D&D 5E Three level 7 PCs vs a Roc in an open field...

[CTurbo]

Too hard? Instant death to the party? haha

The group consists of a War Cleric, Monk or the Long Death, and a TWF/Dual Wielding feat Battle Master Fighter. These players are OP by means of stats and equipment. They all have 20 AC and a 20 in their attack stat. The Cleric and Monk use a +2 weapon and the fighter has two +1 longswords. They asked for harder encounters so this is what I want to give them haha.

The question is, how do I make it hard while making it possible to survive. They don't have to kill the Roc, just be able to cross the field without becoming it's dinner.

Honestly, I feel like it's too hard as is.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Ways for the party to survive:

Cleric could Sanctuary them all and they split up and all sprint as hard as they can across the field.

Battlemaster could use Menacing Strike if he has it, to keep the Roc at bay while they cross.

Monk could try to scare off the roc using his Fear feature while dodging with Patient Defense.

If there is cover they could sneak across the field, e.g. dashing from tree to tree and hoping the roc doesn't see them.

They could wait until dark and sneak across the field then when the roc can't see them and/or isn't there any longer.

Depending on terrain, they could try to lure the Roc into an area too small for it (where it gets disadvantage on all its attacks and they have advantage to hit it, per Squeezing Into Smaller Spaces around page 164ish of the PHB) and kill it there, or at least damage it enough to drive it away.

Monk could stun it with Stunning Strike long enough to get away.

The cleric can also use Warding Bond, Bless or Shield of Faith, Death Ward, upcast Spiritual Hammer, etc. to help with any of these strategies.

My gut feeling tells me that the fight will be extremely tough for the PCs, but also fun and memorable. I would do it--but I would also play the Roc realistically (it's out for a meal) and have it bail out and flee at 50% HP or whenever it gets a meal (which could be a PC or a pack animal like a horse) instead of fighting to the death. That gives the players plenty of ways to win, either through brute force or guile; and it also gives you a potentially-useful recurring nemesis in the form of the Roc, if it survives, which you can use to terrify the players in the future if you want to e.g. keep up the time pressure and prevent resting. ("We can't camp here--the roc might see us! We can't fight that thing. We barely managed to drive it off last time and it wasn't close to being dead!")

 

[mflayermonk]

Sounds like a good challenge, you should run it as is and see if you can create something memorable. If things go sideways and you're unhappy with the result just talk it over and press the reset button if everyone agrees that is the best path.

 

[CTurbo]

Well I can set the terrain up any way I like. That's really what I'm trying to figure out. I want it to be in a mostly open field, but it has to have SOME cover or they would never make it. Too much cover would make it too easy. I thought about adding some cattle or something but then it wouldn't even target the PCs.


I know the Monk could survive the encounter pretty easily as it's far faster than the Roc, but it's lawful good and would never leave the other two to die. I thought about the possibility of the Monk trying to climb it and ride it(and attack it from it's back) as it could potentially survive the fall once.

Even though it's RAW, I find it a bit silly that a Monk could stun a creature so large with a punch, kick, or hit from it's staff, and I feel the same way about trying to frighten it. I don't think it would allow it to be frightened unless it's been considerably damaged.

 

[andargor]

Does the battlemaster have Trip Attack and a ranged weapon? He can ground the roc.

 

[CTurbo]

All three characters have ranged attacks. The problem is the Roc can fly 120ft per round, pretty much auto grapples on a hit from it's talons and will fly away with a PC. That would be basically instant death to 2 out of 3 characters. I wouldn't allow a medium character to be able to trip a gargantuan creature.

 

[andargor]

All three characters have ranged attacks. The problem is the Roc can fly 120ft per round, pretty much auto grapples on a hit from it's talons and will fly away with a PC. That would be basically instant death to 2 out of 3 characters. I wouldn't allow a medium character to be able to trip a gargantuan creature.

Odd how that maneuver is written... Also maybe they have horses? Dash action can give them 120 ft move. Would make a nice chase.

 

[CTurbo]

They don't have any horses unfortunately. If they did, they would surely sacrifice one or all of them in order to survive.

 

[Rod Staffwand]

Just give the roc a broken wing and a mean disposition. Done.

 

[Aenorgreen]

Are you doing anything to compensate for the added benefits you are giving the Roc? You are making it immune to trip attacks, stunning, and fear.