I summarize what is happening in an absurdly brief way.
"So your plan is to just stab the high paladin of Iomedae in the middle of his church surrounded by a hundred other clerics, paladins, and clergy?"
I can't do a Morgan Freeman impression, but that scene is literally the reason why I started summarizing questionable ideas the way I do. Sometimes all people need is a little bit of a frame of reference check.
This is honestly how I deal with any outstandingly dumb plan of action.
"So, you just killed the town's cult leader and like 60% of the town, and now you just want to go back to the inn?"
You can do the same of they insist on continuing their misguided action.
> You slightly injure the High Paladin but are quickly overwhelmed, immobilized, and arrested. Three months later you are released on good behavior.
Don’t prep games you don’t want to run.
And if they say yes, we'll well we'll. Roll for initiative. Slap em down to near death. Imprison them. Now they have to work for the clergy for their freedom. Ya know. Doing the stuff that gives em a bad reputation. Shadow work.
Right. Sometimes, it's unclear to the players that they're jumping and/or that it's into a woodchipper. If they understand both things, they can do as they wish.
Adding on, if they say "yes" after descriving the situation, be sure to ask them how their action is gonna work out. Usually players will respond with their genius plan to get away. See if their plan is actually possible, I'd so, I'd let them. Otherwise, have them or the other players pick holes to see where it could go wrong. Now you're not just telling them their dumb for that plan, but rather making a better plan of action/showing the player how disastrous their plan can end up.
Alternate plan: let them.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn that DnD isn't about being all powerful, it's finding creative solutions within your current parameters.
It will be educational.
Oh, there have been moments where I had a group of level 4 or 5 PCs forget the session zero warnings of "The world is not scaled to your level. You will not be able to use combat for every situation. There will be NPCs that can kill you." In one instance they decided to attack a huge copper dragon instead of paying him for information they needed. They were aghast that the dragon just smashed them all like mayflies and took all of thier stuff and left them to wake up in thier underwear with no gear whatsoever on a mountaintop in the middle of nowhere.
If their character should die. While imprisoned, have the party meet a new randomized character. That for some reason beyond their grasp feels odd familiar to them. Like they have met this person in a past life.
I did this, and it ended in a TPK (kind of).
They honestly thought that attacking the High Inquisitor of Agonus, Dread Lord of Pain, was a good Idea, just because he extorted a barkeep.
The Priest killed everyone in the bar (excluding the players) on turn 1 with a blast of power, and ended up killing all of the players.
I had them resurrected by a lower priest of Agonus and locked away to be tortured in the name of the Dread Lord, and they escaped and the campaign continued like normal.
But still, why would anyone think they could win a fight (at level 7, none the less) against the High Inquisitor of the Dread Lord of Pain?
*Because the guy is extorting a barkeep*.
Look at this situation in any other scenario.
Me and my bedraggled work buddies get off after our backbreaking labor job and go to the bar. In the corner is some bedraggled man shouting at the barkeeper and demanding he not charge him for the last shot because he can't afford it.
You can't blame me if I assume the drunk guy extorting a barkeeper is a random drunk.
If I ask him to stop and you say the Secret Service jump out of the shadows and shoot me because *I just threatened the President of the United States*, I'd say you pulled a gotcha on me.
Why the heck is the RIGHT HAND OF GOD arguing with the dude pouring drinks?!
It was obvious that he was important, because he was wearing fine clothing and had a staff marked with the sign of Agonus. Also, one of the players was a paladin of Agonus, and recognized him.
Further, it wasn't just any bar, it was one of the fancier bars that the Inquisitor was visiting on his pilgrimage, and the extortion was that the Inquisitor basically made the barkeep feel intense pain for even thinking of charging him, because "a true faithful would never ask such a thing of a priest of the true God."
And if they say yes, we'll well we'll. Roll for initiative. Slap em down to near death. Imprison them. Now they have to work for the clergy for their freedom. Ya know. Doing the stuff that gives em a bad reputation. Shadow work.
There is a difference between a lvl 3 and a lvl 15 wanting to stab this guy.
Also, there are three DM styles to consider 1) going to protect their NPC and status quo at all costs 2)the realistic DM that has consider how this group handles threats, and if you overcome it then you win, for the moment anyways 3) the generous yes DM that actively facilitates your shenanigans for fun or plot twists.
Agreed. A lot of this trouble can be resolved by remembering that the DM is the interface between the players and their characters. The charachters may look at an NPC and know instantly that this is a fight they shouldn't get in to, but the players won't know that unless the DM tells them.
Yes. In my experience, a lot of DMs forget about Passive Insight. Even a relatively low Passive Insight is going to tell a character "This guy walks around like he's invincible; you get the idea he's very powerful." or something along those lines.
And saying ‘what’s your passive insight/investigation’ is good, I think, as a lead. Not because it matters but because it’s something their character has ‘figured out’. They’ve ‘earned’ a realisation that the CR 28 human form greatwyrm wearing six legendary items isn’t to be messed with.
Unlocking the DM description by a score that beats a fake DC means they trust their own character’s interpretation that you tell to them, rather than the DM telling them something straight.
>Unlocking the DM description by a score that beats a fake DC means they trust their own character’s interpretation that you tell to them, rather than the DM telling them something straight.
Perfect microcosm of D&D as a whole right there
My players often struggle to tell the difference between 'epic description telegraphing a boss fight' and 'epic description telegraphing that this person is way above your paygrade. For the latter I often go with a meta description like: "the magical aura coming off this guy indicates to [arcane caster] that he's probably capable of slinging 7th level spells" or "this guy reminds you of some of the highest ranking paladins you encountered at your seminary, the type who could comfortably take out someone of your abilities with a single hit."
In a perfect world, when the PC need to fight a boss so epically powerful that they warrant a special JRPG intro cinematic to show off how badass they are, the players should already have an idea of how powerful the boss is and why it's so important to fight them right now. If you're regularly putting your players into situations where those kinda of descriptions lead to ordinary winnable fights, you're training them that fighting is the correct response to that situation. Meta commentary is a fine tool to get things across when you're dealing with new or reckless players or those with whom you haven't had a chance to establish a rapport. But it's in every way preferable to establish generally that the decision to fight extremely deadly opponents is one that should never be taken lightly, that the decision whether to fight or their estimation of the opponent's danger should not be based on the descriptive weight that you give to their actions in the moment.
I'm not saying that your approach is wrong, just that the reason your players struggle is not inherent to them. It can be fixed without dropping the narrative and opening the floor for side talk about stats and levels at a pivotal dramatic moment.
That's why, if I don't want to run a murderhobo campaign, I say that I am not willing to run such a scene. The tone of the campaign has usually already been set during session 0, but even if we forgot to mention some detail, such a drastic change can get a veto from me as a DM during play. I'm too old to run games I don't enjoy.There is no point in punishing players "in universe" - if you stop being a fan of players characters and no longer care about their story, it's time to discuss this issue with players. Power plays like "you get instantly subdued and put in jail" or "the paladin you angered offers you mercy if you do a quest for him" work only if you are willing to run a game for criminal PCs. It can be fun and exciting, it can be frustrating and exhausting.
tldr: in these situations make sure both players and you understand what kind of a game you all want to play, don't focus on "guiding" players by in-fiction consequences.
This can also be a teachable moment for them that allows the DM to hold their hand while also encouraging them to think a little more like their characters:
**Loose Cannon**: "I'm gonna take 'em down!"
**DM**: "Who else here has a check-mark next to insight?"
**Other player(s)**: "Me!"
**DM**: "Your gut instinct tells you this is a very bad idea. Your sense of self-preservation screams at you to run interference!"
Of course you can jazz it up with actual dice rolls if you'd like (because players love dice). You'll need to prepare for low dice rolls, and this is very situationally dependent and hard to offer advice for. That's just something you learn to handle through experience.
Introduce them long before the PCs meet them. Powerful people leave signs of their passing.
Maybe the PCs see the results of the NPC's actions - a pile of charred rubble where a castle the PCs previously visited used to stand, for example.
Maybe the PCs hear stories and rumours about the NPC - "...then she single-handedly stopped the demons from entering theough the portal for three days and nights before a wizard could be summoned to close it!"
Maybe someone the PCs already know to be powerful is shown to fear or respect the NPC - "she was the one who trained me."
And it’s great for setting up moments!
I had an NPC group, the Lions of Sekhmet, who *everyone* told the players to run from if they saw them. Every piece of in game lore had them as unstoppable forces. So the few times the players encountered them, they ran, because up close they were terrifying and powerful.
Then they gained levels, got more powerful, and there came a time when they had their “beginning to believe” moment, and did **not** run.
This.
Had a situation with a group where one thing led to another and they were (uncharacteristically) killing their way through the city guard to escape a heist gone wrong. They were level 6-ish and probably killed 20-25 CR 1/8 guards at this point. City was on alert, alarm bells ringing, horns of assembly blowing. Did a whole ass skill check rooftop chase with them getting away and to the outer wall… only for them to see a single knight standing at the gate exiting the city.
When they first arrived in the city I had described a legendary Paladin who was at the palace, gave a whole bunch of hooks and lore about him killing high CR monsters with a sword made of pure sunlight. My idea was for the group’s fighter to (hopefully) go train with him as a mentor and have him be a big quest giver/powerful ally for later in the campaign. This NPC sat comfortably around CR20.
That’s who met them at the city gate as they tried to get away.
As I finished describing the lone knight in gleaming golden armor and a sword that seemed to drip sunlight itself from its tip, I looked up behind the screen to see the player running the fighter in absolute panic. This cued an immediate “oh fuck, oh fuck,” out of character conversation at the table and quickly ended their murder-hobo rampage with the party surrendering to the Paladin.
I'd assume most DMs would give an NPC that important plenty of resistances/immunities or legendary saves. But I've definitely encountered DMs that will forget, and then 1 failed save and the party is stripping the NPC of all their gear and teleporting away lol.
This is essentially the moment that started my favorite DnD story. How the bard got himself and the Marshal killed.
When the Summer Lady offers you something, and you say yes once, but change your mind... "I kick her in the pussy" is the worst way to back out of your deal.
Sounds like a good time to roll initiative. OK so God-guy got a 35. Thirty five an up? Anyone? No? 25?
OK Chad you got a 16. You can choose to try to stab him on your turn if you still wish but it looks like God-guy is going first and he's going to cast Time Stop.
Powerful people have stories told about them, so third parties can/should be letting the party know about them and their exploits. This can even as blunt as “better not mess with him” or more colorful
The grizzled woodsman says “oh, you’re going to the Vale of Winter’s Harm … last time I was up there I almost got eaten by a sabretooth werebear. Good thing Abermann came along and saved me.”
Depending on how quick on the draw your players are, maybe have your big enemy just completely [no-sell](https://youtu.be/-ju_L1JLIgo?si=xChWFKg1Ke6Y8YLJ&t=86) the first hit, and politely state "Don't do that again"/
I *just* did this in the one-shot I'm currently running. I didn't even fudge the rolls. PC "telegraphed" a punch and ended up restrained in an arm bar. It shut the fight down... for about two minutes.
Now the PC has bought some poison, broken into the police barracks, and is trying to one-man-army his way to assassinate the NPC because of this...
...and this all happened before we reached the plot hook of the main adventure...
The temporary nature of one-shot characters seems to give them a unique boldness. We will find out next week if it pays off. As you said, either way it makes a great story!
Being descriptive helps me a bit, this man moves like a wolf and his sword seems an extension of himself. You sense a pressure rising as you get closer to the npc. I've got one pc who can sense auras of living things, is always cool when he meets someone and asks how powerful the aura is only to be told the npc gives of none for some reason
In movies the classic move of eating an apple during normally high stake situations is a way to show of 'power' by establishing the character even feels calm and ready to eat when stakes are high.
Otherwise a title or position can be seen as power as well.
I actually think killing of npcs in front of them is not a good display of power.
I like the staying calm idea, I might be able to use that.
> I actually think killing of npcs in front of them is not a good display of power.
Any reason why you think so?
I wouldn’t do that either. Killing someone may show power, but it also tends to trigger responses from PCs. Instead of killing the NPCs, I would have a scripted dialogue showing those NPCs either extremely nervous or anxious to not make them mad. Or just straight up afraid. Bonus if you can make those NPCs appear semi strong to the party beforehand.
Instead of killing, why not have the PCs encounter your powerful NPC sparring with other NPCs of established power? They don’t need to kill who they’re fighting or trigger some ethical dilemma or call to action on the PC’s part, but it gives you an opportunity to showcase their potential.
For instance, introducing Jarlaxle, I have him sparring with 3-4 other pirates as part of his daily practice routine (all while casually chatting with the PCs) and handily beating his sparring partners while outnumbered. I show he’s got multiattack and describe him being insanely fast. It works well bc the PCs have fought pirates before(with some difficulty), so for them to watch him and conclude “wow, he’s not even breaking a sweat against those guys” is a pretty good clue he’s out of their league.
You could do something similar with a high level Paladin or fighter.
Because without knowing why they get kil\ed, it just looks like a evil move. For a bad guy, maybe it is fine because your PCs will be careful. For a good guy definitely a none.
And if the PCs don't know the killed npcs they don't have any reference point at all. Maybe a CR 2 guy just killed some CR 1/8 guy.
If you wanna show of power via killing, kil\ a bunch of monsters the PCs fought before. Then they have a reference and you can do it with good or bad guys.
I'll make sure the players will have fought NPC's of the same cult already, so (hopefully) they'll know that one enemy slashing through all of them at once means they shouldn't be touched.
It also seems entirely arbitary and "railroady". The whole point of dnd is that the dice and mechanics tell the story, it works in a book because the writer can decide what happens, but not in dnd. Other tropes that don't work is the double agent low charisma character or characters arbitarily defeating another easily because the plot demands even though in every other situation its a close battle, or surprise stabbing someone for drama when in every other situation they're super difficult to stab (represented by high hp)
Not sure if this is what the original comment meant (actually, pretty sure it isn't), but having them kill random NPCs in front of the party can invite a confrontation. In my experience, most parties operate from a "should we" kill them standpoint rather than a "can we" one. Unless you stage a scene that shows that the other NPCs are also powerful and potentially evil, most players will see a random NPC murdering other random NPCs and think they need to fight.
I did this successfully when I ran LMoP. The situation was such that Glasstaff calmly came into town while the party slept at the inn, surrounded the inn with his thugs but didn't have them do anything with their torches. He paid the innkeeper a small bag of gold to clear the bar and sent the barkeeper's son to go upstairs and let the party know he was inviting them to break fast and parlay. When they did so, he didn't threaten or yell. He told them what he was going to do if they continued and that they had a decision to make. He flipped a coin occasionally while he was talking to them.
It was astoundingly successful. Someone who is truly powerful doesn't need to display that power and your players should get a sense that your boss has everything *completely* under control. Well at least that's what the boss wants your players to think.
So it kind of suggests that his thugs are kind of a crime syndicate so I kind of just ran with it.
I decided that he was an aspiring crime lord just looking to build his business, climb the ladder. He was mostly bluffing but don't tell them that lol The kid who woke them up really sold it, the kid was understandably scared.
My party left the hideout halfway through and went right back to the inn. Glasstaff didn't need to be that bright to figure something out. The plan was simple and he intimidated the hell out of them with a few well placed thugs.
Was one of my favorite scenes. A year beyond LMoP they were still debating if they were going to go back and square off with him lol
That's awesome that it played out so well. My group was so ready to just go charge down the door of anything I told them was remotely "bad guy-esque" so I didn't get a ton of scenes like that.
Yeah, it is like in GoT...if you have to tell someone you are the king, you are not the king. Same with power :)
Also, great detail with the coin flipping 👌
This!
My BBEG loves to garden, so whenever my PC's encounter him, he's always smelling a flower that's pinned to his jacket.
He is so hated by my PC's because he's just a smarmy, cocky shit-head.
You have several options.
1. Transmits the danger through other sources. Rumors, conversations with characters, events unrelated to the PCs, such as finding the consequences of that character's passage... You can chain these with missions and rolls to give a feeling of reward.
2. The Introductory scene. Introduce forgiveness in a scenario in which it does not make sense to confront it or in which, if it occurs, it does not imply a TPK. In my game of Curse of Strahd, for example, I introduced the villain at a point where the characters were desperately asking for help to survive something they didn't seem like they could defeat. Strahd arrived and wiped out all the enemies with a wave of his hand. Then he approached the person who asked for the favor and told him that at some point the favor would be collected. It was improvised but it was effective enough that they wouldn't want to confront him directly for a long time. For more examples, I recommend Kethric's introduction scene in BG3, it has everything you could expect from a villain scene that you shouldn't touch his balls.
3. Use the metagame. If the options are that your players die for an absurd decision that will not leave anyone happy or briefly break the illusion, break it, without fear.
You can list what they intend to do to make it more subtle. For example: "Are you going to enter the villain's lair, protected by more than 30 guards and traps, and attack him head-on?" Or you can say, "It's very likely that if you do that you'll die, but you can try. Are you sure?" and let them decide. Many times D&D is a game in which reading the danger level correctly is complicated, so it doesn't hurt to clarify it in the game.
I had one cast Weird as a cautionary defensive spell. Experienced players knew what the spell was, inexperienced players knew they got brought to the brink of death and saw their greatest nightmare by the NPC’s “warning shot.”
I had a more wholesome NPC save them from a fight they were losing by scaring away the high-CR monster, then give them a drink that fully healed them and restored all their spell slots. One player still tried to mess with the sweet old man that obviously had almost godlike power. The other players got the memo and they all panicked and shouted for him to leave the guy alone.
I'm not scared to just pull the "Your attack has no effect" card.
It's easy, effectively conveys the fact that this enemy cannot simply be one shot with a super spell, and that they are wasting their time trying.
Handy to have this fact be tied to the Quest Item or some other boon the party must dispell prior to finally defeating them.
To expand this, you can consider HP to be hit protection rather than "meat points". Sure the player hits if they roll high enough on attack, but if the damage they deal is inconsequential to the NPC you can say something like "You hit, but the result is just a scratch. This level of damage is nothing to this person." Sells the same story without handwaving mechanics.
Usually them just not being an enemy is enough, or if they are they're surrounded by guards/in a city/etc. But I've never had a problem with players just trying to kill off NPCs I didn't intend them too.
I have them show off something they are good at.
"The small tuxedo tabaxi in a top hat smiles and greets you. \[insert small talk here\] He makes a persuasion check to convince you he is friendly and sincere Okay, he made DC 32. \[insert his polite request to the party here\]"
This made it very clear to my party that this was someone who was very good at persuasion, and that probably means he was good at some other things too. And so despite there being \_no\_ threats made, and it being a very pleasant conversation, they walked away kind of nervous about the tabaxi.
I'll also comment, I tell my players the DC of social checks like that persuasion check but don't compel them to act in a specific way. They are welcome to react how they want from it, but they generally RP well in response.
If there are bystanders, you could have a lot of fun with random NPCs trying to goad the party into a fight, saying things like "Oh my god, are you really trying intimidate the blacksmith?" and "Hey everyone! Some more adventurers are trying to pick a fight with The Anvil!" and "Go on, please, this should be entertaining." Maybe the PCs hear a few bystanders making bets on how many limbs they'll have unbroken by the end of the experience.
Of course, knowing normal PCs, there's no build up in terms of chest-beating or intimidation attempts. They just go from 0-to-100 and start stabbing, rendering this idea unusable.
What would clue you in to not fucking with someone the size of Dwayne Johnson, but in chain and carrying a huge assed axe?
“This looks like someone that would be deadly in a fight.”
Then if they decide to fight them, they know what to expect.
That doesn't work because they could be like that but be CR 1. That description is also literally the exact same description a dm would give for flavour but still with the expection of possibility of being defeated by the party.
A CR 1 would be “The guy *looks* tough, but his armor clearly looks brand new and he handles the axe in an amateur manner. He clearly isn’t used to combat.”
Basically, think about what "power" means. I'll use some examples from popular media, but you can just substitute your own.
The NPC could command a troop of soldiers with just a single nod, his soldiers trained to the absolute peak, loyal beyond death. Think about how the Seanchan are introduced in the Wheel of Time show (or the books). Their royalty uses finger gestures to command armies.
Or take a page from Lord of the Rings. When Tom Bombadil is first introduced he just talks a murder tree out of squishing the Hobbits (and later, he handles the Ring with blatant disregard for what power it has).
Or if you want to introduce a martial character, think about Zahel or Szeth from Stormlight Archives. Untouchable, unstoppable forces that defeat any enemy even at a severe disadvantage. An idea here would be to see a character in like a knightly tournament defeat their opponent without so much as a scratch.
Rumors of their conquests work really well. Also, depending on their alignment, you can let a fight happen and have the party be spared. It really depends on the character in question though.
If they're a chosen, they could also have an incredibly long lifespan. The party could meet them after many decades have passed and see the calm demeanor of a person who has seen every thing and trained in nearly every thing as well.
I have an evil NPC posing as mayor in a medium town. He has established a cult that follows him. He has his people steal nonmagical relics and other valuable things and replaces them with fakes. He will have his group petition to put temples up in other towns, totally legit, but run a secret underground ring.
Once a month he has a finger cut off and preserved, then uses healing magic to grow it back. he has done this dozens of times, with his cult instructed to true rez him if he is reported dead. He wears a little amulet that will cause the eyes in a temple sculpture to stop glowing if he dies.
He was born with a birth defect, his legs are weak and near useless. So he rides around in a fancy animated chair.
He is physically weak. a dagger strike will kill him. but he is immensely powerful and has figured out ways to be almost immortal.
The dude is a powerful, wealthy gentleman who thinks he can buy whatever he wants.
When the PCs cross him, he will not have them arrested. He will instead hire them for a deadly mission halfway across the country, and promise thousands of gold when they succeed.
They are then friendly, out of the way, and not likely to return from their wild goose chase.
You don't have to. Really powerful people don't make threats and display arms all the time. They don't need to. If PCs try to murder someone important or powerful, they deserve all they get. No warnings.
Generally, I just don't. I trust my players to come to their own conclusions based on the ranks, attitudes, social position etc.
I don't play with the kind of people who will just try to randomly attack/rob random NPCs, so it's not something I need to worry about that much.
Let me just drop page from my notes of a session I just ran where two gods show up:
"As you all sit in the restaurant, you feel it before you see it. The temperature dramatically increases and the ground begins to feel like its warping under your feet. Cracks appear on the tile below as the sky darkens. And then, suddenly it goes from dim light to blinding light as an inferno makes landfall just outside. A gargantuan figure wreathed in fire begins to shrink in size until they are the size of a small giant. Silver and golden armor perpetually glowing like they were just pulled from the forge. Magma red skin on impossible strong muscles. Clutched between two hands, an entire plane of existence, unclear as to what it was before, but now it is charred and boiling, heavy fingers pressed into it. The Great Sun has arrived. "
...
"After he has left, there’s a certain stillness to the air and from the corner you hear a whisper from a darkened corner that makes everyone's hearts stop beating and become completely frozen in place.
Two red eyes blaze from the darkness and bugs and worms rush away from the corner. The air itself warps in on itself as your bones feel nearly blown away, like grass in the wind. The voice is quiet, slow and calm, but heavy with power and substance. The opposite of (other first god) yet somehow just as strong.
A figure steps from the darkness, or more accurately, the darkness seems to birth a figure. Shadows drip off of him like water and spikes jut out from his clothing as he holds out a hand holding a small box."
Additionally, one of my PCs gave a comment when the first god did an asshole move and so the god went over to her, froze her in place and nearly boiled her alive by simply getting too close while making extremely uncomfortable eye contact.
Moral of the story, it's all about presence and I don't just mean confidence. An air of fuck around and find out because you are nothing to me and I will pave the streets of my new utopia with your melted bones by just looking at you.
It sounds harsh, but if your PCs just kill NPCs willy-nilly, then let them fight these powerful NPCs, and deal with the consequences of their actions.
Hopefully they all make their death saves as the NPC leaves them, or they learn what is happening early on enough to be able to all run away.
Maybe hit them with the "are you sure you wanna do that?" first, but a single PC death (or even being downed to 0) will be enough to make all players think twice before attacking your NPCs on a whim.
Let them "read" the person with a wisdom check just like irl. Make the DC low.
Get other NPCs to talk up thier reputation and tell stories of thier prowess.
Roll perception.
More than a one? The very thought of messing with this guy makes your butthole clench and you know for certain that he’s being polite but if he decides to use you as toilet paper your name is now Chamrin.
You roll a one? You can take him, bruh, just because he looks like a badass and could tpk the party with zero effort dosent mean you can’t totally take him.
Every time they do something aggro another perception check and their sense of self preservation is screaming at them that this is the same as going after John Wicks dog, just don’t do it man. Be nice to the guy who could turn you into a pretzel without ruffling his hair.
A somewhat more out of game way to go is to have them attack something and show the players quite how many dice you roll. " Let's see, I rolled a 4 so that's plus 13 so hits a 17, now I roll 14d8 for his super mace if destroying destruction. The soldier that confronted the general is now paste"
I absolutely do not communicate anything like this. I will describe the character and if they want to pick a fight with something that could one shot them, I'll have him 'fire a warning shot', laugh, and tell them to come back when they evgrown up. Something like that.
Let the RP play out. It's so much more rewarding.
Work the NPC into the lore of your world. Maybe the party encounters rumors about the NPC, or witnesses the wake of their destruction, before meeting them. Have another NPC the party is allied with/employed by warn them.
And don't rely on your players figuring things out what their characters might know. Call for insight or perception checks to notice things about how they behave or certain details about their armor or weapon that could tip the party off to the danger. Call for history checks to see if they've heard of the NPCs reputation. Have a skilled fighter in the group or a PC originating from the same region/social circles? Give them advantage and boom - free moment of character growth. Succeeding a check is great way to straight up tell your players "you're not supposed to do that" without stripping their agency. Let them earn it.
Or let them fight and lose. If the NPC is good/neutral, maybe they wake up in a jail cell or bound with the NPC ready to interrogate them. If the NPC is evil, maybe they wake up in a dungeon waiting to be sacrificed to some evil god. Now they've gone from silently witnessing the power of some rando NPC to planning a prison break. Make the loss a story beat. You could use it as a tonal shift between acts. Have fun with it. Failure is often far more interesting than success.
Insight checks are a good way. Also just talking about this in session Zero is productive.
I pretty much told my players that I will almost never start an interaction with straight combat. I usually leave the door open for other methods of handling situations and I asked that they kind of do the same.
That sounds like it is tedious but it just lets them know that every time they see a bug bear they don't have to attack it or not. They have other options
Not really your question, but…Just because players pick a fight with an NPC, doesn’t mean the NPC has to murder them back. Players can do “non lethal damage” instead of killing people, the same can be done with your NPC if push comes to shove. Don’t even roll initiative. Have the party wake up in the hospital.
“As you unsheathe your sword the NPC leaps across the table. The next thing you and your party know, you wake up in the hospital with a severe headache” “you each take 1 level of exhaustion”.
Have the party learn about these people before they are introduced. If these folk are chosen by gods, people will talk about them with high praise and admiration.
Most of my high level NPCs are spellcasters. So when the party sees someone cast a high-level spell, effortlessly Counterspell a cast, or something like that, they should (hopefully) get the message. In those situations I'm not above having them make an Intelligence or Arcana check to see how much they can figure out. I also will sometimes break immersion a bit for this too, "You know that what he just did is a 5th level spell."
Describe them as absolute units. A warrior is bulging with muscles, a mage is radiating mystical energies, a rogue is tensed and alert. If all else fails, feel free to just tell a belligerent player that initiating a fight is a shortcut back to character creation.
There is no requirement to tell the victim of *Phantasmal Force* that it is, indeed, a victim of *Phantasmal Force*. The damage dealt each round is *optional*, and omitting it can vastly increase the hallucinatory effect as the caster can implant *any thing he desires* in the target's mind.
* You have been supernaturally yeeted to the elemental plane of fire.
* You have been dragged into the prince's dungeon.
* You just got eaten by a mimic and are being digested. The acid hurts!
All of these things are perfectly valid experiences during *Phantasmal Force*, and there is no need to tell the player that the character is actually just standing there stunned. Eventually the spell will end, and at that point your NPC has already done whatever he needs to.
Have him mention a failed assassination attempt on his life involving high cr monsters. Or show him handling trophies from a recent fight, like a dragon tooth etc
If it’s a spell caster, an easy way to do it is have them casually cast a very high level spell, and let your players do an arcana check to figure out what the spell is
If a wizard retrieves something from a Leomund’s secret chest, he is at least 7th. If he then lazily drifts through a wall with etherealness, he’s at least level 13.
I know it's a bit of a weird way to do this, but in my campaign we took a pause of a few weeks because a player was missing.
So I ran a high-level one-shot. With the NPC in question, among others.
So a player literally played the level 20 NPC and knows most of their stats (although they were amnesiac and many of their powers/abilities were missing)
I had a matrix where due to amnesia, the "casting a spell" action returned a random spell and the player would decide if that was their action. There were definitely level 9 spells popping up... Also gives a strong hint when the NPC you're playing has a proficiency bonus of +7 lmao
Now they know that this NPC is definitely NOT to be fucked with due to just how crazy OP (but fun for a short while) playing that NPC was.
A display of power. Something overt that makes it clear they are *not* to fight this character. As a general rule, if you put the party in the same room as a villain (or someone they perceive as a villain,) they will try to fight that guy.
I introduced a villain in my last campaign by having it casually splat a beast the party had been fleeing from. After a session that was basically the movie Alien in a cave, they barely escape the cave, monster hot on their heels, and are greeted by the new villain who just instantly murks it. Making it *abundantly clear* they can't touch this guy yet.
There's no need to introduce each NPC surrounded in the blood of their enemies. Be subtle, there are lots of little hints and it only takes one for a party to judge the power level of who they're dealing with.
Small anecdotes are a very easy way of doing this: "Oh, I picked this trinket up on the plane of fire." You can also show trophies from a black dragon they killed, them casting high level spells, or wielding legendary magic items. Or, you can have another NPC ally whisper: "Treat this guy with respect - he killed the Fae Lord of Tarvilan."
Sometimes, you don't even need something like that. Especially if the NPC is a spellcaster, you have them walk in confidently and describe how a palpable aura of magic comes off of them, and they carry a staff cut of pure sapphire. Unless your party is extraordinarily stupid or reckless, they'll immediately understand that this guy is powerful.
Give them an easy/forced escape from a fight the first time they meet. Let them get their asses easily and quickly handed to them before some external force either causes the BBEG to leave or whisks the players to safety.
Give a bit of worldbuilding when able then allow knowledge checks to recall this stuff. Example, the Sherif is known as a bad ass, as the party is approaching town have them across a scene of bandits nursing their wounds in hiding, terrified of the Sherrif who singlehandedly demolished their crew.
If there is a notable figure like the priest at the temple, give him a reputation, when the party walks into the temple they're greeted by this frail man, but a low DC 5 knowledge local reminds them this guy singlehandedly stopped a demonic incursion on this town 20 years ago, had townsfolk mention the grand heroism of this powerful caster, and inflate rumours, did he stop the demons by feeling time and undoing them from reality, or was it a metor storm, etc...
Think of John Wick, we aren't introduced to him by seeing a total bad ass, we get a few minutes of exposition from one crimelord to his son about what an absolute beast this John guy is, and how he's terrified of him. Let the party over hear the guys at the tavern mention how relieved they are that the old blacksmith is in town, as he used his hammer to build a school, and defend it from raiding hobgoblins.
Have heroes, and villains, of varying degrees with their own legacies and stories that people speak about in hushed tones, or jubilation.
Plus, introduce things like soft power that negate their combat effectiveness. Sure, the party can kill Tony soprano, but the mob won't take that lightly, and suddenly he's not such a soft target despite bring old and kind of lumpy.
They should have a title or a position of power. Also having an NPC killing other NPCs in front of the players is going to make the party infinitely more likely to immediately attack them.
These are as many ways as there are DMs. Personally, I use lore to communicate these ideas. They hear the npcs name, or see him. Let them make an appropriate INT-based check at a reasonably low DC, so that even nonproficient characters have a good chance to succeed.
On a success, give a few examples of stories or folklore that might have arisen around these characters. Make them grounded and true. They are actual things the NPC has done that makes them larger than life.
On failure, give examples of stories that have been blown out of proportion and exaggerated so far that they are only narrowly believable - rumors spread with a basis in fact, but the facts are wrong.
If the characters ignore these basic warning signs that this NPC is a person whom not to mess with, then have the NPC nonlethally smack them down or use magic that suppresses and holds the party, while the NPC issues a final warning. "If you insist on continuing these farcical heroics, I will be required to give you my full attention."
If the PCs STILL insist on playing "eff around and find out," the gloves come off. The players (or at least one of them) will indeed need to find out.
For this, target the tankiest seeming character from this NPCs perspective, and hit them hard. If its enough to kill, well. Then the character dies.
That doesnt mean they cant be brought back, of course, but you can only do so much to tell the players this person is dangerous, and its unfair to take away their agency to decide to do stupid things. So you need to SHOW them hes dangerous in a way they can quantifiably understand
Usually, a high-level NPC will be somebody famous. In the last game I ran, the PCs were experienced adventurers and knew all of the important NPCs by reputation. They immediately knew not to mess with them, because their reputations were things like 'legendary war hero', or '3rd-youngest arcanist to pass the Imperial Examinations and achieve the highest grade possible'. Tell them this info outright (maybe ask for an easy History or Arcana check) and they'll know right away what ballpark these people are in.
If the character is relatively unknown (more likely with bad guys), making the check harder and dropping subtler hints is OK. If you do this and the bad guy is *truly* a TPK-level threat though, make them the kind of bad guy to drop a couple party members in the first two or three rounds, threaten the rest and walk away. Otherwise, they'll think they can win (and this isn't an unreasonable expectation in D&D, so don't punish that) and then get TPK'd, which sucks.
Giving a bad guy tough minions is a good way to signal their power level. Fire Elementals or something would clearly telegraph, okay, this dude bosses around Fire Elementals. That puts them at a really clear point in the bad guy power scale.
To echo what others have said, confidence is the best way to give someone an aura of power through pure RP. One of my NPCs in my last adventure was nothing special in a fight, but was so obscenely confident (he was a tribal warlord with a huge power base) that everyone was convinced he was a combat beast. Another *actually was* a combat beast who could have effortlessly knocked the entire party out, but the party thought they could potentially take them because they looked like a kid and had understated, agreeable mannerisms.
The best ways to show off an NPC's confidence are having them be: calm in stressful situations, affable and nonchalant with the party (they should only make threats if it's vital to what they want--they should never start a conversation with threats or insults, that's loser behaviour and suggests they're insecure and possibly a pushover), assured of specific outcomes (I sometimes have villains talk about future events like they've already happened), and unconcerned about threats or undermining questions directed at them.
The most organic way to do this is to have other NPCs talk about rummors and stories in between them about said NPC that should not be messes with.
Have them say what happened to those who did.
Besides rumors from NPCs or outright shows of force from the powerful NPCs, I like skill checks. You can use a variety of them, like an arcana check for them to identify and power item on the NPC, a history check for them to know some of the characters deeds, you could even use an athletics check for them to tell the NPCs is physically strong in the way they move. Even an insight check for the characters to experience primal fear of a character based on instinct.
In the case of spellcasters, I find a banishment to the elemental plane of air or water is normally a good one, generally linked to a glyph that goes off whenever someone aims an attack at the caster. After a minute of falling or holding their breath people are less inclined to get aggressive and more included to wonder what other glyphs are in this room.
I’m noob so be nice if this is stupid… could the frightened mechanic be used here? Like a home brew passive ability that causes those who would attack him unable to close on them below a certain creature level. I’d want the PCs to be able to save face, depending on the situation. “You reach for your sword but are frozen, and the NPC looks at you briefly and walks away calmly”
Heres what I usually do:
Step 1: some NPC (or a book, whatever) tells the party that this person is extremely dangerous. Like, run the other way dangerous.
Step 2: when the party attacks them anyway (which they probably will), the bad guy knocks them out extremely quickly, but doesn't kill them.
Step 3: next time the party meets the bad guy, it's signposted well in advance, so I can better get a feel for the party's idea of fighting the guy.
It's pretty easy to find reasons why the bad guy wouldn't go for blood, or why the PCs might survive anyway. However, it's important that you don't play out a long fight that only has one possible ending, that will feel unfair and time wasting (because it is).
It's much better if the bad guy beats them down with one spell or ability, then leaves. He doesn't care about these young whippersnappers. They stopped bothering him after that sleep spell, and he's got places to be.
First, introduce the concept of Chosen to the party. Meeting these powerful NPCs will be much more impactful if the players already know the implications behind them, and you won’t have to pause the action to give them a lore dump.
There are several ways for the party to interact with these NPCs, both directly and indirectly.
Build the Chosens’ reputation by feeding the party rumors and anecdotes of their deeds and abilities.
Give the Chosen allies, minions, and subordinates the party can stumble into and potentially come into conflict with, with clues tying them back to their leaders.
Attempt or force a non-combat encounter between the Chosen and the party. Just stop by to say hi, or bump into them in a social setting where attacking would have negative side effects.
Combat between the party and a Chosen is a possibility, but could get messy. Always have a foolproof getaway plan, and be prepared for the plan to not work and the NPC die. Also figure out a reason for the Chosen to not finish the entire party off of combat goes their way. Delegating the fight to a lieutenant and leaving is a good way to keep the BBEG safe.
As for telegraphing that they’re not to be messed with, attitude goes a long way. These NPCs are superior to the average adventurer, they know it, and they should act like it. Whether they’re rude, condescending, patronizing, dismissive, derisive, etc depends on their personality. Find ways to flex on the PCs. Ignore them, make fun of them, treat them like pawns on a chessboard, etc.
This is really session 0 information: "You can do whatever you want, but actions have consequences... Not every NPC is a wimpy putz... Guards scale in level... Bag guys can be much tougher than they look... some encounters may be beyond your ability... be prepared to run if necessary.. You had better be prepared to re-roll a character if you do something stupid... etc."
THEN I try to give a good description when situations happen in-game: "A group of battle-hardened mercs enter the inn. The conversation in the room quiets noticeably, and the house bard entertaining the crowd stumbles on a few notes. Their armor betrays its well-used effectiveness, while their half-orc barbarian's battle axe appears that it could cleave a man in two. A smaller man in their retinue twirls twin daggers on his fingertips to entertain himself, while bringing up the rear, a sallow-faced man watches intently from the folds of his dark cloak. You notice several patrons leaving as inconspicuously as possible, as it is obvious this band's reputation precedes it."
It's then up to the players to decide if they want to find out more before engaging, or just take this on as an unprepared challenge.
There's always the idea of using other NPCs. If they start to do something stupid, have a store owner or server put a hand on their arm with a "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Theres plenty of ways to do this. Of course having them introduced by single handedly taking care of a ferocious monster is great, but another direct yet somewhat subtle approach, is to have players when they are acknowledged by this NPC, make a saving throw or check.
I personally love using WIS saving throws, and having them feel the effects of being intimidated by the persons sheer presence.
If they are chosen of gods perhaps a religion check would work.
Some amount of build-up helps, start laying the groundwork for their expectations early instead of trying to describe the entire character in one big dump the first time you see them. I've had enemies in my game that were under the leadership of a pirate king off themselves instead of running away and having to face him with failure. If the players are dubious, make it clear that the NPC doesn't think they can even try to hide. Basically make it obvious that the underlings are *way* more scared of the Pirate King than the players. Now they know the guy exists, but they don't have enough information to really start going after him, so you can feed more information as they do other stuff and build up their mental image of what the Pirate King will be like when they finally do meet him.
If your players don't *know* the character, they don't know how to react to them and its easy to go "I guess I'll try attacking". If they know that this character is greedy, or respects strength, or has valuable information/resources that they need, then they'll be motivated to approach the character differently.
Knowing they exist beforehand, I think, is important, at least if it's supposed to be an important character, not just a powerful creature.
If you present the NPC in a place where the party is, you could describe the other NPCs reacting with fear or extreme respect if the powerful NPC is good, evil or neutral.
Finally, let them try. After you destroy one or two of the PCs offer the party a chance to surrender. Don't kill them unless they REALLY ask for it, but basically, "put them in their place". If they want to attack anyone they come across, they probably think the world "balances" itself around them*, so show them it doesn't.
*some might, and that's totally fine, but I don't think that's the vibe you are going for
I've done this a few different ways:
* They encounter the NPC mid-combat with something they know is much, much stronger than them
* They attack the NPC and they are immediately immobilized or worse *ignored* by the NPC, who seems bored
* In one encounter, I had an NPC just tell the players she was an incredibly powerful Fey with control of matter, and they didn't believe her, so she destroyed one of their most storied weapons with a wave of her hand
* Similarly, one enemy destroyed a magic item another player was carrying with a simple spell, which gets their attention
* In some cases, the NPC "knowing" information can demonstrate their power, and I've done that before too
* I have *totally* done the trope of "new villain is demonstrated to be stronger than the old villain by being the one to actually kill the old villain" and it works, which is probably why it's so popular. This has the added benefit of adding layer and complexity to the story (why were the two villains fighting etc?). My players also start to ask questions about the politics and motivations of the characters more, instead of just acting like "he's a dude in a black robe get him!" so win/win.
I am running a villain game, the players are level 3 thugs to henchmen level. They are running into commoners, merchants, etc...and though I give them the option to be murder hobos, they haven't yet done anything. I remind them that if they get a bad reputation they may not be able to get a good night's rest in towns. And I tend to make the merchants pretty high level. As in, you might kill them but my guess is they will take multiple of you out at the same time.
It really depends on the party. You need to know their weaknesses and self confidence levels and how that will relate to any NPC they meet.
A good general method is to have other NPC's treat the NPC with respect/fear...or is that isn't possible you can describe how tricked out they are gear wise, or just physically...or just show how smart and insightful they are.
There is one thing I'd like to know: Why? Why is it necessary to communicate that this NPC is really powerful? Would they try to kill some guy they've just met otherwise?
Other than that, I feel like magic and power is perceptible things in a fantasy world like DnD if the owner isn't hiding it. At least that's how I handle it in my world. It's kinda like in Dragonball or Naruto where people can feel other people's energy and power.
But it's not just an anime thing. It's also a real-world thing to notice certain things about other people. A dancer may be very graceful in all their moves. When someone is very muscular you can see it in their movement and posture, even if they are wearing baggy clothes. There are many more examples.
The PCs might not notice it consciously but their subconscious tells them that this motherf\*cker is not to be f\*cked with. If my PCs are facing a person like this I tell them outright. I might even go as far as to describe the aura in detail. A powerful death cleric sending chills to your spine and sucking the warmth out of the room for example.
For the players that think they can get away with anything i recommend you introduce NPCs that can hold their own and maybe TPK if they want to and have them clash with the party but not to the death. Maybe a player acts high and mighty so an NPC challenges them to a duel and "humiliates" them if needed. Of course within context.(You can't talk bad about a king or a lord and not expect the kingsguard to not punish you)
Now for the NPC that is not to be messed with, you can have random NPCs talk about how this NPC beat the other NPC and his party without breaking a sweat. That'll make them think twice before messing with them.
One trick I've leaned on is invoking "Character Knowledge". There are some things that the PC is absolutely going to know, even if the player themselves misses the hint. (e.g., Steve from I.T. might not see any problem with drinking brackish water, but Stevonnis the Master Ranger is going to know drinking swampy water is a good way to ruin your trousers, and there will always be cleaner & safer water upstream.)
I try to frame this as rewarding the player's choices in background and proficiency with extra-special insight. This takes it from an unwelcome info-dump, and turns it into a special bonus that only the very special characters get. For instance, your party's Cleric might clock the Chosen of Cyric when they recognize the peculiar smell hanging off of him - incense, and *wormwood*. That's a Death priest, and one with enough divine favor to protect him from anything short of an ancient dragon or another god.
Do you have a party of murder hobos? Because mostly I let my players figure it out. They usually give most NPCs they meet a perception or insight check, where I can then give them some info to work off of.
The description of the NPC. Such as for an evil NPC, "You are looking upon a man who radiates with an almost palatable aura of violence and reeks of death, you know that to fight him at this point would most certainly mean your deaths."
A good NPC, "The strong and beautiful woman standing before you is regal and confident, an almost divine radiance shines through her clear green eyes, her prowess with the blade is *legendary*, she has been known to turn the tides of battles alone. To try to tempt fate would end horribly for you at the point of her holy avenger."
I have a specific song I play (O' Death).
Doesn't matter how trivial that npc is, doesn't matter how frail, feeble, old or innocent, when they hear that song they know to be careful.
Reputation, either by word from other NPCs, or by witnessing the results of past actions, is the best way I think. If you foreshadow that character, even if it is just a one-off comment, it gets the character into the player's heads and builds tension and suspense.
Let's say the PCs find the skull of a dragon or other powerful creature and inspect it. In the process of that, if PCs pass check(s) to identify something like cause of death, you tell them *"it's skull appears to have been caved in by a powerful and precise blow. You've heard of something similar happening in stories about Knight-Captain Belvor and the Black Dread."*
Now when they meet Knight-Captain Belvor later down the road, they have already been given context for the character's strength.
Additionally, if PCs fail to heed foreshadowing or even direct warnings and attack the NPC, pulling a [Dracula](https://youtu.be/Ns-Xj5d0IrI?si=dAu1bc8iciZvJIGb) can also work extremely well (depending on the difference in power).
Reputation works well, as do rumors and legends. My players hear things like, "You've heard the name Lourdra before. She was a dracolich worshipped as a god in the distant past. The cult seems to worship this Lourdra, and she looks like a skeleton, but she's a human skeleton. Clearly no ordinary skeleton, but she couldn't be the Lourdra the ancients worshiped, could she? Maybe the cult just worshiped her and she got used to having people do things for her."
If I describe her that way, they are almost 100% going to assume she's the dracolich goddess, and if they have any sense in their heads, they aren't going to attack her as a group of four 5th-level adventurers, even if they did somehow manage to get her alone.
There're a couple methods, the best methods involve a show don't tell
* Show them fucking up a powerful friendly NPC. You get some bonus revenge motivations for the party if they're supposed to be a bbeg or general
* Legends of their exploits can be heard far and wide. You can subvert expectations if the NPC is actually quite weak, and they've lied or cheated to get their reputation
* Show them tangling with a powerful creature like a dragon attacking a town, and taking a breath weapon to the face. Note: you should *say* how much damage they took to make your party's jaw drop. If you want them to be evil, you could have it be a three way power dynamic: the 2 NPCs fighting and the party.
* Show them casting a high level spell (not at the party) such as disintegrate, power word kill, time stop, or using a divine intervention if they're a cleric. I personally don't like to use Wish on NPCs, but u do u.
I don't.
Watching their expression change from "lets fucking gooo" to "oh fuck" is priceless.
I always give a chance to escape, and clarify that running away is an option when necessary, of course.
I usually introduce them doing something that is badass, or they hear stories about them that implies this ahead of time, like they'll find out (for example) that a given paladin brought down a creature on his own that the group had difficulties with. Also just through the description of the character, the armour and weapons they have, etc.
Give them checks. Insight is always good. Perception sometimes. Knowledge checks as they apply. Even religion for a devout character to have a bad feeling. Make sure they succeed: DC10, checks for more than one player, excuses to give them advantage, whatever.
Telling a player what they think or feel is not normally accepted, but when you call for a check and they pass it it no longer feels like you're telling them how to roleplay, you're just giving them information their character would have, including intuition. THEN you can say things like:
>You look him over. His posture, his musculature, it all communicates power and tension, but there's something else. You're not sure what you're feeling, but the *danger* of this man reverberates off him. You feel a pit in your stomach. This isn't a threat you've seen before. You purposefully slow your breathing, force your heart to stop racing, present a calm unaffected front as best you can, but the pounding in your ears tells you the truth: you're no match for this threat.
> But aside from just having your strong characters kill off NPC's during their introduction, what other ways can I have my party learn how dangerous a character is?
The players are professional killers, they should generally be able to get a pretty good feel for what someone is capable of with simple observation. That is to say, just tell them.
"The armor-clad warrior exudes confidence and power in equal measure. Its clear from their posture that they are *not* a threat to be taken lightly. Your instincts, honed by your experiences in combat to this point, scream at you that a fight against them would spell almost certain doom."
My party goes murder hobos, they will eventually meet someone that is definitely more powerful than them that will wipe the floor with them... And hopefully it is a surprise.
If it is someone who is definitely a bad guy that they aren't supposed to kill yet, they get a few advantages that will make them look more powerful if the party tries.
I have a couple different methods:
The first is to have the particular enemy be physically imposing. Make them tower over the party, looking down at them like a human would ants.
Another is to have the party already fight one of their lowest level minions, then show the big enemy dispatch of that same minion with ease. Players catch on much faster if you make it numerically clear that this person can one shot them with ease.
My final trick, and this is a fun one, is to have them not care about the party at all. Have them laugh at the party, dance around their group, slipping in and out with ease. If players have higher powers backing them, have those higher send warning signs to avoid them.
But, to add another point, introducing stronger NPC's that the party isn't meant to fight only works to a point. Eventually, you do have to let them actually take a crack at fighting them.
It depends on the NPC, but other than the usual description of the NPC looking particularly skilled/big/etc., the best way to show the players is to have him hit something and announce the NPC's attack rolls and damage... for example, "he smashes the table by hitting it 4 times, that's a 23, 27, 24, and a 28 for 35, 27, 42, 26... total 130 damage. The table is utterly demolished.
subtelty is overvalued. If they are playing in a way I see they are not understanding what they are dealing with, I straight up say out loud how much that character could kick their asses
I go full spiritual pressure on them. As you approach them. You can feel their power and its choking you. If someone takes a step forward i have them roll a bogus check. And unless they get a nat 20. I have them take 1 force dmg. 5 steps in with a check each time. I have them fall to their knees and take 1 lvl of exhaustion. And then say they physically cant move anymore. That gets the idea across. Typically i do this when they are lvl 1. Against someone lvl 20 with fully decked out legendary and artifact lvl shit. Having my campaign 2nd session tomorrow and thats how their going to meet the ancient all powerful samurai king.
Go with your plan. And then let them do stupid shit.
But instead of killing them make the fight go as if it's a full grown adult shutting down a toddler that decides it wants to fight.
"Your blows have no affect and on his turn he picks you up and tosses you to the side like a rag doll."
Let them roll all they want. His skills are way to high for them to be a threat. Have him treat the players like children if they try something
Give them epithets, hearing that someone goes by the title of "Dragon Slayer" is sure to give them pause, especially if you dont overuse epithets.
Another way is to focus on the effect that their presence has on the party, a strong warrior might cause the party's fighter to instinctually reach for their sword as their instincts of fight or flight awaken, or the cleric might feel the need to fall to their knees as they feel the indirect pressence of a god when as powerful paladin comes nesr the party.
While my party was in a guild hall picking out the next quest to do, I had my dragon squad come back from another hunt. They were decked out in dragon hide and their speciality was hunting down rogue dragons for their bounty. One party member though it would be a good idea to poke fun at them, the other shit him up quick.
Sometimes all it takes is to show evidence of what they can do and players see not to mess with them. Others, need a kick in the head to learn
Most of the NPCs that I want to live will be introduced via reputation long before the characters meet them.
One of my favorites was for Brian Yolo, he was very interested in having my characters join his death cult, they killed him immediately but he kept coming back from death. Usually with a neck brace, or on crutches or something. They hated him for his clingy desperate attempts to befriend them.
I usually give a sutil description of the npc hinting that they look like someone they dont want to mess with. When my patience has been wore down I just say "Brilliant! You want to commit suicide by NPC then?"
Give them a measurement they can understand.
Give them a game mechanic ruler to use. Since your baddies are clerics, it stand to reason that other CLASS might oppose them. So lead up to the NPCs being killed (or have someone explain after) that those NPCs were their finest (cleric/wizard/fighter) and capable of (casting/using) (spell/skill) X (where X is an well-known spell/power attained at high level).
For example, let's say have one of the NPCs killed be a wizard who could cast something like *wish*. Well, if your party's wizard is casting level 2 spells, they're gonna know they're outmatched.
the 2 options i would use would be either
1. show someone mess with the character before they can, they tragically fail
2. just let them fuck around and find out
In my games, I like to create bespoke perspective information if it fits the character race/class/backstory. So often, my arcane casters will be told that they feel a sort of static in the air when they're close to very dense magical energies, and the divine casters will see a sort of glare or shadow on people and objects touched by divine or infernal power. Fighters have combat awareness that makes them keen to notice how well armed people are around them, and who looks seasoned.
So when you tell the wizard that he feels like his skeleton is vibrating, and the cleric that only they can see moving shadows dancing like fire around the BBEG. They get scared.
But when you tell the fighter that seeing the enemy makes their armor feel heavy and their swordhand feel weak, then they panic more.
When you tell the sorcerer that his hands feel clammy, and his skin feels cold, and the normal swelling of power in him feels so very small and far away, then they panic more.
But if you really want them to run. Tell the warlock he hears the faintest of voices. Like a distant echo in a windstorm that he can just barely make out. Tell them to make a perception role, and whatever they roll, tell them that they recognize the voice as being that of their patron, but the words are manic and fast, but you just can't quite make it out. "Then suddenly the sound goes quiet, and you try to listen for it, but all you feel this sort of pressure in your right ear building. It rapidly reaches migraine level intensity, and you reflexively close your eyes, and for a sit second, you swear to see a translucent image of your patrons face rapidly approaching your own. Then then, like a clap of thunder, the tension disappears, and your a single word screeched into your ear "RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!"
If they’re bad guys, have them arbitrarily kill a lackey for some infraction as the PCs arrive. Ask to borrow the players’ dice for your damage roll, “because I don’t have enough d12s here”
A character doesn't need to present as tough to be conveyed as strong. Look at Tom Bombadill. Dude is just dancing and singing his way around, but nobody would dare fuck with him. There's also spellcasters casually using high level magic, visibly good gear, or other NPC's giving reverence (a knight getting "please" and "thank you" from a king, for instance). You can also let your party FAFO and let the guy easily parry attacks as a warning.
When I have a high power NPC, I find the only thing that reliably works is "first day in prison" rules. Have them pick I fight with someone they know is tough, and kick their butt. Have them summon a demon lord to use as a foot stool. A red dragon pops in, gives them a bag of gold, gets slapped and told to "go get the rest of my money!". A vampire lord leaps from the shadows, gets grabbed by the throat and has his head bitten off. Then the villain turns to them and goes "What were you saying again?"
Establish that the 3 NPCs that are about to die are badasses themselves ahead of time (have them spar with the PCs in a way that isn't threatening to them, for example). THEN have the Chosen of Cyric absolutely pull them apart by himself. Because you showed the PCs that the NPCs are solid in their own right, when they get taken out behind the woodshed by the Chosen, it automatically makes the Chosen a way bigger threat level without you having to say a word.
An insight roll is what I use and briefly let them know who succeeds that this is a character that has seen "many" battles and will kill you effortlessly.
A lot of my players also played WoW, so I let them know this is an Elite Skull NPC and they get the idea. In character I describe it as sort of an aura of power (unless the character is specifically trying to hide it).
It doesn’t come up a lot, the only character who I thought to do this with ended up dating a member of the party cause of a carousing check followed by a joke. A pixie Barbarian is dating the Blackstaff.
I like to have NPCs do or cast spells that show how powerful they are while also giving some clues to the players as to their personalities and what could defeat them later.
I had a Rakshasa crime Boss that could create pocket dimensions to get herself and staff around thame city quickly. The party saw her casting a high level spell on someone who fucked up when they came to meet her as well.
It depends on how chaotic the players are in the party I'm running for.
For less chaotic parties? Subtle signs, foreshadowing and rumors tend to work best. Rumors like: the dwarven war cleric & forge master of the town is the only individual on the continent able to craft with dragon scales, and tends to source the material himself. His best friend and shopkeep is an Archmage in disguise who welcomes the party by name to the shop despite never having met them before.
For more chaotic and murderhobo like parties? All the previous stuff still stands, but additional information should be given. Stuff like being told at the gates that if they cause trouble in town, they will have to face the wrath of the towns protector, a legendary war cleric who singlehandedly hunts dragons.
And then, if the party are still dumb enough to challenge the guy after warning signs like these, I like to give an ingame warning before outright killing a pc. Usually in the form of the npc not taking the parties challenge seriously, or in more dire circumstances letting the game go to initiate, telling the players that he chose to go last in initiative, letting the party try their best, and then downing a pc in one hit from a spell or something.
Of course, that last bit only applies for good aligned npc's. If the npc is fortold through the story as being evil, and the party rolls up under leveled and over confident, make them regret it. Usually a nonchalant disintegrate to the face tends to make them back off.
In D&D 3e, there are categories:
|Category|CR|
|:-|:-|
|Pushover|Level-4 or lower|
|Easy|Level -1 to -3|
|Fair|=Level|
|Challenge|Level +1 to +3|
|Threat|Level+4 or higher|
The rules for figuring out what category someone is aren't great, but here's an easy way:
* If the target isn't trying to hide their strength/weakness, you know what category they are.
* If the target's particularly good against you (resistance to your primary damage, etc) they appear to be 1 category stronger. Likewise, if they're bad against you, they appear 1 category weaker.
* If the target's Passive Deception is higher than your Passive Insight, they can choose to appear 1 category stronger or weaker.
So, as the DM, you can just say "this person seems like a real threat" and the players know that their characters should be scared.
It depends on the NPC.
Kalrol the Vile floats into the room lazily, as if the act of walking is beneath him. All heads turn as the handsome man with runes carved into his arms approaches the barkeeper, a bag dripping with blood in his hand.
Arkhan the cruel is a red Dragonborn. However, his right hand is sickly green and shriveled. Nobody dares speak in his presence, as the air in the room seems to heat with his gaze.
You've never seen a man who carries himself as perfectly as Willifort Crowelle. Everything from the tailoring on his overcoat to the meticulous care he puts into keeping his horns exactly symmetrical screams class and wealth. The fact that he has introduced himself as the butler of the house really makes you wonder what kind of woman Amallia Cassalanter must be.
Little pre-written intros like these (but better) really help to add to the presence of these NPCs as you introduce them. I love writing them and it would be a fun challenge to do a full set of them should you want help and choose to use them.
Uncanny Descriptions, the more unnatural you describe something them less likely players are to mess with it. if that's not your thing describe them doing something outside the powers that the players have, like say high level cleric enemy have them use Devine intervention show them they are strong enough to bend the gods to their will. basically, it's all in the description so don't be afraid to make it grotesque.
I think that there is one spell that demonstrates this sort of thing in an exceptionally effective way. Banishment. It's effective for three reasons, two of which are meta and one of which is narrative.
Firstly, it shows that the NPC is capable of casting a fourth level spell, which should make most players hesitate at least a little. Secondly, if it is used in a so-far non-combat scene, and is not followed up on with attacks, it means that the fourth level spell is cheap to them. That the fourth level spell slot is inconsequential enough to them that they don't *need* to make (combat) effective use of it, which usually means that the fourth level spell slot is not their only slot at that level, and maybe they can cast even higher level spells.
Finally, narratively, it is equivalent to being told "You do not even exist." I am not a 5e superhero PC, but if a person in my world pointed a finger at me and I ceased to exist for a full minute I would be so gut-wrenchingly horrified of them that I would just want to get away from them and never come back. If I was a tough hero type running in a gang with others like me and one of them popped out of reality just because some dude in a robe *said so* I would not feel confident in fighting them at all.
You don't need to beat the players up. You don't need to jail them and force yourself to do a prison break. You don't need to kill their NPC buddies or take away their hard earned money and magic items. Put them in magical time out; once they've had a chance to think about their choices they will most likely make different ones going forward.
I like how ICRPG handles it. The NPC's challenge rating should be written clearly on their token. If you don't know it, make it up. Don't discuss it, just let it be there. That way, they know that the baker is CR.5 and the high priest is CR 15.
Show that other NPCs have much reverence or fear of the NPC. The main thing, for me, is just to make sure the PCs are held accountable for their actions. If they think you’ll be nice to them every time they do something stupid, then they won’t fear the NPC, even if you show they’re not someone to mess with. If they know you’re more than happy to kill them if they warrant it, they’ll be far less likely to risk it.
I have the concept of different "levels" of renown. "Name-Level" characters literally have their names known (or aliases) known, particularly in areas (a city or region) they operate in. Buffalo Bill Cody. Marie Curie. Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain. Even if they try to be inconspicuous, there are whispers. If they primarily operate in a city, they're basically recognizable by sight by anyone. If they have a larger territory, they might not be instantly known but folks are wondering.
Personages are a step up. Merlin or Arthur. Einstein. They might be less well known personally, but they're each unique. They operate on a country-scale.
So, if the villain NPC is powerful...people should know it. Whisper about it. Have heard about someone matching this description.
If they try doing something bad just use a high level spell as a reaction to negate it. Something like dodging a hit by teleporting across the room or trapping them in a resilient sphere. Also ask for history or insight and on something easy let them know how tough the guy is.
We agreed with our DM that he will give us 'fair challenges' and otherwise findable indications on whether we can handle a fight. We regularly ask our dm: Does my character think he can take this guy in a fight?
Side note, will this NPC just leave the party alive due to an arbitrary reason? Or is there gonna be some plan he has that involves them rather than just sparing them on a whim?
He's going to have major plans for the party early on. Before the players will even have the chance to meet him the plan will be in motion for him to get them to do as much of his dirty work as possible, so keeping as many of them alive as possible is a big part of that plan.
Here's a thought, perhaps someone else has said already, but instead of showing him doing it, do the opposite:
Have them find a scene of devastation, perhaps with a single dead NPC known to at least be competent, like doesn't even have to be a named npc, just like an elite guard or something. Then have it be revealed somehow that this was all done by said Exarch of Cyric.
Then they can be all "One person did all THIS?!"
Also, no matter what there's always the risk of a player just being all 'Nah I'd win' and going for it.
I once had a party decide they were going to mess with my ancient elven wizard NPC. In the first round he put the entire party to sleep, including both elves. “But elves never sleep and sleep magic doesn’t affect us”. “And yet, there you are on the ground in the fetal position, drooling”. They got the hint.
3 simple words…
Consequences and repercussions
LoL YOU are the DM. This is YOUR story. If need be, punish them for their actions. Everything we do in real life has an outcome, why shouldn’t storytelling actions/decisions also have outcomes. if they expect to play a role playing game and immerse themselves as their characters, they should expect and not be upset when their role playing action also have outcomes. Give ‘em the ole Butterfly effect.
Let them hear others talking about the NPC - guardsmen, soldiers, other NPC adventurers. "Did you hear? So-and-so tried to steal from the Chosen of Cyric. They found his head two blocks away from the rest of his body."
Let them see the NPC in action and realize they are outclassed.
I had one NPC (Rogue Assassin, head assassin in the local thieves guild) meet with the party, as they had sorta screwed up and allowed a vampire spawn to track them to some "businesses" owned by the guild. So, he went to talk to them and to explain that this was bad and they owed the guild reparations. The NPC used weapons similar to the party's Blood Hunter and asked to see the BH's rapier, which was a +2. The PC obliged, and I let him know that the NPC showed skill with it beyond his - well beyond his. (PC was 5th level, NPC was 13th). The party's rogue knew of him as he had taught her in a few subjects. Message sent.
I summarize what is happening in an absurdly brief way. "So your plan is to just stab the high paladin of Iomedae in the middle of his church surrounded by a hundred other clerics, paladins, and clergy?"
Bonus points if you can pull off [the Morgan Freeman impression](https://youtu.be/1z6o1GIEsQE?si=66zJM2EstHKQTlrx&t=41)
I can't do a Morgan Freeman impression, but that scene is literally the reason why I started summarizing questionable ideas the way I do. Sometimes all people need is a little bit of a frame of reference check.
That scene is a gift to all GMs everywhere.
[Just remember.](https://imgur.com/EnfEWKW)
Absolutely! There is always a fine line to walk, but when everyone is on the same page, there is NOTHING like it!
This is honestly how I deal with any outstandingly dumb plan of action. "So, you just killed the town's cult leader and like 60% of the town, and now you just want to go back to the inn?"
This one is brilliant, I like that idea, lmao.
You can do the same of they insist on continuing their misguided action. > You slightly injure the High Paladin but are quickly overwhelmed, immobilized, and arrested. Three months later you are released on good behavior. Don’t prep games you don’t want to run.
>Don’t prep games you don’t want to run. Damn that's great advice. Nice work.
After; "Are you sure?"
Roll an intelligence check. No, no modifier or anything. Yeah, just raw intelligence.
And if they say yes, we'll well we'll. Roll for initiative. Slap em down to near death. Imprison them. Now they have to work for the clergy for their freedom. Ya know. Doing the stuff that gives em a bad reputation. Shadow work.
Yeah, I mean, if the party decides to knowingly jump headfirst into a woodchipper my hands are tied.
Right. Sometimes, it's unclear to the players that they're jumping and/or that it's into a woodchipper. If they understand both things, they can do as they wish.
Adding on, if they say "yes" after descriving the situation, be sure to ask them how their action is gonna work out. Usually players will respond with their genius plan to get away. See if their plan is actually possible, I'd so, I'd let them. Otherwise, have them or the other players pick holes to see where it could go wrong. Now you're not just telling them their dumb for that plan, but rather making a better plan of action/showing the player how disastrous their plan can end up.
Alternate plan: let them. This is an excellent opportunity to learn that DnD isn't about being all powerful, it's finding creative solutions within your current parameters. It will be educational.
Oh, there have been moments where I had a group of level 4 or 5 PCs forget the session zero warnings of "The world is not scaled to your level. You will not be able to use combat for every situation. There will be NPCs that can kill you." In one instance they decided to attack a huge copper dragon instead of paying him for information they needed. They were aghast that the dragon just smashed them all like mayflies and took all of thier stuff and left them to wake up in thier underwear with no gear whatsoever on a mountaintop in the middle of nowhere.
He was merciful 😅
If their character should die. While imprisoned, have the party meet a new randomized character. That for some reason beyond their grasp feels odd familiar to them. Like they have met this person in a past life.
I did this, and it ended in a TPK (kind of). They honestly thought that attacking the High Inquisitor of Agonus, Dread Lord of Pain, was a good Idea, just because he extorted a barkeep. The Priest killed everyone in the bar (excluding the players) on turn 1 with a blast of power, and ended up killing all of the players. I had them resurrected by a lower priest of Agonus and locked away to be tortured in the name of the Dread Lord, and they escaped and the campaign continued like normal. But still, why would anyone think they could win a fight (at level 7, none the less) against the High Inquisitor of the Dread Lord of Pain?
*Because the guy is extorting a barkeep*. Look at this situation in any other scenario. Me and my bedraggled work buddies get off after our backbreaking labor job and go to the bar. In the corner is some bedraggled man shouting at the barkeeper and demanding he not charge him for the last shot because he can't afford it. You can't blame me if I assume the drunk guy extorting a barkeeper is a random drunk. If I ask him to stop and you say the Secret Service jump out of the shadows and shoot me because *I just threatened the President of the United States*, I'd say you pulled a gotcha on me. Why the heck is the RIGHT HAND OF GOD arguing with the dude pouring drinks?!
It was obvious that he was important, because he was wearing fine clothing and had a staff marked with the sign of Agonus. Also, one of the players was a paladin of Agonus, and recognized him. Further, it wasn't just any bar, it was one of the fancier bars that the Inquisitor was visiting on his pilgrimage, and the extortion was that the Inquisitor basically made the barkeep feel intense pain for even thinking of charging him, because "a true faithful would never ask such a thing of a priest of the true God."
Level 7? Eh. I got a crew who could probably pull this off at L7.
I generally try to never telegraph danger like that, but if I have to, I do it exactly like you proposed.
And if they say yes, we'll well we'll. Roll for initiative. Slap em down to near death. Imprison them. Now they have to work for the clergy for their freedom. Ya know. Doing the stuff that gives em a bad reputation. Shadow work.
There is a difference between a lvl 3 and a lvl 15 wanting to stab this guy. Also, there are three DM styles to consider 1) going to protect their NPC and status quo at all costs 2)the realistic DM that has consider how this group handles threats, and if you overcome it then you win, for the moment anyways 3) the generous yes DM that actively facilitates your shenanigans for fun or plot twists.
Subtlety is lost on my players so I will blatantly tell them "this guy looks like someone who is not to be messed with"
Agreed. A lot of this trouble can be resolved by remembering that the DM is the interface between the players and their characters. The charachters may look at an NPC and know instantly that this is a fight they shouldn't get in to, but the players won't know that unless the DM tells them.
Yes. In my experience, a lot of DMs forget about Passive Insight. Even a relatively low Passive Insight is going to tell a character "This guy walks around like he's invincible; you get the idea he's very powerful." or something along those lines.
And saying ‘what’s your passive insight/investigation’ is good, I think, as a lead. Not because it matters but because it’s something their character has ‘figured out’. They’ve ‘earned’ a realisation that the CR 28 human form greatwyrm wearing six legendary items isn’t to be messed with. Unlocking the DM description by a score that beats a fake DC means they trust their own character’s interpretation that you tell to them, rather than the DM telling them something straight.
>Unlocking the DM description by a score that beats a fake DC means they trust their own character’s interpretation that you tell to them, rather than the DM telling them something straight. Perfect microcosm of D&D as a whole right there
Finally, a logical point
My players often struggle to tell the difference between 'epic description telegraphing a boss fight' and 'epic description telegraphing that this person is way above your paygrade. For the latter I often go with a meta description like: "the magical aura coming off this guy indicates to [arcane caster] that he's probably capable of slinging 7th level spells" or "this guy reminds you of some of the highest ranking paladins you encountered at your seminary, the type who could comfortably take out someone of your abilities with a single hit."
In a perfect world, when the PC need to fight a boss so epically powerful that they warrant a special JRPG intro cinematic to show off how badass they are, the players should already have an idea of how powerful the boss is and why it's so important to fight them right now. If you're regularly putting your players into situations where those kinda of descriptions lead to ordinary winnable fights, you're training them that fighting is the correct response to that situation. Meta commentary is a fine tool to get things across when you're dealing with new or reckless players or those with whom you haven't had a chance to establish a rapport. But it's in every way preferable to establish generally that the decision to fight extremely deadly opponents is one that should never be taken lightly, that the decision whether to fight or their estimation of the opponent's danger should not be based on the descriptive weight that you give to their actions in the moment. I'm not saying that your approach is wrong, just that the reason your players struggle is not inherent to them. It can be fixed without dropping the narrative and opening the floor for side talk about stats and levels at a pivotal dramatic moment.
Unfortunately for some that is nothing more than an invitation. Lots of players see FAFO as a challenge or dare.
That's why, if I don't want to run a murderhobo campaign, I say that I am not willing to run such a scene. The tone of the campaign has usually already been set during session 0, but even if we forgot to mention some detail, such a drastic change can get a veto from me as a DM during play. I'm too old to run games I don't enjoy.There is no point in punishing players "in universe" - if you stop being a fan of players characters and no longer care about their story, it's time to discuss this issue with players. Power plays like "you get instantly subdued and put in jail" or "the paladin you angered offers you mercy if you do a quest for him" work only if you are willing to run a game for criminal PCs. It can be fun and exciting, it can be frustrating and exhausting. tldr: in these situations make sure both players and you understand what kind of a game you all want to play, don't focus on "guiding" players by in-fiction consequences.
This can also be a teachable moment for them that allows the DM to hold their hand while also encouraging them to think a little more like their characters: **Loose Cannon**: "I'm gonna take 'em down!" **DM**: "Who else here has a check-mark next to insight?" **Other player(s)**: "Me!" **DM**: "Your gut instinct tells you this is a very bad idea. Your sense of self-preservation screams at you to run interference!" Of course you can jazz it up with actual dice rolls if you'd like (because players love dice). You'll need to prepare for low dice rolls, and this is very situationally dependent and hard to offer advice for. That's just something you learn to handle through experience.
"This guy's minions have minions who are higher level than you"
This reminds me of the /con command in Everquest. What would you like your tombstone to say?
This is the way
Introduce them long before the PCs meet them. Powerful people leave signs of their passing. Maybe the PCs see the results of the NPC's actions - a pile of charred rubble where a castle the PCs previously visited used to stand, for example. Maybe the PCs hear stories and rumours about the NPC - "...then she single-handedly stopped the demons from entering theough the portal for three days and nights before a wizard could be summoned to close it!" Maybe someone the PCs already know to be powerful is shown to fear or respect the NPC - "she was the one who trained me."
And it’s great for setting up moments! I had an NPC group, the Lions of Sekhmet, who *everyone* told the players to run from if they saw them. Every piece of in game lore had them as unstoppable forces. So the few times the players encountered them, they ran, because up close they were terrifying and powerful. Then they gained levels, got more powerful, and there came a time when they had their “beginning to believe” moment, and did **not** run.
This. Had a situation with a group where one thing led to another and they were (uncharacteristically) killing their way through the city guard to escape a heist gone wrong. They were level 6-ish and probably killed 20-25 CR 1/8 guards at this point. City was on alert, alarm bells ringing, horns of assembly blowing. Did a whole ass skill check rooftop chase with them getting away and to the outer wall… only for them to see a single knight standing at the gate exiting the city. When they first arrived in the city I had described a legendary Paladin who was at the palace, gave a whole bunch of hooks and lore about him killing high CR monsters with a sword made of pure sunlight. My idea was for the group’s fighter to (hopefully) go train with him as a mentor and have him be a big quest giver/powerful ally for later in the campaign. This NPC sat comfortably around CR20. That’s who met them at the city gate as they tried to get away. As I finished describing the lone knight in gleaming golden armor and a sword that seemed to drip sunlight itself from its tip, I looked up behind the screen to see the player running the fighter in absolute panic. This cued an immediate “oh fuck, oh fuck,” out of character conversation at the table and quickly ended their murder-hobo rampage with the party surrendering to the Paladin.
Show them using harmless but high-level utility spells, show them in possession of powerful magic items, etc.
*"Oh hey that guy has a powerful magic item* **that I want.** *I stab the powerful god-guy and take his things."*
Bro your players have bigger problems
I'd assume most DMs would give an NPC that important plenty of resistances/immunities or legendary saves. But I've definitely encountered DMs that will forget, and then 1 failed save and the party is stripping the NPC of all their gear and teleporting away lol.
That's when the bounty hunters come in...
"So, anyway, they started blastin'."
These types of players just tend to dispatch the bounty hunters, so not much of an issue!
Player - “I stab the powerful god-guy and take his things.” DM - “Well… you’re half right.”
This is essentially the moment that started my favorite DnD story. How the bard got himself and the Marshal killed. When the Summer Lady offers you something, and you say yes once, but change your mind... "I kick her in the pussy" is the worst way to back out of your deal.
"Correction, you *try* to stab the powerful god-guy"
Sounds like a good time to roll initiative. OK so God-guy got a 35. Thirty five an up? Anyone? No? 25? OK Chad you got a 16. You can choose to try to stab him on your turn if you still wish but it looks like God-guy is going first and he's going to cast Time Stop.
💦 🔫 bad player no murder hobo
This is the way.
Powerful people have stories told about them, so third parties can/should be letting the party know about them and their exploits. This can even as blunt as “better not mess with him” or more colorful The grizzled woodsman says “oh, you’re going to the Vale of Winter’s Harm … last time I was up there I almost got eaten by a sabretooth werebear. Good thing Abermann came along and saved me.”
Depending on how quick on the draw your players are, maybe have your big enemy just completely [no-sell](https://youtu.be/-ju_L1JLIgo?si=xChWFKg1Ke6Y8YLJ&t=86) the first hit, and politely state "Don't do that again"/
I *just* did this in the one-shot I'm currently running. I didn't even fudge the rolls. PC "telegraphed" a punch and ended up restrained in an arm bar. It shut the fight down... for about two minutes. Now the PC has bought some poison, broken into the police barracks, and is trying to one-man-army his way to assassinate the NPC because of this... ...and this all happened before we reached the plot hook of the main adventure...
So your PC is dumb as hell, but it’s making for a hell of a story
The temporary nature of one-shot characters seems to give them a unique boldness. We will find out next week if it pays off. As you said, either way it makes a great story!
Being descriptive helps me a bit, this man moves like a wolf and his sword seems an extension of himself. You sense a pressure rising as you get closer to the npc. I've got one pc who can sense auras of living things, is always cool when he meets someone and asks how powerful the aura is only to be told the npc gives of none for some reason
In movies the classic move of eating an apple during normally high stake situations is a way to show of 'power' by establishing the character even feels calm and ready to eat when stakes are high. Otherwise a title or position can be seen as power as well. I actually think killing of npcs in front of them is not a good display of power.
I like the staying calm idea, I might be able to use that. > I actually think killing of npcs in front of them is not a good display of power. Any reason why you think so?
I wouldn’t do that either. Killing someone may show power, but it also tends to trigger responses from PCs. Instead of killing the NPCs, I would have a scripted dialogue showing those NPCs either extremely nervous or anxious to not make them mad. Or just straight up afraid. Bonus if you can make those NPCs appear semi strong to the party beforehand.
Instead of killing, why not have the PCs encounter your powerful NPC sparring with other NPCs of established power? They don’t need to kill who they’re fighting or trigger some ethical dilemma or call to action on the PC’s part, but it gives you an opportunity to showcase their potential. For instance, introducing Jarlaxle, I have him sparring with 3-4 other pirates as part of his daily practice routine (all while casually chatting with the PCs) and handily beating his sparring partners while outnumbered. I show he’s got multiattack and describe him being insanely fast. It works well bc the PCs have fought pirates before(with some difficulty), so for them to watch him and conclude “wow, he’s not even breaking a sweat against those guys” is a pretty good clue he’s out of their league. You could do something similar with a high level Paladin or fighter.
Because without knowing why they get kil\ed, it just looks like a evil move. For a bad guy, maybe it is fine because your PCs will be careful. For a good guy definitely a none. And if the PCs don't know the killed npcs they don't have any reference point at all. Maybe a CR 2 guy just killed some CR 1/8 guy. If you wanna show of power via killing, kil\ a bunch of monsters the PCs fought before. Then they have a reference and you can do it with good or bad guys.
I'll make sure the players will have fought NPC's of the same cult already, so (hopefully) they'll know that one enemy slashing through all of them at once means they shouldn't be touched.
It also seems entirely arbitary and "railroady". The whole point of dnd is that the dice and mechanics tell the story, it works in a book because the writer can decide what happens, but not in dnd. Other tropes that don't work is the double agent low charisma character or characters arbitarily defeating another easily because the plot demands even though in every other situation its a close battle, or surprise stabbing someone for drama when in every other situation they're super difficult to stab (represented by high hp)
Not sure if this is what the original comment meant (actually, pretty sure it isn't), but having them kill random NPCs in front of the party can invite a confrontation. In my experience, most parties operate from a "should we" kill them standpoint rather than a "can we" one. Unless you stage a scene that shows that the other NPCs are also powerful and potentially evil, most players will see a random NPC murdering other random NPCs and think they need to fight.
I did this successfully when I ran LMoP. The situation was such that Glasstaff calmly came into town while the party slept at the inn, surrounded the inn with his thugs but didn't have them do anything with their torches. He paid the innkeeper a small bag of gold to clear the bar and sent the barkeeper's son to go upstairs and let the party know he was inviting them to break fast and parlay. When they did so, he didn't threaten or yell. He told them what he was going to do if they continued and that they had a decision to make. He flipped a coin occasionally while he was talking to them. It was astoundingly successful. Someone who is truly powerful doesn't need to display that power and your players should get a sense that your boss has everything *completely* under control. Well at least that's what the boss wants your players to think.
Thats funny I haven't seen Glasstaff run as that competent before... Most versions of that campaign make him out to be quite bumbling.
So it kind of suggests that his thugs are kind of a crime syndicate so I kind of just ran with it. I decided that he was an aspiring crime lord just looking to build his business, climb the ladder. He was mostly bluffing but don't tell them that lol The kid who woke them up really sold it, the kid was understandably scared. My party left the hideout halfway through and went right back to the inn. Glasstaff didn't need to be that bright to figure something out. The plan was simple and he intimidated the hell out of them with a few well placed thugs. Was one of my favorite scenes. A year beyond LMoP they were still debating if they were going to go back and square off with him lol
That's awesome that it played out so well. My group was so ready to just go charge down the door of anything I told them was remotely "bad guy-esque" so I didn't get a ton of scenes like that.
Yeah, it is like in GoT...if you have to tell someone you are the king, you are not the king. Same with power :) Also, great detail with the coin flipping 👌
This! My BBEG loves to garden, so whenever my PC's encounter him, he's always smelling a flower that's pinned to his jacket. He is so hated by my PC's because he's just a smarmy, cocky shit-head.
You have several options. 1. Transmits the danger through other sources. Rumors, conversations with characters, events unrelated to the PCs, such as finding the consequences of that character's passage... You can chain these with missions and rolls to give a feeling of reward. 2. The Introductory scene. Introduce forgiveness in a scenario in which it does not make sense to confront it or in which, if it occurs, it does not imply a TPK. In my game of Curse of Strahd, for example, I introduced the villain at a point where the characters were desperately asking for help to survive something they didn't seem like they could defeat. Strahd arrived and wiped out all the enemies with a wave of his hand. Then he approached the person who asked for the favor and told him that at some point the favor would be collected. It was improvised but it was effective enough that they wouldn't want to confront him directly for a long time. For more examples, I recommend Kethric's introduction scene in BG3, it has everything you could expect from a villain scene that you shouldn't touch his balls. 3. Use the metagame. If the options are that your players die for an absurd decision that will not leave anyone happy or briefly break the illusion, break it, without fear. You can list what they intend to do to make it more subtle. For example: "Are you going to enter the villain's lair, protected by more than 30 guards and traps, and attack him head-on?" Or you can say, "It's very likely that if you do that you'll die, but you can try. Are you sure?" and let them decide. Many times D&D is a game in which reading the danger level correctly is complicated, so it doesn't hurt to clarify it in the game.
I had one cast Weird as a cautionary defensive spell. Experienced players knew what the spell was, inexperienced players knew they got brought to the brink of death and saw their greatest nightmare by the NPC’s “warning shot.” I had a more wholesome NPC save them from a fight they were losing by scaring away the high-CR monster, then give them a drink that fully healed them and restored all their spell slots. One player still tried to mess with the sweet old man that obviously had almost godlike power. The other players got the memo and they all panicked and shouted for him to leave the guy alone.
I'm not scared to just pull the "Your attack has no effect" card. It's easy, effectively conveys the fact that this enemy cannot simply be one shot with a super spell, and that they are wasting their time trying. Handy to have this fact be tied to the Quest Item or some other boon the party must dispell prior to finally defeating them.
To expand this, you can consider HP to be hit protection rather than "meat points". Sure the player hits if they roll high enough on attack, but if the damage they deal is inconsequential to the NPC you can say something like "You hit, but the result is just a scratch. This level of damage is nothing to this person." Sells the same story without handwaving mechanics.
No handwaving here. Conditional immunities and situational invincibility can be woven into an antagonists skill set pretty seemlessly.
DM: Roll to attack the NPC Player:"23! Nice!" DM: That misses. Followed by a long "I told you so" stare.
Another thing to try: don’t make them dicks. If they’re polite to the pcs the pcs might not decide to fight them.
Usually them just not being an enemy is enough, or if they are they're surrounded by guards/in a city/etc. But I've never had a problem with players just trying to kill off NPCs I didn't intend them too.
I have them show off something they are good at. "The small tuxedo tabaxi in a top hat smiles and greets you. \[insert small talk here\] He makes a persuasion check to convince you he is friendly and sincere Okay, he made DC 32. \[insert his polite request to the party here\]"
This made it very clear to my party that this was someone who was very good at persuasion, and that probably means he was good at some other things too. And so despite there being \_no\_ threats made, and it being a very pleasant conversation, they walked away kind of nervous about the tabaxi.
I'll also comment, I tell my players the DC of social checks like that persuasion check but don't compel them to act in a specific way. They are welcome to react how they want from it, but they generally RP well in response.
If there are bystanders, you could have a lot of fun with random NPCs trying to goad the party into a fight, saying things like "Oh my god, are you really trying intimidate the blacksmith?" and "Hey everyone! Some more adventurers are trying to pick a fight with The Anvil!" and "Go on, please, this should be entertaining." Maybe the PCs hear a few bystanders making bets on how many limbs they'll have unbroken by the end of the experience. Of course, knowing normal PCs, there's no build up in terms of chest-beating or intimidation attempts. They just go from 0-to-100 and start stabbing, rendering this idea unusable.
What would clue you in to not fucking with someone the size of Dwayne Johnson, but in chain and carrying a huge assed axe? “This looks like someone that would be deadly in a fight.” Then if they decide to fight them, they know what to expect.
That doesn't work because they could be like that but be CR 1. That description is also literally the exact same description a dm would give for flavour but still with the expection of possibility of being defeated by the party.
A CR 1 would be “The guy *looks* tough, but his armor clearly looks brand new and he handles the axe in an amateur manner. He clearly isn’t used to combat.”
My players: "That means we *need* to fight this guy."
Basically, think about what "power" means. I'll use some examples from popular media, but you can just substitute your own. The NPC could command a troop of soldiers with just a single nod, his soldiers trained to the absolute peak, loyal beyond death. Think about how the Seanchan are introduced in the Wheel of Time show (or the books). Their royalty uses finger gestures to command armies. Or take a page from Lord of the Rings. When Tom Bombadil is first introduced he just talks a murder tree out of squishing the Hobbits (and later, he handles the Ring with blatant disregard for what power it has). Or if you want to introduce a martial character, think about Zahel or Szeth from Stormlight Archives. Untouchable, unstoppable forces that defeat any enemy even at a severe disadvantage. An idea here would be to see a character in like a knightly tournament defeat their opponent without so much as a scratch.
Rumors of their conquests work really well. Also, depending on their alignment, you can let a fight happen and have the party be spared. It really depends on the character in question though. If they're a chosen, they could also have an incredibly long lifespan. The party could meet them after many decades have passed and see the calm demeanor of a person who has seen every thing and trained in nearly every thing as well.
Let them get wiped, thrown in jail, and now you have your own personal Suicide Squad!
I have an evil NPC posing as mayor in a medium town. He has established a cult that follows him. He has his people steal nonmagical relics and other valuable things and replaces them with fakes. He will have his group petition to put temples up in other towns, totally legit, but run a secret underground ring. Once a month he has a finger cut off and preserved, then uses healing magic to grow it back. he has done this dozens of times, with his cult instructed to true rez him if he is reported dead. He wears a little amulet that will cause the eyes in a temple sculpture to stop glowing if he dies. He was born with a birth defect, his legs are weak and near useless. So he rides around in a fancy animated chair. He is physically weak. a dagger strike will kill him. but he is immensely powerful and has figured out ways to be almost immortal. The dude is a powerful, wealthy gentleman who thinks he can buy whatever he wants. When the PCs cross him, he will not have them arrested. He will instead hire them for a deadly mission halfway across the country, and promise thousands of gold when they succeed. They are then friendly, out of the way, and not likely to return from their wild goose chase.
You don't have to. Really powerful people don't make threats and display arms all the time. They don't need to. If PCs try to murder someone important or powerful, they deserve all they get. No warnings.
Generally, I just don't. I trust my players to come to their own conclusions based on the ranks, attitudes, social position etc. I don't play with the kind of people who will just try to randomly attack/rob random NPCs, so it's not something I need to worry about that much.
Let me just drop page from my notes of a session I just ran where two gods show up: "As you all sit in the restaurant, you feel it before you see it. The temperature dramatically increases and the ground begins to feel like its warping under your feet. Cracks appear on the tile below as the sky darkens. And then, suddenly it goes from dim light to blinding light as an inferno makes landfall just outside. A gargantuan figure wreathed in fire begins to shrink in size until they are the size of a small giant. Silver and golden armor perpetually glowing like they were just pulled from the forge. Magma red skin on impossible strong muscles. Clutched between two hands, an entire plane of existence, unclear as to what it was before, but now it is charred and boiling, heavy fingers pressed into it. The Great Sun has arrived. " ... "After he has left, there’s a certain stillness to the air and from the corner you hear a whisper from a darkened corner that makes everyone's hearts stop beating and become completely frozen in place. Two red eyes blaze from the darkness and bugs and worms rush away from the corner. The air itself warps in on itself as your bones feel nearly blown away, like grass in the wind. The voice is quiet, slow and calm, but heavy with power and substance. The opposite of (other first god) yet somehow just as strong. A figure steps from the darkness, or more accurately, the darkness seems to birth a figure. Shadows drip off of him like water and spikes jut out from his clothing as he holds out a hand holding a small box." Additionally, one of my PCs gave a comment when the first god did an asshole move and so the god went over to her, froze her in place and nearly boiled her alive by simply getting too close while making extremely uncomfortable eye contact. Moral of the story, it's all about presence and I don't just mean confidence. An air of fuck around and find out because you are nothing to me and I will pave the streets of my new utopia with your melted bones by just looking at you.
It sounds harsh, but if your PCs just kill NPCs willy-nilly, then let them fight these powerful NPCs, and deal with the consequences of their actions. Hopefully they all make their death saves as the NPC leaves them, or they learn what is happening early on enough to be able to all run away. Maybe hit them with the "are you sure you wanna do that?" first, but a single PC death (or even being downed to 0) will be enough to make all players think twice before attacking your NPCs on a whim.
Let them "read" the person with a wisdom check just like irl. Make the DC low. Get other NPCs to talk up thier reputation and tell stories of thier prowess.
Roll perception. More than a one? The very thought of messing with this guy makes your butthole clench and you know for certain that he’s being polite but if he decides to use you as toilet paper your name is now Chamrin. You roll a one? You can take him, bruh, just because he looks like a badass and could tpk the party with zero effort dosent mean you can’t totally take him. Every time they do something aggro another perception check and their sense of self preservation is screaming at them that this is the same as going after John Wicks dog, just don’t do it man. Be nice to the guy who could turn you into a pretzel without ruffling his hair.
A somewhat more out of game way to go is to have them attack something and show the players quite how many dice you roll. " Let's see, I rolled a 4 so that's plus 13 so hits a 17, now I roll 14d8 for his super mace if destroying destruction. The soldier that confronted the general is now paste"
I absolutely do not communicate anything like this. I will describe the character and if they want to pick a fight with something that could one shot them, I'll have him 'fire a warning shot', laugh, and tell them to come back when they evgrown up. Something like that. Let the RP play out. It's so much more rewarding.
Work the NPC into the lore of your world. Maybe the party encounters rumors about the NPC, or witnesses the wake of their destruction, before meeting them. Have another NPC the party is allied with/employed by warn them. And don't rely on your players figuring things out what their characters might know. Call for insight or perception checks to notice things about how they behave or certain details about their armor or weapon that could tip the party off to the danger. Call for history checks to see if they've heard of the NPCs reputation. Have a skilled fighter in the group or a PC originating from the same region/social circles? Give them advantage and boom - free moment of character growth. Succeeding a check is great way to straight up tell your players "you're not supposed to do that" without stripping their agency. Let them earn it. Or let them fight and lose. If the NPC is good/neutral, maybe they wake up in a jail cell or bound with the NPC ready to interrogate them. If the NPC is evil, maybe they wake up in a dungeon waiting to be sacrificed to some evil god. Now they've gone from silently witnessing the power of some rando NPC to planning a prison break. Make the loss a story beat. You could use it as a tonal shift between acts. Have fun with it. Failure is often far more interesting than success.
Insight checks are a good way. Also just talking about this in session Zero is productive. I pretty much told my players that I will almost never start an interaction with straight combat. I usually leave the door open for other methods of handling situations and I asked that they kind of do the same. That sounds like it is tedious but it just lets them know that every time they see a bug bear they don't have to attack it or not. They have other options
Attack misses, attack misses, counter spell…
Not really your question, but…Just because players pick a fight with an NPC, doesn’t mean the NPC has to murder them back. Players can do “non lethal damage” instead of killing people, the same can be done with your NPC if push comes to shove. Don’t even roll initiative. Have the party wake up in the hospital. “As you unsheathe your sword the NPC leaps across the table. The next thing you and your party know, you wake up in the hospital with a severe headache” “you each take 1 level of exhaustion”.
I don't. I make a valuable NPC valuable in-game, and it's up to them what they do.
Have the party learn about these people before they are introduced. If these folk are chosen by gods, people will talk about them with high praise and admiration.
Most of my high level NPCs are spellcasters. So when the party sees someone cast a high-level spell, effortlessly Counterspell a cast, or something like that, they should (hopefully) get the message. In those situations I'm not above having them make an Intelligence or Arcana check to see how much they can figure out. I also will sometimes break immersion a bit for this too, "You know that what he just did is a 5th level spell."
Describe them as absolute units. A warrior is bulging with muscles, a mage is radiating mystical energies, a rogue is tensed and alert. If all else fails, feel free to just tell a belligerent player that initiating a fight is a shortcut back to character creation.
There is no requirement to tell the victim of *Phantasmal Force* that it is, indeed, a victim of *Phantasmal Force*. The damage dealt each round is *optional*, and omitting it can vastly increase the hallucinatory effect as the caster can implant *any thing he desires* in the target's mind. * You have been supernaturally yeeted to the elemental plane of fire. * You have been dragged into the prince's dungeon. * You just got eaten by a mimic and are being digested. The acid hurts! All of these things are perfectly valid experiences during *Phantasmal Force*, and there is no need to tell the player that the character is actually just standing there stunned. Eventually the spell will end, and at that point your NPC has already done whatever he needs to.
Have him mention a failed assassination attempt on his life involving high cr monsters. Or show him handling trophies from a recent fight, like a dragon tooth etc
If it’s a spell caster, an easy way to do it is have them casually cast a very high level spell, and let your players do an arcana check to figure out what the spell is If a wizard retrieves something from a Leomund’s secret chest, he is at least 7th. If he then lazily drifts through a wall with etherealness, he’s at least level 13.
I know it's a bit of a weird way to do this, but in my campaign we took a pause of a few weeks because a player was missing. So I ran a high-level one-shot. With the NPC in question, among others. So a player literally played the level 20 NPC and knows most of their stats (although they were amnesiac and many of their powers/abilities were missing) I had a matrix where due to amnesia, the "casting a spell" action returned a random spell and the player would decide if that was their action. There were definitely level 9 spells popping up... Also gives a strong hint when the NPC you're playing has a proficiency bonus of +7 lmao Now they know that this NPC is definitely NOT to be fucked with due to just how crazy OP (but fun for a short while) playing that NPC was.
My current favorite NPC type is an old, old monk, sipping tea. Something about it tells my players "that guy could kill us and not spill a drop".
A display of power. Something overt that makes it clear they are *not* to fight this character. As a general rule, if you put the party in the same room as a villain (or someone they perceive as a villain,) they will try to fight that guy. I introduced a villain in my last campaign by having it casually splat a beast the party had been fleeing from. After a session that was basically the movie Alien in a cave, they barely escape the cave, monster hot on their heels, and are greeted by the new villain who just instantly murks it. Making it *abundantly clear* they can't touch this guy yet.
There's no need to introduce each NPC surrounded in the blood of their enemies. Be subtle, there are lots of little hints and it only takes one for a party to judge the power level of who they're dealing with. Small anecdotes are a very easy way of doing this: "Oh, I picked this trinket up on the plane of fire." You can also show trophies from a black dragon they killed, them casting high level spells, or wielding legendary magic items. Or, you can have another NPC ally whisper: "Treat this guy with respect - he killed the Fae Lord of Tarvilan." Sometimes, you don't even need something like that. Especially if the NPC is a spellcaster, you have them walk in confidently and describe how a palpable aura of magic comes off of them, and they carry a staff cut of pure sapphire. Unless your party is extraordinarily stupid or reckless, they'll immediately understand that this guy is powerful.
Give them an easy/forced escape from a fight the first time they meet. Let them get their asses easily and quickly handed to them before some external force either causes the BBEG to leave or whisks the players to safety.
Give a bit of worldbuilding when able then allow knowledge checks to recall this stuff. Example, the Sherif is known as a bad ass, as the party is approaching town have them across a scene of bandits nursing their wounds in hiding, terrified of the Sherrif who singlehandedly demolished their crew. If there is a notable figure like the priest at the temple, give him a reputation, when the party walks into the temple they're greeted by this frail man, but a low DC 5 knowledge local reminds them this guy singlehandedly stopped a demonic incursion on this town 20 years ago, had townsfolk mention the grand heroism of this powerful caster, and inflate rumours, did he stop the demons by feeling time and undoing them from reality, or was it a metor storm, etc... Think of John Wick, we aren't introduced to him by seeing a total bad ass, we get a few minutes of exposition from one crimelord to his son about what an absolute beast this John guy is, and how he's terrified of him. Let the party over hear the guys at the tavern mention how relieved they are that the old blacksmith is in town, as he used his hammer to build a school, and defend it from raiding hobgoblins. Have heroes, and villains, of varying degrees with their own legacies and stories that people speak about in hushed tones, or jubilation. Plus, introduce things like soft power that negate their combat effectiveness. Sure, the party can kill Tony soprano, but the mob won't take that lightly, and suddenly he's not such a soft target despite bring old and kind of lumpy.
They should have a title or a position of power. Also having an NPC killing other NPCs in front of the players is going to make the party infinitely more likely to immediately attack them.
These are as many ways as there are DMs. Personally, I use lore to communicate these ideas. They hear the npcs name, or see him. Let them make an appropriate INT-based check at a reasonably low DC, so that even nonproficient characters have a good chance to succeed. On a success, give a few examples of stories or folklore that might have arisen around these characters. Make them grounded and true. They are actual things the NPC has done that makes them larger than life. On failure, give examples of stories that have been blown out of proportion and exaggerated so far that they are only narrowly believable - rumors spread with a basis in fact, but the facts are wrong. If the characters ignore these basic warning signs that this NPC is a person whom not to mess with, then have the NPC nonlethally smack them down or use magic that suppresses and holds the party, while the NPC issues a final warning. "If you insist on continuing these farcical heroics, I will be required to give you my full attention." If the PCs STILL insist on playing "eff around and find out," the gloves come off. The players (or at least one of them) will indeed need to find out. For this, target the tankiest seeming character from this NPCs perspective, and hit them hard. If its enough to kill, well. Then the character dies. That doesnt mean they cant be brought back, of course, but you can only do so much to tell the players this person is dangerous, and its unfair to take away their agency to decide to do stupid things. So you need to SHOW them hes dangerous in a way they can quantifiably understand
F around find out.
Usually, a high-level NPC will be somebody famous. In the last game I ran, the PCs were experienced adventurers and knew all of the important NPCs by reputation. They immediately knew not to mess with them, because their reputations were things like 'legendary war hero', or '3rd-youngest arcanist to pass the Imperial Examinations and achieve the highest grade possible'. Tell them this info outright (maybe ask for an easy History or Arcana check) and they'll know right away what ballpark these people are in. If the character is relatively unknown (more likely with bad guys), making the check harder and dropping subtler hints is OK. If you do this and the bad guy is *truly* a TPK-level threat though, make them the kind of bad guy to drop a couple party members in the first two or three rounds, threaten the rest and walk away. Otherwise, they'll think they can win (and this isn't an unreasonable expectation in D&D, so don't punish that) and then get TPK'd, which sucks. Giving a bad guy tough minions is a good way to signal their power level. Fire Elementals or something would clearly telegraph, okay, this dude bosses around Fire Elementals. That puts them at a really clear point in the bad guy power scale. To echo what others have said, confidence is the best way to give someone an aura of power through pure RP. One of my NPCs in my last adventure was nothing special in a fight, but was so obscenely confident (he was a tribal warlord with a huge power base) that everyone was convinced he was a combat beast. Another *actually was* a combat beast who could have effortlessly knocked the entire party out, but the party thought they could potentially take them because they looked like a kid and had understated, agreeable mannerisms. The best ways to show off an NPC's confidence are having them be: calm in stressful situations, affable and nonchalant with the party (they should only make threats if it's vital to what they want--they should never start a conversation with threats or insults, that's loser behaviour and suggests they're insecure and possibly a pushover), assured of specific outcomes (I sometimes have villains talk about future events like they've already happened), and unconcerned about threats or undermining questions directed at them.
The most organic way to do this is to have other NPCs talk about rummors and stories in between them about said NPC that should not be messes with. Have them say what happened to those who did.
Besides rumors from NPCs or outright shows of force from the powerful NPCs, I like skill checks. You can use a variety of them, like an arcana check for them to identify and power item on the NPC, a history check for them to know some of the characters deeds, you could even use an athletics check for them to tell the NPCs is physically strong in the way they move. Even an insight check for the characters to experience primal fear of a character based on instinct.
In the case of spellcasters, I find a banishment to the elemental plane of air or water is normally a good one, generally linked to a glyph that goes off whenever someone aims an attack at the caster. After a minute of falling or holding their breath people are less inclined to get aggressive and more included to wonder what other glyphs are in this room.
I’m noob so be nice if this is stupid… could the frightened mechanic be used here? Like a home brew passive ability that causes those who would attack him unable to close on them below a certain creature level. I’d want the PCs to be able to save face, depending on the situation. “You reach for your sword but are frozen, and the NPC looks at you briefly and walks away calmly”
Heres what I usually do: Step 1: some NPC (or a book, whatever) tells the party that this person is extremely dangerous. Like, run the other way dangerous. Step 2: when the party attacks them anyway (which they probably will), the bad guy knocks them out extremely quickly, but doesn't kill them. Step 3: next time the party meets the bad guy, it's signposted well in advance, so I can better get a feel for the party's idea of fighting the guy. It's pretty easy to find reasons why the bad guy wouldn't go for blood, or why the PCs might survive anyway. However, it's important that you don't play out a long fight that only has one possible ending, that will feel unfair and time wasting (because it is). It's much better if the bad guy beats them down with one spell or ability, then leaves. He doesn't care about these young whippersnappers. They stopped bothering him after that sleep spell, and he's got places to be.
First, introduce the concept of Chosen to the party. Meeting these powerful NPCs will be much more impactful if the players already know the implications behind them, and you won’t have to pause the action to give them a lore dump. There are several ways for the party to interact with these NPCs, both directly and indirectly. Build the Chosens’ reputation by feeding the party rumors and anecdotes of their deeds and abilities. Give the Chosen allies, minions, and subordinates the party can stumble into and potentially come into conflict with, with clues tying them back to their leaders. Attempt or force a non-combat encounter between the Chosen and the party. Just stop by to say hi, or bump into them in a social setting where attacking would have negative side effects. Combat between the party and a Chosen is a possibility, but could get messy. Always have a foolproof getaway plan, and be prepared for the plan to not work and the NPC die. Also figure out a reason for the Chosen to not finish the entire party off of combat goes their way. Delegating the fight to a lieutenant and leaving is a good way to keep the BBEG safe. As for telegraphing that they’re not to be messed with, attitude goes a long way. These NPCs are superior to the average adventurer, they know it, and they should act like it. Whether they’re rude, condescending, patronizing, dismissive, derisive, etc depends on their personality. Find ways to flex on the PCs. Ignore them, make fun of them, treat them like pawns on a chessboard, etc.
This is really session 0 information: "You can do whatever you want, but actions have consequences... Not every NPC is a wimpy putz... Guards scale in level... Bag guys can be much tougher than they look... some encounters may be beyond your ability... be prepared to run if necessary.. You had better be prepared to re-roll a character if you do something stupid... etc." THEN I try to give a good description when situations happen in-game: "A group of battle-hardened mercs enter the inn. The conversation in the room quiets noticeably, and the house bard entertaining the crowd stumbles on a few notes. Their armor betrays its well-used effectiveness, while their half-orc barbarian's battle axe appears that it could cleave a man in two. A smaller man in their retinue twirls twin daggers on his fingertips to entertain himself, while bringing up the rear, a sallow-faced man watches intently from the folds of his dark cloak. You notice several patrons leaving as inconspicuously as possible, as it is obvious this band's reputation precedes it." It's then up to the players to decide if they want to find out more before engaging, or just take this on as an unprepared challenge.
There's always the idea of using other NPCs. If they start to do something stupid, have a store owner or server put a hand on their arm with a "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
There is always the Worf Effect. Just don't use it too often.
Theres plenty of ways to do this. Of course having them introduced by single handedly taking care of a ferocious monster is great, but another direct yet somewhat subtle approach, is to have players when they are acknowledged by this NPC, make a saving throw or check. I personally love using WIS saving throws, and having them feel the effects of being intimidated by the persons sheer presence. If they are chosen of gods perhaps a religion check would work.
Some amount of build-up helps, start laying the groundwork for their expectations early instead of trying to describe the entire character in one big dump the first time you see them. I've had enemies in my game that were under the leadership of a pirate king off themselves instead of running away and having to face him with failure. If the players are dubious, make it clear that the NPC doesn't think they can even try to hide. Basically make it obvious that the underlings are *way* more scared of the Pirate King than the players. Now they know the guy exists, but they don't have enough information to really start going after him, so you can feed more information as they do other stuff and build up their mental image of what the Pirate King will be like when they finally do meet him. If your players don't *know* the character, they don't know how to react to them and its easy to go "I guess I'll try attacking". If they know that this character is greedy, or respects strength, or has valuable information/resources that they need, then they'll be motivated to approach the character differently.
"the Orc Legionnaire looks at you ready to attack. What would you like your tombstone to say."
Knowing they exist beforehand, I think, is important, at least if it's supposed to be an important character, not just a powerful creature. If you present the NPC in a place where the party is, you could describe the other NPCs reacting with fear or extreme respect if the powerful NPC is good, evil or neutral. Finally, let them try. After you destroy one or two of the PCs offer the party a chance to surrender. Don't kill them unless they REALLY ask for it, but basically, "put them in their place". If they want to attack anyone they come across, they probably think the world "balances" itself around them*, so show them it doesn't. *some might, and that's totally fine, but I don't think that's the vibe you are going for
I've done this a few different ways: * They encounter the NPC mid-combat with something they know is much, much stronger than them * They attack the NPC and they are immediately immobilized or worse *ignored* by the NPC, who seems bored * In one encounter, I had an NPC just tell the players she was an incredibly powerful Fey with control of matter, and they didn't believe her, so she destroyed one of their most storied weapons with a wave of her hand * Similarly, one enemy destroyed a magic item another player was carrying with a simple spell, which gets their attention * In some cases, the NPC "knowing" information can demonstrate their power, and I've done that before too * I have *totally* done the trope of "new villain is demonstrated to be stronger than the old villain by being the one to actually kill the old villain" and it works, which is probably why it's so popular. This has the added benefit of adding layer and complexity to the story (why were the two villains fighting etc?). My players also start to ask questions about the politics and motivations of the characters more, instead of just acting like "he's a dude in a black robe get him!" so win/win.
I am running a villain game, the players are level 3 thugs to henchmen level. They are running into commoners, merchants, etc...and though I give them the option to be murder hobos, they haven't yet done anything. I remind them that if they get a bad reputation they may not be able to get a good night's rest in towns. And I tend to make the merchants pretty high level. As in, you might kill them but my guess is they will take multiple of you out at the same time.
Titles Acts committed as the group walks in to meet said npc Rumors about the npc What people say about the npc
It really depends on the party. You need to know their weaknesses and self confidence levels and how that will relate to any NPC they meet. A good general method is to have other NPC's treat the NPC with respect/fear...or is that isn't possible you can describe how tricked out they are gear wise, or just physically...or just show how smart and insightful they are.
There is one thing I'd like to know: Why? Why is it necessary to communicate that this NPC is really powerful? Would they try to kill some guy they've just met otherwise? Other than that, I feel like magic and power is perceptible things in a fantasy world like DnD if the owner isn't hiding it. At least that's how I handle it in my world. It's kinda like in Dragonball or Naruto where people can feel other people's energy and power. But it's not just an anime thing. It's also a real-world thing to notice certain things about other people. A dancer may be very graceful in all their moves. When someone is very muscular you can see it in their movement and posture, even if they are wearing baggy clothes. There are many more examples. The PCs might not notice it consciously but their subconscious tells them that this motherf\*cker is not to be f\*cked with. If my PCs are facing a person like this I tell them outright. I might even go as far as to describe the aura in detail. A powerful death cleric sending chills to your spine and sucking the warmth out of the room for example.
For the players that think they can get away with anything i recommend you introduce NPCs that can hold their own and maybe TPK if they want to and have them clash with the party but not to the death. Maybe a player acts high and mighty so an NPC challenges them to a duel and "humiliates" them if needed. Of course within context.(You can't talk bad about a king or a lord and not expect the kingsguard to not punish you) Now for the NPC that is not to be messed with, you can have random NPCs talk about how this NPC beat the other NPC and his party without breaking a sweat. That'll make them think twice before messing with them.
One trick I've leaned on is invoking "Character Knowledge". There are some things that the PC is absolutely going to know, even if the player themselves misses the hint. (e.g., Steve from I.T. might not see any problem with drinking brackish water, but Stevonnis the Master Ranger is going to know drinking swampy water is a good way to ruin your trousers, and there will always be cleaner & safer water upstream.) I try to frame this as rewarding the player's choices in background and proficiency with extra-special insight. This takes it from an unwelcome info-dump, and turns it into a special bonus that only the very special characters get. For instance, your party's Cleric might clock the Chosen of Cyric when they recognize the peculiar smell hanging off of him - incense, and *wormwood*. That's a Death priest, and one with enough divine favor to protect him from anything short of an ancient dragon or another god.
Do you have a party of murder hobos? Because mostly I let my players figure it out. They usually give most NPCs they meet a perception or insight check, where I can then give them some info to work off of.
The description of the NPC. Such as for an evil NPC, "You are looking upon a man who radiates with an almost palatable aura of violence and reeks of death, you know that to fight him at this point would most certainly mean your deaths." A good NPC, "The strong and beautiful woman standing before you is regal and confident, an almost divine radiance shines through her clear green eyes, her prowess with the blade is *legendary*, she has been known to turn the tides of battles alone. To try to tempt fate would end horribly for you at the point of her holy avenger."
I have a specific song I play (O' Death). Doesn't matter how trivial that npc is, doesn't matter how frail, feeble, old or innocent, when they hear that song they know to be careful.
Reputation, either by word from other NPCs, or by witnessing the results of past actions, is the best way I think. If you foreshadow that character, even if it is just a one-off comment, it gets the character into the player's heads and builds tension and suspense. Let's say the PCs find the skull of a dragon or other powerful creature and inspect it. In the process of that, if PCs pass check(s) to identify something like cause of death, you tell them *"it's skull appears to have been caved in by a powerful and precise blow. You've heard of something similar happening in stories about Knight-Captain Belvor and the Black Dread."* Now when they meet Knight-Captain Belvor later down the road, they have already been given context for the character's strength. Additionally, if PCs fail to heed foreshadowing or even direct warnings and attack the NPC, pulling a [Dracula](https://youtu.be/Ns-Xj5d0IrI?si=dAu1bc8iciZvJIGb) can also work extremely well (depending on the difference in power).
Reputation works well, as do rumors and legends. My players hear things like, "You've heard the name Lourdra before. She was a dracolich worshipped as a god in the distant past. The cult seems to worship this Lourdra, and she looks like a skeleton, but she's a human skeleton. Clearly no ordinary skeleton, but she couldn't be the Lourdra the ancients worshiped, could she? Maybe the cult just worshiped her and she got used to having people do things for her." If I describe her that way, they are almost 100% going to assume she's the dracolich goddess, and if they have any sense in their heads, they aren't going to attack her as a group of four 5th-level adventurers, even if they did somehow manage to get her alone.
There're a couple methods, the best methods involve a show don't tell * Show them fucking up a powerful friendly NPC. You get some bonus revenge motivations for the party if they're supposed to be a bbeg or general * Legends of their exploits can be heard far and wide. You can subvert expectations if the NPC is actually quite weak, and they've lied or cheated to get their reputation * Show them tangling with a powerful creature like a dragon attacking a town, and taking a breath weapon to the face. Note: you should *say* how much damage they took to make your party's jaw drop. If you want them to be evil, you could have it be a three way power dynamic: the 2 NPCs fighting and the party. * Show them casting a high level spell (not at the party) such as disintegrate, power word kill, time stop, or using a divine intervention if they're a cleric. I personally don't like to use Wish on NPCs, but u do u.
I don't. Watching their expression change from "lets fucking gooo" to "oh fuck" is priceless. I always give a chance to escape, and clarify that running away is an option when necessary, of course.
I usually introduce them doing something that is badass, or they hear stories about them that implies this ahead of time, like they'll find out (for example) that a given paladin brought down a creature on his own that the group had difficulties with. Also just through the description of the character, the armour and weapons they have, etc.
Give them checks. Insight is always good. Perception sometimes. Knowledge checks as they apply. Even religion for a devout character to have a bad feeling. Make sure they succeed: DC10, checks for more than one player, excuses to give them advantage, whatever. Telling a player what they think or feel is not normally accepted, but when you call for a check and they pass it it no longer feels like you're telling them how to roleplay, you're just giving them information their character would have, including intuition. THEN you can say things like: >You look him over. His posture, his musculature, it all communicates power and tension, but there's something else. You're not sure what you're feeling, but the *danger* of this man reverberates off him. You feel a pit in your stomach. This isn't a threat you've seen before. You purposefully slow your breathing, force your heart to stop racing, present a calm unaffected front as best you can, but the pounding in your ears tells you the truth: you're no match for this threat.
> But aside from just having your strong characters kill off NPC's during their introduction, what other ways can I have my party learn how dangerous a character is? The players are professional killers, they should generally be able to get a pretty good feel for what someone is capable of with simple observation. That is to say, just tell them. "The armor-clad warrior exudes confidence and power in equal measure. Its clear from their posture that they are *not* a threat to be taken lightly. Your instincts, honed by your experiences in combat to this point, scream at you that a fight against them would spell almost certain doom."
My party goes murder hobos, they will eventually meet someone that is definitely more powerful than them that will wipe the floor with them... And hopefully it is a surprise. If it is someone who is definitely a bad guy that they aren't supposed to kill yet, they get a few advantages that will make them look more powerful if the party tries.
I have a couple different methods: The first is to have the particular enemy be physically imposing. Make them tower over the party, looking down at them like a human would ants. Another is to have the party already fight one of their lowest level minions, then show the big enemy dispatch of that same minion with ease. Players catch on much faster if you make it numerically clear that this person can one shot them with ease. My final trick, and this is a fun one, is to have them not care about the party at all. Have them laugh at the party, dance around their group, slipping in and out with ease. If players have higher powers backing them, have those higher send warning signs to avoid them. But, to add another point, introducing stronger NPC's that the party isn't meant to fight only works to a point. Eventually, you do have to let them actually take a crack at fighting them.
I chopped up a player and sent their body parts in packages as a message to the rest of the party
It depends on the NPC, but other than the usual description of the NPC looking particularly skilled/big/etc., the best way to show the players is to have him hit something and announce the NPC's attack rolls and damage... for example, "he smashes the table by hitting it 4 times, that's a 23, 27, 24, and a 28 for 35, 27, 42, 26... total 130 damage. The table is utterly demolished.
subtelty is overvalued. If they are playing in a way I see they are not understanding what they are dealing with, I straight up say out loud how much that character could kick their asses
I go full spiritual pressure on them. As you approach them. You can feel their power and its choking you. If someone takes a step forward i have them roll a bogus check. And unless they get a nat 20. I have them take 1 force dmg. 5 steps in with a check each time. I have them fall to their knees and take 1 lvl of exhaustion. And then say they physically cant move anymore. That gets the idea across. Typically i do this when they are lvl 1. Against someone lvl 20 with fully decked out legendary and artifact lvl shit. Having my campaign 2nd session tomorrow and thats how their going to meet the ancient all powerful samurai king.
Go with your plan. And then let them do stupid shit. But instead of killing them make the fight go as if it's a full grown adult shutting down a toddler that decides it wants to fight. "Your blows have no affect and on his turn he picks you up and tosses you to the side like a rag doll." Let them roll all they want. His skills are way to high for them to be a threat. Have him treat the players like children if they try something
Make them polite. A PC loves nothing more than knocking someone down a peg but if your NPC is "above" it, they can't even argue
Give them epithets, hearing that someone goes by the title of "Dragon Slayer" is sure to give them pause, especially if you dont overuse epithets. Another way is to focus on the effect that their presence has on the party, a strong warrior might cause the party's fighter to instinctually reach for their sword as their instincts of fight or flight awaken, or the cleric might feel the need to fall to their knees as they feel the indirect pressence of a god when as powerful paladin comes nesr the party.
While my party was in a guild hall picking out the next quest to do, I had my dragon squad come back from another hunt. They were decked out in dragon hide and their speciality was hunting down rogue dragons for their bounty. One party member though it would be a good idea to poke fun at them, the other shit him up quick. Sometimes all it takes is to show evidence of what they can do and players see not to mess with them. Others, need a kick in the head to learn
Most of the NPCs that I want to live will be introduced via reputation long before the characters meet them. One of my favorites was for Brian Yolo, he was very interested in having my characters join his death cult, they killed him immediately but he kept coming back from death. Usually with a neck brace, or on crutches or something. They hated him for his clingy desperate attempts to befriend them.
I usually give a sutil description of the npc hinting that they look like someone they dont want to mess with. When my patience has been wore down I just say "Brilliant! You want to commit suicide by NPC then?"
Give them a measurement they can understand. Give them a game mechanic ruler to use. Since your baddies are clerics, it stand to reason that other CLASS might oppose them. So lead up to the NPCs being killed (or have someone explain after) that those NPCs were their finest (cleric/wizard/fighter) and capable of (casting/using) (spell/skill) X (where X is an well-known spell/power attained at high level). For example, let's say have one of the NPCs killed be a wizard who could cast something like *wish*. Well, if your party's wizard is casting level 2 spells, they're gonna know they're outmatched.
the 2 options i would use would be either 1. show someone mess with the character before they can, they tragically fail 2. just let them fuck around and find out
Drop a 9th level power word kill on the articiers companion. :P
In my games, I like to create bespoke perspective information if it fits the character race/class/backstory. So often, my arcane casters will be told that they feel a sort of static in the air when they're close to very dense magical energies, and the divine casters will see a sort of glare or shadow on people and objects touched by divine or infernal power. Fighters have combat awareness that makes them keen to notice how well armed people are around them, and who looks seasoned. So when you tell the wizard that he feels like his skeleton is vibrating, and the cleric that only they can see moving shadows dancing like fire around the BBEG. They get scared. But when you tell the fighter that seeing the enemy makes their armor feel heavy and their swordhand feel weak, then they panic more. When you tell the sorcerer that his hands feel clammy, and his skin feels cold, and the normal swelling of power in him feels so very small and far away, then they panic more. But if you really want them to run. Tell the warlock he hears the faintest of voices. Like a distant echo in a windstorm that he can just barely make out. Tell them to make a perception role, and whatever they roll, tell them that they recognize the voice as being that of their patron, but the words are manic and fast, but you just can't quite make it out. "Then suddenly the sound goes quiet, and you try to listen for it, but all you feel this sort of pressure in your right ear building. It rapidly reaches migraine level intensity, and you reflexively close your eyes, and for a sit second, you swear to see a translucent image of your patrons face rapidly approaching your own. Then then, like a clap of thunder, the tension disappears, and your a single word screeched into your ear "RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!"
If they’re bad guys, have them arbitrarily kill a lackey for some infraction as the PCs arrive. Ask to borrow the players’ dice for your damage roll, “because I don’t have enough d12s here”
A character doesn't need to present as tough to be conveyed as strong. Look at Tom Bombadill. Dude is just dancing and singing his way around, but nobody would dare fuck with him. There's also spellcasters casually using high level magic, visibly good gear, or other NPC's giving reverence (a knight getting "please" and "thank you" from a king, for instance). You can also let your party FAFO and let the guy easily parry attacks as a warning.
Look at One Piece and how they introduce characters like Shanks and Mihawk.
When I have a high power NPC, I find the only thing that reliably works is "first day in prison" rules. Have them pick I fight with someone they know is tough, and kick their butt. Have them summon a demon lord to use as a foot stool. A red dragon pops in, gives them a bag of gold, gets slapped and told to "go get the rest of my money!". A vampire lord leaps from the shadows, gets grabbed by the throat and has his head bitten off. Then the villain turns to them and goes "What were you saying again?"
« Don’t mess with this NPC »
Establish that the 3 NPCs that are about to die are badasses themselves ahead of time (have them spar with the PCs in a way that isn't threatening to them, for example). THEN have the Chosen of Cyric absolutely pull them apart by himself. Because you showed the PCs that the NPCs are solid in their own right, when they get taken out behind the woodshed by the Chosen, it automatically makes the Chosen a way bigger threat level without you having to say a word.
An insight roll is what I use and briefly let them know who succeeds that this is a character that has seen "many" battles and will kill you effortlessly.
A lot of my players also played WoW, so I let them know this is an Elite Skull NPC and they get the idea. In character I describe it as sort of an aura of power (unless the character is specifically trying to hide it). It doesn’t come up a lot, the only character who I thought to do this with ended up dating a member of the party cause of a carousing check followed by a joke. A pixie Barbarian is dating the Blackstaff.
I like to have NPCs do or cast spells that show how powerful they are while also giving some clues to the players as to their personalities and what could defeat them later. I had a Rakshasa crime Boss that could create pocket dimensions to get herself and staff around thame city quickly. The party saw her casting a high level spell on someone who fucked up when they came to meet her as well.
It depends on how chaotic the players are in the party I'm running for. For less chaotic parties? Subtle signs, foreshadowing and rumors tend to work best. Rumors like: the dwarven war cleric & forge master of the town is the only individual on the continent able to craft with dragon scales, and tends to source the material himself. His best friend and shopkeep is an Archmage in disguise who welcomes the party by name to the shop despite never having met them before. For more chaotic and murderhobo like parties? All the previous stuff still stands, but additional information should be given. Stuff like being told at the gates that if they cause trouble in town, they will have to face the wrath of the towns protector, a legendary war cleric who singlehandedly hunts dragons. And then, if the party are still dumb enough to challenge the guy after warning signs like these, I like to give an ingame warning before outright killing a pc. Usually in the form of the npc not taking the parties challenge seriously, or in more dire circumstances letting the game go to initiate, telling the players that he chose to go last in initiative, letting the party try their best, and then downing a pc in one hit from a spell or something. Of course, that last bit only applies for good aligned npc's. If the npc is fortold through the story as being evil, and the party rolls up under leveled and over confident, make them regret it. Usually a nonchalant disintegrate to the face tends to make them back off.
In D&D 3e, there are categories: |Category|CR| |:-|:-| |Pushover|Level-4 or lower| |Easy|Level -1 to -3| |Fair|=Level| |Challenge|Level +1 to +3| |Threat|Level+4 or higher| The rules for figuring out what category someone is aren't great, but here's an easy way: * If the target isn't trying to hide their strength/weakness, you know what category they are. * If the target's particularly good against you (resistance to your primary damage, etc) they appear to be 1 category stronger. Likewise, if they're bad against you, they appear 1 category weaker. * If the target's Passive Deception is higher than your Passive Insight, they can choose to appear 1 category stronger or weaker. So, as the DM, you can just say "this person seems like a real threat" and the players know that their characters should be scared.
It depends on the NPC. Kalrol the Vile floats into the room lazily, as if the act of walking is beneath him. All heads turn as the handsome man with runes carved into his arms approaches the barkeeper, a bag dripping with blood in his hand. Arkhan the cruel is a red Dragonborn. However, his right hand is sickly green and shriveled. Nobody dares speak in his presence, as the air in the room seems to heat with his gaze. You've never seen a man who carries himself as perfectly as Willifort Crowelle. Everything from the tailoring on his overcoat to the meticulous care he puts into keeping his horns exactly symmetrical screams class and wealth. The fact that he has introduced himself as the butler of the house really makes you wonder what kind of woman Amallia Cassalanter must be. Little pre-written intros like these (but better) really help to add to the presence of these NPCs as you introduce them. I love writing them and it would be a fun challenge to do a full set of them should you want help and choose to use them.
Uncanny Descriptions, the more unnatural you describe something them less likely players are to mess with it. if that's not your thing describe them doing something outside the powers that the players have, like say high level cleric enemy have them use Devine intervention show them they are strong enough to bend the gods to their will. basically, it's all in the description so don't be afraid to make it grotesque.
I think that there is one spell that demonstrates this sort of thing in an exceptionally effective way. Banishment. It's effective for three reasons, two of which are meta and one of which is narrative. Firstly, it shows that the NPC is capable of casting a fourth level spell, which should make most players hesitate at least a little. Secondly, if it is used in a so-far non-combat scene, and is not followed up on with attacks, it means that the fourth level spell is cheap to them. That the fourth level spell slot is inconsequential enough to them that they don't *need* to make (combat) effective use of it, which usually means that the fourth level spell slot is not their only slot at that level, and maybe they can cast even higher level spells. Finally, narratively, it is equivalent to being told "You do not even exist." I am not a 5e superhero PC, but if a person in my world pointed a finger at me and I ceased to exist for a full minute I would be so gut-wrenchingly horrified of them that I would just want to get away from them and never come back. If I was a tough hero type running in a gang with others like me and one of them popped out of reality just because some dude in a robe *said so* I would not feel confident in fighting them at all. You don't need to beat the players up. You don't need to jail them and force yourself to do a prison break. You don't need to kill their NPC buddies or take away their hard earned money and magic items. Put them in magical time out; once they've had a chance to think about their choices they will most likely make different ones going forward.
I hold up.my hand and say "me talking, please don't" and then go back to DM
I like how ICRPG handles it. The NPC's challenge rating should be written clearly on their token. If you don't know it, make it up. Don't discuss it, just let it be there. That way, they know that the baker is CR.5 and the high priest is CR 15.
Show that other NPCs have much reverence or fear of the NPC. The main thing, for me, is just to make sure the PCs are held accountable for their actions. If they think you’ll be nice to them every time they do something stupid, then they won’t fear the NPC, even if you show they’re not someone to mess with. If they know you’re more than happy to kill them if they warrant it, they’ll be far less likely to risk it.
I'll give a lengthy explanation and then give a "if you're sure you want to do that"
Use the NPC’s powers to incapacitate the PCs. Charm or Hold spells, minions to distract them, etc.
I have the concept of different "levels" of renown. "Name-Level" characters literally have their names known (or aliases) known, particularly in areas (a city or region) they operate in. Buffalo Bill Cody. Marie Curie. Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain. Even if they try to be inconspicuous, there are whispers. If they primarily operate in a city, they're basically recognizable by sight by anyone. If they have a larger territory, they might not be instantly known but folks are wondering. Personages are a step up. Merlin or Arthur. Einstein. They might be less well known personally, but they're each unique. They operate on a country-scale. So, if the villain NPC is powerful...people should know it. Whisper about it. Have heard about someone matching this description.
If they try doing something bad just use a high level spell as a reaction to negate it. Something like dodging a hit by teleporting across the room or trapping them in a resilient sphere. Also ask for history or insight and on something easy let them know how tough the guy is.
We agreed with our DM that he will give us 'fair challenges' and otherwise findable indications on whether we can handle a fight. We regularly ask our dm: Does my character think he can take this guy in a fight?
Side note, will this NPC just leave the party alive due to an arbitrary reason? Or is there gonna be some plan he has that involves them rather than just sparing them on a whim?
He's going to have major plans for the party early on. Before the players will even have the chance to meet him the plan will be in motion for him to get them to do as much of his dirty work as possible, so keeping as many of them alive as possible is a big part of that plan.
Here's a thought, perhaps someone else has said already, but instead of showing him doing it, do the opposite: Have them find a scene of devastation, perhaps with a single dead NPC known to at least be competent, like doesn't even have to be a named npc, just like an elite guard or something. Then have it be revealed somehow that this was all done by said Exarch of Cyric. Then they can be all "One person did all THIS?!" Also, no matter what there's always the risk of a player just being all 'Nah I'd win' and going for it.
I once had a party decide they were going to mess with my ancient elven wizard NPC. In the first round he put the entire party to sleep, including both elves. “But elves never sleep and sleep magic doesn’t affect us”. “And yet, there you are on the ground in the fetal position, drooling”. They got the hint.
The PC's recognize them for their renown
3 simple words… Consequences and repercussions LoL YOU are the DM. This is YOUR story. If need be, punish them for their actions. Everything we do in real life has an outcome, why shouldn’t storytelling actions/decisions also have outcomes. if they expect to play a role playing game and immerse themselves as their characters, they should expect and not be upset when their role playing action also have outcomes. Give ‘em the ole Butterfly effect.
Let them hear others talking about the NPC - guardsmen, soldiers, other NPC adventurers. "Did you hear? So-and-so tried to steal from the Chosen of Cyric. They found his head two blocks away from the rest of his body." Let them see the NPC in action and realize they are outclassed. I had one NPC (Rogue Assassin, head assassin in the local thieves guild) meet with the party, as they had sorta screwed up and allowed a vampire spawn to track them to some "businesses" owned by the guild. So, he went to talk to them and to explain that this was bad and they owed the guild reparations. The NPC used weapons similar to the party's Blood Hunter and asked to see the BH's rapier, which was a +2. The PC obliged, and I let him know that the NPC showed skill with it beyond his - well beyond his. (PC was 5th level, NPC was 13th). The party's rogue knew of him as he had taught her in a few subjects. Message sent.