What do you do when an encounter is too hard/easy?

[babomb]

I think it really depends. If the encounter is too hard because the PCs did something stupid, do nothing, except possibly to prevent a TPK. If the encounter is purposely too hard because you don't want all of the encounters to be balanced for the PCs, do nothing, except possibly to prevent a TPK. (The PCs should run away in this case.) If the encounter is too hard because of some mistake you made, mentally lower the enemy's HP, or have him use sub-optimal tactics. You can also have an NPC help them, but this seems contrived (because it is); use sparingly.

If the encounter is too easy because the PCs did something clever, do nothing (but make a note of it so you can use it against them later!). If the encounter is purposely too easy because you don't want all of the encounters to be balanced for the PCs, do nothing. If the battle starts to drag on because there are large numbers of low-level mooks to slice through, you can have them run away after a significant portion have been killed. (This actually should happen in most encounters unless the enemies are non-intelligent or have a good reason for not running, but it's worth making the point here.) If a fight is too easy because of some mistake you made, do nothing; you can always make the next encounter a little tougher.

 

[pawsplay]

I chalk it up as a learning experience. Trying to modify an ongoing encounter is more likely to have an undesired effect.

If it's too hard and the party starts dying, try to get some party members to survive to start building the core of a new group.

 

[Frum]

Dealing with hard encounters

I would agree with some of the other posters on easy encounters. If the encounter is too easy, let the players win easily, and perhaps add another encounter if they get too cocky.

If the encounter is too hard, then it depends on the importance of the encounter. If the encounter is a 'setpiece' combat, I would let the chips fall where they may. I find that players appreciate their victories that much more if they are hard won, and won fairly.

If the encounter is simply a random encounter, where the results don't matter too much, and the players are outgunned because of your faulty design, I would say that it is worth it to give the player characters an out, if the players can think of one.

For example, in my last session the player characters had just retrieved a fragment from a religious relic they have been searching for from one part of a major thieves' guild. The characters forgot to check for traps when looting treasure, and because of strength damage, two of the six were incapacitated and helpless.

The characters took their friends to a safe place in the city, and they planned to leave the city that evening, after getting some provisions and replenishing supplies. I expected that, and there was a chance that a scouting group from the thieves' guild would find them after they went shopping. The encounter was designed for the six of them to handle-but only two of them went shopping. Unfortunately for them, the two characters faced an encounter designed for six.

I didn't think that was really fair, and they faced very likely death. But, one of the players decided to have his character call for guards, rather than stupidly fight the thieves. I rolled some chances, and in the third round of combat, the guards arrived to take care of the thieves. The characters only had to fight for the two rounds and survive. I reward that kind of thinking.

Now, considering that the characters were wanted fugitives in the city, the adventure got more complicated from there, but you see what I mean. I think.

 

[S'mon]

As a player I'd _really_ hate it if I found out a GM had made an 'easy' encounter tougher in mid-stream; if they'd done it by 'forgetting' to take lost hps off the BBEG I doubt I could play under that GM again. I don't like GMs nerfing their too-hard encounters either, but some GMs have absolutely no sense of what's a fair fight - 20+ Yuant-Ti vs 2 4th level PCs in one battle I recall, the GM fudged it and combined with great rolling & extremely good tactics from us, we survived. It would have been better if the GM hadn't told us he'd taken 20 hp off the Yuant-Ti leader, though.

As usual I agree with StalkingBlue (my Midnight GM) that GMs shouldn't alter their encounters mid-game, OTOH don't run Int 8 orcs like they're a Spetsnaz unit, either - monster tactics should be plausible for their intelligence & demeanour. Orcs tend to want to charge forward and hack opponents to death, they're very good at doing that, but not so great at sophisticated traps & envelopments or at supporting each other in melee - though they can 'mob' lone PCs quite effectively. Ogres the same, only moreso. Goblins are sneaky but cowardly, with poor morale. Drow are smart, sneaky and sophisticated - great tactics, but still cowardly & tend not to do team tactics so well, if the going gets tough it's every drow for herself.

Last night in Midnight we had a 'too hard' fight - my brash Fighter PC totally underestimated the power of an enemy Channeler (mage-type) backed up by orcs in a defensible location - we got Webbed, Colour Sprayed & stunned, Held by the enemy Legate (Cleric) etc. It was a military disaster - my PC only survived for now by surrendering (which kept an incapacitated PC from being CDGed), while the other 2 PCs fled. It was a great battle though.

 

[Thanee]

It really depends a lot on what is being encountered.

If it is just a sort of 'random encounter' that turns out too easy or too hard, so be it. In the case of too hard, there usually are some subtle means (like fudging dice rolls to a degree, so the heroes can at least escape ) to turn away a TPK that really shouldn't happen.

If the players get a chance to flee and don't take it, however, I won't let them get away with it easily. I don't reward stupid behaviour and if they think that every challenge is just there to be overcome by force, than they might learn, that there are different kinds of challenges.

If it is a high intelligence opponent, I'm inclined to let him retroactively prepare some stuff which seems likely but has been forgotten by me, as long as it doesn't interfere with what has happened so far. It's not a competition between DM and players, so the DM can - of course - fudge some stuff as long as it is within certain limits (like to make a super intelligent opponent appear super intelligent).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Zappo]

I sometimes find out that I've made an encounter too easy. I never make encounters too hard, though. It's easier to bump up difficulty than bumping it down.

I don't like changing monster stats on the fly, or fudging rolls; the need to avoid an anticlimactic death trumps this, but simply changing difficulty isn't worth it.

Depending on the situation, you may be able to have the monsters receive reinforcements. Fiends are especially good for this; they have the ability to summon more of their kind, but they'd rather not use it because it leaves them in debt. This basically means that you can use it or not, depending on how the encounter is going.

If reinforcements are not an option, the mosters may flee. Alternatively, I may give them some extra items (a potion, a scroll). Winning PCs may pick up any leftover, and some extra XP if the changes are enough to up the EL.

 

[BASHMAN]

Give more or less xp after the combat. If they die, oh well.

 

[Fester]

The DMG suggests that 10% of all encounters should be labelled as easy - ie the EL is lower than the party level. It suggests only 50% should be challenging - that is, EL is equal to the party level. So don't worry about it too much, unless they're all too easy, in which case just make sure you make future encounters harder.

Too hard will depend on what you mean. There is difficult and then there is the TPK. TPKs happen, for various reasons, but they should be rare, so if you're players are falling like flies, just make sure you make future encounters easier. Creatures are not given a CR rating for no reason and there are plenty of tools available that calculate EL for you.

For encounters that just turn into harder ones than anticipated (not because of an unlucky/lucky set of rolls, but becuase there were conditions that hadn't been anticipated), then just adjust the xp award. Again, the dmg sets out what would be reasonable adjustments (p39).

 

[Oscar carramiñana]

When an encounter is too easy do it fast
When is too hard I make it and give extra XP or wealth

My group recently ends CofSQ I think these are a great example of encounters too easy/too hard. in the three first sessions was a party in the four sessions I killed three of five PC's.
Sorry.
The total campaing was the same 2 or 3 sessions of total relax with easy encounters and the next ... if you played you understand me

 

[NewJeffCT]

Good question. If an encounter is too easy, so be it. Just chalk it up to smart and/or efficient players. I recall once that we had reached a climactic early point in a long term epic campaign. We arrived too late at the prison to free one of the good guys and the evil conjurer had just managed to summon a powerful demon. For 2E PCs that were level 2 and 3, a demon with 75 hit points is an awesome foe that would normally take the whole party working together for several rounds to take it out. However, our group’s first level paladin charged, rolled a natural ‘20’ and then got a freakishly good roll on our special 2E crit chart and did 72 points of damage in that one blow. Instead of major encounter, the demon was an annoyance in our way to capture the conjurer.

For hard encounters, it can be difficult. We cannot really do DM fudging in our group because we make all of our combat rolls on the table – DM and players alike. In that same campaign, we had an encounter with were-creatures and knew right away to retreat because we did not have any silver or magic weapons.

If it is a set encounter, I would try to plan ahead of time for a ‘worst case scenario’ situation to get the party out of it – the party tank rolls 3 straight 1s on his d20, so instead of cleaving through a bunch of orcs like normal, he whiffs; the mage’s 7d6 fireball only does 11 points of damage and the ogres due unusually well on their saves against that 11 points; the ‘cannon fodder’ thugs roll 5 straight times with at least an 18 (happened to us a few weeks back, 5 evil town guard 1st level warriors took out our party’s 4th level elven ranger in one round!) Maybe the orcs that the fighter missed above were being tracked by a gruff old dwarf who had held back in order to judge the intentions of the party? A passing cleric of a peaceful god ministers to the fallen elf? The cleric is a pacifist who will not interfere in combat, but will help the fallen.

But, if you are in the midst of a long term campaign and the group is attached to their PCs, I think having a “deus ex machina” type of rescue can be in order once per campaign, but only once per campaign. In the same campaign again, after we defeated the conjurer, a powerful sorceress gifted our group (now 3rd and 4th level) with its first magic items as thanks for saving her. Unknown to us, one of the items was a little more than we thought. We had a later tough encounter with a horde of lizardmen. Our party of 9 PCs, 2 NPCs and about 30 caravan guards was just decimated. 3 PCs were killed outright and 3 or 4 more were downed, but stabilized. I think all 30 caravan guards died as well. We won, but it was obviously a Pyrrhic victory. (Well, my ranger did manage to save the caravan drivers!)

Next session, our DM starts us somberly and the 3 guys with dead PCs prepare to roll up new ones. Lo and behold, the item one of the dead PCs carried was actually a sword out of prophecy that legend held would be carried by an elf that was struck down, only to rise again at the behest of his Goddess to help save the world (or something like that) – basically, we had access to a rare Resurrection spell that allowed our party to be whole again… (and, I think back in 2E, elves could either not be raised or resurrected?) Obviously cheesy if it happens every few sessions, but once in a year-long campaign was cool, as we were mid way through and attached to our PCs.