1)That's really no worse than a 1 lvl dip into Barb for Rage. I wouldn't worry.
2)Then the rest of the party will be behind WBL. If they're fine with that, it shouldn't unbalance the party as a whole.
3)The bandits can't hit the Cavalier, but they can hit the Wizard just fine.
4)Why not?
5)I'm not understanding what you mean. With random encounters, it's more like 1 encounter per day, max. There's a few locations with multiple fights (bandit camp, mites) but I thought those were well balanced. The mites (or rather the giant tick and the centipedes) can actually be the hardest encounters in the module if attempted too early. I thought the Stag Lord was one of the best fights I've run.
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1)That's really no worse than a 1 lvl dip into Barb for Rage. I wouldn't worry.
2)Then the rest of the party will be behind WBL. If they're fine with that, it shouldn't unbalance the party as a whole.
3)The bandits can't hit the Cavalier, but they can hit the Wizard just fine.
4)Why not?
5)I'm not understanding what you mean. With random encounters, it's more like 1 encounter per day, max. There's a few locations with multiple fights (bandit camp, mites) but I thought those were well balanced. The mites (or rather the giant tick and the centipedes) can actually be the hardest encounters in the module if attempted too early. I thought the Stag Lord was one of the best fights I've run.
My group is quite powerful, so I had to adjust the encounters accordingly. All good gms do this.It comes with the 'hat'. My group loves Kingmaker thus far.
I increase the effective CR of random encounters. A one-fight-a-day is artificial and panders to the players, so I might as well try to make it worth the XP being handed out.
You may also have problems if/when the players gain flight long before their enemies.
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Yeah, I have to put in some work into the encounters. Firstly the tier 1 combat PCs are running ACs of around 23 (10 round duration) with the fun combo of masterwork plate, mutagen, and shield extract.
I was thinking musketeers and wizards for the stag lord encounter. That and an interesting idea that one of my group had which was minion "hordes", an old 3.5 rule where you group a bunch of low level guys into a group and stat them that way.
Yeah, make them a 'mob'. It makes it so you can use them as a swarm.
I increase the effective CR of random encounters. A one-fight-a-day is artificial and panders to the players, so I might as well try to make it worth the XP being handed out.
No kidding. I turned the trapdoor spider lair into a mini dungeon with 4 smaller spiders and 3 spider swarms. The PCs felt they'd been in a fight that day I can tell you!
Don't sweat book 1. There's plenty of stuff in there (like the good old 1d4 trolls random encounter) that can nom on your pcs good.
When they start having essentially unlimited wealth & lots of free time, start worrying.
Ah, random trolls. Responsible for our very first PC death.
Everyone in the party agreed they should run, so the Rogue got off his horse and staked it to the ground.
The Cavalier charged and ate many rend attacks.
That same encounter was nearly responsible for two more PC deaths.
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I do a check of the "encounters of the day" at the start of the day (those are 3 checks, 15% for a day spent exploring the hex, plus 15% for a night camping, plus 5%for entering a hex) and then adjust them or spread them around the hours of the day as I see fit.
When the encounter rolled for one day for my 1 level group were: 4 trolls and 6 bandits (separated) they did become:
- 1 running bandit gasping "Trolls!" when meeting the PC. On cue the whole group (plus bandit) moved in the opposite direction while the trolls were busy eating the other 5 bandits.
- that night a lone troll that had followed their trail attacked the PC camp. The bandit, that was still with the players, stole their horse and run did away while the troll fell in one of the bear trap that they had placed around the camp.
They were very lucky with the troll strength check as the troll was incapable to open the trap jaws (3 failed attempts) and resolved the problem ripping the stake fixing it to the terrain and hobbling around at half speed.
So the group, using every ranged attack they had, alchemist fire, acid splash cantrips and so on, was capable to kill him.
I can assure you that they remember that battle (and, thanks to that fight and some other the bear trap will be one of the symbols of the kingdom). The key, for me, is to keep the players aware that there is a chance of a night-time encounter and multiple daytime encounters plus the set pieces encounters.
That way they will not go nova in the first encounter they get and then rest to replenish their resources without any problem.
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I do a check of the "encounters of the day" at the start of the day (those are 3 checks, 15% for a day spent exploring the hex, plus 15% for a night camping, plus 5%for entering a hex) and then adjust them or spread them around the hours of the day as I see fit.
When the encounter rolled for one day for my 1 level group were: 4 trolls and 6 bandits (separated) they did become:
- 1 running bandit gasping "Trolls!" when meeting the PC. On cue the whole group (plus bandit) moved in the opposite direction while the trolls were busy eating the other 5 bandits.
- that night a lone troll that had followed their trail attacked the PC camp. The bandit, that was still with the players, stole their horse and run did away while the troll fell in one of the bear trap that they had placed around the camp.
They were very lucky with the troll strength check as the troll was incapable to open the trap jaws (3 failed attempts) and resolved the problem ripping the stake fixing it to the terrain and hobbling around at half speed.
So the group, using every ranged attack they had, alchemist fire, acid splash cantrips and so on, was capable to kill him.I can assure you that they remember that battle (and, thanks to that fight and some other the bear trap will be one of the symbols of the kingdom). The key, for me, is to keep the players aware that there is a chance of a night-time encounter and multiple daytime encounters plus the set pieces encounters.
That way they will not go nova in the first encounter they get and then rest to replenish their resources without any problem.
My group appreciates that I do the same thing.
20 1st level bandits don't know how to do Aid checks?
As Sir Hamster advised, Chapter 1 is not the worrisome part. It's when they inevitably decide to min-max ("make efficient use of" to quote one player) the kingdom and mass combat army rules sets that you need to shove your iron gauntlet inside the velvet glove before slapping them upside the noodle.
Yeah, I love an orc with a greataxe making called shots to charging horse legs ... makes dismounting easy.
Not that much if the player has mounted combat and high riding skill
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20 1st level bandits don't know how to do Aid checks?
As Sir Hamster advised, Chapter 1 is not the worrisome part. It's when they inevitably decide to min-max ("make efficient use of" to quote one player) the kingdom and mass combat army rules sets that you need to shove your iron gauntlet inside the velvet glove before slapping them upside the noodle.
+1
If these 1st-level human fighters are primarily archers, why do they only have a +2 attack bonus with a shortbow?
+1 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 Weapon Focus. Add in some circumstance bonuses, like higher ground (+1) or total concealment.
But as the others said, the bandits just kill the horse and the rest of the party. Maybe hit the mailed fighter with a couple bottles of alchemist's fire or a tanglefoot bag to distract him for a few turns. A 2nd-level fighter in full plate will never be able to close on foot with a band of lightly armored archers. Eventually, they'll take him down with lucky shots, fire, nets and lassos, or sheer exhaustion.
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I think everyone's Kingmaker is different, but half of what makes this campaign fun for my group is the non-workday portion. Running around exploring hexes and fighting things are either the easy part of their kingdom building.
The hard part is all the NPCs I am throwing at them that come to their budding kingdom. While most wish to aid in the growing new kingdom, the number that are sincere and selfless is a very tiny percentage. Because the queen is the daughter of one of the swordlords, and I have a big political intrique going between Regent of Brevoy, the Lords of Brevoy, and the Swordlords (a la Game of Thrones), the party has to deal with all sorts of political and loyalty issues as well as deciding how to respond to all sorts of requests, demands, and sometimes threats.
Half the time they are afraid to leave Leviton (starting city) because they might no be there when a crucial raven arrives with a message or when an envoy comes with demands.
This aspect certainly wont interest all groups, but most of my players are old hands, and fairly clever, so this keeps them busy and involved despite the ease with which they sometimes obliterate a group of trolls or a bandit gang.
You might try increasing the political side, and using the carrot of increased BP, gold, gifts for the ruler, etc to incentivize your party to participate. This side of the game is rather unique to Pathfinder, since most games don't let you start playing ruler so early in levels.
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I think everyone's Kingmaker is different, but half of what makes this campaign fun for my group is the non-workday portion. Running around exploring hexes and fighting things are either the easy part of their kingdom building.
The hard part is all the NPCs I am throwing at them that come to their budding kingdom. While most wish to aid in the growing new kingdom, the number that are sincere and selfless is a very tiny percentage. Because the queen is the daughter of one of the swordlords, and I have a big political intrique going between Regent of Brevoy, the Lords of Brevoy, and the Swordlords (a la Game of Thrones), the party has to deal with all sorts of political and loyalty issues as well as deciding how to respond to all sorts of requests, demands, and sometimes threats.
Half the time they are afraid to leave Leviton (starting city) because they might no be there when a crucial raven arrives with a message or when an envoy comes with demands.
This aspect certainly wont interest all groups, but most of my players are old hands, and fairly clever, so this keeps them busy and involved despite the ease with which they sometimes obliterate a group of trolls or a bandit gang.
You might try increasing the political side, and using the carrot of increased BP, gold, gifts for the ruler, etc to incentivize your party to participate. This side of the game is rather unique to Pathfinder, since most games don't let you start playing ruler so early in levels.
I agree that's why I love this path so much. -- A throwback to 2nd edition Birthright campaign.