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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7198734" data-attributes="member: 20323">[MENTION=6872180]bbrown12[/MENTION] I always recommend tweaking encounter design first (before changing number/composition of monster or customizing stat blocks) to increase the challenge. A few thoughts for your party. Use at your discretion...Un-defeatable Barbarian: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Consider including situations where melee attacks are hard or costly. Archers on an elevated rise requiring a treacherous climb to reach. A monster with a flame aura. Etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Consider including more damage types like acid, lightning, force, or psychic.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Consider introducing situations which impose disadvantage to the barbarian's attacks – fighting while climbing, fighting while squeezing, fighting underwater, fighting in the dark, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Remember that Rage ends prematurely if the barbarian's turn ends and he hasn't attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. What about a hold person, entangle, paralysis, or even quicksand/hunting trap? What if a fellow PC charms all hostile creatures within reach to be temporarily friendly? What if the creatures fall back upon seeing the wild-eyed frothing barbarian fell one of their number?</li> </ul>Fire-balling Sorcerer/Warlock:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Have some monsters use guerilla tactics. Stay spread out, employ snipping techniques.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Introduce "mob" monsters in waves. For example 12 orcs on round #1, then 12 more on round #3. Many players will expend fireballs when they think they're facing brunt of the attack, so having some of the monsters "off camera" is a good way to mitigate that. Of course, fair play says that the players should have some way to learn that the monsters are going to come in waves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What about monsters with their own fire resistance/immunity and/or Dexterity saves? Or even Fire Absorption?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What about conditions which make self-targeting with fireball a bad proposition? For example, traveling with pack animals or henchmen / protecting a NPC?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What if an enemy caster debuffs the rogue's Dexterity saving throw (e.g. hex or restraining spells)? Might that discourage self-targeting?</li> </ul>Un-hittable Heal-bot Cleric:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dang, that's some nice defensive treasure your cleric is rocking. Either he got lucky or had a generous DM. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Too bad the plate and shield don't apply to any saving throws, eh? Hint, hint.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Give a monsters advantage to hit the cleric by having one monster take the Help action to grant its ally advantage. Or blind, knock prone, stun, or restrain the cleric - same effect.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Area effects, whether from a spell or simply environmental, can forgo any roll to hit (and sometimes even forgo a saving throw). For example: getting pushed off a roof.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monster can cast Dispel magic too. Or the kobolds can herd rust monsters toward the cleric's position. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tax the cleric's spellcasting more. The choice to expend most slots on spells should feel a like a meaningful choice – in other words, that the cleric is giving something up in order to benefit from all that healing. This means either more encounters or harder encounters...or writing in special uses for cleric's spell slots into your adventure (e.g. expend a spell slot to re-sanctify a shrine within a fallen temple inhabited by monsters).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Charm another PC and have them attack the cleric. Or vice versa.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use monsters like wraiths which deal damage that doesn't heal (until a rest). Since many of these are undead, not only does this genuinely threaten the party, but it also gives the cleric a chance to use Turn Undead and be more than the "un-hittable heal-bot."</li> </ul>Depending on many factors (player skill, how DM plays the monsters, whether magic items & feats are in the game, how fresh the party is, etc.), a "Hard" encounter could actually be "Medium" or "Deadly" or even "Easy." Also consider how the DMG defines a "Hard" encounter...[SECTION]A hard encounter could go badly for the adventurers. Weaker characters might get taken out of the fight, and there's a slim chance that one or more characters might die.[/SECTION]...and consider whether that meets the definition of "Hard" that you are looking for.</blockquote>

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