D&D General Quick challenges

[Baumi]

A nice trick for the Big Bad is to have Stages (as in Video-Games), where it transformes itself after been "defeated" which need a completely new Strategy to defeat. But it is important that each Stage doesn't take too long.

Example: An obvious demon-Child that hurts them psychically and has some magic tricks, but is easily defeated. When cut down, it sheds it's skin and become an huge but stupid combat Demon. After that has been destroyed the spirit doesn't die and becomes living lightning..

Also something like Lair Actions work perfectly on normal Monsters too. Upgrade otherwise mundane Monster by letting them take actions outside their normal round to become a SOLO-Monster.

 

[aco175]

Good terrain is helpful for keeping people engaged. I like to have the encounter room with a few tunnels that get into it. This way some of the PCs can attack directly and some can circle around. This also works for the bad guys though. These tunnels could be hidden or open depending on how you use them.

 

[uzirath]

Example: An obvious demon-Child that hurts them psychically and has some magic tricks, but is easily defeated. When cut down, it sheds it's skin and become an huge but stupid combat Demon. After that has been destroyed the spirit doesn't die and becomes living lightning.

This is intriguing. I've definitely experienced this in video games, but never ported it over to tabletop. I'm going to try something like this out.

Also something like Lair Actions work perfectly on normal Monsters too. Upgrade otherwise mundane Monster by letting them take actions outside their normal round to become a SOLO-Monster.

Lair Actions were a great addition to the game. Used in moderation, they can add an epic layer to a battle.

Good terrain is helpful for keeping people engaged. I like to have the encounter room with a few tunnels that get into it. This way some of the PCs can attack directly and some can circle around. This also works for the bad guys though. These tunnels could be hidden or open depending on how you use them.

Yeah, terrain is key! Even simple stuff like bad footing, water, or mud make a scene more interesting. They give people choices about where to go with different costs and benefits. It's also fun to make use of the vertical dimension which is so often ignored in dungeon delves: archers shooting from a balcony, bridges overhead, grates revealing a lower area, etc. It doesn't take much to convert an otherwise humdrum encounter into a memorable scene in the bard's next saga.