I have an encounter set up for my PCs but I'm worried it will be too deadly. The encounter consists of 2 Forest Drakes (cr 4), while the party consists of 6 2nd level PCs (a barbarian, inquisitor, ranger, magus, witch, and cleric) with a 25 point stat buy. If I've done the math correctly the 2 drakes will be EL 5 while the PCs have an APL about 4 (+1 due to six PCx, and another +1 for the high point buy) so they should be able to handle it, right? This is the second session I've run for Pathfinder so I'm still feeling my way through designing appropriately challenging encounters.
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It might be a little rough just for the fact that they are only second level. Especially if your group has no ranged attacks or you play the Drakes efficiently (flying and breathing when the breath weapon recharged, staying out of melee).
Depends on the group, it could be a cake walk if they are a good group and well balanced.
It might be a little rough just for the fact that they are only second level. Especially if your group has no ranged attacks or you play the Drakes efficiently (flying and breathing when the breath weapon recharged, staying out of melee).
Depends on the group, it could be a cake walk if they are a good group and well balanced.
Both the ranger and inquisitor are archers. I designed the encounter so that the 2nd drake would appear 5 rounds after the engagement with the first.
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I have an encounter set up for my PCs but I'm worried it will be too deadly. The encounter consists of 2 Forest Drakes (cr 4), while the party consists of 6 2nd level PCs (a barbarian, inquisitor, ranger, magus, witch, and cleric) with a 25 point stat buy. If I've done the math correctly the 2 drakes will be EL 5 while the PCs have an APL about 4 (+1 due to six PCx, and another +1 for the high point buy) so they should be able to handle it, right?
When you start adding APL for party size and point buy that doesn't affect their HP. In that situation you have to start watching out for one shot drops, that is if the damage from a single attack possibly drops anyone then you have a potentially unstable encounter where luck counts for more than skill.
As the drakes have breath weapons with 4d6 that means an average damage roll is 14 - which could drop half the party - and a lucky roll around the 20 point mark - which could drop everyone. It only takes the drake to get surprise or initiative plus a lucky damage roll for this to be effectively over in round one. There is also the issue that you could put a PC down on round one making the rest of the combat rather tedious for that player.
Would the encounter still be survivable if 2 PCs went down on round one dropping their APL by 1?
You may have to hold off the second drake depending on how it goes.
When you start adding APL for party size and point buy that doesn't affect their HP. In that situation you have to start watching out for one shot drops, that is if the damage from a single attack possibly drops anyone then you have a potentially unstable encounter where luck counts for more than skill.
As the drakes have breath weapons with 4d6 that means an average damage roll is 14 - which could drop half the party - and a lucky roll around the 20 point mark - which could drop everyone. It only takes the drake to get surprise or initiative plus a lucky damage roll for this to be effectively over in round one. There is also the issue that you could put a PC down on round one making the rest of the combat rather tedious for that player.
Would the encounter still be survivable if 2 PCs went down on round one dropping their APL by 1?
You may have to hold off the second drake depending on how it goes.
In my game everything gets full hit points per hit die, so the party's hit points range from 17 (the witch who took Toughness) to 30 (the barbarian) - that should mitigate the danger of one-hit kills.
I suggest that you have them attack together but give one the young template. Then the players can't focus fire to kill them one at a time.
I really like this idea and was actually thinking of something like this, but decided not to because I didn't know there was a young template. I'm going to look it up and go with this, because the set up for this encounter is the PCs investigating the case of a farmer from a neighboring village whose livestock has been disappearing; the drake had been carrying the livestock away and it makes sense that the drake would carry the livestock back to its lair to feed its young.