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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mengu" data-source="post: 4717851" data-attributes="member: 65726">I wish I had this problem of monsters getting slaughtered. My PC's are typically scraping by most encounters, even encounters that are level or level+1. I think there is a lot to be said about the setting of an encounter which will make it easy or difficult for the players. I don't think you need to pit more difficult encounters against the PC's to actually challenge them. Sometimes a bit of rough terrain to prevent the PC's from effectively flanking, or a numerical advantage to the monsters so they can out flank the PC's can make all the difference you need. When designing an encounter, expend a majority of your XP budget on things that will give the monsters an edge. Then a minority can go into setting the tone of the encounter. The fact that you have a big boss fight doesn't mean you need to spend your budget on a level+4 elite brute. Your boss could easily be a level+2 artillery, which would leave you with plenty of XP to lay down a devious trap filled with dangerous monsters, and a few soldiers who can take a hit for your boss. I think good encounter design plus using intelligent monster tactics goes a long way for keeping PC's challenged and entertained.</blockquote>