Hi, I am a relatively new DM, (I've done some session 1s here and there but non of the players I had stuck around due to clashing schedules and time zones). I own the dnd lego set that comes with a oneshot (red dragons tale) and would like to run it with my friends from the dnd group I'm currently a player in. However, I ran this one shot for a few friends and we discovered that it's not that balanced as we ran into a tpk about half way through. The characters are pre-set and are set to lv5 and the party consists of a dwarf cleric, an elf wizard, a gnome fighter and an orc rogue and the main big enemies in this one shot are: a beholder that comes in about 2/3 through the one shot and a duo boss fight against an adult red dragon and what I assume is a human wizard? He has mage armour and his main ability is being able to multi-attack to do 3 arcane blasts per turn. They can encounter an NPC that can join the fight and the beholder can end up being an optional fight but that's only if they find a secret area. Does anyone have any tips on how to balance out this campaign with 2 more players allowed for a total of 6? Here is the link to the campaign pdf if anyone wants to take a look at it: https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/lego/red-dragons-tale.pdf
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
It's not the party's fault. A LEVEL 5 party cannot fight a CR 13+, at least not in typical circumstances. The dragon would instantly kill them.
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Hi, I am a relatively new DM, (I've done some session 1s here and there but non of the players I had stuck around due to clashing schedules and time zones). I own the dnd lego set that comes with a oneshot (red dragons tale) and would like to run it with my friends from the dnd group I'm currently a player in. However, I ran this one shot for a few friends and we discovered that it's not that balanced as we ran into a tpk about half way through. The characters are pre-set and are set to lv5 and the party consists of a dwarf cleric, an elf wizard, a gnome fighter and an orc rogue and the main big enemies in this one shot are: a beholder that comes in about 2/3 through the one shot and a duo boss fight against an adult red dragon and what I assume is a human wizard? He has mage armour and his main ability is being able to multi-attack to do 3 arcane blasts per turn.
They can encounter an NPC that can join the fight and the beholder can end up being an optional fight but that's only if they find a secret area.
Does anyone have any tips on how to balance out this campaign with 2 more players allowed for a total of 6?
Here is the link to the campaign pdf if anyone wants to take a look at it: https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/marketing/lego/red-dragons-tale.pdf
Use the preset as a guideline. Let the players create their own PCs
As you have DM this into a TPK, you should know why it was a TPK and would the result be replicated? Die rolls being a comedy of errors can result in a TPK, but unlikely to happen again. Did the Party have enough offensive firepower? Where they just rundown and unable to rest (aka recharge HP & spells et.al.). Did they do a decent job to avoid to be surprised or the surprise attacks put them in an offensive hole?
As you are DM with what happened, with 20/20 hindsight what should have been different?
If they need offensive power, allow a magic weapon or a bigger one, allow for some additional healing potions/wand/etc.
It's not the party's fault. A LEVEL 5 party cannot fight a CR 13+, at least not in typical circumstances. The dragon would instantly kill them.