Modifying encounters

[Dragonfan]

I am DM for the first time. I find it difficult to create appropriate encounters. The party exist of 3 first level characters. I'd really appreciate any help with this.

[ZamielVanWeber]

What classes are they? That will help.

Generic Tip: change the weapons out on MM Orcs. With falchions they have a 15% chance of auto killing most characters.

[nyjastul69]

One thing I do when encounter building is lean toward slightly underpowering, rather than slightly overpowering an encounter. I find it easier to adjust the difficulty upward on the fly.

[DedWards]

What system are you using?

[Flickerdart]

I am DM for the first time. I find it difficult to create appropriate encounters. The party exist of 3 first level characters. I'd really appreciate any help with this.
It would be great to know more about the party (their classes, AC, attack and damage, spells, etc) but here is some general advice.


Challenge Ratings are your friends. They must be used carefully but they are a useful guideline. As a general rule, CR=party level encounters are not very challenging, but you also have only three guys, so we'll aim for that.
Match the number of monsters to the number of PCs. Too few monsters and you'll have to make them strong to compensate, meaning that they're hitting with overwhelming power, have hard to hit AC and a lot of HP, etc. Too many monsters, and they will overwhelm the PCs by having more attacks.
Weak attack, strong defense is the way to go. An orc (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/orc.htm) is the worst creature you could use because they have a ridiculously good attack (2d4+4 kills PCs dead in one shot) while packing rubbish AC and HP. An elf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm) is a good option. Any animal with a Strength penalty is a good choice too. If your PCs want to fight something more exotic, a pair of formian workers (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/formian.htm) or ceelstial fire beetles (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/giantFireBeetle.htm). Human skeletons (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/skeleton.htm) are classic.
Only robots fight to the death. Living beings who see their side losing (or who are badly injured) are likely to break rank and flee to save themselves. If the enemy is weakened, consider having them run away. If the PCs are losing and want to run away, don't pursue them too much (maybe one creature of the two or three runs after them).

[Jay R]

A very useful balancing tool is sending them in from around a corner or a hedge, two or three at a time. This allows you to decide how many are in the enemy party after the first round or two of combat.