AoW...possible TPK coming up...what should I do

[howandwhy99]

AoW spoilers to follow:

Resketch that map and rethink the tactics of the complex as a whole. That entire place is just one Big Room of evil bad guys who could blow the snot out of the players if they're run intelligently. The room(s) are hardly inspiring anyway.

So do go ahead and play the tactics strong. These are highly intelligent and very capable characters. Don't nerf them. And I personally wouldn't warn your Players out-of-character either (too metagamey for me).

But do watch out for how you set up the NPC strategies and defenses, so the players have a chance to learn what's going on, if they play well. This particular adventure is well known among the AoW AP to TPK again and again. Let them learn to recon and pull back using the barrier to their advantage (a huge one at that). A high noon showdown is one thing. Walking down the barrel of a gun is another.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Over on the Paizo board, James Jacobs posted that the D6/HD damage of that ability is probably too strong, and recommended putting it at D6/2HD.

I would definitely follow that advice.

Also, my personal style as a DM is to work in some kind of foreshadowing so that if the players are paying attention, they'll have already figured out that death ward is a Really Good Idea.