D&D 5E Tell me about 5E at 11th level

[iserith]

What format are you talking about? I am confused whether you are refering to con games, VTT or something else.

I am speaking about one-shots or short-run games suitable for conventions. I run a lot of one-shots for pick-up groups and reserve my longer campaigns for my regular players. Some are online and some are in person.

 

[Reynard]

I am speaking about one-shots or short-run games suitable for conventions. I run a lot of one-shots for pick-up groups and reserve my longer campaigns for my regular players. Some are online and some are in person.

I see. Persistent play in an open environment runs differently than most other kinds of con games, in my experience. It is like cramming a mini-campaign into a weekend but with an uncertain player base. "Unscripted" adventures have their own special demands that you have to take into account, as does hexploration. Fold all that into a con experience and you have a very specific kind of game. My original question was really, "What monster type/theme works well for 11th level?"

 

[Valetudo]

I completely agree with OB1. After reading his post, the first thing I thought of was the 2E module WGR6 City of Skulls, where the party must infiltrate an evil city (Dorakaa in Greyhawk, but its easy enough to plant in any campaign) and rescue an important good guy imprisoned in a dungeon. Emphasis is on keeping a low profile, lest the party be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. One of the things I've noticed at all levels of play is how difficult it is for the entire party to be stealthy or bluff enemies. Even when using group checks, they inevitably fail - especially if there are some heavily armored types (or lower Charisma types, in the case of bluffing) in the group.

If you don't mind a little conversion work, give City of Skulls a look. It is for a party of 9th-12th level characters, can be played and finished in a single session and runs this type of scenario very well. Lots of opportunity for all three elements of play (exploration, interaction, and combat).

Pass without a trace, problem solved.

 

[Luz]

Pass without a trace, problem solved.

Yes, that is a great spell that I've seen used to even greater effect. For an adventure of this type, I would highly encourage a party to use it. Problem solved? I guess it depends on your point of view. Its an hour long concentration spell that requires a druid or ranger in the party, so its still a drain on resources and isn't necessarily the "I win" card - especially if the scenario takes longer than a day to accomplish. At any rate, not looking to start a debate or derail this thread.

 

[S'mon]

For a convention I'd suggest pre-designed characters.

BTW I've not spotted anyone address the key issue: is playing at 11th level fun?

IME (4 PC group, currently Barb-13 Clr-11 Rog-11 Ftr-10) - yes, it's loads of fun.

>>Originally Posted by feartheminotaur View Post
2. PC power is ridiculous versus the DMG/MM XP guide.

3. Rarity is not a great indicator of relative power.

4. The "work day" concept is useless.<<

IME:
(a) All this is true.
(b) None of it breaks, or even signifcantly harms, the game.

Reasons:

1. I guess I run 5e a lot like AD&D. It doesn't work so well as a 3e emulator, and certainly not as a 4e emulator where Balance was real and important. For encounters I do 'simulated environment' + 'looks fun', I don't build encounter groups 4e style.
2. A CR 11 monster isn't much of a threat to an 11th level group. I don't find this a problem. A bunch of monsters certainly are a threat; if I want a solo threat I can use a CR 17 monster. I guess by 19th level nothing short of a tarrasque in melee range will be much of a solo threat, but that was
equally true of AD&D. By 17th level I'd expect to be using deity-level unique solos
(Orcus, Tiamat) or groups of creatures - and 5e is very supportive of keeping groups of enemies threatening.
3. Rarity is only an issue if you let items be sold & bought. In my Golarion game they can be, so I adjust prices appropriately.
4. The 'work day' concept is useless (PCs can almost always avoiding having 6-8 fights in a day if they wish), but I find 5e works fine with one fight in a day, especially if the eact number of fights is unknown. The disparity between short rest & long rest PCs (or caster/non-caster) is so much less than 3e's caster/non-caster split that everyone has fun.

 

[S'mon]

My original question was really, "What monster type/theme works well for 11th level?"

Behirs are good. You can use adult dragons (or a dragon turtle) solo for a tough fight, or groups of CR 6-10 creatures work too.

Basically, CR 11-17 or so for solo monsters (ranging from easy fight to tough fight), CR 5-10 for
small groups, CR 1/2-4 for large groups.

 

[Byakugan]

In a big group, you can predict a few things.

High level spell slots essentually are traded for EZ wins. Big spells like Contagion, and forcecage, upcast Banishments and Heroes feast will frequently trivialize encounters. Same goes for the martial classes' feat combos. The PCs will have several ways to carve a path to the most valuable targets. Likewise, the monsters must have big spells or be able to quickly get at the spell-casters, otherwise they will barely make a dent.



The only real weakness a party will have will be multi-target/area spells. At this level you should feel free to frequently use 'smart targetting' with your spells. As in, hitting fighters with charisma and Int attacks, rogues with Con/str checks etc.

 

[Flamestrike]

Have statted up 6-8 medium-hard encounters (to be more accurate, its 4 hard and 3 medium encounters).

Linked them all in with a story and a hook for the party to swallow.

The encounters and adventure synopsis have all been forwarded to iserith for his review.

I have a feeling that this adventure may be a TPK for a party of 5 x 5E PCs with feats, magic items and multiclassing allowed.

Im pretty happy with how it turned out though.

I've posted the intro in the other thread.