D&D 5E A Mess of OP Characters (magic items, rest mechanics, etc.)

[Clint_L]

Suggestion: keep it tough (maybe not TPK tough, but still potentially deadly) but offer ways out. Give your players options so that they can bail if they have to.

 

[Mort]

Suggestion: keep it tough (maybe not TPK tough, but still potentially deadly) but offer ways out. Give your players options so that they can bail if they have to.

This and also make sure there are win conditions that don't require simply killing everyone on the "other side." (admittedly not easy when running published modules).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

This and also make sure there are win conditions that don't require simply killing everyone on the "other side." (admittedly not easy when running published modules).

Yeah I am trying to avoide my go to advice "don't run published adventures"

 

[Retreater]

Yeah I am trying to avoide my go to advice "don't run published adventures"

I guess that's easier said than done.
There's the marketing push from publishers to promote the adventures, plus the communal shared experience to be able to tell stories about how a group defeated Strahd or brought an end to the Death Curse.
If I run my own adventures, what is the group going to talk to their friends about other than "We were lead into a trap by Geoff the Talking Mongoose, realizing too late that it was actually a nefarious trickster fey with a Ventriloquism spell on the animal."
It's not that I can't write my own adventures. I've done it a few times, even had some stuff published. I'd go so far as to say I run my stuff better than I do published content. However, running an original adventure feels like "off brand" D&D to me.

 

[J-H]

I have never played or run a WOTC-written adventure for 5e.

 

[Brotton Goodfellow]

Have you talked to your players about this? Let them know your concerns and see if they can help out?

Is there an issue with starting a brand new campaign with the assumptions that loot won’t be handed out willy nilly?

 

[Retreater]

Have you talked to your players about this? Let them know your concerns and see if they can help out?

Is there an issue with starting a brand new campaign with the assumptions that loot won’t be handed out willy nilly?

Well, we had a TPK last night and starting a new campaign at the players' request.
I'm not even sure if the problem was 100% the fault of the loot. Likely a combination of loot, number of players, poorly converted adventure, and rules mix-ups.
5e is a really finicky system, and it puts a lot on the DM without offering decent tools. But the players love it, so what can you do?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I guess that's easier said than done.

I guess but since I was homebrewing back in 1995 I got so used to just ripping apart adventures and not running out the box that I forget people actually try to run just published no home brew... and why I want trying to give more constructive advice.

If I run my own adventures, what is the group going to talk to their friends about other than "We were lead into a trap by Geoff the Talking Mongoose, realizing too late that it was actually a nefarious trickster fey with a Ventriloquism spell on the animal."

I mean yeah... my groups talk about Nerooney teh archmagus, and Praxton the Godslayer and the hoard of demons... but they also talk about the Tarasques and the mind flayers and the orcs and goblins...

one of my favorite was a store game I ran had people talking for over a year about the wedding of the Goblin King to the Ghoul Queen.

It's not that I can't write my own adventures. I've done it a few times, even had some stuff published. I'd go so far as to say I run my stuff better than I do published content. However, running an original adventure feels like "off brand" D&D to me.

that seems to weird to me... making my own adventure feel like the core of D&D to me

 

[Mort]

I guess that's easier said than done.
There's the marketing push from publishers to promote the adventures, plus the communal shared experience to be able to tell stories about how a group defeated Strahd or brought an end to the Death Curse.
If I run my own adventures, what is the group going to talk to their friends about other than "We were lead into a trap by Geoff the Talking Mongoose, realizing too late that it was actually a nefarious trickster fey with a Ventriloquism spell on the animal."
It's not that I can't write my own adventures. I've done it a few times, even had some stuff published. I'd go so far as to say I run my stuff better than I do published content. However, running an original adventure feels like "off brand" D&D to me.

The problem is, forgetting everything else, modern published modules just don't handle 7 PCs well. And, as you've experienced, trying to modify to handle 7 is often harder than just writing new stuff yourself.

Likely controversial suggestion (we'll see). Adopt a "fail forward" approach. Basically, present difficult situations (published or not) but have the result of failure be capture or something else that the PCs can come back from (getting stranded, getting imprisoned etc.) Takes the pressure off TPKs but still allows overclocking the encounters.

light of xaryxis (the spelljammer), while I have some issues with it is great for this. It's definitely NOT for certain groups. But for groups that don't mind a linear plot that can't help BUT get from beginning to end - it has merit. If you use it, you'll definitely need to rework the encounters for 7 players - my group of 4 is breezing through them (but they're enjoying it for the other stuff.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The problem is, forgetting everything else, modern published modules just don't handle 7 PCs well. And, as you've experienced, trying to modify to handle 7 is often harder than just writing new stuff yourself.

I would argue anything other then a 4 person brand new PHB only group isn't fully accounted for by written mods... and even then they are easy mode (I say having twice TPKed out of Curse of Strahd)