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Running High Level 5E is more fun than I thought it would be.
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7960273" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>There's not really anything wrong with them doing that sort of thing from time to time (trivializing the showdown). They probably enjoy it.</p><p></p><p>I think your approach of establishing the enemy's capabilities without retconning is good.</p><p></p><p>That said, are you sure some of this experience isn't coming from 3.x? I'm not aware of anything in 5e that allows you to summon an army of umber hulks. High level 3.x is its own thing and doesn't necessarily translate to 5e.</p><p></p><p>As for challenging them, keep in mind that you can play pretty fast and loose with tier 4 in 5e. PCs can typically handle challenges that seem unfair on paper.</p><p></p><p>For example, if the PCs lure the enemy out of their lair, then have the BBEG bring all of those set piece encounters with him. Even if they can't win, they can probably teleport away or escape by other means, and now they've learned that just because they try to dictate the terms doesn't mean the BBEG will necessarily respect those terms. Just like if they try scry-teleport-kill and find themselves in the middle of a death trap. </p><p></p><p>Sometimes the right clever approach should trivialize the encounter. But if the enemy is more clever, it might make it harder. That's the risk you take. If they approach the game as CaW then they should expect to be engaged the same in turn. If they don't want a fair fight then they shouldn't expect one.</p><p></p><p>As for bringing the set piece to them, just have it be the function of some evil artifact or the gift of a dark deity. At that tier you can pretty much get away with whatever explanation you want. When the PCs try to engage, the magic brings them to your set piece battle. Or the bad guys used mirage arcane to make the set piece battleground look like something harmless. Or whatever.</p><p></p><p>Just like the PCs have less limitations on them at that level, so does the DM. Obviously, you don't want to abuse that but you shouldn't hesitate to use it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 7960273, member: 53980"] There's not really anything wrong with them doing that sort of thing from time to time (trivializing the showdown). They probably enjoy it. I think your approach of establishing the enemy's capabilities without retconning is good. That said, are you sure some of this experience isn't coming from 3.x? I'm not aware of anything in 5e that allows you to summon an army of umber hulks. High level 3.x is its own thing and doesn't necessarily translate to 5e. As for challenging them, keep in mind that you can play pretty fast and loose with tier 4 in 5e. PCs can typically handle challenges that seem unfair on paper. For example, if the PCs lure the enemy out of their lair, then have the BBEG bring all of those set piece encounters with him. Even if they can't win, they can probably teleport away or escape by other means, and now they've learned that just because they try to dictate the terms doesn't mean the BBEG will necessarily respect those terms. Just like if they try scry-teleport-kill and find themselves in the middle of a death trap. Sometimes the right clever approach should trivialize the encounter. But if the enemy is more clever, it might make it harder. That's the risk you take. If they approach the game as CaW then they should expect to be engaged the same in turn. If they don't want a fair fight then they shouldn't expect one. As for bringing the set piece to them, just have it be the function of some evil artifact or the gift of a dark deity. At that tier you can pretty much get away with whatever explanation you want. When the PCs try to engage, the magic brings them to your set piece battle. Or the bad guys used mirage arcane to make the set piece battleground look like something harmless. Or whatever. Just like the PCs have less limitations on them at that level, so does the DM. Obviously, you don't want to abuse that but you shouldn't hesitate to use it. [/QUOTE]
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Running High Level 5E is more fun than I thought it would be.
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