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Do You Think Encounters Should be Difficult?
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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7525305" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>Session 0 or, you know, just talk to your players. I've been DMing 5e for about 4 years now. </p><p></p><p>My first campaign was homebrew and I found that past the first couple levels, I always overestimated the difficulty of combat. This was largely because my players were very experienced and I could throw a lot more at them then I thought was appropriate. Nobody died in two years. But they kept showing up. I think think what made it fun what that I was struggling to make appropriate combats, but I was pretty good at puzzles, mystery, and multiple plot threads they could pick up and make their own in a huge sandboxy world. </p><p></p><p>My second campaign was Curse of Strahd. Early in the game there was a near TPK and there were encounters that required resurrection. But the final showdown was a bit anticlimatic combat wise. Still, overall, the campaign was a lot of fun, even though it didn't go as expected. It turned out to be more about witches and liches than Vampires. Like my first campaign, it was very story driven, but deadlier, except at the very end. </p><p></p><p>My current campaign that I'm starting up can be insanely deadly. A wrong turn, getting sloppy with one trap, not properly investigating magic areas and items can lead to quick--even instant death--and TPKs are pretty easy to occur if you are not playing very carefully. </p><p></p><p>Three very different campaigns, three different levels of combat difficulty, and three different levels of combat focus. Same group of players. In four years they played games where they knew they were almost certain to win any combat, to being afraid of their own shadows. They keep showing up to the games, so they must be enjoying it well enough. </p><p></p><p>My take away is, yes, know your players. But don't underestimate them. The same player can enjoy different campaign styles. If you want to play an ultra-lethal campaign, let the players know that upfront. In an otherwise "normal" campaign, if you want to throw in some especially deadly encounters, you may want to telegraph that to your players so they are not completely caught off guard. But, occasionally, being caught completely off guard is exciting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7525305, member: 6796661"] Session 0 or, you know, just talk to your players. I've been DMing 5e for about 4 years now. My first campaign was homebrew and I found that past the first couple levels, I always overestimated the difficulty of combat. This was largely because my players were very experienced and I could throw a lot more at them then I thought was appropriate. Nobody died in two years. But they kept showing up. I think think what made it fun what that I was struggling to make appropriate combats, but I was pretty good at puzzles, mystery, and multiple plot threads they could pick up and make their own in a huge sandboxy world. My second campaign was Curse of Strahd. Early in the game there was a near TPK and there were encounters that required resurrection. But the final showdown was a bit anticlimatic combat wise. Still, overall, the campaign was a lot of fun, even though it didn't go as expected. It turned out to be more about witches and liches than Vampires. Like my first campaign, it was very story driven, but deadlier, except at the very end. My current campaign that I'm starting up can be insanely deadly. A wrong turn, getting sloppy with one trap, not properly investigating magic areas and items can lead to quick--even instant death--and TPKs are pretty easy to occur if you are not playing very carefully. Three very different campaigns, three different levels of combat difficulty, and three different levels of combat focus. Same group of players. In four years they played games where they knew they were almost certain to win any combat, to being afraid of their own shadows. They keep showing up to the games, so they must be enjoying it well enough. My take away is, yes, know your players. But don't underestimate them. The same player can enjoy different campaign styles. If you want to play an ultra-lethal campaign, let the players know that upfront. In an otherwise "normal" campaign, if you want to throw in some especially deadly encounters, you may want to telegraph that to your players so they are not completely caught off guard. But, occasionally, being caught completely off guard is exciting. [/QUOTE]
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