The Clever Group of PC's

[TarionzCousin]

What behaviors does a clever group of PC's exhibit?

What things do smart parties do to improve their chances of success?

One to kick things off:

1. They use "Aid Another."

Example: If one character notices something strange about the wall (Passive Perception), the other available characters Aid him in his next active perception check. This makes those secondary checks to find that secret door much more likely to succeed.

 

[Abisashi]

My party recently remembered we could aid another in combat, and I think it will result in a noticeable increase in effectiveness.

Clever parties are better at setting up flanks.

 

[roguerouge]

Clever parties first find a "save point" or secure area to rest in. Once they've got that base covered, they march directly to the back center of the map, where all the BBEGs live.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

They don't walk into the obvious trap and dare the bad guys to spring it. I've really got to get out of that habit.

They send the scout forward to get an idea about what they're about to face before charging in.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

My PCs did this just tonight! I was about to make a whole new thread about "Crazy things people think of" But this seems like a good enough spot.

My PCs walked through a hall with an Entropic Chaos trap in it. The wizard of the party succeeded his arcana check to figure out what it was, but couldn't qute take care of the trap, so they wen on to the next room. In the next room I had a Pit of the Abandoned Regiment lying in wait.

The PCs come to the idea of "Planting" a magic item on the pit and pushing it out the door into the Entropic Chaos.

So I look it up... THE PIT IS NOT IMMUNE TO PUSH/PULL/SLIDE wtf wizards? you can push/pull/slide a PIT?!?!

But I go with it. I tell the Rogue she can plant the item on a successful Thievery check Vs. its Reflex defence. So she does it, tying the dagger to one of the bones using (and I kid you not) a spare pair of her own undergarments.

So they push the pit out into the Entropic Chaos and procede to fight it through the door (safe from the Chaos's effects) Leaving the Int 5 monster to deal with trap damage every round.

 

[Rani]

My PCs did this just tonight! I was about to make a whole new thread about "Crazy things people think of" But this seems like a good enough spot.

My PCs walked through a hall with an Entropic Chaos trap in it. The wizard of the party succeeded his arcana check to figure out what it was, but couldn't qute take care of the trap, so they wen on to the next room. In the next room I had a Pit of the Abandoned Regiment lying in wait.

The PCs come to the idea of "Planting" a magic item on the pit and pushing it out the door into the Entropic Chaos.

So I look it up... THE PIT IS NOT IMMUNE TO PUSH/PULL/SLIDE wtf wizards? you can push/pull/slide a PIT?!?!

But I go with it. I tell the Rogue she can plant the item on a successful Thievery check Vs. its Reflex defence. So she does it, tying the dagger to one of the bones using (and I kid you not) a spare pair of her own undergarments.

So they push the pit out into the Entropic Chaos and procede to fight it through the door (safe from the Chaos's effects) Leaving the Int 5 monster to deal with trap damage every round.

That is pure awesome! I'm going to remember this next time I deal with traps.

 

[TarionzCousin]

My PCs walked through a hall with an Entropic Chaos trap in it.

A what? Where is this from?

 

[moritheil]

- They communicate.

This is incredibly crucial. I try to segregate metagame knowledge from in-character knowledge; if nobody gets the knowledge roll and tells other people what to do (i.e. "Use slashing weapons to break through its damage resistance!") I don't allow them to use their own memories. The character doesn't know, after all.

- They keep abreast of things.

Groups that wait for the DM to lead them are just tempting the DM to lead them astray. Effective PC groups should always seek out intelligence on their own terms.

- They clearly define their roles and attitudes.

It helps to know that, as a rule, the bard clashes with the paladin, the paladin good-naturedly ribs the ranger, and so on. In a good PC group everyone is on the same page with regard to whether interaction is truly hostile or just joking around. It also helps to know who really is leader, as opposed to who thinks they are leader.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

A what? Where is this from?

Sorry, Entropic Collapse (brain fart, my apologies)

DMG pg 92

Mine was a modified version, not quite so deadly and easier to detect and disable. about level 14 ish power

 

[blargney the second]

I discovered tonight that clever parties don't include barbarians with Str 13. (It was an accidentally messed up pregen, but wow was it ever ineffective.)
-blarg