GMs: How Much Do You Curate Your Adventures To Your Specific PCs, Mechanically Speaking

[not-so-newguy]

[note: I've only ran various editions of D&D games and DCC games]
When I run a game, I let the players know what kind of adventure(s) that I plan to use, and I run the adventure as planned regardless of the Characters created. The adventures that I have always picked assumes that the party is well rounded, and I let the players know that ahead of time.

Our current campaign is Curse of Strahd and the 6-player party has no Tank. I pointed that out and they essentially said, "nah we're cool." Welp, the first combat encounter was a pack of wolves that was meant to be a challenging but not overwhelming encounter and one of the PCs nearly died. The character in question was a 3rd level Monk who was trying to be the Tank, i.e. stand toe-to-toe with the enemy which would allow the spellcasters, archers, and rogues to do their thing.

Fortunately, 5E allows for some flexibility when it comes to combat-roles, so hopefully they can adjust. I think that part of the game is problem-solving, that includes creative ways of solving party deficiencies.

 

[MGibster]

I'm running The Secret of Bone Hill, L-1 originally released in 1981, and since we're playing 5E 2024, obviously I've got to make some changes. The module features an area heavy with hobgoblins, but I've changed it to gnolls because gnolls are the new orcs in my campaign. I don't guess it really counts when there are such radical differences between 1st and 5th edition D&D. When I'm running scenarios, I will sometimes alter the encounters to better suit the characters in my group. Sometimes I make them weaker and sometimes stronger.

 

[Reynard]

I'm running The Secret of Bone Hill, L-1 originally released in 1981, and since we're playing 5E 2024, obviously I've got to make some changes. The module features an area heavy with hobgoblins, but I've changed it to gnolls because gnolls are the new orcs in my campaign. I don't guess it really counts when there are such radical differences between 1st and 5th edition D&D. When I'm running scenarios, I will sometimes alter the encounters to better suit the characters in my group. Sometimes I make them weaker and sometimes stronger.

The question would be, I guess, if you converted the module irrespective of the PCs capabilities.

 

[dragoner]

Totally, 100%. I run sand boxy games, so if I didn't, what would we be doing?

 

[Reynard]

Totally, 100%. I run sand boxy games, so if I didn't, what would we be doing?

That's interesting. When I think of a sandbox environment, i do not think of curating things for the PCs from a mechanical perspective.

 

[Thomas Shey]

To some extent it depends on the game and how much choice the players have to engage with things. Most superhero games or monster hunter games it strikes me as really perverse to put out things they're going to have to deal with, but won't be able to.

In slightly more sandboxy games (not to be confused with full-blown sandboxes which I don't really do any more) I'll usually set up things so that they look rational for the situation--but this varies considerably as to system. If you've got a system with a lot of range in capability in expected opponents, there again doesn't seem much point in setting it up so the players, if they misjudge something, walk into an inferno. You also have to account for whether your players A: Understand that retreating or trying something a different way is sometimes expected, and B: The system makes it look like this is actually a better choice than hunkering down and trying to bull through (neither of these is outright a given).

 

[John R Davis]

Will tailor a lot to match the PCs

 

[prabe]

I run entirely homebrew, and I'll absolutely write the narrative situations so they're relevant and interesting to the PCs. I don't specifically aim mechanical things at either the PCs' strengths or their weaknesses, it's up to the players to figure out how to accomplish things. (I will warn the players about specific monster mechanics, sometimes, if I think it'll make a difference to how they play, because I don't like playing gotcha.)

 

[Thomas Shey]

I also should note I didn't account for systems where some character elements are explicitly there to be aimed at--systems where specific enemies are part of character build, for example; if you have those using them with some frequency is simply part of your job as the GM.

 

[dragoner]

That's interesting. When I think of a sandbox environment, i do not think of curating things for the PCs from a mechanical perspective.

Ideally they will do it themselves, and one can be lazy. Though I definitely will try to get the other players involved by having something for their character to do.