What Have Your Favourite Encounters Been in Pathfinder 2e?

[Kichae]

Over in the basement, prolific poster u/Killchrono asked the question: What encounters have you enjoyed the most in PF2e?

The answers given are interesting and insightful (a lot of them focus on terrain, twists, and knife-edge scenarios that broke in the players’ favour), but they’re also over there. I’m curious to know what the Fediverse’s favour encounters have been!

[Kichae]

When my players’ party (of 3) was Level 2, I ran them through the core of the DCC module Legend of the Ripper, which culminates in a battle with a Redcap. I ran the module, and the Redcap, as written, just substituting in PF2e versions of the monsters and hazards (the conversion was buttery smooth, really), which meant I was putting the party up against an Extreme encounter. The players had circumvented a fight with a ghost earlier, and in fact had managed to befriend it, so I decided to use it as an intervention if and when the party got the Redcap down below a certain HP threshold, or if the fight turned totally sideways.

Well, the Redcap managed to down the party’s only melee character – a Champion – in the first round with a critical hit, which turned the party into a little bit of a reactive mess. The Cleric had recently respec’d into an Oracle, so they were lacking a dedicated healing option, but I gave the Oracle a custom Celestial Relic with Word of Faith so that they’d have some sort of free and easy healing. So, they locked themself into the roll of keeping the Champion alive, and the Champion locked themself into the role of keeping the Oracle alive, while the Druid did what they could to pick away at the Redcap’s health and outpace its fast healing, and the Redcap skirmished with the Champion and the Druid. This went on for a few rounds, with the Druid doing most of the damage, and the Oracle and Champion doing chip damage where they could, until they were just a few HP away from the narrative trigger I’d decided on.

Then the Champion managed to catch up to and trip the Redcap, while the Druid walked over and pulled out Horizon Thunder Sphere.

Natural 20, with a high damage roll. More than enough to kill the Redcap.

It was a great encounter, with a mobile enemy, in a setting with lots of crates and boxes that it could take cover behind, and a party that felt pretty consistently on the ropes, right up until the dice gods blessed them into a decisive victory.