LogFAQs > #884813553

KthulhuX posted...

Honestly, if your players are the type to rarely, if ever, step outside of a few pre-determined attacks / actions, there's very little way to get them to use some of the more interesting options.

It's actually pretty easy as the GM to make the players stray away from their Plan A. Just make Plan A not work!

If their normal strat is to hit it with a stick, then easy ways to block that include swarms, DR, concealment/darkness, high AC, incorporeality, huge size plus mobile (players will provoke AoOs to get to it), STR damage, overstrong full attacks (players won't risk staying close), "burning blood" retaliation upon being cut, flying, burrowing, range enemies that kite, etc etc etc etc. That's all just off the top of my head, there's likely more.
Mix and match and apply all of the cool, weird things this game has against your party's weaknesses on the occasion when you want to force them to come up with an improvised strategy.

Counters are neat, but don't predictively counter an improvised strategy unless you're just trying to get them to retreat. That's a level of difficulty that a lot of players can't handle, or don't want to.
---

One day dude, I'm just gonna get off the bus, and I'm gonna run in the woods and never come back, and when I come back I'm gonna be the knife master!
-The Rev