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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6583934" data-attributes="member: 996">One way around that is the old "don't name your character until 5th level" meme (honestly, I don't remember that being tossed around back in the day, but some folks swear it was).  5e presents some nice, thought-provoking RP hooks in Ideals/Flaws/Bonds and Backgrounds, but actually using them all can create a little too much player buy-in while characters are still fragile.  You could hold off on introducing those mechanics (other than Backgrounds) until they've survived Apprentice Tier. It's an issue with the encounter design guidelines, yes, they don't give terribly consistent results.  You'll get more of a feel for encounter design as you gain DMing experience... Some possibilities:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Start at 3rd level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Start at 4th level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Start at 5th level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Give 1st level characters HD + CON score hps, instead of CON mod. (But CON mod thereafter.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Give all characters proficiency in all saves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Don't roll monster damage.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Play monsters a little 'dumb' - most notably, don't focus fire, and don't prioritize attacking the party healers and casters, just charge up and fight the toughest melee-types.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Give PCs more HD (as a healing resource) at 1st level.  3 HD instead of 1, for instance.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Reduce the time needed for a short rest (to 5 or 10 minutes, say), make it automatic at the end of every combat, or just pace things so that there's often an hour between combats, so they can use said HD.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Let PCs 'rally' as an action, and spend HD.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Maximize HD used in a short rest (but roll them for the above 'rally').</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Fudge rolls, number of monsters, and monster HD on the fly to keep encounters feeling challenging, while pulling back difficulty if the PCs get in trouble.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Just play a different game/edition that is more forgiving at 1st level and easier to DM, then migrate to 5e when you've gotten the group established.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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