D&D 5E GM: Who Do You Target? [READ OP BEFORE VOTING]

[CleverNickName]

yes - which is why the mistake is targeting ANYONE.

Yep. And that might not be a bad thing, depending on the scene.

In my games at least, the BBEG isn't really supposed to win...they're supposed to be defeated in a dramatic manner, or escape to face the party again later, whichever would conclude the adventure in the most satisfying way.

I don't really use disposable BBEGs, ones that show up only once and die after 1d6 rounds of combat so that the party can loot their bodies. That's what henchmen, bodyguards, and toadies are for...not the Big Bad.

 

[ECMO3]

yes - which is why the mistake is targeting ANYONE.

Perhaps. If he can use his action (and bonus action) to escape sure. But if escape is not possible .....

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Perhaps. If he can use his action (and bonus action) to escape sure. But if escape is not possible .....

if escape isn't possible, then no action the bbeg can take really matters. they can't kill anyone, and they can't survive. so really, at that point, you might as well roll to see who you hit. it'd do you about as much good as picking someone specific.

like i said earlier, it's a really nasty scenario to be in as the villain.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Perhaps. If he can use his action (and bonus action) to escape sure. But if escape is not possible .....

As has already been mentioned, he can attempt to surrender (worked for Sauron), or bluff. Even if chance of success is low, it's better than the zero chance of continuing to fight.

 

[Steampunkette]

Depends on the BBEG.

Misguided Hero: Fighter. Best them in battle before retreating to show honor.
Evil Wizard: Cleric. You're aiming to hurt the party before you slip away and delay their recovery.
Hateful Foe: Rogue. Use the Misty Step to get to them, kill them, take the body with you as you flee.
Lich: Wizard. And try to take their soul while you're at it.

The narrative should drive the action, rather than a choice of "How do I beat the players with tactical choices?"

 

[Lanefan]

Depends on the BBEG.

Misguided Hero: Fighter. Best them in battle before retreating to show honor.
Evil Wizard: Cleric. You're aiming to hurt the party before you slip away and delay their recovery.
Hateful Foe: Rogue. Use the Misty Step to get to them, kill them, take the body with you as you flee.
Lich: Wizard. And try to take their soul while you're at it.

The narrative should drive the action, rather than a choice of "How do I beat the players with tactical choices?"

Except in theory the BBEG would have, if any of the above were true, been spiralling on that one PC all along rather than whittling them down evenly; which is the position (that each PC plus the BBEG is one hit away from dropping) the OP puts us in for this exercise.

 

[Steampunkette]

Except in theory the BBEG would have, if any of the above were true, been spiralling on that one PC all along rather than whittling them down evenly; which is the position (that each PC plus the BBEG is one hit away from dropping) the OP puts us in for this exercise.

Eh...?

Depends on the situation and circumstance. Also the level of "Narrator being a Jerk".

If I've got a BBEG strong enough to stand against the entire party and whittle them all down before the BBEG is near to being defeated then it's a TPK before that point if I burn down single PCs. Because the loss of support/buffs/damage from the Cleric going down in Round 2 is going to reduce the output and survivability of the Rogue/Fighter/Wizard in rounds 3 and onward.

If I've got the party that pressed, to the point that they're -all- on their last legs and I could down any of them with my next hit, it's because I've been trying -not- to TPK and instead to make the encounter fun and varied rather than forcing one person to make a bunch of death saves and twiddle their thumbs while the rest of the party fights.

In the situation outlined, I would make my choice on who they down before escaping be based on the enemy type and narrative.

The situation outlined doesn't require "Optimal Gameplay Theory NPC" and so I wouldn't play them like that. I'd play them off their characterization.

 

[Reynard]

If I've got the party that pressed, to the point that they're -all- on their last legs and I could down any of them with my next hit, it's because I've been trying -not- to TPK and instead to make the encounter fun and varied rather than forcing one person to make a bunch of death saves and twiddle their thumbs while the rest of the party fights.

It is interesting, because how people fill in the white space in.the OP is varied and, I would say, kind of a Rorschach test.

In my head, this situation was occurring at the end of a long battle or string of battles and everyone is just spent -- not that the theoretical GM in the situation was intentionally pulling punches to avoid killing PCs. Mostly because a) I don't pull punches, and b) solo bosses are terrible, even with lair and legendary actions, and I have learned through hard lessons not to use them without major changes.

 

[Steampunkette]

It is interesting, because how people fill in the white space in.the OP is varied and, I would say, kind of a Rorschach test.

In my head, this situation was occurring at the end of a long battle or string of battles and everyone is just spent -- not that the theoretical GM in the situation was intentionally pulling punches to avoid killing PCs. Mostly because a) I don't pull punches, and b) solo bosses are terrible, even with lair and legendary actions, and I have learned through hard lessons not to use them without major changes.

Honestly... it depends on the BBEG!

But the description didn't include any dungeon enemies or minions in the fight. JUST the BBEG and the PCs.

And when I run that kind of encounter it's going to be, like, Strahd attacking a group of 2nd level PCs who need to be reminded of who is the real Master of Barovia. Just roflstomping a group of babies to make sure they hate him even harder when he escapes and they have to chase after him.

And also: It's THE BIG BAD EVIL GUY. Sometimes you need the fight where the underleveled characters get their butts kicked but survive and manage to get off a few shots before the enemy inevitably retreats.

That's not "Pulling Punches". That's building a story. If your enemies all, invariably, use the most perfect tactics to dismantle your party in every fight then the game is going to be a buzzkill for your character driven players.

I've played in a D&D game where a band of goblins fought with 0 fear of death and 100% tactical acumen. And after the session made it clear that was the DM's playstyle I thanked him for his time and withdrew from the game because that's not fun to me. That's not a story to me.

That's just Hackmaster with Death Saves.

And it's not even like I hate Hackmaster or whatever. Just a measure of expectations. I was sold on Roleplay and given cookie cutter "Geek the Mage" combat. Gimme the story, I neeeeeed it!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Honestly... it depends on the BBEG!

But the description didn't include any dungeon enemies or minions in the fight. JUST the BBEG and the PCs.

And when I run that kind of encounter it's going to be, like, Strahd attacking a group of 2nd level PCs who need to be reminded of who is the real Master of Barovia. Just roflstomping a group of babies to make sure they hate him even harder when he escapes and they have to chase after him.

And also: It's THE BIG BAD EVIL GUY. Sometimes you need the fight where the underleveled characters get their butts kicked but survive and manage to get off a few shots before the enemy inevitably retreats.

That's not "Pulling Punches". That's building a story. If your enemies all, invariably, use the most perfect tactics to dismantle your party in every fight then the game is going to be a buzzkill for your character driven players.

I've played in a D&D game where a band of goblins fought with 0 fear of death and 100% tactical acumen. And after the session made it clear that was the DM's playstyle I thanked him for his time and withdrew from the game because that's not fun to me. That's not a story to me.

That's just Hackmaster with Death Saves.

And it's not even like I hate Hackmaster or whatever. Just a measure of expectations. I was sold on Roleplay and given cookie cutter "Geek the Mage" combat. Gimme the story, I neeeeeed it!

The only thing I see wrong with the situation you described is a lack of a reaction roll and morale rules; basically, the monsters weren't played realistically.