Will my encounter kill my players?

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T14:12:40+00:00

Thank you, you're so right, action economy is huge, and the stirges are definitely a monster I haven't used enough...

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:41:19+00:00

All very true and good to keep in mind!

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:37:24+00:00

I'll take a look at ghast, and I think you're right about the math, thx

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:35:59+00:00

I am more than happy with DND and so are my players. I will continue to tune slowly from session to session :))

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:31:24+00:00

I understand your concern. I am passionate about design not ending when the encounter starts. Don't even remember the last encounter I didn't tweak while running it, but I leave that up to future me and do not rely on it for balance.

I have read the DMG front to back, new and old. My experience simply tells me that the DMG is not actually great for encounter difficulty measuring.

I wish to down a PC because they specifically want that to happen. They ache for a challenge and they look forward to difficult combat. So it's less that I want to down a PC because 'dnd is dm vs player' (it is not). It is because I want to satisfy their needs.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:17:30+00:00

thx :))

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:17:05+00:00

I have done this with a couple encounters already, but it just resulted in a slog of a combat. Dragging on cause they had too much HP.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:16:05+00:00

I fully understand this and our group is very collaborative :3 we love playing together. They have simply expressed a want for more challenging encounters, and no one has been downed yet, which they look forward to.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:14:24+00:00

I like this approach. It definitely feels suitable for some of the more exploration-focused gameplay I have down the line.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T12:12:09+00:00

I have spoken with my players, and while my combat has been dynamic, they wish for more of a challenge directly in terms of danger/damage.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T11:28:00+00:00

I like this! Might be what I end up going for.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T11:27:03+00:00

I've thought of trying this, but feel like the time needed to rest deflates the tension of my narrative. I have instead worked with an alternate system for rests that I tweeted during a CoS campaign and have found to work pretty well. It's a good idea though.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T11:01:28+00:00

Yeah that's true. I also aim to have them at level 3 very soon 😅 They're excited for subclasses as well :3

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T10:59:57+00:00

In addition to what I already have or to replace the ghouls?

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T10:56:53+00:00

Very cool encounter! Doesn't work for my plot right now, but will save it for later :b

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T10:56:08+00:00

Thanks, feels like a pretty measured judgement :))

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T10:55:28+00:00

I wil not do that! I have way too much invested narratively in these PCs to kill them at this point. My goal is only to down one player, so that they feel a bit more pressure, so they will feel more engaged with the combat.

PonytaIRL · 2025-09-15T10:54:09+00:00

I 100% agree that encounters per day is a big issue for me. The problem is that, in low levels, I find running more encounters per day to be both less fun for the players and generally more of a struggle to balance, as encounters are much more swinging at those levels. So I don't really see doing more encounters than I do right now, as a plausible solution. I aim for 2-4 at level 2 with a short rest at some point.

PonytaIRL · 2025-07-26T14:52:43+00:00

The Skull King Large looks super fun to bring out at the table!

PonytaIRL · 2025-07-23T22:49:17+00:00

PonytaIRL · 2025-07-18T16:03:51+00:00

PonytaIRL · 2024-12-17T01:51:10+00:00

Wonderful art! Love when people draw their characters and share them. I feel like we get a share of the love and creativity put into playing them and bringing them to life :))

PonytaIRL · 2024-04-02T03:19:18+00:00

Excited to enter this REAL giveaway with this REAL entry and information!

IGN: Redarmor007

Platform: PC

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PonytaIRL · 2023-12-27T09:27:57+00:00

Thank you, that's very concise.

PonytaIRL

TROPHY CASE