Hey everyone,
I've got a minor problem in my RotRL campaign. It's too easy!
I've got five characters in the party (cleric, cleric, wizard, barbarian, and urban ranger) and they just hot knife through butter most of the encounters.
Even Xanesha in the clocktower was nothing more than a dispel fly spell away from a gory mess at the base of the clocktower.
Because it's 5 in the party, I've often added to the number of monsters, but that didn't seem to work, boosting the XP too much. So, I decided to play module as is, and hope the 5 characters dividing the XP will lower their levels enough that the difficulty will go up.
So far, having run 1,2 and almost a 1/3 through 3, I've only put one PC down. I'm actually considering letting them try to take Fort Rannick without Shalelu, Jaakardos, Kibb, Temros, and Kaven.
I'm an old-school DM who's used to high level difficulty with lethal traps and scary encounters which require creativity. With the wizard casting WEB, and the barbarian doing 40+ damage, battles just haven't been difficult.
To be fair, they are also a smart party, and have gotten pretty lucky, too.
Anyway - suggestions welcome.
dm gonzo
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I have always increased the mooks by 1.5 for stronger groups or groups with more than 6 PCs. For example, in Ft Rannick, instead of the 12 ogres in barracks, I used 18.
Also, with all named NPC's I give them max hit points.
But stick with your normal creative ways as well, maybe they will have a terrible session rolling to hit and and making saves..
Even Xanesha in the clocktower was nothing more than a dispel fly spell away from a gory mess at the base of the clocktower.
Umm ... which ruleset are you using?
That said, you could give all "named" NPCs the Advanced Template (+2 to all stats and a +2 to natural AC) without adjusting the CRs.
You could also make it more difficult to sell/buy magic items.
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I will start by assuming that you have "pathfinderized" as much as possible. ROTRL is 3.5 and if the PC's are using Pathfinder they will have a pretty easy time of things. I ran into the same problem running 2nd Darkness.
Assuming the above, I find that adding the Advanced Template or a level or two to creatures is more effective than adding more creatures. Generally in Pathfinder if you are too strong for something you are still too strong for more of that something. It usually comes down to AC, BAB and Saves more than numbers. So try pumping up one or two creatures or the BBG.
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My PC's seem to breeze through a lot of encounters but some if I let the dice roll the way they were rolled the encounters would end up in a TPK within a few rounds.
You still seem to be in the easy parts.When it gets to Fort Rannik the PC's get into encounters where some characters can be one shotted with a crit from the monsters.
And I just started Fortress of the Stone Giant and the healer was layed low with one shot by a Stone Giant a 60+ point crit.I have a party of 6 players two Fighters,a Alchemist,Oracle (healer),Wizard and a Bard.Made using a 15 point buy it is starting to get really tough, Stones over Sandpoint should TPK my group if they are not careful.
It depends on stuff like what is your parties wealth, what point buy are they using,what materials are you suing, a lot of factors can go into why it is so easy for them.
Somewhere on this board I have a set up for 6 PCs who were really strong we only got into the third book before Real Life Got in the way but it was challenging but it is 3.5 so good luck
I'm running a group of six players. With one exception, all of my players are very experienced (20+ years of gaming each), and most have extensive GM experience as well. Using PFRPG rules with ROTL, I realized early on that I had to greatly increase the difficulty of encounters or they'd mop the floor with the bad guys.
First, I convert all monsters to their PFRPG equivalents. For mooks, I usually add half again as many, and sometimes I up their level by one (or change them from Warriors to Fighters).
Next, I redesign all major NPCs with PFRPG rules, treating them as PCs. I use the heroic stat roster for their ability scores. I usually increase the NPC levels by one or two, as well, and I use the same hit point formula I use for the PCs. (Max hp at L1, then "average, round up" hit points per die.) I often give NPCs the Toughness and/or Diehard feats, as well-- sometimes as bonus feats, sometimes not. Often, I end up totally redesigning the character.
I also tend to give the BBEGs some additional single-use defensive magic items. Examples of such things would be potions of mirror image, blur, invisibility or protection from arrows. No BBEG would be complete without a potion of cure serious wounds either.
I posted her stats on this thread. She also had a potion of mirror image.
For the big boss battles at the end, I often add a lieutenant character or two: someone who's more powerful than a mook, but not as tough as the BBEG.
Finally, I add additional traps, monsters, etc.
On the downside, all this redesigning has been a whole lot of extra work. (My wife has given me a lot of grief over how much time I'm spending on game prep.) Still, the designing has been a lot of fun.
Hope this helps!
--Hal
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Even Xanesha in the clocktower was nothing more than a dispel fly spell away from a gory mess at the base of the clocktower.
I too am currently running RotR. I agree that some of the encounters are easy. I did pump up some of the encounters by adding more monsters, goblins, ghouls, magic items, whatever. If there had been a fifth PC, I would have likely pumped it up even more. I believe the AP was designed with four PCs in mind. So any over that would need some modification.
However,
Later,
Mazra