I think this post can be used to give our suggestions to certain spawns we'd like to see made tougher, and make us fear the underdark more damn't!

Umberhulks could use a slight boost, a couple more strength points and constitution. Nothing to drastic, just want them to be tough.

Hook horrors, give them all the -5 dmg resistance please, while some of em do, the smaller one's need protection two!

More goblin chieftain spawns.

More Gloomwings. Also, when they die, make them create a fog of poison. that blinds/stuns

More Dire Deep frogs in the Wetlands.

Stag Beetles please.

The occasional Duegar slaving band.

Alpha Male Worgs (worgs with more of everything)

Deep Lurker's are immune to Animal Empathy

Did I miss something?

I'd like to see things be a little tougher out there sometimes too... but then I remember that I'm looking at it from the point of view of a character that can control/kill most of the spawns out there with little to no consumables.

The truth is, most people are genuinely afraid of wandering the dark. The last time, and every time really, I've suggested just going out on a wandering trip of the dark I get tons of negative response. Mostly, this boils down to "Too much of a drain on consumables, no reward".

With that in mind, I fear that if things were made any harder, underdark patrols would cease entirely. There are some specific areas that could use a tweak though... For instance the closer you get to Traensyr, the safer things get to a point. There are a few zones there where you get little to no dangerous spawns. Even bands of roving Drow Merchants and their guards are not in evidence, despite it being a trade route.

Yeah... Fact is very few people travel in the Underdark already and most spawns can hurt you pretty bad or kill you if they crit-you or get a disabling spell on you...

I've had plenty of moments where I was 'inches' away from death.

Just make your character less optimized to adjust to the difficulty that you want... or go travel to harder areas, i.e. Chazbash.

There are a few really nasty spawns as it is, yet, we as DM's do drop scary raiding bands from time to time, as well. If you're really enthusiastic about it, you can feel free to drop a line to the DM channel that you're exploring for "so and so", for "this and that", while I'm online, and if I'm free I will probably do so.

Some days you will find monsters sprinkled around the Underdark as well by the DM's. It's nice to know people are genuinely afraid of travelling though as it is.

I a newbie here (a few lvl 4 chars), but I like the variation in monster difficulty, so long as it's not ridiculous. Yesterday, had my gnome decide to explore the closest cave to Sanctuary, hack his way through a few measly kobolds and a spider, only to turn and run like fury when the NEXT spider tured out to be a far tougher prospect!

Or when I did the "raid on the Goblin Camp" quest, and we ran across a big Cave Lizard before we'd buffed up.

On Hook Horrors. I've had them spawn right outside the canal ward and rip my group to shreds. those things don't need to be any tougher, they're already a terror for that area.

This game is hard enough as it is. :(

Yeah, the spawns really are tough enough to make exploration a dangerous endeavor. I know in my forays through the Underdark, I rarely see anyone else, except druids and other rangers, which seems to make sense, given their propensity for spending time in the wilderness.

The suggestion to make more things immune to AE seems to take away something cool that druids and rangers have right now, and should be good at. A druid or ranger should be more capable of surviving the Underdark than most, because they spend more time out there.

And trust me, when a Deep Lurker ambushes somebody who doesn't have AE, it can be pretty scary.

The problem Thomas isn't really the difficulty of the spawns, but how well a seasoned playerbase knows how to deal with them. Most efu "vets" can take a level two character with a rusty dagger, go out into the Underdark, and never die, no matter how the difficulty is increased. Newcomers will likely die in spades due to the current spawns.

Regardless here are my thoughts on the spawns you mentioned.

Dire Deep Frogs are already plentiful and a real hardship

Hook Horrors have a tremendous damage range, even a small one can do massive damage on a non-critical roll if lucky

Ogre Bandits are now a one-man wrecking crew

Gloomwings should probably spawn in groups of only four-five if thats possible, they are at their best then with multiple aoes. Gloomwings glow brightly and PCs that don't want to fight them should be able to see them easily on time.

Duergar slaving patrols do spawn (very rare)

Manticores and basilisks spawn (rare)

Umberhulks don't seem to give anyone I've ever seen hardship at all, and probably their confusion gaze should be increased in duration a bit

Folks can get to Mur probably with little trouble except the occasionnal Malar beast or Greater eyeball, but further is always a challenge.