Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Artane76 Sep 13, 2014 20:53:57	Hello, I've only played D&D a few times and though I don't have a dedicated gaming group I want to start writing campaigns.  I'm starting out with sort of random encounters and eventually I'll map out the realm.  My main problem at this point is a question of balance, are my encounters too tough for their level?   http://durinstavern.blogspot.com/
#2 Primalblue Sep 16, 2014 2:49:06	I saw the blog. I like alot of the concepts. As for encounters to tough for their lvl, play tests are the only way to really tell. and ofcourse even 1 kobold can kill a whole team if the players roll bad. I go with 1 less monster per player for base monsters. an AC between 10 and 12 is a minion also make sure the monsters weapon is no more than 1d6 then up it if provides too difficult.
#3 Ansbach Sep 17, 2014 22:32:04	Hi - welcome to the forums!  Cool stuff and I really like the concise nature of it.   One thing to consider - a few of the encounters are dependent on following a trail with a DC.  What happens if the PCs fail the check?  Obviously you don't want the adventure to just be over, but it's also not a lot of fun to have a critical check like that where they have to pass it to continue.  Then you are stuck in a situation where you have to just keep letting them try until they pass and so the check was kind of pointless.   There are a few ways you can handle it, but one interesting way is a passed check leads them the short way to point A, but a failed check leads them to encounter B and then A (or B instead of A if you can make that work.)
#4 Artane76 Sep 23, 2014 20:49:07	Thanks!
#5 Imaculata Oct 21, 2014 5:01:11	What I usually do (I play 3.5), is take a handful of monsters almost equal to the amount of players, and of the same CR as the players themselves. Or I might confront them with 1 to 3 monsters that are one CR higher than the average player level. What I also do, is allow the players to use roleplaying to get out of combat. Not every monster needs to be killed, to be defeated (players get full exp for monsters that flee). The players might be able to use intimidate to scare an enemy away, or trick the enemies into thinking that they are outnumbered. Not all monsters are interested in killing the players either. I had a bunch of cannibals simply try to knock a player out with poison darts, and then drag them into the jungle. The prospect of being eaten by level 1 cannibals with poison darts is way more scary than a bunch of high level monsters killing the players. So not all threats are that of imminent death.   I also try to always include an interesting battle location in my combat. Many fights with easy opponents can be easily made more tricky by designing an environment that shifts the advantage to the enemy. A bunch of zombie pirates could have a cannon that is loaded, and ready to fire. This encourages the players to prioritize certain targets, and allows them to make the fight easier for themselves by being clever.