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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marius Delphus" data-source="post: 5185921" data-attributes="member: 447">Ask yourself what, in the end, is the harm. If it's that you're not  having nearly as good a time as your players, then yes you need to do  something about it... but "putting the screws" to the PCs, as it were,  by thrusting them into a new, punitive environment is the wrong  approach, IMHO. In particular, I think "Ravenloft" is almost certainly  the wrong answer to the question "How do I take my players down a peg?"Not every fight needs to be a "skin of the teeth" affair, but by the  same token not every fight should be a cakewalk. If the characters  are easily earning success, the players are naturally going to be a little  cocky. The solution is to find a closer match, encounter-wise, for their capabilities.So ramp up the next few combats and see what happens. Don't go looking for a TPK or anything; just add a few extra minions... or an extra something that has a counter for their main schtick(s). Turn up the heat gradually, find a good simmer point, and learn from everything you (and they) do. Keep things fluid and flexible... if the PCs handily win an encounter or two, consider turning up the heat in the next; if they have a brutal encounter or two, consider easing up on them in the next.</blockquote>