I am making an epic session of 6 hour with my friends in a month. I wanna make them fight an ancient blue dracolich but it's my first time that I am making a high level encounter. For five experiments players, what should be their level and how much gold should I provide them to buy magical item. They don't know what they will fight and the DM guide suggest 5 lvl 11 or 12 for a deadly encounter with a dracolich. Is it to low?
I would go lv12 to be sure, or maybe even 13, and give some allies to the dracolich. Single bosses in 5e tend to die pretty quick, and the dracolich's 225HP will melt like snow in the sun.
You don't need anything big, just something that could distract the party, and give them a few tactical decisions to make other than "I wail on the dragon with everything I have". This decision becomes a lot less wise when another monster is starting to eat the wizard and break the Cleric's concentration on his spells.
I would also hint at the nature of what they're about to face during the scenario, at least the fact that it's a dragon. Frightful Presence could make the whole encounter go sideways on the first round with just a few unlucky rolls, with players dying without having a chance to act. A Heroes Feast should be mandatory.
As for loot, it's tough to answer because magic items don't really have a stated value anyway. I guess once you have your player's character sheet, you could try and look through the DMG to see what magic item might help them ? A barbarian would probably need to fly for instance, if the Dracolich decides to fight from the skies.
I agree - make them 13 or 14th level and throw in some minions to act as distractions and such.
As for magic items, I would actually not worry about gold in a one-shot. Instead, allow them a certain number of a certain rarity of magic item and have them pick for themselves.
As an example, for a 1 shot I did with 2 lvl 5s, I gave them each 1 uncommon magic item of their choice. Less work for me and it ensured that they got what they wanted.
For 13-14, I would say 1 rare and 1-2 uncommon, maybe? The more magic items, the more minions you can throw in there.
You should realize that adding in magic items makes the encounter builder less accurate, as it assumes no magic items (in my understanding). So, you could make a deadly encounter that ends up feeling like a medium encounter. Just something to be mindful of.
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Hi guys
I am making an epic session of 6 hour with my friends in a month. I wanna make them fight an ancient blue dracolich but it's my first time that I am making a high level encounter. For five experiments players, what should be their level and how much gold should I provide them to buy magical item. They don't know what they will fight and the DM guide suggest 5 lvl 11 or 12 for a deadly encounter with a dracolich. Is it to low?
Thanks for your time!
Even death can't silence me
I would go lv12 to be sure, or maybe even 13, and give some allies to the dracolich. Single bosses in 5e tend to die pretty quick, and the dracolich's 225HP will melt like snow in the sun.
You don't need anything big, just something that could distract the party, and give them a few tactical decisions to make other than "I wail on the dragon with everything I have". This decision becomes a lot less wise when another monster is starting to eat the wizard and break the Cleric's concentration on his spells.
I would also hint at the nature of what they're about to face during the scenario, at least the fact that it's a dragon. Frightful Presence could make the whole encounter go sideways on the first round with just a few unlucky rolls, with players dying without having a chance to act. A Heroes Feast should be mandatory.
As for loot, it's tough to answer because magic items don't really have a stated value anyway. I guess once you have your player's character sheet, you could try and look through the DMG to see what magic item might help them ? A barbarian would probably need to fly for instance, if the Dracolich decides to fight from the skies.
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I agree - make them 13 or 14th level and throw in some minions to act as distractions and such.
As for magic items, I would actually not worry about gold in a one-shot. Instead, allow them a certain number of a certain rarity of magic item and have them pick for themselves.
As an example, for a 1 shot I did with 2 lvl 5s, I gave them each 1 uncommon magic item of their choice. Less work for me and it ensured that they got what they wanted.
For 13-14, I would say 1 rare and 1-2 uncommon, maybe? The more magic items, the more minions you can throw in there.
You should realize that adding in magic items makes the encounter builder less accurate, as it assumes no magic items (in my understanding). So, you could make a deadly encounter that ends up feeling like a medium encounter. Just something to be mindful of.