Surprise, Surprise!

[8EyesBlind]

Long time lurker and couldn't find an answer to this newbie question:

Our group has played a couple of APs and it seems most encounters involve the party getting jumped by creatures on the road. (We got tired of this and got off the road, but the pace for this became so slow we got subtle hints from the GM that things would peak and we'd run out of time.) So now we're on the road again as everyone and their mom jumps out at us.

This invariably ends up some nasty combo of grab/trip maneuvers, or other rigged setups, which at this point has pretty much left me fuming.

Our party "does random," so a coordinated effort isn't happening.

My build doesn't give me Uncanny Dodge until later. But I will have Combat Reflexes in a few levels. When we get jumped, there are no Perception rolls - the encounters are in our face right off with a surprise round.

I'm just wondering what other players do to mitigate some of this?

[FocusWolf413]

If you're bored OOC, bring it up with the DM OOC. Communication is key.

[GhorrinRedblade]

If you're bored OOC, bring it up with the DM OOC. Communication is key.

QFT. In as non-confrontational a manner as you can muster, tell your DM that the every-fight-starts-with-us-surprised setup is starting to make the game not be fun, and ask him to change it.

Good luck!

[Psyren]

What your GM is basically saying is that your Perception doesn't matter. This is understandably frustrating, especially if one or more folks in your party are built around being perceptive. Even if nobody in the party is particularly skilled at this, by the law of averages you should at least get the drop on your opposition once. Hell, even the Order of the Stick was allowed to get the drop on the enemy a couple of times, and their Spot checks are horribad.

I third the "talk to your GM" angle, because he may not realize how unfun all the "lol, ambushed again!!!1!111!one" is getting.

[8EyesBlind]

The problem is currently the majority of people in the group think it's funny to get ambushed all the time.

The ones that are more serious play mages that hid in a covered cart for a time. (Until it got firebombed.) So sans the surprise firebombing, they are pretty careless about others getting surprised. (And are planning to buy another covered cart when the next town is reached.)

So bringing it up might come off as sourpuss.

In retrospect, there are some possible options that come to mind: Playing a Druid ("We have enough mages"), a shape changing race (either of these running freely ahead in the underbrush as a normal animal), or a Strix flying very high. These might require some initial levels of hapless ambushes to reach the desired abilities, but at least there would be a nice payoff.

Should have thought of those right off. Likely some useful items along those lines. I guess I needed to put it in writing.

[Psyren]

I don't get it - if the majority of the group is enjoying getting ambushed so much, why did you guys try to divert off the road? It sounds to me like they are trying to avoid it, not that they find it funny :smallconfused:

Anyway, if the rest of the group is having fun then that's a significantly harder problem to solve. I agree with your solution as far as rerolling into something that at least won't be caught as off-guard as the other schmucks are, and if your GM alters the ambushes to negate that choice (e.g. all of a sudden flying enemies routinely show up to ambush you in the air) then you'll know you have a real problem on your hands that you'll have to address with the group, whether they think of you as a sourpuss or not.

I will however point out that birds are pretty easy to spot in the sky so don't be surprised if you do get shot at up there. But the bird itself should be able to see things coming too.

[8EyesBlind]

When we were off the road, it was because of an especially nasty ambush which included ability (CON) damage. Because the cart had burned down the mages (2) were in uproar they couldn't be protected properly if ambushed. (Which was pretty funny.) So we tried roaming deep in the woods, which ended with the GM nudge.

At this point my idea is to roll up a Druid with a wolf companion. The Druid (in wolf form) & companion will act like they are shadowing the party as if waiting to attempt an ambush themselves. Then ideally there is at least have a chance of catching those lying in wait.

If the GM completely changes gears and being innovative gets punished, I'll advise my work schedule has changed, if not get up and leave immediately. Life's too short.

[Psyren]

I definitely agree with that approach, but if you are friends with these folks outside of game I would recommend at least trying to explain how you feel about things first. If that doesn't work, then absolutely, you're well within your rights to find something better to do with your time; no game beats bad game always.