Hi my name is Denise and I am creating a campaign for 3 level 5 characters. I have a NPC that helps the players find the clearing in the forest. Should I get her to go with the party or just have her hand them a map. The adventure is that beasts have been taking children from the small town. I have a resantly hired guard tell them of the kid nappings. Or should I skip the one and just go with the guard. This is my first one I'm making myself the others I ran were print outs. And how do I figure out CR how many CR 1 s for the party of 3.
The players may expect the NPC's help if combat breaks out.
If the NPC knows the area well, then there's likely less reason to have the player characters make survival checks to navigate well.
Likewise, the NPC may know how to navigate around the more wild or nasty monsters.
If combat breaks out and the NPC takes injuries or dies, the players might feel bad about it.
The players might 'adopt' the NPC as their puppy. Seriously I've lost track with how often this can happen.
If the players get the map from the NPC
They get to flex their survival, perception, and nature skills as they navigate the forest.
If combat breaks out, the NPC could hear and come to the aid of the players in round 2/3
Less chance of the party adopting the NPC.
The question here is what purpose the NPC serves? A simple and successful survival check can get the players where they need to go without the NPC. However, the map could grant advantage or a bonus to the survival check.
In the 2014 version of the rules, the assumption is that player characters will encounter 6-8 medium-hard encounters per in-game day. At Level 5, three adventurers would have 1,500xp budget for a medium challenge encounter. That would be three Brown Bear who are CR1 (200xp).
When you start working with more than one enemy there is a multiplier. In this case, between 3 and 6 enemies means you multiply the xp by 2. So three bears for a medium encounter. (3x(2x200)) = 3x400 = 1,200
For a deadly encounter (which aren't all that deadly) you'd have a budget of 3,300xp. That would be 6-7 brown bears. Between 7 and 10 enemies you multiply the xp by 2.5. So (7x(2.5x200)) = 7x500 = 3,500
Encounter building isn't an exact science though. As you gain experience you'll find better ways of handling encounter building. Realistically it will depend on how much of a challenge you want to offer the players.
Hi my name is Denise and I am creating a campaign for 3 level 5 characters. I have a NPC that helps the players find the clearing in the forest. Should I get her to go with the party or just have her hand them a map. The adventure is that beasts have been taking children from the small town. I have a resantly hired guard tell them of the kid nappings. Or should I skip the one and just go with the guard. This is my first one I'm making myself the others I ran were print outs. And how do I figure out CR how many CR 1 s for the party of 3.
If you have the NPC escort the players
If the players get the map from the NPC
The question here is what purpose the NPC serves? A simple and successful survival check can get the players where they need to go without the NPC. However, the map could grant advantage or a bonus to the survival check.
Encounter building
Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) - D&D Beyond
and
Creating Adventures - Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014) - Dungeons & Dragons - Sources - D&D Beyond
In the 2014 version of the rules, the assumption is that player characters will encounter 6-8 medium-hard encounters per in-game day. At Level 5, three adventurers would have 1,500xp budget for a medium challenge encounter. That would be three Brown Bear who are CR1 (200xp).
When you start working with more than one enemy there is a multiplier. In this case, between 3 and 6 enemies means you multiply the xp by 2. So three bears for a medium encounter. (3x(2x200)) = 3x400 = 1,200
For a deadly encounter (which aren't all that deadly) you'd have a budget of 3,300xp. That would be 6-7 brown bears. Between 7 and 10 enemies you multiply the xp by 2.5.
So (7x(2.5x200)) = 7x500 = 3,500
Encounter building isn't an exact science though. As you gain experience you'll find better ways of handling encounter building. Realistically it will depend on how much of a challenge you want to offer the players.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
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