Winning Through Losing

I enjoyed a small diversion this evening by ambushing a group's hunt.  I had started by sending a large force upon the group.  I then set up a secondary force in a flanking position, followed by a tertiary group in reserve to cut off any retreats.  I was convinced that I could rout the players and force a retreat from the area.

Even with this strategy, I still got defeated – all the while making a sincere effort to vanquish the group.  There were enough surges and retreats throughout the battle that the outcome of the battle was never obvious; there were numerous times when I thought that I had finally defeated the party when a couple of healers and a fighter would break off, regroup, and rescue the fallens.

Even though I lost the battle, I still consider the event a victory: it was fun, there was a lot of group participation, and I felt pretty good about running a challenging battle.

Now all I need to do is balance the monsters!