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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 5512993" data-attributes="member: 20323">[MENTION=57373]Zinovia[/MENTION] WotBS sounds great!Have you sent an assassin or two while they sleep yet? If the objective of an easy fight is "kill all monsters" then really you wouldn't expect anything but quick to order dragon pancakes. Sometimes that's great cause the players get to feel like big damn heroes.I've used alternate objectives in combat, particularly easy/moderate combats, to great effect. IOW threaten the quest not the PCs.My view is that there are really 3  flavors of combat each with different design guidelines: (1) Complex set piece battles closing out an adventure/quest have multiple goals including defeating the BBEG, and may involve multiple stages. PC death is a real possibility, and they'll need to pull out all the stops.Elites/solos are guaranteed, any minions are there to support the BBEG by weight of numbers and always come in waves. IME these last half a session or 2+ hours and I'm definitely pulling out a big old map that I've customized, made myself, or assembled piecemeal. Expect turn by turn deep strategy.(2) Skirmishes are easier fights that require unique tactics because the main threat isn't directed at the PCs. They usually have a "quick win" button independent of monster HP. PCs usually don't fall below 0 HP. and rarely use many resources.I keep monsters at the PCs' level or lower, use minions liberally, don't use elites/solos, and minimize my use of soldiers and controllers.IME these last 30-45 minutes though I'd like them to be more in the 20-30 minute range. If I pull out a map it's for rough positioning or because the environment is especially important to the unique situation; mostly I wouldn't use a map because tactics and fine positioning are unimportant.(3) In between, there's mini-boss fights which at face value look similar to the dungeon delve format. I usually only had one per adventure (if that) but you could have more. PCs may drop below 0 HP but usually aren't in risk of dying. These encounters tend to require significant resources unless the PCs figure out the "secret weakness". Thus in a game where nova is common, you need to make these fights especially hard or provide lasting consequences that carry over to the next day.The mini-boss is an elite of higher level; I like ones with high damage output and some trick the PCs can use to lower/penetrate it's defenses. My mini-boss fights take anywhere from 1-2 hrs, and we use maps to handle round by round tactics.Yep I did a few times when it made sense in the narrative that an extended rest was actually not restful (in the DMs opinion). My players did backflips to argue for or arrange an extended rest (even if it wasn't strictly needed), so I mostly abandoned that.When I do want to put pressure on them I create reasons that an extended rest is unattractive or a milestone is more appealing. That ways it's not top-down but it comes from them.<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious    :]" data-shortname=":]" />But mostly I let them nova. It makes me DM smarter than the nova.I haven't run a single 4e dungeon where the PCs got an extended rest in between encounters. Then again I'm a big fan of the 5-room dungeon, old school lethal dungeons, and RBDM tricks like locking the PCs inside or having a rising tide of lava. Or both.</blockquote>

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