CR Adjustment for No Gear?

Let's say the heroes find themselves without any gear, perhaps because they have been thrown into prison. What type of CR adjustment should I be looking at for encounters? -2?

Let's say the heroes find themselves without any gear, perhaps because they have been thrown into prison. What type of CR adjustment should I be looking at for encounters? -2?

You need to look at how their capabilities have changed.

If your group was a pile of standard monks, then arguably no CR adjustment needs to be made.

IF your group was a pile of wizards with no spellbooks and all their spells wiped from their minds, then you have a different ball game.

On the other hand, somone with the catch off guard feat will be in their element as long there is something loose for them to grab on to.

it depends on their level as well... at 1st-2nd level (with very few exceptions) PCs will be close to equally good with any weapon they pick up, and enemies will already be weak enough to be taken out whatever they can get their hands on (like found or improvised weapons). at 10th or 11th, PCs will be missing out on using feats for their favored weapon, won't be able to penetrate DR, and will get hit by every attack. so at low levels little adjusting is needed (maybe -1 the first encounter, but once they loot the first encounter you should be able to use standard CR range), but by mid levels you may need to drop 3 or 4 until they get some magic items back.

of course, pay attention to lazarx's advice too- a fighter without his gear is totally screwed but a monk or sorcerer losses very little.

I think, for NPCs anyway, NPC wealth is level-1 and no gear is level-2.

Monks need gear also.

But I would say 1/3rd of their threat is wealth by level.

So if they are level 9 treat them as level 6.

If they are level 15, treat them as level 10.

like others have said, in some cases it can make little difference, in others it can make a huge one. Level also really matters, but the capabilities of each character matter more.

For instance, a wizard with a bonded item, if they dont have that item and their spellbook they are really just a glorified commoner. A sorceror on the other hand wouldnt be overly hampered particularly at low level (at high level the loss of gear means more because they have more). Same for the fighter vs the monk. The fighter without armor and weapons wont be very good at his job (though could possibly do something with improvised weapons), a monk would be relatively unhampered, again untill higher levels where magic items mean more.

Take a look at your party, you might even want to post specifics here if you want assistance, but there isnt a good standard answer here.

Look at the first chapter of "Way of the Wicked." It deals with that exact same scenario.

Yup, Monks and Sorcerers will be much better than fighters and wizards. However, I am assuming a random group of adventurers (for the Jacob's Tower Dungeon Crawl), so an average for a random party would be best.

Let's also assume adventurers of level 6.

Debbin: I don't have Way of the Wicked. Do they say something about CR adjustment?

Yup, Monks and Sorcerers will be much better than fighters and wizards. However, I am assuming a random group of adventurers (for the Jacob's Tower Dungeon Crawl), so an average for a random party would be best.

Let's also assume adventurers of level 6.

Debbin: I don't have Way of the Wicked. Do they say something about CR adjustment?

You really can't expect a standard one answer fits all for this sort of thing. Just go with the suggested character level range and adjust on the fly if you think it neccessary.

a 6th level dungeon crawl (which likely means creatures instead of npcs), is gonna be tricky... by 6th pcs usually have magic weapons (and creatures are starting to show up regularly with DR/magic) and protective items- monsters will hit more often and take less damage when they get hit (meaning more rounds of more successful attacks); maybe even worse, dungeons tend to have the highest encounters/day ratio of any kind of adventuring- normally pcs can grab a few cure potions/scrolls/wands to stretch their resources for that many fights, but if they're equipmentless that won't be the case.

i'd try designing encounters as if they were level 4 (that way you're avoiding most things with DR), and insert some opportunities early for them to get some gear. even if its not their gear... within 1-2 encounters let them find a dead group of adventurers (or something) so they can grab some weapons and armor (even if its not the kind they prefer), a partial wand of CLW, and a couple flasks of Magic Weapon oil... with just that stuff you should be able work at level 5, maybe even 6 if theyre smart/experienced players. if one of the PCs is a caster with a bonded item, they'll be pretty screwed- consider throwing in a couple of scrolls and maybe a mostly used wand of scorching ray or something.

edit: if you're running a module and the PCs losing all their gear is built in to it, the challenges they face after that point should already have their difficulty adjusted by the module's designer...

Finished the Level: Bernard's Prison. It's made for an APL of 4.

At first, the heroes have none of their gear - no weapons, no spellbooks, no holy symbols, no familiars, no animal companions - but quickly get the chance for a handful of mundane weapons. Here, the average CR for encounters is 2. After a CR 3 fight, they get one item back, at which point the average CR for encounters is 3. There's a chance to get one or two magical items - then the final encounter is a CR 4.

Sound fair?