Party goes after tough opponets with eyes wide open...

[Rystil Arden]

Was that the main blow or was that the entirety? For example, it must have been inside so that the thing couldn't fly...

I believe that the crit killed it all by itself. x4 is nasty, especially back in 3.0 when Balors had very few HP

 

[francisca]

Leave it as is. In my games, the trolls don't move out from under the bridges just because the only PCs around are low-level.

 

[Crothian]

Well, the party is third level (most will be fourth at the end of this weeks session) and the plot they are going after (or should I say the plot Ironwolf is dragging and pushing them towards) is one involving giants. Now, they have five PCs and 2 NPCs that have jioned the party. They will have some good armor to help them as a reward for what they are doing. But obviously, they will have to be smart and play conmservatively and aggressively at the right times.

 

[Nifft]

IMHO:

1/ Drop hints. "Sir Cedar von Oaklarch passed through here on his way to slay XXX... he hasn't returned, but his squire was found. Poor lad's in the jail house now, he wouldn't tell us anything and he keeps screaming at night..."

2/ Make it hard to find the BBEG. Why would such a being be accessible to low-level PCs?

3/ Drop the hammer. If they persevere to find the BBEG, fine, have him kill them as quickly and efficently as possible, and then laugh! Laugh at their misery! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

-- N

 

[kigmatzomat]

If players know an opponent is in a heavier weight class than they are and they still go for it, let them. They either have a plan or need some some more practice in evaluating threats.

 

[frankthedm]

I don't change anything. My players know that i have no problem killing them if they bite off more than they can chew and as such they use apropriate levels of caution to judge thier foes initially.

A few dead bodies do make wonderful hints.

 

[Thanee]

Killing them and taking their stuff is no fun, if you are the DM, you already have all the stuff there is, anyways.

Bye
Thanee

 

[derbacher]

Killing them and taking their stuff is no fun, if you are the DM, you already have all the stuff there is, anyways.

But you don't have THEIR stuff. It's always fun to take their stuff...

What?

 

[Krafen]

As long as the players understand you are not tailoring encounters to their level and they are playing in a dynamic world, don't pull punches if they intentionally get in over their heads.

I played in a campain a number of years ago where the DM pulled his punches and let the players survive when, by all rights, nearly everyone should have died. Unfortunately, the players came to expect this and it took an awful long time for the players to start believing the DM would really let the monsters kill them.

 

[DragonLancer]

If my players want to go after something they know (or don't know) is harder than they are, thats up to them. My players are pretty good and can usually gage an encounter when they first spy something, but sometimes they don't and I have to hand their backsides to them.