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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 4766914" data-attributes="member: 13966">I build NPCs to be NPCs.....whether that makes them particularly tough, tricky, brutal, feeble, frail, stupid, or not, depends on the NPC's background or purpose.  They get non-combat skills and feats when appropriate, and are usually not optimized nor as talented as PCs (i.e. usually no high ability scores, PC classes, or PrCs).Still, I do make PC-class NPCs semi-frequently and some PrC-using NPCs on occasion, but I make them to fit their place in the world and whatever vague concept of a background I have for them.  Some few are optimized death-machines made to truly challenge the most-optimized PCs, but most are not.I prefer to make NPCs challenging, but not frustrating or mere fodder (but I do throw some fodder at the PCs too, sometimes in excessive numbers).  I try to mix things up and keep them interesting and challenging, but the PCs inevitably steamroller over some encounters and struggle to avoid a TPK in others.  Some of my NPCs are very difficult to hit, others are brutal when they hit, and others are just plain tough and made to wear down the PCs a bit while being worn down themselves.I have occasionally defeated the entire party through NPCs they failed to fight with any tactical sense, teamwork, or good decision-making.  I've generally avoided TPKs then by having the PCs captured and stripped of armaments rather than slain, even though the NPCs generally intend to execute them later, after interrogation or something.  The only reason I didn't TPK them in these few cases were because it wasn't entirely their fault that they lost and it was a bad place to end a campaign.  But I'll slaughter the PCs if they screw up and cause their own demise, like losing the battle against the adventure's BBEG.  Individual PCs (or sometimes 2-4 at a time) die in my games, but rarely is the entire party beaten.</blockquote>

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