My group and I are brand new to D&D and I was chosen to be DM. For the sake of back story none of the players started out with more than a dagger and some clothing. However I don't want to accidentally kill everyone off right as we are just getting into this. What are good, but not over powered, weapons and armor to award my players with as they proceed through the story and level up? I feel like I need to get them better weapons and armor but I don't want them to just demolish every monster they come across. How do you decide what to give them? Is there maybe a table for what weapons are appropriate for different character levels? I have done some research, but like I said we are all brand new at this and mostly clueless.
Every character class in the game has defined "starting equipment" that they should have access to (unless for story reasons you want to make them break out of prison and find it, or something). As an example, for a fighter:
"You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
(a) chain mail or (b) leather armor, longbow, and 20 arrows
(a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
(a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) two handaxes
(a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack"
So you could let them find chainmail, a longsword and shield, a couple of handaxes, and some other assorted equipment.
Weapons really scale with characters. A longsword user at level 1 will still use it at level 20. The number of times they can swing it per turn and the amount of damage they do will scale.
An important question is WHY they didn’t start with more than a dagger and some clothing. If it’s because they didn’t think they needed more than that, put them into a fight where they get hit a lot. Like with bats or rats that do 1 pt of damage per hit. But they’ll get hit enough that they’ll realize they need to up their AC. Then you can put shopping opportunities, or have them scavenge it off fallen enemies.
If they only have a dagger and clothing because they’re all magic casters, they’re likely not proficient with armor. Which means that while they can still get a bump to AC for wearing it, they have disadvantage on any Strength or Dex based action and can’t cast spells in it by rule.
Anything short of plate or half-plate armor is fair game at level 1. You might try putting some corpses in their path wearing what you describe as “High Quality chain mail” and stuff, and see if they go for it. Just make sure they’re proficient with whatever weight of armor you set before them.
Weapons are the same way. As long as they’re proficient with that type, any non-magic hand-held weapon is fair game.
I agree with Maestrino. Arrange for them to find the normal starting equipment for their class and background. After they hit second level you can let them find any non magical armor other than a breastplate, half plate, or full plate and any non magical weapons without affecting the game balance.
Don't give them too much magic items at lower levels, only about 1 uncommon a piece by level 4.
Gold should be awarded semi-sparingly, probably ~10 gp per weak enemy they fight, and 100 for a boss. This will allow them to buy better armor and weapons.
Good luck, remember that all DM's make mistakes, and you learn as you go from the stupid decisions you make early on. One player death is fine, it is a part of the game. Avoid TPK's (Total Party Kills) at all costs. Don't choose favorites among your players. If you give one player a special item, give the other a different good item specific to them pretty soon afterwards, if not immediately.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Just incase you haven't tried the dndbeyond encounter builder that should be a big help for a new DM creating balanced encounters --> Encounter-Builder
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“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Here's what I have to say: get the party to level 3 as soon as possible. Level 1 and 2 have the players being REALLY squishy and without the character identity that comes about from being level 3 and getting your subclasses. In my current game, I bumped all of my players up to 3 and then told them they had to earn off the XP debt.
If you don't want to just bump them up to level 3, and I don't recommend you do that on your first game-- 5e D&D is designed to tutorialise you with its level progression-- then make the first few levels be more about role-playing with only a few (easy) combat encounters (preferably a few that matter to the story.) Overestimate your bad guys, because, at low levels, the dice really call the shots more than any other point.
To that end, find someway to keep the dice rolls secret and work on your poker face. Crits are deadly at 1st level, especially if none of the characters have proper armour.
Lastly, don't be afraid to just decide that the dice or game mechanics are wrong. In my current game, the paladin, who I think is the only healer in my group, went down. Not dead, but no-one could get her back on her feet. Not wanting the player to sit the rest of the session out, I just mandated that she was at 1hp: it was the more interesting thing to do. Was it by the book? No. Did make the game better? Yes.
Double lastly, narrative. If the players all go down, they aren't necessarily all dead. Come up with a defeat scenario. Maybe they're taken prisoner. Maybe their enemies thought they were dead and left them alone. Maybe the players wake up in a mass grave. Maybe they are rescued at the last minute. Maybe some powerful (and evil?) being ressurected them to serve their purposes. Maybe you didn't let them all go down because the enemy morale broke after two of them went down and they fled.
I'd take an opposing view from most. Everyone's new and learning the game. Tell your players dying is part of the game and make sure everyone understands the rules on dying and how to revive characters. Tell them if someone dies, they can make up a new character and rejoin the party. The players need to feel there are high stakes in the game.
Use the encounter building rules and throw some easier ones at them to start so they get a feel for how to run their characters in combat.
I absolutely agree with Verenti's comment about deciding that the rules/dice are wrong, at least as you're first learning to DM and especially if you're worried about killing your players. I certainly modified rolls a lot throughout my first campaign I ran, and then once I got more comfortable with DMing and my skills, more used to how fights worked and what I could throw at what level characters, I did it less. I also got much more comfortable with killing characters, especially after the first death that was an accidental instakill because I didn't think through the cursed item I gave the players. The primary rolls I modified when I did however were mostly damage rolls, usually lower. That way, the encounters still felt like encounters with a chance of death, the players only got brushes with it.
I would also talk to your players. How lethal do they want the campaign? Are they ok with potentially running through a dozen different characters over the course of the campaign, or do they want to bond with the ones that they started with? I've played in both, although I've settled into a DM style that tends towards the second, the first can be very fun. Might be a bit rough on newer players though. Also talk to them as the game progresses, keep an eye on how they're feeling. Someone might say that they're ok with a very lethal campaign, but not have any fun with it.
... Overestimate your bad guys, because, at low levels, the dice really call the shots more than any other point.
To that end, find someway to keep the dice rolls secret and work on your poker face. Crits are deadly at 1st level, especially if none of the characters have proper armour. ...
This is true, but they’ve given you a mechanic to negate crits and the dice without fudging rolls. In all the monster stat blocks they show the average damage of each attack. For example, a goblin’s scimitar attack is listed as dealing “5 (1d6+1) slashing damage.” It’s just that everyone prefers to roll damage instead of just dealing the prescribed average, because the possibility of a crit adds excitement. However, as Verenti rightly points out, at low levels, two big dice rolls can kill many characters outright before they have class features available (or just enough HP) to buy themselves some time.
You might declare that to save time (and lives) all monsters will deal average damage on a hit until level 3, at which time they can be critically hit just like they have been able to do to the monsters since the start. So until then, if they can’t absorb 5 slashing damage from a goblin’s attack, they need to disengage.
My group and I are brand new to D&D and I was chosen to be DM. For the sake of back story none of the players started out with more than a dagger and some clothing. However I don't want to accidentally kill everyone off right as we are just getting into this. What are good, but not over powered, weapons and armor to award my players with as they proceed through the story and level up? I feel like I need to get them better weapons and armor but I don't want them to just demolish every monster they come across. How do you decide what to give them? Is there maybe a table for what weapons are appropriate for different character levels? I have done some research, but like I said we are all brand new at this and mostly clueless.
Instead of death, turn it into a story hook. "You all took massive damage and went unconscious. As you awaken, you discover you are in a jail cell. Outside the cell door is an evil-looking minotaur in wizard robes reading a book. He glances up as you stir, closes his book, and smiles. 'Gooooood. My newest servants are awake.'"
Now they have to get out of this jam.
Carrion
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My group and I are brand new to D&D and I was chosen to be DM. For the sake of back story none of the players started out with more than a dagger and some clothing. However I don't want to accidentally kill everyone off right as we are just getting into this. What are good, but not over powered, weapons and armor to award my players with as they proceed through the story and level up? I feel like I need to get them better weapons and armor but I don't want them to just demolish every monster they come across. How do you decide what to give them? Is there maybe a table for what weapons are appropriate for different character levels? I have done some research, but like I said we are all brand new at this and mostly clueless.
Every character class in the game has defined "starting equipment" that they should have access to (unless for story reasons you want to make them break out of prison and find it, or something). As an example, for a fighter:
"You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
So you could let them find chainmail, a longsword and shield, a couple of handaxes, and some other assorted equipment.
Weapons really scale with characters. A longsword user at level 1 will still use it at level 20. The number of times they can swing it per turn and the amount of damage they do will scale.
An important question is WHY they didn’t start with more than a dagger and some clothing. If it’s because they didn’t think they needed more than that, put them into a fight where they get hit a lot. Like with bats or rats that do 1 pt of damage per hit. But they’ll get hit enough that they’ll realize they need to up their AC. Then you can put shopping opportunities, or have them scavenge it off fallen enemies.
If they only have a dagger and clothing because they’re all magic casters, they’re likely not proficient with armor. Which means that while they can still get a bump to AC for wearing it, they have disadvantage on any Strength or Dex based action and can’t cast spells in it by rule.
Anything short of plate or half-plate armor is fair game at level 1. You might try putting some corpses in their path wearing what you describe as “High Quality chain mail” and stuff, and see if they go for it. Just make sure they’re proficient with whatever weight of armor you set before them.
Weapons are the same way. As long as they’re proficient with that type, any non-magic hand-held weapon is fair game.
I agree with Maestrino. Arrange for them to find the normal starting equipment for their class and background. After they hit second level you can let them find any non magical armor other than a breastplate, half plate, or full plate and any non magical weapons without affecting the game balance.
Professional computer geek
Thank you all! You were a HUGE help. I’m slowly getting this DM thing down.
Yep, I agree with what is said above.
Don't give them too much magic items at lower levels, only about 1 uncommon a piece by level 4.
Gold should be awarded semi-sparingly, probably ~10 gp per weak enemy they fight, and 100 for a boss. This will allow them to buy better armor and weapons.
Good luck, remember that all DM's make mistakes, and you learn as you go from the stupid decisions you make early on. One player death is fine, it is a part of the game. Avoid TPK's (Total Party Kills) at all costs. Don't choose favorites among your players. If you give one player a special item, give the other a different good item specific to them pretty soon afterwards, if not immediately.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
If you’re a dm, you should worry about killing your players.
It’s the Chaotic Evil gnomish warlock you should worry about!
In all seriousness don’t send bosses that are too overpowered into the campaign. Try and make the bosses challenging but not overpowered.
Just incase you haven't tried the dndbeyond encounter builder that should be a big help for a new DM creating balanced encounters --> Encounter-Builder
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Kill them.... kill them.... kill them..... c'monnnn !!! BE EVIL !!!!!!
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
Here's what I have to say: get the party to level 3 as soon as possible. Level 1 and 2 have the players being REALLY squishy and without the character identity that comes about from being level 3 and getting your subclasses. In my current game, I bumped all of my players up to 3 and then told them they had to earn off the XP debt.
If you don't want to just bump them up to level 3, and I don't recommend you do that on your first game-- 5e D&D is designed to tutorialise you with its level progression-- then make the first few levels be more about role-playing with only a few (easy) combat encounters (preferably a few that matter to the story.) Overestimate your bad guys, because, at low levels, the dice really call the shots more than any other point.
To that end, find someway to keep the dice rolls secret and work on your poker face. Crits are deadly at 1st level, especially if none of the characters have proper armour.
Lastly, don't be afraid to just decide that the dice or game mechanics are wrong. In my current game, the paladin, who I think is the only healer in my group, went down. Not dead, but no-one could get her back on her feet. Not wanting the player to sit the rest of the session out, I just mandated that she was at 1hp: it was the more interesting thing to do. Was it by the book? No. Did make the game better? Yes.
Double lastly, narrative. If the players all go down, they aren't necessarily all dead. Come up with a defeat scenario. Maybe they're taken prisoner. Maybe their enemies thought they were dead and left them alone. Maybe the players wake up in a mass grave. Maybe they are rescued at the last minute. Maybe some powerful (and evil?) being ressurected them to serve their purposes. Maybe you didn't let them all go down because the enemy morale broke after two of them went down and they fled.
I'd take an opposing view from most. Everyone's new and learning the game. Tell your players dying is part of the game and make sure everyone understands the rules on dying and how to revive characters. Tell them if someone dies, they can make up a new character and rejoin the party. The players need to feel there are high stakes in the game.
Use the encounter building rules and throw some easier ones at them to start so they get a feel for how to run their characters in combat.
I absolutely agree with Verenti's comment about deciding that the rules/dice are wrong, at least as you're first learning to DM and especially if you're worried about killing your players. I certainly modified rolls a lot throughout my first campaign I ran, and then once I got more comfortable with DMing and my skills, more used to how fights worked and what I could throw at what level characters, I did it less. I also got much more comfortable with killing characters, especially after the first death that was an accidental instakill because I didn't think through the cursed item I gave the players. The primary rolls I modified when I did however were mostly damage rolls, usually lower. That way, the encounters still felt like encounters with a chance of death, the players only got brushes with it.
I would also talk to your players. How lethal do they want the campaign? Are they ok with potentially running through a dozen different characters over the course of the campaign, or do they want to bond with the ones that they started with? I've played in both, although I've settled into a DM style that tends towards the second, the first can be very fun. Might be a bit rough on newer players though. Also talk to them as the game progresses, keep an eye on how they're feeling. Someone might say that they're ok with a very lethal campaign, but not have any fun with it.
They/them pronouns
This is true, but they’ve given you a mechanic to negate crits and the dice without fudging rolls. In all the monster stat blocks they show the average damage of each attack. For example, a goblin’s scimitar attack is listed as dealing “5 (1d6+1) slashing damage.” It’s just that everyone prefers to roll damage instead of just dealing the prescribed average, because the possibility of a crit adds excitement. However, as Verenti rightly points out, at low levels, two big dice rolls can kill many characters outright before they have class features available (or just enough HP) to buy themselves some time.
You might declare that to save time (and lives) all monsters will deal average damage on a hit until level 3, at which time they can be critically hit just like they have been able to do to the monsters since the start. So until then, if they can’t absorb 5 slashing damage from a goblin’s attack, they need to disengage.
Instead of death, turn it into a story hook. "You all took massive damage and went unconscious. As you awaken, you discover you are in a jail cell. Outside the cell door is an evil-looking minotaur in wizard robes reading a book. He glances up as you stir, closes his book, and smiles. 'Gooooood. My newest servants are awake.'"
Now they have to get out of this jam.
Carrion