Sly Flourish likes to say the encounter should be built based on the story, not on xp budgets. I probably never would have come around to this way of thinking if it wasn’t for the Deadlands RPG where the PCs might go up against 200 zombies or a servant of death who is way too powerful for them to face. It’s up to the players to realize when they are outmatched and turn heels and run.
In my D&D game, the PCs are in Port Damali when an airship starts bombing a villa. Then, it hovers over a neighboring building. A rope ladder is dropped, and dozens of creatures start to descend.
The PCs had just been given instructions to follow a familiar to a meetup point. Did they go to the meetup point?
No. They went onto the rooftop where all the baddies were gathering.
What I’d intended was for the group to be tasked by the wizard who lived in the bombed villa to guide him safely out of town: via the air ship tower or through the sewers. A percentage of the total baddies would be encountered in the final encounter. Why a percentage? Because the enemies divided their resources to cover both the air ship tower and the sewers.
Instead, the PCs went up against the total of the enemy’s troops. They were low level clockwork soldiers with a higher-level artificer commanding them. However, the dice did not go the PCs’ way, and they began talking seriously about making a retreat.
After a couple of them got hit by the artificer, and their attacks against him missed, they sounded the retreat and climbed off the roof.
Then, they went to the meetup.
They did not forget that difficult encounter. It taught them to better determine if they can stand against the enemies presented to them.
Could I have changed the math so there were only enough clockwork men to create a balanced encounter? Yes, but it wouldn’t make sense for the story I’d outlined.
Force your players to be smarter at the game table by letting them go into encounters where they’re outmatched. It will make them hunger for when they get to level up and be better able to survive that tough encounter.
