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<blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 4596125" data-attributes="member: 807">I can't explain specifics since our games are all homebrew and nothing I say will make sense out of context.&nbsp; So I'll leave it generic...The best/most memorable/most exciting encounters have been ones with varied terrain and/or mix of monster tactics and abilities.&nbsp; We very easily get in to a rut when it's an open field... but toss us in some corridors with maybe a pit in the middle and we have to break out of our rut and get more creative.&nbsp; Plus, having the mix of monsters keeps it from getting boring to fight &quot;yet another kobold in this army&quot;On the flip side, something I've realized (and it's buried in the DMG somewhere), if the battle is going very one sided in favor of the PCs but it's just taking too long to widdle away his hp, then don't be afraid to pretend he dies one or two hits sooner than he would otherwise -- dragging out a fight that is obvious just becomes tedious.Also, encounters that aren't spun (a little) towards the group's composition can be a bit frustrating.&nbsp; I'm not saying to always spin it, just once in a while...&nbsp; if you have controllers in the party, toss in more minions.&nbsp; If you have lots of strikers and defenders, toss in lots of brutes and soldiers.&nbsp; And so on.. it'll take a few encounters to realize what the right mix is... again, don't always do it, but once in a while&nbsp; (otherwise you'll see your party wizard get frustrated for never being able to do more than nick the bbeg, or your strikers will get annoyed to whip out 30 points of damage to overkill minion after minion).that's just been my experience so far anyway.By the way, great thread, i like reading this stuff (it's given me a&nbsp; little inspiration and also insight as to what my players may be thinking)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="fba827, post: 4596125, member: 807"] I can't explain specifics since our games are all homebrew and nothing I say will make sense out of context. So I'll leave it generic... The best/most memorable/most exciting encounters have been ones with varied terrain and/or mix of monster tactics and abilities. We very easily get in to a rut when it's an open field... but toss us in some corridors with maybe a pit in the middle and we have to break out of our rut and get more creative. Plus, having the mix of monsters keeps it from getting boring to fight "yet another kobold in this army" On the flip side, something I've realized (and it's buried in the DMG somewhere), if the battle is going very one sided in favor of the PCs but it's just taking too long to widdle away his hp, then don't be afraid to pretend he dies one or two hits sooner than he would otherwise -- dragging out a fight that is obvious just becomes tedious. Also, encounters that aren't spun (a little) towards the group's composition can be a bit frustrating. I'm not saying to always spin it, just once in a while... if you have controllers in the party, toss in more minions. If you have lots of strikers and defenders, toss in lots of brutes and soldiers. And so on.. it'll take a few encounters to realize what the right mix is... again, don't always do it, but once in a while (otherwise you'll see your party wizard get frustrated for never being able to do more than nick the bbeg, or your strikers will get annoyed to whip out 30 points of damage to overkill minion after minion). that's just been my experience so far anyway. By the way, great thread, i like reading this stuff (it's given me a little inspiration and also insight as to what my players may be thinking) [/QUOTE]

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