zaratan
First Post
I need yo agree. Is obvious that if my part is more optimized than the standard (no multiclass, no fest, no magic item, no min/max) is my obligation as DM to bump things. But some encounters they set doesn't make any sense.This is still using the reasonable "how hard can it be?" line of thought.
But it is completely insufficient to describe the real situation.
Take a representative encounter from Out of the Abyss as an example: where 10th or 12th level heroes are pitted against...
Goblins. Or Minotaurs.
It's not a matter of just adding one more Minotaur or a couple of extra goblin archers and a boss bugbear. If that would have helped, things would be reasonable and nobody would be complaining.
But it's not. It's so off the scale easy it isn't funny.
The reason I use the denigrating term "carebearian" is because 5e is far too often completely and utterly off base in its challenge level.
You don't need an extra Minotaur to properly challenge mid- to high-level characters. You need to entirely erase the idea that such lowly creatures are appropriate at all, then you need to scrap the encounter and start from scratch. Perhaps a Goristro or two, with a dozen Minotaurs as mooks.
The point is that in previous editions, your line of thought held true. Even when things perhaps became a tad easy for power gamers, the game was still in roughly the same ballpark.
5e on the other hand, is noticeably and aggravitingly made so easy it impacts your DM preparations.
I am entirely unaccustomed to finding that published modules are unusable as written and must be essentially rewritten to offer any challenge whatsoever and I don't like it.
More to the point, I dislike how some posters uncritically let WotC get away with it, with the "think of the children" argument.
I dont buy that for a second.
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Just a close read in ToH, first creature encounter that can happen is... one gargoyle. Yes, one stupid CR2 (450xp) to 4 or 5 lvl 13+ players. I know ToH isn't about creature encounters and PC should suffer some damage before reach this area, but what is the chance of tha gargoyle act before get killed? An easy encounter for a lvl 13 character should be 1100xp, for one character!
Would be that hard to but a golem gargoyle like instead? There is a trap with 1d3 poisonous snake too, really threatening.
About the traps, half need a perception check DC 15. Seriously, DC 15 for lvl 13+ in the most common skill to get proficiency. But at least if they fail they will take a deadly damage right? Well most traps do max of 2d10. But the setback damage for character of lvl 11 to 16 shouldn't be 4d10?
Well, I didn't read all ToH yet, but looks like, unless DM don't let players rest, this will not be really deadly.