Challenging my high-lvl group (NPCs and monsters; my players shouldn't read this!)

[The Forsaken One]

Tnx Kitty~~~~

Btw you add +3 hp or +3hd when you change it's type to d12?

And any ECL?

 

[Crowe9107]

Crowe, you're a bad, bad man. I may change it to undead mutated sea bass, because it's a deadly idea. This sort of thing would occur either (a) when the bad guys KNOW the PCs are coming, or (b) as you said, a final line of defense. I especially like the flies and unliving water.

Odd... I was thinking about undead ropers just the other day, as I decided that it was too early to use them.

Update when I can manage it; family stuff and other responsibilities are currently coming first!

I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way. Are they ill-tempered sea bass....hmmm? I agree, quite deadly, there is a fairly fine line between "challenging" and TPK. My own players seem to like ECLs that are +2-4 (depends, ECLs are not all they are cracked up to be), for climatic battles, wherein they expend at least 80% party resources, these "dicey" battles are the ones they seem to remember and enjoy the most. Because of this, I tend to gloss over minor encounters unless I feel that party endurance is going to be an issue. 3e has certainly sped up combat, but I generally take the cinegraphic approach to pushing through the stormtroopers, focussing on the "cool scenes" and major encounters. It is most difficult to get it just right, you slowly have to probe the party's capabilities and ramp up the encounters (factoring in rest and expenditures) until you find out what's right for the party. If you start out with too much, too soon, you end up with monsters that suddenly remember that it is time for their coffee break in the middle of a battle or a TPK, which is no fun. As for the ropers...I think I am going to start wrapping my head in tin-foil, I come up with alot of ideas that suddenly appear elsewhere, it's all a conspiracy I tell you.


Re,

Carl Rowe

 

[Xarlen]

The only way I could improve the Room O' Nastiness, is throwing down some Descerates and Unhallows.

Though, if *I* entered that room, I'd be sure to be throwing Fireball upon Lightningbolt upon Acid fog to clear all the ickiness outta there. *Shudder* Especially the flies.

 

[Bronz Dragon]

The only way I could improve the Room O' Nastiness, is throwing down some Descerates and Unhallows.

Though, if *I* entered that room, I'd be sure to be throwing Fireball upon Lightningbolt upon Acid fog to clear all the ickiness outta there. *Shudder* Especially the flies.

Eww.. Unhallow? Desecrate? In a room full of undead? That would be just nasty.

But why not just throw a sonic meteor swarm, or equivalent? Watch the little pests disintegrate in a wall of sound.. Uses up a high level spell slot, but what the hey, it'd be worth it

 

[Nail]

But why not just throw a sonic meteor swarm, or equivalent? Watch the little pests disintegrate in a wall of sound.. Uses up a high level spell slot, but what the hey, it'd be worth it

PC, these last few posts got me thinking (bad form, I know).

One of the problems with the afore mentioned "Room of Suck" is that th' PCs can deal with it/avoid it without being in the middle of it. Like with th' sonic meteor swarm Bronz Dragon mentioned.

That's not necessarily bad. The PCs should, more than once during their miserable little lives, be able to destroy/circumvent some of their major obstacles. Maybe even in ways th' DM never anticipated.

PC, what would you say your ratio of "plunged into th' middle" vs. "PCs can see it coming" encounters is? Do you think about this at all? (Of course you do: Yer a super DM.....or is that supper DM.) Your eager fan-boys wanna know.

 

[Piratecat]

Forsaken One, +3 HD. It helps compensate for the low BAB and lack of constitution.

Bronz Dragon, sonic meteor storm? I am SO stealing that! And it will give Nolin something to countersong....

Sidran, thanks, but I'll probably pass on it. Golems aren't too tough for high lvl PCs, and I have a personal dislike for really complex death traps. Well, manufactured death traps, anyways.

Nail, I think about that all the time. I try to let them dig their own holes, to hang them on their own petards. That way, they'll know that they chose the path that led them there. It makes for a less deterministic, less linear game if they can occasionally see threats and judge what to do with them before they ever really become dangerous.

That's exactly what happened last night, btw! I threw a non-combat encounter at them, and they've decided to turn it into a combat encounter. God help 'em. It'll be fun, though!

I'll note that arcane sight and true seeing makes it VERY hard to disguise bad guys with spells like polymorph. A big change from lower levels, but not a bad one.

 

[Enkhidu]

...I'll note that arcane sight and true seeing makes it VERY hard to disguise bad guys with spells like polymorph. A big change from lower levels, but not a bad one.

Aww shucks, P-cat - that just means you have to use villians with huge amounts of ranks in Disguise to mess with your players heads.

Assuming the bad guys are humanoid, of course, and you spin it right...

 

[Piratecat]

Yeah. But they noticed that damn dragon right away.

Oops! Did I say that out loud? That was last night. Don't mention it elsewhere. Heh heh.

 

[Xarlen]

That's why you have the dragon put on a hat, and a mustache...

 

[Ashy]

Pkitty,

Back to your post about how you DM - Im the same way!!! I do a bit more prep ('cause I'm bad with stats and have it picky players) but other than that, I just keep 'em GUESSIN!