DM help: making low CR grung a terrifying challenge

[moonfly7]

I'm prepping for my upcoming Eberron campaign that I'm running, and I want to correct some of my past mistakes by making low CR creatures terrifying through tactics and trickery.
For the first several encounters I've decided to use grung, from CR 1/2 to 2. The party will he travelling via caravan in the first session so here's the current plan:
Several grung will hide in water casks while they're stopped so that they can attack from both outside and inside their transport at the same time.
The grung will drop Bear traps on the road to take out the wagons wheels, and when the group gets out to investigate, they'll step into another set of hidden bear traps. These traps will have flasks of acid or alchemists fire in them, so when the trap is triggered it will crush the flask releasing the harmful substance and trapping and crushing the targets ankles. Basically he olden land mines.
During the confusion this causes a grung wildling will cast fog cloud(they're CR 1 but have access to a 9th level rangers spells so I replaced jump with fog cloud) and the grung in the wagon will exit and touch as many of them as they can, administering their natural poison. Meanwhile the other grung will lay down fire with darts that carry their natural skin toxin, and bows laced with a damaging poison.
The party will be 6 people at level 3, so a small group of 1/2 1's and 2's are technically within their range.
What do you think? Any advice on treating combinations or strategies to use to make this a more interesting combat for them?

[DrewID]

Look up "Tucker's Kobolds" for a famous (or should that be infamous, or perhaps notorious) example of making the lowly kobold a terrifying threat to a fairly high level party. Mind you, personally I don't like Tucker's Kobolds (IMHO the GM took unfair advantage of their knowledge of the party's capabilities, weaknesses and preparations and ignored any realistic resource and production limitations of the kobolds), but the writer (who was a player in the campaign IIRC) remembered it fondly, so YMMV.

DrewID

[Kaptin Keen]

Well - I think you're not playing to the grung's strenghts (such as they are). They have stealth, and they can jump 25' from a standing start. In a woodland setting, they can jump from tree to tree, peppering players with poisoned darts. In mountains, they can do the same. Any time players succesfully close, the grung should try to grabble, and poison them.

Keep moving, keep rolling stealth, thus requiring players to roll perception to be able to fire back, or target spells.

Keep in mind this is absolutely deadly. Overdo it, and you simply kill your party. That's generally frowned upon.

[moonfly7]

Look up "Tucker's Kobolds" for a famous (or should that be infamous, or perhaps notorious) example of making the lowly kobold a terrifying threat to a fairly high level party. Mind you, personally I don't like Tucker's Kobolds (IMHO the GM took unfair advantage of their knowledge of the party's capabilities, weaknesses and preparations and ignored any realistic resource and production limitations of the kobolds), but the writer (who was a player in the campaign IIRC) remembered it fondly, so YMMV.

DrewID
I am aware of Rykers kobolds.. Kind of agree with the prior knowledge of characters thing, it's somthing I find frustrating in other DM's, they forget they have limited knowledge for NPC's that havent met or heard of the party.

Well - I think you're not playing to the grung's strenghts (such as they are). They have stealth, and they can jump 25' from a standing start. In a woodland setting, they can jump from tree to tree, peppering players with poisoned darts. In mountains, they can do the same. Any time players succesfully close, the grung should try to grabble, and poison them.

Keep moving, keep rolling stealth, thus requiring players to roll perception to be able to fire back, or target spells.

Keep in mind this is absolutely deadly. Overdo it, and you simply kill your party. That's generally frowned upon.

I plan on using grungs stealth, I'm pretty sure I mentioned having archers and dart gunners hiding in bushes, switching positions a lot is definitely something I'll try to do, probably facilitated by fog cloud to make the party lose sight. That being said they still have to take the hide action, not a bonus action, they don't have any benefits remotely like skulker so they're abilities to stay hidden disappear pretty well once they attack. I've already mentioned my plans to utilize grung poison, although ranged switching to grapples when confronted is a nice touch I hadn't considered. But with no way to stay hidden while attacking, and honestly looking at the fact that long jumping into another tree memes bubkiss when you're entire party has at least 1 ranged option they can use if it isn't there main, basically renders the long jumping advantage moot.

In my opinion grung are perfect for lightning strikes only. they've got some great maneuverability like you mentioned, and there poison can pack a punch or throw a foe for a loop, especially if use the variant rules like I am. But bottom line they don't have a ton of staying power, one, maybe two good hits are gonna put most grung down. The best way to utilize them is with lightning attacks, terrain covering effects, and heavily trapping the area before hand. Possibly lay down vast amounts of hidden caltrops, oil, and ball bearings. The Grung can leap over such hazards but their opponents can't, and if a single Alchemists fire "Mine" gets triggered they're gonna find themselves in a field of burning oil. And while this only really works if you know a caravan is coming, these grung do have ample warning and time.

[Kaptin Keen]

I plan on using grungs stealth, I'm pretty sure I mentioned having archers and dart gunners hiding in bushes, switching positions a lot is definitely something I'll try to do, probably facilitated by fog cloud to make the party lose sight. That being said they still have to take the hide action, not a bonus action, they don't have any benefits remotely like skulker so they're abilities to stay hidden disappear pretty well once they attack. I've already mentioned my plans to utilize grung poison, although ranged switching to grapples when confronted is a nice touch I hadn't considered. But with no way to stay hidden while attacking, and honestly looking at the fact that long jumping into another tree memes bubkiss when you're entire party has at least 1 ranged option they can use if it isn't there main, basically renders the long jumping advantage moot.

In my opinion grung are perfect for lightning strikes only. they've got some great maneuverability like you mentioned, and there poison can pack a punch or throw a foe for a loop, especially if use the variant rules like I am. But bottom line they don't have a ton of staying power, one, maybe two good hits are gonna put most grung down. The best way to utilize them is with lightning attacks, terrain covering effects, and heavily trapping the area before hand. Possibly lay down vast amounts of hidden caltrops, oil, and ball bearings. The Grung can leap over such hazards but their opponents can't, and if a single Alchemists fire "Mine" gets triggered they're gonna find themselves in a field of burning oil. And while this only really works if you know a caravan is coming, these grung do have ample warning and time.

You did mention using stealth - and range. But I didn't get the impression from your post that you're planning to use them the way I am.

I can't know the abilities of the PC's of course. But ... if a grung is up a tree any significant hight, it'll take some time to get to it. More than a round, likely. So before anyone reaches melee distance, the grung jumps to another location. Then hides. Because all you need to hide is to be out of sight. Doesn't matter if it uses up an action - your PC's will be running all over, trying to get into melee, or find line of sight.

Sure, once they get caught, they die. What's so annoying about them is that they can get away so easily, if they use the terrain right.

If this is what you planned all along, then I misunderstood =)