As a player/DM do you prefer one powerful monster or many weaker ones?

[Mr. Kaze]

For a party of level 9s, here's the mix of encounters I'm using. My favorite is currently tactic #2.

1) Singular person encounter. These are usually the NPCs that can be reasoned with and talked to, but also pack Slay Living if the party isn't feeling diplomatic. A single-enemy encounter is also acceptable for enemies who don't think they're going to lose because they're quite ready.

2) 2 complementary NPCs (often identical statblocks -- saves time) of CR -2 from where I want them to be are typically more challenging than a single-creature encounter due to the increased tactical options available to you (inclusive of "buddy just got whacked, run away!"). This is currently my going favorite for power fights with non-head-honcho NPCs. When my Night Hag on a Retriever found herself on the floor because the retriever got dismissed, you bet she ran away... and she'll be back, too.

3) Save-forcing mook-pack (4-or-more). For example, Yuan-Ti ninja (the of the old-school Rokugan variety) are fabulous due to the sheer amount of poison that they can bring into a combat. They won't be wasting a prepped party of level 9's any time soon, but if they can get their poison attacks off -- chains, blowguns, bows, etc -- then that can weaken the party down enough to give the boss critters time to plan and counterstrike. (Additionally, stealing a page from Dune, you could give them a tooth with poison gas to use if they're not completely dead...)

Cheers,
::Kaze

 

[MDSnowman]

I general I love the idea of one villain vs. party. But as I discovered in my first attempt to run a 3.0 campaign it just doesn't work... at all. So now a days I'm a propoent of a few alternative methods...

One Bad Guy with underlings: Always a good stand by, and it drives the heroes nuts that they can't get at the Balor and need to fight through his lackies.

Arena Combat: EVERY campaign I have ever run has had the heroes take part in a combat tourney. It's a great chance for one on One combat, and to use combat rules that your players aren't ready for.

Enemy "parties": I like to put the badguys into a somewhat cohesive group... in the begining one of them will be a match for the whole party, but later on fighting them all will be an equally good challenge. Each of these villaisn gets the kind of charactization that I normally save for major villains though.

 

[Torm]

I tend to prefer to DM using videogame logic - several waves of weak baddies, interspersed with one or two "bosses" per session. Seems to keep parties with a large number of people who primarily like to play for the combats happy, while leaving plenty of time for some strategy or puzzle based stuff, buying and equipping, and "cut scenes", in between.

 

[ichabod]

One problem I have noticed with single foe encounters is that a creature appropriate to the party should take up 20% of the party's resources, and one character is about 20% of a party's resources. If you throw at troll at them, and it hits with both claws, that's about 30 points of damage. That will take down most 5th level wizards and sorcerors, and many rogues and bards. If he hits once in the surprise round, the target is likely dead. Now, I'm willing to kill player characters, but it's not something I really try to do. So rather than run the troll as a complete idiot who attacks the most armored opponents and spreads his damage amongst several of them, I tend to run groups of smaller foes which have a harder time concentrating damage.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I've started using weaker foes that don't provide the party with XP as cannon-fodder for the BBEG and it works wonders. The P wastes a lot of resources on the weaker enemies, allowing the BBEG to dish out some damage before he dies.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

One thing I've done in the past that was a pretty cool battle was making a high level cleric who had a bunch of lackies who the PCs would have to spend several rounds cutting through before they could reach the cleric, all the while the cleric is buffing himself with spells like righteuos might, divine favor, magic vestments and divine power. It was a good climatic battle, the PCs nearly lost though!

 

[Ferret]

2-3 medium (between powerful and weaker) monster are to my taste.

 

[Sir Elton]

I use what the story demands.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I think, in general, they fall into the trap of "TPK or Cakewalk".

I agree.

Although the PC's will meet solitary, high CR opponents, I like to throw at them a main opponent (maybe a CR equivalent to their average party level -1 or -2), a couple of major opponents (CR = APL -3 or -4) and low-level mooks that are just there to occupy space and get a lucky 20 once in a while.

AR

 

[the Jester]

It varies, depending on who the party's fighting and why.

I like fights with lots of lil guys less as the party gets higher level; they're too easy. A good mix of different creatures is fun (best fight yet: party vs. crawling head, 4 vampires (necromancer 18 and her three 15th-level lackeys), a balor and his summoned glabrezu, a pale master and a necromancer... That was a good one!)