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The Power of Surprise: How my 7th level party took out a 40k xp challenge without a sweat
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7529029" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>This is very, very true. And while I do not consider it a bad thing at all--I <em>love</em> that a tactically savvy party can punch way above its weight class--it's important for DMs to be aware of, because it can really wreak havoc with your planning if you aren't prepared for stuff like this.</p><p></p><p>Things I've seen contribute to this kind of encounter:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Surprise and good initiative rolls (as in Stalker0's example). This is especially important if the party has strong "alpha-strike" capacity; high-impact, limited-use abilities that they can blast out in the first round. Spellcasters are notorious for devastating alpha strikes, but they are not the only ones--an assassin rogue, for instance, can deliver eye-popping damage on a surprise round thanks to sneak attack with a guaranteed crit.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Large numbers of closely packed enemies (also in Stalker0's example).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A powerful enemy with a weak saving throw (or just bad luck) and no Legendary Resistance. While "save-or-lose" magic has been scaled way back in 5E compared to 3E and previous editions, it is still very much a factor, and a skilled caster can use it to great effect.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lethal terrain hazards. Many PCs have ways to impose forced movement on their enemies, and there are few things that make a player quite as gleeful as knocking a big bad monster into a lava pit.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">PC defenses or control tactics to which the monsters have no answer. The most common example is a flying party and foes with only melee attacks, but I've seen others. A party where everyone has gone to great lengths to boost their AC can wade through a horde of monsters with low attack bonuses, taking on far more enemies than CR would indicate.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">PCs with time and opportunity to prepare the battlefield can really slug the odds in their favor, especially with access to higher-level spells. If you can force undead foes to fight you in the zone of a <em>forbiddance</em> spell, for instance, they'll get blasted for 5d10 radiant damage every round, over and above what the party is dishing out with regular attacks. Even at lower levels, <em>glyph of warding</em> is a scary thing.</li> </ul><p></p><p>I'm sure there are plenty of other tricks I'm forgetting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7529029, member: 58197"] This is very, very true. And while I do not consider it a bad thing at all--I [i]love[/i] that a tactically savvy party can punch way above its weight class--it's important for DMs to be aware of, because it can really wreak havoc with your planning if you aren't prepared for stuff like this. Things I've seen contribute to this kind of encounter: [list][*]Surprise and good initiative rolls (as in Stalker0's example). This is especially important if the party has strong "alpha-strike" capacity; high-impact, limited-use abilities that they can blast out in the first round. Spellcasters are notorious for devastating alpha strikes, but they are not the only ones--an assassin rogue, for instance, can deliver eye-popping damage on a surprise round thanks to sneak attack with a guaranteed crit. [*]Large numbers of closely packed enemies (also in Stalker0's example). [*]A powerful enemy with a weak saving throw (or just bad luck) and no Legendary Resistance. While "save-or-lose" magic has been scaled way back in 5E compared to 3E and previous editions, it is still very much a factor, and a skilled caster can use it to great effect. [*]Lethal terrain hazards. Many PCs have ways to impose forced movement on their enemies, and there are few things that make a player quite as gleeful as knocking a big bad monster into a lava pit. [*]PC defenses or control tactics to which the monsters have no answer. The most common example is a flying party and foes with only melee attacks, but I've seen others. A party where everyone has gone to great lengths to boost their AC can wade through a horde of monsters with low attack bonuses, taking on far more enemies than CR would indicate. [*]PCs with time and opportunity to prepare the battlefield can really slug the odds in their favor, especially with access to higher-level spells. If you can force undead foes to fight you in the zone of a [i]forbiddance[/i] spell, for instance, they'll get blasted for 5d10 radiant damage every round, over and above what the party is dishing out with regular attacks. Even at lower levels, [i]glyph of warding[/i] is a scary thing.[/list] I'm sure there are plenty of other tricks I'm forgetting. [/QUOTE]
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