Hello all, I have a bit of a problem. You see, I tried running the first session of Hoard of the Dragon Queen for 3 players, and we had a tpk within the first 25 minutes. Since it wasn't a full party I had them at level 2 with max HP and standard point buy. We had a half orc ranger, a dragonborn paladin, and a shifter monk. In all honesty, the kobolds just kept critting and they took down the paladin fast. Without healing (Ranger used up his spell slots beforehand) the other 2 quickly fell after. So we're doing a reset (and the paladin is swapping to sorcerer). My primary question is if I give them a dmpc, should it be a cleric or bard (or any other suggestions), but also any tips for running this campaign, as I'm not an incredibly experienced DM.
Alternatively you can run the kobolds as groups of enemies rather than each making attack rolls. This eliminates critical hits but makes them deal damage more consistently against the party which should allow them to avoid huge spikes of damage they can't recover from. On top of that you should probably adjust the number of enemies down to make up for the groups relative lack of healing (or limited healing).
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Instead of killing the characters. What if the kobolds just knocked the PCs unconscious and stole their gold and weapons?
I'd avoid a dmpc in favor of giving the PCs easier access to potions of healing (make them cheaper and readily available). If you're set on a them having a healer companion, you could use the Acolyte NPC stat block in the basic rules.
The PCs did kill a couple of them before they managed to take them down. The players also asked me to run a dmpc (it's a common occurrence in our group due to low numbers). Though I'll definitely give them a few free healing potions off the bat. Good suggestion, thank you.
The goal is for everyone to have fun. You're the DM, use a DM's screen and roll your attacks behind it and cheat to avoid TPK's unless the players are being reckless and deserve it. For example, if they go up against a dragon at 2nd level instead of running away they deserve a TPK.
If we were in person, that would be easy, but we do all rolling with a discord bot as we are all in different parts of the country/countries. Admittedly after the paladin got knocked out the other two didn't make the best decisions (and nat 1ed a few stealth checks). In all honesty, the dice gods just didn't smile on them last night.
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Hello all, I have a bit of a problem. You see, I tried running the first session of Hoard of the Dragon Queen for 3 players, and we had a tpk within the first 25 minutes. Since it wasn't a full party I had them at level 2 with max HP and standard point buy. We had a half orc ranger, a dragonborn paladin, and a shifter monk. In all honesty, the kobolds just kept critting and they took down the paladin fast. Without healing (Ranger used up his spell slots beforehand) the other 2 quickly fell after. So we're doing a reset (and the paladin is swapping to sorcerer). My primary question is if I give them a dmpc, should it be a cleric or bard (or any other suggestions), but also any tips for running this campaign, as I'm not an incredibly experienced DM.
Alternatively you can run the kobolds as groups of enemies rather than each making attack rolls. This eliminates critical hits but makes them deal damage more consistently against the party which should allow them to avoid huge spikes of damage they can't recover from. On top of that you should probably adjust the number of enemies down to make up for the groups relative lack of healing (or limited healing).
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Instead of killing the characters. What if the kobolds just knocked the PCs unconscious and stole their gold and weapons?
I'd avoid a dmpc in favor of giving the PCs easier access to potions of healing (make them cheaper and readily available). If you're set on a them having a healer companion, you could use the Acolyte NPC stat block in the basic rules.
The PCs did kill a couple of them before they managed to take them down. The players also asked me to run a dmpc (it's a common occurrence in our group due to low numbers). Though I'll definitely give them a few free healing potions off the bat. Good suggestion, thank you.
Definitely a good idea, thanks.
The goal is for everyone to have fun. You're the DM, use a DM's screen and roll your attacks behind it and cheat to avoid TPK's unless the players are being reckless and deserve it. For example, if they go up against a dragon at 2nd level instead of running away they deserve a TPK.
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If we were in person, that would be easy, but we do all rolling with a discord bot as we are all in different parts of the country/countries. Admittedly after the paladin got knocked out the other two didn't make the best decisions (and nat 1ed a few stealth checks). In all honesty, the dice gods just didn't smile on them last night.