DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
All good advice but mostly stuff our DM and I both do already in our games.It can be difficult to challenge higher level parties no matter what their makeup. Add in that most parties will have ways of starting fights at 100% health and sometimes you need to change tactics. My quick top 5:
- Focus fire. Pick on one PC and don't let up, keep attacking until they're down. Depending on the group and preference keep attacking until they're dead.
- Send in waves. Especially if there's always that PC that hides in the back, send in reinforcements from the back now and then. Then focus fire on the PC in the back.
- Customize monsters. The MM was published before the DMG so sometimes I'll go back to the DMG and recalculate damage and HP.
- Change the goalposts. Don't make it one side killing the other, change up the goals so one time it's stopping the doomsday device the next it's stopping the bad guys from getting the McGuffin. If you do this, don't be afraid to send in overwhelming number of opponents.
- Change the goalposts II. Banish PCs, lock them in force cages, incapacitate them.
1. Ganging up on the front-liner and even hitting PCs when they are down, so no whack-a-mole happens. They're dead, and won't come back until after the battle is over. This is rare, because it is a dick-move to do, but what monsters should do IMO.
2. Yeah, waves happen. About a month ago we finished a session defeating King Snurre and some of his allies. We didn't get a chance to rest because the first wave of enemies was coming after that big battle. The next session our entire 10-hour session was waves of fire giants and their allies. We had maybe a round or two, if that, to fortify before the next wave hit. FWIW, we earned over 100000 XP from all those foes in that series of battles.
3. We buff HP, AC, and even damage, as well as add special features, particularly to BBEGs.
4. This one we've "kind of" done. Hostages, etc. so that the goal isn't just killing the foes.
5. Yep. Banished to Hell, twice now, with no guaranteed means to recover.
Now, the best part is all of those things DO make for the best and most memorable encounters! So, yes, very good advice.