Balancing PCs vs. Enemies

[ossian666]

I want to preface with a warning to my players...stop reading now. Jon, you know you shouldn't read this...so stop now.

I am running Council of Thieves. Anyone that has played or GM'd this AP knows that the damage output on some of the enemies can be pretty good.

Here is my issue. The party I have is a Pistolero Gunslinger (with 2 levels Alchemist for the arm), an Archeologist Bard, a Master Summoner and an Elemental Wizard. They are all damage based...so basically I have a DPR race each and every time combat starts. Sure the Summoner tosses out a lot of fairly useless fodder, but each combat is the same...summon a ton of things, start blasting, then scramble like chickens with their heads cut off because someone in the party is dying.

The goal is to balance this so it isn't quite a DPR race, but also isn't just them nuking the hell out of the enemy too...I'd say that 70% of the enemies they face are going to be Intelligent from here on out.

Any suggestions?

[Turin the Mad]

Let them die like flies until they figure out to throw cover/concealment, raise walls, summon blockers, etc?

[cranewings]

I've run for this group before basically. Think about where the group is strongest?

When they all act first in the surprise round.

You might think that this is obvious for all groups, but the problem is, is that this group is ONLY effective in this situation. If they get split up or hosed down first, they are screwed. They are basically playing a game of chicken with you. Either you let them win easy or you kill them. They don't think you will just kill them.

I'd say, prove them wrong. Play intelligent enemies (by intelligent, I mean people who won't fight unless they think they can win)who always try to screw them and always try to kill them. If you kill some of them, maybe they will make more balanced characters to fill the gaps.

[cranewings]

The other thing you can do is convert all your NPCs to Final Fantasy stats: half their damage and double their hit points.

[ossian666]

I was really hoping to avoid just a full blown TPK, but the damage output is just so overwhelming on both sides it may take a player dying for the adjustments to be made...dang this stinks. =/

[Turin the Mad]

You could also consider the "maimings instead of death" route. I highly recommend referencing CoC's rulebook for the effects. ^__^

[Haskul]

This brings to mind an encounter my DM threw at us once. Essentially he realized that we all knew the standard tactics and plays of round by round combat as players. So he started. Designing more unique encounters. The first that i remember because it was so awesome and eye opening, it reminded me of gaming for the first time. We walked into an underground cavern with a lake, level 4-5 party. And this ghost dragon pops out. Dragon could only deal like 1d6+cha mod damage a round, but it was AoE damage, we all took it, of course we could only deal minimal damage to it as well. The real danger was the dragons breath weapon, a ray that would turn you incorpreal for 1d4 rounds, so the dragon could affect you with all it's attacks. The dragon's skeleton at the bottom of the lake had the corpse of an old dwarf near it, clutching a spear and a gem. So we had to have someone swim down and put the gem back in the dragon's horde, or use the spear, that was a spear with dragon bane, on the dragon's skull.
Basically what i'm trying to say is start thinking outside the box. Maybe the thieves council knows they have enemies now and start hiring more specialized help- wizards with slow? Abjurers to counter the summons, things that aren't damaged by straight up damage- maybe a golem of some type they have to weaken somehow before being able to damage it. Have bad guys run away. Use bullet deflection spells. Make terrain advantageous to the npc's. You don't have to wipe the party, you just have to force them to think differently, shift tactics.

[Pawlik]

I believe that your group has all it takes not only to fight, but also to flee effectively - thanks to that, if they think some backup plans, allowing them to survive surprise attacks and to heal wounded/ let them reach safety (everything counts - obscuring mist to remove sneak attacks, summons pouring curing potions down their throats, unseen servant pushing unconscious characters out of danger zone and giving them relevant potions or hiding them while rest of group runs) - just a couple of ideas from top of my head. Also, a battle of wits with the enemy can be very entertaining, although it would require a lot of preparation from your side. I have played a lot in two man group, where rushing at the enemy was often a suicide attempt, and I have enjoyed this style greatly - it not only brings more thrill to the game, as you really put your life at risk, if you don't prepare well enough, but also gives a lot of roleplaying oppurtunities (think of some tip - offs, rumours, kidnapps, brokering information - and checking if your contacts are really "clean", because if they aren't, you may put your family and friends at risk too)

[ossian666]

Unfortunately the Council of Thieves AP doesn't really offer the opportunity to run very often...delaying will only make things more dangerous for you.

I'd love to come up with creative solutions, Haskul, but the truth is that its an AP so I kind of have to stick to what I have in front of me.

[Two Face]

If you can add some casters that have the ability to charm or dominate the PCs, that could work very well. I have similar problems with my groups, and while I don't really run APs so I can't give great advice on CoT specifically, that method works very well.

So, if it makes thematic sense, you could probably switch in a caster or two to drop some stuff to turn the PCs on each other (or even just charming them into standing there), or just hinder them from getting close (walls, pits, spikes/spears in the ground, some form of cover, what have you) while your other NPCs smash them from a distance. Have a bowman sit there with a readied action to pepper one of the casters to interrupt a spell.

I've found that DPR races aren't fun for anyone, because it's too threatening to the PCs, as you mentioned. But, I'd ask your players first if they're happy with where things are at, or if they'd prefer a bit less of the DPR race from the NPC side (even if they stay with their blasty types) before you start messing with it. If they're happy, just have fun blasting away at the PCs; they've accepted the risks, and are having fun, so it doesn't matter much. If they're not happy, adjust it however you can within the limits of the AP.