D&D 5E Five new players. 1st level PCs. First monster they meet is...
Wik
First Post
Problem I have with this group is it's not a campaign - it's a "drop in" format, where every friday I have a different group of players run through an approximately four hour adventure. Any hook I drop has to be resolved by session's end. Unfortunately, that leaves the awesome demon idea out of it for this group (though the idea of a crucified demon is worth stealing for my "real" group...)
(I realize the adventurer's league is perfect for this sort of format, but I choose not to follow it. Not out of any disrespect for AL, but more out of a personal desire to write my own material and forge my own path).
I do agree that it shouldn't necessarily be resolved only by combat. A rust monster seems like a good choice for this - it's fun, weird, and totally D&D. But really, they're more fun once the PCs actually have loot to lose.
Wik
First Post
My first draft dungeon (and I'll be changing it as ideas come in until game time tomorrow!) sees the following encounters in the dungeon:
1. three kobolds arguing over dice.
2. a gate trap. Easy to disarm. Spikes deal damage
3. Gas Spore over a treasure chest. If it explodes, most of the nice stuff in the chest (including trinkets, the best treasure!) is destroyed.
4. Pool of green slime. There's a cage over it, with a leather cord that can lower the cage into the pool. There's a dead kobold inside.
5. A weird altar with candles and skulls. Inside the skull is a gem (natch). extinguish the candles and the god of undeath gets angry and you have disadvantage on all saves versus undead attacks for 1 day.
6. 4 kobolds and 2 trained giant rats. The "big fight".
7. A sword in a stone. Pull it from the stone, and it animates and attacks!
8. A cave in. Lots of hints that it's coming.
9. Kobold hiding behind crates. She has a crossbow. She doesn't really want to fight.
10. A ghoul, chained to a wall.
11. 3 kobolds with 2 skeleton pets, guarding a warhorse (the reason the PCs have been sent into the dungeon).
It's a simple, one hour to create dungeon, but there's enough choices that the players should have fun. Any ways to make it awesome(r) are greatly appreciated. Would prefer to keep it simple.
1. three kobolds arguing over dice.
2. a gate trap. Easy to disarm. Spikes deal damage
3. Gas Spore over a treasure chest. If it explodes, most of the nice stuff in the chest (including trinkets, the best treasure!) is destroyed.
4. Pool of green slime. There's a cage over it, with a leather cord that can lower the cage into the pool. There's a dead kobold inside.
5. A weird altar with candles and skulls. Inside the skull is a gem (natch). extinguish the candles and the god of undeath gets angry and you have disadvantage on all saves versus undead attacks for 1 day.
6. 4 kobolds and 2 trained giant rats. The "big fight".
7. A sword in a stone. Pull it from the stone, and it animates and attacks!
8. A cave in. Lots of hints that it's coming.
9. Kobold hiding behind crates. She has a crossbow. She doesn't really want to fight.
10. A ghoul, chained to a wall.
11. 3 kobolds with 2 skeleton pets, guarding a warhorse (the reason the PCs have been sent into the dungeon).
It's a simple, one hour to create dungeon, but there's enough choices that the players should have fun. Any ways to make it awesome(r) are greatly appreciated. Would prefer to keep it simple.
It'd be cool to find a very old and wounded creature of a really high power.
Like, if you stumbled across (to roll off another person's idea) a dead group of guard or adventurer's. Or maybe just one might knight and the wounded Ogre he had ALMOST killed just before they arrived.
Do they take credit for the heroics? Do they even fight it? Do they negotiate?
I mean an Ogre could slay any of them in one good hit, but he also is ALMSOT dead.
Like, if you stumbled across (to roll off another person's idea) a dead group of guard or adventurer's. Or maybe just one might knight and the wounded Ogre he had ALMOST killed just before they arrived.
Do they take credit for the heroics? Do they even fight it? Do they negotiate?
I mean an Ogre could slay any of them in one good hit, but he also is ALMSOT dead.
Azurewraith
Explorer
I would of gone for something non-threatening in there like an assassin vine or purple fungus etc, they wont ever see it coming
Sacrosanct
Legend
rot grubs
Li Shenron
Legend
Usually I start from an isolated small group of minions, then exactly which creatures, depends on the adventure theme. They could be zombies or skeletons if the theme is undead, or they could be orcs, or goblins, or kobolds, or wild animals, or giant insects... I'm make it anyway a group smaller than the PCs, so in your case (6 PCs) I would make it 4 identical monsters too keep it even easier.
This makes it almost certain for the PCs to win with few scratches, and to let those who are afraid to bee too weak for combat (e.g. arcane spellcaster) to team up with another PC or to stay behind and attack from range. Overall a very soft first encounter just to get a grip on combat rules.
This makes it almost certain for the PCs to win with few scratches, and to let those who are afraid to bee too weak for combat (e.g. arcane spellcaster) to team up with another PC or to stay behind and attack from range. Overall a very soft first encounter just to get a grip on combat rules.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
A Colossal Red Dragon.
It helps if you have the mini, and put one of the player's minis in it's mouth. For scale, of course.
The Dragon, being bored, hungry, and evil, challenges the players to a game of the deadliest kind.
It helps if you have the mini, and put one of the player's minis in it's mouth. For scale, of course.
The Dragon, being bored, hungry, and evil, challenges the players to a game of the deadliest kind.
