I'm taking over our Runelords game at Fort Rannick, and I'm getting dismayed at all of the major monsters having powers like invisibility, mirror self, and things that take away the actions of PCs. They make our fights take forever, and immediately sap the PCs.
Our group is new to Pathfinder, so all of these powers just seem to suck the fun out of fights. Add to the fact that we have had an unfun number of PC deaths, and it' just getting ridiculous. How can I change up the monsters so the fights end up going faster, are more fun for the players, and aren't not so freaking deadly - all without nerfing all the big bads?
Any advice?
Thanks for the help.
Tell them to prepare Glitterdust and See Invisibility.
If they are too low level, hand out scrolls at some part.
Change the spell (or ability) to something else. Maybe standard blast spells (magic missile instead of mirror image; scorching ray instead of invisibility).
Alternately, point out to the PCs things like the Blindfight feat (re-roll missed miss chances), dispel magic, or the standard anti-invisibility tactics. By Fort Rannick (level 7, 8, 9?) , the PCs should certainly be aware that some foes can turn invisible, and think about how to deal with that. Shalelu or the rescued rangers can suggest tactics to them.
The thing is the pc should learn to bypass those defensive abilities. If they can't get past this learning curve they will struggle later. By the time they are doing the fort ranic stuff they should have all the tools needed.
See invis, invisibility purge, glitter dust. Dispell magic. Having an archer fire at a mirror imaged target also works.
Also remember anytime something attacks it's invis drops. Also flour, always carry flour.
Dust of Appearance for everyone.
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As mentioned, this is a learning opportunity. These spells and powers are critical to survival for many creatures once you reach mid-level and beyond, so you're going to find yourself replacing more and more abilities and creatures as time goes on. Especially considering that the last two books contain a LOT of spellcasters.
If the group is indeed new, do your best to take a minute, step away from the GM screen, and explain to them exactly how to counter these abilities; any spellcaster in the party could easily have this knowledge.
And do feel free to mix/match spells if necessary in the short-term.
If player skill doesn't increase there is going to be more and more deaths going ahead. You need to learn how to work together as a team and combat these things, don't change the monsters they are this threatening for a reason.
If your players are new explain to them that defensive magical spells are counteracted by dispel magic, and if you really want to throw them a bone put a wand of dispel magic in one of the treasures found. Once they start to understand how that works they will be doing a lot better.
The last two books have the majority of the battles against high level spellcasters who use advanced tactics, they need to start getting used to this stuff now.
There is a reason why there are people and critters with mirror image, invisibility, and the like. Often these are solo encounters or wizards without a lot of hit points. Without Mirror Image, the chap living in a certain basement with "interesting" folk upstairs would die in one or two rounds without a chance. Without invisibility, a certain wannabe Pathfinder would die quickly as she's alone against four or more characters.
The only real problem encounter is a certain winged menace which has ended more than one group. But she's nuts. Play her as such. Have her make mistakes and poor tactics. And if the players did research on her, they'd have weapons able to hurt her.
Thanks, everyone!
Also, if for some reason a monster has both invisibility AND mirror image, these two are mutually exclusive. You need to see the creature for mirror image to work.