D&D 5E (2014) Labyrinthine dungeon in the feywild

[Tony Vargas]

Level 2 characters are introduced to a Shambling Mound in Curse of Strahd. Some groups report defeating it easily, others end up as a TPK.

So a typical encounter, then. ;P

Sounds like an awesome skill challenge to me!

For the OP's benefit: in 4e a 'skill challenge' was a series of checks that the whole party participated in, requiring some number of success 4 up to 12 or more, before accumulating 3 failures. Often the first and second failure would also have some sort of consequence.

It's more structured than 5e's handling of checks, but you could use the DMG's chase rules.

 

[Lidgar]

Ankheg

blood hawks

violet fungi

giant boar, hedgehog, weasel, etc

insect swarms

shadows

death dog

 

[aco175]

Don't be afraid to throw more normal monsters like stirges and spiders at them. You can also create feral monsters from animals. A normal bear CR1 becomes a feral bear CR3 by giving them more HP and another atk or something. Giant ants or bees could have created the hedges to contain their food supply and now the PCs are caught up in the middle.