D&D 5E The Minimum* to Keep 5E at a Low Power Level?

[J-H]

Not sure I understand "pear shaped" in this context?

It means bad. Things go pear-shaped, the fecal matter hits the fan, mistakes were made, etc.

 

[FrozenNorth]

I think we have to remember that @Retreater is DMing for local kids. It isn’t the same as DMing for adults and it’s ok to get different types of satisfaction from a game.

I don’t know. I’ve heard that it is important to be wary of meddling kids, and their dog too!

 

[TheSword]

Should I skip "Death House?" It has kinda fallen flat when I've run it before. It seems just a quick way to level 3.

Yes. Definitely skip it. It was only added as an afterthought because Ravenloft was considered to be too deadly for 1st level characters (incorrectly in my opinion. I took 3 characters through it from level 1 and they were fine.)

If you can work music or sound effects in that is awesome. I heartily recommend Syrinscape or just using YouTube.

I played this when the hag was pushing her trolley through town with the sack. It was so creepy.


I also turned the lights down quite low and used some mood lighting - you can get a colour changing lamp for $15. As long as you can see the dice.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not sure I understand "pear shaped" in this context?

British idiom: [go] horribly wrong.

 

[Krachek]

Don’t allow to level a class over level 7.

 

[Lidgar]

Lots of good suggestions here. Only other suggestion is HP gains after level 10 is CON bonus only.

 

[nevin]

I've written a few times regarding not being able to challenge my groups. (Most recently in this thread: D&D 5E - A Mess of OP Characters (magic items, rest mechanics, etc.))
I want to work on a house rule document to present before the start of the next campaign to keep this type of experience from happening again.
What am I trying to avoid?

• Game unbalancing magic items
• Having to restructure the game and redesign monsters after 5th level or so
• Accommodating a fun and challenging experience for 6-7 players
• Preventing spellcasters from going nova easily
• Short adventuring days

I'm getting intense feedback from the gritty rest mechanics. I also suggested rolling for stats, and that was scoffed at. I don't expect the group to be amenable to other systems, such as the OSR variety.

I still want to DM for this group. They really enjoy it - but it's hard to keep pace with their power level. Even in the default game, they easily get so overpowered that I can't adapt.

almost all magic items. Almost all spells above 4th level.
Seriously just go with a different system. DND wasn't designed for what you want.

 

[dvstig]

Not so much a rules suggestion, but since you have such a large group, see if one of the adult is will to be a DM assistant instead of a regular player. Fewer Pc make it easier to balance for, and your assistent can handle a bunch of the nps, and hopefully make your job easier.

 

[Retreater]

Not so much a rules suggestion, but since you have such a large group, see if one of the adult is will to be a DM assistant instead of a regular player. Fewer Pc make it easier to balance for, and your assistent can handle a bunch of the nps, and hopefully make your job easier.

Not a terrible idea, but there are only 2 other adults. One is a "forever DM" - and this is his first time as a player since he was 12. The other is my wife, who has repeatedly said she has no desire to DM.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Will your players (especially the kids) be okay with not leveling up that fast? I know the "reward" for playing is usually to gain levels... but as that is the major culprit for your players overpowering everything-- having too many levels above and beyond what you can adequately throw at them for enemies-- keeping leveling down to a much slower pace will be your best shot at keeping battles manageable and not get walked over.

But that does mean the players don't get the "reward" of leveling except after many, many sessions. And that might be an issue for you, depending on how much they love the leveling process? But I guess it really comes down to them needing to decide what is more important to them in this case-- "Do you want faster leveling, or do you want to play 5E? Because I can't run the game effectively with both." Hopefully that will inspire them to be okay with playing at 1st level for quite a long while and allow you more effectively challenge them as they make their way out of the Village of Barovia and up into the mountain lands above.