Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ryln Aug 04, 2008 17:46:50	Hello Everyone. This is my first post here. I'm a new DM that's going to be running a series of "lunch break encounters" with some co-workers. The guys rolled their 1st level characters today and we ended up with: Dragonborn Warlord Elf Cleric Human Paladin Eladrin Wizard Tiefling Rogue Following the DMG, I made up a starter encounter worth 625xp, that consists of: 1 Deathlock Wight (175 xp) 2 Skeletons (300 xp) 6 Decrepit Skeletons (150 xp) When the encounter starts, the party is on one side of a short bridge. It's early morning and there's a thick fog, so that the players can just barely see across the bridge. The monster tactics are to charge the 2 Skeletons out of the fog and across the bridge (which is 2 spaces wide) into the party while the Wight and 3 of the Decrepit Skeles use ranged attacks. There's also a fallen tree that bridges the river several spaces down from the bridge, but it's not visible to the players because of the fog (unless they move down that way for some reason). I planned to move the other 3 Decrepits across the tree bridge and engage the players from the side by Round 2-3, just to keep everyone busy. What I'm wondering is, if any of you experienced players spot anything inherently flawed with this encounter or think it's too tough (or easy?) for a 1st level party with no magic items... or have ideas on how to improve it. Thanks!
#2 bravo052492 Aug 05, 2008 14:23:52	It seems to me to be a bit on the tough side. As long as the players can see their ranged attackers it is manageable, though. Otherwise they'll take uncounterable damage the whole time they fight in melee.
#3 danmarlok Aug 06, 2008 9:55:15	It looks doable as long as the party realizes they really need to take care of the ranged attackers. That's going to be the catch, first timers might take a couple of rounds dealing with the two skeletons at the bridge and be taking several ranged shots. You might 'fudge' a couple of the range shots if you're rolling well and casually mention how much damage the party is taking from those things and how fragile the minions look, "three of those skeletons with bows look like they're barely holding together, even as you watch a couple of rib bones drop from one to clatter to the floor." Something to that effect to let the players have an idea those might be a higher priority target because reducing damage taken on the field in the fastest way possible is IMO a groups number one priority, followed by reducing healing. Barring any encounter plot points, "You have about 15 seconds to stop the ceremony before the portal is opened and who knows what comes pouring through..."
#4 nowiwantmydmg Aug 06, 2008 11:36:43	It'd be easier with a fighter, but it's still fairly easy.
#5 Neutronium_Dragon Aug 06, 2008 22:36:51	If this is the first time that they've ever played then it probably isn't a good idea to throw a level 2 encounter at them right out of the starting gate. Give them something that's deliberately easy so that they can get used to how things work, first. Presenting them with three skeletons and three decrepit skeletons (375 XP) is an easy level 1 encounter and is probably more along the lines of what they should be getting for a warm-up.
#6 ryln Aug 07, 2008 19:22:40	Thank you for the input, everyone. After doing 3 play tests through the encounter, I've made some minor tweaks and I think it plays pretty well. I'll be running it tomorrow at lunch. I'll let y'all know how it went! :fight!:
#7 ryln Aug 09, 2008 11:51:03	I ran this encounter yesterday and it ended up being a big success. Three of the guys had never played a PnP RPG before, while the other two had not played in many years. They are all excited for more (as am I!). Instead of making the encounter easier from what I had originally posted, I made it just a slight bit harder with the addition of one extra Decrepit Skeleton. Also, we ended up with a fighter instead of a paladin. I used several tiles from the Wilderness dungeon tiles set and a mix of D&D and Reaper minis to pretty things up. The setting was early morning along a country roadside and there was a dense fog. I only laid out half the encounter area at first, which revealed the remnants of a decades old campsite. I told the players they could hear a river just ahead but couldn't see it. At the camp, they discovered a scroll case containing a journal, which detailed the last days of the people that had been there. I used GIMP (free photoshop-like program) to create some weathered parchment to print the journal on, which I handed to the player that picked up the scroll case. The journal mentioned an old watch tower being somewhere across the river so the thief (played by one of the D&D noobies) decided to carelessly run off and find it. As he approached a bridge that spanned the river, he was surprised by the Wight, who emerged from the fog while blasting the thief with a Grave Bolt. The entire force of undead could have surprised attack but I was worried the thief would end up dead right right off the bat. I laid out the rest of the tiles and minis and other players quickly rushed to join the fight. Everyone had a chance to shine and show off their class abilities. It took us longer than expected due to our newness. While I had a fairly good grasp of the rules, I wasn't familiar with everyone's powers (and neither were they), so we had to stop to go over a lot of them. Thankfully, we have a lax work environment and were able to pull off a long lunch w/o raising eyebrows. After the battle, they explored the crumbled tower and discovered the remains of a wizard that had been mentioned in the journal, along with his +1 staff and a tattered pouch containing a couple of gems. They also discovered a hefty trapdoor which, with much violence, they eventually got open. That will lead to our next lunch break adventure (which should hopefully run smoother/faster).