Longtime gm and lurker here, starting up my 2nd adventure path. Have found this forum to be extremely helpful, and looking for advice that could be offered on running the game with a large group.
- With 6 PC's, is it effective to increase random encounters and treasure be increased 50%? It sounds too easy to be correct, hoping some strategies can be offered on how to modify treasure and CR on the fly.
- Party will have a druid, but type of animal companion is as yet unknown. Any suggestions on how to handle the shipwrecked animal, or is it better to roleplay the druid finding an animal companion on Smuggler's Shiv?
Have already decided on making small modifications, such as having the PC's wake up on the beach 2 at a time so that nobody has to miss 5 rounds of action at the start of an adventure.
Id grab the animal companion from the island for simplicity sake or...
For a party of 6, id increase # of opponents by half (depending on the type of creature), except boss types. Rather than increase their level, id add one or two henchmen. Also....
You can have the Dimorphodons scatter and flee when the apex predator Chupacabra shows up, like the natural pecking order of things. Or have them swoop in on anyone the chupacabra isnt attacking, like little pigeons going after crumbs while avoiding the dominant pigeon pecking at the big piece of bread.
Just bouncing an idea :)
First game in the books and things went well, but looking for some more advice.
Once the cleric figured out that dousing people in water regains hit points from heat exhaustion, he started creating water and giving everyone "showers" as necessary. By RAW it seems to work, but having a 0 level spell work around the 1st level Endure Elements seems wrong. Any suggestions?
First game in the books and things went well, but looking for some more advice.
Once the cleric figured out that dousing people in water regains hit points from heat exhaustion, he started creating water and giving everyone "showers" as necessary. By RAW it seems to work, but having a 0 level spell work around the 1st level Endure Elements seems wrong. Any suggestions?
Eh, let them. Just have them remember it gets colder at night. And wet clothes will not necessarily be dry by then... It might even be enough of an issue to increase their chance for disease...
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First game in the books and things went well, but looking for some more advice.
Once the cleric figured out that dousing people in water regains hit points from heat exhaustion, he started creating water and giving everyone "showers" as necessary. By RAW it seems to work, but having a 0 level spell work around the 1st level Endure Elements seems wrong. Any suggestions?
From the spell discription "Water can be created in an area as small as will actually contain the liquid, or in an area three times as large." I would rule 2 gallons of water cannot be made in thin air. It is small roadblock to this spell.
Also, the jungle has a humid environment. This means water does not evaporate as fast, thus the cooling powers of being soaking wet are limited. More than likely the characters are already soaking wet from sweat.
There are no rules for humid enviroments, so you can rule how you want. I would give them a bonus to thier Fort Saves against the heat, instead of negating the heat stroke.
Just some ideas.
-Pete
Imperium is right, you kinda have to wing it. Generally speaking, I add 50% to the grunt monsters and maximum hit points in some places to give a little more staying power. But in some cases, it doesn't make it any harder to add more monsters (in small spaces, for example, or if the party has lots of area attacks, they just blow up more zombies with no effort) or at some point, maximum HP or average HP, it's still just a one-shot from the party Fighter and the fight's over. Sometimes you have to advance the creatures a HD/Level or two, sometimes add more monsters, sometimes give advanced template or increase AC by 2 or 3 points, sometimes use better tactics or allow the monsters better tactics or defenses in their lairs. It's a very much Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing, and you only get a feel for it by doing it.
Myself, I've been "winging it" since 1st edition, and I've never used the 3rd ed/Pathfinder rules that state "By this level the party needs X amount of magic items and treasure to be effective." I understand why those rules or guidelines exist, but I've never used them. Frankly, I've never needed them. I'm experienced enough to see what my crew can do and instinctively adjust written encounters to challenge them. It works, and my players love it (or if not, they are good at making Bluff checks. Or my own Sense Motive skill stinks, I dunno.) Maybe you need more of a guideline to adjust things, but I've never found a problem by winging it. If you find yourself whomping on the party just a bit too easily, pull back on the reins a bit and let them have an easier time for a bit. I think you'll find the newfound freedom liberating...