One good thing included in Tasha's Cauldron, are the Sidekick rules.  I received a copy at Christmas, and i dug it back out last night.  I was trying to find something useful in the book, and Sidekicks may just be it.  Simple classes, with a lower power level ceiling; but still functionally solid.

Opinions?

I think it is a good idea, but I'm really into minimalist 5e. I've been working on that for months but I haven't finished anything meaningful, except for a long series of blog posts. This one is about "sidekick D&D".

https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2021/03/minimalist-d-ix-sidekick-d-easiest-5e.html

I tried using the Sidekick rules from the Essentials Kit for NPCs but they died like flies against goblins, giant rats etc. IME unless you're changing all the monster stats you should stick with the regular PC rules. What I did:

1. No Feats or Multiclassing
2. Slow advancement, I did this via using XP and mostly groups of low-XP foes.

Level 1 & 2 PCs are very weak and also don't need much XP to level up. Currently IMC new PCs start at 3rd level, which seems to be a sweet spot for play. 1st level 5e is similar to 1st level in OD&D-BX-BECMI in that PCs are likely to get ganked by a random kobold or giant rat. If you want that experience you can modify the XP chart so it takes eg 1000 for 2nd, 3000 for 3rd, 6000 for 4th, 10000 for 5th, 15000 for 6th; then go back to the regular chart 6th-10th and halve xp awards from 11+.

Quote from: S'mon on August 08, 2021, 05:24:22 AM
I tried using the Sidekick rules from the Essentials Kit for NPCs but they died like flies against goblins, giant rats etc. IME unless you're changing all the monster stats you should stick with the regular PC rules. What I did:

1. No Feats or Multiclassing
2. Slow advancement, I did this via using XP and mostly groups of low-XP foes.

Level 1 & 2 PCs are very weak and also don't need much XP to level up. Currently IMC new PCs start at 3rd level, which seems to be a sweet spot for play. 1st level 5e is similar to 1st level in OD&D-BX-BECMI in that PCs are likely to get ganked by a random kobold or giant rat. If you want that experience you can modify the XP chart so it takes eg 1000 for 2nd, 3000 for 3rd, 6000 for 4th, 10000 for 5th, 15000 for 6th; then go back to the regular chart 6th-10th and halve xp awards from 11+.

Try giving the sidekicks a few levels.  They need some hit points.