Should I add encounters to help level my players before moving on to a new adventure that starts at a higher level? [closed]

Question

Me and the boys played D&D, Lost Mine of Phandelver, but only got to level 4.

What are the pros and cons of either making them fight some more monsters, or just go to the next campaign and make them level 5?

Answer 1

You can either level them up or plunge in; you are the DM.

The question you want to ask yourself is: which sounds like more fun to you?

Advantages of running some more encounters:

1. You get to try your hand at creating encounters. That's good, practical DM experience to gain. I ran various older editions, and until I DM'd in this edition I could not get a feel for encounter difficulty / creation).

   • Why I'd suggest this option, based on my own experience: crafting a few encounters, or a few "side quests", is as much for your benefit as theirs. I think it will improve your DM instincts once you have done this a few times.

2. No spoilers (in case the players are checking out the books behind your back) since not even you know what the monsters will be yet! 8^)

Disadvantages of running some more encounters:

1. You have to put in a bit more work as DM.

2. You may make a mis-estimate of the encounter difficulty. (But you can adapt on the fly, and this may not impact the fun)

Advantages of just going to the next book

1. Less work for you.

2. The players get immersed in the next adventure sooner.

Disadvantages of just going to the next book

As the boys are new players, skipping levels may make it harder for them to understand their mechanics.

And one last option: go forth but not level them up (for completeness)

This can either result in a "sink or swim" kind of challenge, and they might surprise you with how well they do, or, you may need to adjust the encounters down as they are intended for level 5 characters. There is a substantial power change for the PC's when going up from level 4 to level 5.

• Spell casters (wizards, druids, bards, clerics, warlocks, sorcerers) have access to third level spells which are a notable power boost.

• Martial characters (Fighters, Barbarians, Rangers, Monks, Paladins) get two attacks per turn.