Yeah, I got one. Any monster +HD =)
Strange as it may be, most of my PC's die to your typical dungeon monsters.. like hordes of Monstrous Spiders (at least 6 PC's) or Bugbears (so underestimated *shakes head*).
BTW, I typically run low level games due to a lack of a constant gaming circle.
I recall one NPC villain group that did a surprising number on the PCs. It was a Goblin war band tweaked to sneaking and ambush encounters led by a Kobold ranger/thief. For the Kobold, I kept his equip simple (plain even for melee) and loaded him with NPC gp value worth of Blinding arrows, and distributed some of his gold in Thunderstones to the various goblins.
Using the Kobolds skills (not just a DM device), he set up an ambush that just started off bad for the PCs. In 3 rounds each PC was either deaf or blind, which made sneaking a breeze for the Goblins and sneak attack arrow shots constant. They were also attacked on all corners by covered/concealed archers far in the distant darkness. It went from really bad to worst and worst.. I had to intervene and fudge some rolls just to keep the party alive and roll the story onward. And it was like a CR 4 encounter vs. a group of 4 Lv 3 players.
BTW, one cool thing about kobolds is they have 30ft movement even though they are small!
If they saved well it may have been different. But when you're blind/deaf and surrounded....
one side of door=pack of hungry worgs
other side= ogre
this was for 2nd level characters
I once attacked a 14th level PC party with an EL 14 worth of Rust Monsters. Whatever it says about larger #'s being easier to handle than smaller #'s is not true for Rust Monsters =)
What I don't get is how low CR zombies are
I think they factor in the INT and WIS of 0, easy to Turn/Rebuke, and they have little to no ranged attack potential. But yeah, in a 20x20 room with no immediate exit the CR does seem a bit low.
If you're having trouble with 15th level+ over-powered PC's, just use a combo I like to call "Enemy Wizards + Mordekainen's Disjunction". That spell en masse will ruin just about any occasion (ruins the mood and the game, too!)
Also, try giving unique feats to Monsters, too. Like giving a Minotaur the feat that lets you Charge with one 90-degree turn... that's good for bypassing the fighters and Bull Charging the Wizard in the back.
Crumbles - I wouldn't call that kobold/goblin encounter a CR 4. You need to adjust it because the terrain was perfect the bad guys. It's no wonder they kicked your player's collective asses.
Crumbles - I wouldn't call that kobold/goblin encounter a CR 4. You need to adjust it because the terrain was perfect the bad guys. It's no wonder they kicked your player's collective asses.
You're right.
It was CR 3 Kobold NPC + CR 1+1/2 worth of goblins. The terrain was perfect for the bad guys because the party was tracked and the terrain was selected by the Kobold; he was familiar with the cavern. Kobolds are not stupid, he basically set up the ambush as the players went down a dead end path in the dungeon; that's all included in being smart, skilled and lv 3 =) It was possible for the PCs to find out they were being tracked and set up, but they failed the skill checks.
It was the final climactic encounter before lv 4. What screwed the party was the surprise round. I didn't expect it to be this bad: *thwap* Barbarian takes 5 (fails Save) and he's blind; *BOOM* Priest fails save goes deaf .... roll initiave >=)
Yes, DM's make mistakes, but I made it up to them =)
Just prior to that encounter they took out 3 bugbears and after that a troll (they had terrain advantage here), both with no problem!
Well, there's the ever-popular Vampire Monk combination, which just gets uglier when you stack on a potion of haste, AC & stat boosting items and potions, and suchlike. Flurry of Blows + an extra attack + Negative levels = Unhappy party. Then start playing tricks with the accessibility of the vampire's coffin.
It can also be particularly unpleasant to hit a party with groups of enemies that have different types of DR; switching weapons mid-melee is never fun.
The Erinyes is a death machine in 3.5, especially if you pair her with another devil or two to pin down your (good or neutral-aligned) PCs in melee. Just have her hang back and use Unholy Blight every round, then teleport away if they ever get close or otherwise pose a credible threat to her.
Sorry, I'm sick, so I'm having a hard time coming up with my other favorite monster combos. Those should do for now.