Imps - 3 of them, are beyond deadly for 2 Level 1 characters in D&D. 3 intellect devourers are beyond deadly for 2 level 1 or 2 characters.
A party of 5 or 6 level 1 characters have a much better chance at 3 imps, and it's more balanced. Likewise, a party of 5 or 6 at level 1 or 2 have a much better chance against 3 intellect devourers.
Yes. The ONLY reason these encounters aren't impossible is because the monsters are nerfed - severely.
All Larian has to do to balance these encounters is allow for party of 4 custom characters, increase the party size max to 6, and implement actual 5e monster stats.
There's nothing wrong with the encounters. It's the party size and the fact that they aren't ACTUAL D&D monsters. They're baby thug monsters that have been given the appearance and names of really tough monsters.
I think it would be an overreaction to increase party size (I like it at 4) or give a full party at once or do something else on the player side, just to make a few minutes in a tutorial more to DnD rules. To the imps there could be a story element why they are severely weakened. To the mindflayer and the devil, it should simply not be possible to beat them (and get Everburn) in the tutorial.
