DnD 5e - Looking for advice on Haunted House monster difficulty for a level 5 party
Hello Tildes community,
I am soon going to DM my second ever mini-session for a small group of fairly new players. I'd like to send the group into a haunted tavern that has an unusually intelligent mimic in the basement that has been eating tourists that pass through, leaving behind undead creatures throughout the basement.
My primary goal with this is to help the players (most pretty new) understand how to conserve their magic instead of firing it all off in each battle, so I wanted to prevent them from long resting. I figure I could magically lock them inside when they arrive, and then let them learn that if they should rest, previously killed undead creatures (like Minotaur Skeleton or zombies) resurrect after about an hour.
I am looking for two pieces of advice. First, I'd like to know good creatures to put into the dungeon that would provide a challenge, but not be too devastating. I looked at Wraith, for example, but a Wraith could easily one-shot any of the casters in the group and instantly kill them, which isn't fun. What should I be using instead? Remember that each individual fight doesn't need to be too hard, I just want the group to start feeling the strain of resources getting exhausted.
Secondly, the primary DM (who I am running a single session for) has said I can level up the party to 6 during the dungeon. Does this essentially heal the whole party and refresh their spell slots, ala most RPG games? I'm a bit confused how this part would work, tbh.
Thanks for your help, and big thanks to everyone who answered my last question about a Kobold Brewery. It was a blast, and the party loved it, particularly some of the traps that y'all came up with. By the time the party escaped, the entire brewery was on fire, which was amazing.
Appreciate your help!
I have used a site like this:
https://www.kassoon.com/dnd/5e/generate-encounter/
to moderate encounters.
You can also use D&D beyond. Both these do a good job of letting you edit individual encounters up and down. Remember that multiple easier encounters can help wear down your party, as can not letting them rest, making even little mephits, goblins or other tiny guys feel much heavier. However you can use a Wraith and nerf them a bit (perhaps with age they've weakened, or there's bright light in the room that reduces their abilities or another clever way to handle the encounter)
Think undead for monsters but also think ethereal plane for a haunting.
To level up you generally need a long rest, how you want to rule that is up to you as DM but mostly you don't just go DING and level and be refreshed mid encounter.
First things first: if you want a wraith, use a wraith. Just homebrew a little, reduce its stats or abilities so it can't just one shot your casters, for example.
For the leveling to six thing - it mostly depends on when you want it to happen / how long the session will be. If the choices are made ahead of time, it'd be a nice thing to do right before the final boss. You can always also just create a circumstance to long rest & level if they get through an encounter in a bad place.
Mostly just do what you think is cool. Everyone always does the best when they just do what they think is cool, rather than trying to do the "right" thing or follow someone else's style.
Chat GPT with the actual monsters:
Specter: A classic ghostly enemy, perfect for a haunted setting. They're incorporeal and can drain life, presenting a spooky and tactical challenge.
Poltergeist: Invisible and mischievous, they can manipulate objects and scare players without direct confrontation. Great for building tension.
Wraith: A more powerful, malevolent ghost that can drain life force and summon specters. They add a sense of urgency and danger to encounters.
Shadow: Lurking in darkness, they can weaken characters by draining their strength. They're perfect for ambushes in dimly lit tavern corners.
Ghoul: Flesh-eating undead that can paralyze their victims. They add a visceral horror element to the game.
Banshee: Their wail can instantly drop a character to 0 hit points, making them a high-stakes enemy that requires strategic planning.
Mimic: Disguised as ordinary objects, they can surprise players, fitting the haunted tavern's deceptive theme.
Animated Armor: Suits of armor imbued with magic, serving as guardians. They add a classic haunted house feel.
Zombie: While relatively weak, a group of zombies can overwhelm players through sheer numbers, adding a classic undead element to the setting.
Ghost: They can possess characters and have other haunting abilities, providing a unique challenge that's not just about combat.
Firstly, for the Lv 6 thing: I think your friend means that the party should start at Lv 6. It gives them a good resource pool to work with and helps prevent them from being one shotted. I'd suggest pushing your players to create their characters a few days in advanced and maybe watch a guide video if they haven't played that class before.
In terms of just monsters for your setting; Zombies, Skeletons and Spectors will probably be your bread and butter. Low ACs, Saves and HP; can be dispatched with cantrips/melee attacks but still a good representation of a seemingly endless, looming threat. An idea to manifest the ticking clock would be to nerf these creatures to be instantly killed on any attack but their numbers are rapidly multiplying. If your players ignore them for too long, they can easily be overwhelmed.
A more demanding fight would include a few Wights, Wraiths, Phantoms or Banshees. I know you were worried but for a Lv6 party, any one alone won't be much of a challenge but strained resources could push people to make interesting choices.
And it looks like your big bad is going to be the Mimic with an undead twist. I'd play with some of the stats like upping the AC to about 16, increasing HP add, an extra +2 to some abilities and adding 1d8 necrotic damage to its attack. Toss it in an arena with some other undead and it'll make for a fun boss.
Beside that, marathon dungeons can be extremely fun but also pretty brutal on the wrong types of party. There are few things more disappointing than a player thinking they can't contribute because they're out of slots. Try to include some potions, scrolls and gear to keep people in the game. Will also need to communicate very early on that they are splitting limited resources between combat, puzzles and the boss.
Wishing you the best of luck with the game.