I think I have a sweet spot in running games for characters of 5th to 9th level. It just feels right for my DMing style. It’s worth thinking about where your DMing sweet spot regarding levels might be so we can offer games at that level more frequently and identify weaknesses in other level ranges for our DMing.
What’s your DMing sweet spot?
Which kind of adventures do you enjoy running?
There are different kinds of adventures (roughly) for each tier of play. Some of these feel better, come more naturally to a DM than others. I for example enjoy running high-stakes action adventures where the fate of the continent is at stake without the characters being as powerful as demi-gods. That equates roughly to second-tier games. Here’s how I’d break down the kinds of adventures for each tier in a loose, simple, tongue-in-cheek way. Think about which of these kinds of threats and adventures suit your DMing best.
- Tier 1 (1st – 4th level). Local trouble, save the village, fight zombies, kobolds, bandits, and goblins.
- Tier 2 (5th – 10th level). Regional problems, overthrow the corrupt king, fight powerful demons, skilled knights, and legendary sorcerers.
- Tier 3 (11th – 16th level). World-spanning quests, defeat demonic overlords, fight otherworldly behemoths, ancient dragons, and liches.
- Tier 4 (17th – 20th level). Multiplanar adventures, stop an evil god, fight apocalyptic great-wyrms, deranged gods, and armies of darkness.
What are your favorite character levels?
This is one we, as DMs, usually don’t think much about. What kind of character abilities do we enjoy seeing at the table? I think a second attack makes combat more dynamic to run, as do a good amount of spell slots. Before 5th level, combats are quicker but martial classes roll one die per round and might miss. Spellcasters likewise will do everything for a long rest after each combat at lower levels.
However, with 6th-level spells things start getting out of hand. I start to not enjoy the kinds of crazy abilities spellcasters especially have after level 11. Mass suggestion can take the challenge out of any encounter. We have to think differently about challenges at this level, and the kind of abilities in tier 2 fit more easily with the kind of adventures I like running most.
Which CRs are most fun for you to run?
After 5th level an adventuring party can take on more and more epic monsters. For tier 1, we have to be careful with anything above CR 3. But some of the most fun monsters are around CR 5: Elementals provide fun combat challenges, and NPCs become more capable with the mage and the gladiator.
I enjoy running monsters Up to CR 20 (and higher) as well. But the combat dynamics are entirely different at that point. Monsters might kill a character with one action, or the same monster might do nothing because the characters have ways of mitigating everything it does. I enjoy the drama of trading blows back and forth which happens with CRs of 5-10.
Find out which CRs you enjoy running the most!
A self-reflective DM exercise
We can learn about our own DMing style, our strengths and weaknesses by thinking about our DMing sweet spot. Which kind of adventures do we enjoy the most? Which kind of character abilities bring fun to the table for us and which make the game less fun? Which kind of CRs are most fun to run in combat for us?
We can lean into our sweet spot and offer games in that level range, or we can push the boundaries and step outside our comfort zone from time to time. In either case, knowing our DMing sweet spot can help us improve our game.
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