Rackhir said:
Past moderate levels (about 6th or so) or extremely one sided situations, it's my experience that low HD humanoids are generally ineffective no matter what situational advantages you give them.
Doesn't that statement seem a little self-contradictory? (Whatever the situation, the PC's of 6th or greater level, have nothing to fear from a group of lower HD monsters, without exception, except when those monsters have an advantage that gives the PC's something to fear.) Luck favors the bold, but victory favors the prepared. Well prepared low level monsters with decent intelligence and the ability to build things should be able to really beat down a party of even moderately powerful PC's. And lord help the PC's if they face a well prepared mastermind. Things like poison gas, sleeping gas, poisoned weapons and traps, the use of other poisonous creatures such as asp's, simple traps, narrow passage ways, oil burning and not yet burning, other burning things, other liquids that may or may not be boiling, and simple but clever tactics. When combined to deny the players their abilities, mobility, divide their attention, sap their resources, encourage them to split up and otherwise spread their power out, the challenge less able creatures pose can be quite enourmous, and far greater than either their HD or number.
It just so happens in D&D that even though villians might be prepared in an abstract sence, they're often not prepared for the specific PC's, or even a group of their ability level. In these senerios, the PC's have a very important element on their side, that of foreknowledge. As Sun Tzu and Flint have both been known to say, "And knowing is half the battle."
One might postulate a dungeon where the only route left to proceed was a narrow 2 foot wide corridor that seemed to almost weep some sort of petrolium from fissures in the walls. Perhaps it is only 50 feet long, and carved out of the stone. A soft breeze carries the pungent aroma to the PC's made more pungent by a pile of garbage at the other end. If the PC's are a little smart, they'll do what they can to avoid immolating themselves, if they're pretty smart they'll plan on the enemy waiting, perhaps unseen, to do it for them. Put the right group of monsters at the other end of that tunnel, maybe none higher than 3 HD, and perhaps only 6 bad guys to a parties 4, and the PC's won't be crawling all over themselves demanding that their character gets to be first in line. (Naturally a carrion crawler would be in the pile of garbage, I think that's some sort of unwritten law.) Start the fight off with a thunderstone flying out of the dark, and the carrion crawler, who was protected by the garbage pile, busting out 8 paralyzing attacks on 1 character who can't really run anywhere. Then watch as the others look on as he busts out his best dice and proceeds to whisper to them as if he's in Vegas and rolling on this months rent.
I don't recall advocating that Villians should use stupid tactics or that PCs should be handled with kid gloves? If there is no challenge there is no heroisim. Sunder, however if used on a regular basis, is just simply obnoxious
Would Arthur be as cool if he never broke excalibur? (Not that I think excalibur should be just a regular 'ol +4 sword) Nope. Same with the PC's. They can only be as great as the villians they face force them to be. If the villians make stupid descisions for meta-game reasons, they're still stupid villians. And stupid villians diminish the heroism of the PC's. In the incident that sparked this thread, the PC's arrogance, and lack of foresight destroyed his treasure. If the drow didn't break it, he may well have done so himself trying to pry a boulder loose to see if he could roll it down a mountain. (Or perhaps I'm indulging in just a little tiny bit of hyperbole) As it stands his character has hopefully learned a very valuable lesson, "It's not his [fighting], it's his attitude. The enemy is dangerous, but right now[he's] worse than the enemy. [He's] dangerous and foolish."
What's so funny is, this was actually a really cool thing that was done for him, and to his character. Adversity is the stuff heroes are made of, hard learned lessons. And if he's getting all weepy over this, how's he going to feel when you introduce his best friend's lovely wife and infant son only to have his best friend die in the next scene by his very hands! To say nothing of his alienating his love and giving serious consideration to giving up adventuring, and calling Caravan Masters, LLC for an exciting new career opportunity.
Next time this comes up, I'd advocate killing his character and instead give, what I consider to be a genuinly cool story arc, to the character of the player that would appreciate it.
Because if D&D is all about the acquisition of goods and power to that guy, he's going to have quite a difficult time beating Terence Philip Michael Thomas, my level 48 Demicanadian Mu-Fu Monk from Progress Quest.
