D&D 5E Things that make you go Hmmm, Starter Set **spoilers**

[the Jester]

Bear in mind that, aside from the opening, there isn't a really set order to the adventure.

 

[KarinsDad]

I don't see this claim in points 5 and 6 of the OP. If this was the point, it is indeed a simple matter of taste, and I shouldn't have answered it.

It was the main point of #5 ("So, it's really magic item heavy at the end." = "Too many magic items at the end of the module."), or at least my intent. And it's not just a matter of taste, it's a matter of taste that could affect the difficulty of earlier encounters if the items are moved earlier in the module.

#6 wasn't about that at all. It was just a minor observation about module design and how some DMs might not want coveted items to be handled out (or at least coveted items in the Basic Rules and presumably in the PHB). If it helps out one DM who is running these PCs past the end of this module and who agrees, then it was worth the paper it was printed on.

Game starts in just under 2 hours!

Awesome!

 

[Plissken]

Anyone know how some monsters get +4 to their attack roll like goblins? If their Str mod is -1, I was assuming the scimitar attack roll would be d20-1, but it's d20+4. Where is the +4 coming from? Just arbitrary? Shortbow could make sense. +2 from dex, +2 from dex proficiency (although it doesn't say).

 

[Bacon Bits]

Anyone know how some monsters get +4 to their attack roll like goblins? If their Str mod is -1, I was assuming the scimitar attack roll would be d20-1, but it's d20+4. Where is the +4 coming from? Just arbitrary? Shortbow could make sense. +2 from dex, +2 from dex proficiency (although it doesn't say).

Scimitar is a Finesse weapon. So, yes, it's Dex and proficiency. That's also how they get 1d6+2 damage.

 

[KarinsDad]

8) A 16th level Young Green Dragon in a 1 to 5 level module.

Ok, I get the entire organic old school you can run into anything concept. I don't necessarily agree with it 100%, but I get it.

But the PCs will probably be around level 3 at this point. 5 3rd level PCs against a 16th level Dragon??? Seriously?

And there is no mention in the text at all for new DMs (or even experienced DMs) that this should not be a fight. It should be diplomacy. There are indications in the text that this should be a fight. WT? The Dragon can just fly above the encounter and breathe on these PCs until some die and the rest run away. With a set of bad saves, it could kill or knock out all of the PCs in round one with its breath weapon. And it will typically save against nearly every spell the PCs can throw at it.

Why doesn't this Dragon notice the PCs from a mile away with all of their fighting and such with a passive perception of 17 in an empty tower with arrow slits in an empty village? Two of the other battles are in dilapidated buildings, 60 feet away. He only hears them if they make noise in the cottage? WT?

I have to give this one a F+ at best. Yikes!

 

[KarinsDad]

9) Joining the Order of the Gauntlet.

So, if you do the one quest, the guy asks you to join a special order where the reward is that you get the title of Chevall. No gold, no reward, no mention of what this means, no indication to the DM how or why he should use this or how it might affect the campaign later on, but some PCs now have a title. My players would ask a ton of questions to me about this and I'd either have to make it up before the game (I have bigger fish to fry), or try to rack my elderly brain on what to do with this on the fly. Why is this paragraph even in the book? I know that this is a nit, but I dislike reading things like this. It's like reading a sentence that...

Edit: Got it. "Joining the Zhentarim". These are FR organizations. Haven't played FR in a long time, so I did not know of the Order of the Gauntlet and it's not in the FR overview at the front of the book.

Second edit: There are two sentences on the OotG (too much like OotS) in the elf writeup. Still seems like a dangling thread with no meat to it.

 

[MerricB]

There's a bunch of stuff that ties into the Adventurer's League OP program (where you can join factions) and possibly Tyranny of Dragons as well.

 

[KarinsDad]

There's a bunch of stuff that ties into the Adventurer's League OP program (where you can join factions) and possibly Tyranny of Dragons as well.

Yup. Would have been helpful if the module mentioned that little tidbit.

 

[Pallidore]

8) A 16th level Young Green Dragon in a 1 to 5 level module.

Ok, I get the entire organic old school you can run into anything concept. I don't necessarily agree with it 100%, but I get it.

But the PCs will probably be around level 3 at this point. 5 3rd level PCs against a 16th level Dragon??? Seriously?

And there is no mention in the text at all for new DMs (or even experienced DMs) that this should not be a fight. It should be diplomacy. There are indications in the text that this should be a fight. WT? The Dragon can just fly above the encounter and breathe on these PCs until some die and the rest run away. With a set of bad saves, it could kill or knock out all of the PCs in round one with its breath weapon. And it will typically save against nearly every spell the PCs can throw at it.

Why doesn't this Dragon notice the PCs from a mile away with all of their fighting and such with a passive perception of 17 in an empty tower with arrow slits in an empty village? Two of the other battles are in dilapidated buildings, 60 feet away. He only hears them if they make noise in the cottage? WT?

I have to give this one a F+ at best. Yikes!

This one is only slightly better (as in F+ rather than F) than the set-up-to-fail scenario in the 4E DMG that was supposed to teach newbie DMs and players.