And, as a DM, how do you cater to seasoned players who aren’t surprised by anything?
Are you planning to DM for a handful of expert-level players?
Here are some tips and tricks you’re gonna wanna know.
We’ve created this list for exactly that reason.
For this list, we’ve created a handful of extremely tough combat encounters.
All of these encounters are balanced to prove near-lethal.
10Pirates, Attack!
Plus, if the party fails, they’re likely to meet a watery grave.
The creatures can inflict deadly poisons on the party and also have decent melee attack damage.
There are 14 different creature types available for DM’s to choose from in the 2025 Monster Manual.
We ranked them all.
What makes encounters with Necrohulks so deadly however is their Absorb Body feature.
They are restrained and have disadvantage on Constituion saving throws.
5The Haunted House
6-8
Haunting Revenant
This next encounter is perfect for ahorror-themed campaign.
For this encounter, have the party explore a haunted house or manor of some kind.
Pirates by Alexandre Honore
Eventually, they may come to discover the horrible truth, namely, that the entire house is alive!
Is that bad guy just a bit out of range of your attacks?
Not anymore with these amazing long-range spells in Dungeons & Dragons.
Pirates by Alexandre Honore
These creatures can swallow enemies whole, preventing them from attacking or moving.
Goristros prove to be powerful encounters for expert players for a handful of reasons.
One, they have resistance against spells and other magical effects, which is a huge boon.
Aboleth by Kev Walker
Like most Beholders, Beholder Zombies have access to several Eye Ray abilities that can paralyze and disintegrate players.
If you want to err on the side of caution, use just one Beholder Zombie.
Ready to face off against the most terrifying creatures in Dungeons & Dragons?
Violet Fungus Necrohulk by Viktor Titov
Check out this list.
These types of crowd control abilities can prove incredibly tough in battle.
This encounter is almost not designed to be won.
Ancient White Dragon by Vance Kovacs
To top it all off, it has nearly 700 hit points.
Roc by Alejandro Pacheco
Haunting Revenant by Cristi Balanescu
Goristro by Ben Wootten
Zombie Hoard by Andrey Kuzinskiy
Sphinx of Valor Hazem Ameen
Tarrasque by Chris Rahn
