boombrakh's page

Not sure what point buy you used for the last campaign or had in mind for this one, but reportedly all APs (released so far) are designed for 15 point buy characters, and just 4 of them, even though nearly every PbP I have followed uses 20 point buy and 5 or more characters(*). Normally 15 point buy would feel a bit icky due to restricting viable character concept space too much (and enforcing dump stats on a lot of the remaining viable character concepts), but since you are setting up the characters, you can work around this.

I've decided that in order to "adjust" for the extra player, I will stick to a 15 point buy on all the characters. And since it is like you say, I'll be creating them, it isn't really that big of an issue. All it does is decrease the power level of my normal games which are usually 20 point buy.

this would be a decent opportunity to design a group that is a B-, C-, or D- team (D-team might actually be too harsh).

I've been looking into this since you mentioned it and decided to reply once i've given it some serious consideration because my initial reaction was quite positive. I am going to stay away from the D-Team, but heavily consider a C-Team. The reasoning behind this isn't to decrease the power level, but to open up the story for creative solutions to problems that doesn't involve just casting a spell. I like this.

the group for the most part is able to get the job done well, they have had certain instances throw them for a loop (Thistletop, Xanesha, Fort Rannick.) Five PC deaths so far. XP and wealth are spread thin, yet they seem to be doing well on equipment regardless.

Normally I don't track XP and neither does the players. Tracking XP in our games, we've noticed encourages OOC motivations. That is, the players make decisions based on getting that extra experience point instead of doing what they'd normally do in a given situation. Instead, we simply divide up the game in chapters and sub-chapters and once the characters reaches different stages of the story, they gain another level. Back in 3.5 this was a lot harder, but since there really isn't any XP loss mechanic in Pathfinder, that works out pretty good for us.

If you really want to bolster things, you can always throw in more goblins; that's my favorite method. However, there are plenty of other discussions on these forums about making specific encounters a little tougher, and I think the research is worth the result.

I'll dive deeper into the forums. I'm quite new here and if you have any suggestions on where to find these discussions, i'd appreciate some links.

The group is going to need a reason 'beyond their control' to get involved in the troubles and actually pursue them, not just around town but all across Varisia. My initial thoughts are twifold - first off, the carnival could be the victims of the goblins, with many of their tents, carts, supplies, etc. set on fire and lost - it won't be until next season until they can 'move on' and that's only if they can get the coin together. The leader of the caravan can 'prompt' them to work with the Mayor and the Sheriff and provide them investigative services in return for the coin they need to get back on their feet, as well as to ingratiate them with the locals. Whether or not that's the real reason is of course up to you. Having a 'boss' they have to answer will go a long way towards getting them all on the same page.

You are quite right and your suggestion will be my preferred route, I think. Thank you. :)

Well my thoughts.

First I think it is a wonderful idea.

Thank you. Appreciate it. I think it can be quite interesting setting group-wise.

First of all. Give every opponent max hp. And either add a level or add one or two more mooks. Have a shrine where every goblin prays and get protection from good. +2 to save and +2 to ac can really wreak havoc.

I've considered upping the threat level using the methods you're suggesting and here are my thoughts why it might not be the best idea.

When you max the opponents hit points, you end up just prolonging the battle and the problem with that is that the players are working with limited resources in order to acheive their goals while the NPCs are simply there to drain those resources. Prolonging the battle doesn't do anything other than increase the odds that a well-placed crit prematurely ends a character, especially at low levels. And as I wrote above, having an encounter just for the sake of it doesn't make sense to me, it needs to serve a purpose, a story-purpose.

Upping the AC and/or saves is a bit similar to the above but not as harsh. Or rather, it depends on what the group consists of.

What I was looking for is what to do on the player-side of things because I'd prefer not to have to rework each and every potential threat. It's not that I can't be bothered, it is just that I don't know if that is really the best option.

Also, is there a suggested power level for the campaign? Like how many points should be spent on character building?

So, I don't know how common or uncommon this is, but my players prefer it if I cast them for my campaigns. What that means is that I present a setting for them, a cast to choose from and brief back stories for the characters they get to choose from. We come from a very "internal conflict heavy" background when it comes to roleplaying and quite a few campaigns have gone south on account of the group simply deciding that they can't work together. To remedy this, they've asked for a reason beyond their control as to why they are striving for the same goal.

Last run at this, they were all from the same generational dwarven family. You had the retired patriarch grandfather, his daughter, the new "leader", her husband and their two children. It worked out pretty well for as long as it did and now it is time to start anew and this time, it is time for RotRL.

What I am considering this run is sort of a Carnivalé (the show) inspired Varisian traveller group. It will be a rather large group composed of around twenty members where the players (4-5 of them) will get to choose from around half of them. The rest will be NPCs of higher level than one who'll all serve some kind of purpose.

The varisians have made camp outside Sandpoint on account of the festival in order to make some coin and to enjoy themselves. They'll get caught up in events and encouraged by their leaders who seem to have a secret agenda as to why aid the town.

Now, I am making this thread because there are a couple of issues I don't know how to tackle.

For example, how should I deal with a group of five players? I had a problem with the Dwarf group where a combination of too many points to buy ability scores and five players made each and every encounter too easy. I am not above having easy encounters, I loathe having encounters for the sake of having encounters because I want a conflict to actually mean something. In this case, they just ended up being a time waste. How do you adjust the game for more than four players?

I am still in the prep stage and building the cast and crew. I am also considering making some changes to Sandpoint. For example, I might set the tone a bit darker, change the initial goblin threat to something else. I would appreciate thoughts and feedback if you have any that might make my job any easier :)

Regards,
Peter

Great news!