Feywild Encounter

[Wampyr]

Trying to make a combat encounter for my party that will seriously challenge them and force them to use their abilities in clever ways.

The combat has been a bit dry as of late so I figured I need to step it up and make things more interesting.

To provide some information on the party; there are three players, all level 5. There is a Dragonborn Vengeance Paladin, a Fire Genasi Wild Magic Sorcerer, and a Half-Satyr Glamour Bard. They are currently in the company of a level 5 Dwarf Barbarian and a satyr.

In addition to making this encounter challenging I also want it to make my players feel badass if possible.

I have some ideas for interesting mechanics, like all Magic is doubled; damage, attack roles, effects, length of effects, strength of effects, wild magic surge more often, etc. (I’m thinking this could get funny fast with charm or vicious mockery) or a Faerie that seeks attention by singing loudly during the fighting and causes some kind of secondary effect like hallucination or extreme euphoria.

Also if anyone has any good home brew monsters or mechanics suitable for this, please share them, thanks!

[Quoz]

a few ideas and elements that I keep in reserve to spice up an encounter:

If fighting in unique terrain, have it affect magic in some way. Wild surge occurring when you roll spell level or lower on a d10 in a trickster's lair could be fun, or a forest bursting with resonant magic that will make any single target spell be applied to all creatures within 10 feet of the target - allies and enemies, damage and buffs. For more aspected options, pick a sorcerer's metamagic option to apply to all applicable spells of one discipline - empowered necromancy in a corrupt graveyard, for example.

Another great way to increase the tension in a fight is to have a running clock. A burning and collapsing building, harvesting hydra venom for an antidote, or having to plug holes in a ship while fighting off an aquatic boarding party. Find a way to add objectives other than "Make a pile of corpses"

Grant temporary access to better gear or make characters do without what they usually have. Just make sure that your clever players don't find a way to keep the magic sword of badass past the quest completion, or have really nasty side effects if they leave the dungeon.

Here's on of my favorite examples that I ran not too long ago. In a Star Wars game I managed to run a gladiatorial combat where the only gear the characters could enter with were a loincloth and a jar of oil. But, they got 2 items per character that they could hand over to be placed in the arena (in this case, a derelict multi-level spaceship). This was a trial by combat, and it was made clear that the sponsor of the event was lawful and would return their property. I also made the win condition based on the amount of the ship the players controlled to keep them from bunkering down. It ended up being a great fight, with speedy characters fanning out to grab gear, our unarmed specialist and force mage leading the charge against equally under-equipped opponents, and our Jedi wielding a piece of pipe against an opponent who had found his lightsaber but had no training with it.

Just remember when running a complicated combat that clarity is the key. Set the scene well, let your players know what options they have available. If something is unique in the fight, don't just spring it on without explanation. Expressly telling them is usually best, but if discovery is important to the story make sure they have ample opportunity to figure it out before it screws them over in a fight.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Also if anyone has any good home brew monsters or mechanics suitable for this, please share them, thanks!

I've been working on a load of Feywild stuff recently, because Mage Hand Press is publishing their Fey Folio on 01/02/18. The bad news is that I can't share most of it yet, but the consolation is that most of the folio is going to be adapted from my old Forests and Faeries (https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3crmpfdbc5u5x5/Fey%20Creatures%20Complete.pdf?dl=0) book. There's not a massive amount of mechanics in there, but page 5 might give you a few ideas. Also the spells and magic items, perhaps.

As for Feywild monsters, I have a few that can be shared right now:

https://78.media.tumblr.com/bbfedf530512e1e2f3658355e7b6a0f9/tumblr_p1oljjrQck1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/bf7aa74fb960fe4c7f9239f4da2218f4/tumblr_oxd4gy00Ti1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/d1e0cf063f1d7ab30d90eadb9eab10a1/tumblr_otum0ftVot1w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/479f5ce014bc1eeb964d0ee78de1cba7/tumblr_onqcziNEOm1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/34ef8b7235f3f9d7c4bfe07c17db54c6/tumblr_orqx9fGgRB1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/786d3dcf0bd449d80b85df2563b1c91d/tumblr_otvdr4pcgG1w946k6o1_r1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/acd82afea495e8b6c3766756b983d455/tumblr_ouozqmLXT21w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/4146fa4bf3a23a8fb5d389d7de587785/tumblr_ouozqmLXT21w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/3329fdcc80125fcb34df9e6e11f0f171/tumblr_ooq90xfrtw1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/ba714f20834039aabc22c66dbd5f6c7b/tumblr_ooq90xfrtw1w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/3166e6540b5d1c2b20ccb9e54bb786ae/tumblr_ooq8anrbfl1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/0c91b95ab3f62f791cadc9786e4d7c70/tumblr_owql81FSR11w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/6fd38250afe9782b372ab1a5a873a062/tumblr_orqy04MQtw1w946k6o1_500.png

[Wampyr]

I've been working on a load of Feywild stuff recently, because Mage Hand Press is publishing their Fey Folio on 01/02/18. The bad news is that I can't share most of it yet, but the consolation is that most of the folio is going to be adapted from my old Forests and Faeries (https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3crmpfdbc5u5x5/Fey%20Creatures%20Complete.pdf?dl=0) book. There's not a massive amount of mechanics in there, but page 5 might give you a few ideas. Also the spells and magic items, perhaps.

As for Feywild monsters, I have a few that can be shared right now:

https://78.media.tumblr.com/bbfedf530512e1e2f3658355e7b6a0f9/tumblr_p1oljjrQck1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/bf7aa74fb960fe4c7f9239f4da2218f4/tumblr_oxd4gy00Ti1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/d1e0cf063f1d7ab30d90eadb9eab10a1/tumblr_otum0ftVot1w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/479f5ce014bc1eeb964d0ee78de1cba7/tumblr_onqcziNEOm1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/34ef8b7235f3f9d7c4bfe07c17db54c6/tumblr_orqx9fGgRB1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/786d3dcf0bd449d80b85df2563b1c91d/tumblr_otvdr4pcgG1w946k6o1_r1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/acd82afea495e8b6c3766756b983d455/tumblr_ouozqmLXT21w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/4146fa4bf3a23a8fb5d389d7de587785/tumblr_ouozqmLXT21w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/3329fdcc80125fcb34df9e6e11f0f171/tumblr_ooq90xfrtw1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/ba714f20834039aabc22c66dbd5f6c7b/tumblr_ooq90xfrtw1w946k6o2_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/3166e6540b5d1c2b20ccb9e54bb786ae/tumblr_ooq8anrbfl1w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/0c91b95ab3f62f791cadc9786e4d7c70/tumblr_owql81FSR11w946k6o1_500.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/6fd38250afe9782b372ab1a5a873a062/tumblr_orqy04MQtw1w946k6o1_500.png

Wow, great material! Thanks.

[BruceLeeroy]

Escalation die from 13th Age. The gist is that you have a d6 on the table, starting on the first round of combat, the characters get a +1 to-hit. Each round, you advance the die, so round 2 they have a +2, round 3 a +3, etc. Flavoring it as a Faerie charm that enhances aggression would be perfect, and it would allow the players to take on unusual challenges. Ratchets up the tension, makes combat faster, and once the players catch on, they'll start thinking about how/when to best use their powers and attacks.

For extra credit, have the die affect the monsters as well! Rocket tag!