Tough groups / weak DM's?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

I think the goup I DM for most often js a bit on the strong side in battles martials can dominate. On the other hand, as a DM I don't think my higher level bad guys are overly prepared. I do packs of wolves or Ents well but Litches poorly

How do your combat parties or your bad guys rate?

[Man_Over_Game]

I think the goup I DM for most often js a bit on the strong side in battles martials can dominate. On the other hand, as a DM I don't think my higher level bad guys are overly prepared. I do packs of wolves or Ents well but Litches poorly

How do your combat parties or your bad guys rate?

I kinda....fudge things around a bit, having a sort of sliding scale if I need to pull back or do more against the players.

For example, players are in a bar that gets attacked by a swarm of Zombies. If they are losing, they get bailed out by a local mercenary guild that happened to be in the area. If they're winning, a super zombie charger busts through the door and pins a player against the far wall. Should they win the "Difficult" change to the fight, they get some kind of reward (in this case, the mercenary guild is impressed with them and offers them a higher rank in the guild than they would had they been rescued).

I also use my Adrenaline Surge homebrew for a similar effect, allowing me to make weaker bosses that upgrade into serious threats, based on how well the players are doing, while also allowing players to refresh their Short Rest resources to make the fight last longer while also making it feel fresh.

Overall, it works out really well. The thing I realized is that it's really hard to perfectly balance a fight beforehand due to all of the unknowns leading up to that point. It is REALLY EASY to balance a fight in the middle of it. So the trick comes down to figuring out how you balance a fight while it's ongoing without breaking the narrative or immersion of the game.

As a habit, though, I do generally end up making my fights a little too easy rather than too hard. Player death is something that I think should be dramatic, and that's hard to pull off if they've only got to play their character for a few levels.

[Frozenstep]

Your question isn't quite clear...but I'm guessing you're saying you have trouble running monsters who are supposed to be smart against well-put together parties, and need tips?

In that case, check out themonstersknow. Good stuff. (http://themonstersknow.com/)

[Wuzza]

I'm in the same (+1) boat as you. (it's my own fault as I front-loaded them with magic items)

Numbers and spells.

Action economy works for a DM as much as for players. More lower level, multiple encounters. (Last session my group, 3x lvl 6, destroyed a Frost Giant, CR8. Previous session they struggled vs 2xCR5 and 3xCR3 enemies.)

Spells: Blindness, Darkness, Hold Person etc. While not doing damage, really screws with player actions.

[NRSASD]

The thing I realized is that it's really hard to perfectly balance a fight beforehand due to all of the unknowns leading up to that point. It is REALLY EASY to balance a fight in the middle of it.

Truer words were never said!

[LordEntrails]

One thing I disagree with is rescuing the party. I never do that unless it is required plot point. Never ever, it makes the players feel like their are not consequences to their actions. Sometime you make all the right decisions and do everything possible, and you still lose a fight or need to run away.

Now, I often will add reinforcements if the party is taking down the bad guys too easy. (Sure sure, I know I'm a hypocrite in this regard, but for good reason, imo).

Add mooks or lieutenants to boss fights. Action economy. It's critical. Even a dragon is almost never alone unless it is in it's ideal environment with lair actions, or on the open road where it can fly away unopposed if bloodied.

For example, a swarm of insects at first level, might be really easy for the party, but what happens when a second appears? And then they destroy one swarm, only to have another form? Fear sets in, because they realize the insects are coming out of the wood work (so to speak) and who know how many millions might be hidden from them? It makes them re-evaluate. Makes them make meaningful decisions, and that's a good thing. (Though, this tactic is not something to do with every fight, or even often, but with cause and purpose).

Finally, make sure you are balancing encounters per day (short and long rest). One encounter per long rest is not fun for very long.

[MrStabby]

I am in the camp of letting the players have a fight as easy or as hard as they make it.

If they blow their high level spell slots and make a fight trivial, the fight remains trivial. If they fluff their attack rolls or bite the surprised condition, thats the way things sometimes roll.



Spellcasters are often tougher to play as a DM than warrior type enemies. With bookkeeping for spell slots, 7 or 8 different actions they can take on a round (size of spell list), tracking concentration... It makes it tough to field large numbers of casters. My tip is to a) simplify a bit and, b) do it anyway. It gets easier with practice.

To simplify casters I usually only have spell slots for their highest level spells. The rest are just at will. I also change the spell lists - some out of combat spells to justify the encounter (nystul's magic aura, divination magic), or passive spells (aid, armour of agathys). This makes things easy to track with multiple casters. Capping concentration spells also makes it easier to know which caster is concentrating on what.

[Zuras]

I would add that complex enemies are hard to run correctly the first time. Especially in situations like dungeon crawls, where you aren’t sure when and how the party will encounter different enemies, and you just don’t have time to mentally prep them all.

I am running Dungeon of the Mad Mage right now, and (for example) my Drow have gotten much deadlier as I have figured out better strategies for them.

Players will unavoidably have an advantage over DMs in getting the most out of their abilities, since they get to practice using the same abilities combat after combat. When I run the same module multiple times at a convention, my 3rd table always has a tougher time than the 1st.

[Unoriginal]

In that case, check out themonstersknow. Good stuff. (http://themonstersknow.com/)

Eh, there is some nice decent ideas in it, but many things this author says are conclusions without anything to back them up or straight up go against what the books say, for example often describing monsters with 5 INT as unable of doing strategies or some with 8 INT to be complete idiots.

[Frozenstep]

Eh, there is some nice decent ideas in it, but many things this author says are conclusions without anything to back them up or straight up go against what the books say, for example often describing monsters with 5 INT as unable of doing strategies or some with 8 INT to be complete idiots.

True. I should have specified it's a great way to get a basic idea on how monsters can make use of their features (liches camping in their own cloudkill was an idea I liked), but yeah, I should have mentioned don't take it as absolute. Especially when it comes down to stuff like monsters only making use of features when it's mathematically favorable in a white room situation.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

True. I should have specified it's a great way to get a basic idea on how monsters can make use of their features (liches camping in their own cloudkill was an idea I liked), but yeah, I should have mentioned don't take it as absolute. Especially when it comes down to stuff like monsters only making use of features when it's mathematically favorable in a white room situation.

I look at those Int and Wis scores a lot for my badguys. A Lich I try to let use tricks and advanced tactics. Quaggoths might be fooled by feigned retreats. Most animals which seem less self aware than dolphins I just have attack whoever was closest unless they have some tangible reason not to.

My bads sometime retreat also.

[coalmaine]

Eh, there is some nice decent ideas in it, but many things this author says are conclusions without anything to back them up or straight up go against what the books say, for example often describing monsters with 5 INT as unable of doing strategies or some with 8 INT to be complete idiots.

This early blog explains most of his thinking on stats and abilities. As well as explaining his base principles for all his blogs.

Hope that sheds some light on his reasoning.

[Zuras]

Even dumb monsters can have tactics, especially if they have special abilities. They may have no idea what to do if those tactics don’t work, but even an Int 1 ambush predator will know how to set up an ambush.

[MrStabby]

Even dumb monsters can have tactics, especially if they have special abilities. They may have no idea what to do if those tactics don’t work, but even an Int 1 ambush predator will know how to set up an ambush.

Some truth to this. Improvisation, adaption and planning may require intelligence but the intelligence required to learn simple tactics, especially tactics that have an evolutionary aspect to them isn't that great.

[darknite]

I like the flavor of D&D where the players need to use their wits or they'll get over their heads quickly. Should they get pushover fights and have hero moments against inferior foes? Sure, that's cool. But I find parties are far more exhilarated by smart, tough opposition that really pushes them to their limits. It takes experience with the game mechanics, running monsters/traps of different types and knowledge of your gaming group to pull this off to its' best effect, but is a much more memorable experience than trying to CR-balance you're way through an adventure.