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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 14, 2015 21:46:43 GMT
This question isn't necessarily for me, but I thought it would be a good discussion to have. A lot of DMs like to start their games at level 1, so I thought that it would be nice to talk about how to make that interesting. There are a lot of common tropes about level 1 (I find, at least), so I thought we could talk about the reasons for those tropes and ways to mix it up and keep the early levels interesting so that games don't fizzle out before the game really gets going.
So, I guess I'll get the ball rolling. I think the main reason for uninteresting early levels is simply a lack of options on the DM's part. Unless you bring in homebrew, there is a limited number of creatures and traps that can be handled by an early level party, which is why you see so much repetition. Zombies, bandits, orcs, goblins, etc., rinse and repeat until thoroughly bored. You can't just toss a powerful wizard or dragon in there to make things more interesting--that would wipe the party. The coolest creatures are higher level creatures (as they should be), and the same goes for traps.
That being said, I think there are ways around this that don't put the party's lives in danger. Early levels are the times when the group is getting to know the campaign and their own characters. This is a great time for roleplaying and introducing plot-heavy adventures. Sure, the players have cleared out dozens--if not hundreds--of goblin lairs in their time, but this is the first time they're experiencing whatever story you, as the DM, have prepared for them. You can make the reason for going into the lair more interesting than the ones they're used to. Don't make it just another bounty or a way to grind for levels, make it part of a large mystery, or put an interesting NPC somewhere in that goblin lair. The encounters themselves may be nothing new, but the story surrounding them sure can be.
Any other tips for keeping the game interesting, even at early levels?
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Post by maiyrcordeth on Oct 15, 2015 7:03:40 GMT
You could throw in a dragon thou, it creates that suspense of what it may be guarding and the thrill of the retreat. Remember the stone statue or golem that was mentioned.
Start at level 1 is how i prefer to run and join a game, it give me time to flush out my PC and theirs. As a DM i can throw them into social situations that could possible lead to trouble. Fights can be held in towns such bar fights, arenas, or occasional scuffles with the law. At low levels are great ways to learn their combat limits and learn when to run.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2015 7:48:36 GMT
The limited selection of level-appropriate monsters is a problem, but then you're not expected to stick around those low levels for very long, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to dedicate much page space to them.
One of the best solutions is to just reskin a classic monster. The players will have no idea what the creature is actually capable of doing. You can use the exact same stat block, just give it a different appearance. I recently used kobold stats - winged and normal - as aberrant type insects for an introductory battle. Their dagger attacks become pincers, and their slings become shooty tail spines (that do piercing damage instead), but the relative challenge remained identical.
Something I've never tried, but is also a viable solution, is to have the PCs reach level 2 (or even 3) without any combat whatsoever. This could give them the feeling of always having been tougher than the average bloke, because they never got tested against piddly little goblins and kobolds, which can actually be quite deadly to a level 1 character. Narratively, I would treat the leveling process during this time less as training, experience, and discovery, and more as just revealing inner strength that has always been present, or maybe kept secret. The wizard could always cast Web, even though he just hit level 3... he just chose not to, until now! As I said, I haven't actually tried this before, and it would require a bit more player buy-in than your typical introductory sessions, but seems like a decent alternative to the slog through the same old monsters.
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Post by catcharlie on Oct 15, 2015 8:39:25 GMT
I find some of the monsters for level one are quite interesting as quite often they get over looked in place of Goblins and Kobolds. Blink Dogs, Death Dogs, Awakened shrubs. When was the last time you were attacked by a Tribe of Goats? or a couple of lost Flumphs from the underdark? Displacer Beasts might be a CR of 3 but if you lower a couple of the stats/bonuses/dice you could come against a Displacer Beast cub/pup?
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Post by lasersniper on Oct 20, 2015 3:41:18 GMT
I always liked the idea of the characters stumbling into a huge situation that makes them focus on survival and thinking outside of the box. Starting the campaign and the ground collapses into a dungeon. Lets look at the job boaroooooh crap the city is being invaded. Traveled to this nifty floating city anaaaaaaaaaaaah the city is starting to fall.
Stuff like that keeps their lives in jeopardy but not necessarily through combat.
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Oct 22, 2015 6:44:50 GMT
I always liked the idea of the characters stumbling into a huge situation that makes them focus on survival and thinking outside of the box. Starting the campaign and the ground collapses into a dungeon. Lets look at the job boaroooooh crap the city is being invaded. Traveled to this nifty floating city anaaaaaaaaaaaah the city is starting to fall. I completely agree (aherm...  ). I build my games (and notice, I haven't the luxary to play most of them) off of one of three principles (which I learned from writing novels). To draw its readers in (aka, in this situation, the Players), a good story begins one of three ways: The New Arrival(s); Such as somebody new coming to town who holds some type of secret or who is out of the "norm". (A great example if players are commoners): A stranger is in town, who nobody recognizes, he is the greatest with a blade and he yet hold some secret that could spell the doom of the world. Or the players are the strangers who walk into a town where people are afraid of them... but why? The Fight; one way to start a story is with a battle or a skirmish. Throwing players into such a position would make the game interesting and it would be fun to build off of. Anything from an epic sea battle to a brawl in the tavern. Or, better yet, throw the player characters into a scene wher they are watching a fight to the death between a good and an evil king. Whoever wins gets the kingdom. Trouble; open the game with a problem that has huge consequences. This could be such things like the earth shattering, an evil oppressive king coming to power to smaller things like: the party is all of a sudden broke and has no money. Their closest friend just died, leaving a riddle as his inheretince (to whoever can figure it out, of course). These are, of course, not the only things that can happen, but a good story should begin with this overall concept: "The day everything changed". A few ideas that I hope were helpful, but there are a lot of ideas out there and I enjoy them all. |
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Post by friartook on Oct 22, 2015 14:13:11 GMT
One of the nice innovations in 5e is the sped up pace of leveling through levels 1-3.
I like to use the low levels as a time to get the players into their characters and set up larger events. The first couple levels can be story heavy; get the players going on the classic "Heroes Journey" and give them plenty of room to get into their characters. In my experience, few character concepts remain 100% true after the first couple of levels. A player has a concept, but then they actually play the character in a different way, sometimes subtly different, sometimes drastically.
If you find you are running a lot of one-shots, or for whatever reason your players are rolling up new characters often, you can always just skip the lowest levels. I'd say level 3 is a reasonable starting point if you are running 5e.
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