Hi Kipp! :D
8. Your favorite fight/encounter.
As a player... my bard was involved in some really good combats. One instance was against a kipine and some griffons, where the druid got bird-napped and I had to plan like, three turns in advance so I could get her back on solid earth and also bring the rogue back up from unconsciousness. Another that stood out was a battle where the goal wasn’t to kill the enemies, but to escape. We had to gather the ship crew, get on the boat, and push off before we were ovewhelmed.
As a DM, I think the most recent combat stands out! I was homebrewing some mechanics. The monsters in question were designed after a puppet show, so you had the puppet master and the puppets. The Puppetmaster would attach strings to PCs and could funnel damage into them, as well as taking control of their bodies if they fell unconscious while attached.
The other one: Big Mantis boss, Creobotra. He’s one big monster designed to hold off against a party of 7, and boy did he do his job. The ranger made his debut in that fight, and actually got the kill.
17. What are some house rules that your group has?
Honestly not much. I very rarely stray from RAW? I think they’re pretty well balanced and suit my needs, so... aside from taking off ranged attack disadvantage when there’s an enemy within 5 ft (which was the result of Not Knowing That Rule), I can’t think of anything in particular that’s a unique rule to the table.
