This is the first time i've posted here so I hope this is in the right section.
Anyway im a relativly now DM and as such figured i'd do a few modules and scenario's to get used the the rules and such.
This was how I found Carrion hill and I loved the feel of it. So I figured i'll dm this as its simple enough and my players are sure to enjoy it (they all really like lovecraft).
The problem however is that a lot of them want to play higher level characters than 5 level for which this module is designed. And seeing as a few of them are playing classes they haven't played before, mainly the sorcerer and the wizard, I don't want to put them off these classes by making them feel weak.
So I figured I'll put everyone at level 8 and increase the cr's of the encounters.
Now there are 6 players at level 8 so I figure the average cr for the party would be 8 or 9. Is this right?
I've currently just been focusing on the spawn of Yog-Sothoth which is meant to be cr 10. Now considering that at its full power its APL +5 for the normal game I was thinking of making it cr 12 for my 8 level party. Is this about right or too powerfull?
In increasing its cr should I just give it hit dice or add a huge template to it?
I also have another few questions but I shall ask those after this has been resolved as this post is starting to get a bit long.
I will really appreciate any help and advice people can offer me.
Thank you.
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I just got done running this module for a lvl 6 group with high stats (25 point buy) and some minions that probably make them more like APL 7 in terms of challenges that they can take on.
What I'd suggest is some of the following:
1) Add more minions overall. You can easily give all of the Keepers more minions to chew away at the party:
* Crove already has his orderlies; make them full fighters (that's a quick and easy conversion) and increase their numbers. If you make them lvl 4 fighters and set them up to maximize their tactics (Improved Trip could be very useful to them), they can make the asylum encounter more challenging without being crazy.
* Myre has his zombies; if you slightly increase the size of his factory you could fit more zombies on the map without crowding, and maximize the "slippery floor" factor. If you give the zombies some ability to push people into the cockroach pits, that will increase the challenge. If you could make some rationale for advancing the zombies further, that will up the challenge even more (even just a few more HD would make a big difference in terms of them lasting longer).
* Hyve doesn't have any minions, but you could easily add some hired help on the top level of his church and/or guarding him in his lab. You could use some dark creepers for this, or add some "tame" violet fungi plants in his lab level. The poison effects can help slow the party down, or at least make them use resources for restorations and such.
2) Give every Keeper 2-3 more levels, of course. You can also make sure to give the wizards arcane bonded items of maximum use; that buffs them up without adding another item the party can use after killing the guy (a dirty tactic, but useful nonetheless). I gave Hyve more poisons and alchemical items to use against the party.
3) Crove isn't all that great as a mystic theurge; I made him a summoner with a very Lovecraftian eidolon. Even if you don't buff him that much, I'd strongly suggest you carefully choose his spells for maximum usefulness, even to the point of min-maxing against your parties strengths (chalk that up to his high INT and WIS; he's supposed to be the badass among the Keepers).
4) Finally... the spawn.
My group of lvl 6 characters had a hard fight against the spawn, but they did OK against it overall. It was just about right as the "final boss". To increase its threat level, I would suggest you go the route of adding hit dice and applying the advanced template to it. I wouldn't increase it to Huge, since it already has a huge CMB for grappling and it might be too tough if you piled that on much more. This creature should be able to grab pretty much anyone who gets close and drain the hell out of them -- use that threat to make people have to devise tactics to escape!
I think using Advanced (+1 CR) and adding 2 more HD to the spawn should make it pretty challenging. It needs more HPs to increase longevity of its threatening attacks, and a little bit of extra CMB/CMD to keep the grapples nasty is about right.