Most DMs who complain that LMoP is deadly have never actually run it as written from what I have seen.
I'd disagree.
The initial goblin encounter can be deadly depending on how the DM runs it and how the die rolls turn out. It also depends on party size. For an experienced DM it isn't much of an issue since they can make sure that the goblins don't kill off the party - perhaps they tie them up and take the wagon in a worst case scenario. In a moderate scenario, death saves and medicine checks will likely prevent any characters from dying.
However, this isn't really the problem. The issue is the way the module runs after the goblin ambush. There are two main choices for the party - continue on to town and deliver the shipment then come back to look for the missing folks - or, as written, characters head directly for crag maw hideout.
The problem is that Crag Maw Hideout at level 1 is a TPK waiting to happen. It is a populated dungeon with guards at the entrance. The party will not have an opportunity for a long rest since otherwise the dungeon will likely repopulate as the goblins get reinforcements. They might even send out patrols looking for the creatures who dared to attack the hideout - or they might decide to abandon it if the PCs seemed like a significant threat.
Moving through the dungeon, there are several possibly dangerous encounters that will drain resources and hit points. The fight at the end with Klarg, a wolf and two goblins is considered deadly in terms of the CR balancing system (which I realize doesn't do a great job). However, the bugbear does significant damage with an average of 11 hit points on a hit (2d8+2) - max 18. One hit will often take a character down entirely. The bugbear has only 27 hit points but with an AC of 16 vs typical new player level 1 characters without significant optimization and using point buy or standard array for stats - this will hit less than 1/2 the time.
An experienced DM won't have much trouble with it and can adjust as necessary but a newer DM with newer players stands a good chance of some or all of the characters not surviving the hideout at level 1.
So, I can understand the reputation that both LMoP and DoIP can have since both include encounters that can go sideways on a less experienced DM and players if run as written - mostly just having to do with the challenges that can be faced at level 1. (LMoP - Cragmaw Hideout, DoIP - manticore encounter (if party decides on a straight up fight), the ooze that causes acid damage to attackers within 5' and damages the weapons used (some characters might not even have ranged attack options and might not realize that the ooze moves very slowly), the mimic and heavy crossbow turret in Gnomengarde (?) ... among others. Most of these are much safer at level 2.)
1) The challenge with feedback during the game is that the players may not have formed strong opinions about what might be an issue - which more often happens when they look back on the campaign afterwards and realize things that may not have been that noticeable at the time. So, at the end you get some useful feedback while in the middle of the campaign it is less specific.
2) During the campaign, especially online where the players may not know the DM well, the players may be reluctant to offer feedback in case the DM is the type to ask for feedback, then take it personally, then either get upset with the player who made the comment (shooting the messenger) or take actions in game to "punish" the character of the player making the comment. Yes, there are folks out there who can't take criticism and comments, there are some who will react negatively, no matter how positive they sounded when asking for the feedback. In a game where you don't know the DM/other players all that well, there will be a reluctance to express feedback.
3) Playstyles vary a lot. Some folks like more combat, some more social interactions and roleplaying, some an intriguing and complex narrative, some a well developed world. This is why a session 0 is essential. Chat to the players to get an idea of their preferences. You could have an anonymous poll distributed to the players and asking amusing questions like:
How many times do you want to roll initiative during a play session?
(a) 0
(b) 1
(c) As many as freaking possible!
Is a session in which you don't roll initiative ...
(a) An opportunity for role playing and exploration
(b) A waste of a session
etc
The idea being to get an idea of what folks want to play - one shots, intricate campaign, short story etc and how they want to play it - lots of combat, more roleplaying, balanced mix etc.
How much railroading happens depends on how folks define "railroad" and the events occurring in the adventure. If the "quest" has a clearly defined next step "go to the dungeon and recover item A from the tomb" is that just how the adventure runs or is it railroading? Do you expect the players to engage with the story hooks and how many hooks do the players hope to have available at the same time. Some players want to be able to go anywhere in a sandbox ... but also like most sandboxes, most of the area is just filled with sand, the "toys" may only be found at specific locations or require interacting with NPCs in the sandbox to see if they will share their "toy" ... but remember, either way you look at it, that sandbox is mostly just uninteresting sand.
"Railroading" in my opinion is not limited choices but when the DM removes choices entirely. The party goes from the town to the dungeon without having even the appearance of choice .. but since opinions on this differ .. this is another good topic for session 0.
Session 0 is where the DM and players can have a chat about the DMs house rules, how the DM usually runs things, maybe cover some typical examples of situations and how you would adjudicate them, ask the players how they feel about various elements of the game (combat, social interactions, exploration) .. if they have enough experience to have an opinion.
Finally, if you want feedback later on ... ask specific questions. Asking how it is going is likely to get a "good" since the question is actually too complicated to answer unless the player unpacks it and thinks about things. Perhaps ask, "What do you think of the plot so far? Do you think the characters have too many choices, not enough choices or about right?". "Any concerns with how we run combat? Anything you think might speed things up? If you had to pick one thing we could try to improve with (combat, role playing, narrative, exploration) what would it be?"
Specific feedback questions are more likely to get responses from players since they are usually easier to answer.
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I'd disagree.
The initial goblin encounter can be deadly depending on how the DM runs it and how the die rolls turn out. It also depends on party size. For an experienced DM it isn't much of an issue since they can make sure that the goblins don't kill off the party - perhaps they tie them up and take the wagon in a worst case scenario. In a moderate scenario, death saves and medicine checks will likely prevent any characters from dying.
However, this isn't really the problem. The issue is the way the module runs after the goblin ambush. There are two main choices for the party - continue on to town and deliver the shipment then come back to look for the missing folks - or, as written, characters head directly for crag maw hideout.
The problem is that Crag Maw Hideout at level 1 is a TPK waiting to happen. It is a populated dungeon with guards at the entrance. The party will not have an opportunity for a long rest since otherwise the dungeon will likely repopulate as the goblins get reinforcements. They might even send out patrols looking for the creatures who dared to attack the hideout - or they might decide to abandon it if the PCs seemed like a significant threat.
Moving through the dungeon, there are several possibly dangerous encounters that will drain resources and hit points. The fight at the end with Klarg, a wolf and two goblins is considered deadly in terms of the CR balancing system (which I realize doesn't do a great job). However, the bugbear does significant damage with an average of 11 hit points on a hit (2d8+2) - max 18. One hit will often take a character down entirely. The bugbear has only 27 hit points but with an AC of 16 vs typical new player level 1 characters without significant optimization and using point buy or standard array for stats - this will hit less than 1/2 the time.
An experienced DM won't have much trouble with it and can adjust as necessary but a newer DM with newer players stands a good chance of some or all of the characters not surviving the hideout at level 1.
So, I can understand the reputation that both LMoP and DoIP can have since both include encounters that can go sideways on a less experienced DM and players if run as written - mostly just having to do with the challenges that can be faced at level 1. (LMoP - Cragmaw Hideout, DoIP - manticore encounter (if party decides on a straight up fight), the ooze that causes acid damage to attackers within 5' and damages the weapons used (some characters might not even have ranged attack options and might not realize that the ooze moves very slowly), the mimic and heavy crossbow turret in Gnomengarde (?) ... among others. Most of these are much safer at level 2.)
There are several common reasons for this ...
1) The challenge with feedback during the game is that the players may not have formed strong opinions about what might be an issue - which more often happens when they look back on the campaign afterwards and realize things that may not have been that noticeable at the time. So, at the end you get some useful feedback while in the middle of the campaign it is less specific.
2) During the campaign, especially online where the players may not know the DM well, the players may be reluctant to offer feedback in case the DM is the type to ask for feedback, then take it personally, then either get upset with the player who made the comment (shooting the messenger) or take actions in game to "punish" the character of the player making the comment. Yes, there are folks out there who can't take criticism and comments, there are some who will react negatively, no matter how positive they sounded when asking for the feedback. In a game where you don't know the DM/other players all that well, there will be a reluctance to express feedback.
3) Playstyles vary a lot. Some folks like more combat, some more social interactions and roleplaying, some an intriguing and complex narrative, some a well developed world. This is why a session 0 is essential. Chat to the players to get an idea of their preferences. You could have an anonymous poll distributed to the players and asking amusing questions like:
How many times do you want to roll initiative during a play session?
(a) 0
(b) 1
(c) As many as freaking possible!
Is a session in which you don't roll initiative ...
(a) An opportunity for role playing and exploration
(b) A waste of a session
etc
The idea being to get an idea of what folks want to play - one shots, intricate campaign, short story etc and how they want to play it - lots of combat, more roleplaying, balanced mix etc.
How much railroading happens depends on how folks define "railroad" and the events occurring in the adventure. If the "quest" has a clearly defined next step "go to the dungeon and recover item A from the tomb" is that just how the adventure runs or is it railroading? Do you expect the players to engage with the story hooks and how many hooks do the players hope to have available at the same time. Some players want to be able to go anywhere in a sandbox ... but also like most sandboxes, most of the area is just filled with sand, the "toys" may only be found at specific locations or require interacting with NPCs in the sandbox to see if they will share their "toy" ... but remember, either way you look at it, that sandbox is mostly just uninteresting sand.
"Railroading" in my opinion is not limited choices but when the DM removes choices entirely. The party goes from the town to the dungeon without having even the appearance of choice .. but since opinions on this differ .. this is another good topic for session 0.
Session 0 is where the DM and players can have a chat about the DMs house rules, how the DM usually runs things, maybe cover some typical examples of situations and how you would adjudicate them, ask the players how they feel about various elements of the game (combat, social interactions, exploration) .. if they have enough experience to have an opinion.
Finally, if you want feedback later on ... ask specific questions. Asking how it is going is likely to get a "good" since the question is actually too complicated to answer unless the player unpacks it and thinks about things. Perhaps ask, "What do you think of the plot so far? Do you think the characters have too many choices, not enough choices or about right?". "Any concerns with how we run combat? Anything you think might speed things up? If you had to pick one thing we could try to improve with (combat, role playing, narrative, exploration) what would it be?"
Specific feedback questions are more likely to get responses from players since they are usually easier to answer.