im a new dm and i was wanting to start my pcs in an opening coliseum but i dont know what enemies should be there opponents if they are all lvl 1. does anyone have any suggestions
You can do the basics of Bullywugs, Twig Blights, Kobolds, Goblins, lizardfolk.... OR just take one of those stat blocks and describe it entirely different. And also have it behave differently. Just don't make it sound as if they're fighting trolls/giants just yet. But you can describe some to be like the Kenku or Abraxi. Lots of options really.
You can use https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters here as well. I find this to be a great tool when I DM as I can decide the criticality rating, but also add region and other factors. Really nice search tool here on DND Beyond.
In the Monster Manual, you will see this about challenge ratings:
“Challenge
A monster’s challenge rating tells you how great a threat the monster is. An appropriately equipped and well-rested party of four adventurers should be able to defeat a monster that has a challenge rating equal to its level without suffering any deaths. For example, a party of four 3rd-level characters should find a monster with a challenge rating of 3 to be a worthy challenge, but not a deadly one.
Monsters that are significantly weaker than 1st-level characters have a challenge rating lower than 1. Monsters with a challenge rating of 0 are insignificant except in large numbers; those with no effective attacks are worth no experience points, while those that have attacks are worth 10 XP each.
Some monsters present a greater challenge than even a typical 20th-level party can handle. These monsters have a challenge rating of 21 or higher and are specifically designed to test player skill.”
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According to KFC, a party of 7 level 1 characters would be facing a Hard encounter with 4 Lizardfolk, and a Deadly encounter with 5.
I find that parties are a little more capable than the online calculators give them credit for. Still - 7 Lizardfolk might be a bit steep, especially if your players don't have a lot of experience playing.
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With seven 1st-level PCs, you're looking at the following XP thresholds for encounter difficulty.
Easy = 175 XP
Medium = 350 XP
Hard = 525 XP
Deadly = 700 XP
Seven standard lizardfolk (CR 1/2) would be 1,400 XP. That's well above a deadly encounter. However, I do think your intuition to have roughly the same number of monsters as PCs is the correct one. For a similar feel (reptiles), you could instead use kobolds (CR 1/8) and some giant lizards (CR 1/4) or some combination of kobolds, giant lizards, and lizardfolk.
Here's an example Hard encounter (made using this calculator).
One lizardfolk (the group leader), CR 1/2.
Five kobolds, CR 1/8 each.
One giant lizard, CR 1/4.
Total XP with group multipliers = 550 XP.
You can add 1-2 kobolds or one giant lizard to make this slightly harder but not Deadly (up to 650 XP).
yea they do not have a lot of experience playing so ill probably try a medium encounter just to start teaching them how to use there stats and features
Thank you for all your help
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Hello im starting a new campaign and i just need a little help to get started
im a new dm and i was wanting to start my pcs in an opening coliseum but i dont know what enemies should be there opponents if they are all lvl 1. does anyone have any suggestions
You can do the basics of Bullywugs, Twig Blights, Kobolds, Goblins, lizardfolk.... OR just take one of those stat blocks and describe it entirely different. And also have it behave differently. Just don't make it sound as if they're fighting trolls/giants just yet. But you can describe some to be like the Kenku or Abraxi. Lots of options really.
Almost any creature of 0-1/2 CR could fit into your opening, there are a number of sites out there that help with this kind of information.
Donjon
Kobold Fight Club
Those two sites are really popular.
You can use https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters here as well. I find this to be a great tool when I DM as I can decide the criticality rating, but also add region and other factors. Really nice search tool here on DND Beyond.
In the Monster Manual, you will see this about challenge ratings:
“Challenge
A monster’s challenge rating tells you how great a threat the monster is. An appropriately equipped and well-rested party of four adventurers should be able to defeat a monster that has a challenge rating equal to its level without suffering any deaths. For example, a party of four 3rd-level characters should find a monster with a challenge rating of 3 to be a worthy challenge, but not a deadly one.
Monsters that are significantly weaker than 1st-level characters have a challenge rating lower than 1. Monsters with a challenge rating of 0 are insignificant except in large numbers; those with no effective attacks are worth no experience points, while those that have attacks are worth 10 XP each.
Some monsters present a greater challenge than even a typical 20th-level party can handle. These monsters have a challenge rating of 21 or higher and are specifically designed to test player skill.”
Hopefully that will help you as you search.
If you're a brand new DM, I would really recommend sitting down and watching Matt Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube.
Takes you from 0 to 60 ( well, at least 45 ) in painless steps.
In a nutshell, though, start small, and include only what you need.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Thank you for your input i have 7 pcs if i was going to try using lizardfolk should it be 7 vs 7 in there first encounter?
I'd recommend checking out Kobold Fight Club for encounter calculations, or the Donjon 5e Encounter Size Calculator.
According to KFC, a party of 7 level 1 characters would be facing a Hard encounter with 4 Lizardfolk, and a Deadly encounter with 5.
I find that parties are a little more capable than the online calculators give them credit for. Still - 7 Lizardfolk might be a bit steep, especially if your players don't have a lot of experience playing.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
With seven 1st-level PCs, you're looking at the following XP thresholds for encounter difficulty.
Seven standard lizardfolk (CR 1/2) would be 1,400 XP. That's well above a deadly encounter. However, I do think your intuition to have roughly the same number of monsters as PCs is the correct one. For a similar feel (reptiles), you could instead use kobolds (CR 1/8) and some giant lizards (CR 1/4) or some combination of kobolds, giant lizards, and lizardfolk.
Here's an example Hard encounter (made using this calculator).
You can add 1-2 kobolds or one giant lizard to make this slightly harder but not Deadly (up to 650 XP).
yea they do not have a lot of experience playing so ill probably try a medium encounter just to start teaching them how to use there stats and features
Thank you for all your help