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Just finished this campaign myself as GM. I leveled my characters to 3rd when they are ready to travel to Thistletop. This is technically after the conclusion of Catacombs but my group never completed the final level (actually, the shadows TPK'ed the group because the GM totally mis-read the encounter so we decided as a group to just say catacombs were done and move onto the next adventure.)
I had my characters level before entering Thistletop. I also had a bevy of new players at table. The survivability helps.
I'm a change resistant dinosaur so the idea of milestone-based leveling was too much change for me. Ergo, I assigned xp. And started a spreadsheet to track it. Guess what? If you assign xp as listed in the AP, the pc's end up exactly where the milestone says (assuming you have 4 pc's.)
If your pc's have done everything listed in the AP with an xp award, they should be 3rd level (on fast advancement track) after the Catacombs but before Thistletop. But they may not have done everything/defeated everything. If NPC's escaped or they did not drain the runewell, then they would be short.
However, I would ignore all that and simply make them 3rd before they get to Thistletop (assuming they have adequately cleared out the Catacombs - and if not they should do that first.) Being third will help them survive and keep the leveling up out of their decision-making about how to handle Thistletop. "When should we rest?" "If we rest now will we go up a level?" Etc.
GMinGvilleFL, I don´t think a party of five needs any XP pumping. They will fall behind somewhat, but this is equalized by the addition of one party member for the most part. I´d recommend to see how it works out for a few sessions as written and then decide if you need any side quests. Adding monsters may work as well, but be careful there. Just as a party of five has one more action each round, adding, say, two goblins, can make a difference, especially if the PCs are on the defensive (say, surrounded by enemies). Later in the campaign, the group may add some NPCs, and these do change the encounter balance, as I have experienced. It depends on choice of characters as well. Adding a second wizard does probably change not much in the beginning, but a second fighter surely does. At higher levels, this probably turns around.
That said, an additional enounter worth a look is found here:
Wayfinder 7
If you look at the table for XP awards, 5-character parties get the same XP as 4-character parties because the table doesn't actually divide it out.. 4- and 5- character parties share one column.
I'm a change resistant dinosaur so the idea of milestone-based leveling was too much change for me. Ergo, I assigned xp. And started a spreadsheet to track it. Guess what? If you assign xp as listed in the AP, the pc's end up exactly where the milestone says (assuming you have 4 pc's.)
So I'm going to run this adventure as my first time as a GM. I only have PDFs of the non-anniversary edition, and I cant find these milestones you guys are talking about. Can someone please help me out and tell me where to level up the PCs or at least point me to a thread specific to this?
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BURNT OFFERINGS:
STARTING CHAPTER ONE: The player characters should
begin as brand-new 1st-level adventurers (preferably with
campaign traits selected from those provided in the Rise of
the Runelords Anniversary Edition Player's Guide; see page 7).
2ND LEVEL: The PCs should reach 2n d level after dealin g
with the situation in the Glassworks, just before they
enter the Catacombs of Wrath.
3RD LEVEL: The PCs should reach 3rd level early in
the exploration of Thistletop-or perhaps even at the
climax of the Catacombs of Wrath.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should reach
4th level by the conclusion of this chapter.
SKINSAW MURDERS:
4TH LEVEL: The PCs should be very close to 5th level
when they begin Chapter Two.
5TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 5th level relatively
early in this chapter, perhaps even as soon as
they start investigating the first set of clues left by
the murderer.
6TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 6th level soon after
they begin investigating Foxglove Manor.
7TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 7th level soon after
they reach Magnimar.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should be close to
8th level at the conclusion of this chapter.
HOOK MOUNTAIN MASSACRE
7TH LEVEL: The PCs should be very close to 8th level
when they begin Chapter Three.
8TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 8th level during
their first foray against the Grauls.
9TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 9th level midway
through the grueling task of retaking Fort Rannick.
10TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 10th level near the
end of Skull's Crossing.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should be, close to
(if not at) 11th level at the conclusion of this chapter.
FORTRESS OF THE STONE GIANTS:
11TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 11th level during (or
just after) the attack on Sandpoint.
12TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 12th level by the time
they're infiltrating the interior of Jorgenfist.
13TH LEVEL: The PCs should be 13th level as they finish
exploring the pit and caverns below Jorgenfist.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should be
close to (but not quite) 14th level at the conclusion of
this chapter.
SINS OF THE SAVIORS:
13TH LEVEL: The PCs should b e 13th level when they
begin this chapter.
14TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 14th level after
defeating the white dragon Arkrhyst.
15TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 15th level by the time
they begin exploring the sixth wing of Runeforge (since
the exact order in which they explore the wings of this
dungeon is fluid, they may hit 15th level earlier if they
manage to explore and survive the more dangerous
wings of Runeforge earlier than expected.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should be well into
15th level by the time they finish this chapter.
SPIRES OF XIN-SHALAST:
15TH LEVEL: The PCs should be 15th level when they
begin this chapter.
16TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 16th level just after
finishing the wendigo siege-they should not attempt
to explore Xin - Shalast at a lower level.
17TH LEVEL: The PCs should reach 17th level as they
begin exploring the Pinnacle of Avarice, or as soon as
possible after they reach this site.
CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE: The PCs should be, close to
18th level by the time they reach the final encounter.
Thank you very much good sir