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<blockquote data-quote="adembroski" data-source="post: 6096898" data-attributes="member: 18869">It really is OK to allow your PCs to just beat the hell out of someone now and then. Reinforce the idea that they're a cut above. This should actually once every 5-8 encounters, honestly.Additionally, numbers help. Flank and aid another turns a +4 attack bonus into a +8. Have the NPCs close with the party from a dispersed position and close ranks when they're in melee range to cut down on area of effect danger. Close with mages quickly and grapple to effectively disarm them. Give up an attack to make a double move to close within Attack of Opportunity range with magic users. Imagine the NPCs as your adventuring party and lead them, don't just use them as cannon fodder for higher level NPCs. That said, the goal should be survival once the NPCs realize that they're overmatched. Most of the low-level encounters I run end with a fighting withdrawal of the lesser party.The prevailing literature on GMing tends to emphasize that your role is not adversarial with your players. This is true to a great extent, but there does come a time when you are indeed role playing the player's adversaries, and thus you should approach encounter design that way. Don't just think about who the party will face, but how the NPCs will handle the situation. In that moment, it's your job to oppose the PCs, to provide the greatest challenge you can with the group you're given.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="adembroski, post: 6096898, member: 18869"] It really is OK to allow your PCs to just beat the hell out of someone now and then. Reinforce the idea that they're a cut above. This should actually once every 5-8 encounters, honestly. Additionally, numbers help. Flank and aid another turns a +4 attack bonus into a +8. Have the NPCs close with the party from a dispersed position and close ranks when they're in melee range to cut down on area of effect danger. Close with mages quickly and grapple to effectively disarm them. Give up an attack to make a double move to close within Attack of Opportunity range with magic users. Imagine the NPCs as your adventuring party and lead them, don't just use them as cannon fodder for higher level NPCs. That said, the goal should be survival once the NPCs realize that they're overmatched. Most of the low-level encounters I run end with a fighting withdrawal of the lesser party. The prevailing literature on GMing tends to emphasize that your role is not adversarial with your players. This is true to a great extent, but there does come a time when you are indeed role playing the player's adversaries, and thus you should approach encounter design that way. Don't just think about who the party will face, but how the NPCs will handle the situation. In that moment, it's your job to oppose the PCs, to provide the greatest challenge you can with the group you're given. [/QUOTE]

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