I've been having some trouble with combat encounters. I have a fairly large group (7 to 10 at any time) of players, currently at level seven. Does anybody have any advice on what CR level I should be looking at for their combat so everyone can get a hit in, but they're not getting absolutely torn to pieces?
utilizing minions will be essential for this type of game, minions of cr levels 4-6. The boss should be probably cr 7-9, depending on what difficulty you want for the encounter. The encounters can also have variety of goals, considering the amount of players. One encounter can be time sensitive, perhaps turn off the machine within 6 rounds, that will give different players things to do during the combat besides hitting stuff. Perhaps in another encounter, throw in some hazards. If you want to throw in a dragon, maybe the dragon drops a cart on the party's location.
I've been having some trouble with combat encounters. I have a fairly large group (7 to 10 at any time) of players, currently at level seven. Does anybody have any advice on what CR level I should be looking at for their combat so everyone can get a hit in, but they're not getting absolutely torn to pieces?
Hi. Unlike some folks, I regularly run with a group of 7 to 9 (three of them, all interconnected, in fact).
First, it would depend on the party mix -- you want to make sure that they all have some aspect of the fight where they can shine.
Presuming you have that, I would set them CR for minions at CR6, and make sure there is one of of them than there are members in the party. If during a long fight a new player shows up, a new minion shows up.
Next, for a BB, I would suggest a CR 9 or 10 critter. IF this is a prepared lair, then make it a straight CR 7, but use the lair for everything it is worth, and make the critter cunning as heck.
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Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I just use the combat encounter calculations they put in the DMG. It's not perfect. Sometimes you'll put them up against a 'Deadly' encounter and they completely tool it. Sometimes you'll put them up against an 'Easy' encounter and it's a near TPK. On the whole, though, it presents enough of a challenge that I trust it to challenge my players (even though it betrays me from time to time).
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Hi everyone!
I've been having some trouble with combat encounters. I have a fairly large group (7 to 10 at any time) of players, currently at level seven. Does anybody have any advice on what CR level I should be looking at for their combat so everyone can get a hit in, but they're not getting absolutely torn to pieces?
utilizing minions will be essential for this type of game, minions of cr levels 4-6. The boss should be probably cr 7-9, depending on what difficulty you want for the encounter. The encounters can also have variety of goals, considering the amount of players. One encounter can be time sensitive, perhaps turn off the machine within 6 rounds, that will give different players things to do during the combat besides hitting stuff. Perhaps in another encounter, throw in some hazards. If you want to throw in a dragon, maybe the dragon drops a cart on the party's location.
Hi. Unlike some folks, I regularly run with a group of 7 to 9 (three of them, all interconnected, in fact).
First, it would depend on the party mix -- you want to make sure that they all have some aspect of the fight where they can shine.
Presuming you have that, I would set them CR for minions at CR6, and make sure there is one of of them than there are members in the party. If during a long fight a new player shows up, a new minion shows up.
Next, for a BB, I would suggest a CR 9 or 10 critter. IF this is a prepared lair, then make it a straight CR 7, but use the lair for everything it is worth, and make the critter cunning as heck.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I just use the combat encounter calculations they put in the DMG. It's not perfect. Sometimes you'll put them up against a 'Deadly' encounter and they completely tool it. Sometimes you'll put them up against an 'Easy' encounter and it's a near TPK. On the whole, though, it presents enough of a challenge that I trust it to challenge my players (even though it betrays me from time to time).