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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Caliburn101" data-source="post: 6901280" data-attributes="member: 6802178">This isn't complex to do, quite the opposite in fact.Throw a succession of 'encounters' at the party which equate to an average encounter (in terms of groups from the army they face engaging with the party at different times, but with a continuous narrative of events).Keep throwing average encounters are them until they start using their big hitting limited use abilities. At that point, throw a very difficult one at them and keep the pressure up with reinforcements.Wait until the first PC goes down then throw in a plot twist that sees the pressure drop off, like the cavalry arriving, or a distant horn sounds and the bad guys inexplicably withdraw. There are many satisfying ways to do this.Actually, with experience, you will eventually be able to judge when the encounter had reached the maximum threat the party can handle, and stop adding to their enemy's strength.If you have been slavish about the CR balance of encounters to this point in your game, then the effect on your players will be significant, as they will have had one foot hanging over the precipice and faced a TPK for the first time - without their ever actually being on the cards of course <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />. Victory is much sweeter and the game more enjoyable when the players have a sense of their characters mortality, and the willingness of the GM to throw real threats their way from time to time.The CR system is a bit borked to be honest. I don't use it much - it tends to deliver walkovers most of the time with experienced players. There is much to be said in running a game where 'appropriate' threats are tackled by a party as much by their own design and planning as the GM's fiat.</blockquote>

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