My players are about to be trapped in the Feywild and just because I can, they're going to have to go Jabberwocky hunting. Now, the stats I can find are way out of the group's CR. What is the best way to make it a more even match? The stats I found put the Jabberwocky at CR 20 and my players will only be at level eight (there are four of them). I know, it's a huge difference and I could use a different monster.... but I don't wanna :) One suggestion was to start it at half health like they found a wounded one. If I end up making it weaker overall my plan is to say it's a juvenile.
Reduce AC/HP/Stats, as such making the "juvenile" variant you mentioned.
Have them acquire aid via other creatures or come to the aid of other creatures which will help tip the scales. Could lead into a quest or two from the Seelie Court?
This is the Feywyld, have them acquire some temporary ability because of a spore released by a plant they smelled, or fruit they ate.
Find a magical weapon that strangely vanishes after combat. After combat have a strange creature walk through complaining about a lost weapon.
If it's combat for combat's sake, take the simple approach. If you're leading into something bigger, use this encounter as the stepping stones.
Great suggestions! I guess my biggest question is how to gauge how much to change things. Like how do I estimate how much to give them or take away from the monster to make it a good fight? I generally go a little higher than the book CR ratings because my group fights well together.
By turn 2 or 3 you should have a grasp on the situation. From there you, as the DM, don't have to worry about anything more than making it fun. The numbers cease to mean a thing and the players are your litmus for what happens next. If the players look, act, and feel like they're winning, keep going without a change. If the players look, feel, and act like they're struggling, give them a round or two to breath. If the battle seems decidedly one sided toward the Jabberwocky, make something up, fudge dice rolls, reduce the HP by half it's current, introduce the NPCs early.
There's also the "oh no, the monster is running away!" moment you could use too. Why would the beast just stand there and take all that damage and not consider "ouch....I think I'll leave". In any good video game, the big bad boss monsters aren't just sitting there, they have phases, they have transformations, they run away after dropping a ceiling on the ground between you and them. Use those mechanics as well, it'll really give some life to an otherwise boring aspect of D&D (in my opinion).
The purist DM will tell you they don't fudge rolls, and the story teller DM will tell you they don't look at the die when they roll. In the end it doesn't matter, just make it fun.
The purist DM will tell you they don't fudge rolls, and the story teller DM will tell you they don't look at the die when they roll. In the end it doesn't matter, just make it fun.
Well said
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My players are about to be trapped in the Feywild and just because I can, they're going to have to go Jabberwocky hunting. Now, the stats I can find are way out of the group's CR. What is the best way to make it a more even match? The stats I found put the Jabberwocky at CR 20 and my players will only be at level eight (there are four of them). I know, it's a huge difference and I could use a different monster.... but I don't wanna :) One suggestion was to start it at half health like they found a wounded one. If I end up making it weaker overall my plan is to say it's a juvenile.
There's a few approaches that jump to mind:
If it's combat for combat's sake, take the simple approach. If you're leading into something bigger, use this encounter as the stepping stones.
Great suggestions! I guess my biggest question is how to gauge how much to change things. Like how do I estimate how much to give them or take away from the monster to make it a good fight? I generally go a little higher than the book CR ratings because my group fights well together.
By turn 2 or 3 you should have a grasp on the situation. From there you, as the DM, don't have to worry about anything more than making it fun. The numbers cease to mean a thing and the players are your litmus for what happens next. If the players look, act, and feel like they're winning, keep going without a change. If the players look, feel, and act like they're struggling, give them a round or two to breath. If the battle seems decidedly one sided toward the Jabberwocky, make something up, fudge dice rolls, reduce the HP by half it's current, introduce the NPCs early.
There's also the "oh no, the monster is running away!" moment you could use too. Why would the beast just stand there and take all that damage and not consider "ouch....I think I'll leave". In any good video game, the big bad boss monsters aren't just sitting there, they have phases, they have transformations, they run away after dropping a ceiling on the ground between you and them. Use those mechanics as well, it'll really give some life to an otherwise boring aspect of D&D (in my opinion).
The purist DM will tell you they don't fudge rolls, and the story teller DM will tell you they don't look at the die when they roll. In the end it doesn't matter, just make it fun.