CR and APL

So, hi everyone!
Im going to have my first pathfinder game this week, and i've been planing a story with some encounters, but I have a problem with CR and APL.
The ziiiiing is, that the first time that I read the book, I missunderstood the APL rule, I thought that you had to add up the players lvl, (I have 5 lvl 1 players, so in my missunderstanding I thought the APL was 5). So, since its the first game I'll have I decided to make each of every encounter level (Easy, Avarage, and Challenging), sooo, for me, it meant, a CR 4, a CR 5 and a CR 6. It made sene, when I used 4 wolves for a CR 5 encounter, it was like, "Oh sure, makes sense, they are 5 Pc vs FOUR wolves".
The thing hited me when I started seeing harder encounters, I found a lich, wich I think its like CR 12 or so, so I figured 5 lvl 3 players could beat im "easy", then I started reading the lich's stats and I was like "Ok, this is imposble". Then I read the book again,and realized I was doing everything wrong, (So my last battle with a wraith was actually being harder than epic). My point is, 5 lvl 1 PC should have an "epic" dificulty fighting against just 2 wolves??
I know Im not suposed to follow the CR like its written on stone, but, it is really THAT hard for them??
Because now, my encounters feel soooooo boring.

My last question, it is too mouch triyng to get them on lvl 2 on the first sesion?

Greetings.

Well, technically, two wolves is only CR3, which would be a Hard fight according to the CR, not Epic. But that's beside the point. :P

The important thing is that, if you don't know, the CR and APL system is, basically, stacked in the player's favor. A CR = APL fight is supposed to be fairly easy, and you don't get to an actual fight that's "fair" and could go either way until about CR = APL+4. Yeah, this means that fights can feel fairly easy, but that's the intention. Feel free to consider your party as a higher APL if both you *and* your friends want a harder game.

As to your last question: Is it too much? No. Should you do it? If it's their and your first game, I don't think so. If it's your first campaign, take your time. That way, you and your players can get yourselves used to what you're capable of each level. They have time to absorb and learn their new abilities, and you have time to get used to their capabilities before you level up and throw your expectations out of whack again.

CR that equals APL is supposed to take some resources, not actually be that dangerous. CR at APL +1 or +2 is supposed to be a little more challenging, but still not too bad. CR equal to APL +3 is getting pretty hard, and you need to get to a CR equal to APL +4 the PCs have about even odds of winning and losing.

You also have to bear in mind that the system is designed with a party of 4 PCs in mind, with every two beyond that adding +1 to APL...so that 5th PC is gonna make theofficial calculations a bit low. Especially for hordes of lower CR monsters, and you might want to add some on to compensate.

So, the system thinks four wolves is a fair fight vs. four 1st level PCs. That may even be true, or wolves might be over CRed (or CR 1 generally overly weak, which is my general feeling), but it's a fairly good guide for most CR appropriate monsters of above CR 1 or so.

Thank you so mouch for your answers!!!
Sooo, basically, 4 wolves (just to double check) would be a CR 5 = APL+4
So, that would be hard for them? Like 50% of making it??

So far, my CR encounters range from CR 4, CR 5 (The four wolves) And CR 6, a Wraith and some zombies, if im not wrong, I think I'll just have to change that encounter, but the first two, are to hard?

(The CR 4, its like 3 goblins and 2 goblin's dog, or so)
Sorry If I sound doumb, but I have never played a game with CR and APL.
(Normally in call of cthulhu basically everything can kill you, haha)

So, another tip I ask, wich monster could be like a "hard last boss"?

Thx in advance.

(English is not my first lenguaje, so, it may not be so hard to write for me, but its a litle harder for me to understand, so bear with me :P)

That depends on the level of the group. If the party is APL 5 or below I never use a boss over APL+3. After that I might use APL+4. After level 11 I might use APL+4 or higher depending on the group.

Catering to the group is something you will learn with experience though.

You could also consider applying the Young template to a wolf, and having multiples of those.

2 Young Wolves and 2 Wolves - 1200 exp
4 Young Wolves and 1 Wolf - 1200 exp

You could also consider applying the Young template to a wolf, and having multiples of those.

2 Young Wolves and 2 Wolves - 1200 exp
4 Young Wolves and 1 Wolf - 1200 exp

** spoiler omitted **

THX!!

Remember that 1st level characters are particularly fragile, so if you have tough challenges for the PCs to face, you might try giving them favorable terrain, or terrain that they can make favorable through clever positioning. You know, a fallen tree/ rockpile they can hide behind, handy escape routes, etc. At low levels, tactics are *everything* and can make the difference between a wonderfully satisfying tough challenge and a disappointing TPK.

Remember that 1st level characters are particularly fragile, so if you have tough challenges for the PCs to face, you might try giving them favorable terrain, or terrain that they can make favorable through clever positioning. You know, a fallen tree/ rockpile they can hide behind, handy escape routes, etc. At low levels, tactics are *everything* and can make the difference between a wonderfully satisfying tough challenge and a disappointing TPK.

This is great advice. If you have players running combat with wit and tactics, they could perform almost a whole level higher. I created an altar room once with two lofted platforms on both sides of the main floor. Each loft had a brazier, which the rogue used to gain higher ground bonus (the RAW don't grant ranged bonus for higher ground, but I house ruled it because every every every tactical source cites higher ground as being advantageous) and he dumped his arrows into the brazier to light them and deal extra damage. Image of the room

A simple rule to go by to keep combat from slowing down and encourage tactical play is to just grant a +2 bonus if you are not sure. The player wants to do some acrobatic stunt before attacking for a bonus? Roll acrobatics and if he succeeds then grant +2 to the attack, otherwise he fails the attack.

The monsters also vary within the CR. 3 wolves are a CR 4 fight, so is a 5th level cleric. While 5 level 1 PCs are probably gonna wipe the floor with the wolves, they are probably gonna get hosed by the cleric. If the wolves sneak up on the party at night when half of them are asleep that wolf fight starts to look a lot harder. If the cleric can drop Obscuring Mist and channel negative energy twice per round, the party would do well not to engage the cleric at all. The monsters are considered to be challenges when they act with roughly the same degree of tactics as the players, using effective tactics can make low CR opponents hit hard and using bad tactics can let PCs win fights against high CR opponents who would otherwise win easily.

These are great advice guys, thanks a LOT!!