D&D 5E +What Tricks and Shortcuts Do You Use To Make Monsters and other Hazards More Challenging?

[JMISBEST]

1 trick I used to use to make fights that weren't fair on The Pcs foes, meaning they weren't always enemies, after all they could have been drunk, charmed or could have mistaken 1 or more Pcs for someone else, was to have their foes fight as a group and give them group stats that would allow them to challenge The Pcs, that way both sides have a chance

For example if you use the normal rules then 5 Thugs/1st level Fighters, VS A Pc whose A 6th level Fighter isn't fair on The 5 Thugs but if you have The 5 Thugs fight as a group and their group stats are those of A 6th level Fighter then both sides have a fair chance

 

[Dioltach]

Ohh, one good thing is surprise healing. Remember, those guys that got knocked down aren't actually dead. At least, not usually. Have a reaction "Mass Healing Word" go off about halfway through the fight and watch the players freak out as all the baddies that were on the ground suddenly start acting again. Sure, they will go down with one hit, but, it can really add spice to the encounter.

For intelligent antagonists, I like to set up healing traps around their lair - single use only, of course. Works best with undead, where you can set up negative energy traps to heal the baddies but harm the PCs if they stumble across them

Another thing I've done with spellcasters (3.5E) is to let them metamagic all their spells in their own tower/temple/hideout. After all, it's their home ground, they should have the advantage.

 

[Krachek]

Adjust hit points within hit dice.
Action Surge for monsters make a pretty scary first round! And often round two if necessary.

 

[WarDriveWorley]

A few different ways:

1.) I use a Wound System created by Agate studios for their setting in combat. The baseline version is actually vicious enough that I had to tone it down some.
2.) Use triggers for traps based on common actions. Example: I had an explosive trap that was set off when a character cast detect magic within 120' of it. An investigation check would determine that, but in my player's case they knew it was a magic trap and cast DM right off the bat.
3.) Set up tiered lists for success on skill checks that are bit more restrictive to prevent players from getting "everything" on one roll, especially for monster knowledge rolls.
4.) Try to use rarer/alternate monsters and spells as much as possible to create a bit of mystery. Templates/3PP content can work well for this too.
5.) Use terrain/weather in a creative manner to limit the character's options.
6.) Try to create a bloodied/non-bloodied "action list" for encounters to give monsters/npcs more believable actions than just "pound on your face till you die".

 

[ECMO3]

Overly long title says it all, really, but to get more specific, I'm wondering what people do in their games to make the game more challenged, specifically without changing PC abilities at all.

Just "DM side", what are your tricks and shortcuts? Do you use enemies from 3pp, have you built a set of templates to give monsters combat roles, do you add special events to certain points in initiative to represent things like backup, or terrain hazards, etc?

Please don't crap on anyone's ideas, though. It's a sharing thread, not a harangue people who play differently than you thread.

It is becoming rarer and rarer that I DM because I prefer to play, but that said, here are some recommendations:

1. Small Groups:
Play with 4 or less PCs and don't use sidekicks. This does two things, first it disincentivizes specailized builds - in a 3-player game your 8 int, 8 Wis, 8 Cha Barbarian is going to be a big liability for the party. The fact that he has 40 hps and does 50DPR at level 2 is going to be completely irrelevant most of the time.

2. Roll abilities and do not allow for moving scores.

When I say roll I don't mean roll 6 and then put them where you want. I mean pick your method and then roll in order - roll strength, what you get is strength, doll dex-what you get is dex ......

If you use 4d6D1 you will average slightly higher than standard array, however you will also have completely mismatched abilities. This makes the game both more challanging and stimulates more role play. I use other methods too, which garuntee a higher "main ability" and a playable class but key is do not let players move their scores to emphasize areas they want to emphasize.

3. Play enemies smart.
In many game the enemies line up in a congo line to attack. If you are in a dungeon raiding an Orc home or stronghold they will have traps, chokepoints etc set up (the same as players would if you told them "defend this keep" and gave them several days to prepare). Rule of cool works for bad guys too!

Got a Swashbuckler that is moving in and out of combat sneak attacking. Have 2 guys ready actions to grapple. Next time he comes in range grapple him. Then shove him and put him on his arse so he is grappled and prone and loses sneak attack while you pummel him.

Got a wizard who lays down hypnotic pattern - shake your allies out of it and kill his spell in a round.

4. Don't be afraid of AOOs.

An AOO is one attack ... against 1 enemy. If you have a 3-4 person party you have 1 or at max 2 front line melee players. Your 3 orcs should not wail on the barbarian all day long. Leave and attack the wizard. There is only 1 AOO he gets, which makes it usually a good choice even if you are 1v1 and the only bad guy engaged. If there is more than one engaged it is always a good choice.

4. Shove -
Use shove and grapple anyone who is prone. Grapple or shove takes an attack, but it takes an action to break a grapple. This is especially useful on high-AC wizards who typically have low athletics and mediocre acrobatics. Put him on the ground and then wail on him with advantage to counter shield.

Note if he has misty step - if the wizard has misty step you are in quite a bind. You know he has misty step, but the Orcs probably don't know that. I will let you concious be the judge, but suffice it to say if the intent is to make the game more difficult, then make it more difficult and don't do something stupid like put him in a grapple he will misty step put of.

5. Enemies with ranged weapons in darkness
Use enemies with ranged weapons, better yet, use enemies with ranged weapons that are spread out, on balconies beyond 120 feet and difficult to get to .... if you need more put them in darkness while the party is in dim light (if you are in darkness you can still see dimly lit areas hundreds of feet away).

If you are in a dimly lit area and the enemy is 121 feet away in darkness he sees you but you don't see him (unless you are a twilight cleric).

 

[AnotherGuy]

• Creatures one or more sizes larger than their opponent force a Shift on a Miss (SoaM) on their opponent.
• Ethereal touch attacks from Wraiths, Shadows, Ghosts and the like ignore armour class and shields, only Dex, force magic and enchantment pluses are counted for AC against such attacks.
• A character gains a level of exhaustion on first failed death saving throw once unconscious.
• Use the improved 5e monsters from A5E (Level Up) or the Expanded Monster Manuals.
• Combat Zones, stolen from Fate.
• Sunder weapons and equipment.
• Invisibility, Darkness, Dim Light, Cover, Fog, Hiding.
• Effects on Sanity (used for alien attacks).
• Consumables utilised by the enemy.

 

[Stalker0]

I'm going to quote myself from the old 4e days and just link to a guide I wrote back then:

Stalker0's Guide to Anti-Grind

Stalker0’s Guide to Anti-grind A common complaint of 4e is the notion of “grind”. From the majority of discussions, grind seems to be widely defined as the point in combat where the party has effectively “won”, but have not yet beaten the monsters. Bereft of encounter powers, the players begin...

www.enworld.org

The second half of the article talks about a number of ways to shake up fights.

 

[Bitbrain]

My philosophy as a DM is that forcing a player to essentially forfeit their turn because their character failed a saving throw (like against being frightened) leads to player disinterest, not investment.

So, instead, almost negative conditions only last until the start of their next turn. Restrained and being at 0 hit points are the big exceptions, but my experience has been that players don’t lose interest if they have to make a death save. Meanwhile with being restrained, you can always break free by hacking off the tentacle or pincer that has a hold of you.

It may not sound like much, but having their characters be paralyzed only until the start of their next turn is now a source of tremendous excitement for my players, because they know that if they can just hold out long enough against the barrage of attacks coming their way, their characters will still get to do what they want on their turn.

 

[Reynard]

One specific one for spell casters, especially "bosses": they can cast a spell as a bonus action, with a recharge equal to the spell level (or half the spell level if playing at higher levels).

Related: all recharge target numbers are decreased by 1 or 2 (depending on my completely subjective assessment) on a failed recharge check.

 

[Eltab]

Give a monster a Reaction so it does not have to sit still and watch while a half-dozen adventurers gang up to beat on it.
The Reaction could be a basic attack (a claw / bite not a multiattack) or a free move while it still has a retreat route.

If the monster is intelligent, give it an unusual weapon inspired by whatever 3e supplements you may happen to have access to. Make him more than "just another cannon fodder guard", make him "the guy that shot effective blowdarts at us".