When it comes to dungeons I try to look at them in two different modes:
1: Who built the location and why? 2: Who resides there now, why are they there?
Dungeons can be used to tell two different stories, I'll use one of my dungeons as an example.
The party found themselves delving underground in chase of a Druid who'd been labled as defiling the order. When they emerged from the long tunnel they found themselves travelling inside the roots of a colossal tree. The tree had been turned into a sanctuary by a Dryad who'd used it many centuries in the past as a way to bring back plants that were going extinct. There were rooms dedicated to splicing plants together, rooms with books on research and methods of splicing and growing exotic things, and laboratories with equipment left behind when the Dryad eventually was called back to the Feywild.
The Druid used his abilities with nature to navigate the various places of the Dryads hidden fortress, and brought many of the plants back to life. The players had to deal with these sinister creations when they entered later. The Druid used the research material and equipment to further expand on the process to include creatures. The players encountered Ropers which had been fused with Otyughs, Trolls fused with Ochre Oozes and Displacer Beasts fused with Blink Dogs. The whole of the dungeon was a twisted nightmare of misinformation and things not being as they seemed.
----
Mixing the history of a location and the present occupants can create some interesting mergers. A sunken castle, mostly burried by time could have the classic undead soldiers, but why not also include Lizard Folk and Kobolds fighting for the area as well? Now the players are fighting 3 fronts, or allying with one front to fight two. Maybe they find themselves fighting the teamwork of the Lizard Folk and Kobolds as they believe the players to be undead soldiers. Ghosts possess Lizard Folk Shamans and use them as vessels, when they're killed the Ghost now inhabits a player. Then you have the crumbling architecture, mud slides, shifting and settling of the castle. Even going so far as to have the castle listed to a side so the walls and floors are at odd angles. Go crazy with it.
Another challenge is an interesting boss, i'm not sure how hard to make him. I don't want to kill anybody in the first adventure, but i don't want a cake walk
For bosses I use an idea that eventually The Angry GM blogged about as well:
The reason bosses aren't very interesting in D&D is because the fight is very static, after the 3rd round you pretty much know everything that the boss can do. There's no surprises, there's nothing that really tests your skill as a player, it's like washing your hair: roll a d20, cast a spell, lock him down, repeat as needed.
Instead break your boss down into 2-3 "stages" like they do in video games. When the boss looses 30% of their health his tactics change, his attitude toward the fight changes and maybe even the weapons/attacks change. Then when the boss gets down to 25% of their HP, another shift happens and they release their "ultimate attack" or some cliche thing.
As an introduction to one of my last games I had the players go through a labyrinth, a simple mechanic to get them used to their character skills and abilities. Then, when they reached the end, they had a fight. I chose to give them an Animated Armor as their opponent and it wielded a menacing mace and shield. When the Animated Armor took half it's health in damage it make a customized attack, basically a fluffed Thunder Wave but no damage. It then threw the Mace and Shield to the ground and started grappling the players. A turn later the Mace lifted off the ground and now they had to fight an Animated Armor and an Animated Weapon. The shift in the fight's dynamic was terrifying for some of the players, they'd been brought up that a monster doesn't really change their approach. It caused them to rethink how they were going to fight since now they had two targets instead of one. As well being grappled while the Animated Weapon swung at them...it was harrowing.
Tie all of that in with the Terrain and Environment details, and you have the makings for a great boss fight.
Instead break your boss down into 2-3 "stages" like they do in video games. When the boss looses 30% of their health his tactics change, his attitude toward the fight changes and maybe even the weapons/attacks change. Then when the boss gets down to 25% of their HP, another shift happens and they release their "ultimate attack" or some cliche thing.
I very much like this approach as well. But it's not just for bosses. If you have an idea what the tactics the Party's opponents are going to use, and when, how, and under what conditions those tactics are going to change ( and how they'll change ), then combat overall gets more interesting.
Don't forget that calling for reinforcements and running away are viable tactics as well.
Another possibility is working out "opportunity tactics" - situations they'll try and take advantage of, when they come up, and how. Character goes down? They'll swoop in to take them hostage. Or maybe they're really nasty and swoop into to try and finish off the Character by attacking them while unconscious.
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.
It can be as deadly, or easy, as you want. In a strict white room aspect, yea, it will probably kill 3 of the characters. However, if you give them tools to mitigate the damage that the Flameskull does, then you can give them a bit of an advantage. If you give them ways to avoid taking full damage (Potion of Fire Resistance, Resist Elements Scroll), you can give them some ways to reduce the risk. If you give them terrain to hide them from the Fireball you can reduce the risk. You could tone it down a little and say it doesn't get Fireball.
There's also the question: How creative are your players? I had a party of level 3 players kill a were-rat with no silvered weapons, just some very clever use of sleeping potions and grapple.
also, another option is to wait 'til level 4, but give the flameskull friends, like 2 ghouls. The room would be full of the skull's magic mist, and the skull would be on a raised platform, the ghouls would block the players from reaching the skull.
It can be as deadly, or easy, as you want. In a strict white room aspect, yea, it will probably kill 3 of the characters. However, if you give them tools to mitigate the damage that the Flameskull does, then you can give them a bit of an advantage. If you give them ways to avoid taking full damage (Potion of Fire Resistance, Resist Elements Scroll), you can give them some ways to reduce the risk. If you give them terrain to hide them from the Fireball you can reduce the risk. You could tone it down a little and say it doesn't get Fireball.
There's also the question: How creative are your players? I had a party of level 3 players kill a were-rat with no silvered weapons, just some very clever use of sleeping potions and grapple.
I have only seen 2 of my players play before, and they're pretty unimaginative except for the time one of them posed as a barrel to stop a heist (long story).
When it comes to dungeons I try to look at them in two different modes:
1: Who built the location and why?
2: Who resides there now, why are they there?
Dungeons can be used to tell two different stories, I'll use one of my dungeons as an example.
The party found themselves delving underground in chase of a Druid who'd been labled as defiling the order. When they emerged from the long tunnel they found themselves travelling inside the roots of a colossal tree. The tree had been turned into a sanctuary by a Dryad who'd used it many centuries in the past as a way to bring back plants that were going extinct. There were rooms dedicated to splicing plants together, rooms with books on research and methods of splicing and growing exotic things, and laboratories with equipment left behind when the Dryad eventually was called back to the Feywild.
The Druid used his abilities with nature to navigate the various places of the Dryads hidden fortress, and brought many of the plants back to life. The players had to deal with these sinister creations when they entered later. The Druid used the research material and equipment to further expand on the process to include creatures. The players encountered Ropers which had been fused with Otyughs, Trolls fused with Ochre Oozes and Displacer Beasts fused with Blink Dogs. The whole of the dungeon was a twisted nightmare of misinformation and things not being as they seemed.
----
Mixing the history of a location and the present occupants can create some interesting mergers. A sunken castle, mostly burried by time could have the classic undead soldiers, but why not also include Lizard Folk and Kobolds fighting for the area as well? Now the players are fighting 3 fronts, or allying with one front to fight two. Maybe they find themselves fighting the teamwork of the Lizard Folk and Kobolds as they believe the players to be undead soldiers. Ghosts possess Lizard Folk Shamans and use them as vessels, when they're killed the Ghost now inhabits a player. Then you have the crumbling architecture, mud slides, shifting and settling of the castle. Even going so far as to have the castle listed to a side so the walls and floors are at odd angles. Go crazy with it.
Another challenge is an interesting boss, i'm not sure how hard to make him. I don't want to kill anybody in the first adventure, but i don't want a cake walk
I did NOT eat those hikers.
For bosses I use an idea that eventually The Angry GM blogged about as well:
The reason bosses aren't very interesting in D&D is because the fight is very static, after the 3rd round you pretty much know everything that the boss can do. There's no surprises, there's nothing that really tests your skill as a player, it's like washing your hair: roll a d20, cast a spell, lock him down, repeat as needed.
Instead break your boss down into 2-3 "stages" like they do in video games. When the boss looses 30% of their health his tactics change, his attitude toward the fight changes and maybe even the weapons/attacks change. Then when the boss gets down to 25% of their HP, another shift happens and they release their "ultimate attack" or some cliche thing.
As an introduction to one of my last games I had the players go through a labyrinth, a simple mechanic to get them used to their character skills and abilities. Then, when they reached the end, they had a fight. I chose to give them an Animated Armor as their opponent and it wielded a menacing mace and shield. When the Animated Armor took half it's health in damage it make a customized attack, basically a fluffed Thunder Wave but no damage. It then threw the Mace and Shield to the ground and started grappling the players. A turn later the Mace lifted off the ground and now they had to fight an Animated Armor and an Animated Weapon. The shift in the fight's dynamic was terrifying for some of the players, they'd been brought up that a monster doesn't really change their approach. It caused them to rethink how they were going to fight since now they had two targets instead of one. As well being grappled while the Animated Weapon swung at them...it was harrowing.
Tie all of that in with the Terrain and Environment details, and you have the makings for a great boss fight.
I very much like this approach as well. But it's not just for bosses. If you have an idea what the tactics the Party's opponents are going to use, and when, how, and under what conditions those tactics are going to change ( and how they'll change ), then combat overall gets more interesting.
Don't forget that calling for reinforcements and running away are viable tactics as well.
Another possibility is working out "opportunity tactics" - situations they'll try and take advantage of, when they come up, and how. Character goes down? They'll swoop in to take them hostage. Or maybe they're really nasty and swoop into to try and finish off the Character by attacking them while unconscious.
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.
so, would a flameskull be overkill for 4 second level players and a CR 1 ally, i know it can cast fireball, which could one hit most players.
I did NOT eat those hikers.
It can be as deadly, or easy, as you want. In a strict white room aspect, yea, it will probably kill 3 of the characters. However, if you give them tools to mitigate the damage that the Flameskull does, then you can give them a bit of an advantage. If you give them ways to avoid taking full damage (Potion of Fire Resistance, Resist Elements Scroll), you can give them some ways to reduce the risk. If you give them terrain to hide them from the Fireball you can reduce the risk. You could tone it down a little and say it doesn't get Fireball.
There's also the question: How creative are your players? I had a party of level 3 players kill a were-rat with no silvered weapons, just some very clever use of sleeping potions and grapple.
also, another option is to wait 'til level 4, but give the flameskull friends, like 2 ghouls. The room would be full of the skull's magic mist, and the skull would be on a raised platform, the ghouls would block the players from reaching the skull.
I did NOT eat those hikers.
I have only seen 2 of my players play before, and they're pretty unimaginative except for the time one of them posed as a barrel to stop a heist (long story).
I did NOT eat those hikers.
although the potion of flame resistance is pretty good! I think that would get through [unnamed player]'s thick skull
I did NOT eat those hikers.