D&D 5E New DM help if you would be so kind

[rgoodbb]

I am a long-time player but this will be my first attempt as a DM with 3 complete newbie players.


Probably worrying over nothing, but 2 questions...

Travel question
How do I (or maybe how do you) verbalise travel? Do I verbally wave it completely? Or should I embellish it and if so, any ideas on how to make it interesting? Aside from actual random encounters, I really have no idea how to get from A to B as a DM. That bit in the middle.

3 Players question
With three players, do I need to be careful with the CR? What numbers etc.?
- 2 separate Goblin combats
- 1 Skeleton combat
- 1 Bugbear combat

Thanks very much in advance for your time and replies

FYI - I am going with Matt Colville’s YouTube beginner session Your First Adventure (with a few amendments) as this has finally given me the confidence to attempt DM’ing

 

[Sammael]

Travel - unless you want to relay some specific information gained during travel, you can handwave it. Make a brief description of how the voyage starts, mention landmarks passed (if any) and just finish with "and, after 6 hours of riding, you are tired and ready to make camp for the day." I also recommend rolling random encounters in advance so you can prepare to narrate them better.

3 players - I don't have much experience with 5E but I have run games for 3 players and they are decidedly deadlier than those for 4. From observation, 3 PCs cannot handle single powerful opponents as well as 4 PCs. With multiple weaker enemies, you can control the number and you should probably send them out in waves to see how much the party can handle (reinforcements are always an option).

 

[happyhermit]

For travel, it really depends on what you want travel to be, what it should be like in the particular situation, and what the players want. Glossing it over is fine, particularly if it should be rather uneventful. If the world they are traveling through is dangerous, strange, or something else you want to convey, then spend a little time describing things that demonstrate that. You can use vignettes they might encounter along the way or present them with actual situations and choices.

Rather than put this all on you and potentially have the players listen to the GM talk too much, if you want to add some depth to the travel ask the players what their PCs do during the travel. You can ask them to describe all sort of things from their routine, conversations with other PCs, or present them with situations and ask what they do. Keep it simple and judge their reaction, if they don't really care, and you don't either, then just touch on it a bit every time as there is no need to force it.

As for the 3 PC party, yeah, numbers matter in 5e on both sides of a combat. I have run a few 3PC parties through LMOP, with new-to-TTRPG players, and they were ok, typically playing cautiously and strategically. It will definitely shift the difficulty of encounter guidelines and CR, but those have always been rather nebulous and shifting at any rate. Whether or not the PCs blindly walk into encounters or play strategically will have more influence on it's difficulty than having 3 players vs. 4, as will how you play the monsters. The first level will be challenging but it will mellow out a bit after that, IME.

 

[aco175]

For new players I would hand wave travel and get to the action. I would save the planning and description on the main encounters.

For encounter of less than 4 PCs focus on only one or two monsters rather than having one per PC. The rules in the DMG have information on making encounters per PC. I think that if you have 2 monsters you take the xp for both and multiply that by 1.5 to get the encounter xp. Adding the daily xp per character you can get the total xp for the group per day.

It is a bit confusing so I tend to take it easier on 1st and 2nd level parties and not worry so much as the levels go up. 2 goblins at first level would be ok, 3 would be a tough fight. a 1st level PC still could outright kill a goblin, but factors on who goes first and if the goblin hits the PCs make low level PC kills more random than at higher levels. at 3rd level the same 3 PCs could take on 6 goblins and be an average to hard encounter.

 

[rgoodbb]

Sammael & happyhermit thanks a lot

I like the idea of rolling any wandering monsters in advance.

I also like the idea of asking the players about the journey. what they do what they say to each other etc.

I realise I can adjust the numbers of enemies from four to three etc. but should I change anything about the Bugbear? 1 hit would probably down either of two of the three players.

 

[Ed Laprade]

One thing I find useful for longer journeys is to toss the players a map. It doesn't even need to be an especially good map. All it really needs are where they are, where they're going, and anything interesting along the way. (That includes roads, obstacles, known bad areas, etc.)

 

[happyhermit]

...
I realise I can adjust the numbers of enemies from four to three etc. but should I change anything about the Bugbear? 1 hit would probably down either of two of the three players.

LMOP has a bugbear (not alone) that the players can fight at level one. I have run 3PC parties through it without any PCs dying. 1st lvl PCs drop, that is to be expected and not necessarily avoided (by the GM), it is far different than them dying. A Bugbear really isn't necessary at level 1 though, a few ranged goblins are more than capable of scaring the heck out of PCs at that point.

 

[cmad1977]

Maybe use a NPC to round out what the team lacks. Arrange to have him killed by the bugbear, leaving it wounded enough for a 3 party group(20hps? I dunno).


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[rgoodbb]

1st lvl PCs drop, that is to be expected and not necessarily avoided (by the GM), it is far different than them dying.

Damn. I'm thinking like a player aren't I? That's Interesting.

So....What are the other most common pitfalls for long-time players as new DM's?

 

[ArchfiendBobbie]

Travel question
How do I (or maybe how do you) verbalise travel? Do I verbally wave it completely? Or should I embellish it and if so, any ideas on how to make it interesting? Aside from actual random encounters, I really have no idea how to get from A to B as a DM. That bit in the middle.

Describe the terrain they are passing through. Include a few interesting sights along the way. Don't be afraid to toss in a random non-adventure encounter, like the players passing a prey animal or seeing other travelers headed back to town.

And, this is most important, research the terrain they are traveling in. A forest is not just the trees, but also the shade, the scents, the animal sounds, the other undergrowth... Even a desert a has more to it than just sand.

Also, don't be afraid to make a random sight they see in the distance interesting. A bit of unexplained mystery, like a giant skull carved onto a mountain, can sometimes spur the players to go on the next adventure entirely on their own without you needing any hook to take them there. And even if you must use a hook, they'll remember seeing it and will pay attention the next time. But, don't overdo this.

In general, I find it interesting to drop hints about potential future hooks throughout a party's travels. Let's say they will face an orc army at the end... having them spot orc scouts moving through the woods, or even have an encounter with an orc scouting party, can help provide a sense of continuity. That way, when they find out about the orc army, they'll realize those seemingly-random encounters and sightings they saw before were not random at all, but part of the ongoing plot that they're now in the center of. But again, I wouldn't overdo this. Don't have everything be pure plot.