I have a question regarding the suggested minimum level for the Kelmarane Undercrypt. These two quotes seem to clash which each other (emphases mine):
Throughout “Howl of the Carrion King,” the PCs will progress from 1st to 5th level. They should hit 2nd level as they near the end of Part Two, and should hit 3rd level by the time they’ve explored much of Kelmarane and are finally reaching the battle market. They should not enter the crypt under the church until they are 4th level.
Under no circumstances will she grant them the key if they are lower than 5th level, instead suggesting that they take out dangerous creatures in the wilderness (see the regional encounter chart in the Bestiary) to hone their skills before taking on the creature.
My PC party of four characters, entered the Battle Market at level 3, where the various gnolls and bugbears were no real threat to them, even though it was basically one huge 30-round-fight spilling over all three levels of the building. They had trouble, however, overcoming Kardswann and Ugruk, and after the fighter went down unconscious and the rogue was killed by a critical hit from Kardswann's power attacking greataxe, a TPK was only avoided when I decided to have Undrella - who they previously encountered on a hesitant but more or less friendly occasion - switch sides and engage the bad guys with a few rounds of harpy music. Also, I decided that the rouge, being the Moldspeaker, should survive, so I granted him regeneration 3 while unconscious/dead and had him pay a permanent cost of one point of constitution.
Anyway, they've reached level 4 now, but not yet level 5, so I'm not sure if I can subject them to yet another harrowing encounter with Xulthos at this point, or if I should have them go and check out the Refuge of Nethys and/or Nick Herold's excellent additional set piece "The Fortress of Ghouls". The adventure itself, as quoted above is ambiguous. What do you think. What was the intention of the author? Erik?
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Our group has 6 players. 5 were level 4 and one was level 3. They were all level 3 when they invaded the battle market, and they did fine. The crypt was a challenge for them all thanks to some bad save rolls. They were still successful. They may be able to survive if they are able to spend some cash before they enter the crypt, otherwise maybe a side mission may get them closer.
My 4 level 5 players just completed the undercrypt this last weekend. They were able to manage the battle well yet still be challenged. I think a level 4 group would probably have the ability attack-wise to finish off Xulthos, but my concern was for the amount of hit points the characters had. If you look at Xulthos' full attack and the damage he can deal, a party with fewer hit points likely will not last long against him.
My group seemed to enjoy the side adventure to the Refuge of Nethys, so I'd' recommend running it as a sort of intermission and allow the group to level up there before continuing below the church.
Creative Director
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The PCs should be 5th level by the time they finish the first adventure. This means that they MIGHT be entering the crypt at 4th level's tail end or 5th level's start. You know your players and what they can handle better than me, though... if they're experienced players they can probably handle the crypt at 4th level, but for most they should probably be 5th. There's some tough stuff in there.
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The PCs should be 5th level by the time they finish the first adventure. This means that they MIGHT be entering the crypt at 4th level's tail end or 5th level's start. You know your players and what they can handle better than me, though... if they're experienced players they can probably handle the crypt at 4th level, but for most they should probably be 5th. There's some tough stuff in there.
Xulthos, converted to PFRPG, pretty neatly fits into CR8 when compared against the table in the Bestiary p. 291. FYI.
delabarre, I noted that about Xulthos too, when I converted him. Being an evil GM, I used his extra feat slot he gains with the Pathfinder RPG rules for Ability Focus (drone) and then decided that it would be better for the PCs if I had Almah send them to the Refuge of Nethys first, so they can be 5th level when they enter the crypt.
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delabarre, I noted that about Xulthos too, when I converted him. Being an evil GM, I used his extra feat slot he gains with the Pathfinder RPG rules for Ability Focus (drone) and then decided that it would be better for the PCs if I had Almah send them to the Refuge of Nethys first, so they can be 5th level when they enter the crypt.
The version on Pathfinder Wiki assigns it to Improved Natural Armor, which brings Xultho's AC back up to 19, after accounting for the error in the 3.5 version where he does not suffer an AC penalty for being Large.