So my one shot is taking place in a temple and is cod zombies inspired so there's 10 waves of zombies and on the 4th and 8th wave there's a mini boss and on the 10th wave there's a big boss, there will be short rests after each mini boss. My question is, I want to make my zombies weak at first and be strong at the end, so should I keep their health and damage the same and just increase the number of zombies each wave or should i slowly increase their health and ac each wave? What do you guys think I should do if neither.
To be honest, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.
I'd personally just go with the flow of the battle. If they're chomping through zombies, then I'd make the waves harder. Otherwise, just make the length of the fight (by virtue of working in waves) be the difficulty.
When you make them more difficult...keep the numbers per wave under control. The more enemies you have in a fight at the same time, the longer it is between turns, and it gets boring. I'd say have the number of zombies who actually get a go (because many will die before they get to attack) to not outnumber the party by more than 3:2. Certainly no more than 2:1.
I wouldn't punch up the AC too much either, unless you're adding in zombies who happen to have armour. Zombies aren't athletic or particularly difficult to hit, their AC should be low(ish). You can boost up HP though if you feel they need to last longer (ideally I'd have reinforcements come in during the round, but that can be hard to manage as DM). If you feel they just can't land blows, increase their to hit modifier. Since it's going to be a slog, I'd be wary of increasing their damage rates per wave because slight changes at the beginning can have massive effects at the end.
You haven't mentioned their level though. Their level is important, how muc you expect to have to change their statblocks depends on their level. I'd also consider changing up enemies, making variants of zombies. Doing ten waves of the same enemy (barring your miniboss and final boss) can get a bit grindy, so consider what else you throw at them to provide variety. Crawling Claws for example, or a few Skellies or a couple of Mummies just to mix it up.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I’d suggest throwing in some other creatures as well. Even if you re-skin them to look like zombies. A session like this will get very repetitive if they’ve got wave after wave of identical monsters with identical tactics.
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So my one shot is taking place in a temple and is cod zombies inspired so there's 10 waves of zombies and on the 4th and 8th wave there's a mini boss and on the 10th wave there's a big boss, there will be short rests after each mini boss. My question is, I want to make my zombies weak at first and be strong at the end, so should I keep their health and damage the same and just increase the number of zombies each wave or should i slowly increase their health and ac each wave? What do you guys think I should do if neither.
To be honest, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.
I'd personally just go with the flow of the battle. If they're chomping through zombies, then I'd make the waves harder. Otherwise, just make the length of the fight (by virtue of working in waves) be the difficulty.
When you make them more difficult...keep the numbers per wave under control. The more enemies you have in a fight at the same time, the longer it is between turns, and it gets boring. I'd say have the number of zombies who actually get a go (because many will die before they get to attack) to not outnumber the party by more than 3:2. Certainly no more than 2:1.
I wouldn't punch up the AC too much either, unless you're adding in zombies who happen to have armour. Zombies aren't athletic or particularly difficult to hit, their AC should be low(ish). You can boost up HP though if you feel they need to last longer (ideally I'd have reinforcements come in during the round, but that can be hard to manage as DM). If you feel they just can't land blows, increase their to hit modifier. Since it's going to be a slog, I'd be wary of increasing their damage rates per wave because slight changes at the beginning can have massive effects at the end.
You haven't mentioned their level though. Their level is important, how muc you expect to have to change their statblocks depends on their level. I'd also consider changing up enemies, making variants of zombies. Doing ten waves of the same enemy (barring your miniboss and final boss) can get a bit grindy, so consider what else you throw at them to provide variety. Crawling Claws for example, or a few Skellies or a couple of Mummies just to mix it up.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I’d suggest throwing in some other creatures as well. Even if you re-skin them to look like zombies. A session like this will get very repetitive if they’ve got wave after wave of identical monsters with identical tactics.