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Message: <blockquote data-quote="roguerouge" data-source="post: 4113989" data-attributes="member: 13855">0. An audit. They've said that they want more exciting combats, eh? Well, tell them that you need to see their sheets to meet that need for them. Take a copy home, pour over it for each character's weakness. And then systematically hit every one. It's a classic of the genre. And, it will prevent maximizing, because they'll have to start devoting resources to defense. Plus, if they're making a mistake, you can point it out privately and get it corrected.1. Put them on a timeline. Paizo's first "Falcon's Hollow" adventure has people dying of the plague while the party races to get a cure's ingredients. The good PCs simply cannot take their sweet time with that adventure because they KNOW people are dying while they optimize. Alternatively, in a standard "rescue the captive" narrative, have the characters have nightmares of what is happening to the NPC while they dawdle. Let them get their spells back, but make them think about whether they can get further with the resources they have. Such resource management will have them be more challenged.2. They're 10th level. Spend a few sessions emphasizing how famous they are. They deserve it! And now villains have an excellent "scouting report" on those pesky heroes likely to ruin their plans. And how to defeat them.3. Use charms and dominates to get PCs vs. PCs going... and every resource they waste fixing that problem is a resource they're not using on the monsters. 4. Invisible, flying summoners with silent spell. Summoning doesn't dispel invisibility.5. Divide and Conquor. Use wall/cloud spells and blade barriers to divide the party. Have one group be outnumbered and fighting for their lives. Have the other group behind the wall facing a handful of monsters simply there to delay them. (They're waiting for the first group to win and become reinforcements.) The PCs'll be desperate to save their companions.  6. Hit them where it hurts: take relatives hostage and threaten familiars and companions. Make them spend resources to protect their loved ones, just like Superheroes have to. Why do you think so many of them wear masks?7. Describe everything, label nothing. Look up the Knowledge and Spellcraft skill rules. If the character hasn't faced it before or seen that spell before, they don't know a thing about it. And if they meta-game, feel free to ask them how their character knows to do that. Force them to spend actions to gain knowledge of vulnerabilities and weaknesses.8. Surprise, surprise, surprise.... If a party can prep and the monsters cannot, the PCs have a huge advantage. A volcano? Seriously? They're going to prepare every cold spell they know along with every resist fire spell. Make the dragons masochistic white dragons with fire resistance and you're on to something. (The fire causes pain, but not hit point damage, say.)</blockquote>

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