Session Report-Back is a feature in which I jot down my after-action thoughts about my weekly D&D session for my Disciples of Dreth'dor campaign.

Combat session.

I didn't intend it to be a difficult battle. Mechanically, it was of average difficulty. This was supposed to be a quick confidence-booster before the main quest encounters.

The battle lasted four hours, and the party was nearly defeated.

What went wrong?

I'm still not sure. The encounter began when the PCs fell through a collapsing cavern floor into another cavern. The battlefield was littered with stalagmites that blocked line of sight, provided cover, and served as difficult terrain. The opponents? A pack of troglodytes; four ranged attackers, three melee, and one shaman.

For the first couple rounds, the PCs didn't have eyes on the enemies. They knew hostiles were present, but they didn't bring out their sunrod until the trogs took up defensive positions and started throwing javelins. The trogs had ranged attacks that immobilized the PCs, and as soon as they started landing hits, the battle was all downhill.

While I don't feel the PCs performed optimally, I also don't think they performed poorly. So why was this battle so difficult? Are the trogs overpowered? Did the terrain heavily favor the trogs and put the PCs at a disadvantage? Was I too vicious with the trogs' tactics? Was luck just against the PCs? Did those first couple wasted rounds damn the PCs right off the bat?

I'm still not sure. Sometimes, battles don't go as planned, and there's no obvious reason.