I am doing a level 5 one shot for some friends and want to see if I should make adjustments to the last encounter (intended to be hard to maybe deadly). I’ll have 4-6 players and they are currently are:
Gnome Bard - College of Swords
Dragonborn Druid - Circle of the Moon
Half-Elf Warlock - Pact of the Seeker (only homebrew I’m allowing)
The rest haven’t been finalized but at least 1 more will go either wizard or sorceror. Since there are a lack of melee fighters/tanks, should I consider adjustments to an encounter of 3 Yuan-Ti Purebloods and 1-2 Yuan-Ti Malison?
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I’ve used KFC before but I appreciate you laying it out like that. I was thinking more class wise. I guess they’ll need to Eldritch Blast and Cutting Words their way through the fight.
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Make sure you consider how well-rested the party will be when they get to this encounter. If they're going to be very well-rested, you might be fine making this an even deadlier encounter to have something suitably epic to end the adventure.
Also, while I agree with Vedexent's advice broadly (not to solve situations for your players), it does help to consider how the PCs are most likely to approach things. I'd suggest running a mock combat on your own to get a feel for how the encounter might play out. This can be especially helpful when you have an unusual party (not many tanks), as the encounter rules assume on some level that the party will have a balanced mix of combat roles. Afterwards, you might find the encounter is either too easy or too hard, despite what the encounter calculator says. Things like terrain can also be a huge factor here; if your party of squishier ranged attackers and spellcasters can find a way to snipe safely from a distance, then the encounter might be way easier than you anticipate.
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Hi everyone,
I am doing a level 5 one shot for some friends and want to see if I should make adjustments to the last encounter (intended to be hard to maybe deadly). I’ll have 4-6 players and they are currently are:
Gnome Bard - College of Swords
Dragonborn Druid - Circle of the Moon
Half-Elf Warlock - Pact of the Seeker (only homebrew I’m allowing)
The rest haven’t been finalized but at least 1 more will go either wizard or sorceror. Since there are a lack of melee fighters/tanks, should I consider adjustments to an encounter of 3 Yuan-Ti Purebloods and 1-2 Yuan-Ti Malison?
For planning out, or adjusting encounters, I'm quite fond of Kobold Fight Club.
3 Yuan-Ti Purebloods and 2 Yuan-Ti Malison are are a Hard encounter for 4 or 5 level 5 characters, and a Medium for 6
Adding a 3rd Malison makes it Deadly for 4 characters, Hard for 5, and Medium for 6.
Adding a 3rd Malison and a 4th Pureblood makes is Deadly for 4 or 5 Characters, and Hard for 6.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I’ve used KFC before but I appreciate you laying it out like that. I was thinking more class wise. I guess they’ll need to Eldritch Blast and Cutting Words their way through the fight.
Thanks again!
Try not to solve situations for the players. Set up fair challenges, let them find the ways to solve them.
That's their part of the game, and what is ( usually ) fun for them.
In short - I think you might be over thinking the problem. Just set it up; let them knock it down in their own way.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
That’s true, in hindsight that’s exactly what was happening.
Make sure you consider how well-rested the party will be when they get to this encounter. If they're going to be very well-rested, you might be fine making this an even deadlier encounter to have something suitably epic to end the adventure.
Also, while I agree with Vedexent's advice broadly (not to solve situations for your players), it does help to consider how the PCs are most likely to approach things. I'd suggest running a mock combat on your own to get a feel for how the encounter might play out. This can be especially helpful when you have an unusual party (not many tanks), as the encounter rules assume on some level that the party will have a balanced mix of combat roles. Afterwards, you might find the encounter is either too easy or too hard, despite what the encounter calculator says. Things like terrain can also be a huge factor here; if your party of squishier ranged attackers and spellcasters can find a way to snipe safely from a distance, then the encounter might be way easier than you anticipate.