mighty28 wrote:
If you were a villain with similar abilities, trying to win a fifgr, is there a reason you would pull the punches?
If GM's aren't playing a proactive role to use villain abilities in an effective way to make the fight challenging but also enjoyable for the players, we are back where many discussions about optimization ended: players will feel the need to optimize to survive. If I were a villain in most adventures who really wanted to defeat the PC's I'd direct all my minions and cohorts to immediately kill anyone who was vanquished. I think we can all agree that wouldn't be the best way to run adventures for the success of the system and campaign.
I think it's important to have villains use the tools at their disposal but because authors can't account for every party combination, some leeway needs to be exercised by the GM behind the villain.
John