D&D 5E [+] How do you make 5E more challenging?

[ezo]

Enforce encumbrance.

Great! I forgot that one, although we do use it.

 

[CleverNickName]

You ah... optimize the monsters the same level as the PCs.

The PCs have Feats, the Enemies have Feats.
The PCs have Magic items, the Enemies have Magic Items.
The PCs multiclass, the Enemies multiclass
The PCs have new content, the Enemies have new content.

It's all fun and games til the hobgoblins have Hexladins and Sorclocks..

One of my buddies (also a DM) adjusts the AC, hit points, attack bonus, and attack damage of all monsters to match the characters in her gaming group. For example, all monsters have an AC equal to (the average attack bonus of the party) +10. So let's say the party is swinging at +8, on average? All those hobgoblins are now in full plate (AC 18).

It's not for me, I don't want to have to build a spreadsheet to build encounters. But she swears by it.

 

[overgeeked]

One of my buddies (also a DM) adjusts the AC, hit points, attack bonus, and attack damage of all monsters to match the characters in her gaming group. For example, all monsters have an AC equal to (the average attack bonus of the party) +10. So let's say the party is swinging at +8, on average? All those hobgoblins are now in full plate (AC 18).

It's not for me, I don't want to have to build a spreadsheet to build encounters. But she swears by it.

I did similar. Instead of the specific characters at the table, I went with averages and max for things. The max anyone could have to hit is X at this level, so monster AC is X+8-10. Average HP at this level is Y, so average monster damage is ~1/3 that. It works wonderfully. I prefer mine because it’s a one-and-done rather than custom built every level of every game. But yeah, it’s great having the game’s math at your fingertips like that.

 

[cbwjm]

When we first started playing, I had phases for a final fight, the bad guy went through all 4 classic elements before the players were able to take him down. It worked kind of similar to mythic enemies in the Theros book. I think that helps with solo enemies, players need to change tactics or weapons or protection spells.

I also have alarms go off with more enemies arriving after a certain number of rounds, ends up becoming this pitched battle where the players are trying to stop one set of enemies before another arrives.

 

[Minigiant]

One of my buddies (also a DM) adjusts the AC, hit points, attack bonus, and attack damage of all monsters to match the characters in her gaming group. For example, all monsters have an AC equal to (the average attack bonus of the party) +10. So let's say the party is swinging at +8, on average? All those hobgoblins are now in full plate (AC 18).

It's not for me, I don't want to have to build a spreadsheet to build encounters. But she swears by it.

I don't do anything that complex

For Example

The base hobgoblin has chain mail and shield (AC 18), longsword (1d8+1), and longbow (1d8+1)
The base orc has hide (AC 13), greataxe (1d12+3), and javelin (1d6+3)

But I allow PCs to have feats, muticlasses, floating ASI, and magic items/boons.

My hobgoblin has plate and shield (AC 20), longsword (1d8+1), and longbow (1d8+1) and theyget a feat based on which hobgoblin squad thy are

Archery Squads get Sharpshooter
Guard Squads get Shield Expert
Assault Squads get Slasher
Hybrid Squads get Magic Initiate

Wheras my orc get DEX 16 for hide (AC 15), and a magic bloody greataxe (1d12+3) which lets them Rage like a barbarian if they are below half HP.

 

[cbwjm]

One of my buddies (also a DM) adjusts the AC, hit points, attack bonus, and attack damage of all monsters to match the characters in her gaming group. For example, all monsters have an AC equal to (the average attack bonus of the party) +10. So let's say the party is swinging at +8, on average? All those hobgoblins are now in full plate (AC 18).

It's not for me, I don't want to have to build a spreadsheet to build encounters. But she swears by it.

I would not like that though I guess it fulfills the premise of this thread. I wouldn't like that as a player though, I much prefer my enemies to have a mixture of AC rather than all the same AC because I think some should be easier to hit, others harder.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Enforce encumbrance.

Let’s not get crazy here

 

[DarkCrisis]

I once watched a YouTube game for a bit that decided to to max HP at level up but every source of damage was also maxed out.

It seemed kind of pointless to me but I guess if they were having fun. Saved a few dice rolls etc

 

[Shardstone]

Should i copy and paste my post from the other thread here?

 

[Hussar]

Honestly, the simplest solution is just to keep the pressure on.

Which means that yes, you have to design your adventures that way. There's just no way around that. If you design your adventures such that the players can rest whenever they feel like it, and are going into every encounter fresh, then, well, yeah, it's going to massively skew the game.

So, the baddies that bump the party while they're sleeping in the Leomund's Hut will include a caster that can cast Dispel Magic - druids, cultists, anything like that. Constant hit and run tactics. Force the players to conserve their resources.

And the fun thing is, after you do this a few times, they players will do it to themselves. Because they know you'll keep piling on if they stop, they won't stop. Which keeps the energy high and the tension high. Even if you weren't planning on bombing encounters, they don't know that.