I've played DnD off and on several times in my life, never really had a chance for a long-term sustained game. However, I was always attracted to the role of the DM. I had done a lot of freeform styles of RPs involving a similar role, but never in an organized game. Besides my apprehension at starting, I am trying to work out the kinks of several ideas I have before I try to use them.
If the players all agree to want to play a game focusing on a few heroes vs a horde of enemies, would it be uncalled for to let them all get Horde Breaker for free and in turn, ramping up the encounter numbers for the enjoyment of the whole group? I understand this would mean everyone rolling a ton of dice, but with digital games, that shouldn't be a problem too often.
Has there ever been an official module or games that you have done that focused on the idea of breaking down a whole army or command structure by eliminating one commander or leutinent at a time, weakening the whole enough for the boss to be a successful target? If so, how did it work and what would you do differently and what would you emphasize more?
How would you go about creating unique mobs that players can recognize as more than just a renaming without giving them mechanics players wouldn't know how to deal with?
If you had to chose between an Overpowered Fantasy vs a Underdog/Beating the Odds type of game, which would you favor more and why?
Hobgoblins will work very well for this. Just go to the article section on DnD beyond then go to running monsters and then go to the one about hobgoblins.
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The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
I don't want to be a nusence by bumping my own post, but I don't feel like my questions were directly answered. Mainly about the free Feat, whether other DMs here or official modules have done what I had described and making custom monsters.
If you feel that giving your players a free feat will make the game more fun for them and you, then go for it. It is not something that I dabble in too much as there are other ways to get the same feel for what you are trying to do without trying to add extra dice rolls and extra combat tracking work which might bog down your game. As for homebrew mobs, I am, again, more comfortable just re-skinning a monster rather than building one from scratch because it is generally easier and there is less chance of unbalancing the encounters.
Since you want the feel of having your players fight hordes of enemies, I suggested using swarm monsters as they are built to represent lots of the same monster at once all in one nice clean stat block. As for your players basically dismantling an army, the information on how to use hobgoblins is a pretty good start. While there aren't many "official" modules that tackle this subject, I do know of a few homebrew modules that involve beating back armies through guile and/or tactics.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
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I've played DnD off and on several times in my life, never really had a chance for a long-term sustained game. However, I was always attracted to the role of the DM. I had done a lot of freeform styles of RPs involving a similar role, but never in an organized game. Besides my apprehension at starting, I am trying to work out the kinks of several ideas I have before I try to use them.
If the players all agree to want to play a game focusing on a few heroes vs a horde of enemies, would it be uncalled for to let them all get Horde Breaker for free and in turn, ramping up the encounter numbers for the enjoyment of the whole group? I understand this would mean everyone rolling a ton of dice, but with digital games, that shouldn't be a problem too often.
Has there ever been an official module or games that you have done that focused on the idea of breaking down a whole army or command structure by eliminating one commander or leutinent at a time, weakening the whole enough for the boss to be a successful target? If so, how did it work and what would you do differently and what would you emphasize more?
How would you go about creating unique mobs that players can recognize as more than just a renaming without giving them mechanics players wouldn't know how to deal with?
If you had to chose between an Overpowered Fantasy vs a Underdog/Beating the Odds type of game, which would you favor more and why?
I would use more swam monsters. Swarm of Rats, Swarm of Insects, Swarm of Mechanical Spiders, Skeletal Swarm, Sahuagin Hatchling Swarm, etc.
Hobgoblins will work very well for this. Just go to the article section on DnD beyond then go to running monsters and then go to the one about hobgoblins.
The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
Aye, I actually written up an entire plan based on a Goblinoid army.
I don't want to be a nusence by bumping my own post, but I don't feel like my questions were directly answered. Mainly about the free Feat, whether other DMs here or official modules have done what I had described and making custom monsters.
If you feel that giving your players a free feat will make the game more fun for them and you, then go for it. It is not something that I dabble in too much as there are other ways to get the same feel for what you are trying to do without trying to add extra dice rolls and extra combat tracking work which might bog down your game. As for homebrew mobs, I am, again, more comfortable just re-skinning a monster rather than building one from scratch because it is generally easier and there is less chance of unbalancing the encounters.
Since you want the feel of having your players fight hordes of enemies, I suggested using swarm monsters as they are built to represent lots of the same monster at once all in one nice clean stat block. As for your players basically dismantling an army, the information on how to use hobgoblins is a pretty good start. While there aren't many "official" modules that tackle this subject, I do know of a few homebrew modules that involve beating back armies through guile and/or tactics.