Also, there is a fight against a troll, an investigation that could lead to a fight against the Kenku. And a dungeon crawl. When should my players get a long rest and what should that look like? This was a reason I chose not to go with level 1 in the first place.
The party could long rest between each encounter if they wanted. There is nothing explicitly time sensitive as written.
I started my group of 6 at 1st level and they managed just fine as written.
I actually prefer this encounter (Dipping Gone Wrong) as the start, as you can put Durnan immediately into combat with the Troll, and just have it attack him the whole time. The PCs are relatively safe or can focus the much more manageble Stirges.
Changed you could make to tone it down:
The Kenku fight can be tough, especially if they get surprise. You can either remove one or two of them or move them upstairs into the managers office so the PCs don't get overwhelmed.
The sewers is pretty easy except for the intellect devourer at the end (and assuming they quickly close the door if they open the one in the bathroom). If Renaer is with the party (he wasn't for my group) he can "tank" it. Otherwise, you can reduce the Devour Intellect to 1d10 or 1d8, as it will probably 1-shot a PC as written.
My group is about halfway through Chapter 4, so feel free to message me with any other question you have. I made significant changes to Chapters 2, 3, and 4, as I hate how much of a railroad it was.
The reddit is also a good place to go (I'm /u/gophurt there)
I started Dragon Heist back in February with a group of 4. Started at level 1 just fine. For the Troll fight, Durnan stepped in to help. The kenku weren't a problem, and for the final battle, the mind flayer left, and I didn't use the devourer's special ability.
One thing to keep in mind .. there is a clause in the troll fight that says the tavern staff automatically stabilize any character knocked to zero hit points .. so unless they take negative max hit points in a single attack then they aren’t likely to actually die in this encounter even at level 1. Also Durnan should be doing most of the work and the troll is weakened by the stirges that have been feeding on it. The characters should probably be focusing on the stirges.
The encounter does help set the tone.
Level 1 is always risky since a critical hit often has the chance to kill a character outright but I recently played chapter 1 with a first level party of 5 or 6 and we survived :) (including the kenku fight and final encounter, bumping the characters up to level 3 will make most of these very easy unless you have a very small party).
The encounter is pretty balanced for a group of level 1 players, especially with Durran and Obaya, the cleric, nearby. You could start at level 3 but I think it would make things a bit too easy. If you do go from level 3, I'd recommend bumping up some of the threats just a little. The non-mindflayer boss at the end of the hideout could use a buff or some backup.
I plan on running a group of level 4 players through the story, letting them cap their fifth level at the end like the adventure intends. Since the party will be a bit higher level than the rest of the adventure would like, my plan is just to adjust accordingly with the monsters. The story-beats themselves are pretty universal. Just shifting around a few of the monsters or adding some beef should be fine.
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Would it make the first chapter too easy?
Also, there is a fight against a troll, an investigation that could lead to a fight against the Kenku. And a dungeon crawl. When should my players get a long rest and what should that look like? This was a reason I chose not to go with level 1 in the first place.
"All I'm hearing is words... DO SOMETHING!"
I havent run this one yet (want to). The book should say if there is an opportunity (or lack thereof) to take long or short rests.
Skimming the chapter, the troll is mostly handled by an NPC, so PCs only have to deal with a few bandits (also with NPC help) and stirges.
The party could long rest between each encounter if they wanted. There is nothing explicitly time sensitive as written.
I started my group of 6 at 1st level and they managed just fine as written.
I actually prefer this encounter (Dipping Gone Wrong) as the start, as you can put Durnan immediately into combat with the Troll, and just have it attack him the whole time. The PCs are relatively safe or can focus the much more manageble Stirges.
Changed you could make to tone it down:
The Kenku fight can be tough, especially if they get surprise. You can either remove one or two of them or move them upstairs into the managers office so the PCs don't get overwhelmed.
The sewers is pretty easy except for the intellect devourer at the end (and assuming they quickly close the door if they open the one in the bathroom). If Renaer is with the party (he wasn't for my group) he can "tank" it. Otherwise, you can reduce the Devour Intellect to 1d10 or 1d8, as it will probably 1-shot a PC as written.
My group is about halfway through Chapter 4, so feel free to message me with any other question you have. I made significant changes to Chapters 2, 3, and 4, as I hate how much of a railroad it was.
The reddit is also a good place to go (I'm /u/gophurt there)
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I started Dragon Heist back in February with a group of 4. Started at level 1 just fine. For the Troll fight, Durnan stepped in to help. The kenku weren't a problem, and for the final battle, the mind flayer left, and I didn't use the devourer's special ability.
One thing to keep in mind .. there is a clause in the troll fight that says the tavern staff automatically stabilize any character knocked to zero hit points .. so unless they take negative max hit points in a single attack then they aren’t likely to actually die in this encounter even at level 1. Also Durnan should be doing most of the work and the troll is weakened by the stirges that have been feeding on it. The characters should probably be focusing on the stirges.
The encounter does help set the tone.
Level 1 is always risky since a critical hit often has the chance to kill a character outright but I recently played chapter 1 with a first level party of 5 or 6 and we survived :) (including the kenku fight and final encounter, bumping the characters up to level 3 will make most of these very easy unless you have a very small party).
The encounter is pretty balanced for a group of level 1 players, especially with Durran and Obaya, the cleric, nearby. You could start at level 3 but I think it would make things a bit too easy. If you do go from level 3, I'd recommend bumping up some of the threats just a little. The non-mindflayer boss at the end of the hideout could use a buff or some backup.
I plan on running a group of level 4 players through the story, letting them cap their fifth level at the end like the adventure intends. Since the party will be a bit higher level than the rest of the adventure would like, my plan is just to adjust accordingly with the monsters. The story-beats themselves are pretty universal. Just shifting around a few of the monsters or adding some beef should be fine.