Challenge Rating for a Boss [Archive] - Wizards Community

Challenge Rating for a Boss [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
mywillbedone
04-20-07, 08:52 AM I'm a fairly rookie DM. I started a D&D group among my firends, so none of us have had any experience. I've made several dungeons, but I've always played it safe. Now another group of friends heard how much fun we were having, so they decided to join in. This bunch is different, though, because they are all much more into playing exactly by the rules, and really putting a lot of effort into everything they do.

Since this is the case, I really want to keep it a challenge for them, so as the final boss for their first dungeon, I've decided to go with an iconic dragon. My question is, after a lot of fights and traps and such already, will a party of four level 1 adventurers have what it takes to take on a very young dragon (2 levels higher than themselves), or should i stick with a wyrmling(only 1 level higher). Is there a certain challenge rating that's perfect for bosses, or does it always change?
Senevri
04-20-07, 10:45 AM Young dragon should be okay, if the space is too cramped for it to fly.
rmccowen
04-20-07, 11:12 AM It depends on the size of the party, and the skill of your players, and how well-put-together their characters are.

In general, the party's average level + 2 is a good target for boss encounters. For large parties (six or more PCs), or if the PCs start the encounter fully-rested, you'll want to boost the difficulty of the encounter to average level +3 or even +4.

For your game, as long as you have 3-5 players, a very young dragon should be appropriate.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mywillbedone 04-20-07, 08:52 AM	I'm a fairly rookie DM. I started a D&D group among my firends, so none of us have had any experience. I've made several dungeons, but I've always played it safe. Now another group of friends heard how much fun we were having, so they decided to join in. This bunch is different, though, because they are all much more into playing exactly by the rules, and really putting a lot of effort into everything they do. Since this is the case, I really want to keep it a challenge for them, so as the final boss for their first dungeon, I've decided to go with an iconic dragon. My question is, after a lot of fights and traps and such already, will a party of four level 1 adventurers have what it takes to take on a very young dragon (2 levels higher than themselves), or should i stick with a wyrmling(only 1 level higher). Is there a certain challenge rating that's perfect for bosses, or does it always change?
Senevri 04-20-07, 10:45 AM	Young dragon should be okay, if the space is too cramped for it to fly.
rmccowen 04-20-07, 11:12 AM	It depends on the size of the party, and the skill of your players, and how well-put-together their characters are. In general, the party's average level + 2 is a good target for boss encounters. For large parties (six or more PCs), or if the PCs start the encounter fully-rested, you'll want to boost the difficulty of the encounter to average level +3 or even +4. For your game, as long as you have 3-5 players, a very young dragon should be appropriate.