We are playing in an Eberron campaign setting, and every combat encounter involves us barely scraping through because of ridiculously high to-hit rolls from every enemy- and there is no way we are that unlucky. My character has 21 AC and 50% of attacks hit, and those that don’t are like 17-20. Any ideas of what to do?
What level are you? Monsters at around CR10 would have about +11 To hit so should hit you around half the time.
Are you barely surviving or TPKing regularly. Many players find deadly combats which you barely surgive are memorable and will set it up so that you only just survive. Regular TPKs are not fun however. If you are not enjoying it discuss it with your dm.
Talk to your DM. It sounds like they have set each encounter to hard or deadly. Also do the dice hate you? I roll out in the open most of time. And my dm dice love the pc. It is rare when my monsters go first. But again talk to your DM.
every combat encounter involves us barely scraping through
Sounds like fun to me. Sounds like the DM is challenging you appropriately so that the battles are winnable but not a cake walk. "Barely scraping through" is what you want in a D&D battle because that means it wasn't too hard or too easy. It was just right. A couple of people went down, we cast some heals, got them back up, the battle ended and we were completely spent. This is kind of what's supposed to happen.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
At that level most enemies will have around +8 to +10 to hit giving a roughly 40-50% hit rate. AC doesn't really go up much, and certainly not as fast as the to hit bonuses can. So generally you are looking at ways to minimise damage or mitigate it completely. Things like Bane, Slow, Hold Person, Hideous Laughter, Faerie Fire, Command and Suggestion cast on the enemy. Bane and Vicious Mockery in particular are an excellent combination. Then casting Bless, Mirror Image, Blur etc on the party is the way to go.
It kind of sounds like your DM is pouring everything into one or two encounters per day. And at higher lvl most DMs will do that, because you spend no resources on easy fights and when you rest most groups have ways to make those rests save..
1) PCs don't always need to win. Would you rather the combats feel trivial? Would you rather it feel like you go through the motions yet know what the outcome is before you start (PCs are gonna win, etc.)?
2) The DM needs to have more "mission accomplished" objectives than kill or be killed. Retreat and "let's come back another day" need to be viable options. Just because you have weapons and d20s doesn't mean you should attack everything. On that note, you certainly should not be able to kill everything. On that note, just because the DM says, "roll initiative" doesn't mean that you fight on your turn.
Initiative determines who goes, when. Get out of the mindset of, "ok, how do we kill this thing?" On your turn, thinking through, "ok, how do we get the hell out of here" is a perfectly valid option.
Once you (players) and your DM approach things with an attitude of, "we can still win without interacting with AC and hit points", your game will flow smoother and you'll have less combat related questions.
What level are you? Monsters at around CR10 would have about +11 To hit so should hit you around half the time.
Are you barely surviving or TPKing regularly. Many players find deadly combats which you barely surgive are memorable and will set it up so that you only just survive. Regular TPKs are not fun however. If you are not enjoying it discuss it with your dm.
Is your DM using the red dice that come in the Essentials Kit? I have those and they seem roll at least on critical hit per combat.
Seriously though, I think you should talk to both your group and your DM. Some players really enjoy it when every battle is a life-or-death struggle while others want to feel invincible. I usually like a mixture of threats when I am running ranging from easy encounters that are just there for atmosphere to deadly encounters for things like an end-boss fight. But, even with a group that has played together for years, not everyone is going to have the same tastes or expectations when it comes to combat. What is important is that everyone is having fun with the game as a whole. Talking to your group is the best way to ensure that this happens.
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We are playing in an Eberron campaign setting, and every combat encounter involves us barely scraping through because of ridiculously high to-hit rolls from every enemy- and there is no way we are that unlucky. My character has 21 AC and 50% of attacks hit, and those that don’t are like 17-20. Any ideas of what to do?
I can’t remember what’s supposed to go here.
Increase your AC
Change your tactics, don't fight them where they want to fight, make them come to you.
Use the terrain to your advantage, hide, ambush them, set traps etc
Use ranged weapons, snipe them from range.
Use magic to buff yourselves or debuff them - Ban is great for that.
What level are you? Monsters at around CR10 would have about +11 To hit so should hit you around half the time.
Are you barely surviving or TPKing regularly. Many players find deadly combats which you barely surgive are memorable and will set it up so that you only just survive. Regular TPKs are not fun however. If you are not enjoying it discuss it with your dm.
Talk to your DM. It sounds like they have set each encounter to hard or deadly. Also do the dice hate you? I roll out in the open most of time. And my dm dice love the pc. It is rare when my monsters go first. But again talk to your DM.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
Thanks all of you- this should really help. The party is average level 9, in response to your question.
I can’t remember what’s supposed to go here.
Sounds like fun to me. Sounds like the DM is challenging you appropriately so that the battles are winnable but not a cake walk. "Barely scraping through" is what you want in a D&D battle because that means it wasn't too hard or too easy. It was just right. A couple of people went down, we cast some heals, got them back up, the battle ended and we were completely spent. This is kind of what's supposed to happen.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
At that level most enemies will have around +8 to +10 to hit giving a roughly 40-50% hit rate. AC doesn't really go up much, and certainly not as fast as the to hit bonuses can. So generally you are looking at ways to minimise damage or mitigate it completely. Things like Bane, Slow, Hold Person, Hideous Laughter, Faerie Fire, Command and Suggestion cast on the enemy. Bane and Vicious Mockery in particular are an excellent combination. Then casting Bless, Mirror Image, Blur etc on the party is the way to go.
It kind of sounds like your DM is pouring everything into one or two encounters per day. And at higher lvl most DMs will do that, because you spend no resources on easy fights and when you rest most groups have ways to make those rests save..
Attack: [roll]3d20dl2+6[/roll] Damage: [roll](if([roll:-1:critical], =0, 1d8, 2{1d8}.expand()))+4[/roll] Sneakattack: [roll](if([roll:-2:critical], =0, 2d6, 2{2d6}.expand()))[/roll]Obviously, one person's opinion here..
1) PCs don't always need to win. Would you rather the combats feel trivial? Would you rather it feel like you go through the motions yet know what the outcome is before you start (PCs are gonna win, etc.)?
2) The DM needs to have more "mission accomplished" objectives than kill or be killed. Retreat and "let's come back another day" need to be viable options. Just because you have weapons and d20s doesn't mean you should attack everything. On that note, you certainly should not be able to kill everything. On that note, just because the DM says, "roll initiative" doesn't mean that you fight on your turn.
Initiative determines who goes, when. Get out of the mindset of, "ok, how do we kill this thing?" On your turn, thinking through, "ok, how do we get the hell out of here" is a perfectly valid option.
Once you (players) and your DM approach things with an attitude of, "we can still win without interacting with AC and hit points", your game will flow smoother and you'll have less combat related questions.
All things Lich - DM tips, tricks, and other creative shenanigans
this is great advise!
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
Is your DM using the red dice that come in the Essentials Kit?
I have those and they seem roll at least on critical hit per combat.
Seriously though, I think you should talk to both your group and your DM. Some players really enjoy it when every battle is a life-or-death struggle while others want to feel invincible. I usually like a mixture of threats when I am running ranging from easy encounters that are just there for atmosphere to deadly encounters for things like an end-boss fight.
But, even with a group that has played together for years, not everyone is going to have the same tastes or expectations when it comes to combat. What is important is that everyone is having fun with the game as a whole. Talking to your group is the best way to ensure that this happens.