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Message: <blockquote data-quote="cmbarona" data-source="post: 6335362" data-attributes="member: 71281">My players triggered two encounters simultaneously. Should I have run them simultaneously? Here's some elaboration:Kobolds had tunneled through the sewers to an abandoned bank's basement. Our heroes (1st-level, 1st full dungeon in 4e for these players) had fought their way into the bank from above, not quite knowing what dangers lurked inside. There was a fight in a hallway, after which they took a short rest. Then there were two options: the vault or the office.They decided to investigate the vault and the office simultaneously.Maybe it was poor communication, poor planning, I dunno. But kobolds and the black dragon wyrmlings hiding in the vault all have darkvision, and the rusted hinges would have been very loud on these doors, prompting both sets of enemies to investigate and attack the intruders.We ended the session with three of the four players down, the last one a Warlord with 10 HP and no second wind or inspiring words left. We're currently facing a TPK, unless I can pull something out of my ass to save the characters. I specifically left the Dragonborn Warlord for last, in hopes that he could surrender and parlay something, but it looks like he's going to botch that by attacking soon. His opponents are one of the wyrmlings, a kobold dragonshield, and a kobold wyrmpriest, none of whom are bloodied.I tried to take a number of mercies on them. The wizard tried to use burning hands to weld the vault door shut, which I said would not work, though I let it deal half damage to the wyrmlings as they came through. I gave them 3 rounds before the wyrmlings showed up to the fight. The wizard tried to hide behind the decrepit wooden door of the office, but one of the wyrmlings burst in, crushing him between the shattering door and the wall. I ad-libbed d10 damage, which in retrospect might have been too high. I didn't use the wyrmling double attacks or bites, just single-claw attacks and dragon breath. I was going to keep the wyrmpriest occupied completing a ritual, but they promptly attacked him and spent precious time interrupting the ritual (a Make Whole ritual, so innocuous, but the only character who would have known that was in no position to investigate it), meaning he would naturally have retaliated. Meanwhile, the Rogue, the only Striker, has used Sneak Attack only once this encounter.Am I being a dick, or giving the players what they deserved? How much hand holding should I do to players who are new to 4th edition? They were pretty long-time 3.5 players, so should they have known better? And am I playing the monsters against type by having them be this brutal and coordinated?</blockquote>

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