Hi, I am a relatively new DM, (I've done some session 1s here and there but non of the players I had stuck around due to clashing schedules and time zones). I own the dnd lego set that comes with a oneshot (red dragons tale) and would like to run it with my friends from the dnd group I'm currently a player in. However, I ran this one shot for a few friends and we discovered that it's not that balanced as we ran into a tpk about half way through. The characters are pre-set and are set to lv5 and the party consists of a dwarf cleric, an elf wizard, a gnome fighter and an orc rogue and the main big enemies in this one shot are: a beholder that comes in about 2/3 through the one shot and a duo boss fight against an adult red dragon and what I assume is a human wizard? He has mage armour and his main ability is being able to multi-attack to do 3 arcane blasts per turn. They can encounter an NPC that can join the fight and the beholder can end up being an optional fight but that's only if they find a secret area. Does anyone have any tips on how to balance out this campaign with 2 more players allowed for a total of 6? Here is the link to the campaign pdf if anyone wants to take a look at it: https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/lego/red-dragons-tale.pdf
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
It's not the party's fault. A LEVEL 5 party cannot fight a CR 13+, at least not in typical circumstances. The dragon would instantly kill them.
This is the XP budget suggested by the new 2024 rule book. At level 5, each PC is 1100 for High Encounter Difficulty. If you have 6 PCs at lv5, one young red dragon and one green hag (you can reflavour it as a wizard) would be maxed out.
Hi, I am a relatively new DM, (I've done some session 1s here and there but non of the players I had stuck around due to clashing schedules and time zones). I own the dnd lego set that comes with a oneshot (red dragons tale) and would like to run it with my friends from the dnd group I'm currently a player in. However, I ran this one shot for a few friends and we discovered that it's not that balanced as we ran into a tpk about half way through. The characters are pre-set and are set to lv5 and the party consists of a dwarf cleric, an elf wizard, a gnome fighter and an orc rogue and the main big enemies in this one shot are: a beholder that comes in about 2/3 through the one shot and a duo boss fight against an adult red dragon and what I assume is a human wizard? He has mage armour and his main ability is being able to multi-attack to do 3 arcane blasts per turn. They can encounter an NPC that can join the fight and the beholder can end up being an optional fight but that's only if they find a secret area. Does anyone have any tips on how to balance out this campaign with 2 more players allowed for a total of 6? Here is the link to the campaign pdf if anyone wants to take a look at it: https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/lego/red-dragons-tale.pdf
The balance depends on how the DM wants to run it. If the players try to kill everything they encounter then they will be killed. If it is run as the text suggests (except for the final fight) then it seems like it will both be balanced and survivable.
More in spoilers ... don't read if you don't want to know how it is supposed to run:
Note: The following completely spoils the adventure but does provide some suggestions on running it. The TLDR is that whoever wrote the adventure wanted iconic creatures and had no clue of balance since the end fight is a TPK if the party tries to fight the dragon (unless there is some itemization in the module that I missed that would allow the characters to win).
There are some nasty enemies ... the text implies that the players aren't expected to fight them.
Plot synopsis - Evil sorcerer takes over an inn, imprisoned the owner, hired adventurers to steal a nearby dragon's egg, when the adventurers returned with the egg, the sorcerer killed them and put the bodies in the dungeon of the tower with the imprisoned owner.
The adventuring party in this adventure are just passing by and stop for food and rest at the inn. The adventure assumes that the party notices that some things are not as they should be and decide to investigate.
From the "Adventure Progression"
"Scene 4: The Basement. Player Characters who search the tower’s basement disturb the restless bones of some unlucky adventurers. They also find Alax’s missing pet: a displacer beast transformed by magic into a many-eyed monster called a beholder."
The "beholder" is a magically transformed missing pet.
"Scene 6: The Dragon. Cinderhowl the red dragon arrives at the tower and accuses the Player Characters of stealing her egg, mistaking them for a different group of adventurers. Meanwhile, Ervan tries to neutralize the dragon using magic. The Player Charac- ters must survive the dragon and defeat the evil sorcerer to win the day"
The dragon ACCUSES the characters of stealing the egg. This is a social encounter with the threat of it going sideways but it is not immediately a fight since a party of 4 level 5 characters will be TPKed by an adult red dragon. The characters know they did not take the egg. By this point they might have found the egg, they might have found the bodies of the adventurers who did take the egg, they might have discovered the sorcerers plot - all of these would be ammunition for a tense social encounter with the dragon redirecting its fury to the sorcerer and possibly promising to find and return the egg in exchange for mercy. (On the other hand, red dragons are notoriously hot tempered and might decide to melt the party anyway ... in which case the DM should be sure to let the players know something that the CHARACTERS would know. They have no reasonable chance to defeat the dragon. If the DM lets the fight happen with the players having even the slightest thought that they aren't dead already just by fighting then the DM did not convey the real challenge of the situation.)
Rescuing the proprietor in scene 3 gives the characters all the background about the other adventurers, the egg theft, and information on Alex's missing "cat".
Scene 4 is exploring the basement. This is not really optional. There is a door from the dungeon (scene 3) to the basement. The text of the adventure allows the characters to climb the outside of the tower to access higher levels bypassing the lower levels content. The module doesn't mention a door to the tower (which I think should be present .. if asked the DM could just say it is covered with stone). Apparently the evil wizard uses the door into the dungeon under the awakened tree to access the tower. How the meadow scene plays out depends on the DM. The DM should talk about the odd looking large mushrooms under the bridge, the strange tree next to the tower (mention that the branches are moving a bit but that it doesn't seem to be coordinated with the wind), finally, mention the ivy covering the tower. Keep in mind that the owlbear and spiders in the meadow are also not a combat encounter - they flee if damaged and the owlbear goes to sleep if it manages to eat the spiders - this adventure is VERY light on combat as written (as one might expect for a lego product).
One thing to keep in mind is that the text suggests non-combat ways to deal with many of the encounters but the methods described aren't likely obvious to the players unless the DM hints at it. The black oozes and their special rules regarding fire (not attacking a creature with a torch) won't be obvious unless someone is actually using a torch and the DM remembers to mention that the creatures seem to stay away from the character with the torch.
The beholder is another non-combat encounter:
"If Alax is with the Player Characters, Pouncy’s initial attitude is friendly. The beholder rushes toward Alax and begins to lick Alax’s face—a clear signal that the beholder is not what it seems. If Alax isn’t present, the beholder bares its teeth and keeps its distance, but doesn’t attack except in self-defense. Offering it milk or calling it Pouncy changes its attitude to friendly"
The beholder doesn't act like a beholder and only attacks in self defense. This is another situation where the DM has to let the players know information that their characters would likely know. Dragons and beholders are legendary foes dealt with by the greatest heroes of the land .. these characters aren't there yet so the DM has to be clear with the players letting them know information that most of the characters would KNOW. The text even makes it clear that the party recognizes the creature as a beholder.
The text calls the final encounter with the dragon and sorcerer a "double boss" fight ... it really shouldn't be. The party might be able to deal with the sorcerer, they can't deal with the dragon. The most likely approach is described in the text "Clever characters can turn one of these foes against the other". The text seems to assume that the party can somehow defeat both the dragon and the sorcerer. Unless there is a particular magic item seeded in the adventure that lets the party win ... I don't see it happening.
"If Cinderhowl regains the egg but seems on the verge of losing the battle, she takes the egg back to her mountain lair after warning the Player Characters that she will haunt their nightmares."
"Nothing the Player Characters say can quench Cinderhowl’s rage. The dragon is convinced Ervan hired them to steal her egg. As an action, a character can try to redirect Cinderhowl’s rage toward Ervan, doing so with a successful DC 20 Charisma (Deception or Persua- sion) check. Use whichever skill seems most appropriate"
So - the dragon can be redirected to attack the sorcerer rather than the players with a successful persuasion/deception check. However, if it comes down to a fight using D&D rules against the dragon, the party loses.
Some dragon stats (Legacy version - the new one is worse in some ways): 256 hit points, 19AC, 3 attacks (bite+2claws - +14 to hit and either 26 or 15 average damage), fire breath DC21 dex save for average 63 damage) plus legendary attacks and tail attack.
Just to put this in context - 63 damage is more hit points than any character in the party. 31 hit points - damage if you make the save is more hit points than the rogue or wizard have. The cleric has 10 dex so +0 on their dex save and will automatically fail. The fighter has a +1 on dex saves and will pass on a 20. The fighter is the only character who can survive the breath weapon and that only happens on a 20 rolled on their dex save ... basically, the party is dead as soon as the dragon breathes which is likely the first thing it does.
To add insult to injury, the wizard has 2 third level spells - one of them is fireball which is completely useless against a red dragon since it is immune to fire damage.
Unless the DM changes the rules or has the dragon behave in an unexpected way, this adventure must end in a TPK vs the dragon unless the party has a chance to run away and hide.
The egg is immune to fire damage so provides no deterrent to the use of the breath weapon.
If I was running this, I would run the dragon as very concerned about their egg. That is their total focus.They are more worried about recovering the egg than vengeance on the thieves though they will take both if they can get it.
The key to the final encounter is that IF it turns into a fight then the characters WILL die unless they run and hide. The only way out would appear to be to threaten to destroy the egg. The elf wizard has shocking grasp which might be enough. They could then use this as a bargaining chip with the dragon to convince it to take the egg and go since the risk to the egg might exceed the dragons desire for vengeance even after it recovers the egg since someone could still target the egg if the dragon stayed to finish off the party. After the dragon is out of the way, the enraged sorcerer attacks the party in revenge for them ruining his plan. I don't think there is any other way for the scenario to end in a "win".
Hi, I am a relatively new DM, (I've done some session 1s here and there but non of the players I had stuck around due to clashing schedules and time zones). I own the dnd lego set that comes with a oneshot (red dragons tale) and would like to run it with my friends from the dnd group I'm currently a player in. However, I ran this one shot for a few friends and we discovered that it's not that balanced as we ran into a tpk about half way through. The characters are pre-set and are set to lv5 and the party consists of a dwarf cleric, an elf wizard, a gnome fighter and an orc rogue and the main big enemies in this one shot are: a beholder that comes in about 2/3 through the one shot and a duo boss fight against an adult red dragon and what I assume is a human wizard? He has mage armour and his main ability is being able to multi-attack to do 3 arcane blasts per turn.
They can encounter an NPC that can join the fight and the beholder can end up being an optional fight but that's only if they find a secret area.
Does anyone have any tips on how to balance out this campaign with 2 more players allowed for a total of 6?
Here is the link to the campaign pdf if anyone wants to take a look at it: https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/lego/red-dragons-tale.pdf
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
It's not the party's fault. A LEVEL 5 party cannot fight a CR 13+, at least not in typical circumstances. The dragon would instantly kill them.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/dms-toolbox#Step2DetermineYourXPBudget
This is the XP budget suggested by the new 2024 rule book. At level 5, each PC is 1100 for High Encounter Difficulty.
If you have 6 PCs at lv5, one young red dragon and one green hag (you can reflavour it as a wizard) would be maxed out.
The balance depends on how the DM wants to run it. If the players try to kill everything they encounter then they will be killed. If it is run as the text suggests (except for the final fight) then it seems like it will both be balanced and survivable.
More in spoilers ... don't read if you don't want to know how it is supposed to run:
Note: The following completely spoils the adventure but does provide some suggestions on running it. The TLDR is that whoever wrote the adventure wanted iconic creatures and had no clue of balance since the end fight is a TPK if the party tries to fight the dragon (unless there is some itemization in the module that I missed that would allow the characters to win).
There are some nasty enemies ... the text implies that the players aren't expected to fight them.
Plot synopsis - Evil sorcerer takes over an inn, imprisoned the owner, hired adventurers to steal a nearby dragon's egg, when the adventurers returned with the egg, the sorcerer killed them and put the bodies in the dungeon of the tower with the imprisoned owner.
The adventuring party in this adventure are just passing by and stop for food and rest at the inn. The adventure assumes that the party notices that some things are not as they should be and decide to investigate.
From the "Adventure Progression"
"Scene 4: The Basement. Player Characters who search the tower’s
basement disturb the restless bones of some unlucky adventurers.
They also find Alax’s missing pet: a displacer beast transformed by
magic into a many-eyed monster called a beholder."
The "beholder" is a magically transformed missing pet.
"Scene 6: The Dragon. Cinderhowl the red dragon arrives at the
tower and accuses the Player Characters of stealing her egg,
mistaking them for a different group of adventurers. Meanwhile,
Ervan tries to neutralize the dragon using magic. The Player Charac-
ters must survive the dragon and defeat the evil sorcerer to win the
day"
The dragon ACCUSES the characters of stealing the egg. This is a social encounter with the threat of it going sideways but it is not immediately a fight since a party of 4 level 5 characters will be TPKed by an adult red dragon. The characters know they did not take the egg. By this point they might have found the egg, they might have found the bodies of the adventurers who did take the egg, they might have discovered the sorcerers plot - all of these would be ammunition for a tense social encounter with the dragon redirecting its fury to the sorcerer and possibly promising to find and return the egg in exchange for mercy. (On the other hand, red dragons are notoriously hot tempered and might decide to melt the party anyway ... in which case the DM should be sure to let the players know something that the CHARACTERS would know. They have no reasonable chance to defeat the dragon. If the DM lets the fight happen with the players having even the slightest thought that they aren't dead already just by fighting then the DM did not convey the real challenge of the situation.)
Rescuing the proprietor in scene 3 gives the characters all the background about the other adventurers, the egg theft, and information on Alex's missing "cat".
Scene 4 is exploring the basement. This is not really optional. There is a door from the dungeon (scene 3) to the basement. The text of the adventure allows the characters to climb the outside of the tower to access higher levels bypassing the lower levels content. The module doesn't mention a door to the tower (which I think should be present .. if asked the DM could just say it is covered with stone). Apparently the evil wizard uses the door into the dungeon under the awakened tree to access the tower. How the meadow scene plays out depends on the DM. The DM should talk about the odd looking large mushrooms under the bridge, the strange tree next to the tower (mention that the branches are moving a bit but that it doesn't seem to be coordinated with the wind), finally, mention the ivy covering the tower. Keep in mind that the owlbear and spiders in the meadow are also not a combat encounter - they flee if damaged and the owlbear goes to sleep if it manages to eat the spiders - this adventure is VERY light on combat as written (as one might expect for a lego product).
One thing to keep in mind is that the text suggests non-combat ways to deal with many of the encounters but the methods described aren't likely obvious to the players unless the DM hints at it. The black oozes and their special rules regarding fire (not attacking a creature with a torch) won't be obvious unless someone is actually using a torch and the DM remembers to mention that the creatures seem to stay away from the character with the torch.
The beholder is another non-combat encounter:
"If Alax is with the Player Characters, Pouncy’s initial attitude is
friendly. The beholder rushes toward Alax and begins to lick Alax’s
face—a clear signal that the beholder is not what it seems. If Alax
isn’t present, the beholder bares its teeth and keeps its distance, but
doesn’t attack except in self-defense. Offering it milk or calling it
Pouncy changes its attitude to friendly"
The beholder doesn't act like a beholder and only attacks in self defense. This is another situation where the DM has to let the players know information that their characters would likely know. Dragons and beholders are legendary foes dealt with by the greatest heroes of the land .. these characters aren't there yet so the DM has to be clear with the players letting them know information that most of the characters would KNOW. The text even makes it clear that the party recognizes the creature as a beholder.
The text calls the final encounter with the dragon and sorcerer a "double boss" fight ... it really shouldn't be. The party might be able to deal with the sorcerer, they can't deal with the dragon. The most likely approach is described in the text "Clever characters can turn one of these foes against the other". The text seems to assume that the party can somehow defeat both the dragon and the sorcerer. Unless there is a particular magic item seeded in the adventure that lets the party win ... I don't see it happening.
"If Cinderhowl regains the egg but seems on the verge of losing the
battle, she takes the egg back to her mountain lair after warning the
Player Characters that she will haunt their nightmares."
"Nothing the Player Characters say can quench Cinderhowl’s rage.
The dragon is convinced Ervan hired them to steal her egg. As an
action, a character can try to redirect Cinderhowl’s rage toward Ervan,
doing so with a successful DC 20 Charisma (Deception or Persua-
sion) check. Use whichever skill seems most appropriate"
So - the dragon can be redirected to attack the sorcerer rather than the players with a successful persuasion/deception check. However, if it comes down to a fight using D&D rules against the dragon, the party loses.
Some dragon stats (Legacy version - the new one is worse in some ways): 256 hit points, 19AC, 3 attacks (bite+2claws - +14 to hit and either 26 or 15 average damage), fire breath DC21 dex save for average 63 damage) plus legendary attacks and tail attack.
Just to put this in context - 63 damage is more hit points than any character in the party. 31 hit points - damage if you make the save is more hit points than the rogue or wizard have. The cleric has 10 dex so +0 on their dex save and will automatically fail. The fighter has a +1 on dex saves and will pass on a 20. The fighter is the only character who can survive the breath weapon and that only happens on a 20 rolled on their dex save ... basically, the party is dead as soon as the dragon breathes which is likely the first thing it does.
To add insult to injury, the wizard has 2 third level spells - one of them is fireball which is completely useless against a red dragon since it is immune to fire damage.
Unless the DM changes the rules or has the dragon behave in an unexpected way, this adventure must end in a TPK vs the dragon unless the party has a chance to run away and hide.
The egg is immune to fire damage so provides no deterrent to the use of the breath weapon.
If I was running this, I would run the dragon as very concerned about their egg. That is their total focus.They are more worried about recovering the egg than vengeance on the thieves though they will take both if they can get it.
The key to the final encounter is that IF it turns into a fight then the characters WILL die unless they run and hide. The only way out would appear to be to threaten to destroy the egg. The elf wizard has shocking grasp which might be enough. They could then use this as a bargaining chip with the dragon to convince it to take the egg and go since the risk to the egg might exceed the dragons desire for vengeance even after it recovers the egg since someone could still target the egg if the dragon stayed to finish off the party. After the dragon is out of the way, the enraged sorcerer attacks the party in revenge for them ruining his plan. I don't think there is any other way for the scenario to end in a "win".