D&D 5E Training Wheels

[Cernor]

Bear in mind that if you warn your players that the risk of PC death is going to be high and you don't give plot immunity (making 3 failed death saves actually mean the character dies), then they tend to adapt their playing to match. Even though my current party is almost entirely new to D&D-- and only 1 of the 5 players is tactically adept-- they've managed to play through LMoP with minimal losses, even with there being more enemies and more difficult enemies than in the default module.

Giving a safety net is good, but it can make the game too easy, or too videogame-y. "You die and go back to your last save point" doesn't feel like D&D to me, and even if you lose your equipment that favours classes that only need a spellcasting focus to be working at almost peak effectiveness rather than martials.

 

[Alkavian]

You could give players (behind the scenes of course) resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage for first two levels. If that goblin crits for 2d6+2 averaging 9 damage. They take 4. They will still feel the hits, but their squishy hp won't be impacted as greatly. You are also not likely to experience a hero-zero instant kill. I'm currently playing with a new group in my homebrew and I haven't been pulling punches. In the first session the paladin went down twice. The monk and the ranger each went down once over the course of the session. In the second session the sorcerer got nuked hard by a BBEG and almost died outright. Nobody has died yet, but the tension is palatable going into a fight. If you feel you need to soften the impact a bit for noobs. I'd try what I suggested. Fortunately, my guys are hardcore D&D vets who do not generally make too many stupid errors...hence I do not pull my punches much.

 

[Black_Staff]

I have been reading the replies, and i fell i should mention, i started my players out completely naked in an unknown land. one of them was smart enough to fashion a crude weapon out of a piece of scrap wood. needless to say, two goblins against four naked players was an interesting first encounter. my guys aren't stupid, but its a hell of an adjustment when none of them are monks

 

[ExploderWizard]

I have been reading the replies, and i fell i should mention, i started my players out completely naked in an unknown land. one of them was smart enough to fashion a crude weapon out of a piece of scrap wood. needless to say, two goblins against four naked players was an interesting first encounter. my guys aren't stupid, but its a hell of an adjustment when none of them are monks

Survival at first level is a challenge for new players without such a handicap. Starting the PCs sans any equipment is playing on super hard mode. Many deaths should be the norm in this case. It is those who survive that become memorable.

Were the players seeking combat encounters in their condition or was the first encounter an unavoidable combat?

 

[aramis erak]

Another option (and it's used in AL play) is the free rez... Each character gets one free resurrection.