How to Preserve Monsters?
- Thread starter Sammael
- Start date
Calico_Jack73
First Post
You had your Kobolds on the defensive... next time try springing an offensive tactic that wears the party down. For example, IMC that I am gearing up I have a scenario planned where some Gnoll Ranger servants of the BBG are going to be hunting down the party. For the party casters to get spells back they are going to have to get some rest. The Gnolls are going to hang back hidden at maximum bow distance whenever the party rests and just as they get settled and start into their sleep cycles the Gnolls will let loose a barrage of poisoned arrows and then fade away. A few days of this will wear down any party... the cleric will be using what spells they have to heal up the damage from the arrow shots. The Gnolls will present targets for the Wizard to throw a spell or two at but then will fade before any real damage is done. Once all the spell casting abilites are used up they'll make their final attack. Half of the Gnolls will remain hidden while the other half fade away drawing out the warrior types. The hidden Gnolls will then spring up and attack the weaker wizard types from behind and when they finish them they'll help their fellows with the Warriors. Some may say this is a TPK but honestly it is just a sound tactic that any Ranger could come up with to take advantage of their skills and abilities.
Thanee
First Post
At those levels a single threat (the 5th level kobolds don't pose a threat to the party) isn't making for a tough encounter, unless it's really powerful. A single spell (like the one used) can take it out of the fight.
It's often better to have multiple (and possibly different) threats around (altho if the numbers increase the power level of a single one shouldn't be too far over the PC's level obviously).
I.e. in the encounter, if the cleric had been a little higher level (like 9th), it would probably have been a lot different.
Bye
Thanee
It's often better to have multiple (and possibly different) threats around (altho if the numbers increase the power level of a single one shouldn't be too far over the PC's level obviously).
I.e. in the encounter, if the cleric had been a little higher level (like 9th), it would probably have been a lot different.
Bye
Thanee
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Okay, the cleric got away. Good. Focus on what happens next.
The cleric ought to do a sending to the dragonmaster, letting her know how nasty the PCs are. All surviving kobolds will retreat to somewhere safe and innocuous, until reinforcements show up.
Next time, the big bad guy will be under the effect of a freedom of movement spell or scroll. This would've made a big difference in the fight.
One trick for spellcasters is to blend in with the crowd: carry a martial weapon in one hand, wear drab clothes, have your compatriots wear drab clothes too, and have your compatriots shout mystical-sounding mumbo-jumbo in the middle of battle. Make it very difficult for the PCs to figure out who's actually casting the nasty spells at them. I did this in a recent climactic battle to great effect: the PCs wasted a couple rounds desperately trying to find the source of the nasty magic before seeing that one specific archer was never using her bow.
When reinforcements show up, consider doing a nighttime attack. Too many nocturnal ambushes can be very annoying for the players, but one or two can keep them on their toes. Do the PCs have horses? Target the horses in the ambush. Followers, cohorts? Try to take them out. Otherwise, consider making the nocturnal assault a theft-assault: archers fire from only one side of the camp, drawing the PCs out into the woods, at which point the thieves creep in from the other side and make off with all kinds of yummy loot (spellbooks, heavy armor, backup weaponry, backpacks, bags of holding, etc. -- anything that someone isn't going to wear to bed).
Daniel
The cleric ought to do a sending to the dragonmaster, letting her know how nasty the PCs are. All surviving kobolds will retreat to somewhere safe and innocuous, until reinforcements show up.
Next time, the big bad guy will be under the effect of a freedom of movement spell or scroll. This would've made a big difference in the fight.
One trick for spellcasters is to blend in with the crowd: carry a martial weapon in one hand, wear drab clothes, have your compatriots wear drab clothes too, and have your compatriots shout mystical-sounding mumbo-jumbo in the middle of battle. Make it very difficult for the PCs to figure out who's actually casting the nasty spells at them. I did this in a recent climactic battle to great effect: the PCs wasted a couple rounds desperately trying to find the source of the nasty magic before seeing that one specific archer was never using her bow.
When reinforcements show up, consider doing a nighttime attack. Too many nocturnal ambushes can be very annoying for the players, but one or two can keep them on their toes. Do the PCs have horses? Target the horses in the ambush. Followers, cohorts? Try to take them out. Otherwise, consider making the nocturnal assault a theft-assault: archers fire from only one side of the camp, drawing the PCs out into the woods, at which point the thieves creep in from the other side and make off with all kinds of yummy loot (spellbooks, heavy armor, backup weaponry, backpacks, bags of holding, etc. -- anything that someone isn't going to wear to bed).
Daniel
The best way to make grunts (like the arctic kobold warriors) useful against high armor class opponents., is touch attacks. Give them all some tanglefoot bags which are no big treasure at high levels. Bombard the fighter with them to slow him down, or the spiderclimbing character to make him get stuck to the cliff. Alchemists fires don't deal that much damage but when there's several volleys it can build up. Thunderstones can be useful en mass as well as its more chances to fail a saving throw. Smokesticks (or whatever their called) can cover an escape or give a rouge with blindsight (through an item or something like that) free sneak attacks.
All the items mentioned cost less then 50 gold each. The key is that at high levels one of them isn't going to cut it, you need a fair deal of them in volleys if you are going to overcome the saves and powers of the party.
All the items mentioned cost less then 50 gold each. The key is that at high levels one of them isn't going to cut it, you need a fair deal of them in volleys if you are going to overcome the saves and powers of the party.
Similar Threads
