So i have a question regarding how many encounters should or i should say could a 3 player party go up against in a single module figuring that the module lasts a couple days in game time and figuring that all the encounters are level appropriate?
i am planning on running a low level game (levels between 1-5) and i want the players to face a few monsters and bad guy groups in this one module, how many encounters should they face in one day in game?
The 3.5 DMG says that they balanced that game for a normal group to face 4 encounters/day. If you want more encounters, reduce the CR of the encounters. If you want higher CR encounters, then have less than 4/day.
I have not seen Pathfinder explicitly state that they have changed (or retained) this model, and it still seems to work fairly well at our game table. Of course, when I'm a player, I push it to the limits - we just did a 7 encounter session, and the last two encounters we had no spells left and had to rely on potions and wands for any healing. But, hey, we were on a mission and stuff had to be done. I really thoguht that last encounter was going to end in a TPK, especially when our barbarian refused to rage (he'd refused all day so he still had all his rage available).
Now, you're group is a man short. Which means that each "level-appropriate" encounter will be extra hard for them, and will consume more of their resources. So each game day I would do one of these two things:
1. Redefine "level-appropriate" to mean 1 or 2 CR below their level. That's hard to do at very low levels, obviously. But for a smaller group, it's just about required.
or
2. Have fewer than 4 encounters each day. This is especially necessary at very low levels when you cannot reduce the CR.
After a little practice, you'll find out what the sweet spot is for this group (each group seems to have a little bit of a different sweet spot). Once you find it, it will get very easy to plan their encounters.
then i guess my last question is if we had a party of 3 characters at level 2 what should the CR be of the monsters we face?
then i guess my last question is if we had a party of 3 characters at level 2 what should the CR be of the monsters we face?
Still too many variables for me to answer that easily.
If your group is Paladin, Druid, Wizard, I would say give them 3 CR2 encounters and see how they do. If your group is Rogue, Bard, Ranger, then I would say give them 3 CR1 encounters and start working your way up from there. If they're somewhere in between, with a less-than-perfect group but also not a suicide-waiting-to-happen group, then adjust those numbers accordingly.
If your players are smart and know the game well, error in favor of the bad guys. If your players are new to this game, or to RPGs in general, I definitely say error in favor of the PCs. And by "error in favor of" I mean swing either the CR or the number of encounters one way or the other to increase or decrease the threat to the characters.
If your PCs are already in decent gear (full plate, masterwork weapons, maybe even a couple handy potions or wands) then error in favor of the bad guys. If they're still mostly in their starting gear, error in favor of the PCs.
If one of your early fights goes badly (players fumble a lot, monsters get extra crits or lucky saves, whatever) and it seems to be harder than it should have been, then lighten up the remaining encounters, or remove one of them. If some of your early encounters go very well (players win easily, hardly get hurt, etc.), then add another encounter, or toughen up some of the remaining ones.
That last bit might be optional. Sometimes it's good for the players/PCs to feel like heroes, so if they have an easy day because they rolled a few lucky critical hits, or all the enemies blew their saves against Color Spray, well, bully for them! Let them enjoy it. Alternatively, if it's hit the fan all day long, then maybe it should be their decision to push onward and risk an encounter that they are too beat up to handle or to fall back and camp and try to recover resources.
And finally, it's best to start small. If you're going to make a mistake on your first session, or even your 5th or 10th session, then make sure the mistake is one the PCs can walk away from. I'm all for letting them die because they screw things up - their mistakes, their consequences. But I don't suggest killing them because the DM underestimated an encounter.
So that said, make up exactly what you think they can handle. Then, add an extra encounter or two that you can drop in if you want. These are optional, not too hard, but you can use them if you think your players/PCs have had it too easy. Also consider adding an optional enemy or two to some of the later encounters. For example, you might plan the 4th encounter of the day to be 5 ordinary orcs. But be prepared to include a 6th, 7th, or even an 8th orc if the players mow down your first three encounters and reach this one in exceptionally good shape.
Also be prepared to drop an encounter, or drop a few enemies from some of the later encounters, just in case the players have had a rough time of it and decide to go on anyway (especially if you force them into the next encounter, say, by having a time-sensitive mission that doesn't allow them to fall back and camp, or by having the encounter "wander by" while they are retreating, or whatever).
And finally, don't forget that you can cheat to tailor an encounter to your liking. So the players have had a good day and they reach that final orc encounter in really good shape. No problem. Give the orcs a couple extra HP, maybe a bonus +2 to their STR (which gives them +1 to hit and +1 damage). Toughen them up. The players don't have to know that you just tweaked the orcs in the spur of the moment. They might even congratulate you on your amazing powers of prediction, perfectly gauging the exact number of orcs to make the final battle of the session into a challenging and memorable one. I've seen it happen.
Be prepared. Be flexible. Be creative. And don't limit yourself to running exactly the encounters you wrote on the paper.
"So that said, make up exactly what you think they can handle." - dm blake
Exactly. And it will be hard to get it right, just keep in mind its easier to make an encounter harder vs easier without using some sort of Dues Ex Machina.