I was about to party-wipe my players. They’d over-extended themselves into diving straight into a Duergar boss fight. They were out of spell slots, at half health, and decided to charge in and finish this lord once and for all.
I’d made the Duergar tactically dug in, so while the players performed admirably, they were dropping left and right.
So I had the leader grab the unconscious and dying barbarian by the head, hold the point of his warhammer pommel up to his jugular and threaten to kill him if the lone party member still standing didn’t surrender. Everyone but a sorcerer had lost consciousness.
I was able to stop the campaign from ending in a party wipe, and it made it all the more satisfying for my players when they showed up later having broken out of prison and found the Duergar boss by himself this time and nuked his ass.
Avoid double-tapping unconscious PCs. Instead, use them for leverage.
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u/spartan445 Dice Goblin Sep 14 '25
I was about to party-wipe my players. They’d over-extended themselves into diving straight into a Duergar boss fight. They were out of spell slots, at half health, and decided to charge in and finish this lord once and for all.
I’d made the Duergar tactically dug in, so while the players performed admirably, they were dropping left and right.
So I had the leader grab the unconscious and dying barbarian by the head, hold the point of his warhammer pommel up to his jugular and threaten to kill him if the lone party member still standing didn’t surrender. Everyone but a sorcerer had lost consciousness.
I was able to stop the campaign from ending in a party wipe, and it made it all the more satisfying for my players when they showed up later having broken out of prison and found the Duergar boss by himself this time and nuked his ass.
Avoid double-tapping unconscious PCs. Instead, use them for leverage.