Do your PCs ever completely outclass the enemy?

[Torm]

Just this last Sunday, my group of 7th level characters demolished a group of 8 commoners. They thought they had a fight coming with something higher level, but instead the whole thing was over in one round and they were left wondering whether or not a fight had even been necessary. (Which I won't reveal here, in case Henry is reading. )

 

[Wish]

Yeah, it happens occasionally. It's been happening a lot in our recent campaign - we're playing Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and the foes in that can be pretty static, especially the goons. So we go from fights with frighteningly tough high level clerics, demons, or dragons, and in the next room are 6 ogres in full plate. Not advanced, leveled, half-fiendish ogres. Just ogres. Those fights are sometimes fun, but after a while they get dull. There were dozens of 1st level human warriors in another section of the mines, with pretty good gear. After a while we started refering to them as "money makers" because they carry gear that we can sell for a lot more than the effort of swatting a 7hp goon really warrants.

 

[devilbat]

Sure they do, but only when I want them to.

 

[BSF]

Usually once every three or four levels, usually against opponents that used to give them a hell of a lot of trouble. One of my players still fondly remembers the 18th level group decimating a force of 20 ogres, 4 manticores and a pair of wyvverns that were threating a town. All three had given them a hell of a lot of problems back at 5th to 8th level or so, and suddenly they could clean up a small horde of them inside of three rounds. Apparently it was the first time he could truly put a high-level PC into context.

Yep, stuff like this is cool.

Hey Arwink, didn't you and I post nearly the same thing on nearly the same topic in a different thread some time ago?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Only as a prelude or set up to a nasty encounter.

 

[ruleslawyer]

All the time, once my PCs hit 7th level or so.

I go by the theory that the game world is what it is. Encounters aren't going to be calibrated to the PCs' precise strength all the time. Especially as PCs get tougher, they become rare and powerful heroes unmatchable by all but the strongest foes. So, in their wanderings, they're going to run into lots of foes that they can beat up easily. (Mind you, I generally handwave these fights unless the players are itching to flex their power muscles, but still...)

The converse does occesionally happen IMC as well, but less often. I generally start out my campaigns running full swing, so PCs are already being matched to encounters of appropriate power. Generally, the first "story arc" runs them up to 4th level, by which time there aren't a lot of completely random encounters with the power to overwhelm them easily.

 

[Victim]

Yes.

Of course, sometimes the encounter is merely handwaved, like when a group of bandits 'ambushed' two of our party while they were traveling. Poor bandits. You'd think a supposedly lawful good character would be more merciful...

Other times, fights are averted because the characters use Intimidate combined their reputations to force the weaker enemies to back down. Most people won't make enemies of living legends lightly.

Sometimes a combatant, or group of enemies, in a larger battle will be far weaker than the other fighters.

 

[fafhrd]

Sadly, my current group encounters almost nothing but speedbumps. If I throw an actual challenge their way, they tend to sulk and whine.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I use by far mostly Status Quo, rather than Tailored (in the DMG's parlance).

Therefore, it's very likely that encounters that are 'too tough' or 'too weak' occur quite often. And they do.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I run Exalted. So far the PCs have completely outclasses the enemy in every single combat.

This might change sometime in the future, though...