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Hello everyone, this is my first comment here on Adventure Path topics.
I am currently starting a campaign with RotR (my first campaign) and I had in mind to start it with 3 people which I hold somewhat most trust to get it right. They pretty much all have some or more then enough experience with pathfinder.
Reason I am making it 3 man are because last group ( I wasn't GM of it tho ) pretty much just fell apart, nobody seemed interested besides me and 1 more person. 3 man seems fine enough for me and they are most likely planing to play fighter, cleric and some arcane caster.
I decided to give them everything by normal PFS rules in character creation + 1 additional trait. They are starting at lv1. They should hit levels fast and only problem is the starting levels from my perspective but I could be wrong.
That's why I am asking here, is it okay to go through 3man like this? What problems should I expect in general?
My GMing experience is equivalent of 20+ PFS sessions.
Hello everyone, this is my first comment here on Adventure Path topics.
I am currently starting a campaign with RotR (my first campaign) and I had in mind to start it with 3 people which I hold somewhat most trust to get it right. They pretty much all have some or more then enough experience with pathfinder.
Reason I am making it 3 man are because last group ( I wasn't GM of it tho ) pretty much just fell apart, nobody seemed interested besides me and 1 more person. 3 man seems fine enough for me and they are most likely planing to play fighter, cleric and some arcane caster.
I decided to give them everything by normal PFS rules in character creation + 1 additional trait. They are starting at lv1. They should hit levels fast and only problem is the starting levels from my perspective but I could be wrong.
That's why I am asking here, is it okay to go through 3man like this? What problems should I expect in general?
My GMing experience is equivalent of 20+ PFS sessions.
Just throwing this out there - Ameko makes an appearance very early on and then exist stage left almost as quickly. She is 100% available as a 4th member of the party and her class(es) seem ideally suited for your party composition. She can come and go as you wish (needing to go home/stay home to tend to business concerns) and can serve as a nice 'in' for the party, giving them a base of operations and even being the GM's voicepiece from time to time should the players go awry. Her stats are available in the first Jade Regent AP or in various places online and you can advance her as the party advances. Might be a nice resource to have.
My group will be running it with four members an dlikely not taking advantage of Ameko as an active NPC, and we expect to do just fine - though both builds and players themselves are top-notch.
You might consider letting one or more of the players run two PCs simultaneously. Our group was initially expected to have five players for Runelords, but the two out-of-towners had to drop out right before we started. The remaining three players have been running two PCs each.
They had one death early on (no resurrections available yet) and have had I think five PC deaths since, where they were able to get the characters raised. I can't imagine how much hairier this AP would have been with only half their resources. We're nearly at the end of Book Six now; they've fought everyone except Karzoug.
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Thanks on all responses so far.
I might consider adding some NPC helper here and there but I have some faith that they can manage it easily.
What I am not gonna do, is adding them additional PCs to lead. Cohorts or mercenaries are out of question. It will only confuse them and me and it also removes all roleplay from the system.
I will give them breaks occasional, chances to escape and to organize themselves also. I want them to discover the plot and manage through adventure just as much as they do.
@Old Drake
Animal companion is good idea.
Actually the only thing that scares me are the crits or very tough monsters early on.
I've got the same issue. Three players, but they probably won't have any good healing.
What I'm thinking is that I'll give them a 25 point buy, +2 skill ranks per level, and hero points (chapter bosses get hero points too). Plus I'll insert an Oracle of Life into the story (aasimar, blood sister of Nualia, visions brought her to Sandpoint for a reason she doesn't understand) or make Ameiko a full bard at their level and have her tag along. Debated just letting them go on their own and keeping the extra XP, but I think they'll need some support. Guess I'll know for sure when they make their characters.
This is my first campaign, though, and I'm worried I'm over-compensating. I've heard about problems with GMs playing NPCs like their own PCs, but I figure if the extra is just to help them cover any skills they're missing, and occasionally some help in battle, they'll be OK.
I've got the same issue. Three players, but they probably won't have any good healing.
What I'm thinking is that I'll give them a 25 point buy, +2 skill ranks per level, and hero points (chapter bosses get hero points too). Plus I'll insert an Oracle of Life into the story (aasimar, blood sister of Nualia, visions brought her to Sandpoint for a reason she doesn't understand) or make Ameiko a full bard at their level and have her tag along. Debated just letting them go on their own and keeping the extra XP, but I think they'll need some support. Guess I'll know for sure when they make their characters.
This is my first campaign, though, and I'm worried I'm over-compensating. I've heard about problems with GMs playing NPCs like their own PCs, but I figure if the extra is just to help them cover any skills they're missing, and occasionally some help in battle, they'll be OK.
Honestly I think if you include Ameiko as a Bard of their level (a quick re-make), that should be all that they need. Plus she makes a great GM's mouthpiece if they get stuck.
A 25 point build would be all the help I think their characters would need. If you like the idea of Hero Points and whatnot then by all means its your campaign...
I guess it also depends on how well they tend to optimize their builds and hoiw experienced they are as players, something only you can judge.
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My party is made of:
- Oracle (Posessed with Dark Tapestry mystery)
- Blaster Sorcerer (he has 4d4 on Burning hands and is highly optimized, which I dont mind at all since they are 3man)
- Dex based two weapon Fighter. His damage output is quite decent and fair.
So far, they had no problems up to getting to Catacombs (fought few sinspawns and Koruvus) but those problems were only goblins.
They have only 1 trait bonus and have 20 point buy. I might include Hero Points but that's yet to be concluded.
Since, as a GM, you can control the difficulty level there should not be too much trouble with three players. Additionally they could effectively gain 33% more XP and treasure as they share among less - so it could be enough.
Huh, it seems my replay last week never made it. It was just a thanks and I mentioned that I'm only worried because only the one player has any real experience with a campaign.
Anyway, we had figured out a good group (ranger, wizard, archeologist bard) when the player who normally plays wizards all the time finally gets back to me and says "Actually, I was going to play an Oracle of Flames." Facepalm.
I don't know enough about higher-level magic to know if they'll be OK in this AP, but I think we're good, what with everyone being able to heal.