I am in the formative stages of a Drow campaign, and I am stuck on a few points. My plan is to take players from level 1 to 2 pretty quickly, but from that point, levels will come at a fairly slow pace. I plan to cap out at 6 unless the campaign continues for a long period afterwards, though any further levels will come extremely slowly, and almost certainly nothing higher than 8.
Part of my problem, is that I do not plan to have the city scale to the players' level. I am going to set the levels of the vast majority of 'nameless' NPC's and only make adjustments for specific NPC's for story purposes. While there will be some overriding storyline elements, a big part of what I'd like is to have a sandbox city where the PC's can try carve out a power base, and change the political and social landscape of the city. That being the case, I want to avoid changing the power levels around them.
Question #1: What is an appropriate CR for most noble house soldiers? (Soldiers, in this case means any NPC of any class that is not in a position of power, or is not unique for story purposes.) Keep in mind that I don't want the players to be absolutely paralyzed at levels 1 and 2, but I also don't want them to absolutely dominate the field at levels 5 and 6.
Question #2: How high is too high for the most powerful NPC's in the city? Should a Matron Mother be almost unassailable, even as a solo encounter (CR 12+)? Or just extremely difficult (CR 10-ish)? Should there ever be an NPC that the players have no hope of defeating?
Question #3: Is there a good way of establishing the relative power levels of NPC's, and communicating that to the players without just outright saying, "You can handle this," or "This is beyond you."
Question #4: How would the PC's discern power levels? Would a combination of Diplomacy (gather information), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Perception, and Sense Motive checks work? Should it be a combination of checks (and how would that work?) or "one and done - and you get a power level estimate".
1.) I'd use level 1 warriors for the rank-and-file. Officers, as well as veteran or elite troops, would have levels in fighter/ranger (probably 3rd-5th), whilst house weapon-masters/generals would likely be sitting around 7th. Oh, and don't forget the lizard mounts or the humanoid/goblinoid slaves (bugbears especially).
2.) Depends on your group. Some groups won't mind the idea that they are powerless in the face of certain threats, but others will resent it. Then again, if this is a drow campaign, duplicity/danger should be expected.
That said, I wouldn't put them up against overwhelming opponents (ECL 3+) too often, at least not without beneficial circumstances. At the very least, allow them an opportunity to level the playing field some (laying ambushes, paying off the enemy's guards, etc.).
3. and 4.) Aside from descriptive language, you could allow the players to make some sort of Sense Motive check to determine an enemy's relative martial skill (think in terms of how feinting works; it's kind of a maneuver, but not really; an enemy could use Bluff to conceal his skills, but they're likely be evident the moment that battle begins).
I once houseruled a "Knowledge (tactics)" that included mechanics for doing just this. Depending on the enemy's BAB, the player would receive a different response, upon rolling an adequate check (DC = 15 or the opposed Bluff check of the enemy): 0 BAB was "non-combatant", 1-5 BAB was "novice", 6-10 BAB was "adept", 11-15 BAB was "expert", 16+ BAB was "master".
Gather Information and Knowledge (history/local/nobility) should also give the players some insight into the relative power level of whatever threat they're facing (when applicable).
Thanks, Detect Magic. But, the warrior 1 grunt is almost exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I don't want the PC's to be elites in a city of commoners. What I want is for them to be Drow in a city of Drow. I don't want them to ever walk into a room and know they could dominate the field.
A character with a PC Class at level 1 is already slightly more powerful than an NPC with an NPC Class at level 1. There will certainly be commoners and slaves at CR's ranging from 1/3 - 2. But, for the noble houses (which are going to be a major part of the setting), I was thinking NPC's at level 3 or 4. My concern is that 3 is too low for the late game, and 4 is way too high for the early game.
Maybe Commoner 1/PC Class 3? and Aristocrat 1/PC Class X for nobles? That might give the players a slight leg up on the field without totally unbalancing it. Though, it would significantly nerf NPC spellcasters.
Warrior 3 = CR 1. If that sounds more appropriate, then use that, but keep in mind that these soldiers fight in large numbers.
Ever seen Troy? They had thousands of warriors, but out of those, only a few were "heroes" Those heroes were amzing, near super human, when compared to the rank and file warriors. Anyone with Knowledge [local], [nobility], and the like should be able to identify these heroes (from both sides; everyone knew who Achilles was, even those who fought for Troy, and never saw the man before).
I would use that idea- and now that I've seen Detect Magic's plan, I add that (adjust the subject's threat level when NPC classes vs. heroic classes). For example, the characters spot three warriors coming toward them. One is James of House Bob, a 3rd level warrior, and is called a novice. The second is Alexandra, also of House Bob, and is an 8th level ranger. She's a hero of the house, and floats somewhere between "adept" and "expert". The last is Markis, sword bearer for house Sam. He's a solid 'expert' as far as skill goes, but a quick knowledge check says he has access to above the norm equipment, and should be considered a master.
For spell casters, I would use the same system, based on caster level. For gish characters, adding caster level plus BAB might work. Just eyeballing it says you should add the highest of the BAB or caster level, and 1/2 the other. Clerics and druids would read very dangerous on this scale, but I'm not seeing that as inaccurate.
For low level guards...when a 6th hero encounters house guards, those guards will likely fight them one-on-one. One guard is a threat to a PC at level 1. Three guards for level two. Half a dozen at 3rd. By the time they hit 6th level, the heroes are fighting dozens of house guards as they desperate try to delay the PC until the heroes of the house show up (who are much more of a threat than a house guard).