the super strong monster.
Construct this in some sensible way. Such as him being a free guide and telling the party to stay behind while he sorts it out (cocky!), rushing past the party and taking on the giants or simply screaming loud enough to be heard from way back there (the best position for the party.)

A disinterested look, one massive backhand and the guide lands two yards to the left of the party, crumples and dies.

Now that's impressive. Also: frightfully amusing unless your party consists of paladins.

A disposable, scenario NPC (or NPC group) is always useful for these kind of things. You could also have a very angry zookeeper druid send a bunch of dire whatevers at your creatures, only to have one of them stomp this horde like a bunch of ants and then eat the druid.

 

[Terry Edwards]

Awesome blow is indeed fantastic for flavoring really strong creatures. It is located in the Monster Manual 3.5. Oh yeah, awesome blow.

 

[Tuzenbach]

Have them throw heavy warhorses at the PCs. Trust me, you haven't lived until you've had a heavy warhorse thrown at you!

 

[Ferret]

Have two of them fight over an NPC and have them rip it in half.

 

[Silveras]

I think you would be better off treating the War Hulks as living siege engines rather than as elite troops. The class costs them all ranks in any Int or Wis based skill, after all. They are big, dumb, but STRONG things.

So, think along the lines of the Cave Troll in Moria in the Fellowship of the Ring movie. Give them handlers that get jerked around when the War Hulks smell blood.

As mentioned previously, how you deliver the description is everything. If there is something that your PCs have had experience with, like chopping through a door, show the War Hulks doing it easily.

Consider this as a staged scene ... the army laboriously rolls a battering ram up to the gates, and many soldiers swing it back, then let it fly. The gates shudder, but hold. Let the PCs lead a sortie that damages the ram and drives off the soldiers. Later, they hear the same >BOOM< >BOOM< sound, but more rapidly. There is a War Hulk using Power Attack on the gate, doing more damage than the ram at about twice the pace.

Or...

The advancing army comes to a small village where the PCs are stationed to observe them. The PCs watch the siege engines flatten a couple of houses... complete with vibrations felt a house or two away, and dust falling, etc. A passing War Hulk generates the same effect with what looked like an off-hand blow.

Hope that helps.

 

[Torm]

As the ogres approach, the party wizard watches the ripple of the potion in one of his flasks?

 

[Deadguy]

I must admit I am all for demonstrating their strength on the environment about. Actually this reminds me of trying to describe superstrong vampires in V:tM. I used to observe the way they casually destroyed objects without a thought - just walking through an iron fence, bending beneath their feet, or casually ripping up lamp posts!

The slight problem you have is that the base creature is also very strong to begin with, so perhaps you need to counterpoint the War Hulks by partnering them with non-War Hulk versions of their race. I mean, the ordinary Ogre happily crushes bushes, but the War Hulk just smashes bothersome trees to flinders!

Of course, past experience suggests that players always jump to the wrong conclusions when you try and subtly describe something! So don't be surprised to be reduced to saying: "Guys, you notice these Ogres are really, really strong!"

 

[takyris]

Two words: purple pants.

Actually, I think these guys are a grapple check waiting to happen. It's a shame that they don't have much use for Intelligence, or Improved Trip would be a honey of a feat -- knock 'em down and then pound 'em into the ground...

 

[Anabstercorian]

Have the War Hulk's collapse large buildings on to the characters.