Minimizing Personal Risks

Tangling with PCs of any level is hazardous to a creature’s health. Player characters tend to win fights; after all, they are the heroes of the story.

Smart opponents recognize the danger that adventurers represent and take steps to protect themselves. Minimizing risks is different from dealing with defeat—it involves limiting the consequences of defeat and reducing the chance to get hurt during a victory or a draw.

This approach is not only reasonable from the opponent’s point of view, it also means the PCs have to work a bit before they can root out the campaign’s true villains. This also keeps them from becoming overconfident since they know that the truly formidable opponents still await them. Making sure the campaign’s most powerful foes don’t take unnecessary risks has another benefit for the campaign. As the demographics section explains, powerful creatures are rare. The DM has to be careful lest the PCs kill off everything that has a hope of challenging them.

The best way to minimize personal risk is not to go anywhere or do anything dangerous. The opponent might use his powers to learn all he can about the PCs and then send henchmen or mercenaries to do the dirty work. The heroes can’t slay a villain they have not met unless they, too, employ indirect attacks.

Opponents who take an active hand in attacks on the PCs have a better chance to survive unhurt if they can manage to be somewhere other than where the PCs think they are. Spells such as project image are great for this ploy. A magic jar spell is riskier, but apt to confuse PCs who expect to meet a wizard and instead find a warrior or other character. If an opponent leaves the magic jar in the hands of a servant who hides nearby, his escape is almost assured if things go wrong—especially if the servant is equipped with teleportation magic. The opponent also might pose as a bystander or rank-and-file foot soldier, relaying commands to a subordinate telepathically. If the PCs triumph, they might unwittingly make their rival a prisoner and never know that they are harboring a deadly enemy.

A safe and often effective strategy is to strike where the enemy is vulnerable, but not on hand to defend. The opponent might raid a PC’s castle when the party is out adventuring. The opponent also might attack the PCs’ friends, family, and business associates. A clever opponent might plan his attacks so carefully that the PCs don’t even suspect that they are his true targets.

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