billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
My group has bypassed much of the dungeon. By sending out their scout, they found the most direct route to the villain but have avoided exploring much of the dungeon. As a result, they didn't encounter most of the side encounters (and thus did not have the opportunity to deal with them at all - whether by stealth, roleplay, combat, or other means). They have missed out on vital XP and magic items, and now are about two levels too low to deal with the dragon and poorly equipped.
They didn't deal with them by stealth?!? But you just said they basically did by scouting everything out and finding the most direct route to the villain. That sure sounds like avoiding everything by stealth to me!
Do you send them back up to "clear out" the dungeon and farm for XP and loot? Let them face the dragon underpowered (and possible TPK)? Handwave the XP and treasure to make them appropriately leveled to fight the dragon? Or something else?
I would normally handwave the XP, but in this case I'm running for a group of newer players, and I think they need to earn the XP (not just mechanically, but they need to learn their characters and how to deal with certain challenges).
What do you think?
Going back and clearing stuff out would be a real pain in the ass after they played smart by scouting things. Sure, they don't experience one of the narrative tropes of the genre (clearing everything out) or being stuck on the railroad tracks, but I don't really consider that a bad thing. Next time, give them clear, specific objectives such as "Find the Blade of Draconic Sorrow that the beast keeps hidden and under guard somewhere in his domain, for it is prophesied to be his downfall." And they'll realize they have to pick a few fights before they beeline to the big bad.