Estri |
I've been running Mummy's Mask for a table of five very experienced players on a 15-point buy. They are about to start Part 3 of Secrets of the Sphinx and they are just having a very easy time of it. No deaths, the crypt-breaker alchemist has found all of the traps, very few failed saves. Their ACs are high enough that enemies have a hard time hitting them and the enemies have low enough AC that they are very easy for the party to hit. No one has even gone unconscious yet. I don't necessarily want to kill any of the characters, but I would like to feel like I am at least challenging my players.
I usually run in PFS, so I have never tried altering combats before. Has anyone else run into the same problem? Does anyone have any advice for how I can (fairly) increase the challenge for my players?
Thank you!
Under A Bleeding Sun |
Use templates on the creatures. This is usually the easiest way to get more bang for your buck. I don't recommend more monsters most the time, more easy monsters are still easy.
Move the traps so they are inside encounters with enemies. A Trap in an empty hallway, off what's the point. With undead crawling around you it makes a different stroy, and there's a good chance they won't stop to look for it.
They do have 5 players so the party's acl is about one higher than it should be. They are experienced players so that's another 1 - 3 on the acl scale. You should probably slow their XPgain, they sshould be at least 1 possibly 2 behind what the book says. Are they at book level right now or below?
Talos the Talon! |
Rebuild some things, apply templates, and limit choices at character creation. I limited them to core classes plus APG ( no witches/summoners), and limited feats/archetypes from other sources.
Though we are in book 2, I changed the forgotten pharaoh cultist s to level 3 maguses, and I am changing the cult leader from bard 6 to summoner5/ bard 1.
Aside from that, I made skeletal champions level 2 fighters ect, fast zombies instead of staggered, ect. Little things. Push your cr to the limit, and up them as needed.