D&D 5E You encounter 20 orcs ...

[Tobold]

Hi there! I am currently DMing the 5E Essentials Kit adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak for a group of 5 players. In that adventure there is one encounter [SPOILER WARNING] called Shrine of Savras in which the group encounters "4 orcs per characters plus 3 ogres", if they are level 4 or level 5. So for my 5-player group, that would be 20 orcs. Furthermore, unless the players attack at night (which isn't an obvious strategy, because several of them don't have darkvision), the encounter says that there is no way for the group to approach without raising an alarm from the guard orc on the tower and encountering all those orcs and ogres at once. Even if the characters sneak in unseen, all the orcs and ogres except for one guard are in the same location, so there is no easy way to fight them separately.

Now my group isn't overly specialized in area of effect damage spells. I have three melee characters and two spellcasters. So apart from the problem of an encounter with 23 enemies taking bloody forever, I also seems very deadly to me. Already the total xp of the orcs and ogres would qualify the encounter as "deadly" for a level 4 group, and that is without taking into account the "adjusted XP" formula for groups of enemies.

Has anybody here either run this specific encounter, or has experience with 5E combat involving such large numbers of enemies? I have the feeling I need to tweak this; but then, what is an encounter that isn't really playable as written doing in a D&D starter set? Am I just imagining things, and my players are going to cut through those 20 orcs and 3 ogres like a hot knife through butter? Or are my tingling DM-senses correctly warning me of a design problem?

 

[Oofta]

Not having read or run the mod, I can only give general advice.

Mods are not written in stone. If you think it would be more fun to split up the enemy, do it. Or just give the group some foreshadowing and let them figure it out. Maybe they can create a distraction or draw some of them off. Maybe they can avoid a fight altogether. Not all encounters are meant to be a straight up fight.

If they do fight, consider using the "mob" rules on page 250 of the DMG. Split the orcs up into groups of 4 or 5 (or what makes sense to you) and have them attack as a unit.

I'd also think about way to let the PCs run away valiantly retreat, this does seem like an overwhelming force.

Maybe someone who has read the mod can give you better advice. Good luck!

 

[Horwath]

depends how you play it. Or how they play it/you.

One fireball and battle is over

 

[DND_Reborn]

Another thing depending on the set-up is to have the enemy come in waves, more a series of smaller encounters instead of one big battle.

 

[commandercrud]

Sometimes a battle can be won without brute force slaughter. And sometimes you just have to run away or die.

 

[billd91]

The encounter says that the PCs can't approach by daylight without being spotted, but what do the actions of your players say? Not knowing exactly what composition the group is, all I can do is speak generally. But an invisible rogue can do some real damage to an orc on watch, even in a tower. A fireball can toast a lot of orcs all at once (though if they're only 4th level, I can see that being out of reach). Watching the shrine from cover to see if they go on any kind of patrol or foraging expeditions can help the PCs thin out the herd a little.

 

[iserith]

I would suggest you present it as is, giving the players an appropriate amount of foreshadowing about what they can expect at this location, then let them decide what to do with full knowledge of the difficulty and stakes. Adjudicate what they decide fairly and with an eye toward the goals of play. I bet everything works out just fine.

 

[Draegn]

There are alternatives to fighting. Perhaps the players could in someway encourage the orcs to fight one another over some issue? Remember LotR when the orcs fight over Frodo's shiny shirt.

 

[S'mon]

Level 5 PCs are well over twice as powerful as level 4 and have access to a bunch of AoE that can slaughter droves of orcs. Level 4 PCs are likely to get slaughtered.

I ran the Delmon Manor siege in POTA with 40+ orcs, several Orogs and a War Chief vs level 5 PCs and some weak NPCs. The Orcs were massacred in droves; fireball at a choke point was devastating - it was an easy win, but the PCs were defending and could choose not to expose themselves.

 

[LordEntrails]

Also, not all the orcs are going to be ready for combat. Some might be doing chores, napping, whatever. Plus just because the guard shouts a warning, doesn't mean everyone is going to respond right away. So, the PCs will have time to retreat if desired, as well as the orcs should come in waves, maybe 1d4+1 orcs per round, with an ogre on rounds 2, 3 and 6, or something.

Then perhaps your players flee, and even though they don't have darkvision, doesn't mean they can't attack at night. Let them get creative. Maybe they burn the camp so they have enough light to fight by!