New DM - Questions

[Letric]

I'm running the Rise of the Runelords Campaign. I'm still fearly new to DMing and I'm having many questions on how to rule some NCPs.

For example soon my party will face Nualia. And considering the party is not the Stealth type, I'm pretty sure Nualia will know of their arrivals. I want to make my players feel that this person is a character with a history, pain and someone who seeks revenge.
I was looking at her abilities and I noticed she had Initimidate. She has a 10 INT score, which makes her a normal person. If I came up with this strategy, she would too.

When entering her room, she would Intimidate the first (or most armored) PC (as a readied action), which would cause them if she wins the DC to be shaken. Her yeth hound has a 6 INT score, understands Abyssal and would easily follow her command. She would basically prepare this PC to be affected by the Bay ability of her hound (it gets panicked).
After this combat would start, and she will be facing 3 PCs instead of 4, if everything goes ok.

QUESTION - Does Intimidate work on PC?

How smart are goblins? There's the Goblin Druid Gogmurt, and he has a 8 INT score. I mean, one of my PCs have that INT score. I feel many of the encounters on the adventure are always targeting "the most armored foe" when I (DM) know for a fact that there are other important threats on the party.

Do you always play your NPC-bosses as written on Adventure Paths or tweak them a little to spice things up, or really to be fair and make combat more realistic?

I'm having second thoughts and how the NPC are acting, sometimes I just find it stupid.

Nualia it says in combat she cast as first spell Divine Favor. She has Channel Energy with a whopping DC17 Will half for 2d6. Against 4 PC that seems worth it, even though she will be hurting her hound.

[Ortesk]

I'm running the Rise of the Runelords Campaign. I'm still fearly new to DMing and I'm having many questions on how to rule some NCPs.

For example soon my party will face Nualia. And considering the party is not the Stealth type, I'm pretty sure Nualia will know of their arrivals. I want to make my players feel that this person is a character with a history, pain and someone who seeks revenge.
I was looking at her abilities and I noticed she had Initimidate. She has a 10 INT score, which makes her a normal person. If I came up with this strategy, she would too.

When entering her room, she would Intimidate the first (or most armored) PC (as a readied action), which would cause them if she wins the DC to be shaken. Her yeth hound has a 6 INT score, understands Abyssal and would easily follow her command. She would basically prepare this PC to be affected by the Bay ability of her hound (it gets panicked).
After this combat would start, and she will be facing 3 PCs instead of 4, if everything goes ok.

QUESTION - Does Intimidate work on PC?

How smart are goblins? There's the Goblin Druid Gogmurt, and he has a 8 INT score. I mean, one of my PCs have that INT score. I feel many of the encounters on the adventure are always targeting "the most armored foe" when I (DM) know for a fact that there are other important threats on the party.

Do you always play your NPC-bosses as written on Adventure Paths or tweak them a little to spice things up, or really to be fair and make combat more realistic?

I'm having second thoughts and how the NPC are acting, sometimes I just find it stupid.

Nualia it says in combat she cast as first spell Divine Favor. She has Channel Energy with a whopping DC17 Will half for 2d6. Against 4 PC that seems worth it, even though she will be hurting her hound.

By raw you can not intimidate a pc. Diplomacy, intimidate and a few other skills simply fail. By logic, i would say you can. It makes sense

I dont play hardly any pregenned NPC's, i go through and build each one because the pre mades are made so the party can win easily. I dont like BBEG being a chump. Also the NPCs are built around a very poor built party doing classic roles in basic ways. I would rebuild the NPC personally, much better fight IMO

[Equinox]

Intimidate in combat works on PCs as usual. However, in a metagame sense, you may want to avoid a tactic that simply excludes one player from the encounter. New players especially might be disheartened by it.

As for always targeting the most armored foe, no need to treat the adventure text as some holy scripture. If you feel 'spreading the love' makes for a more interesting encounter, go for it.


By raw you can not intimidate a pc. This is wrong. There are two uses of Intimidate, one as a social skill to improve attitude (and that indeed doesn't work on a PC, since players control their own attitudes), and the other, to make an enemy Shaken/Panicked in combat - that one works just fine.

[Ortesk]

This is wrong. There are two uses of Intimidate, one as a social skill to improve attitude (and that indeed doesn't work on a PC, since players control their own attitudes), and the other, to make an enemy Shaken/Panicked in combat - that one works just fine.

My mistake, i thought intimidate was just a flat fail. Useful to know for future games

[Letric]

Intimidate in combat works on PCs as usual. However, in a metagame sense, you may want to avoid a tactic that simply excludes one player from the encounter. New players especially might be disheartened by it.

As for always targeting the most armored foe, no need to treat the adventure text as some holy scripture. If you feel 'spreading the love' makes for a more interesting encounter, go for it.

This is wrong. There are two uses of Intimidate, one as a social skill to improve attitude (and that indeed doesn't work on a PC, since players control their own attitudes), and the other, to make an enemy Shaken/Panicked in combat - that one works just fine.

Well, this is sorta the point. This is the first time they're going into a dungeon. I believe they will be there a LOT of time, because they have no healear, nor wizards, nor sorcerer.
My point is the following: if the Big Boss is not using any sort of strategy other then buffing herself and putting up some big numbers, is not really a Boss. She's supposed to be the conclusive part of Chapter 1, where PC learn about her and confront her.
They're not new players, we have been playing for many years, this time it happens I'm DMing. Two of them are more reluctant to come up with strategies, but if I start watering down my own Bosses they'll feel like they can smash through everything.

This Boss has a particularly high Intimidate Score, that's why I thought about using it. I'll have to see how they meet her, and I do understand what you say about "being useless" the whole combat, but that could easily happen with a trap, or a huge damage as well.
I mean, I had one guy downed in a single hit from a boar. It did Maximum damage on a 1d8+4 and I instagib the poor Alchemist.

[Spore]

Give her a feat to debuff the whole group instead of just one character and rebuild her intimidate so that it may effectively do so. That not only introduces the mechanics of debuffing to newer players it also distinguishes her as the boss: "Damn, she is SO bossy she even intimidated all of our PCs."

Also remember: While dishing out penalties is fine for a boss mind control and similar things are quite demotivating for players. Also, depending on the "sneakyness" she could've already activated divine favor BEFORE the adventurers entered her lair. Don't kill your hell hound with channeling. If you want to use it, just let the hound hide channel once and let it attack. You can always combine the intimidate check with the classical villain rant and/or use your free speech actions to taunt the hero facing the hound.

I know this setup is quite strong (depending) but you can always let her give up her actions and boast about how she doesn't even have to attack the guy being devastated by the hound.

[Letric]

Give her a feat to debuff the whole group instead of just one character and rebuild her intimidate so that it may effectively do so. That not only introduces the mechanics of debuffing to newer players it also distinguishes her as the boss: "Damn, she is SO bossy she even intimidated all of our PCs."

Also remember: While dishing out penalties is fine for a boss mind control and similar things are quite demotivating for players. Also, depending on the "sneakyness" she could've already activated divine favor BEFORE the adventurers entered her lair. Don't kill your hell hound with channeling. If you want to use it, just let the hound hide channel once and let it attack. You can always combine the intimidate check with the classical villain rant and/or use your free speech actions to taunt the hero facing the hound.

I know this setup is quite strong (depending) but you can always let her give up her actions and boast about how she doesn't even have to attack the guy being devastated by the hound.

Seems like a nice idea. I'm not really familiar with changing NPC, that's why I went with this idea. It might only put out of combat one PC and it could easily fail as well. The idea is to watch them react on this new strategy and make them understand that not every enemy will go Hack-Slash.
Anyway I need to check some things on rules regarding Sleep now.

[Spore]

Anyway I need to check some things on rules regarding Sleep now.

Be advised. The Sleep spell on low levels ends encounters.

[Letric]

Be advised. The Sleep spell on low levels ends encounters.

Hahahah, yeah... that's my confusion.

"Slapping or wounding awakens an affected creature, but normal noise does not."

What is normal noise? I have a Psion that is using a lot this skill, and I mean, it could easily change a lot of things.

It's a strategy, but I can't find any rules regarding whether the Sleep spell is something magically induced, ergo it cannot be ended, or it just "forces" the target the Sleep Condition.

Because if this happens in the middle of combat, well, doesn't it make sense that the NPC could wake up? But if I allow that, I'm also nullifying a Spell from a PC; it could be that the spell was thought as a Infiltration One and it's 1min/lvl duration might suggest so.

I mean, if you're asleep and there's people around you fighting, you must hear something!

[Crake]

Be advised. The Sleep spell on low levels ends encounters.

Sleep and color spray, my beguiler's bread and butter

[Captnq]

I'm running the Rise of the Runelords Campaign. I'm still fearly new to DMing and I'm having many questions on how to rule some NCPs.


FEARly new??? A DM does not Fear. He inspires fear. How is your silent glare that says, "You are a bone head for even daring to speak just now."?

If you cannot make someone uncomfortable with a glance, how will your NPCs ever inspire them to be afraid? I suggest you spend time in from of a mirror glaring at yourself. At least 15 minutes a day.

[Letric]

FEARly new??? A DM does not Fear. He inspires fear. How is your silent glare that says, "You are a bone head for even daring to speak just now."?

If you cannot make someone uncomfortable with a glance, how will your NPCs ever inspire them to be afraid? I suggest you spend time in from of a mirror glaring at yourself. At least 15 minutes a day.

After my first session the former DM told a lot of things I should change and I did. Now sometimes I roll dices for the fun of making PC unconformables or ask for random "throw a dice"

I'm trying to make them feel like they're in danger and not making chores for their mums