DM's pregenerated NPC - what level?

[Lord Markhal]

The GUIDE TO PATHFINDER SOCIETY ORGANIZED PLAY says that I can play a pregenerated NPC to make a legal table.

If I DM a tier 1-5 game, can I use a level 4 NPC or must I use a level 1 NPC.

[Purple Fluffy CatBunnyGnome]

You can go with whichever one is going to fit the party best to be honest .. i.e. if it's a full level 1 party, go with the level one pregen

[Lord Markhal]

Yah but my brother and one of my friends is new to DND so I think if I use a higher level NPC I can support them.

This Saturday and Sunday we going to play all the first steps games, then maybe next week play another game if they like it. If I'm not wrong, they will be level 2 next week, so a level 1 NPC will drag them down but a level 4 NPC will help them. So I want to know whether I can use a level 4 NPC, or must use a level 1 NPC.

[Chris Kenney]

Bear in mind APL: If you've only got three people, adding a 4th level character to the mix can potentially force a higher-level adventure on the party.

Honestly, I would suggest using the 1st level pregen - these are not the hardest adventures ever written, so "dragging the PCs down" isn't going to be a big deal compared with messing with table averages.

[Jiggy]

I could be mistaken (and don't have the Guide in front of me), but I believe you're supposed to calculate APL without the GM's pregen, determine which subtier is being played, and then pick a pregen that fits the subtier without recalculating anything.

Can anyone confirm if that's right?

[Purple Fluffy CatBunnyGnome]

Jiggy wrote:

I could be mistaken (and don't have the Guide in front of me), but I believe you're supposed to calculate APL without the GM's pregen, determine which subtier is being played, and then pick a pregen that fits the subtier without recalculating anything.

Can anyone confirm if that's right?

Jiggy, I don't have it right in front of me either, but I'm pretty sure that's correct

[Lord Markhal]

Ok, so level 1 and 2, I use a level 1 NPC. Then at level 3 I see what sub-tier they want to play, then level 4 I use level 4 NPC.

Correct?

[Michael Brock]

That is correct but you may only use the seven official pregenerated characters available for free download here.

[Chris Mortika]

Jiggy, I've heard some other people say that as well, but that's not listed in the guide: "Divide the total number of character levels by the number of characters in the party. You should always round to the nearest whole number." That's all it says.

Let's say a party had two 4th-level PCs and a 3rd-level PC is playing a Tier 1-5 scenario. They'd like to play in the 1-2 subtier. I believe that a GM is allowed to bring out 1st-level Valeros, and then the APL is (1 + 3 + 4 + 4 = 12 / 4 = ) 3, which is between tiers and legal for playing down.

By your reckoning, there's never a choice in GM-run NPCs. They'll have to play at subtier 4-5 with a 4th-level NPC.