Henry
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Rodrigo Istalindir said:...One instance he mentioned, they didn't get surprised, got lucky and it failed a sleep save, they CdG'd it several times, and managed to win.
Did you run under Mearls, by chance? That sounds exactly like the one he relates in a blog post at the event yesterday.
One question, though: You mentioned 5 encounters in 5 hours. Is that what you would expect your normal speed to be under a 3e game? For first level characters, that sounds about my experience, too, but rising dramatically fast after about 7th level or so.