Greenfield
Adventurer
I'm having a bit of a problem with my group.
We're back in session after a hiatus (it's a seasonal thing, as I work weekends at a Renaissance Faire.)
I've never been able to see a reason why a character of just about any class shouldn't at least own a ranged weapon. Yet, in game after game, the heavy fighters' response is, "I do more damage with my sword/axe/whatever".
In my current game, 3.5, the party is 8th/9th level, going to hit 10th soon. I'm DMing, and they were checking out a problem in the northern mountains. There were reports of a strange flying monster, something described as snakelike with feathered wings. Some said it looked like a pair of them mating on the fly.
It's a Large, Fiendish Arrowhawk. (four wings, no legs, so it might look like two of something entwined about each other.)
Whatever it is, though, it should have been pretty obvious that it flys. The Ranger/Druid has a bow, magic +2. The Paladin owns one but doesn't like to use it. The Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple swears up and down that he doesn't own one, though the player who helps him maintain and print his sheet says it's there. The party Cleric of Kord has Spiritual Weapon, and that's good enough for him.
The Arrowhawk kicked their collective tail with lightning ray (good hits, 2D8 of damage). They ended up taking cover until it got bored and left.
Now, did they prepare for the next battle by checking out their ranged weapons? Nope. The Ranger had his out, the Paladin entered the fray with his sword in hand, and the Barb/Sorcerer spent most of the battle throwing Darkvision spells on party members.
Arrowhawk started out about twenty feet up, so a mounted rider with a long sword, standing tall in the stirrups, would still be about three feet short. Since the critter has a 30 foot wingspan, and has to flap them, I called this a 20% miss chance. I was being generous, so the guy could be at least feel a little useful.
After the first hit, the Arrowhawk rose 15 more feet to 35 feet off the ground, and proceeded to pound the Paladin and Ranger.
The monster actually took some damage this time, and after dropping an NPC ally or three and bloodying up the party it again decided to leave.
The Ranger/Druid tried an Entangle spell on the flying monster, hoping it would get grabbed by some tree branches. He more or less forgot that that spell would catch far more people on the ground than it would in the air, so it was less than useful.
The monster left.
Now, here's the bad part. It has a saddle, and they have reason to believe that its rider is a spell caster of about their level.
If they can't stop the mount (Cr 10), the team of mount and rider will be a TPK. And they refuse to change tactics.
Being Fiendish, the thing has a DR 10/Magic. Nobody prepared a Magic Weapon spell to buff bows or arrows or javelin or anything. energy Protection/Resistance? Sure. No offense.
They've had several opportunities to load up on ranged weapons, at least once after their first encounter with the Arrowhawk. It never occurred to them. They are, instead, planning what to do once they get it on the ground. Not planning ways to bring him down, just what to do when it happens.
And, of course the book pretty much says that Arrowhawks don't land. Ever. In melee range they can peck for some nasty damage, but why would it ever choose to get that close?
It's intelligent (INT 10) with a decent Wisdom score and a really high DEX. Flight 60, perfect maneuverability, and it's kicking butt from the sky.
They can stack on resistances, but it can retreat and wait for the spells to drop, then come back.
How do I, short of flat out dictating their tactics to them, get them to adapt to a monster the heavy fighter types can't ground-and-pound?
We're back in session after a hiatus (it's a seasonal thing, as I work weekends at a Renaissance Faire.)
I've never been able to see a reason why a character of just about any class shouldn't at least own a ranged weapon. Yet, in game after game, the heavy fighters' response is, "I do more damage with my sword/axe/whatever".
In my current game, 3.5, the party is 8th/9th level, going to hit 10th soon. I'm DMing, and they were checking out a problem in the northern mountains. There were reports of a strange flying monster, something described as snakelike with feathered wings. Some said it looked like a pair of them mating on the fly.
It's a Large, Fiendish Arrowhawk. (four wings, no legs, so it might look like two of something entwined about each other.)
Whatever it is, though, it should have been pretty obvious that it flys. The Ranger/Druid has a bow, magic +2. The Paladin owns one but doesn't like to use it. The Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple swears up and down that he doesn't own one, though the player who helps him maintain and print his sheet says it's there. The party Cleric of Kord has Spiritual Weapon, and that's good enough for him.
The Arrowhawk kicked their collective tail with lightning ray (good hits, 2D8 of damage). They ended up taking cover until it got bored and left.
Now, did they prepare for the next battle by checking out their ranged weapons? Nope. The Ranger had his out, the Paladin entered the fray with his sword in hand, and the Barb/Sorcerer spent most of the battle throwing Darkvision spells on party members.
Arrowhawk started out about twenty feet up, so a mounted rider with a long sword, standing tall in the stirrups, would still be about three feet short. Since the critter has a 30 foot wingspan, and has to flap them, I called this a 20% miss chance. I was being generous, so the guy could be at least feel a little useful.
After the first hit, the Arrowhawk rose 15 more feet to 35 feet off the ground, and proceeded to pound the Paladin and Ranger.
The monster actually took some damage this time, and after dropping an NPC ally or three and bloodying up the party it again decided to leave.
The Ranger/Druid tried an Entangle spell on the flying monster, hoping it would get grabbed by some tree branches. He more or less forgot that that spell would catch far more people on the ground than it would in the air, so it was less than useful.
The monster left.
Now, here's the bad part. It has a saddle, and they have reason to believe that its rider is a spell caster of about their level.
If they can't stop the mount (Cr 10), the team of mount and rider will be a TPK. And they refuse to change tactics.
Being Fiendish, the thing has a DR 10/Magic. Nobody prepared a Magic Weapon spell to buff bows or arrows or javelin or anything. energy Protection/Resistance? Sure. No offense.
They've had several opportunities to load up on ranged weapons, at least once after their first encounter with the Arrowhawk. It never occurred to them. They are, instead, planning what to do once they get it on the ground. Not planning ways to bring him down, just what to do when it happens.
And, of course the book pretty much says that Arrowhawks don't land. Ever. In melee range they can peck for some nasty damage, but why would it ever choose to get that close?
It's intelligent (INT 10) with a decent Wisdom score and a really high DEX. Flight 60, perfect maneuverability, and it's kicking butt from the sky.
They can stack on resistances, but it can retreat and wait for the spells to drop, then come back.
How do I, short of flat out dictating their tactics to them, get them to adapt to a monster the heavy fighter types can't ground-and-pound?
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