PCs breeze through my monster!

[dreaded_beast]

This ever happen to you?

I spent nearly an hour creating a 9-HD Fiendish Half-Dragon Rust Monster for last session. My first time templating, it took me a while.

Anyway, thinking it was going to be a good challenge, the PCs nearly put it down within 3 or 4 rounds. Granted, the Paladin got a Critical, and in 1 round, all the PCs hit with their attacks.

I found myself keeping the monster alive for a few "extra" rounds, just so it could breathe fire and at least do some sort of damage to the PCs.

I felt better when the PCs encountered the dungeon boss, a Dread Wraith, and I had to pull a few punches to give the PCs a bit of a chance.

So I guess it all balanced out.

 

[pigi314159]

Yea... I know what you mean. Your gloried encounter takes about 3 rounds to dispatch. I find that multiples make things much harder. And one thing the PCs will really hate you for....using tons of constructs, undead, plants, and oozes. Immune to criticals...makes PCs mad...

 

[Mark]

Two things, please.

Tell us your thought process on why you thought it would be a good challenge for your group (include group details, planned location of encounter, particular details that steered you toward this type of encounter, etc.).

Also, give us the blow by blow of the actual encounter, from spotting to engagement to the afterglow (sans cigarette, natch).

I know this requires a lot of remembering and regurgitation but the more you can cough up, the more specific and useful help can be offered.

Thanks!

 

[Telperion]

This ever happen to you?

Anyway, thinking it was going to be a good challenge, the PCs nearly put it down within 3 or 4 rounds. Granted, the Paladin got a Critical, and in 1 round, all the PCs hit with their attacks.

Sure. Its the "default" time in which a party is supposed to be able to go through any normal encounter. They should use 3 - 4 rounds and 20 % of their resources. You did well: end of story. Although it might have felt easy if you add in more than one of these encounters per' day it is going to start wearing the party down very quickly.

Try introducing two of these monsters at the same time next time around and see how the party handles it. I wouldn't be surprised if one PC comes close to dying...

 

[dreaded_beast]

Two things, please.

Tell us your thought process on why you thought it would be a good challenge for your group (include group details, planned location of encounter, particular details that steered you toward this type of encounter, etc.).

Also, give us the blow by blow of the actual encounter, from spotting to engagement to the afterglow (sans cigarette, natch).

I know this requires a lot of remembering and regurgitation but the more you can cough up, the more specific and useful help can be offered.

Thanks!

Well, I'll try my best, but it was meant as more of a rant and a "shoulder to cry on".

If I templated the rust monster correctly, it was CR 11.

Party Composition:

6 Paladin / 3 Marshall, Human
6 Swashbuckler / 3 Favored Soul, Human
9 Fighter, Half-Orc
7 Sorcerress, Human (Cohort)

The encounter took place within a 60' x 60' room. 2 10' wide exits were in the west and east walls. The ceiling was 30' high. There was a 20' x 20' pit, 100 ft+ deep, in the center of the room where the templated rust monster was waiting. When half the party reached the west end of the room, the rust monster flew up to the top of the room.

Everyone rolled initiative, but if I remember correctly, the rust monster was last. The paladin / marshall PC had an aura that gave everyone a +5 bonus to Dex I think, need to double check.

Anyway, no one had any effective range attacks, except the sorceress, but she couldn't penetrate the SR. The rust monster flew down and attacked the Fighter and did some decent damage. Everyone came in and started ganging-up on the rust monster. After 2 rounds, it was down by 75% of it's HP, partly because of critical hit from the paladin that did around 30 something points of damage. It stayed an extra round, where it breathed fire at the paladin, which caused it to get hit more when it was the PCs turn. During this time, it should have died, but I "fudged" a bit and let it fly away to the next room. The PCs followed it, where it breathed fire again (although it could only do it once a day) then promptly dropped dead afterwards.

Hope that helps!

But I just wanted some understanding DMs to sympathize.

 

[Terraism]

Everyone rolled initiative, but if I remember correctly, the rust monster was last. The paladin / marshall PC had an aura that gave everyone a +5 bonus to Dex I think, need to double check.

A word of warning - the marshal doesn't have any auras that give bonuses to stats. He has minor auras that add to stat checks and skill checks using the appropriate stat, but that's it. If you allow the aura to directly increase the stat, the marshal will get obscenely overpowered, quickly (plus, Motivate Charisma would break. )

 

[Kabol]

Its not just you - In almost every game I have played/run its harder to get through the mooks then it is to kill the boss - boss fights are usualy very anti cimatic.

Ways around this:
~ If boss can use range attacks and the party can not - then it use that
~ Use Terain, Throw tables up and caltrops on the floor - makes geting To him difficult, and have his lackies/him useing missles the whole time.
~ Effective bodyguards, Body guards dont have to be attack monkies - liberal use of towershileds, combat expertise and total defense will keep the party form geting to the BBEG for a few rounds - extending the combat and resources

 

[Darklone]

Stacking several templates on something is another problem. The monster may have a lot of special abilities which don't come into play in the short time till it's hitpoints are gone. Especially when some flier gets forced into melee (check out some dragon tactics).

That +5 to dex aura sounds horribly wrong, doublecheck what your player is doing

 

[Darren]

Umm... it was a rust monster... and nothing ended up rusting?
That's the whole point of a rust monster, fiendish or otherwise, to rust stuff, not dole out massive damage. Their natural attacks don't do hardly anything (well, the breath weapon from the half-dragon template might sting a bit, but at those levels its natural attacks really aren't that much)... it's the rusting weapons and armor that should send characters running away in search of a big wooden club.

 

[shilsen]

Umm... it was a rust monster... and nothing ended up rusting?
That's the whole point of a rust monster, fiendish or otherwise, to rust stuff, not dole out massive damage. Their natural attacks don't do hardly anything (well, the breath weapon from the half-dragon template might sting a bit, but at those levels its natural attacks really aren't that much)... it's the rusting weapons and armor that should send characters running away in search of a big wooden club.

That's what I was wondering. It would be like having a fiendish half-dragon mindflayer who never actually used his mind blast or psionics and just waded into melee.