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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 6698374" data-attributes="member: 58197">Keep in mind that a party of 4-6 PCs can deliver a horrific beatdown if they all focus fire on one target. And if they know who the villain is, they are likely to do just that. So you have a number of options:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make a villain tough enough to take the beatdown. This will likely require several hundred hit points. Be sure to account for debuffs and "save-or-lose" abilities as well as raw damage.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Put a decoy in front of the party (an illusion or a lieutenant) to absorb the alpha strike, with the real villain only emerging once the PCs have taken some hits and burned a lot of their firepower.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Give the villain an automatic "escape hatch" that triggers in response to a beatdown. This escape hatch needs to be usable out of turn; beatdowns happen at stunning speed, and by the time it becomes clear that the villain needs to pull the cord, the villain is unlikely to survive to the start of his or her next turn. Ideally it shouldn't even require a reaction. Contingency is perfect for this.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Similar to the escape hatch, give the villain a way to come back from death. The classic example is a lich, which can be repeatedly beaten down and destroyed and keep on coming back as long as its phylactery survives.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Give the villain some lieutenants who can counter PC attacks or provide healing support. As you yourself note, a cleric is very good in this role. A mid-level wizard or two with counterspell can give PC spellcasters fits. Also useful are "sticky" lieutenants who can force PCs to engage them instead of the villain.</li> </ul>I'm sure there are others I haven't thought of, but those should be enough to get you going.</blockquote>

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