Interesting/Challenging encounters - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Interesting/Challenging encounters

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Caker
Jul 11, 2013 22:25:17 So my players are very keen on combat, as a result I am going to run a game where the story is heavily focused around combat. Essentially they will be trying to climb a tower built by gods, in the hopes that they can ascend to godhood. Each level will essentially be a dungeon with any type of enemies in them, and they will level up after each level.

I come to you for help. Are there any memorable/interesting/challenging encounters that you have either used or experienced that I could draw inspiration from? All books are on the table, with a mid-op level of the players.
#2
VorpalBunny
Jul 12, 2013 9:27:10 Probably the wrong fourum: community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/7588... is probably better...

BUT to adress your question: consider environmental challenges, especially before heavy magic users really come on-line. The simple act of placing a large swath of difficult terrain between the characters and some archers, or breaking up straight charging avenues, or adding in some hazards like falling rocks, traps, etc to deal with mid-combat can make for some interesting encounters.

Also consider ways in which the battle field can be modified by a particular monster type...meltable gold floor tiles, coated in flamable substances in a fight against a Red Dragon, for example.
Or perhaps pillars that are smashed throughout the battle, collapsing portions of the encounter throughout the battle.

Could you perhaps share your player's characters with us, we could know what would be memorable/challenging with far greater foresight by knowing their builds/tactics.

Finally, if you have a re-occuring villan, consider community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758... by Tempus_Stormwind (or at least I think its his build) which will be something memorable, challenging at all levels, and different almost every time the PCs encounter it.

VB
#3
Slagger_the_Chuul
Jul 12, 2013 9:59:37 Keep in mind that the gods don't have to obey the normal structural rules for building a tower. Even if it only looks like a regular tower ascending into the heavens from the outside, there's no reason it can't have whatever you want inside, whether that's just something structural implausible, or something downright impossible.

If you prefer to keep it more down-to-earth, that's perfectly fine, but remember that there's nothing stopping you from putting an entire ocean or the outside of the tower inside a single level if it seems like a cool place to fight. If you like a mix, you can start out with the more normal levels and progress to the more outlandish and impressive ones as the group climbs away from the ordinary realm of mortals.
#4
frost.fire
Jul 12, 2013 13:24:22 I remember once when I was dming we fought in a molten volcano and the longer the fight went on the more fire damage the players would take due to the volcano nearing eruption. That was mixed with random lavaflows and bursts going around the battlefeild, which I rolled at random so it could affect both sides fairly equally. This lead to a challenging encounter and very fun for the pcs since it added many factors not many combats in dnd have. The terrain would even shift as walkways collapsed (takes a lot of improvising on the game board though)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Caker Jul 11, 2013 22:25:17	So my players are very keen on combat, as a result I am going to run a game where the story is heavily focused around combat. Essentially they will be trying to climb a tower built by gods, in the hopes that they can ascend to godhood. Each level will essentially be a dungeon with any type of enemies in them, and they will level up after each level. I come to you for help. Are there any memorable/interesting/challenging encounters that you have either used or experienced that I could draw inspiration from? All books are on the table, with a mid-op level of the players.
#2 VorpalBunny Jul 12, 2013 9:27:10	Probably the wrong fourum: community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/7588... is probably better... BUT to adress your question: consider environmental challenges, especially before heavy magic users really come on-line. The simple act of placing a large swath of difficult terrain between the characters and some archers, or breaking up straight charging avenues, or adding in some hazards like falling rocks, traps, etc to deal with mid-combat can make for some interesting encounters. Also consider ways in which the battle field can be modified by a particular monster type...meltable gold floor tiles, coated in flamable substances in a fight against a Red Dragon, for example. Or perhaps pillars that are smashed throughout the battle, collapsing portions of the encounter throughout the battle. Could you perhaps share your player's characters with us, we could know what would be memorable/challenging with far greater foresight by knowing their builds/tactics. Finally, if you have a re-occuring villan, consider community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758... by Tempus_Stormwind (or at least I think its his build) which will be something memorable, challenging at all levels, and different almost every time the PCs encounter it. VB
#3 Slagger_the_Chuul Jul 12, 2013 9:59:37	Keep in mind that the gods don't have to obey the normal structural rules for building a tower. Even if it only looks like a regular tower ascending into the heavens from the outside, there's no reason it can't have whatever you want inside, whether that's just something structural implausible, or something downright impossible. If you prefer to keep it more down-to-earth, that's perfectly fine, but remember that there's nothing stopping you from putting an entire ocean or the outside of the tower inside a single level if it seems like a cool place to fight. If you like a mix, you can start out with the more normal levels and progress to the more outlandish and impressive ones as the group climbs away from the ordinary realm of mortals.
#4 frost.fire Jul 12, 2013 13:24:22	I remember once when I was dming we fought in a molten volcano and the longer the fight went on the more fire damage the players would take due to the volcano nearing eruption. That was mixed with random lavaflows and bursts going around the battlefeild, which I rolled at random so it could affect both sides fairly equally. This lead to a challenging encounter and very fun for the pcs since it added many factors not many combats in dnd have. The terrain would even shift as walkways collapsed (takes a lot of improvising on the game board though)