The awesome encounter that wasn't.

[Deuce Traveler]

The GM outright told us he'd never seen an encounter foiled quite so thoroughly and creatively. We were quite proud of ourselves.

Next encounter he sent an elemental after us

Bravo, nice work!

 

[Deuce Traveler]

The characters are put in charge of one of two major armies, their army set to attack a nearby city where the other army is at. They decide the best approach is to sneak into the city and incapitate the enemy army leaders while their own army moves up during the night. Good plan so far....it's how they go about incapacitating the enemy that isn't exactly the material for the ballads of courage.

They find inn the enemy leaders are at, have a few of the characters take over as the bartender and waitresses, and continually keep the beverages flowing. Meanwhile their fighters set up positions behind the outhouses and knock out the drunk opponents individually while they are relieving themselves. Ah, it could have been a glorious battle! Instead they resort to rolling drunks!

Did the plan work?

 

[S'mon]

For that matter, this is the only way kobolds should be run, ever. If you meet a mob of kobolds running around in the open where you can smoosh them, something's wrong behind the screen - they just don't do that. They hole up and cheat.

My kobolds are 1e kobolds; they're just there for novice adventurers to smush.

 

[Silver Moon]

Did the plan work?

Yes, a few enemies fought back and one almost got an alert out, but the party eventually managed to capture and secure all of the enemy leaders without anybody else knowing, so when the seige of the city began the home army lacked direction and soon surrendered. It's just that beating up and capturing drunks wasn't what I had in mind for a 'Battle of Two Armies' module.

 

[roguerouge]

In my one PC campaign, my PC's 2nd level bard was all set to attack an anchored pirate ship... and all her companions were level one NPC classes. The opponents were goblins and human leaders with higher class levels than her.

So I carefully planned and consulted with another DM on how to best set up this combat without overwhelming her hardy band. I was going to use waves of attackers, as they woke up, equipped, and got to the combat. I was going to use morale effects with the goblins. I made sure that she got reinforcements: a level 1 cleric with two guardsmen. And I figured she would have surprise.

So. Much. Planning.

She got an odd sort of surprise: she sent a rowboat with the cleric and the guardsmen straight to the pirate ship, The Sea Ghost, from shore. Meanwhile, she, and the NPCs she actually cared about, approached from the sea side in their row boat. The pirates pretty quickly figured out that the guy with the sun holy symbol wasn't a part of their smuggling operation. Combat broke out while she and her crew climbed up the anchor chain to the prow.

My delicate plan of balancing this encounter sprung into action.

And the PC's first action in combat was to cast Charm Person on the Pirate Captain with all fighter classes. One failed save later and it was the goblins, the pirate captain, and the PC's team vs. the ship wizard and the bo'sun.

Charm person: the bard's fireball.

It ended up being a really neat solution to the problem, and it was quite a challenge for her to get the captain arrested from there, without busting the spell. So it ended up being a level-appropriate challenge.

Just not in the way that I had, you know, prepared for.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

My kobolds are 1e kobolds; they're just there for novice adventurers to smush.

Tucker's kobolds, man, Tucker's kobolds!

 

[Jayouzts]

Playing styles

Is it my fault?

No. Your playing styles do not seem to mesh. Their playing style doesn't seem to lend itself well to subtle clues like that. That is nobody's fault.

 

[prospero63]

The example you give is actually perfectly okay DMing imo, except that it didn't go as the DM planned so he'd obviously misjudged the tactical situation. But I think it is fine to present PCs with a foe (or situation) too tough to beat, *even* if the players haven't been 'stupid', *even* if there's no warning, provided the players have a chance to respond meaningfully in some way - running or talking are the only options I can think of. (I'm not including surrender cuz I know how much players, rightly, hate it.)

Agreed. One of the best DM methodologies (if that's the right word for it) I have seen adheres to the fact that the world does not revolve around the PC's. In short, there is nothing that inherently prevents a bunch of 1st level PCs from storming a dragons lair. It's not like the world suddenly realized "hey, the PC's are 10th level so now they can run across dragons". Likewise, there's nothing that prevents a bunch of 20th level PCs from kicking the crap out of a kobold lair...

 

[S'mon]

Tucker's kobolds, man, Tucker's kobolds!

Tucker's kobolds is not an obligation. In fact it's such a cliche now I think dumb, easily killable kobolds is playing against type.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

Tucker's kobolds is not an obligation. In fact it's such a cliche now I think dumb, easily killable kobolds is playing against type.

Yeah, yeah... *grumble grumble*

(You've got a point, there. Cut that out! )