Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Making Monsters Matter - The Danger Zone
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="lichmaster" data-source="post: 8781623" data-attributes="member: 6683330"><p>Nice! It summarizes an idea I was discussing a while ago on a FB group, exactly about how to run impossibly overwhelming encounters. </p><p></p><p>Basically, it boiled down to 3 steps that are remarkably similar to the ones you described (no surprise here <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> )</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">clearly describe the encounter as overwhelming. In case of a BBEG of a campaign, maybe its sheer size and the fact that it can simply walk through castle defenses like they were made out of paper should be enough to telegraph the situation. The table you provided is particularly handy for that, as it results in a more "simulationist" approach than just handwaving everything</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the overwhelming threat will probably not even acknowledge the presence of the PCs, like a person walking in the woods would probably not notice the insects unless they bite (and even in that case, the person will probably just try to wave them away)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the sheer destructive presence of such a creature will most likely create widespread havoc. This is a great occasion to create some challenges that are both urgent and possible for the PCs to deal with: saving passengers from crumbling buildings, fending off hordes of minions to cover the retreat of the population, preventing the holy tree from completely burning (or preserving a few seeds), etc. This last aspect is very important and accomplishes two things: keeps the morale at the table from totally plummeting and avoids the feeling of railroading that may loom when these kinds of events take place (there's still player agency).</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lichmaster, post: 8781623, member: 6683330"] Nice! It summarizes an idea I was discussing a while ago on a FB group, exactly about how to run impossibly overwhelming encounters. Basically, it boiled down to 3 steps that are remarkably similar to the ones you described (no surprise here ;) ) [LIST] [*]clearly describe the encounter as overwhelming. In case of a BBEG of a campaign, maybe its sheer size and the fact that it can simply walk through castle defenses like they were made out of paper should be enough to telegraph the situation. The table you provided is particularly handy for that, as it results in a more "simulationist" approach than just handwaving everything [*]the overwhelming threat will probably not even acknowledge the presence of the PCs, like a person walking in the woods would probably not notice the insects unless they bite (and even in that case, the person will probably just try to wave them away) [*]the sheer destructive presence of such a creature will most likely create widespread havoc. This is a great occasion to create some challenges that are both urgent and possible for the PCs to deal with: saving passengers from crumbling buildings, fending off hordes of minions to cover the retreat of the population, preventing the holy tree from completely burning (or preserving a few seeds), etc. This last aspect is very important and accomplishes two things: keeps the morale at the table from totally plummeting and avoids the feeling of railroading that may loom when these kinds of events take place (there's still player agency). [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Making Monsters Matter - The Danger Zone
Top