My level 1-20 experience in 5e was amazingly positive. It didn’t break down as people often claim #dnd does (throughout the editions), can adventuring at tier 4 still felt as engaging and threatening as earlier tiers, with more spotlight moments of heroism and story. Any tips for keeping things challenging/engaging in tier 4?
— Zach is writing an adventure! ✍📝⚔ (@sirgourls) October 28, 2021
So I wasn’t DMing, but I’ve chatted with my DM about it some (and need to do so in greater depth, honestly).
His big thing was having a great handle on how much we as a party could dish out and take. Simple numbers, we can put out about X damage a round, can absorb Y.He worked within those lines as guides when he built encounters. It would of course vary based on what we chose to do. If for some reason the sorcerer and my warlock didn't throw down Fireballs, the encounter was harder than he anticipated, etc.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 28, 2021
It's easy to use CR as a TPK check, but if you granularly look at how much damage your party can ebb and flow, you can take a really solid hold on how fights are likely to go. A little more calculator work, but worth it to have a clearer idea.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 28, 2021
Hmm, I have an easyish calculation I use for making encounters feel hard. You decide how many rounds of all-out whaling you want the hardiest character to take, figure out what that translates to in probability-adjusted dice per round, and distribute between abilities. That'll do it!
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 29, 2021
I have had a blast running the Venture Maidens up to level 18 (and still climbing).
I do think higher level tiers require more story-telling skills than lower level, but if a DM has stuck with it for so many levels…they probably already have that in spades ✨ This all rings very true to me.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 28, 2021