Obviously as players advance more options open up for what they encounter. Especially since you can go higher than the PCs with less monsters or lower with more.
But level one is thst odd spot where there aren't a whole lot of creatures below the PCs and going higher is rarely a good option.
Goblins and kobolds seem to be the staple of many a early adventure with orcs taking their place after a couple of levels.
So what are some of the more unique and different low level encounters that exist to challenge players?
Rats. Giant ones. They've infested my tavern's basement and need exterminating.
Seriously though I typically use peers as a way of leveling up lower level PCs. Nothing like a rival group of NPCs or a small contingent of bandits to get the players a little more chunky. Think team rocket with a bunch of lackeys. They're easy to tie into any story and they can help move the narrative along at the lower levels. The best part is finding that one NPC in the group that the players seem to hate the most and bringing him back to ruin their plans later in an adventure.
1) Unless I have a game with new players, I never start them off at lvl 1. My players all have some experience and I start them off at lvl 3 when we start new games. When i know its going to be a short campaign (maybe a month or two), I start them off at level 6 and they level pretty much every meeting, because we all know the cool stuff doesnt come until later.
2) You can have them take down a small bandit ring, or clear out a temple of vermin. Non-magical beast hunting. Goblins, which was my first adventure, and we still hate the suckers. Maybe low level demons, like imps. You can also do a monster that has a lot of health, but doesnt hit hard at all.
You also aren't limited to just the low level stuff. You are free to scale down anything you want (so long as you make it clear that the scaled down beast is less impressive). Example: Knights of the land tried to take down a young red dragon. They deeply wounded it, but were all killed or otherwise rendered unable to fight. The party must now finish it off. Scale the dragon stats down to maybe 20 hit points, 1d4 damage per roll because its sluggish, and you have yourself a lvel 1 boss fight.
Never been a fan of scaling monsters down, especially that drastically. Dragons should be feared creatures so much that even if one is injured it shouldn't be beatable at level one.
Though I'm a fan that a dragon would have provisions to heal itself and would never get caught that badly hurt.
A year late to the topic... Consider using non-combat experience: social encounters, or skill-based challenges--maybe a reconnaissance mission where death is unlikely even if caught. If it feels forced to level your combat classes accordingly, then introduce downtime as a way for training to take place.
They try to attack arch druid the druid cast conjure woodland beings and summons eight blink dogs (just an example) and then disappears (Your the Dm make something up) leaving them two fight some unique low level creatures that can TELEPORT (and maybe let them do it as a reaction to mess with the spell casters and range fighters). ;)
i usually do the same but i like to start my players out at 1 or 2 to let them get their feet under them or to let them decide how they want to play their characters.
It may sound silly but for a brand new fresh level 1 recruit its always fun to have them put down a farm uprising where the livestock may have been corrupted or turned into undead versions of themselves. Doesnt require any change to the statblocks and makes for a fun fight against many undead chickens.
I introduced some gremlins and it was a big hit. Once the party realized they could reproduce when wet, it created a nice sense of urgency to exterminate them asap. The gremlins were fighting alongside a Goblin Tinker with a water cannon so it was a challenging combo. Was a really fun low level encounter.
Usually, some of the encounters I use early-game are high-tier monsters. Dragons and Giants, to be specific. This teaches the party that not every encounter has to result in combat or death of one side. Social encounters and difficult conversations can be just as nerve-racking as an intense battle.
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
This topic is very old so I'm obviously not helping the OP, but for low level monsters I have found some lesser seen ones that are great for variety.
I am a new 5e DM for a group of six players with little 5e experience, and 4 players never played D&D before. They just reached level 3.
Along the way, they have fought (in this order):
Wolves - Fire Beetles - Bandits - a Bear - Scarecrows - a Griffon - Troglodytes
They are about to fight ... Zombies - Skeletons - more Troglodytes
There are other low level monsters I didn't use. As I went looking for the monsters, I was surprised to see how many 1/4 CR and lower monsters there were to choose. I only had trouble because I was also trying hard to choose monsters related to the biome the party was traveling through, mostly forest and grassland.
The party also had encounters with a 5th level party, but those were hostile RP encounters. The Face of the party is very smart about not biting off more than he can chew. After getting the brush off the first time they met, he bought a pitcher and sat with them and talked about where they had been. Later, when the level 5 NPC party was trying to bully some other NPCs this party was friends with, the Face stepped in and slowed them down long enough for enough guards to become interested in the action. The boss bully shoved the Face to the floor and walked off, and the Face just let it happen to allow the other fellow (lvl 5 bully) to save face and let it go. I am trying to set up a situation where this party decides they've had enough of these guys (the bullies) and they have a showdown sometime later.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Have them face the last party you DM'd when they were level one. What better way to learn how to become an adventurer, than fighting adventurers that - in an alternate timeline - survived long enough to reach the dizzying heights of level two and beyond? And if you do that again for the same group, they'll realise something familiar about these characters they're facing off against...
You'll need to do some tweaks as NPC statblocks are different to player character sheets, but I think it's worth doing once or twice, especially with different groups.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
In the campaign I'm running right now, the party had to trek through the desert after the town they were staying in got attacked by the BBEG. I pit them against rattlesnakes and the occasional giant scorpion or constrictor snake as a 'mini-boss', and they did just fine. In the mountain soon after that, they faced loads of fire beetles and an Ochre Jelly, and they did okay. For my boss, I used a Drider (they leveled up quite a bit), and it was a bit scary, but they managed to pull through by spamming magic missile. ;)
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
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Obviously as players advance more options open up for what they encounter. Especially since you can go higher than the PCs with less monsters or lower with more.
But level one is thst odd spot where there aren't a whole lot of creatures below the PCs and going higher is rarely a good option.
Goblins and kobolds seem to be the staple of many a early adventure with orcs taking their place after a couple of levels.
So what are some of the more unique and different low level encounters that exist to challenge players?
Rats. Giant ones. They've infested my tavern's basement and need exterminating.
Seriously though I typically use peers as a way of leveling up lower level PCs. Nothing like a rival group of NPCs or a small contingent of bandits to get the players a little more chunky. Think team rocket with a bunch of lackeys. They're easy to tie into any story and they can help move the narrative along at the lower levels. The best part is finding that one NPC in the group that the players seem to hate the most and bringing him back to ruin their plans later in an adventure.
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2 Things
1) Unless I have a game with new players, I never start them off at lvl 1. My players all have some experience and I start them off at lvl 3 when we start new games. When i know its going to be a short campaign (maybe a month or two), I start them off at level 6 and they level pretty much every meeting, because we all know the cool stuff doesnt come until later.
2) You can have them take down a small bandit ring, or clear out a temple of vermin. Non-magical beast hunting. Goblins, which was my first adventure, and we still hate the suckers. Maybe low level demons, like imps. You can also do a monster that has a lot of health, but doesnt hit hard at all.
You also aren't limited to just the low level stuff. You are free to scale down anything you want (so long as you make it clear that the scaled down beast is less impressive). Example: Knights of the land tried to take down a young red dragon. They deeply wounded it, but were all killed or otherwise rendered unable to fight. The party must now finish it off. Scale the dragon stats down to maybe 20 hit points, 1d4 damage per roll because its sluggish, and you have yourself a lvel 1 boss fight.
Grungs from Volo's guide.
Never been a fan of scaling monsters down, especially that drastically. Dragons should be feared creatures so much that even if one is injured it shouldn't be beatable at level one.
Though I'm a fan that a dragon would have provisions to heal itself and would never get caught that badly hurt.
I have found that bugs make great opponents for 1st level adventurers. An Ankheg or two, a few giant centipedes, or a half dozen spiders work great.
A year late to the topic...
Consider using non-combat experience: social encounters, or skill-based challenges--maybe a reconnaissance mission where death is unlikely even if caught. If it feels forced to level your combat classes accordingly, then introduce downtime as a way for training to take place.
They try to attack arch druid the druid cast conjure woodland beings and summons eight blink dogs (just an example) and then disappears (Your the Dm make something up) leaving them two fight some unique low level creatures that can TELEPORT (and maybe let them do it as a reaction to mess with the spell casters and range fighters). ;)
I've always had positive responses to using skeletons or cultists but maybe 1 animated armor between a 4 person party isn't out of the question
Here is a list of some interesting Medium-Difficulty encounters for a level 1 party consisting of four players.
Cult of Claws
King of Beasts
Tainted Travelers
Steamed Crab
Vegetopia
That should spark a few ideas.
i usually do the same but i like to start my players out at 1 or 2 to let them get their feet under them or to let them decide how they want to play their characters.
It may sound silly but for a brand new fresh level 1 recruit its always fun to have them put down a farm uprising where the livestock may have been corrupted or turned into undead versions of themselves. Doesnt require any change to the statblocks and makes for a fun fight against many undead chickens.
I introduced some gremlins and it was a big hit. Once the party realized they could reproduce when wet, it created a nice sense of urgency to exterminate them asap. The gremlins were fighting alongside a Goblin Tinker with a water cannon so it was a challenging combo. Was a really fun low level encounter.
What about a sewer system with giant rats and grimlocks? That seems like a fun quest! Perhaps the grimlocks are raising the rats for food?
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
I have to agree
Usually, some of the encounters I use early-game are high-tier monsters. Dragons and Giants, to be specific. This teaches the party that not every encounter has to result in combat or death of one side. Social encounters and difficult conversations can be just as nerve-racking as an intense battle.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
This topic is very old so I'm obviously not helping the OP, but for low level monsters I have found some lesser seen ones that are great for variety.
I am a new 5e DM for a group of six players with little 5e experience, and 4 players never played D&D before. They just reached level 3.
Along the way, they have fought (in this order):
Wolves - Fire Beetles - Bandits - a Bear - Scarecrows - a Griffon - Troglodytes
They are about to fight ... Zombies - Skeletons - more Troglodytes
There are other low level monsters I didn't use. As I went looking for the monsters, I was surprised to see how many 1/4 CR and lower monsters there were to choose. I only had trouble because I was also trying hard to choose monsters related to the biome the party was traveling through, mostly forest and grassland.
The party also had encounters with a 5th level party, but those were hostile RP encounters. The Face of the party is very smart about not biting off more than he can chew. After getting the brush off the first time they met, he bought a pitcher and sat with them and talked about where they had been. Later, when the level 5 NPC party was trying to bully some other NPCs this party was friends with, the Face stepped in and slowed them down long enough for enough guards to become interested in the action. The boss bully shoved the Face to the floor and walked off, and the Face just let it happen to allow the other fellow (lvl 5 bully) to save face and let it go. I am trying to set up a situation where this party decides they've had enough of these guys (the bullies) and they have a showdown sometime later.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Have them face the last party you DM'd when they were level one. What better way to learn how to become an adventurer, than fighting adventurers that - in an alternate timeline - survived long enough to reach the dizzying heights of level two and beyond? And if you do that again for the same group, they'll realise something familiar about these characters they're facing off against...
You'll need to do some tweaks as NPC statblocks are different to player character sheets, but I think it's worth doing once or twice, especially with different groups.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
In the campaign I'm running right now, the party had to trek through the desert after the town they were staying in got attacked by the BBEG. I pit them against rattlesnakes and the occasional giant scorpion or constrictor snake as a 'mini-boss', and they did just fine. In the mountain soon after that, they faced loads of fire beetles and an Ochre Jelly, and they did okay. For my boss, I used a Drider (they leveled up quite a bit), and it was a bit scary, but they managed to pull through by spamming magic missile. ;)
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)