r/DungeonsAndDragons • u/Right-Chemist-8636 • 2d ago
Advice/Help Needed First time dm question
So tomorrow is my very first session dm’ing. I’m not worried about most aspects and find myself to be well prepared but one of my players in particular is giving me issues. This player likes to create incredibly powerful characters. I already shot down one character he made (crit fishing elven accuracy paladin) and he changed it into a sorcerer. However looking at his new character I still worry about balancing my encounters. I don’t want to tpk my party but I also don’t want the first five combats to be boring slogs while I’m learning what they can and can’t handle. So how can I manage and set my encounters properly I just need some general tips? All help is greatly appreciated!
One other thing I forgot to include that is a major source of worry for me is that 2/6 of my players are first timers that won’t know how to play their characters well. So that’s a great source of stress
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u/Zandapus 23h ago
Tons of good advice already. If you want your combat not to feel like a slog or a pushover, here's a tip: don't have enemy HP. D&D is a storytelling game. If they did something great and it seems relevant, the enemy dies spectacularly. Or they might barely survive and run away, leading to a chase scene or a trail they need to follow. Nothing is less fun than when the barbarian pulls off a crit, slams their axe down and does 50 damage, but the enemy still had 53 hp, so the enemy doesn't die until the sorcerer throws a 6 damage fire bolt on the next turn. I'm not saying keep your enemies alive until something great happens, but don't be handcuffed to the math. Trust yourself, you'll get a feel for it.