It’s not easy to set up encounters for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign when your party is just starting out and your characters are still at a low level. These low-level encounters are also the best time to introduce new Dungeons and Dragons players to combat, letting them get used to how the system works before their kit is too large and overwhelming. While fighting at low levels can be frustrating with the limited number of abilities you have, it’s a good time to have fun with the enemies you include and prepare your party by setting the tone for the rest of the campaign.
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Some low-level enemies are used so often, they’ve become D&D memes. However, there are more options for monsters and creatures that can appear early in a campaign than you might expect, and there’s a good reason that some are so commonly used.
With that being said, here are ten easy foes you should look to have your party battle in your next Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
Rats
Rats are a classic low-level enemy. They don’t deal a lot of damage, and they’re easy to kill, which makes them perfect for a Level 1-2 party. Additionally, you can adjust the number of rats to increase the difficulty of the encounter. Even weak enemies can be deadly in a group, and if the encounter starts to go sour but you don’t want to kill the party, then you can have the remaining rats flee. Their simplicity makes them versatile, and that’s perfect for teaching combat to new players, giving a low-level party experience with minimal risks, and letting your players get a feel for their class.
Wererats
Wererats are a nice twist on the trope of beginning a campaign with rat encounters. Plus, wererats are an underutilized were-creature in campaigns that are easy enough to defeat at a low level, but a bit more challenging than normal rats. They still have a low challenge level, and with their tendency to flee, you can end combat early if it takes a turn and you don’t want the party dead. You can also surprise your players by hiding wererats with normal rats, then letting them take their hybrid form as an unexpected phase two.
Scarecrows
Scarecrows are great for a harvest-time fight, or if your party happens to go through a village with a lot of fields. It’s a fun thematic option and scarecrows are rather weak. However, they have their own set of challenges for a party because they’re scarecrows. If you don’t have a way to literally fight them with fire, then it’s going to be a challenge. Since these creatures are made of straw and move through being possessed by a spirit, hacking and slashing won’t hurt them as much. You can also keep your party paranoid by including a mix of normal harmless scarecrows and ones that want to kill.
Wolves
Wolves have a lower armor class and not a lot of hit points, but you usually face them in a pack, and they’re fast. Since they tend to be in packs, you’ll have to deal with their Pack Tactics, which give them an advantage on attacks when another wolf is in a certain range. Like rats, you can adjust the difficulty by changing how many wolves are in the pack. It’s a great option to force your party to consider their positioning in combat to avoid giving wolves an advantage, which could be an important lesson for any new players.
Ghosts
Ghosts can come in a lot of different forms in Dungeons and Dragons, which makes them a fun, versatile enemy to include in your campaign. They can move through people and objects, deal necrotic damage, frighten enemies, slip between the Material and Ethereal Plane, and even possess your players. Then, you have extra difficulty from the numerous immunities and resistances that ghosts have. As a result, the ghost can seem like an easy enemy when you look at their stat block, but they’re tough to defeat, especially if you don’t have magical weapons or a way to remove possession from players who might be affected.
Animated Furniture
Animated furniture could be the most amusing option, but it might also be the most versatile. The type of furniture that’s animated changes how threatening it is to the party. Animated knight armor usually has a weapon and protection, which raises the difficulty when fighting it. But something like an animated chair isn’t quite as scary, since it’s not going to cut you down (although it might try crushing you or stubbing your toes). This enemy type can be chaotic and fun to place against a party, and it’s suitable for lower levels since animated furniture isn’t that deadly. It’s certainly enough to leave them a bit battered, though.
Carrion Crawlers
Carrion crawlers have a decent chunk of health, but their armor class isn’t that high, and they’re limited to melee attacks. However, they can climb walls and go on ceilings. They can also poison players. These creepy crawlies are perfect for hiding in dark areas, and then surprising your players with combat. Depending on your party’s location and abilities, they could be at a disadvantage from not having Darkvision, which Carrion Crawlers have, and you can put them in a situation where running is a better option than engaging in combat. It’s tempting to fight any enemies you come across, but that’s not always the best strategy in a campaign, so this can set the tone early.
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Gray Ooze
Gray oozes are mostly found in the Underdark, but a party in this area could end up surrounded by them without noticing. They don’t have a lot of health, strength, or a high armor class, but their immunities and resistances make up for it to create a decent enemy for a new party. If gray oozes aren’t moving, they look just like wet rocks or oily pools. Depending on your setting, they could make a great tool for surprising the party, and then leaving them paranoid until they move to a new environment.
Ochre Jelly
Ochre jellies can be a wonderfully creepy and frustrating option to put your players against. They can squeeze under doors and hang upside down on ceilings, which means you can start combat by having jellies fall on your party. If that’s not annoying enough, they can split into more jellies as a reaction to lightning or slashing damage. Luckily, they don’t have a high armor class or a lot of strength, so they’re manageable for a low-level party. However, they tend to be unexpected, and you can use the surprise to your advantage.
Kobolds
Kobolds are among the most commonly used low-level enemies, and for good reason. They have more intelligence than creatures like rats, which means that new players can experience enemies with the ability to strategize against them. Additionally, kobolds can use magic, so it’s the perfect chance to introduce a difficult encounter early that has magic as a threat, but also be manageable for a party that hasn’t had a lot of combat experience or milestones to level them yet. For all the jokes about creatures like kobolds and goblins, their repeated use for kicking off campaigns makes sense.
Let us know what enemies you love seeing at the start of D&D, or one of its alternatives. Are there any enemies that you’re sick of seeing that have you wishing you could have a campaign without encountering them?
