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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 8573207" data-attributes="member: 6877472">When I DM, there are things I want to happen.&nbsp; So I try to set up events so that is the likely outcome.&nbsp; But sometimes things don't go according to plan.&nbsp; What a DM I admired once told me is that if that happens, you need to step back and look at the big picture.If the players walk in and ROFLstomp the BBEG inside of two combat rounds and prevent him from escaping, you have two options.&nbsp; You can either appeal to the players to accept a &quot;Comic Book Death&quot;, ie, &quot;no one could survive that!&quot; and then trot out the villain later to continue the campaign.Or you can ask yourself what the consequences will be.&nbsp; Did the BBEG have allies? Was he the minion of a greater power?&nbsp; Are there rivals of his who will now look towards your players and realize they are more of a threat than previously thought, and up their timetables?The DM literally has a whole world to draw on for challenges and new enemies.&nbsp; If your Ranger insists on shooting anyone who has a &quot;villain speech&quot; to end their monologuing, fine, they might miss out on an important clue.And certainly, no one will ever show him quarter or mercy.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 8573207, member: 6877472"] When I DM, there are things I want to happen. So I try to set up events so that is the likely outcome. But sometimes things don't go according to plan. What a DM I admired once told me is that if that happens, you need to step back and look at the big picture. If the players walk in and ROFLstomp the BBEG inside of two combat rounds and prevent him from escaping, you have two options. You can either appeal to the players to accept a "Comic Book Death", ie, "no one could survive that!" and then trot out the villain later to continue the campaign. Or you can ask yourself what the consequences will be. Did the BBEG have allies? Was he the minion of a greater power? Are there rivals of his who will now look towards your players and realize they are more of a threat than previously thought, and up their timetables? The DM literally has a whole world to draw on for challenges and new enemies. If your Ranger insists on shooting anyone who has a "villain speech" to end their monologuing, fine, they might miss out on an important clue. And certainly, no one will ever show him quarter or mercy. [/QUOTE]

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