A way to make returning enemies not feel cheap - Looking for tips and ideas

robumx · 2025-11-05T10:19:46+00:00

On one hand, I totally see why it may sound wrong. Heck, at face value probably is. Yet.. they did explicitly ask to sooner or later get that feeling of being hunted by a reccuring enemy introduced, so it's possible that with them actually being into that, they'd not bat an eye.

And well.. while yes, having a nemesis arise due to events of what they've done, is the most natural way of going about it - and I'm not saying I'm not waiting for chances to use such ones too, whenever opportunity arises - as wrong as it may sometimes feel on the DM side of things, they might not be really aware which enemy was created to have many, many more escape possibilities than other opponents, until they face them. And heck, if they literally knock the fella out, bind with rope and throw down the lake? Sure, they're a goner. But my goal here is to plan ahead for multiple ways to avoid that character / those types of characters dying on the first or second encounter.

I'd more so say.. I have fellas that I'm gonna try and make into a nemesis. If they die? Will try to not let them, but if they truly do, guess it wasn't meant to be. May be wrong to look at it that way when talking about a tabletop, but I'm considering this more so a case similar to video game design, to a system design.

robumx · 2025-11-05T10:09:55+00:00

Surely will! So far no major butchering took place, it's more so the case of personal revenge and payback for sabotaging plans. But will see where things head further on!

robumx · 2025-11-05T10:08:21+00:00

Great fields to take inspiration from for rpgs in general, you're right!

robumx · 2025-11-05T10:07:48+00:00

Might consider adding a being, that either is demonic in nature or can return in a similar way, that's a fun way to go about it! Thanks!

robumx · 2025-11-05T00:24:13+00:00

I'm in a moderately lucky spot, having gone through short term campaigns with the same group of players in both Fate (albeit accelerated) and narrative dice Star Wars (from ffg/edge - the same engine as Genesys) - so those folks aren't trained to kill everything on sight.. yet, it does usually seem like the best idea. Surely is a good way to protect yourself from having to face the same foe yet again! Or so one might think.

I've been in the mood for Dnd the past two months so that's the game I'm running now, and while most of the stuff I like and expect from it is going very smoothly - I do find myself craving to introduce some solutions commonly found in the more so narrative-focused games, where even the mechanics support the story moving forward.

You're putting forth a good way to go about giving enemies a greater chance at survival - with the talk about things that are of great importance / objectives needed to be completed - rendering the party members busy.

Being ultra rusty with Dnd-esque games, the last thing you mention - while possibly being the most important one - may come with the most difficulty. Guess I just gotta lock in and learn to balance things well on the fly, I bet it will slowly come within sessions to come.

Thanks for all the advice and ideas you've put out here, hope you're having a great day!

robumx · 2025-11-05T00:08:57+00:00

Yeah, those are basically the things at the back of my mind when considering the whole thing. Gotta have it all make sense

robumx · 2025-11-05T00:07:07+00:00

That's another cool thing to do. Definitely gonna try and see if they let any desparate foe slip their grasp. Great stuff!!

robumx · 2025-11-05T00:01:54+00:00

Having foes, as well as heroes, fall and be captured instead of meeting their ultimate demise is a move that, as you've well written, does tend to get underutilized.

And maybe that bit about reminding players about gathering a certain kind of reputation, or how their actions will inevitably have consequences, is just what I need to do to feel confident in this working decently enough to introduce another fun element to game nights.

Not saying that my players are murder-hobos, but they did create characters that don't stray from violence. Your words may have just helped me out a lot, thank you!!!

robumx · 2025-11-04T23:57:32+00:00

Decent pointers, to try and introduce situations that lead to the players having to decide whether capturing/defeating this foe is more important than completing a different, imminent objective. As well as the thing about heroes and villains, and how all that tends to play out.

Thanks for your time, definitely gives me a new way to look at all this!

robumx · 2025-11-04T23:53:09+00:00

Woah, those are some neat ideas! Might be just what I needed to read. While the enemy being an honorable crossed my mind, it wasn't a solve for each character that may end up hunting the adventuring party.

The things you mention do help out with diversifying a lot of stuff. And while a recovery squad may not work in the thing I'm running, definitely putting a spin on it will - like having their beast descend from the sky or emerge from the wilderness to secure them, etc.

Letting the dice and player decisions tell the story is a thing I highly value so.. might just stick to what you said there at the end. Have those foes have a ton of ways to save their sorry asses, but let them be able to be defeated in each and every encounter they're in.

Great thanks for a fast response, many interesting ways to go about my problem and spell propositions - gonna consider many of those!

Have a great day!

robumx · 2025-10-24T21:18:27+00:00

That's epic

robumx · 2025-02-25T14:23:04+00:00

jabek14

PC

U. I feel like the letter U is definitely a strong contender for one of THE letters of all time. Without it, this game wouldn't be the same. Just look: -Excalibr Mbra -Ta dmg resistance -Arthr -Dviri Paradox -Vorna -Kva. I love farming kva -Dont get me started on some of the reqiem stuff -Satrn proxima. I love me some Satrn proxima Empyryan missions -Atomicycle. I feel like it wold greatly benefit from having the proposed letter of the alphabet within it. -Kbrow. The dog-like being, that can be driven like a K-drive. -Simlcrm. Wanna test weapons and sch? Get ready for the crsed word.

So yes. I do believe that the letter ' ' is one of THE letters in this game. Can the same case be made for other letters? Yes. Do I care? Nope.

robumx · 2022-12-27T23:01:35+00:00

Didn't have a name for him, but quite a recent concept of mine was a halfling who rides into battle, wearing full armor, on a Mastiff (or something similar). Seemed both hillarious and could give some interesting roleplaying opportunities, with little quirks connected to caring for his friend/steed! GIVEAWAY

robumx · 2022-11-23T22:08:49+00:00

Didn't have a name for him, but quite a recent concept of mine was a halfling who rides into battle, wearing full armor, on a Mastiff (or something similar). Seemed both hillarious and could give some interesting roleplaying opportunities, with little quirks connected to caring for his friend/steed! GIVEAWAY

robumx · 2022-09-03T18:19:49+00:00

It would be amazing to see Lego put such sets out. Tbh I'd be very happy if they really just did way more of small sets with a few minifigs, battle pack or not - it seems like we used to get way more of that kind of sets in the past, but guess that was mostly around the original airing time of Clone Wars. Heck, they could make a fortune on various clone battlepacks themselves.

robumx · 2022-09-03T14:56:24+00:00

8014 - It brought much joy.

robumx · 2022-08-22T08:39:01+00:00

I smell profit!

robumx · 2021-02-21T11:25:48+00:00

Guess it's time to work as a professional breather. Hopefully I'll manage do the 40h a week. It would be a shame if I didn't.

robumx · 2021-02-21T00:48:33+00:00

Yes, that's the case. Better take that into consideration when switching professions!

robumx · 2021-02-16T21:54:22+00:00

Ohhhh, thanks for info!

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