So im running my first 5e campaign tonight and ive been building the first combat encounter. Ive been looking at the monster manual and decided on throwing a couple "shadow" (p270 in the monster manual) at them but im wondering when it becomes too hard or too easy with creatures like this. I have a party of 4 well balanced adventurers some with dnd experience some without. These creatures are .5cr but they deal 2d6+2 damage as well as 1d4 strength damage on hit. if the characters strength is dropped to 0 the character dies. With a party of 4 how many should i toss at them hopefully without killing a character? the strength damage is what scares me. they are 100xp each, and usually im pretty good at structuring encounters but with 5e im doubting myself lol
Can't advise you on how many you should use. But I will say this: Never point the DM-gun at anything you're unwilling to shoot. If you are worried about this situation, holster it and do something else. If you decide ultimately that you are willing to pull the trigger, then Ready, Aim,...
bristlebane wrote:
There are a handful of encounter calculators out there to give a general idea of threat level. Google "d&d 5e encounter calculator". Which one works best for you is a matter of personal taste.
If you're worried about how deadly an encounter is, have the enemies come in in waves, or give the bad guys a reason to flee even if the party is on the verge of a TPK. Or take them all out and have them wake up in prison. 
iserith wrote:
bristlebane wrote:
iserith wrote:
If character death isn't an option, then don't use them as a straight up fight. Have only 1 or 2 of them and focus on making a situation that plays strongly to their advantage, e.g., old library with toppled booksheves and plenty of nooks and cranies. Make the situation and the shadows presents be the focus of the scene, instead of their combat ability.