Adding more monsters for bigger groups

[Brian Turner 355]

Im running Rise of the Runelords. If i need to add extra monsters do i follow the guidelines in the core books or do i do something different since its an adventure path. Thanks for the help.

[Melkiador]

Adding more is the more balanced way to scale up an adventure, but it will make already long combats take even longer. I prefer to just apply the advanced template as needed to up difficulty. Or maybe just give the NPCs more hit points.

[Derek Dalton]

Max Hit points to start then add more monsters. Most monsters are at about half hit points. Max actually changes the encounter making a seemingly easy monster a challenge.

[Brian Turner 355]

Okay uping HP is a good idea. I know Rise of the Rune Lords is made for 4 people but i have a group of 5 will the extra person really change it that much?

[Bill Dunn]

It may not change things a whole lot, but it does add one more action on the PC-side of things compared to 4. The 4 to 1 advantage was already pretty evident in single-monster fights and, depending on the nature of the opponent, a truckload of extra hit points won't be enough to compensate.

[SmiloDan]

We just finished a 5th Edition conversion of RotRL, and we had 6 PCs. Upping the action economy would really help. 5th Edition has a lot of rule systems designed to up the action economy of single monsters (Reactions, Legendary Actions, Lair Actions, etc.).

For PF, I really think adding monsters is the way to go. If you have only 2 or 3 monsters, maybe roll initiative for each to mix things up a bit.

Our DM trimmed some fights, though, and 5th Edition combat is a lot quicker than PF or 3.5. A lot quicker! We never had any whole session combats. Not even close. We even fought 60 ogres and some giants all at once at one point, and we were able to slog through it in an hour or two. And no PC deaths! But a bunch of NPCs died....

But if you only have 1 "extra" PC, it might not be significant. It really depends on the make up of your party.