So, here I sit, in the parking lot of Dominos, my head still floating about after the events of today. Or, should I say ‘Encounter’ today. I’d finally been able to make it to a session of Dungeons and Dragons: Encounter at Pegasus Games, one of several FLGSs in Madison, and it was, well, painfully fun.
So, there I sat in anticipation, freshly made fighter in hand, my D&D Essentials virginity waiting to be taken. Promptly, the GM and players arrived; a friendly lot that I would enjoy playing another session with. The map for tonight’s encounter was set up, the previous session details reviewed (Having not been a part of that, it was nice to see what transpired beforehand), and we were underway.
Now, this is where the pain begins.
By no fault of anyone (since anyone can bring a properly made character to the table) we ended up with a party of four, level 2, Strikers (two fighters, one rogue, and one warlock). This, coupled with a VERY poorly planned encounter written by WOTC (not something I’m a stranger to) led to our getting trounced by a band of lizardmen and their drakes. Our opponents consisted of two level 3 Brutes, one level 6 Brute, and two level 3 Strikers (or whatever the drakes were classified as).
Now, truth be told, we did not have a balanced party. Four Strikers does not equal success in this case. And, as mentioned, we felt the pain of that imbalance. After the Rogue was the last to fall, we woke up back at base alive, but our pride buried deep in the privy we woke up in. So, we did what any determined band of adventurous folk would do; rest up, plan our attack (now knowing what we are dealing with), and give it that old college try once more.
Yeah. We all apparently failed college.
Despite our plans and expectations, we found ourselves pummeled once more, our dignity no longer acknowledging our own existence, and the time up on the session.
Ouch.
However, despite our horrific beatdown, I did have a good time. The folks I met, whose names I did not actually get, were friendly lot and fun was still had all around. I’m sure I’ll find myself back there once more next week to see what horrors await us.
Except this time, I’m bringing a frigging cleric.
It sounds like the encounter was designed with a non-combat solution in mind. Knowing the current state of 4e, that would surprise me. Or, that the party needed to figure a non-combat solution out. Again, I doubt the module was presented with fuel for such. Tough.
I do throw unbalanced encounters at my players, but I try to add an alternative solution (e.g., low-level party facing a giant has to get to, and use the ballista with poisoned bolts before said giant slaughters them.)