D&D 5E Starting Tyranny at 3rd Level?

[pukunui]

So my players voted to try Tyranny of Dragons now that we've finally finished the Lost Mine of Phandelver. The thing is, I prefer to start campaigns at 3rd level rather than 1st. How feasible is it to let the PCs start Tyranny of Dragons at 3rd?

And if I were to do that, would it be better to slow down advancement early on so they end up getting back on track level-wise, or would it be OK to run the whole adventure with a party that's two levels above the expected level?

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[MerricB]

Due to the way XP works in 5E, you should be able to give it out as-written.

(Note that Princes assumes use of the Milestone system).

 

[pukunui]

Due to the way XP works in 5E, you should be able to give it out as-written.

OK. And I suppose that would naturally arrest their levelling somewhat anyway.

(Note that Princes assumes use of the Milestone system).

I could've sworn I saw references to gaining XP in that adventure but you're right. It does.

 

[Coredump]

I think the 'milestone' system is a cop out. It means that a 1-15 AP isn't really 1-15. They are able to put in some mini-adventure with no where near enough content to go up a level, and then just declare "hey, its a milestone, level up!"

It would be one thing if there was enough content to get close each time... but often there is no where near enough content. But because they want to claim that "1-15" status...... weaksauce.....


As for your question, I think it may work better starting at 3rd. You can be mean in Ep1 instead of pulling punches, and they will likely still be lvl 3 as they play Ep3.

 

[ad_hoc]

I think the 'milestone' system is a cop out. It means that a 1-15 AP isn't really 1-15. They are able to put in some mini-adventure with no where near enough content to go up a level, and then just declare "hey, its a milestone, level up!"

It would be one thing if there was enough content to get close each time... but often there is no where near enough content. But because they want to claim that "1-15" status...... weaksauce.....

I think it was done in this case because the adventure was written before the rules were finalized.


To the question, how many people are in the group?

That is going to affect the difficulty a lot. I think I would either start them at 2nd level or skip the first couple scenarios.

 

[DongMaster]

So my players voted to try Tyranny of Dragons

A Dungeon Master should never succumb to democracy...

Anyone got any suggestions?

Well if you run the milestone awards the second episode really shouldn't increase the level of the party. Also I would add a few more opponents, and increase some of the main characters (HPs, bodyguards etc.). Other than that not much more - there are plenty of oppertunities to level the party out with the suggested levels in HotDQ.

 

[Fion]

I think the 'milestone' system is a cop out. It means that a 1-15 AP isn't really 1-15. They are able to put in some mini-adventure with no where near enough content to go up a level, and then just declare "hey, its a milestone, level up!"

It would be one thing if there was enough content to get close each time... but often there is no where near enough content. But because they want to claim that "1-15" status...... weaksauce.....


As for your question, I think it may work better starting at 3rd. You can be mean in Ep1 instead of pulling punches, and they will likely still be lvl 3 as they play Ep3.

On the flip side of that coin the milestone system allows GM's (and published adventures) to determine leveling without necessarily adding in tuns of combat filler 'side-treks' to get through levels. It also allows GM's to reward successful adventuring, clue finding, puzzle solving, social maneuvering, etc instead of just combat, helping turn a party away from that 'kill everything for xp!' mentality.

As to the OP's question, I agree, starting at 3rd works fine. You don't necessarily have to to start new characters since they played MoP, it's easy enough to work it into the Forgotten Realms (or what ever setting you are using) and go from there. For example I started my campaign with a custom introductory adventure that brought the party together in Baldur's Gate. I then gave them a number of potential hooks and let them choose which hook to take. Each hook lead to a different adventure path or published adventure. So far they choose to do MiBG followed by MoP with the intention of going north to do Crystal Shard. On the way I'm going to give them hooks for ToD and PotA. I use the milestone system so the party is level 4 atm ( a few failures in MoP prevented that 5th level) and well within the level range to start one of the two big adventure paths or do Crystal Shard (with a few tweaks).

 

[GX.Sigma]

So my players voted to try Tyranny of Dragons...Anyone got any suggestions?

Overrule them.

Actually, starting at 3rd would improve the adventure a lot. You can skip the terrible early chapters, and get right to the mediocre later chapters.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

IMO, milestone levelling works best with lots of downtime. "It's been over a year since you helped Prince Rodolfo win the love of Lady Elinor by slaying the vampire cult. They had a nice wedding, and you ate lots of cake. Now it's a year and a half later and you're older and wiser--everyone has gone up a level--when you hear rumors of a new threat..."

 

[pukunui]

If there isn't enough XP in the adventure as written to keep the party at the right level, won't starting the PCs at 3rd level just make it worse? Wouldn't it make more sense to use the milestone system in this case? I could maybe have them level up to 4th after episode 2, and then 5th after episode 4, so that they're roughly in the right place for Castle Naerytar.

That being said, my players enjoy getting XP, and I like how the adventure provides bonus XP for doing various little extra things. Maybe I just need to go through and tot up all the XP and see where the PCs would gain levels so I can see if I need to add in anything extra.

Overrule them.

What if I don't want to? Rather than repeat myself, I'll suggest you take a look at my other thread on the subject: Princes vs Tyranny.

Actually, starting at 3rd would improve the adventure a lot. You can skip the terrible early chapters, and get right to the mediocre later chapters.

I'm not planning on skipping anything. As hard as it may be to believe, I actually like this adventure. I don't think there's anything terrible or mediocre about it.