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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 9093160" data-attributes="member: 7006">I think the biggest thing is to just be willing to go against your DM instincts here.&nbsp; It seems like you've already determined there are only two options on the table-- Strahd stays and fights and gets slaughtered by the party in like a round or two-- or Strahd spends hours doing hit and run attacks on the group until they run out of supplies / abilities and they all eventually die.You might just have to force yourself to select a middle ground that prioritizes the players' fun moreso that following &quot;the rules&quot; or &quot;realistic BBEG logic&quot;.&nbsp; I know many DMs hate hate hate to do that... but a person has to really decide what is more important-- a memorable and fun climax for the players, or their own comfort and preference?It is still possible to do a few rooms of a 'hit and run' scenario without defaulting to &quot;Doing it each and every round for the next six hours until all the PCs are dead&quot;.&nbsp; You can have him hit and run with wall walking even just by keeping Strahd on the Rooms of Weeping level-- to give the impression of a big climactic fight, while also keeping the vampire within somewhat of a reach to let the players get hits on him.&nbsp; Make the players chase him across the level.&nbsp; Leave the study and go into the bedroom behind it.&nbsp; Have Strahd lead them out onto the parapets of the castle through the door in the bedroom.&nbsp; Try and toss a PC off the parapets 90' to the ground below and see if they can rescue themselves.Take the middle ground where you know Strahd will eventually be defeated in the end, but don't just put him front and center to get wailed on with no defense.&nbsp; Prioritize the &quot;story&quot; of the fight, rather than the &quot;mechanics&quot; or the &quot;logic&quot;.&nbsp; Just this once.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 9093160, member: 7006"] I think the biggest thing is to just be willing to go against your DM instincts here. It seems like you've already determined there are only two options on the table-- Strahd stays and fights and gets slaughtered by the party in like a round or two-- or Strahd spends hours doing hit and run attacks on the group until they run out of supplies / abilities and they all eventually die. You might just have to force yourself to select a middle ground that prioritizes the players' fun moreso that following "the rules" or "realistic BBEG logic". I know many DMs hate hate hate to do that... but a person has to really decide what is more important-- a memorable and fun climax for the players, or their own comfort and preference? It is still possible to do a few rooms of a 'hit and run' scenario without defaulting to "Doing it each and every round for the next six hours until all the PCs are dead". You can have him hit and run with wall walking even just by keeping Strahd on the [I]Rooms of Weeping[/I] level-- to give the impression of a big climactic fight, while also keeping the vampire within somewhat of a reach to let the players get hits on him. Make the players chase him across the level. Leave the study and go into the bedroom behind it. Have Strahd lead them out onto the parapets of the castle through the door in the bedroom. Try and toss a PC off the parapets 90' to the ground below and see if they can rescue themselves. Take the middle ground where you know Strahd will eventually be defeated in the end, but don't just put him front and center to get wailed on with no defense. Prioritize the "story" of the fight, rather than the "mechanics" or the "logic". Just this once. [/QUOTE]

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