D&D 5E Four or five player? HotDQ.

[Ezequielramone]

I'm about to start HotDQ. I have four confirmed players. I feel, in my experience, that four is the perfect number of players, but due to the lethality of the campaign and the importance of the bonds (characters are connected to the history. And it will be a shame if one dies v just because they lack a player). I'm wondering if it is not better to have a fifth player. what do you think?

 

[Tormyr]

Play with however many players you can get. I have 6 at my table currently (just lost 1 to a move). If you have a 5th person who will gel well with the rest of the group, welcome them in. If you keep it at 3-5 players, it makes the calculations easier for the encounter building guidelines.

 

[aramis erak]

4 is doable. Just remind them that stealth is of great value in not getting into too many fights.

My encounters table has been 4p. There have been 3 PC's killed, and 5 dropped. One was an accident; the other two were players doing "WTF?" moments. (one of them, everyone else hid, and barbarian didn't. Having no other targets... other one, Lv 2 PC challenges Cyanwrath. In the camp. At night.)

You may want to review the balance rules in the DM's Basic Rules. (P56-58)

 

[Ezequielramone]

I'm starting to think in five players. We all know players tend to have WTF moments very often. But if I can balance things I'll wait to recruit a new player.
I'll read those rules first.

 

[Tormyr]

I would recommend just starting the campaign. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you might never get started.

 

[Zaran]

My group has 6 players. I didn't change a single thing in the first chapter and no one noticed a decline in the challenge. In chapter 3 I only had 5 players show up and one of them got one-shot killed by one of the big bads. The 4 left still managed to win out the battle but they were totally exhausted and had to pull out of the dungeon. It turns out that encounter would have been what WotC says is a Deadly encounter for level 11 characters. So I really don't think having 4 is a big deal, you just have keep on eye on things.

I don't know why but I have this craving for Dairy Queen.

 

[Ezequielramone]

I would recommend just starting the campaign. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you might never get started.

we'll start this Saturday no matter what number of player I have. I just wonder if we need one more player.
I'll super check the encounters. my concern is about the lethality of the campaign . I don't have problem s killing characters. but I don't want super deadly encounters.

 

[Ezequielramone]

double post, sorry

 

[Wrathamon]

If players want to fight everything ... then they are going to dirt nap a lot.

this isn't setup to be X number of encounters per day the party can defeat before having to rest before they are at risk. This is any situation can be a risk so the players need to assess it appropriate and figure out the best course of action. Sometimes that means talking your way out of a fight, or avoiding it.

This adventure also has some "Narrative" story moments that can be pretty heavy to create emotions in the players. You should be prepared to really "sell" the more set piece encounters. It is really easy to mess this adventure up by not making the tension and situations feel dire and serious.

There is a post on the wotc boards that has Steve Winters the designer correcting some of the editing snafus. It's worth reading.

 

[Ezequielramone]

If players want to fight everything ... then they are going to dirt nap a lot.

this isn't setup to be X number of encounters per day the party can defeat before having to rest before they are at risk. This is any situation can be a risk so the players need to assess it appropriate and figure out the best course of action. Sometimes that means talking your way out of a fight, or avoiding it.

This adventure also has some "Narrative" story moments that can be pretty heavy to create emotions in the players. You should be prepared to really "sell" the more set piece encounters. It is really easy to mess this adventure up by not making the tension and situations feel dire and serious.

There is a post on the wotc boards that has Steve Winters the designer correcting some of the editing snafus. It's worth reading.

I'll search that. thanks.