Help designing an encounter for my first session DMing?

[OnitoRyan]

So, I've played about forty hours of 3.5 as, well, a player. And now because my usual friend group isn't all that into it (they love the idea but they're never gonna start it up) I'm DMing, and I have this party and no idea what would oresent a decent, balanced challenge for them. I know the first time will always be the first time and I won't be able to pull it off ideally, but I'm worried about messing up and people not having fun.

So yeah, this is the party. All level 1, all spells and feats they have are just from PHB. Also I homebrewed the sorceror's familiar slightly because she wanted an otter. Lowered the ferret's climb speed a fair bit and land speed slightly, and gave it swim speed.

Half-Orc Barbarian
Dwarf Monk
Elf Sorceror
Human Cleric of Pelor (Strength, Healing)
Halfling Rogue
Half-Elf Bard
Hadozee Paladin

[Troacctid]

Seven people? That's a big party. My biggest worries would be keeping the game moving at a reasonable pace and giving everyone a chance to participate. If your encounters are a bit too easy or too hard, that's not too big a deal, as long as nobody is sitting on the sidelines yawning for most of the session, y'know?

Basically, don't worry too much about balance. Focus on the energy and momentum of the adventure.

My biggest tip would be to be careful not to have too many enemies at the same time, since it'll bog down combat. Also, if the game ever starts to slow down, don't be afraid to make something unexpected happen that forces the characters to react.

[Beheld]

You are in kind of a rough spot, because the usual solution to a larger party is more monsters, and that works fine at most levels, but at level 1... well, everything is a death attack, so adding more monsters might be adding more dead PCs.

If at all possible you should just start playing the game at level 3.

[johnbragg]

Lots of spiders. Tiny, small, with a Medium as the big target. Low enough hit points and AC that the PCs should be one-shotting them (depending on who attacks what), weak poisons, breakable webs.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monstrousSpider.htm

Dire rats.

For the boss fight, maybe 3 bad-guy PC class types.

[Misereor]

So, I've played about forty hours of 3.5 as, well, a player. And now because my usual friend group isn't all that into it (they love the idea but they're never gonna start it up) I'm DMing, and I have this party and no idea what would oresent a decent, balanced challenge for them. I know the first time will always be the first time and I won't be able to pull it off ideally, but I'm worried about messing up and people not having fun.

If your group hasn't played before, you should make an effort to design your first encounters in a way to help them gradually learn the rules, while adding some cinematic drama.

Setting: Bar brawl. Flavor text about flying bottles, broken chairs, overturned tables, and berserker halflings swinging from the chandelier.
Objective: Learning the very basics against creatures that don't use too many fancy abilities, while getting the players immersed in your setting.

Goblin raiders: A couple of ranged and a couple of melee opponents. Add an overturned wagon with a couple of survivors for roleplaying opportunities and clues.
Objective: Learning about movement and combat actions. Also how NPC's are dependent on complete strangers to solve their problems, which will usually involve some kind of reward.

Night watch: A pack of wolves led by a dire wolf attack the camp. Pack predators that cooperate and will try to isolate prey from the rest of the "herd" in order to gang up on it.
Objective: Learning how flanking and trip works. And that abandoning your friends in order to pursue a single opponent can end up getting you bushwacked.

Stereotypical Bear encounter: Bumping into a bear while moving through the forest. The bear will take a look at the group and eventually waddle off, unless provoked.
Objective: Learning that attacking everything you see can be damaging to your health. And possibly how some creatures like to grappe, pin, and do automatic damage to smaller creatures than themselves.

Followup to stereotypical bear encounter: Why druids and rangers don't like people who slaughter the local wildlife.
Objective: Learning about diplomacy, bluff, or intimidation. Depending on how the NPC interaction goes, Possibly also about how people with great hide skills and summoning spells or specialization in ranged weapons can be extremely annoying.


That should be enough to get started.

[Enguebert]

If your group hasn't played before, you should make an effort to design your first encounters in a way to help them gradually learn the rules, while adding some cinematic drama.

This is the best advise. Start with easy encounters, using simple attacks so everyone can learn how fight work (and how their character works)

Then after your first session, add slowly more rules (try to limit yourself to one more rule per combat).
Some extra rules examples (no particular order)

Flanking and sneaking attacks
Reach weapons
Ready action (to interrupt casters)
Grappling/tripping
Counterspelling
Multiple attacks (full round action !)

The key is to start with basic rules, then later add extra tactics/actions so YOU and the players learn to use them


Even if my players are veteran players, when we played 3.5 for the first time, we started with basic fights and increased complexity session after session


Other tip : as starting DM, limit yourself to the 3 basics books : player handbook, DM guide and Monster Manual I

[OnitoRyan]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa all of this is extremely helpful, thank you very much! I'd love more, but I think I might be somewhat set now.

[Troacctid]

Other tip : as starting DM, limit yourself to the 3 basics books : player handbook, DM guide and Monster Manual I

I would highly recommend Dungeon Master's Guide II. The first chapter has some fantastic tips for running a table.

I don't think there's much benefit to limiting yourself to core as a first-time DM in this edition. Just use the books you have. If you only have the core books, okay. If you have other books too, don't be afraid to mix them in—most things are easy to incorporate into any game. There's plenty of free online material as well; Unearthed Arcana has some great stuff in it, for instance, and is almost all available on the SRD.

[Janthkin]

Also, Stirges. I love Stirges as a 1st level encounter, as the risk of them actually KILLING someone is pretty low, but the lingering effects of Con damage mean it's an encounter they'll remember.

[johnbragg]

Also, Stirges. I love Stirges as a 1st level encounter, as the risk of them actually KILLING someone is pretty low, but the lingering effects of Con damage mean it's an encounter they'll remember.

Oh yes. Stirges for Con drain, spiders for Strength drain.

Oooh, does anyone remember the name of the monster that causes Fatigue with a touch attack, and then exhaustion?

[Crake]

Oh yes. Stirges for Con drain, spiders for Strength drain.

Woah, woah, hold your horses there, con and strength damage not drain. Drain would be basically throwing characters out of the picture at level 1

[OnitoRyan]

I was doing a startup session for the paladin and bard yesterday where it eventually turned out they had to free a woman at the inn they were staying in from a cursed ring which turned out to have an imp manifesting inside it, causing basically an aura of misfortune around her. They wound up killing the imp, learning about Bardic knowledge, buffs and detecting evil on the way and also learned about poison and ability damage when the paladin got stung. Was the imp actually a decent choice for a first enemy or did I just get lucky?

[snowman87]

http://theangrygm.com/four-things-youve-never-heard-of-that-make-encounters-not-suck/

This helped my understanding of how to DM a lot better.