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<blockquote data-quote="AtomicPope" data-source="post: 7382248" data-attributes="member: 64790"><p>Something I learned from running Star Wars RPGs: sometimes the PCs need to be invincible heroes. All too often DMs treat every combat as a life or death encounter. The problem with this approach is the players can't visualize or experience the growth of their characters. A cantrip is just as ineffective against an nigh invincible Orog when you're 1st Level as it is against a Storm Giant when you're 11th level. However, use those cantrips against regular Orcs when you're 11th level and you're blasting them to smithereens. Hacking and blasting an entire Orc warband is fun, it costs resources, and reminds us how much the players and their characters are grown together. They can look back and remember when a single Orc and some crazy dice rolls almost TPKed the party. Now they killed 40 Orcs like it was nothing, just a few scratches, saving an entire town. </p><p></p><p>These heroic encounters are perfect for plot threats:</p><p>1. Stop the Orcs from killing innocent villagers.</p><p>2. Stop the Cultists from summoning a Demon.</p><p>3. Evacuate NPCs from a warzone.</p><p></p><p>In each of these encounters the monsters are not a direct threat to the PCs. The monsters are a threat to the NPCs. To give the encounters weight they should threaten a part of the PCs' ingame history. For example, their favorite NPCs; the town they started their adventures in; or a combination. These acts of invincible heroism are a great lead to facing the real threat. They establish the PCs as the only heroes who can win this fight against the BBEG™. It's also a good time to play up the TV trope, "Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!" Destroying the Orc Warband has brought the attention of the godlike Demon that lords over the Orc Empire. The fight just got deadly <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AtomicPope, post: 7382248, member: 64790"] Something I learned from running Star Wars RPGs: sometimes the PCs need to be invincible heroes. All too often DMs treat every combat as a life or death encounter. The problem with this approach is the players can't visualize or experience the growth of their characters. A cantrip is just as ineffective against an nigh invincible Orog when you're 1st Level as it is against a Storm Giant when you're 11th level. However, use those cantrips against regular Orcs when you're 11th level and you're blasting them to smithereens. Hacking and blasting an entire Orc warband is fun, it costs resources, and reminds us how much the players and their characters are grown together. They can look back and remember when a single Orc and some crazy dice rolls almost TPKed the party. Now they killed 40 Orcs like it was nothing, just a few scratches, saving an entire town. These heroic encounters are perfect for plot threats: 1. Stop the Orcs from killing innocent villagers. 2. Stop the Cultists from summoning a Demon. 3. Evacuate NPCs from a warzone. In each of these encounters the monsters are not a direct threat to the PCs. The monsters are a threat to the NPCs. To give the encounters weight they should threaten a part of the PCs' ingame history. For example, their favorite NPCs; the town they started their adventures in; or a combination. These acts of invincible heroism are a great lead to facing the real threat. They establish the PCs as the only heroes who can win this fight against the BBEG™. It's also a good time to play up the TV trope, "Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!" Destroying the Orc Warband has brought the attention of the godlike Demon that lords over the Orc Empire. The fight just got deadly ;) [/QUOTE]
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