Make the environment dangerous for them. Your AC means nothing in desert heat, freezing cold, drowning etc. Think of their HP and special abilities as renewable resources. Sure, they get them back...IF they can rest. Ever try to sleep in a desert without a Magic Hut? Hot all day, freezing all night. Every manner of sound and creature to startle the sentries. How about when the water runs out? Or the food? Oh, they stole the food from the Goblins they killed? Yeah...much of it was rotten so Con saves against illness. Was that dart trap poisoned? How do you feel?
As another poster said, make sure that AC is legit. How did lvl 7 characters get their Dex and Con high enough for 20+ AC? If they rolled their stats and you saw them do it, that's fine.
I'm improving my DM skills greatly with all this help thank you all. The high AC on the tank is legit, but I've been going at him with Dex and Int saves. The environment helps a lot, a few PCs failed con saves and took penalties later for that. A fellow DM (in my party) even suggest giving serouse injury's to PCs if I as the DM make a critical hit.
I'm improving my DM skills greatly with all this help thank you all. The high AC on the tank is legit, but I've been going at him with Dex and Int saves. The environment helps a lot, a few PCs failed con saves and took penalties later for that. A fellow DM (in my party) even suggest giving serouse injury's to PCs if I as the DM make a critical hit.
Yes, if the enemies Crit then those should count too. Good luck!
Hobgoblins and dire wolves, things that have advantage, low hp, not a ton of dmg, but strength in numbers.
Ignore the tanks. Outside of "compelled duel", there's not a lot of actual "taunts" in the game. Most intelligent monsters will go for the squishy/easier targets.
Flying opponents. AC23 is great, but if they can't hit the enemies they're pretty useless.
Go for off-saves. Banish one of the tanks, most tanks don't have good CHA saves.
An earth gliding elemental is attacking the casters from under ground
Rust monsters, puddings and oozes!
Bottom line, use Sun Tzu, "You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended". Don't fight the party the way it is prepared to defend. Monsters are very intelligent, play them as such.
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Ancient GM, started in '76, have played almost everything at some point or another.
I run/play Mercer-style games, heavy on the RP and interaction, light on the combat-monster and rule-lawyering. The goal is to tell an epic story with the players and the players are as involved in the world building as the GM is. I run and play a very Brechtian style, am huge into RP theory and love discussing improv and offers.
Monster creation can be fun. Mosquitoes which attack in a hyper-swarm can be a challenge, but what if they're Horseflies, with bio-extant carbon-fiber exoskeletons?
Some boss monsters, such as Minotaurs, Ogres, or Dragons have 1D8x3D100 Kobold, Gnome, or Goblin minions. Little challenge of and by themselves, but when they
attack, en masse, the CR rises considerably.
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Make the environment dangerous for them. Your AC means nothing in desert heat, freezing cold, drowning etc. Think of their HP and special abilities as renewable resources. Sure, they get them back...IF they can rest. Ever try to sleep in a desert without a Magic Hut? Hot all day, freezing all night. Every manner of sound and creature to startle the sentries. How about when the water runs out? Or the food? Oh, they stole the food from the Goblins they killed? Yeah...much of it was rotten so Con saves against illness. Was that dart trap poisoned? How do you feel?
As another poster said, make sure that AC is legit. How did lvl 7 characters get their Dex and Con high enough for 20+ AC? If they rolled their stats and you saw them do it, that's fine.
I'm improving my DM skills greatly with all this help thank you all. The high AC on the tank is legit, but I've been going at him with Dex and Int saves. The environment helps a lot, a few PCs failed con saves and took penalties later for that. A fellow DM (in my party) even suggest giving serouse injury's to PCs if I as the DM make a critical hit.
Yes, if the enemies Crit then those should count too. Good luck!
Lots of options available to you:
Bottom line, use Sun Tzu, "You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended". Don't fight the party the way it is prepared to defend. Monsters are very intelligent, play them as such.
Ancient GM, started in '76, have played almost everything at some point or another.
I run/play Mercer-style games, heavy on the RP and interaction, light on the combat-monster and rule-lawyering. The goal is to tell an epic story with the players and the players are as involved in the world building as the GM is. I run and play a very Brechtian style, am huge into RP theory and love discussing improv and offers.
Monster creation can be fun. Mosquitoes which attack in a hyper-swarm can be a challenge, but what if they're Horseflies, with bio-extant carbon-fiber exoskeletons?
Some boss monsters, such as Minotaurs, Ogres, or Dragons have 1D8x3D100 Kobold, Gnome, or Goblin minions. Little challenge of and by themselves, but when they
attack, en masse, the CR rises considerably.