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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 6727413" data-attributes="member: 3586">Originally posted by Huscarl:The first episode is brutal. 1st-level characters don't get to swoop in, defeat hundreds of cultists, and win the war on their first day on the job. The DM needs to make players understand, through descriptions of what's happening in town and through NPCs at the keep, that they can't tackle these raiders head-on. Their job is to survive the night and to help as many townsfolk as possible do the same. But even if PCs perform brilliantly, the town will be sacked and innocent townsfolk will be murdered and abducted -- Welcome to the Cult of the Dragon's new vision for the Sword Coast. Regarding the "No Room At the Inn" road encounter -- That encounter has a long, sad history. The original version was very different, because the villains were not assassins but young green slaads polymorphed into human form and out to cause trouble. Playtesters loved the original encounter because of the twist -- no one expected slaads in that situation. But then young green slaads disappeared from the MM and we were instructed not to use them in this encounter. We cast around for alternatives and found no really good ones, but assassins were at least close to the slaads in power -- as they were then written. In hindsight, we probably should have dropped the encounter entirely and replaced it with something else, because making the villains into just a bunch of human a**holes took all the charm out of the situation. But it had been such a hit with playtesters, we hated to lose it. The problem was compounded tenfold because, by the time monster stat blocks were finalized, assassins wound up significantly more powerful than the original slaads or even than assassins had been when they were chosen as the slaads' replacement. Thus, we wind up with the killer encounter described by the OP. I recommend one of the following changes to fix it. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use veterans instead of assassins. They're still just a pack of jerks, but at least they won't TPK the caravan.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use doppelgangers instead, although that makes this encounter rather redundant with another.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use werewolves instead. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Choose any other creatures you like in the challenge 3-5 range, select enough to make a tough encounter, and give them potions of polymorph, hats of disguise, or some other way to conceal their true identities until it's time for them to spring the surprise. </li> </ul>Option 4 comes closest to preserving the original intent and value of the encounter, so it's my top recommendation. You could use gargoyles, ettercaps (maybe they captured some potions from another caravan and are looking for payback), nothics (they have some of the slaads' ick factor), minotaurs, or whatever else you like. Or grab one of those stat blocks to use, give it shapechanging ability, and call them young green slaads. Steve </blockquote>

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