Okay so how accurate are the guidelines for building encounters in the DM guide?
They're a good start. I agree with the above that online encounter calculators are the easiest. I suggest starting with straightforward creatures like skeletons, goblins, beasts, etc that don't have too many exotic abilities like magic or grappling, or a boatload of resistances.
Also, if you're starting out as DM, it's okay if the encounters start as "purely physical fights to the death in an empty room." If you get comfortable with that, gradually add layers of complexity, one at a time. For example, the next fight, make an interesting environment. Or the next fight, make it a "there's fighting, but what you really want to do is grab that artifact and run." Or "this time, the monster is going to have some weird ability."
As you get comfortable, you can add multiple layers of complexity to an encounter. Vexedent posted some brilliant ideas for that.
Regarding monster stat blocks--they can be overwhelming, but the most important stats (unless you're looking at more exotic abilities) are HP, AC, to hit, and damage. I learned this by DMing a way pared down RPG called Microlite 20--monsters just had 4 stats, so it was easy to see the basic workings. These are my main 4 things (other than environment) you can tweak, either before or in battle, and how that might work:
1. HP: high hit points, it takes a lot of hits to bring the creature down. This is the most commonly tweaked stat. I didn't used to ever tweak this mid battle, cause I was basically self taught and had never heard of a DM screen!
2. AC: High AC, the players miss a lot. Low AC, the players hit more often. If the battle is turning into a "whiff fest" (no one is hitting it, and everyone is getting bored), I sometimes drop the AC by having a successful hit knock off a chunk of armor or cause a limp. (Don't worry about exact mechanics, just drop the AC by 2.)
3. To-hit bonus: High to hit means the players will get hit often. This can make a battle feel more urgent, since the players are taking damage regularly. If the damage is low, but hits land often, you're less likely to accidentally kill the party.
4. Damage: High damage creatures wear down players in just a few hits. Careful with these--take note how many full damage hits it would take to outright kill your players. If it's one full damage hit--that can be a dramatic fight, or an accidental killing of players. Correcting this mid battle? The monster's weapon takes damage and does less with each hit.
If the damage is low, but hits land often, you're less likely to accidentally kill the party.
This is really good advice.
I'll add another trick: waves of enemies. This goes along with more tactical maps. If you can set it up so that it is conceivable that enemies could continue to arrive, you can send in reinforcements as needed to keep the battle exciting, but you won't overwhelm the party by accident with 10 goblins all in one room. Instead start out with 4 goblins, and after 2 die, have a few more come in from the far door (unexplored part of the cave) to reinforce. Then after another couple die, 2 or 3 more come in to reinforce. You can stop or add more at any time, so you can just quit the reinforcements if the party is getting to beaten up, etc.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
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They're a good start. I agree with the above that online encounter calculators are the easiest. I suggest starting with straightforward creatures like skeletons, goblins, beasts, etc that don't have too many exotic abilities like magic or grappling, or a boatload of resistances.
Also, if you're starting out as DM, it's okay if the encounters start as "purely physical fights to the death in an empty room." If you get comfortable with that, gradually add layers of complexity, one at a time. For example, the next fight, make an interesting environment. Or the next fight, make it a "there's fighting, but what you really want to do is grab that artifact and run." Or "this time, the monster is going to have some weird ability."
As you get comfortable, you can add multiple layers of complexity to an encounter. Vexedent posted some brilliant ideas for that.
Regarding monster stat blocks--they can be overwhelming, but the most important stats (unless you're looking at more exotic abilities) are HP, AC, to hit, and damage. I learned this by DMing a way pared down RPG called Microlite 20--monsters just had 4 stats, so it was easy to see the basic workings. These are my main 4 things (other than environment) you can tweak, either before or in battle, and how that might work:
1. HP: high hit points, it takes a lot of hits to bring the creature down. This is the most commonly tweaked stat. I didn't used to ever tweak this mid battle, cause I was basically self taught and had never heard of a DM screen!
2. AC: High AC, the players miss a lot. Low AC, the players hit more often. If the battle is turning into a "whiff fest" (no one is hitting it, and everyone is getting bored), I sometimes drop the AC by having a successful hit knock off a chunk of armor or cause a limp. (Don't worry about exact mechanics, just drop the AC by 2.)
3. To-hit bonus: High to hit means the players will get hit often. This can make a battle feel more urgent, since the players are taking damage regularly. If the damage is low, but hits land often, you're less likely to accidentally kill the party.
4. Damage: High damage creatures wear down players in just a few hits. Careful with these--take note how many full damage hits it would take to outright kill your players. If it's one full damage hit--that can be a dramatic fight, or an accidental killing of players. Correcting this mid battle? The monster's weapon takes damage and does less with each hit.
This is really good advice.
I'll add another trick: waves of enemies. This goes along with more tactical maps. If you can set it up so that it is conceivable that enemies could continue to arrive, you can send in reinforcements as needed to keep the battle exciting, but you won't overwhelm the party by accident with 10 goblins all in one room. Instead start out with 4 goblins, and after 2 die, have a few more come in from the far door (unexplored part of the cave) to reinforce. Then after another couple die, 2 or 3 more come in to reinforce. You can stop or add more at any time, so you can just quit the reinforcements if the party is getting to beaten up, etc.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.