How do you counter "Bane" weapons?

[Kalmageddon]

I'm running a campaign set in Eberron using Pathfinder and this (https://sites.google.com/site/eberronpathfinder/) handy conversion.

The problem I'm having is that the Artificer has Weapon Augmentation, Lesser (https://sites.google.com/site/eberronpathfinder/conversion-info/magic/spells/v-w/weapon-augmentation#lesser) and is using it to great effect. As far as we understood this Infusion to work, it gives a weapon a few special qualities selected from the +1 bonus list, among these there is of course, Bane.
Now this means that any encounter that relies on physical combat in the slightest can be made trivially easy by just using this Infusion to give the best fighters in the group a +2 bonus and +2d6 damages against a key enemy, the boss or, sometimes, the entire enemy force if it made sense that they were all the same type of creature, which let's face it, is bound to happen quite often.

I made a point to try and make the enemies prepared, have them buffed beforehand when it made sense and given them appropriate feats to improve slightly their chances of survival but, at level 5-6 the bonus of a Bane weapon is just too much.
Either I make the enemy completely immune to phyiscal damage (cheap) or almost impossible to hit (even more cheap) or they get to do ridicolous amount of damage every time they connect a hit, which is quite often considering that Bane also gives a +2 to Hit rolls.
I looked everywhere but I couldn't find a counter outside of dispelling the buff, which is simply not feasable in most encounters. Even when there is a spellcaster among the enemy, it might not be of a high enough level to reliably dispell the infusion, or he simply might not have enough spells. Or enough rounds before things spiral out of control.

Is there any way, outside of ad-hoc spells I'd have to pull out of my GM hat, to solve this problem?

[Triskavanski]

Disguise.

Oh You thought you where fighting Orcs? They were actually three gnomes stacked on each other's shoulders!

[Knaight]

Mixed groups can at least partially counter this, fighting at a range that the weapons aren't for can do similarly. Then there's always ambushes, where there's not enough time to get the weapons to be Bane weapons, and gradually doing so takes time and uses up actions that could have gone elsewhere. Really, the only place this is a really solid strategy is when going in on the offensive with good intel and preparation, and even then it gets messy against an inhomogenous group.

[Kalmageddon]

Mixed groups can at least partially counter this, fighting at a range that the weapons aren't for can do similarly. Then there's always ambushes, where there's not enough time to get the weapons to be Bane weapons, and gradually doing so takes time and uses up actions that could have gone elsewhere. Really, the only place this is a really solid strategy is when going in on the offensive with good intel and preparation, and even then it gets messy against an inhomogenous group.

The group generally has intel and is generally on the offensive.
Even then, a "mixed group" often doesn't make any sense. All factions have a predominant race, sometimes they are even just one race or they share a racial subtype that makes them vulnerable to Bane weapons.
Beside, this still leaves the concept of a "boss" creature or character completely unviable. He will always be one creature type only and once the group figures it out (and all of them have a Knowledge of some kind) they start mopping the floor with it thanks to this weapon.

The only real threat to the group is making the enemy pack the same firepower, but this makes the encounters exceedingly boring. Either the enemy attack first and wins or the group does.

[Psyren]

On humanoids and outsiders, Bane works like FE, i.e. you have to pick a subtype. So if you have a gang of cultists or thugs consist of 2 humans, an orc, a halfling and a drow, the bane will only work on one of them.

For other creature types, you can just make them tougher than usual; they're monsters after all.

[Strigon]

First off, the players are doing something quite clever; don't take that away from them. Let this tactic help them win a few encounters, and they'll feel as though they're being rewarded for proper planning and strategy.
Now, this isn't to say you should make the encounters trivial; as others have mentioned, mixing different monsters that compliment each other is a good counter - and it's good practice to do this anyway, since it tends to make encounters more interesting. Another option touched on earlier was disguises; while I'm pretty sure it was meant to be a joke, the characters probably don't know everything about every enemy. If you throw something unknown at them, they don't know what they're fighting - so no bane weapons.
Finally, if all else fails, when the PC's are punching above their weight class, throw higher level monsters at them. It's probably best if you stick to more defensive variants, lest it turn into rocket tag, but there's no reason you can't just proceed as if the party is one or two levels higher if level-appropriate challenges are too easy.

Edit:
You can still do mixed groups; even if they're fighting a single-race faction, odds are that faction will have some animals/monsters to aid them.
Bosses can work, too; simply make the boss some sort of ranged character, and let his minions be focused on area denial, preventing the players from closing in on him.

[Ashtagon]

Point out that NPCs may start using bane weapons against the PCs, and suggest they stop using them all the time.

[Kalmageddon]

Honestly, I don't think they are doing anything THAT clever.
Bane as a special quality was always balanced by the fact that the type of creature it's good against doesn't change, it's an overly specialized source of damage that is sometimes incredibile, sometimes useless. This Infusion lets them have ad-hoc Bane for every encounter, which makes an otherwise balanced special quality completely OP. I mean, the Inquisitor has this as its main source of damage, it's treated as a special thing, a cornerstone of that class.
This Infusion makes it avalable to everyone, including classes that already have other sources of damage, making them hit like a truck without trying that hard.
As soon as "give a weapon a special quality of your choice" becomes available, I think Bane would be the first thing to pop into the mind of most players.

But ok, let's talk about "mixed groups of enemies".
I'll say an encounter and you tell me how to mix it up, ready?
- Daelkyr forces.
- Valenar raiders.
- Lords of Dust.
- Darguun warlords.
... You see where I'm going with this? Sure they could have attack animals/monsters. Some of them might have humanoid cultists. But at the end of the day, the main source of power from such an encounter will be tied to a specific creature type. And they are not going to use Bane to remove the cannon fodder, no, they are going to use it to target the most powerful creatures in the encounters. So really what I should do is make every encounter have equally strong foes of at least two different types. Like every encounter is some sort of alliance. Sure that might work, but at the same time it would bring the encounter very close to unbeatable.

Beside, I don't have all this time to plan an encounter. Using Bane like this requires a disproportionate effort on my part to counter it, because using it, to them, is just a matter of identifying the enemy and casting a spell (which lasts 10 min./level, so it can be reliably done before the fight), to me it means carefully crafting every encounter so that there is no more than a single powerful opponent for each creature type, if that's even possibile.

Is there not a spell somewhere that gives immunity to this kind of things?

[Bronk]

Is there not a spell somewhere that gives immunity to this kind of things?

Stoneskin? Otherwise, some other form of DR that isn't countered by magic weapons by themselves.

[Flickerdart]

completely OP
What kind of campaign are you envisioning where an artificer giving his party +2 to hit and +7 to damage is OP? A bard can do better more easily, and doesn't need to burn money every time he sings either.

[Psyren]

What kind of campaign are you envisioning where an artificer giving his party +2 to hit and +7 to damage is OP? A bard can do better more easily, and doesn't need to burn money every time he sings either.

This. Hell, Inquisitors can Bane on command as well, and they are T3. It's not broken at all.

To expand on my suggestion for the OP, just "roll" max HP for your monsters if you feel they're dying too fast. Use battlefield control and numbers etc. The problem isn't bane, but rather that your encounters are too easy and the martials are likely able to focus fire one foe (the "key enemy" mentioned in the OP.)

[nedz]

Honestly, I don't think they are doing anything THAT clever.

This trick was obvious to me when I first read 3.5s Fiend of Possession - which has a similar trick.

It's probably a houserule but can you not force them to chose the enchantment when they make the Infusion ?

[NomGarret]

Well, a legit tactic on the part of the PCs is legit for the NPCs as well. Equip them with Bane: [common party race] weapons and Defiant: [common party race] armor. Yes, the party will get it as treasure when all is done, but elf defiant armor is going to be handier on the girhyanki slaver than on the elf ranger.

[ExLibrisMortis]

You can build very powerful dispellers at low levels, because there are quite a few scaling bonuses you can stack. I know it's not realistic to add one of these to every fight, but it's totally reasonable for an intelligent boss to prepare for a fight by summoning allies. Note that this six-level build can be added as non-associated class levels to any CR 1-3 base, to give a CR 4-6 enemy.


Cloistered Cleric 4/Church Inquisitor 1/Paragnostic Apostle 1
Spontaneous domain casting (Magic domain)
Abilities: 13+ wisdom (to cast dispel magic), 14+ charisma (to have 5 turn attempts)
Domains: Inquisition (bonus, from Church Inquisitor), Knowledge, Magic, Purification
Feats: Divine Defiance, Domain Focus (Magic), Versatile Spellcaster
Items: dispelling cord (1000 gp)
Caster level 6, +1 for abjurations (Purification domain), +1 for Magic domain spells (Domain Focus)
+5 on dispel checks (+4 Inquisition domain, +1 Penetrating Insight, from Paragnostic Apostle)
+2 on dispel checks 5/day from dispelling cord

With one turn undead use, you can counterspell as an immediate action, burning any prepared spell(s) to spontaneously cast dispel magic. With Versatile Spellcaster, you have at least 5 third-level spells per day. Your bonus on dispel checks is +15, 5/day, and +13 after that (but you're out of spells anyway). At level 6, nothing magical is going to get past you for a long time.

Edit: I'm sure there is a Pathfinder equivalent you can use, but I don't know PF too well. Sorry :smallfrown:.

[Pex]

What kind of campaign are you envisioning where an artificer giving his party +2 to hit and +7 to damage is OP? A bard can do better more easily, and doesn't need to burn money every time he sings either.

Or even a paladin giving everyone in the party +CH modifier to hit, +CH modifier deflection to AC, and +level to damage against an evil foe of player's choice.

[Nibbens]

I'd mirror what some of the others are saying. Your PCs are getting a minor buff to damage and your encounters are suffering for it. Your parties "actual" APL is higher than their APL would suggest. I have this problem often. Your solution is; if they are all level 5, throw CR6-10 encounter groups at them instead of CR5-9 encounter groups. If they handle that with ease, then level up your game again and use CR7-11 encounter groups. Wash rinse repeat until you hit the desired level of difficulty.

And, for the love of everything - in my signature is a guide (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nx-o8VAjhUwh3nnfzDQT-JA5eFLnN_BZJiBitGjBMDg/edit) on how to create challenging encounters. The concepts expressed therein are the same across all gaming systems. Read it, learn it and live by it.

Enjoy!

[Florian]

In PF, using the appropriate Bane is nothing too special and far away from being OP. Baseline Inquisitor or Occultists can do it w/o any extra cost or prep time, an Alchemist can enable that on the fly, and so on.

[Elder_Basilisk]

Honestly, I don't think they are doing anything THAT clever.
Bane as a special quality was always balanced by the fact that the type of creature it's good against doesn't change, it's an overly specialized source of damage that is sometimes incredibile, sometimes useless. This Infusion lets them have ad-hoc Bane for every encounter, which makes an otherwise balanced special quality completely OP. I mean, the Inquisitor has this as its main source of damage, it's treated as a special thing, a cornerstone of that class.
This Infusion makes it avalable to everyone, including classes that already have other sources of damage, making them hit like a truck without trying that hard.
As soon as "give a weapon a special quality of your choice" becomes available, I think Bane would be the first thing to pop into the mind of most players.

But ok, let's talk about "mixed groups of enemies".
I'll say an encounter and you tell me how to mix it up, ready?
- Daelkyr forces.
- Valenar raiders.
- Lords of Dust.
- Darguun warlords.
... You see where I'm going with this? Sure they could have attack animals/monsters. Some of them might have humanoid cultists. But at the end of the day, the main source of power from such an encounter will be tied to a specific creature type. And they are not going to use Bane to remove the cannon fodder, no, they are going to use it to target the most powerful creatures in the encounters. So really what I should do is make every encounter have equally strong foes of at least two different types. Like every encounter is some sort of alliance. Sure that might work, but at the same time it would bring the encounter very close to unbeatable.

Beside, I don't have all this time to plan an encounter. Using Bane like this requires a disproportionate effort on my part to counter it, because using it, to them, is just a matter of identifying the enemy and casting a spell (which lasts 10 min./level, so it can be reliably done before the fight), to me it means carefully crafting every encounter so that there is no more than a single powerful opponent for each creature type, if that's even possibile.

Is there not a spell somewhere that gives immunity to this kind of things?

There are a few spells but they tend to be higher level. Iron Body and some of the various other polymorph spells change your type (undead form does this IIRC).

As far as mixed groups go, I think you're making it more difficult than it has to be.

I'm not really well informed on the intricacies of the Ebberon groups you mentioned (for me Ebberon=don't care), but Ebberon is generally a very cosmopolitan setting so if every encounter you have involves exclusive groups that only have a few types of members, that seems like a rather odd Ebberon campaign. In any event, there are a lot of encounters that involve multiple types of monsters.

1. Evil priest, cultists, + undead/outsiders. This one is especially flexible. The evil priest and cultists don't need to share the same types. For example, a half-elf or maenad leader of a bunch of human and half orc cultists spreads out the types three ways for the living component of the encounter. The undead component could be equal to the leader or equal to all the living foes put together depending on how you build it. Outsiders can be added in addition to or in place of the undead. If the cult leader has a Barbazu bodyguard, or even has the Balor they are sacrificing to/attempting to awaken show up, that's hardly out of character.

Also, this kind of scenario lends itself very well to the occasional disguise or progressive encounter. The cult leader turns out not to have been a human after all, but rather an Inspired. The big "boss" of the encounter is the demon, but he doesn't show up until 200hp of damage has been done in the sacrificial chamber--by which time, the players have activated their bane abilities for humanoid to deal with the cultists.

2. The vampire coven. Vampires are undead and if the players want to wait, they can tee off on the big boss, but there are lots of opportunities for disguise (vampires generally disguise themselves as living beings after all), and for dominated living minions. And especially in the cosmopolitan cities of Ebberon, there's no need for dominated minions to share types or subtypes. And since many vampires are spellcasters and have summoning abilities, there are summoned swarms or outsiders to mix things up too.

3. The tomb raiders. Tomb raiding is a very Ebberon activity, but that has a lot of mixed encounter possibilities. Any time you work with tombs, there are undead, construct, and summoned/bound (possibly summoned by a trap) outsider/elemental guardians. That's expected. There are also rival adventuring parties (which can easily have a dwarf, a warforged, an inspired, a half-orc, and a halfling with a dinosaur animal companion--pick one for your bane), and primitive tribes who object to the desecration of their sacred site (humans or elves with animal companions).

4. Criminal gangs. My impression is that urban Ebberon settings tend to embrace the whole Mos Eisley Cantina demographic so having every single member of a criminal gang be a different type doesn't seem like it would be out of place. The street toughs? A warforged, a shifter, and a half-orc with a halfling watching from the shadows. When you get to their lair, they can have watch drakes (another type), and can UMD a scroll of Summon Monster VII to drop a huge elemental on the party.

In addition to mixed groups, there are also minion heavy groups. Before level 9+, there are a lot of scenarios where the party could be fighting a large group of monsters. If you're fighting a group of 25 gnolls, each of whom have only a few hit points, but who can still hit and threaten the party (for example because they're buffed by a bard and a priest), who cares if the PCs get +2/+7 on all of them. They were going to go down in one hit anyway (or maybe two if these are tougher gnolls--give them die hard if you want to go for the crazed beserker feel and make them take a second hit to drop. -13 would have killed him, but he's a raging barbarian so there's 4 more hit points to negative con. Now he gets to attack). The extra damage doesn't make much of a difference--their challenge is not that they are individually hard to kill but that there are so many of them. This is a good approach for those homogenous groups where you are willing to mix in a few attack animals (hyenas for the gnolls) and a summoned dretch or two but need a dominant group for thematic reasons.

Defensively, in addition type changing magics, there are also miss chance based defenses which will render the attack bonus part of bane less effective. Mass blur (hardly a game-changing import from 3.5 but rather effective in the minion swarm situation above), blink, and displacement give a layer of defenses that +2 to hit doesn't help against.

Sure there will still be some times that the tactic is super effective. But that's OK. The party should have times that their favored tactic works. But it doesn't have to be a one-size fits all solution--not unless you let it.

[Triskavanski]

Heck, I don't know why adding bane is the most OP of the artificer of that conversion. I've got an artificer I use in another game who if anything makes him OP its the fact he kinda has every first level spell in the game right now (Sans Psychic Casters)

Sure it takes two rounds to use, but being able to use those spells is pretty crazy. I've convinced the rest of the party that the race I am (A custom race) doesn't need to sleep at night, and freaks the rest of the party because I've been using Knights Watch from the bardlist every day. While we're traveling I'm summoning mounts. And when we're setting up for camp I'm throwing on different spells and the like to get skill bonuses towards survival to get us some grub before we sleep.

[Barstro]

Well, a legit tactic on the part of the PCs is legit for the NPCs as well.

While true, the end result would not be what the original poster claims he wants.

Original poster seems to want the seemingly overpowered "Bane" to end. Giving the enemies that same power would not encourage the end of its use without some form of nationwide treaty. Once the enemy has Bane, there is no reason to think they will stop using it just because the PCs stopped.

I can understand how +2 to hit at an extra 2d6+2 damage can end encounters. My ranged Inquisitor relies on that fact. But there are ways to get around it;
Disguise (as mentioned)
Hit and run tactics (once Bane is used, the enemy simply flees for as many rounds as necessary.
Same, but just the boss, who happens to be a different race.
Enemies that are not on the Bane list (I'm pretty sure that list is not all-encompassing)
Strong delay tactics to wait out the Bane duration (similar to hit and run)
Shapeshifting (I think that would work)
Failed perception checks to recognize the race (outsider subtype)
Mirror image
Illusions in general
If Bane is only being given to one fighter, have other enemies single that one out so the Bane is useless
If the person who usually benefits from Bane is melee, get a group of ranged attackers and keep him away.

I see that you stated you do not want to craft encounters to deal with the issue. That's fine, but in a roleplaying sense, you are saying that the BBEG is just too lazy to send a viable threat against this group of heroes trying to ruin his day. The PCs have adapted to how the enemy behaves. Either the enemy must adapt as well, or the PCs will not face a challenge.

[Diarmuid]

Are you properly ruling that the infusion takes 1 minute to cast? This makes it pretty much unusable as something to be used once initiative has been rolled. There is a caveat to use Action Points to reduce the casting time, but there certainly wouldnt be enough to to use every encounter.

[Calimehter]

There is always the option of tossing a sunder specialist at them. Don't do that too often (loot balancing problems) but having someone like that bodyguarding a BBEG might keep your combat interesting.

[Requiem_Jeer]

Are they casting it in combat? I read the infusion, it takes a whole round to cast. Which can be a big problem when the fighter doesn't have his normal weapon during that time.

It's not that hard to use 3 creature types in a single battle, when you consider guard monsters, pets, and mercenaries. Plus, if the biggest threat is the only one on the field of that creature type (maybe because he's a half-fiend or whatever), and the non-biggest threats are still a big threat, the benefit is cut down some.

[Necroticplague]

Easy: have someone Sleight of Hand away the ointment he needs to cast.

[Sayt]

I'ma throw in my hat with the "Bane is really not OP bandwagon.", but if you really need something, THere is the FAQ's version of Animal Soul (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/animal-soul)

[Knaight]

The group generally has intel and is generally on the offensive.
Even then, a "mixed group" often doesn't make any sense. All factions have a predominant race, sometimes they are even just one race or they share a racial subtype that makes them vulnerable to Bane weapons.
Beside, this still leaves the concept of a "boss" creature or character completely unviable. He will always be one creature type only and once the group figures it out (and all of them have a Knowledge of some kind) they start mopping the floor with it thanks to this weapon.

Domesticated animals, undead, and constructs are the obvious ways to mix things up a bit more. With that said, the better counter is for their opposition to get their act together and start pushing back. It sounds like there's generally intelligent opposition, so having them take the offensive more often makes a lot of sense. As is, they're letting the PCs prep to take them down reliably, which is then reliably followed by them being taken down; that's pretty much the expected result there.

[Kalmageddon]

I've had some time to think about the issue and you guys gave me some good advice. The main problem is that I don't have a lot of time to prepare each session and during that time I tend to focus more on the narrative aspect of what's going on instead of the actual mechanics, which I tend to lift from pre-made stuff I can find in the manuals.

About the enemy going on the offensive, that has happened a few times, I'll admit.
The problem with that is that, as a GM, if I wanted X faction to seriously threaten the group and go on the offensive, they would probably be dead in a matter of minutes.
Basically, they don't really do anything to prevent stuff happening to them. They have an Artificer and an Oracle and you'd think that this would give them excellent means to set up magical defenses, a few divinations and other basic stuff to keep them safe while they sleep. But they don't really do any of it.
I've had stuff happen to them when they weren't expecting it, but they don't seem to have treated it as a wake-up call. I outright told them that perhaps at least setting up an Alarm spell where they sleep would be appropriate but they haven't done it yet.
Which leaves me in this difficult position:
Either some faction gets pissed off, sneaks into the inn where they always sleep and murders them, which comes down to a few Perception checks (pretty hard rolls, considering the penalities for being asleeep) and a few Fortitude saves (also hard) in order to not get a TPK... Or I adapt to their playstyle and have the enemies being more reactive than proactive, which is what I've done up until now.

I don't know if this is my fault as a GM for not putting them in the right mindset to engange in faction wars, if I'm being too "gamey" with it or what, but the result is that while they can be very careful in their planning the offense, they leave themselves completely open to a counter-attack.

You get what I'm saying? I'd have to turn the campaign on its head to have the enemy be seriously on the offensive just to avoid them having their buffs ready and even then, the result would probably be a TPK. The party is made of what amounts to Glass Cannons. It's really hard to give a Glass Cannon a fight without it being completely one-sided for a faction or the other.

[nedz]

OK now you've told us the actual problem rather than focussing on a symptom maybe we can be of more help ?

You could throw in more minions. These tend to do less damage and so will take down some PCs rather than kill them outright, and will be likely one-shotted anyway so Bane is irrelevant. Some summoned creatures, or undead, mixed with the humanoids will alleviate the bane issue a little also. These may need buffing to be an actual threat - again not hard.

Variants of the above include using elementals (one type only per attack perhaps - for flavour) or turning their pub into a haunted house with incorporeal undead.

You could also go for non-combat retribution. The faction steal something of import, attempt to take them prisoner or just burn down the place.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Hmm, you could always go for a non-lethal encounter, where the pissed-off bad guys capture the PCs. If they don't manage to break out on their own initiative, there is always the DM ex machina, in the form of a lucky earthquake or something. Basically what nedz said.

Maybe a summoner of some variety keeps sending 1d4+1 annoying-but-weak critters every hour, preventing them from getting proper bed rest?

[Psyren]

OK now you've told us the actual problem rather than focussing on a symptom maybe we can be of more help?

This, and the rest of the post is good too. OP, your problem isn't "bane," but rather that your monsters are getting killed too quickly by your one-trick pony PCs. This would be an issue whether they were using Bane, DFI, IC, group smite, or any other "force multiplier" ability.

You also pointed out one easy-to-fix contributor to that problem - you "lift monsters from pre-made stuff you find in the manuals." The monster entries in the books and APs assume average HP, which means the monster is stuck at half their HP rolls from HD. You can boost that to max rolls easily without even changing their CR.

But for a more comprehensive fix, I recommend this: GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nx-o8VAjhUwh3nnfzDQT-JA5eFLnN_BZJiBitGjBMDg/edit)

[Nibbens]

You could also go for non-combat retribution. The faction steal something of import, attempt to take them prisoner or just burn down the place.

This. Just because the PCs know the enemies, doesn't mean that they can't be individually framed for murder, or the right officials bribed to kick the PCs out of the city they are operating in. All of a sudden, fights and encounters carry much more weight. "Sure, we can kill the bribed guards easily, but what does that mean for how the city will interact with us? Will we be able to rest? sell loot? restock on needed supplies?" All of a sudden the PCs are "fighting" a force without using swords and spells, but rather wit and logical maneuvering. Sure a fight can and should still break out, but lets see the Bane enhancement help with that kind of thing! lol.

I also tend to think along the terms of "ramifications" and "justifications." This could easily be done if the PCs are fighting a group. As the interaction between the two groups continue, the enemies gain more and more info about their tactics. Therefore the enemies prepare more and more to counter the abilities of the artificer and oracle. Make every person in the enemy group carry scrolls of (or cast) hold person or suggestion on the fighter to keep him occupied while the melee enemies walk right past the held PCs and mop up the back line squishes. Lets see that artificer and oracle make good use of that Bane weapon. Seriously, after the fighter makes 4 saves against the same spell - he'll eventually fail one. When the PCs eventually survive that harrowing fight, they will have to start to rethink their tactics. if they don't, keep doing it until your PCs get the message that the enemies are evolving to the PCs tactics and they should do so accordingly.

[Fouredged Sword]

I say that your situation seems ripe to give your party a shot across the bow and really shake them up a bit. Let the enemies sneak up on them. Let the party fail all their perception checks.

Then let them have the preposterously good luck to have the inn's maid walk into the room and drop her load of laundry at the shock of seeing a party of 4 assassins with daggers in hand standing over the party. They wake to daggers pointed at their faces and dripping with poison. The lunge to their feet and ready themselves for combat only to watch each assassin disappear into invisibility (Ninja / assassin builds).

Let the maid explain to them that those where assassins of the XYZ guild, and that if she didn't walk in when she did, they would be dead! Such luck is not likely to happen again, they should take precautions, perhaps attempt to placate the guild.

[Requiem_Jeer]

If the only logical result of the enemies attacking them at night is a TPK... then make it nonlethal. Instead of all getting killed, they all get captured, and get to escape the prison and roleplay interrogation scenes.

Make sure they overhear the guards laughing at how easy it was, no guards, alarms or anything. Really drive home that they should of listened to you when you said they should take steps to prevent being attacked at night.

[Barstro]

I've had stuff happen to them when they weren't expecting it, but they don't seem to have treated it as a wake-up call. I outright told them that perhaps at least setting up an Alarm spell where they sleep would be appropriate but they haven't done it yet.
Which leaves me in this difficult position:
Either some faction gets pissed off, sneaks into the inn where they always sleep and murders them, which comes down to a few Perception checks (pretty hard rolls, considering the penalities for being asleeep) and a few Fortitude saves (also hard) in order to not get a TPK... Or I adapt to their playstyle and have the enemies being more reactive than proactive, which is what I've done up until now.

Sounds to me more like one faction really wants to forcibly enlist the help of our heroes by kidnapping them in the middle of the night. But maybe it's really time for the party in the room next door to get attacked in the middle of the night instead. Your PCs can be awoken to the sound of the last round of combat when the "lucky" NPC managed to jump out the third storey window to avoid death/capture.

[Abithrios]

I have a question that I don't remember seeing in this thread. How difficult do the players want the game? Many of the people around here are rather hardcore about their play experience. If your players don't want to worry about attacks at night, not planning for one would be a major symptom.

There is no wrong answer to that question, but if you and your players disagree, it may cause some friction.

If your players are willing to handle a bit more challenge, you can still use premade adventures, but use ones made for characters one level higher. It may not be enough, but it might help.