The Ogre Killed the Dwarf in 3 Rounds

[ren1999]

So the Ogre with a greatclub doing 2d4+6 damage got angry at the dwarf in the party and only focused on attacking him. With only 20 hit points, the Ogre was able to beat him literally into the ground dead in 3 rounds.

When a character has 20 hit points and a monster can do a maximum of 14 points damage with 1 hit (I'm not even including a critical hit here) the game requires balancing.

I would prefer it if monsters in the game could kill a character in 5 rounds and not 3. If the Ogre did 1d6 damage like the weapons table suggested with a +4strength modifier to hit and to damage, it would have been better.

Take the average likely roll of 4+3=7 and it would take the Ogre at least a round longer to kill the Dwarf.

The Ogre also killed the Wizard Elf in 2 rounds after dispatching the Dwarf.

 

[Remathilis]

First off, welcome to Dungeons & Dragons.

Second, Ogres are F*n scary. In Basic, they did weapon +2 damage to a fighter who had 8-11 max hp. In 2nd edition, it was weapon +6 vs. a fighter with 10-14 max hp. In 3.5, he did 2d8+7 hp vs. our poor fighter (whose hp hadn't gotten much better than 10-15 hp, 18 with toughness and 20 Con). Even the 4e/Essentials Ogre did 2d10+6 damage on a BASIC attack vs our Slayer, who had 15+Con Score hp. Shall I discuss his 4d10+4 encounter power with half damage on a miss?

You survived 3 rounds at level 1 vs. an Ogre? Congratulations man!

 

[BobTheNob]

First off, welcome to Dungeons & Dragons.

Second, Ogres are F*n scary. In Basic, they did d8+2 damage to a fighter who had 8+con max hp. In 2nd edition, it was 1d10+6 vs. a fighter with 10-14 max hp. In 3e, he did 2d8+7 hp vs. our poor fighter (whose hp hadn't gotten much better than 10-15 hp). Even the 4e/Essentials Ogre did 2d10+6 damage on a BASIC attack vs our Slayer, who had 15+Con Score hp.

You survived 3 rounds at level 1 vs. an Ogre? Congratulations man!

Im sorta with you on this. An ogre should be making a lvl1 anything its b**ch on a 1 on 1 basis. Balance sounds good to me.

 

[Bran Mak Morn]

Facing an Ogre without proper tactics at level 1 is, and should be, a suicide mission

 

[ArmoredSaint]

This is further proof that the Fighter needs better armour.

 

[Incenjucar]

At level 1, an ogre should be able to take out an entire party unless they use a bunch of DM fiat tricks.

 

[Kurtomatic]

So the Ogre with a greatclub doing 2d4+6 damage got angry at the dwarf in the party and only focused on attacking him. With only 20 hit points, the Ogre was able to beat him literally into the ground dead in 3 rounds.

...

The Ogre also killed the Wizard Elf in 2 rounds after dispatching the Dwarf.

You say this like its a bad thing.

What the hell were the clerics doing during these 5 rounds?

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Not really, starting armour is just that. If you're going up against an Ogre you should look to get better armour as part of the strategy. Having a spare shield and using it on occasion is ok too. I don't think it is unreasonable to see your favourite gear as not optimal in every occasion.

Personally I like my guy to use sword & shield with a focus on defensive maneauvers. However, I think it is refreshing that sometimes he needs to become a crossbowman, ready a pike, wield a mace or even opt for high damage weapons.

Coming back to the Ogre, said fighter would've lasted longer with the protector Cleric of Moradin protecting him with that shield move and the odd healing word. That said, if it was my character I'd be looking for a lot more advantages before tackling that brute.

 

[ren1999]

You say this like its a bad thing.

What the hell were the clerics doing during these 5 rounds?

The Pelor Fanboy was standing around with his finger in his butt.

That's also something that 5th edition needs, a published Survival Manual.

 

[Uller]

I noticed during our play test that players still hold (despite my warnings) a 4e mindset: "Oh...the adventure will be 'balanced'" (meaning "we can win every fight!") So when my group saw the ogre emerge from the secret door the fighter (at 9 HP!) initially said he was going to wait for it to come to him...the rest of the party was still down the hall finishing off another group of goblins so he was going to try to take on an Ogre and the three goblins that let him loose.

I had to remind him that "You're first level. You are wounded. That's a f*&$in' ogre! Your character knows that a single swing from that club (i.e. a tree trunk) would crush him.

So the fighter ran and they waited for the Ogre to come at them as a group. That's when they discovered the joy of Ray of Frost. The wizard held him in place for 2 rounds while the party pummeled him from range. Once the ogre got loose, it managed only one attack (and missed!) before it was brought to 16 hp and decided that this fight was not worth it. We allow an AoO on disengagement. The thief asked if he could pick it's pockets instead and stole the "bribe"...I allowed it...felt very 1e...

So...to the OP...the playtest packet makes it very clear that there are monsters within the adventure that ARE NOT balanced. Your clerics should have healed you. Your wizard should have frozen the ogre. You should have got your butt out of there. And your entire party should have considered avoiding the fight.