How can I discourage my players from going to fight a monster that is very likely to TPK them?


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Dark Archive

Here's another thought: If the PCs are distracted by this side story, then I would have the main story come roaring back in a way that is somewhat related (and made a lot worse) by this side story.

I don't know much about your campaign, so I am making something up here:
The lead henchman for the big bad rolls into town wanting to know why the town missed their tribute payment yet again. He's unimpressed by the excuse of a linnorm eating part of the town. "All past-due accounts blame a monster attack. You think burning down a couple of abandoned shacks is going to convince me that a linnorm was here? Next time try something a little more plausible. The last town at least showed me some owlbear carcasses." The henchman announces that he will be back in a week with his troops to collect the tribute plus 50% late fee or they will raze the town, salt the earth, pour sugar in the gnomish tinker-engines, and so on. At this point the townsfolk beg the PCs to help them deal with this more pressing threat. They should explain that the linnorm is probably going to sleep for weeks or months after its big meal anyway.


Darksol the Painbringer wrote:
I find that having to explicitly tell the players out-of-character to not engage a certain creature defeats the purpose of providing an authentic adventuring experience, and is railroading the campaign just for the sake of continuity, something that can equally irk players.

Look at this way: one problem with any RPG is meta-gaming, where the players have and act on knowledge that the PC's don't. Good GM's try to keep this in check.

Well, the opposite problem exists, too. Because the game takes place in the theater of the mind, players don't really see and experience the world the way their characters do. Sometimes, that results in situations like this. A GM should try to address this, too, preferably before it causes a TPK that makes everyone bitter, and sends them running to the forums to complain about what a dick their GM is. (Not that that happens, right?)


Qaianna wrote:

I think I'm not seeing the connection between opening up Occult stuff and Sarpelucci.

I think one problem is that the omen seems to have hit the party where it kind'a hurt. They may have some vengeance on their minds, and see Sarpy there not as a harbinger of new stuff but of an actual enemy meant to be interacted with.

One heavy question: is the party EVER supposed to deal with this thing?

There isn't really a logical "connection" between them. It's just some background stuff that I've just decided will happen. The PCs don't have the ability to make that connection; the best they could do is learn that something is happening, but not figure everything out. I never intended for the PCs to go after it right now (yeah, I know, PCs are gonna PC), but if they want to go after it once they get more levels then they can have at it. Mostly I did this as a way of trying to show them that even at their level, things will still happen that are outside of their control. That's why I made recovering the remains of their ally out of the question, because I know they don't have the funds for a true resurrection right now. And frankly, when I say "ally", even that's a bit of a stretch - they've never actually fought side-by-side with her or anything and she's never done anything to actually aid the PCs. She was just a member of the Sentinel Guard whom they actually liked, as opposed to most of the other Sentinel Guard whom they've met who have been douchebags.

Having had a couple of days to think this over, I think the problem may be that the PCs have been spoiling for some combat since the last several sessions have been mostly just roleplaying. They're at a point in the campaign where they're so close to reaching one of their major campaign goals but so far I've struggled with laying out the last mile to get them there without leading them by the nose - which I feel would be a slap in the face to all the investigating they've done up to this point. Thankfully it's going to be a month before I run again so I'll have some time to try to figure that part out once and for all.


John Mechalas wrote:
Darksol the Painbringer wrote:
I find that having to explicitly tell the players out-of-character to not engage a certain creature defeats the purpose of providing an authentic adventuring experience, and is railroading the campaign just for the sake of continuity, something that can equally irk players.

Look at this way: one problem with any RPG is meta-gaming, where the players have and act on knowledge that the PC's don't. Good GM's try to keep this in check.

Well, the opposite problem exists, too. Because the game takes place in the theater of the mind, players don't really see and experience the world the way their characters do. Sometimes, that results in situations like this. A GM should try to address this, too, preferably before it causes a TPK that makes everyone bitter, and sends them running to the forums to complain about what a dick their GM is. (Not that that happens, right?)

While a fair counterpoint, there are threads like those that arise and after some talk (and even the appearance of the supposed problem GM once in a while), the threads amount to the OP crying wolf. I'm not saying that there aren't threads where the OP is right, all I'm stating is that just because they create the thread doesn't mean they're in the clear.

And meta-gaming is a problem that, while in a similar vein, is different from a discussion about table expectations, most specifically in regards to the sense that not all encounters are "Victory by killing the enemy," and conveying that concept in-game to the PCs.

Back on topic to the OP, another concept he could introduce is that the lore presents the Linnorm as being immortal; it cannot be killed by mere mortals because of its mythic power, meaning they'll need to get something of an equivalent power to stop it.


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People are assuming that all the players will be okay with just rolling up new characters if they all die in a TPK to a +10 CR creature. If the players don't realise that this fight is is not meant to be fought and go into expecting they can win then this is no garuntee.

It's all very well taking the moral high ground saying they should know better and deserve what they get, but will it really be worth the verisimilitude you preserved so delicately if the game group collapses around it?

I'm not saying this will happen but surely it's something to consider.


Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:

People are assuming that all the players will be okay with just rolling up new characters if they all die in a TPK to a +10 CR creature. If the players don't realise that this fight is is not meant to be fought and go into expecting they can win then this is no garuntee.

It's all very well taking the moral high ground saying they should know better and deserve what they get, but will it really be worth the verisimilitude you preserved so delicately if the game group collapses around it?

I'm not saying this will happen but surely it's something to consider.

If the game group collapses because the PCs made bad judgement calls after getting ample warnings in-game not to pursue the creature at this time, then quite frankly we have bigger problems with this game group besides the apparent PC invincibility complex that the GM is trying to rid them of right now.

Hell, there are even published APs that punish you severely if you take certain actions in relation to specific events, whether your character is aware of them or not. At least in this case, the PCs are (or at least should be) aware of the risks of challenging a Mythical creature whose seemingly immortal power cannot be stopped by mere fleshlings.


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The problem is in determining the difference between a standard threat which Dnd adventurers can take care of, and a mega-threat that they can't.

PCs routinely recieve rumours of the Necromancer's Lair that nobody has ever returned alive from, the Cave of Deadly traps that slay treasure seekers, the dragon menacing the village that they are helpless against. These are standard adventure hooks, not clear warnings to not engage. How do you define between that and epic god monster without warning the players "Guys, based on the nature of these rumours, you think this thing is very high CR".

It's not as if the villagers report "It was huge, with at least a +18 to hit! I'd guess it was a 300 hp beastie!"


Tarik Blackhands wrote:
Yes, there's numerous ways to handle this IC, but if this group is accustomed to things like CRPGs where everything is indeed manageable at their handy level, they aren't going to bite and they'll get wiped barring the GM playing his primordial beast oddly easy. Did the group lie in a grave of their own making? Yeah. Is that fun? Typically no, few players (or GMs for that matter) like having their campaigns abruptly end in that fashion and at the end of the day, this is a game people play for fun.

There's a good question buried in the latest rehashing of the railroad vs. sandbox argument - Xexyx, what is the background of your group, in terms of RPG experience? Was the campaign set out more akin to a sandbox or closer to a homebrew AP? What would you conclude is the best description of your group's expectations?

I still maintain you let them take on the beast and die horribly, but that's just me...


Have an NPC Cleric etc who offers them some free Divination which can reveal the prospects of the fight.

And do give them alternative tasks to deal with, especially including combat options if that seems to be what they are itching for.

And if they do want to go for it anyways, it's pretty easy to place a bunch of lower level threats in their way before they reach the Dragon God. Lower level, but still high enough to be able to beat the PCs, and which can force them back without necessitating a TPK. (perhaps forcing a single PC kill if necessary) And roleplay those in a way so they get the idea that the Dragon God is much much more powerful than these lower threats they are lucky to survive.


Reverse wrote:

The problem is in determining the difference between a standard threat which Dnd adventurers can take care of, and a mega-threat that they can't.

PCs routinely recieve rumours of the Necromancer's Lair that nobody has ever returned alive from, the Cave of Deadly traps that slay treasure seekers, the dragon menacing the village that they are helpless against. These are standard adventure hooks, not clear warnings to not engage. How do you define between that and epic god monster without warning the players "Guys, based on the nature of these rumours, you think this thing is very high CR".

It's not as if the villagers report "It was huge, with at least a +18 to hit! I'd guess it was a 300 hp beastie!"

You're right, they don't give game mechanics out like that. It ruins the atmosphere of the scenario in question.

But there are ways to immerse the players into how powerful the creature is without actually fighting it.

One example would be to have a high-level mystical NPC take them on a "dream trip" to fighting the creature, having the experience affect the PCs directly and when they awake from the dream trip, having experienced the power of the creature first-hand, realize that they aren't strong enough to face it at their current level.

At the end of the day, it is the PCs who chose to fight a creature that they've been told was an immortal, mythical being, numerous times, and that fighting it was basically suicidal. You can't sit there and encourage player stupidity like that; you gotta put the foot down at some point, otherwise you'd be better off amputating said foot because of how pointless it is to have.


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Easily solved with some simple Gather Information checks:

Random scholar says: "Well, there wasn't always a Lake <insert_name> here. That used to be the City of <insert_name>."

Random townsperson says: "Around these parts, we like to call it 'Little Tarrasque'."

Random druid says: "In your language, 'Lita' translates roughly as 'corral'."

Random sage says: "His name is Pun-Pun."

Random historian syas: "Awwww. It looks like <epic_eldritch_horror's_name> had her babies!"

Random colossal great wyrm gold dragon says: "You're going to go after it, huh? AHAHAHahahahahaha HHAHAHhahaha AHHAAHAHAHHA" (10 minutes later) "ahashahahAHHAHHAHAAHAHAH AHHahhahahah HhAHAH AHahahhahAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHA! *snort* Oh wait. You're serious. Yeah. OK."


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If you're willing to go the snarky route, every time they consider going after the monster, tell them to make an Intelligence Check (don't tell them the DC, they automatically succeed regardless of the result). When they succeed, inform them that their Character's realize that this is actually a very bad idea, and that if they pursue this plan they are quite likely to die.

If the party still goes along with it. Wipe them without mercy.

I have in the recent past bent over backwards to prevent my players stupid decisions from TPK'ing them; in hindsight I'm not sure I really did those players a service. There is something to be said for the idea of teaching players that Table-Top is not like a CRPG where you simply never encounter an enemy you don't have a fair chance of defeating (aka, there is something to be said for letting players fail if they make poor choices).


dysartes wrote:

There's a good question buried in the latest rehashing of the railroad vs. sandbox argument - Xexyx, what is the background of your group, in terms of RPG experience? Was the campaign set out more akin to a sandbox or closer to a homebrew AP? What would you conclude is the best description of your group's expectations?

I still maintain you let them take on the beast and die horribly, but that's just me...

Most of the players are 15+ year D&D veterans. Three of them have also played with me as GM before (Vampire: the Masquerade) so they know my style. I'd describe my game as a homebrew AP but I do my best to keep any railroad-like elements to the absolute minimum. My players expect hints and clues on how to proceed, which I'm happy to provide. Part of the problem is what I alluded to in my previous post; they PCs are near the end of a pretty long-sought goal but I've developed a creative block on the last 10%. They've been looking for the person who's been allied with a fiend who is the campaign's BBEG and they have pretty good suspicions regarding who it is, but are at a loss on how to get him to reveal himself. I think they're waiting for me to provide them with a smoking gun but I'd rather they be a little more pro-active in trying to find one instead of waiting for one to just fall into their laps.


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Xexyz wrote:

There isn't really a logical "connection" between them. It's just some background stuff that I've just decided will happen. The PCs don't have the ability to make that connection; the best they could do is learn that something is happening, but not figure everything out. I never intended for the PCs to go after it right now (yeah, I know, PCs are gonna PC), but if they want to go after it once they get more levels then they can have at it. Mostly I did this as a way of trying to show them that even at their level, things will still happen that are outside of their control. That's why I made recovering the remains of their ally out of the question, because I know they don't have the funds for a true resurrection right now. And frankly, when I say "ally", even that's a bit of a stretch - they've never actually fought side-by-side with her or anything and she's never done anything to actually aid the PCs. She was just a member of the Sentinel Guard whom they actually liked, as opposed to most of the other Sentinel Guard whom they've met who have been douchebags.

Having had a couple of days to think this over, I think the problem may be that the PCs have been spoiling for some combat since the last several sessions have been mostly just roleplaying. They're at a point in the campaign where they're so close to reaching one of their major campaign goals but so far I've struggled with laying out the last mile to get them there without leading them by the nose - which I feel would be a slap in the face to all the investigating they've done up to this point. Thankfully it's going to be a month before I run again so I'll have some time to try to figure that part out once and for all.

Hm. Narratively, in hindsight, part of me thinks this might've been better done to a town the PCs didn't care about quite as much. And did they NEED a reminder that things beyond them can happen? (I'm asking, I don't know if they needed a reminder or not.)

But ... spoiling for fight, frustratingly close, then monster comes and hits town they like and kills NPC they like ... I think this is kind'a writing things into a box. Give them something more urgent to deal with, leave a few hints later on about how close to death they came, and if they're still spoiling for revenge ... well, it's not railroading if they're building the rails, is it? And if the rails have to go elsewhere to get around certain issues, then that's how it goes.


Heh - just to be the voice of caution - never under estimate your players.

My experience shows me that if you put a mythic 'whatever' in front of them they'll figure out a way to crit on every roll and max damage if the dice are with them - and your 'zomg' monster ends up dead in 2 rounds or less.

And then you'll have nights where 4 nekky goblins will beat the ever loving tar out of them for 13 rounds because not a single person can roll over a 4 .... yeah go around the table... 1 to hit... 2 to hit... 3 to hit (are you putting me on guys?) 4 to hit... 1 to hit (no this is a joke right?).

Just saying - outside of gm fiat you'd be surprised at what a party on a mission can accomplish outside of their level range - especially if they are willing to take a few losses. Have a treasure horde prepared.


If this makes sense in your setting, let a bunch of the linnorm's spawns or minions attack the town now, and make it a tough fight for the group.
This way you have a combat the group seems to be eager for, and you can hint again at the power of the real monster.


Qaianna wrote:

Hm. Narratively, in hindsight, part of me thinks this might've been better done to a town the PCs didn't care about quite as much. And did they NEED a reminder that things beyond them can happen? (I'm asking, I don't know if they needed a reminder or not.)

But ... spoiling...

Yes, yes they did need this reminder. Ever since the cleric's hit 9th level he acts as though he can save the world. He raised a merchant - spending the 5,000 gp out of his own pocket - that was a part of a caravan the PCs escorted which was attacked by bandits. As a way of injecting some color into the multitude of NPCs the PCs encounter I'll note if there's anything about them that stands out, such as an old war injury - he's pretty much remembered every one of them and as soon as he hit 13th level made it a point to have the party's sorcerer teleport him back to those places and cast regenerate on them (though I admit this is partly my own fault; there are some very important story reasons he's felt compelled to do this).

But overall the PCs have been pretty cocky since they've gained the ability to cast raise dead (and now resurrection) and character death doesn't phase them.

On the other hand - and this just occurred to me - they've done enough favors for people that it's actually not unlikely that if they get TPK'd that someone would actually go through the effort of raising them. Hmm, maybe I don't need to dissuade them from chasing after this thing after all...


Couldn't the Linnorm just deal with them in a non-lethal fashion? Use some power to paralyze or restrain the PC's and then converse with them about how magic is changing and why that is making it destroy things before magically whisking them back whence they came?

I mean add some better theatre to that but such a premise could be used to add to the gameworld and build upon what already exists as well as more fully introducing a major entity into the PC's ken without needing any death.


TOZ wrote:
Quote:
How can I discourage my players from going to fight a monster that is very likely to TPK them?
You can't.

But you can drop not-so-subtle hints beforehand.

If they still insist on fighting, make sure they bring back-up characters to the game.

Personally, back-up characters are a standing rule at both the games I run and the games I play in.

Nothing like a few (dozen) character deaths to get through the message that "I hit it with my axe!!!" is not always the best solution.


You can also let them go toe-to-toe with the enemy, but be sure to let them have a escape way. Thus, they will know there are things they cannot defeat while they don't have to lose their characters.

Contributor

A trick I've used in a home game a couple of times to decent success, when the PC's are hellbent on hunting down something they definitely can't fight - let them think they have. At first anyway. They find a monster that is eerily similar to the one they're after, but scaled down a bit in power level to make it a fair, but difficult, fight. Then, after a hard fought victory where they barely manage to take the creature down, they find out that it wasn't the monster they were hunting - it was the monster's baby. (If any of the PCs speak draconic, you can have it cry for "Mama" with its dying breath.)

If that doesn't send them running, nothing will.


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Dalindra wrote:
You can also let them go toe-to-toe with the enemy, but be sure to let them have a escape way. Thus, they will know there are things they cannot defeat while they don't have to lose their characters.

Except for the fact that an 'escape route' never looks like that in the heat of combat.

They always scream *EVEN BIGGER TRAP* narratively.

Several times I've tried to give players escape routes like that, or had GMs that have tried desperately to give my character such things, only to have them either completely ignored or outright disbelieved due to the nature of the situation.

A far more twisted idea would be to have this primal entity kill them all off... and then Raise/Res/whatnot them itself.

"I see some promise in you, but you're nowhere near ready. Deal with your other matters and we'll talk again."

...and then have them plotaported to some inconvenient location.


The easiest obstacle is to not manipulate them at all. Let them carry out their plan, or at least try to. You only need to make one small change: remove the monster from the lake.

Maybe a powerful wizard did it because he wanted to study it, or he wanted to prove a point. Perhaps someone baited it. Maybe it wandered off for a change in scenery. It could even just simply hibernate in another plane.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Philo Pharynx wrote:

One of the issues is that the rumor mill is hard to calibrate. there are only so many words to describe how powerful something is, so it can be hard to judge what things are simply boss monsters, and what things are TPK's.

My solution? Telling them out of game. When they see something out of their weight class, i.e. CR 6 or so over the party, I tell them.

Totally support that approach.

Sometimes its hard for players to calibrate what they hear as IC description and judge between when they are being told
1) Its totally an appropriate thing for you to face but to the peasant that saw it was utterly terrifying
2) Its got a tough reputation to get you guys pumped up for the fight & make it feel epic if you win.
3) This one is tough, are you brave enough to step up and fight it?
4) This one is tough, you'll need to do some homework and prep well
5) Guys, what you doing? this thing will stomp you! come back in 10 levels!

Especially when someone makes their knowledge check (or just talks to the right person), there's no harm in saying 'OOC, its CR 20!'

Silver Crusade

depending on how savvy your players are you can always use the little magic words "are you sure?"


In the immortal words of Ken Wanatabe "Let them fight!"


I'm curious - why are so many people desperate to save these PCs from themselves? I've seen suggestions ranging from an OOC infodump to the Dynasty shower scene as ways around a course of action these characters seem determined to take.

While it is true that RPGs are about freedom, a core freedom is the freedom to face the consequences of your actions - without that holding any weight, any other freedoms you enjoy quickly lose their meaning.


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dysartes wrote:
I'm curious - why are so many people desperate to save these PCs from themselves?

Because it's a game. Because players are used to being fed level-appropriate encounters and plot hooks. Because it's not easy to tell if that plot hook is level-appropriate or a CR+10 TPK by GM fiat.


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It's probably too late for this now, but one interesting way I've seen to show that a bad guy is super-tough is to let the players play the roles of the NPCs who get massacred. That way, it's still in-game information but they can really see for themselves how damage and spells just bounce off the enemy without having to suffer through a PC TPK.


hogarth wrote:
It's probably too late for this now, but one interesting way I've seen to show that a bad guy is super-tough is to let the players play the roles of the NPCs who get massacred. That way, it's still in-game information but they can really see for themselves how damage and spells just bounce off the enemy without having to suffer through a PC TPK.

I've done that it makes for great foreshadowing and can be fun for players to try out albeit briefly new classes and such.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I always find the "GM isn't allowed to guide the players at all!" thought school of GMing kinda weird .-. Mostly because whenever gm does that to me, I end up annoyed when they later tell us "Oh you attacked the giants out in open" "Wait, there wasn't cover at all?" "Yeah there wasn't cover, none of you said anything about that" :P

Anyhoo, I agree with person who said just have Linnorm leave the area. Tarn Linnorms can fly and since it woke up maybe it decided to migrate far away or leave to do some sort of mythical god beast business/destroy another country while at it.


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CorvusMask wrote:

I always find the "GM isn't allowed to guide the players at all!" thought school of GMing kinda weird .-. Mostly because whenever gm does that to me, I end up annoyed when they later tell us "Oh you attacked the giants out in open" "Wait, there wasn't cover at all?" "Yeah there wasn't cover, none of you said anything about that" :P

Anyhoo, I agree with person who said just have Linnorm leave the area. Tarn Linnorms can fly and since it woke up maybe it decided to migrate far away or leave to do some sort of mythical god beast business/destroy another country while at it.

Your first example is more on the being a jerk than not guiding players - the not guiding players relies on the GM giving the players enough information to make an informed decision.

In this case the most extreme example might be the 'research' shows the following account from 500 years ago:

Rodghar the Just and his band of friends were well known throughout the entire world - they had saved the lands from a demon lord made felsh, and downed several ancient dragons including Varthax the red known for over 1000 years of terror.

Rodghar was a holy warrior of the highest order, his sword blazed with holy energy and spells would bounce off him, he feared no evil beast.

His companions were known for their deeds as well - Joral the wizard seemed to enjoy granting wishes at whim to the poor and needy, while Matara the cleric consorted with the very herald of her goddess, while known for reversing the slaughter of an entire city with a miracle of the highest order. The bard Sagebreath was said to be able to charm anyone that heard it and was responsible for the parties apparent escape from the 1934 layer of the abyss when they were able to sweet talk deomogorgon itself into letting them live.

Sadly when they met this monster - they died within about 4 minutes, never to be seen again as they made a good meal for the beast.

....

Say all of that and if the players still want to fight it - frankly you shouldn't feel bad about the wipe at that point.


I say let them take the fight but give them a back door option when it becomes obvious that theyre in the wrong room!!

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

I generally let PCs do what they want and let then deal with the consequences. I do let them make appropriate skill checks to give then an idea of how stupid thier idea is. A smart party would try to scout out the creature. Pcs then make a knowledge arcana check. Let's say thier hugest check is a 36 and you adjusted the dc for it being a rare mythic creature and tell then that they have no idea what it is. Warning bells should go off then. They should be thinking "holy @#$%, that thing is at least CR 27!" If they decide that attacking it is a good idea, thier funeral and the failed knowledge check was a good enough warning in my book.

Sovereign Court

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It's frankly not too bad to let the players die from times to times. It makes the world feel more alive. Some people don't want to be nurtured all the times...so just go for it, if they die, well they have learned a valuable lesson and you can tell them the consequences of their failure and when they make new characters, you can go with a time skip/many years later, how the failure of their previous characters changed the world.


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Tell the players to create new PCs of their current level for a side mission. When the players come next session, have an NPC relate a tale of ancient times, when a mighty group of adventurers challenged the beast. Bam! The PCs play their new PCs for a mission, and see how fast they get munched. If and when the real PCs defeat the beast, make sure they find the treasure from those ancient PCs.

The Exchange

Xexyz wrote:

So last night the players were in a city (Lita) where a strange fog moved in. The city is on a large lake so fog isn't uncommon, but the citizens were remarking that the fog was thicker than normal and was getting thicker as the day progressed. One of the players even joked OOC that a huge monster was probably going to attack the city.

The players had business in another city (Leustean) in the same country (this is a homebrew game) so teleported to Leustean to spend the evening and next day attending to their business. Once they were done there they teleported to a third city (Enescu) to do some stuff there and learned that Lita had in fact been attacked by a giant monster that evening. So they teleported to Lita and saw the monster had destroyed about 15% of the city - mostly around the wharf - before it was driven back into the lake. Unfortunately it was driven back due to the sacrifice of an ally. They were unable to recover their ally's body, so right now are looking at requiring a True Resurrection to revive her.

So, the players have been considering going after this monster. Therein lies the concern, as the monster is an advanced mythic tarn linnorm, CR 23. The party of six PCs are all level 13 (and NOT mythic; mythic creatures in my game are all extremely rare and this would be the first one they fight. The players aren't even aware that I'm even using the mythic rules in my game). And just to add to the possible degree of difficultly, the PCs are considering attacking it while it's underwater, since they think it's in the lake somewhere.

The linnorm is actually a local legend so they were able to do a little research and have been informed by a scholar that the creature is likely a tarn linnorm, and that tarn linnorms are among the strongest linnorms, and this one in particular, called Sarpelecului, is according to legend the spawn of one of the four ancient beast gods of this world.

I thought that would be enough in-game hints to dissuade the PCs from going after the thing, but...

I'm not sure how much experience your players have, but maybe just start your next session with a out of character question.

"What does it mean to you when I say something is an ancient beast god?"

If they reply with something that indicates they fully understand such a creature would be supremely powerful. Then drive on with a clear conscience. If they reply with something that indicates they just don't get it. Then maybe fill them in on what it means to you, or at least ease them into understanding via the methods mentioned above.


Madwand wrote:
Tell the players to create new PCs of their current level for a side mission. When the players come next session, have an NPC relate a tale of ancient times, when a mighty group of adventurers challenged the beast. Bam! The PCs play their new PCs for a mission, and see how fast they get munched. If and when the real PCs defeat the beast, make sure they find the treasure from those ancient PCs.

That is a cool idea.


when i gmed i, A told my players ooc that there are things in this world that if you fight you will die, and B had them come across such a creature in fact this creature was created for the sol purpose of drilling it in character that there are things out there that you just cant fight it didn't kill the party as i made it so the creature only attacks things it views as threats which the level 3 pcs were not in anyway shape or forum.

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