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Afrodactyl
2017-05-20, 05:34 AM
Hello all.

I'm planning a campaign that starts with the party awakening trapped in a dungeon, with no gear whatsoever. Everyone has just their bare hands and some tattered rags, and casters will need components. Further, I'm not telling the party this, all they will know is to make a level three character each (to avoid everyone choosing monk).

What is a decent challenge rating first campaign encounter for 4 or 5 level three characters, who are completely unarmed?
Specter
2017-05-20, 08:28 PM
Well, you definitely want an avoidable encounter. If things can go bad with gear, imagine without it. So to start I'd say a slow enemy? Maybe a gelatinous cube?
ThurlRavenscrof
2017-05-20, 09:43 PM
Well, you definitely want an avoidable encounter. If things can go bad with gear, imagine without it. So to start I'd say a slow enemy? Maybe a gelatinous cube?

Agreed. Players get really annoyed when you take away their freedom of choice so if you take away their items (aka their ability to choose to kill powerfully) then you need to kill them a ton of different choices. They should be able to stealth away from or diplomat their way through almost every encounter if they so choose.

But to answer the question you asked, I would divide the recommended cr level by 4 probably. Because remember the magic users will be almost totally useless and even the martial classes will have no proficiency to hit and deal only 1+str damage which will work out to basically 1
Afrodactyl
2017-05-21, 05:25 AM
Thank you for the responses. My idea was for the group to either sneak past, run away from or just beat on the guards. The guards being some relatively squishy mooks who had been tasked with keeping an eye on the guys chained up in cages.

I plan on having them stumble across an armoury very shortly after their escape.

Thank you for the replies!
Unoriginal
2017-05-21, 09:46 AM
Couldn't they just take the guards' stuff?
ThurlRavenscrof
2017-05-21, 10:04 AM
Couldn't they just take the guards' stuff?

Yeah they almost certainly will. Make sure they come across the magic supplies they need shortly too :D