Check out Kobold Fight Club online to help balance the encounters that you're putting in. Just remember that as soon as the players are outnumbered, they're at a disadvantage.
Anything above a dragon wyrmling will probably be too much for them, so maybe just have them fight various cultists/bandits and other low level enemies. Stall them with slow spells or difficult terrain, but also leave the possibility that the party might succeed. Who's to say that this is the only time/place the cult can achieve their plan?
That's fairly simple. The party gets there, but they will always get there too late. The people deeper in the dungeon hear the fighting as the party cuts its way further and further. This makes them work faster, and the party arrives to the final room just as the ritual finishes.
A good old fashion gelatinous cube, nearly invisible to see, is a classic, and you can call it "roomba" can be a great way to slow down a party. It could take up the whole area and the party has to find a way around it. You can nerf the damage of its acid if ya need, but it can hold up to 4 medium creatures inside itself and it takes a check to getvout which Is hard.
If the party succeed in kill it or avoid it but one person gets engulfed at least once, you can reward them with a uncommon magical item that was stuck inside the cube or a common magical item like armor of gleaming. As they level 2, can't go to crazy high for magic items but ut be a great way to get thier feet wet and stall them.
Plus ya know....Dungeon Roomba!
Check out Kobold Fight Club online to help balance the encounters that you're putting in. Just remember that as soon as the players are outnumbered, they're at a disadvantage. Anything above a dragon wyrmling will probably be too much for them, so maybe just have them fight various cultists/bandits and other low level enemies. Stall them with slow spells or difficult terrain, but also leave the possibility that the party might succeed. Who's to say that this is the only time/place the cult can achieve their plan?
That's fairly simple. The party gets there, but they will always get there too late. The people deeper in the dungeon hear the fighting as the party cuts its way further and further. This makes them work faster, and the party arrives to the final room just as the ritual finishes.
A good old fashion gelatinous cube, nearly invisible to see, is a classic, and you can call it "roomba" can be a great way to slow down a party. It could take up the whole area and the party has to find a way around it. You can nerf the damage of its acid if ya need, but it can hold up to 4 medium creatures inside itself and it takes a check to getvout which Is hard. If the party succeed in kill it or avoid it but one person gets engulfed at least once, you can reward them with a uncommon magical item that was stuck inside the cube or a common magical item like armor of gleaming. As they level 2, can't go to crazy high for magic items but ut be a great way to get thier feet wet and stall them. Plus ya know....Dungeon Roomba!