Double Whammies: Ever Use Complimentary Threats in Game?

[AFGNCAAP]

I was looking through the Monster Manual for an idea for an encounter, and looked over the Wight. Then, I looked over the Wraith.

An encounter with both Wraiths & Wights in it seems like a very tough mix. Bad enough that Wights drain levels; but the Con drain of Wraiths could feasibly mean that the Fort save to regain the levels drained could be even harder to do (esp. if the party has no restorative magics, or the cleric was drained enough levels to no longer have access to restorative magics).

Have you ever used/run encounters that have this sort of "Double Whammey" effect? Like an unstable environment that requires Balance checks or Reflex saves, and the opponents have Dex-damaging abilities (like poison, ability drain, etc.)? Highly spell-resistant melee-oriented foes against a spellcaster-heavy party?

If you have, how did the PCs fare in those situations?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I haven't run an encounter like this but your post reminded me of a Dragon magazine article which was exactly what you were talking about. It was a couple of pages of encounters that you could run where the mosters attacks complemented each other well, making life more difficult for the PC's. Can anyone remember what issue it was? I think it might have been around #300.

Olaf the Stout

 

[delericho]

Occasionally. Favourite combinations are Grimlocks and anything that generates darkness, Troglodytes and Rust Monsters, and I think the Succubus and Howlers.

Such combined threats can be extremely dangerous. As such, I recommend considering the EL of the encounter to be 1 or more higher than 'normal' to account for the synergy between the threats. You might also consider giving out more XP... but a RBDM wouldn't

 

[The Grackle]

I like throwing swarms over undead/constructs. That's always fun.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

I had an enemy caster cast Evard's Black Tentacles when they were being attacked by a few swarms (centipede I think). This was incredibly deadly, with the nauseated swarm effect meaning any affected creatures could not try to escape the tentacles that turn. It nearly choked the party to death and certainly gave them a good scare. Actually, that was a fun encounter.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[SteelDraco]

Red dragons and iron golems are great fun for high-level groups. Fire damage heals the golems, so the dragon waits for the golems to take some damage, and then breathes over the whole melee. Heals their side, hurts the enemies.

 

[Ravellion]

I haven't run an encounter like this but your post reminded me of a Dragon magazine article which was exactly what you were talking about. It was a couple of pages of encounters that you could run where the mosters attacks complemented each other well, making life more difficult for the PC's. Can anyone remember what issue it was? I think it might have been around #300.

Olaf the Stout

I think that's 288, actually.

 

[ruleslawyer]

Yup. Shocker lizards + flesh golems are an old favorite; iron golems + volcanic lairs are another fun one, especially if the lava is just about 3-4 feet deep, so the golem can wade in it and attack the PCs at the same time. But there are all sorts of possibilities.

 

[Sejs]

Red dragons, iron golems and lava. 'Nuff said.

Ogres and dire wolves. Fast movement and tripping to act as zone control for the ogres, ogres putting out raw hurt.

Undead or oozes with water and grates. Certain environmental conditions make particular creatures several orders of magnitude more fearsome.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I think that's 288, actually.

I was close! Thanks for that Ravellion.

Olaf the Stout