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General Tabletop Discussion
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DM in trouble needs advice/help to balance encounters in his campaign.
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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 7833060" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>I run tables with usually 7 PCs (of which probably at least 3 have healing abilities.) As a result, I have made two very basic changes at the base minimum to running monsters that has helped up the challenge greatly (without me having to spend time checking CRs or encounter builders etc.):</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each monster has Max HP.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each monster's attack damage dice are maxed and I'll roll a 6-sided die to add to it in place of the bonus (just so the numbers are a little random.)</li> </ul><p></p><p>That there is enough to usually prolong fights into the 3rd round, and doing max damage (plus a little more) drops PC hit points much quicker and necessitates the PCs use of healing spells and the like. The heal-thru (either during or after combat) is such that I still won't tend to knock people out (and even if I do manage it on one, they get stabilized very quickly anyway)... but at least each player feels like they are getting hit extremely hard in the moment. So the combats has tension even if they aren't actually life-threatening.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 7833060, member: 7006"] I run tables with usually 7 PCs (of which probably at least 3 have healing abilities.) As a result, I have made two very basic changes at the base minimum to running monsters that has helped up the challenge greatly (without me having to spend time checking CRs or encounter builders etc.): [LIST] [*]Each monster has Max HP. [*]Each monster's attack damage dice are maxed and I'll roll a 6-sided die to add to it in place of the bonus (just so the numbers are a little random.) [/LIST] That there is enough to usually prolong fights into the 3rd round, and doing max damage (plus a little more) drops PC hit points much quicker and necessitates the PCs use of healing spells and the like. The heal-thru (either during or after combat) is such that I still won't tend to knock people out (and even if I do manage it on one, they get stabilized very quickly anyway)... but at least each player feels like they are getting hit extremely hard in the moment. So the combats has tension even if they aren't actually life-threatening. [/QUOTE]
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DM in trouble needs advice/help to balance encounters in his campaign.
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