Yesterday I started a new campaign with 5 friends, but it didn´t go that well. The group didn´t have a good chemistry and someone wanted to decide how I should run the game so 2 ppl left after the first game. One of them was the only melee pc in the group so now the group is kind of almost only ranged based.
We have 1 wizard(School of evocation), 1 warlock(The Fiend) and 1 druid(Circle of the land) at lvl 3, will that become a problem in combat? I have never really run a game without somone that runs up to the frontline and takes most of the damage(most of the time have 2 of them).
I have not test their skills in combat yet so I dont really know how it would go in reality but I am scared that I will kill them off :c . Should I give them a hand with a npc or is there something I should have inmind then I creat combats?
Sincerely Manga
PS sorry for asking something that is probebly a dumb question xc
As a DM part of your end of the game is playing with combats and finding the right challenge for your party -- and also giving them equipment to help offset the challenges the further they play in the game.
Since you have lots of people who like to fight at range you know that the party's biggest challenge is going to be a creature that wants to spook into their range and deal with them in melee. This makes it easy since if you want to make a really hard combat, you're going to put them in those hand-to-hand situations. Otherwise, what you're really going to be focused on to give your party great opportunities is environment. The places your party battles shouldn't be an empty field. Think of natural cover (like trees, bushes, or rocks), think of places they can climb to get a good vantage point, think of objects in the environment you could throw in that if the players want to be creative with, they can. You don't even need to know what the purpose of that wheelbarrow is-- your players will come up with a use if they're being threatened.
For a ranged party a big part of combat becomes the pre-combat. They want to ensure they have the advantage, and get to choose the conditions of the battle. If you want to help prep them for this, give them the opportunity to notice enemies in advance of being noticed. They see some sign, the Wizard's familiar scouts something ahead, the Druid notices some odd tracks, etc. And let them come up with how they approach to create an advantageous combat.
As they get further into the game you can seed in magic items which may help with this control. A melee weapon that allows them to Misty Step away once per long rest after using it to attack? Great when caught between a rock and a hard place. Things that allow for minor environmental changes can be a big deal for a ranged party. Magic beans that turn an area into difficult terrain? How about a rope of climbing to help them get out of danger's way? You'll see where the party's pain points are, and it's way more fun for them if they get the opportunity to buy cool gear that they get to heroically use than for an NPC to pop in soak hits and save their butts. However, if the party chooses to hire an NPC for that? That's their decision, which means that's fun for them. I wouldn't force something like that on them, though. It gets into dangerous territory with taking away their heroism.
In short: In 5e any party can work-- So long as the DM understands what a challenge is and isn't, and the party also understands what they can and can't do. The great part is that you can train them to realize this through the encounters you create. Have fun!
Thanks so much for the tips, I have never really thought of combat in that kind of way and now I see there is a lot of things I can do to help them without needing to have a npc with them all the time. This gave me a lot of help starting to think outside the box and I will hint that out to my players that the enviorment is there friend/ally but I guess If they want a npc at their side I wont force them to travel alone.
I was really having a mind barrier and you saved my butt, ty again! :)
Happy to help break down that barrier! Encounter building is really fun, and it's amazing to see what players will pick up on and use if you've got their back against a wall. :) Hope you have fun!
and someone wanted to decide how I should run the game so 2 ppl left after the first game. One of them was the only melee pc in the group so now the group is kind of almost only ranged based.
It's your table. Unless you're doing something grievously wrong, it's your table, if they want to DM, they can run their own game. No loss for you there.
Mellie made good suggestions on how to help your players. All of the remaining characters have abilities that will allow for some crowd control, and movement so combat can be a challenge, but that's what you are for.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
A mostly ranged party allows you to use the mostly ranged monsters that melee heavy parties would destroy (or would hate fighting.) Areas that would frustrate the great weapon fighter become playgrounds for the archers and spell slingers. (Treetops, ship-to-ship battles, or -for Gears of War fans - fighting from the backs of dinosaurs!)
Battles are more like skirmish lines - making fireballs and other area affect spells less potent. Dungeons definitely feel more claustrophobic.
Wow - I wish I was running this campaign! (Or playing)
Of course, an all mage or all cleric or all warrior campaign could all have their strengths too. As Mellie said - you can play any party composition in 5th E.
This is not a WoW raid, where you have to have 1 tank, 1 secondary tank, 2 healers, 2 melee DPS and 2 ranged DPS and 2 controllers to be able to follow the one perfect "strat" that will allow victory - as long as you all have a high enough gear score that is!
Good luck, have fun, and leave the door slightly open for when those 2 deserters hear about how much fun you are having doing it your way; most people only argue about things they are passionate about. And they might be right - their way may be better....in which case, you'll be wanting an invite to their game! :D
There was a lot of things that went wrong before we even started. They didn´t want a background(they thought that would be a serious roleplay and that was nothing that they wanted) I still wanted to give them a chance to join and at least try it out, its more fun with more ppl. I tried to make 1 of them finish their character for over 2 weeks and then kind of finished him under the time we played the first game. They were 1 h late for the first game, they tried to talk over the other player(and me). They even wanted to make me DM a way they liked more even though I and the other 3 didn´t like it. That was kind of the last drop for me, I told them they could stay but I can´t run a game like that because it made me hate my campaign but then they said I should please them... It's true that I am there to give the pc a time of there life but I don´t really think I can be a good DM if I hate it.
Thanks for the support, it´s have beaten me up a little. I want to make everyone happy but I also know I can´t make everyone happy all the time. The ppl that are still left I know they and I cheer the same thoughts about DnD. Under the whole time, I have been a DM I have never been in this situation, everything has just worked with other players I have played with. But this is a good life lesson for me and a new experience and I am so happy for all the tips I get on how to improve my games and make it more interesting. Being a DM is the best thing I know, creating your own world and make your players a part of it.
Even though I have been a DM for a few years I am still new to DnD 5e( I have played 4e for most of my years), I still have a lot to learn and it makes me happy to see that if I have any problems I can write in this forum for help.
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Hi! :3
Yesterday I started a new campaign with 5 friends, but it didn´t go that well. The group didn´t have a good chemistry and someone wanted to decide how I should run the game so 2 ppl left after the first game. One of them was the only melee pc in the group so now the group is kind of almost only ranged based.
We have 1 wizard(School of evocation), 1 warlock(The Fiend) and 1 druid(Circle of the land) at lvl 3, will that become a problem in combat? I have never really run a game without somone that runs up to the frontline and takes most of the damage(most of the time have 2 of them).
I have not test their skills in combat yet so I dont really know how it would go in reality but I am scared that I will kill them off :c . Should I give them a hand with a npc or is there something I should have inmind then I creat combats?
Sincerely Manga
PS sorry for asking something that is probebly a dumb question xc
As a DM part of your end of the game is playing with combats and finding the right challenge for your party -- and also giving them equipment to help offset the challenges the further they play in the game.
Since you have lots of people who like to fight at range you know that the party's biggest challenge is going to be a creature that wants to spook into their range and deal with them in melee. This makes it easy since if you want to make a really hard combat, you're going to put them in those hand-to-hand situations. Otherwise, what you're really going to be focused on to give your party great opportunities is environment. The places your party battles shouldn't be an empty field. Think of natural cover (like trees, bushes, or rocks), think of places they can climb to get a good vantage point, think of objects in the environment you could throw in that if the players want to be creative with, they can. You don't even need to know what the purpose of that wheelbarrow is-- your players will come up with a use if they're being threatened.
For a ranged party a big part of combat becomes the pre-combat. They want to ensure they have the advantage, and get to choose the conditions of the battle. If you want to help prep them for this, give them the opportunity to notice enemies in advance of being noticed. They see some sign, the Wizard's familiar scouts something ahead, the Druid notices some odd tracks, etc. And let them come up with how they approach to create an advantageous combat.
As they get further into the game you can seed in magic items which may help with this control. A melee weapon that allows them to Misty Step away once per long rest after using it to attack? Great when caught between a rock and a hard place. Things that allow for minor environmental changes can be a big deal for a ranged party. Magic beans that turn an area into difficult terrain? How about a rope of climbing to help them get out of danger's way? You'll see where the party's pain points are, and it's way more fun for them if they get the opportunity to buy cool gear that they get to heroically use than for an NPC to pop in soak hits and save their butts. However, if the party chooses to hire an NPC for that? That's their decision, which means that's fun for them. I wouldn't force something like that on them, though. It gets into dangerous territory with taking away their heroism.
In short: In 5e any party can work-- So long as the DM understands what a challenge is and isn't, and the party also understands what they can and can't do. The great part is that you can train them to realize this through the encounters you create. Have fun!
Thanks so much for the tips, I have never really thought of combat in that kind of way and now I see there is a lot of things I can do to help them without needing to have a npc with them all the time. This gave me a lot of help starting to think outside the box and I will hint that out to my players that the enviorment is there friend/ally but I guess If they want a npc at their side I wont force them to travel alone.
I was really having a mind barrier and you saved my butt, ty again! :)
Sincerely Manga
Happy to help break down that barrier! Encounter building is really fun, and it's amazing to see what players will pick up on and use if you've got their back against a wall. :) Hope you have fun!
It's your table. Unless you're doing something grievously wrong, it's your table, if they want to DM, they can run their own game. No loss for you there.
Mellie made good suggestions on how to help your players. All of the remaining characters have abilities that will allow for some crowd control, and movement so combat can be a challenge, but that's what you are for.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
A mostly ranged party allows you to use the mostly ranged monsters that melee heavy parties would destroy (or would hate fighting.) Areas that would frustrate the great weapon fighter become playgrounds for the archers and spell slingers. (Treetops, ship-to-ship battles, or -for Gears of War fans - fighting from the backs of dinosaurs!)
Battles are more like skirmish lines - making fireballs and other area affect spells less potent.
Dungeons definitely feel more claustrophobic.
Wow - I wish I was running this campaign! (Or playing)
Of course, an all mage or all cleric or all warrior campaign could all have their strengths too. As Mellie said - you can play any party composition in 5th E.
This is not a WoW raid, where you have to have 1 tank, 1 secondary tank, 2 healers, 2 melee DPS and 2 ranged DPS and 2 controllers to be able to follow the one perfect "strat" that will allow victory - as long as you all have a high enough gear score that is!
Good luck, have fun, and leave the door slightly open for when those 2 deserters hear about how much fun you are having doing it your way; most people only argue about things they are passionate about.
And they might be right - their way may be better....in which case, you'll be wanting an invite to their game! :D
Roleplaying since Runequest.
There was a lot of things that went wrong before we even started. They didn´t want a background(they thought that would be a serious roleplay and that was nothing that they wanted) I still wanted to give them a chance to join and at least try it out, its more fun with more ppl. I tried to make 1 of them finish their character for over 2 weeks and then kind of finished him under the time we played the first game. They were 1 h late for the first game, they tried to talk over the other player(and me). They even wanted to make me DM a way they liked more even though I and the other 3 didn´t like it. That was kind of the last drop for me, I told them they could stay but I can´t run a game like that because it made me hate my campaign but then they said I should please them... It's true that I am there to give the pc a time of there life but I don´t really think I can be a good DM if I hate it.
Thanks for the support, it´s have beaten me up a little. I want to make everyone happy but I also know I can´t make everyone happy all the time. The ppl that are still left I know they and I cheer the same thoughts about DnD. Under the whole time, I have been a DM I have never been in this situation, everything has just worked with other players I have played with. But this is a good life lesson for me and a new experience and I am so happy for all the tips I get on how to improve my games and make it more interesting. Being a DM is the best thing I know, creating your own world and make your players a part of it.
Even though I have been a DM for a few years I am still new to DnD 5e( I have played 4e for most of my years), I still have a lot to learn and it makes me happy to see that if I have any problems I can write in this forum for help.