Hi, I'm writing campaing aimed for new players, and as such I want to include some mechanics beginners might overlook.
So, I'm designing a kobold sorcerer, that will show players how CC works, and will basically cast sleep each turn (or hold person)
But here's a problem: there's no way in DMG or MM to evaluate spells that are not dealing damage (unless I missed it). It just says to check if added spells increase its DPS, but neithr sleep nor hold person deal any damage, and they affect combat way more that low level damage spells . And this lvl 3 sorcerer is the same CR (1/8) as his muggle buddies.
Anyone got any solution?
I don't want encounters to be too trivial, and I dont want them to be too deadly either...
Not entirely sure what it is you are asking but don’t worry about the CR, just use your best judgment or if you’re creating a monster on your own just compare it with another monster of the same or similar CR you desire.
Especially with new players, I’d try to err toward too easy opposed to being too hard.
Not entirely sure what it is you are asking but don’t worry about the CR, just use your best judgment or if you’re creating a monster on your own just compare it with another monster of the same or similar CR you desire.
Especially with new players, I’d try to err toward too easy opposed to being too hard.
well, i just took generic kobold and gave it 15 charisma, some spell slots filled with crowd control and extra hit dice, but according to table from DMG its cr hasn't changed, despite getting a massive power boost. I never designed 5e adventure, and only run a game once (and it was a joke session without combat), so I try to stick to guidelines, with most encounters beign average difficulty, with few easies here and there and one difficult sidefight.
CR is typically determined by defense (AC, Hitpoints) and offense (Damage, Hit Bonus, Save DC). If the kobold only uses non-damaging spells, the only change from the standard kobold would be the save DC for the spells in question. Even then, unless the DC is higher than 13, there’s likely no change to CR. The hit dice change might also make a difference but again, maybe not
now, if you wanted to bump up the CR solely for exp awards, that’s something you could do, but I wouldn’t make it more than a level or two up (so CR 1/4 or 1/2 instead of 1/8, etc)
CR is typically determined by defense (AC, Hitpoints) and offense (Damage, Hit Bonus, Save DC). If the kobold only uses non-damaging spells, the only change from the standard kobold would be the save DC for the spells in question. Even then, unless the DC is higher than 13, there’s likely no change to CR. The hit dice change might also make a difference but again, maybe not
now, if you wanted to bump up the CR solely for exp awards, that’s something you could do, but I wouldn’t make it more than a level or two up (so CR 1/4 or 1/2 instead of 1/8, etc)
I know about DC stuff (so hold is covered) but sleep doesn't allow save, and doesn't deal damage, but it still is dangerous to lvl 1 party so I want to have CR appraised to know how many coup de gracing kobolds should I include, before encounter becomes too hard (it was idea I had since 3rd ed but didnt had opportunity to use it :D ).
Consider that the spells give allies of the Sorcerer a DPS increase. Incapacitated allows for Advantage and Crits against affected targets. Do your best to figure how much DPS this adds to the Allies, use that DPS assessment to adjust the Sorcerer CR.
Sometimes a challenge is much harder than the CR would imply. For example a [creature]rakshasa[/creature] is a CR 13 creature, but is immune to most spells available to PCs at even higher levels, meaning certain parties would find that creature a lot harder than its CR would imply.
Sleep at 1st level creates a field of 5d8 hp to start with (avg 22, max 40). For 1st level characters that means anywhere from 2-4 of them are getting knocked out (more if they are mostly squishy spellcasters, less if they are barbs/fighters/pallys, etc). So that's your starting point.
Standard Kobolds have a +4 to hit (with advantage due to unconsciousness) and deal 1d4+2 damage on that hit. An autocrit would deal 2d4+2 (avg 7, max 10). That could one-shot a wizard / sorcerer and possibly the d8 classes as well depending on constitution scores. So, depending on party, a 2nd level sleep with high rolls and particularly high crit scores could result in a TPK very easily, but the reverse could be true as well with a poor roll on the sleep spell.
I would rate this a potentially "hard" or "deadly" fight for lvl1 PCs, especially if you have the spellcasting kobold repeat the spell. Based on that, I would limit the Normal minions to no more than 2 (for a party of 4), and set the CR for the Kobold spellcaster at 1/2 or 1. That will equate to the "hard/deadly" rating.
Hi, I'm writing campaing aimed for new players, and as such I want to include some mechanics beginners might overlook.
So, I'm designing a kobold sorcerer, that will show players how CC works, and will basically cast sleep each turn (or hold person)
But here's a problem: there's no way in DMG or MM to evaluate spells that are not dealing damage (unless I missed it). It just says to check if added spells increase its DPS, but neithr sleep nor hold person deal any damage, and they affect combat way more that low level damage spells . And this lvl 3 sorcerer is the same CR (1/8) as his muggle buddies.
Anyone got any solution?
I don't want encounters to be too trivial, and I dont want them to be too deadly either...
Not entirely sure what it is you are asking but don’t worry about the CR, just use your best judgment or if you’re creating a monster on your own just compare it with another monster of the same or similar CR you desire.
Especially with new players, I’d try to err toward too easy opposed to being too hard.
What level Sorcerer?
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well, i just took generic kobold and gave it 15 charisma, some spell slots filled with crowd control and extra hit dice, but according to table from DMG its cr hasn't changed, despite getting a massive power boost. I never designed 5e adventure, and only run a game once (and it was a joke session without combat), so I try to stick to guidelines, with most encounters beign average difficulty, with few easies here and there and one difficult sidefight.
third
CR is typically determined by defense (AC, Hitpoints) and offense (Damage, Hit Bonus, Save DC). If the kobold only uses non-damaging spells, the only change from the standard kobold would be the save DC for the spells in question. Even then, unless the DC is higher than 13, there’s likely no change to CR. The hit dice change might also make a difference but again, maybe not
now, if you wanted to bump up the CR solely for exp awards, that’s something you could do, but I wouldn’t make it more than a level or two up (so CR 1/4 or 1/2 instead of 1/8, etc)
I know about DC stuff (so hold is covered) but sleep doesn't allow save, and doesn't deal damage, but it still is dangerous to lvl 1 party so I want to have CR appraised to know how many coup de gracing kobolds should I include, before encounter becomes too hard (it was idea I had since 3rd ed but didnt had opportunity to use it :D ).
Consider that the spells give allies of the Sorcerer a DPS increase. Incapacitated allows for Advantage and Crits against affected targets. Do your best to figure how much DPS this adds to the Allies, use that DPS assessment to adjust the Sorcerer CR.
Double the Sorcerer’s HP to 6d6+Con, and you will have a roughly CR 2 NPC.
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Sometimes a challenge is much harder than the CR would imply. For example a [creature]rakshasa[/creature] is a CR 13 creature, but is immune to most spells available to PCs at even higher levels, meaning certain parties would find that creature a lot harder than its CR would imply.
Sleep at 1st level creates a field of 5d8 hp to start with (avg 22, max 40). For 1st level characters that means anywhere from 2-4 of them are getting knocked out (more if they are mostly squishy spellcasters, less if they are barbs/fighters/pallys, etc). So that's your starting point.
Standard Kobolds have a +4 to hit (with advantage due to unconsciousness) and deal 1d4+2 damage on that hit. An autocrit would deal 2d4+2 (avg 7, max 10). That could one-shot a wizard / sorcerer and possibly the d8 classes as well depending on constitution scores. So, depending on party, a 2nd level sleep with high rolls and particularly high crit scores could result in a TPK very easily, but the reverse could be true as well with a poor roll on the sleep spell.
I would rate this a potentially "hard" or "deadly" fight for lvl1 PCs, especially if you have the spellcasting kobold repeat the spell. Based on that, I would limit the Normal minions to no more than 2 (for a party of 4), and set the CR for the Kobold spellcaster at 1/2 or 1. That will equate to the "hard/deadly" rating.
Thanks everyone for your replies