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Bashing bags of hitpoints
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<blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 7381249" data-attributes="member: 22424"><p>Yep. That's pretty much intentional - large hit point totals have replaced high AC as the preferred marker of a tough opponent. And for the most part, that's a good thing.</p><p></p><p>The key, I think, is to keep things lively and interesting while that bag of hit points is being whittled down - make sure that the monsters have something interesting to do, do <em>something</em> to change the tactical situation every couple of rounds, push players to declare and resolve actions quickly, and then cut the scene as soon as it gets boring.</p><p></p><p>To expand on those:</p><p></p><p>Where you have a monster with special abilities, make sure you use them. And don't keep spamming the same ability - if it has several powers, make sure you at least alternate between them. When using multiple monsters, it's generally best to use different monsters (and look for useful synergies between monster types). And for goodness sake, don't use lots of monsters that are just a big bag of hit points with <em>one</em> attack! (Or if you do, use them very sparingly.)</p><p></p><p>With regard to the tactical situation, look at the possibility of having the monsters arrive in waves, so that after a couple of rounds the PCs have a second target to deal with. Or maybe some stray attack damages the environment, so that now it's flooding. Or litter the place with terrain traps that trigger after a round or two. Or maybe the monsters' objective shifts after a couple of rounds (from 'capture' to 'kill', or whatever). Basically, you want to change <em>something</em> so that the players have to respond (especially in longer fights).</p><p></p><p>As others have mentioned, with PC actions you should be pushing for a quick declaration of action followed by a quick resolution. That's really one to discuss with your players <em>before</em> combat starts, and I'd advise against a hard rule ("you must declare your action within 10 seconds"). But if a player is just waffling over an action, move on.</p><p></p><p>And finally, if despite your best efforts the combat is turning into a grind, and especially if you have players losing patience, it's time to move on. Either just narrate the end of the combat, or invisibly cut the monster hit points so that the next hit is a kill, or have the monsters retreat, or something. (Just be careful: some players spend the first few rounds setting up a good tactical situation and then unleash hell. If that is your group, you probably don't want to cut the combat short just before they get their chance to shine! But observing your players will probably indicate whether they're preparing or they're bored. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> )</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="delericho, post: 7381249, member: 22424"] Yep. That's pretty much intentional - large hit point totals have replaced high AC as the preferred marker of a tough opponent. And for the most part, that's a good thing. The key, I think, is to keep things lively and interesting while that bag of hit points is being whittled down - make sure that the monsters have something interesting to do, do [i]something[/i] to change the tactical situation every couple of rounds, push players to declare and resolve actions quickly, and then cut the scene as soon as it gets boring. To expand on those: Where you have a monster with special abilities, make sure you use them. And don't keep spamming the same ability - if it has several powers, make sure you at least alternate between them. When using multiple monsters, it's generally best to use different monsters (and look for useful synergies between monster types). And for goodness sake, don't use lots of monsters that are just a big bag of hit points with [i]one[/i] attack! (Or if you do, use them very sparingly.) With regard to the tactical situation, look at the possibility of having the monsters arrive in waves, so that after a couple of rounds the PCs have a second target to deal with. Or maybe some stray attack damages the environment, so that now it's flooding. Or litter the place with terrain traps that trigger after a round or two. Or maybe the monsters' objective shifts after a couple of rounds (from 'capture' to 'kill', or whatever). Basically, you want to change [i]something[/i] so that the players have to respond (especially in longer fights). As others have mentioned, with PC actions you should be pushing for a quick declaration of action followed by a quick resolution. That's really one to discuss with your players [i]before[/i] combat starts, and I'd advise against a hard rule ("you must declare your action within 10 seconds"). But if a player is just waffling over an action, move on. And finally, if despite your best efforts the combat is turning into a grind, and especially if you have players losing patience, it's time to move on. Either just narrate the end of the combat, or invisibly cut the monster hit points so that the next hit is a kill, or have the monsters retreat, or something. (Just be careful: some players spend the first few rounds setting up a good tactical situation and then unleash hell. If that is your group, you probably don't want to cut the combat short just before they get their chance to shine! But observing your players will probably indicate whether they're preparing or they're bored. :) ) [/QUOTE]
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