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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 8642001" data-attributes="member: 20564">Tricks I use to make them more challenging:  I flip it.  I actually make them more challenging - more, tougher foes.  Often much more challenging.  And then use tools to reduce how challenging the encounter actually is so that it's winable (or survivable for some).Much rather have players telling stories about how they defeated something really cool, never realizing that by sending the foe in waves I greatly cut down on their actual deadliness.Have a group I was well used to estimating what they can handle based on their synergies, tactics, and what they have done in the past.  When when fully rested I would expect a battle against five hill giants would be possible character death, but not into TPK area.  So I put them against twelve of them including a stronger leader type with a magic maul, coming back from a raid.  So all were hurt to some degree or the other, and resting.  As long as they were smart about the scouts and not making too much noise waking them up they could break it into a number of smaller combats - and that favored the PCs.Did they kill 12 hill giants in one scene?  Yes.  And they were rightfully quite happy about it because it took a lot of cleverness and thought - and some luck - to capitalize on the opportunity.  It was well earned and definitely boast-worthy.I had another time when they were ambushing a clearly superior force.  They rolled really well and used some resources in both their scouting and picking the place.  I drew the basic forest on the battlemap and then tossed them a good number of forest Dungeon Tiles and told them that since they were successful in selecting the place for the ambush, they could build it.  They could arrange those any way they wanted.  They created choke points, and high ground, and a narrow corridor with difficult terrain, and gave themselves every advantage they could.  On top of it they pulled out some illusion magic and really went to town.So I don't give them weaker opponents that I've uplifted through math or tricks, I give them genuinely more challenging opponents that I've given them the opportunity to pull to their level.</blockquote>

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