New DM Questions

[Galgano]

Hi guys. I'm considering becoming a DM, but I'm new to the DM game. I was wondering if you had any specific tips regarding difficulty. I have an idea of the kind of game I want to run (just a standard dungeon, nothing too fancy), but I have no idea of what would be considered challenging. Especially for lvl 1 players. I think I heard somewhere that the CR of something means that a party of 5 at that level will have a decent time fighting it. Nothing too tough for their level. Is that true? Or was I being mislead? Could a lvl 1 party fight something that is CR 2 easily? And what about identification. I want to be able to give unidentified items, but I hear there are now 2 ways to identify. I read somewhere that the short rest version isn't as good as the spell version (you can find out some traits, but not all of them like that item does X, but without identify you don't know the command word to get X to activate). And that's another question I have about identification: if they find a +1 weapon that's not identified, do they get the +1 bonus without knowing it? Or would I keep track of the +1 stat and subtract it from the AC for that weapon (and add 1 to the damage)?

[suplee215]

A party of 3-5 players should be able to deal with a CR equal to their level without too much of a threat. A higher CR ups the likelyhood of character death but is still possible. It also depends on the group and stragety. At low levels it tend to be a bit more luck based on dies as even a CR 1/4 can do insane damage depending on dice roll. Part of it is a level 1 player has so little HP that a crit or max damage role can one shot. As for items you get the passive boosts just for having the item as long as it does not require attunement.

[damascoplay]

Your players are going to get the +1 bonus from the magical weapon, regardless of it needing attunement or not. They're still going to get the +1 bonus to hit and dmg even if they don't know it's a magical weapon.

About Identify, it's more useful if you're trying to avoid attuning to a magical item that is cursed, or you don't have time to rest. You also get to know EVERYTHING the weapon does. So there's that.

And for level 1, even goblins can one shot your players, so be careful. A CR 2 creature against a group of CR1 players is a really difficult encounter to overcome, and will most likely result in a pc death's and, in the worst situation, a TPK. Try using enemies that are lower level than your pcs at first, then when they get to level 3-4 you can start throwing enemies of the same CR. :smallsmile:

[Unoriginal]

Hi guys. I'm considering becoming a DM, but I'm new to the DM game. I was wondering if you had any specific tips regarding difficulty. I have an idea of the kind of game I want to run (just a standard dungeon, nothing too fancy), but I have no idea of what would be considered challenging. Especially for lvl 1 players. I think I heard somewhere that the CR of something means that a party of 5 at that level will have a decent time fighting it. Nothing too tough for their level. Is that true? Or was I being mislead?

In principle, CR X means that 4 PCs of level X can beat it with medium difficulty, and that 5 PCs of level X can beat it with easy difficulty (roughly). Now, low level characters have few HPs and not all beings of CR 1 will be equally dangerous depending on which creature and who are the adventurers opposing them, so there is variables.

Also, keep in mind that due to how the game works, having more people on your side is a real advantage. So a solo monster can end up pretty easy.


Could a lvl 1 party fight something that is CR 2 easily?


Errr, it's a tricky question. In general, it will not be an easy encounter, but still a winnable one (with near-deaths or a death depending on the cases). Others might be significantly harder.

For exemple, an Ogre does *a lot* of damages, and aren't easy to kill, so the Ogre would have several turns to attack (generally KOing or killing a lvl 1 character in one hit). Some CR 2 are a bit easier to manage for lvl 1 than that, though.

But on the other hand, you could use a powerful CR 2 monster as a boss fight for lvl 1 characters. Just know it'll be pretty tough.



And that's another question I have about identification: if they find a +1 weapon that's not identified, do they get the +1 bonus without knowing it? Or would I keep track of the +1 stat and subtract it from the AC for that weapon (and add 1 to the damage)?

They get the benefits from using the weapon even if it's not identified, yes. Same if there are negative sides. Mentally adding the bonus to the die's rolls when this weapons is used is an elegant way to do it.

[Demonslayer666]

Welcome to DM'ing! It can be a very fun a rewarding experience!

Properly challenging the party is my biggest challenge as a DM. I have learned though trial and error that my group is extremely hard to challenge. Easy encounters turn deadly, and deadly encounters turn into a cakewalk. Just learn to be flexible and expect the party to surprise you. I would recommend becoming very familiar with their characters and their capabilities. I use what I call a sh*t sheet that has their important info at my fingertips (HP, AC, attack & damage, saves, perception, etc). Start with several easy encounters, and work it up to hard and deadly. See how well they work together and how well they utilize all their abilities.

I have certainly found that one creature is no match for a party of 5 characters unless it is well above deadly. They simply focus fire and it doesn't last two rounds in a stand up fight.
Adding in minions makes a fight much better (harder), but be careful not to add too many. Numbers increase difficulty quickly, even if they are weak. Also keep in mind that ambushes can make an encounter much harder.

As was mentioned already, you have identifying correct, and just add in bonuses for an unidentified weapon yourself. IMO, it shouldn't be overly important to keep a simple +1 weapon from them. I'd probably handwave requiring a short rest to identify it, and just tell them after a bit. Other, more complex items, I'd require to be identified before they could be used.