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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 9369597" data-attributes="member: 9254">I agree with all of this in general but would like to add some nuance from my experience.  Another way to think of encounter tactics is to think of them as a cultural or regional.  They can be used repeatedly in specific locals.  I.e. slippery, sliding shale that threatens to send PCs over cliff faces is a locale-based phenomena.  It might affect several square miles of a large mountain or just a narrow pass.  Could be well known or "Don't go! No one ever comes back from there!"By the same token any kobold war band of this particular tribe could use a combination of caltrops/bearings & flasks of oil/fire as a way to escape and injure pursuers.  (Rare but funny situations where a heavily armored warrior repeatedly fails dex saves and is trapped on a pool of flaming oil).  If they go to a different mountain or find other tribe of kobolds the situation will be different.  These should also flow into other aspects.  The duergar who compete with the kobolds have special fire-resistant armor, or giants hunt on the shale faces, throwing rocks to create landslides and using giant eagles to retrieve the bodies.These can be unique to a specific foe, allowing it to be reused but in a plot-rational way.  Imagine if the bbeg was an illusionist.  It nerfs the casters & archers with highly obscuring AoE illusions, but the minions already know it's an illusion and can see through it.  Or if they use Seeming to disguise Shadows as gnolls.  Maybe the party is attacked by an illusory monster, which consumes time/resources and then later they encounter a real version of that monster but discount it.All of these tactics are irritating nerfs that should be used judiciously (in part because players will learn and adopt some of those tactics) but a good recurring villain is usually recurring because they thwart the PCs enough to escape.Making global changes, even to minor things can have sweeping consequences.  Be sure to apply the tiniest, most situational version of a rule tweak.  The broader the change, the more likely to have an unexpected consequence. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> I would expand this from just damage to longer lasting status effects, things that need Lesser Restoration.  Blindness, deafness, etc. Look at some of the higher level cleric spells for lists of things the party will have trouble with.  Even when the paladin gets Lesser Restoration, using (or reserving) some spell slots for that is reducing their smite-splosions, which is still a way to limit them The paladin bubble is a common issue.  Look for things that have effect even on saves.  A low level Shatter spell becomes a lot more efficient when you are guaranteed to hit 3-4 PCs.  Ways to break up the bubble include Dissonant Whispers (1st level non-fear based spell that can cause PCs to run away), Crusher feat (can move an enemy 5ft), the warlock eldritch blast push/pull invocations, Sentinel (no, the paladin has to just stand there), and fun stuff like just Banishing the paladin.  And remember, if you can Incapacitate the Paladin, their buff auras turn off. </li> </ul>Definitely agree with the above.  Ranged attackers can often fit in three roles: targeted damage, volume or fire, or tactical value.  A rogue sniper can dish out terrible damage if they can attack from concealment or have allies in combat.  (It's like an adventuring party, in reverse!)  Don't neglect the value of simple animals in this.  They don't do damage directly, they enable the main foe to use their best attacks.A mob of kobold archers are generally relying on chance to either get a meaningful lucky hit or wear down a foe by attrition (note that doing 8x 2hp attacks can be more effective than one 16hp a5tack when the target is a caster concentrating on a spell).  Some Ranged attackers aren't doing damage directly but are using things like alchemist fire, caltrops and the like to create terrain hazards that didn't exist before.</blockquote>

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