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Hi,
BACKGROUND INFO - then question.
I am writing a game for a group that consists of (all level 1);
All start in a little hamlet of 131 people where they grew up.
Adept, human - Esmeralda Valar; Daughter of local Cleric who has gone missing.
Expert, elf - Knoetaal (Know it all); His elven village decided due to his opinion on everything that he should travel FAR away from the village as an envoy.
Aristocrat, human - Reginald Smyth; His father (who died when Reginald was young) was of Noble lineage but lost his money gambling and whoring. Reginald says he died to Wyvern poisoning saving the hamlet, really syphilis caught up with him.
Warrior, human - Karl Baker; Son of a local baker, but more interested in adventure than croissant.
All used the "heroic" stat spread for character creation - so they are mighty indeed.
QUESTION
I have no issue modifying encounters on the fly, but, when writing the adventure(s) for these players I would like a rough idea of the encounters. The CR of creatures are based on the normal PC classes and their munchkin like superpowers. Any guidelines for getting the ball park CR right when putting together an encounter for such characters?
Starting equipment is a flat 40 gp with must be mundane equipment only. Each is then given some sort of heirloom - which may or may not be magic.
Cheers,
S.
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well the group is effectively 1 (almost 2) levels lower than normal, and it gets worse as they level.
i wouldn't throw more than a cr 1/3 at them. a cr 1 boss fight is almost too much.
That's what I am thinking. It's the power curve 1 --> 20th I'm having issues sorting out for developing the campaign. In a "normal game" the power curve is a lot steeper than these PC's will have and as you rightly point out the CR difference will become more pronounced as they progress in level.
The players are really looking forward this, a game focusing less on mechanics of the PC and more about what the PC does. I don't want to bugger it up as DM.
S.
You could use the following (seeing as they get worse with advancement): For 1-5, NPC level -2 (steps -> 1/2, 1/3, 1/4), 6-10 it's level -3, 11-15 it's level -5, and 16-20 it's level -8. Figure it as Fibonacci progression. I know that leads to weird overlaps where, say, a level 11 would face a CR 6, while a level 10 would have faced a CR 7, but when you're using NPC classes, softball is the way to throw.
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You could use the following (seeing as they get worse with advancement): For 1-5, NPC level -2 (steps -> 1/2, 1/3, 1/4), 6-10 it's level -3, 11-15 it's level -5, and 16-20 it's level -8. Figure it as Fibonacci progression. I know that leads to weird overlaps where, say, a level 11 would face a CR 6, while a level 10 would have faced a CR 7, but when you're using NPC classes, softball is the way to throw.
I like the idea, not 100% sure that Paizo used Fibonacci numbers as the basis of there CR system however. But for sure something along these lines would be great. Then again Fibonacci numbers are probably no more or less correct than any system!
S.
You could use the following (seeing as they get worse with advancement): For 1-5, NPC level -2 (steps -> 1/2, 1/3, 1/4), 6-10 it's level -3, 11-15 it's level -5, and 16-20 it's level -8. Figure it as Fibonacci progression. I know that leads to weird overlaps where, say, a level 11 would face a CR 6, while a level 10 would have faced a CR 7, but when you're using NPC classes, softball is the way to throw.I like the idea, not 100% sure that Paizo used Fibonacci numbers as the basis of there CR system however. But for sure something along these lines would be great. Then again Fibonacci numbers are probably no more or less correct than any system!
S.
Oh, I don't know what they used, I was just coming up with something on the fly.
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Oh, I don't know what they used, I was just coming up with something on the fly.You could use the following (seeing as they get worse with advancement): For 1-5, NPC level -2 (steps -> 1/2, 1/3, 1/4), 6-10 it's level -3, 11-15 it's level -5, and 16-20 it's level -8. Figure it as Fibonacci progression. I know that leads to weird overlaps where, say, a level 11 would face a CR 6, while a level 10 would have faced a CR 7, but when you're using NPC classes, softball is the way to throw.I like the idea, not 100% sure that Paizo used Fibonacci numbers as the basis of there CR system however. But for sure something along these lines would be great. Then again Fibonacci numbers are probably no more or less correct than any system!
S.
Golden Ratio it is! I'll see how this pans out. I'll let you know, perhaps you have stumbled onto another weird natural 1.6 phenomena?
Cheers,
S.
My 2 cents:
As you already know by the GameMastering Chapter in the Core rule book:
-A NPC or PC with a hero class (fighter, wizard, etc..) with the PC wealth by level has a CR that equals his level (if there isn't any racial HD). That's a corollary of the written rules.
You use that level/CR in account to make encounters.
-NPC classes decrease the CR by 1, so: think about them as a party of one lower level, or decrease the monsters CR by 1.
-If they use the "wealth per level" table for NPCs (worse than that for PCs), decrease the CR by another 1.
Now, that was the theory, my experience says:
1. The commoner NPC class sucks. Another -1 CR, and past 10 level another -1 CR. I guess you already noticed, as there is no commoner in the party, good.
2. Using the "wealth per level" table for NPCs drastically reduces the power of the party at high levels. Another -1 CR at level 9/10, and past 15th level another -1, I would also apply another -1 at level 19/20.
3. Giving them better Ability Scores isn't enough to modify CR, it will just help them to survive a probable TPK and some adventures.
Did you roll hit dice for 1st level or did you max it out like a PC's level?
I'm just worried that your party might have someone with a top end of 1 hit point.