new dm, creating encounters

[jorulfr]

So, i am a rather green DM and im having trouble creating encounters using the cr system, i cant figure out the system. And i cant seem to figure out how to create npc's that actually follow the rules. Instead i just sort of come up with it on my own. It has been difficult to create both diverse, challenfing and fun encounters, so its not the same guards and bandits my playes keep fighting.

TL;DR
I cant figure out the encounter creation part of DM'ing. Can someone give me a hand

[Larrx]

So, i am a rather green DM and im having trouble creating encounters using the cr system, i cant figure out the system. And i cant seem to figure out how to create npc's that actually follow the rules. Instead i just sort of come up with it on my own. It has been difficult to create both diverse, challenfing and fun encounters, so its not the same guards and bandits my playes keep fighting.

TL;DR
I cant figure out the encounter creation part of DM'ing. Can someone give me a hand

This is dependent on so many personal factors that it's silly. Without knowing details about your players, their characters, the setting, and a general understanding of the plot/story/theme (if any) it's hard to give specific advice.

So just some general tips it is.

Action economy is your biggest concern. Avoid 'boss battles' against a single beefy antagonist, it's hard to make them work/be interesting. Try to have around the same number of foes as players until you're more comfortable, and then adjust up or down to taste/for pacing/for verisimilitude/ etc. Try to mix up the enemies both between fights and within them. If a combat must take place against four goblins, give one a mount, make one an archer, give one a two-hander. Stuff like that.

I wouldn't even bother trying to figure out the CR system. It's notoriously finicky. Just use CR as a quick starting point and then improvise as you've been doing. You'll get better with practice. Be careful with things like flight, incorporeal baddies, save or dies, and the like until you're confident that your players have the tools to deal with that sort of thing.

Aside from simple mechanical considerations, the easiest way to make encounters interesting is to provide context. If an encounter is placed with care, then it informs the setting/current events/future plans. These sorts of things are interesting enough on their own to make players fail to notice that the 'three skeleton fight' wasn't very much fun from a dice rolling perspective.

[FocusWolf413]

I can help you create some. What's your party level and composition? What area are you in?

[jorulfr]

This is dependent on so many personal factors that it's silly. Without knowing details about your players, their characters, the setting, and a general understanding of the plot/story/theme (if any) it's hard to give specific advice.

So just some general tips it is.

Action economy is your biggest concern. Avoid 'boss battles' against a single beefy antagonist, it's hard to make them work/be interesting. Try to have around the same number of foes as players until you're more comfortable, and then adjust up or down to taste/for pacing/for verisimilitude/ etc. Try to mix up the enemies both between fights and within them. If a combat must take place against four goblins, give one a mount, make one an archer, give one a two-hander. Stuff like that.

I wouldn't even bother trying to figure out the CR system. It's notoriously finicky. Just use CR as a quick starting point and then improvise as you've been doing. You'll get better with practice. Be careful with things like flight, incorporeal baddies, save or dies, and the like until you're confident that your players have the tools to deal with that sort of thing.

Aside from simple mechanical considerations, the easiest way to make encounters interesting is to provide context. If an encounter is placed with care, then it informs the setting/current events/future plans. These sorts of things are interesting enough on their own to make players fail to notice that the 'three skeleton fight' wasn't very much fun from a dice rolling perspective.

This was actually just the kind of advice i was looking for. So i guess a thank you is in order :)

And although a generous offer Focuswolf413, im not looking to build a specific encounter.

But thanks both of you. And if anyone has any other input regarding general encounter building, they will be much appreciated.

[Geddy2112]

Second the above.

For solo monsters, it is usually either a cakewalk for the party or a TPK, neither of which are fun. If you must have solo enemies, set them up so they have advantage. A gelatinous cube wandering an open field is a dead easy fight. Put one in a dark, narrow hallway that the party has to squeeze through and the cube is much more difficult.

Likewise, environmental hazards increase the difficulty of a fight. Giant spiders leave webs that are difficult to walk through. Kobolds and goblins set traps etc.

[Jay R]

One more thing: if the bad guys come in from around a corner, or through a door, or out a tunnel entrance, then the party can't see how many of them there are. This lets you change the number if the encounter is going better or worse than you expected.

[OldTrees1]

One tip for encounter design is to use a variety of different elements in a cohesive plan. A quick back and forth is a good technique for such a design.

Say the encounter was "4 Bandit Ambush"
The enemy's initial goal would be preventing escape of their victim. So they have 2 teams(one further down the road and one back down the road).
Their victim would either charge at one visible team, run into the flanking team, or run of to the side into the woods.
The bandits know this. They put pitfalls and other snares just a bit into the woods on either side to catch runners. They also put tripwires between the visible team and where the victims will be.
I would even go so far as to have the 4 bandits be composed of 3 different types of bandit(2 types in the front team and 1 type(2 individuals) in the rear team). Perhaps the rear team are snipers while the front team is the suave swashbuckler and a battlemage?

[General Sajaru]

For NPCs, just make them like you would any other character (although NPC WBL is different than PC WBL, so see pg. 127 of the DMG for that). If you're in a hurry, Chapter 4 of the DMG can be somewhat helpful although don't rely upon it too much, as the characters shown aren't especially optimized. Otherwise, as mentioned above, try to mix things up and present different sorts of NPCs in different settings.