How can a low level character single-handedly defeat a high level

Depends on the setting

team work, guile, and prodigous use of "tomb of horrors"' tier traps

hopefully you know how to convince a high level player to touch a sphere of annihilation

>>51142455
Superior gear and weaponry
Cheap tricks (poison, ambushes, ect)
Class matchups (Wizard ain't gonna like Paladins and their god-saves very much)
Diplomacy
Bluffing
DM fiat

Are you even trying here?

The environment.
>collapse their cave hideout
>lock their doors, then set the building on fire
>cause a bridge to collapse while they cross it
>push them off a cliff
>shut a castle gate on them, or lift a moat crossing as they're on it
>trap them somewhere with no food or water, come back in a week or two and loot their dehydrated corpse

The possibilities are endless

>>51142455
Environmental manipulation and a generous DM.

Exploding dice.

>>51142455
If they're aware of the high-level opponent ahead of time, they can tailor their build/training/specializations to fight them, specifically.

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338KB, 1280x720px

>>51142455
By being scum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Wk2J_FEWk

>>51142455
Careful planning

>>51142455
Be a wizard pick on high level fighters

>>51142455
Hmm. That actually gives me an idea for an encounter / villain. Someone who has the resourcefulness of a (clever) player, but is actually super weak if caught.

Is that what you're going for? Or is this just some general question?

>>51144388
A little along those lines, yeah.

Hence the picture - I'm thinking a weak drow facing off against someone in power in order to promote their own rise.

It's tricky, because they'd have to 'fight' them in the city (i.e. the powerful one's territory) more or less on equal terms.

I'm thinking some sort of political victory mixed with some backstabbing might work (turn the powerful one's guards against them?)

>>51142455
>How can a low level character single-handedly defeat a high level character without incredibly lucky rolls?
High Yield Explosives.

>>51145252
I agree with this.
Explosives solve many problems, though OP's probably not aiming for this type of solution.

Massive setup. Traps, potions, poisons, magic items, explosives.

>>51146325
Well if you don't have explosives use fire. Fire is the cleanser.

>>51145238
The trick is use one's personal resources to build power and manipulate events to create a scenario where the enemy is defeated.

From simple to complicated:

1: poison/trap/enspell the person, using an ability that targets the person's weakest ability. (in D&D terms hit the weakest save)

2: while the person is at a high ranking meeting, illusion them to be attacking a higher up. Bodyguards will do the rest.

3: gather allies, and attack the person with overwhelming force while they are poorly guarded.

4: snipe them with siege weaponry.

The advantage the attacker has is they can control the scenario to an extent. Unless the person is always on guard, there will be better times to strike, and you can gather your resources to hit them with enough effort to overwhelm their defenses.

>>51142455
Prep time, lots of prep time.

It might take a lot of money.