Hi I recently hosted a game with some friends and we played through blackfang dungeon with quite a bit of success and I have decided to give the pc's the option of going deeper into this dungeon.
My question is how can I make a monster stronger such as a dire rat so that it is still playable with the BB and so that I dont end up breaking the game and making it to hard for the PC's, there are 3 of them (Wizard,Rogue,Fighter) and they are all level 1 almost level 2.
Thanks for any help.
The Beginner Box doesn't have rules for this probably because it gets complicated quickly.
You can simply add more rats or use different monsters. Keep in mind that many of the encounters you have at level 1 are still appropriate at level 2.
The easiest way to do this is to look at an appropriate level monster of similar type and just adjust the dire rat according to those stats. Dire rats are CR 1/3, if you want to convert them to CR 1/2, then look at something like a badger. The main difference between dire rats and badgers is that badgers have about twice the hit points, so it can be as simple as giving your dire rats d8+5 instead of d8+1 hit points. I would probably give a +1 to the dire rats attack and damage too, but I'd be careful about it, and if that started to look bad, I'd probably revert to standard dire rat attacks. Also badgers are AC 13, so I would also reduce the dire rats' AC from 14 to 13 as well.
Then when the party encounters the new dire rats you say:
"These dire rats look larger than the ones you just defeated, like they are an enhanced breed. They don't look like they'll be as easy to defeat."
The best answer is probably just to add more dire rats. You could also bump up their hp a little. When I GM I'm often surprised how an extra 2-3 hp can make a low CR monster last an extra turn or two.
If you want to make a "boss rat" you could apply the Advanced Creature template.
Advanced Creature (CR +1)
Creatures with the advanced template are fiercer and more powerful than their ordinary cousins.
Quick Rules: +2 on all rolls (including damage rolls) and special ability DCs; +4 to AC and CMD; +2 hp/HD.
That makes for a much tougher rat!
Note: Be wary of introducing more difficult encounters. Often times luck or other factor can make an encounter seem easy. Ramp up the difficulty slowly.
Thanks for all the help I think I will see how the normal rats go then maybe pump the hp up slightly and also I was wanting to possibly include a boss rat so this will be useful for me Fergie thanks.
I know it probably sounds wierd to have a rat dungeon but I think it would be good for a quick game and Im aiming to have a bit more of a comedic twist (hopefully).
there is one other thing that is kind of unrelated, One of the characters is using the pregen valeros, he seemed way to powerful in this game so I wanted to check his damage. he managed to get the dragonbane sword which is +1 normal and +3 for dragons. He also used power attack quite often. So were we right in thinking that the damage that is done is: 1d8+8 and when attacking a dragon is 1d8+11 I think thats how we played it. He just seemed really powerful and wiped out most of the monsters really quickly.
Just an aside, when I have a pack of anything, I will almost always have a "boss" version that is stronger, has more hit points and takes a dominant role in the attack. I do that because that's how real pack animals work. Back in the 3.5 days they had guidelines for these "buff" members of a pack. I may have at one point used them, but over time I just came up with my own approach to buffing a few members of a group of opponents.
But I also am very liberal with my monster creation. I do all sorts of things just to spice things up. My players know the bestiary like the back of their hand, so I rarely use anything directly from the bestiary that is not a commonly known creature in their world. This is called "reskinning" and I do it all the time just to keep the players honest.
Good luck, it's really not hard at all to adjust existing monsters or create new ones. The real trick is to keep a sharp eye on the combat itself and be ready to make adjustments as necessary to make the encounter challenging, memorable and fun.
there is one other thing that is kind of unrelated, One of the characters is using the pregen valeros, he seemed way to powerful in this game so I wanted to check his damage. he managed to get the dragonbane sword which is +1 normal and +3 for dragons. He also used power attack quite often. So were we right in thinking that the damage that is done is: 1d8+8 and when attacking a dragon is 1d8+11 I think thats how we played it. He just seemed really powerful and wiped out most of the monsters really quickly.
When we ran through the same adventure, Valeros ended up being pretty bad-ass. We're now level 4 and he is still pretty bad-ass and hasn't gotten any new armor or weapons during that time.
One of the things that the Beginner Box was meant to do is enhance the experience by almost ensuring that the characters survive. In a standard Pathfinder game, the party would have significantly less powerful gear and probably wouldn't be fighting a dragon at 1st level. Since the game is based off of the classic Dungeons and Dragons, it seemed appropriate to have a dungeon crawl with a dragon at the end. However, without powerful items, the party would all die. It's hard to convince people to play your game if you can't get past first level.
While playing with the Beginner Box, I think that it's ok to have slightly higher damage output. It gives the players a chance to do well. When they hit level 5 and are ready to "graduate" to the Core Rules, they will see a drop in power at first but they will quickly see they are getting more powerful, especially with the options not available in the Beginner Box.
If you want to make sure that the characters are being built correctly and that their damage is accurate, you can download the Hero Lab for the Beginner Box for free. Your calculations for Valeros are correct. Just remember that he has a penalty to his attack rolls when he uses power attack.
Most of the low Challenge Rating opponents are pretty easy to take out in a hit or two. Take a look at the boar and the boggard in the Game Master's Guide. Both are CR 2 and will take a couple hits before going down.
Use the Monster Advancer
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Also for a quick on the fly upgrade, use the stats for the Boar and just tell them it is a large rat. If they are new they would never know the difference.
Our Friday night game needed a jump in power temporarily (they were cake walking level 2 of Crypt of everflame) so in a skel fight I just made one of them a more powerful skel. ie- Minotaur stats but with the skel damage reduction. Was a fun fight and they loved fighting the "Freddie Krueger Skeleton". I made its axe the claws.
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TheHairyAvenger, in the full Pathfinder game we have quick "add-ons" for monsters called templates, which you can use to make monsters stronger, weaker, or weirder. One of the easiest ones is the "advanced creature template." All you do is add
+2 to all of the creature's d20 rolls
+2 to the saving throw DC of its abilities
+4 to its AC, and
+25% more hit points.
Treat this advanced monster as one step better in the CR scale (1/3 becomes 1/2, 1/2 becomes 1, and just add +1 CR if it's CR 1 or higher).
Or use the stats of a better monster and tell the players it's a tougher rat, like Ravenbow said. :)
Thanks everyone I will be using this in my future games just trying to make a new dungeon atm so will see how it goes. I also like the advice of changing it in game if they are just wiping everything it so I might prepare a few just incase :P thanks again everyone great help :D