I'm currently running the LMOP campaign, and my players (5 level 4 characters) are about to enter Wave Echo Cave. In one section, there are 7 Ghouls. According to the encounter builder, the total XP should put the difficulty somewhere between Easy and Medium, but taking into account the fact that there are so many the adjusted XP makes this a Hard encounter, which worries me. How accurate is this?
Fairly accurate. Assuming none of the Ghouls manage to paralyze anyone, it will be a mid-to-easy encounter. If folks start getting paralyzed however, it could devolve into a party wipe rather quickly.
I'd agree that p to around level 6/7, the builder is pretty good at determining how challenging an encounter may be. Nuances like the Ghoul's paralysis can really turn a fight in a hurry, however, so as a DM, keep a close eye on it. I think the builder presumes a decent save % for the players on things the enemies can throw at them, so a couple bad rolls can shift things quickly.
If you're running the game from 1, I also find that as the party levels, YOU can determine how well they will handle an encounter a bit more accurately than the builder does. You get to see the party employ tactics and at times, combinations that the builder simply can't account for. You also get to know some weaknesses the party has, which again, skews some of the builder's mechanics.
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Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Builder can be an ok gauge, but it's better to periodically pre-test an encounter like this to check things out. By the time you get to this point you should know how your players typically fight, and throw everythung at them to see if they stand in a test fight, then you have a good feeling of how it probably will play out at the table and what to watch out for...
At this point the party isn’t going to have much AoE or Extra Attack, so it’s generally gonna take 2 or 3 basic hits for each Ghoul, and in the first few rounds the Ghouls will have action economy on their side. On the other hand, their AC and attack are low, so after the first round or two the party should start downing them and swing action economy the other way. But, as has been said, paralysis can swing that if there’s a run of bad saves. Maybe avoid mobbing anyone with more than 2 Ghouls at once, to avoid bringing too much pressure to bear too quickly.
I'm currently running the LMOP campaign, and my players (5 level 4 characters) are about to enter Wave Echo Cave. In one section, there are 7 Ghouls. According to the encounter builder, the total XP should put the difficulty somewhere between Easy and Medium, but taking into account the fact that there are so many the adjusted XP makes this a Hard encounter, which worries me. How accurate is this?
Fairly accurate. Assuming none of the Ghouls manage to paralyze anyone, it will be a mid-to-easy encounter. If folks start getting paralyzed however, it could devolve into a party wipe rather quickly.
I'd agree that p to around level 6/7, the builder is pretty good at determining how challenging an encounter may be. Nuances like the Ghoul's paralysis can really turn a fight in a hurry, however, so as a DM, keep a close eye on it. I think the builder presumes a decent save % for the players on things the enemies can throw at them, so a couple bad rolls can shift things quickly.
If you're running the game from 1, I also find that as the party levels, YOU can determine how well they will handle an encounter a bit more accurately than the builder does. You get to see the party employ tactics and at times, combinations that the builder simply can't account for. You also get to know some weaknesses the party has, which again, skews some of the builder's mechanics.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Builder can be an ok gauge, but it's better to periodically pre-test an encounter like this to check things out. By the time you get to this point you should know how your players typically fight, and throw everythung at them to see if they stand in a test fight, then you have a good feeling of how it probably will play out at the table and what to watch out for...
At this point the party isn’t going to have much AoE or Extra Attack, so it’s generally gonna take 2 or 3 basic hits for each Ghoul, and in the first few rounds the Ghouls will have action economy on their side. On the other hand, their AC and attack are low, so after the first round or two the party should start downing them and swing action economy the other way. But, as has been said, paralysis can swing that if there’s a run of bad saves. Maybe avoid mobbing anyone with more than 2 Ghouls at once, to avoid bringing too much pressure to bear too quickly.
Thanks all!