D&D 5E How to run Death House without killing your entire party

[LexStarwalker]

Death House is the introductory adventure for the new Curse of Strahd campaign. The linked article contains spoilers for that adventure, so don't read it if you may be a player of the adventure.

The unwary DM who runs this adventure as written will have a TPK on her hands at least once, if not multiple times, in the adventure. I point out the problem areas and offer solutions if you don't want to kill the entire party.

 

[steeldragons]

The name of the adventure is "Death House"? I'd be disappointed if a TPK /wasn't/ a distinct likelihood, if not foregone conclusion.

I'm afraid I'm not seeing what there is to fix. buahaha.

 

[LexStarwalker]

It's the introduction to a campaign that should last 10 levels. It's not a stand-alone TPK one-shot.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I think the real message here lies with this statement: "The unwary DM who runs this adventure as written will have a TPK on her hands."

A DM should not run an adventure while unwary, and every adventure I've ever seen has clearly stated as much in the introduction - usually along the lines of "familiarize yourself with this adventure by reading through it at least once before running it."

The job of identifying that an adventure is suitable for the play style a group wants to use is a job of each DM, who is fully capable of figuring out by reading the material whether it will be enjoyable (with or without alteration) for their group. It is not a job of the author, for whom it is impossible to write an adventure that no one group in the entire hobby will find unsuitable.

 

[DeathMutant]

Don't forget that the party will be 2nd level and recently had a long rest by the time they reach those (potential) combat encounters. WotC's XP calculations for combat encounters are way off (too high) anyway, especially if the party has fewer than 8 combat encounters per adventuring day. I am running it as-written for a party of 5 and do not expect a TPK but would be slightly disappointed if no one dies; preferably due to another party member "sacrificing" them.

 

[steeldragons]

It's the introduction to a campaign that should last 10 levels. It's not a stand-alone TPK one-shot.

Then the PCs should probably use prudence and proceed with no small degree of caution.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

The unwary party will be killed...

 

[Savage Wombat]

So we're assuming a party size of five is default? My group has four players, and I was wondering if I'd need to include a DMNPC. Although I think I might sacrifice him bravely at the end.

 

[DeathMutant]

So we're assuming a party size of five is default? My group has four players, and I was wondering if I'd need to include a DMNPC. Although I think I might sacrifice him bravely at the end.

From the adventure text:
"This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st or 2nd level characters, and optimized for five characters."

 

[pukunui]

From the adventure text:
"This adventure is designed for three to seven 1st or 2nd level characters, and optimized for five characters."

Where does it say that?


On a side note: How much would I have to beef up "Death House" for 5th level PCs?