CAGD 270 Simple DnD Post-Mortem v2

 For the second iteration of my Simple DnD assignment, I made several modifications. Mainly I improved the visuals to make it clearer where the level bounds are. I added two new enemies: one weak enemy in the right path, and one medium enemy in the middle. I also got better graphics for the chests. 

The structure remained the same, featuring two initial paths: the house with a locked door, and a path through the forest. Either one of these will be the first encounter. Both exit into the same place, the second encounter, which leads into a cave with the boss inside.

For the playtest, Valerie played as a mage and Kyle played as a rogue. They picked the right path this time instead of the left one. They made quick work of the easy enemies, each one dying in one or two attacks. I think this was the perfect balance for this encounter. They got an upgrade scroll from the treasure chest. The second encounter was more difficult. When enemies get lucky rolls it does a lot of damage to the players. They were successful, but it was closer than I would have liked it to be. While part of it is just the nature of dice rolls, I might want to make the ghoul enemy do less damage. The boss fight also proved challenging for the players. They had less treasure as a result of taking the right path instead of the left. They were successful as well, but I might decrease the magic damage of the boss.

What went right?

The first encounter was balanced really well. Players appreciated the improved visual clarity of the level. Players liked treasure. They completed the level a little under the time limit, so the length seemed perfect. The boss was challenging and presented them with interesting choices. The lich summons skeletons or performs a ranged magic attack each turn. Each player will choose to either focus the summoned enemies or attack the boss, or try to maneuver around the summoned enemies to reach the boss.

Because of the two splitting paths, they got to see a different area of the level this time, making a simple but somewhat custom experience. They still got to use the lockpicking skill on the chest in the middle.

What went wrong?

Some lucky enemy dice rolls left the players at low health. This included the ghoul and the lich. It didn’t happen as much with the weaker enemies since they had melee attacks. 

Also, the players didn’t get to utilize jumping. They only got one chest as a result of the path difference, which meant only one of the players got treasure.

For changes, first I would decrease the magic attack of the ghoul and lich. I might also add a shield item to the chests. Another chest on the right path would be an improvement 

Players didn’t get to utilize jumping, so I think a good addition would be a river to jump over dividing the forest from the second encounter. Regardless of which path the players take, they either jump over to reach the second encounter or jump over the gap to get the treasure chest.

I might also open up the Lich’s cavern more to add more space, or gaps to jump over.