I know Mites are the very best!
They are very consistently low CR, but have very interesting little abilities to challenge a low level party. A couple of mites, one or two giant centipedes for them to ride, and a boss who has a level or two of a PC class.
if i have a group of 3 1st lvl charactes their apl is 0, therefore i need cr 0 encounters. any suggestions?
APL is Average Party Level.. if you have 3 1st-level characters, then their APL is 1 (3x1 =3; 3/3 =1). Are you thinking that because the PCs' CR is 1/2 that you round down? Their average CR is not their APL. CR is a measure of how much threat something would be as an enemy, not their power/ability as a PC.
In any event, you will not find a "CR 0" enemy, as the CRs become fractions when below 1... for creatures with a CR of 1/3, that means it requires 3 of them to make a CR 1 encounter.
A non-lethal contest with NPCs
A drinking contest in a bar.
Arm wrestling contest!
Arm wrestling contest with a gray ooze!
CR Zero? Um... a house plant?
A stiff breeze?
And technically the OP is correct, though his calculation is wrong: the APL of a 3 character party is APL-1, so I can understand him thinking that 1 - 1 = 0, when us experienced players know that it's actually 1/2.
Dear OP, you're actually asking for CR 1/2 encounters.
Wood! A very small rock! A duck!
Sorry about that. This thread reminded me of the witch scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail , for some reason. But yes, I believe Chemlak is correct: You're looking for a CR 1/2. Chwck out the Bestiary's "creatures by CR" section in the back. Things that are close to CR 1/2, off the top of my head: goblin, kobold, rat (more than one), first level NPC.
One of the PC's girlfriends' angry commoner father, complete with a scattergun he's not proficient in.
Ven Vindor?
Rather than just looking for a CR 0 (or 1/2, or whatever) encounter, try looking for 2/3 of a CR1 encounter, on the basis that APL is based on a party of 4 or 5 characters. This is generally a good rule for small (or better) large parties which otherwise end up mismatched with opponents of the expected CR.
For more actionable advice, we'd need to know what sort of encounter you're after, eg:
Town: a couple of Com1 muggers with clubs. A big angry dog (= riding dog). A runaway horse with cart. 2 giant rats. A mite riding a giant rat. A Warrior 1 with some reasonable gear. A short chase across the rooftops with a couple of DC 15 rolls (an old classic but a goodie).
On the road: a gnoll (supposedly CR1, but they're not). The above big dog. 2 normal dogs. Broken bridge over a river.
Wilderness: Viper. Giant centipede. Starving wolf or hyena. River. Crevasse. Cliff. Landslide.
Dungeon: 2 fire beetles. 3 kobolds (but kobolds can get pretty dangerous if played well). 2 skeletons. A zombie with armour. A simple pit or arrow trap.
Otherwise it's easy enough to scale encounters up or down with equipment (especially armour or missile weapons), circumstances (defensive fortifications, asleep), hit points, poor morale, hints beforehand or whatever.
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if i have a group of 3 1st lvl charactes their apl is 0, therefore i need cr 0 encounters. any suggestions?
A monk, a witch, and a Rabbi walk into a bar...
3 level 1 PCs = APL 2/3; you need 1/2 encounters:
3 mites,
1 Goblin warrior 2
2 Fire Beetles
A tiefling adept 1 and a trained attack weasel
Allow me, if you're open to it, to suggest a challenging 5 room dungeon:
Bloodwillow Hollow:
Room 1/Entry: CR 1/2
Descending into the hollow beneath the ancient willow, the earthen chamber stinks of mildew and rot. In the corner something glows, dark and foreboding.
Monsters: x2 fire beetles root through the mud
Hazard: a handful of squares in this chamber are thick with slick mud or tangled roots; these areas are difficult terrain for the PCs (the beetles can fly)
Treasure: 2 casks are submerged in the mud next to a decomposing dwarf. One is cracked open and stinks of fouled brandy. A DC 15 Perception check to search through the muck not only frees the second cask (fine brandy) but also uncovers the dwarf's ornate hand axe; while not a masterwork it is crafted from cold iron with a fine garnet in the butt of the handle (50 GP worth)
Room 2/The Brute: CR 2
Ahead is a narrow bridge over a darkened pit. The air here is cool and howls randomly from below. A bugbear, making no attempt to hide its considerable bulk, sits beside the span on a flowstone "throne". As you approach he hurls down a massive drinking horn and calls out in an intimidating voice "I'm dry, pigs! What say I pop out an eyeball and slake my thirst on yer then WHAT?"
Monster: x1 bugbear
Hazard: a vast pit (treat as CR 1 pit trap) yawns in the center of this cave. The guardian, if provoked, may use the thing to his advantage.
Development: bribing the bugbear with a drink of the brandy from room 1 immediately makes his attitude Indifferent; giving him the whole keg gains the PCs access to cross the bridge. If the PCs cross the bridge w/out violence award them the experience for a CR 2 challenge.
Room 3/Collapsed Heart: CR 1
Winding through the narrow caverns you run deeper down, beneath Old Bloodwillow. Suddenly the path emerges into a a vast, root-lined chamber of stone. This place was once obviously a vault but has long-since collapsed. Several small-sized tunnels lead through the detritus, though these are obscured by spiders' webs; in the corner a massive statue's head lays at the center of the heap, its toothy maw hollowed out to provide an open pathway.
Trap: within the statue's mouth, halfway down the tunnel, is a great gem embedded in the wall (fake). Tampering with this in any way causes it to shatter releasing gallons of water that wash the party into the lower half of the next chamber (Bull Rush +10 vs a 10' burst from the site of the gem.)
Development: the webbed-over tunnels ascend to the upper portion of the next chamber, however the party will need to proceed with caution so as not to disturb the giant spider waiting ahead.
Room 4/the Spider's Arena: CR 2/3
This vast cavern is split into 2 levels; the lower section of the area is an open bowl with scattered stalacmites, pools of dripping water and uneven ground. Overhanging this arena is a gallery of flowstone. The whole of this chamber is ringed in spider's webs.
Monsters: 1 giant spider, 1 mite; the mite is riding the spider and the duo begin up in the gallery
Development: the enemy will remain above as long as they can, using cover and concealment to their best advantage. Should the party find a way to ascend (the mite does so by riding the spider) the spider engages in melee while the mite hides behind it using cover.
Room 5/treasure of the spider-rider/CR 1/2
Behind the far side of the gallery a sudden glint catches your eye. Behind a curtain of webs is a hidden chamber of limestone and clay. A damp breeze flows though the willow's roots; a secret way to the surface! Though it's a difficult climb through the hanging roots, the exit lies just above you. This revelation is made all the better by the fact that, just below the shaft out lies a small coffer filled with coins and pouches!
Treasure: in the chest are mixed coins, mostly copper and silver, amounting to 300 GP. As well the party finds 6 masterwork crossbow bolts, a fine wooden statue of a hippogriff inlaid with silver (100 GP) and a potion of healing.
Monster: hiding in a niche near the exit is another giant spider. It waits for the last of the PCs to pass then leaps out into the roots and attacks. (Perception DC 17 to detect it as they pass).
What party has a APL of 0?
A monk.
I'd suggest a foam rubber golem.. not sure about it's stats but it sounds like good fun.