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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8936174" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>The other alternative is the one I gave - wherein you have alternative failure conditions other than lack of survival. As in the real world, you don't have to have a risk of death to have a serious situation.</p><p></p><p>Think of comic book characters. You know they're not going to die fighting a bad guy - but there is a chance the bad guy might do something really bad before they get taken down. They might hurt someone the PCs care about, destory something they care about, steal something and get away, or otherwise give the PCs a meaningful setback.</p><p></p><p>Think about how a battle changes when the PCs are attacking a dragon in the dragon's lair, or when it is attacking their town, or when it has their ally in a claw. A beholder in the dungeon setting is a threat to any PC - but a beholder slipping into town under the cover of dark is a different story. Low level goblin raiders are an easy threat to a group of 7th level PCs ... But what if they're attacking the mounts of the PCs to kill one to claim food? That could slow the PC's travel significantly if they lose a horse. You can ramp up the threat of an encounter by giving it additional stakes without making it more difficult. </p><p></p><p>An example from a recent game - the PCs were in their town when a dragon that lived nearby attacked. It was a massive dragon a real nasty threat ... especially when the first thing it did was grab an important NPC in one of its claws before taking to the air. The PCs were not just thinking of how to kill the monster, or how to survive its attacks - they were also trying to figure out how to keep their ally alive. That trick would have worked whether the monster was a manticore, a dragon or a flumph.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 8936174, member: 2629"] The other alternative is the one I gave - wherein you have alternative failure conditions other than lack of survival. As in the real world, you don't have to have a risk of death to have a serious situation. Think of comic book characters. You know they're not going to die fighting a bad guy - but there is a chance the bad guy might do something really bad before they get taken down. They might hurt someone the PCs care about, destory something they care about, steal something and get away, or otherwise give the PCs a meaningful setback. Think about how a battle changes when the PCs are attacking a dragon in the dragon's lair, or when it is attacking their town, or when it has their ally in a claw. A beholder in the dungeon setting is a threat to any PC - but a beholder slipping into town under the cover of dark is a different story. Low level goblin raiders are an easy threat to a group of 7th level PCs ... But what if they're attacking the mounts of the PCs to kill one to claim food? That could slow the PC's travel significantly if they lose a horse. You can ramp up the threat of an encounter by giving it additional stakes without making it more difficult. An example from a recent game - the PCs were in their town when a dragon that lived nearby attacked. It was a massive dragon a real nasty threat ... especially when the first thing it did was grab an important NPC in one of its claws before taking to the air. The PCs were not just thinking of how to kill the monster, or how to survive its attacks - they were also trying to figure out how to keep their ally alive. That trick would have worked whether the monster was a manticore, a dragon or a flumph. [/QUOTE]
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