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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7325688" data-attributes="member: 20323">Welcome to ENWorld <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />It sounds like your issue is that your large group of players "alpha strike" very well; that is, they can kill groups of monsters before the monsters act. If that's the case, then it really doesn't matter how many actions per turn you give a monster, it's still dead before it gets to act.Sometimes that's really fun, like when taking out sentries. It lets players running rogues or who've invested in stealth/invisibility really shine.But too often can lead to unsatisfying combats.However, the best solutions to that particular issue ("alpha striking") that I've seen typically revolve around changing the circumstances of the fight. This is best done with a hint of foreshadowing of the nature of the coming change. A couple examples:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Waves of Enemies. PCs hear wolves howling in distance. They fight wolves, win the initiative and soundly defeat the wolves, either killing them all or killing enough to drive the pack off. Give them a moment's quiet, then more howling, and a snarling dire wolf emerges from the forest with wolves coming at the party from multiple directions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A Task to Perform Mid-Combat. PCs are charged with protecting a young woman from attacking vampire spawn, and while many of the PCs fight, 1 or 2 of them need to focus on using opportunity attacks, spells, creative ideas, and so forth to keep her safe during the attack. This may be clear at the outset when initiative is rolled, or the NPC-to-save may be introduced at any point you choose, even right before a PC's turn.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Reactive Monsters. While few monsters have unique uses for reactions (e.g. spectator, marilith, chain devil, goblin boss), you can always customize other monsters to give them unique ways to use their reactions, such as giving a spy or vampire spawn the goblin boss' Redirect Attack reaction. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mistaken Identity/Misinterpreted Situation (use sparingly). If the alpha-striking PCs are behaving in a trigger-happy manner, you can always have a suspicious group of NPCs who the PCs mistake for villains or monsters. The story behind the NPCs is more complex than what first appearances would indicate...maybe peasants dressed as wolf-men dancing around a tied up boy near a campfire are attempting to exorcise the "wolf spirit" from the boy who is afflicted with lycanthropy? Such scenarios, while potentially tragic, can help reinforce "look before you shoot" thinking. Side note: If your players are trigger-happy, it's also good to include genuinely helpful NPCs so they know not *everything* is out to get them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alpha Striking Monsters (use sparingly). Customize a monster by giving it the Alert feat (can't be surprised, advantage initiative) or set up a surprise attack with monsters that are designed for surprise (e.g. bugbears, doppelgangers, sea hags, medusae, gelatinous cubes, umber hulks, assassin). Be sure to foreshadow the attack.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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