Hello,
My friends wanted me to run them a pathfinder game over the weekend. It's just the three of us, as players in our area are a tad limited.
My question is what CR might I look to for a two-player party of level 20s. This is a gestalt adventure.
One player is a Bard/Summoner.
The other is Wizard/Alchemist.
With the facts in mind, that it must be two players (will include NPC allies), what sort of strong enemies might I throw at them, and what CR can I use as a guideline?
~Ngatha~
While not familiar with Gestalt rules or guidelines, I do know from playing, be careful playing to CR's. They can be misleading and end adventures prematurely. Use your judgment and make encounters challenging to your friends play style.
For instance, if they are hack and slash type players, may not want to throw anything at them that uses much tactics. If they like to play well thought out strategies and think-tank games, use encounters like that.
I personally, would not just use CR's as a base though. From what I have read on boards here though, 2 Gestalt PC's should be able to take on the same things of a regular group of 4 though, right? Dunno, sorry if this doesn't seem helpful. Just my .02 for the day. :) Good luck though!
Thanks for this point of reference. I'll keep that in mind, concerning the strategies of monsters. I probably won't put them up against something that requires HP to be whittled away quickly, as more players get more turns to do that.
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CR will definitely be iffy for this; it's pretty iffy at higher levels to begin with, and with a Gestalt 2-man party they're not going to be much help at all. Take a look at their abilities, save DCs, etc., and pick some foes that will make a good match.
That being said, here's three things that come to mind in order to make it interesting:
1. Spell Resistance - should make both of their lives a little harder.
2. Minions - having minions will be EXTREMELY important, particularly with a summoner. Any single enemy you can find will either die under a horde of buffed summoned creatures or wipe them out instantly. Pick some minions that will be able to stand up to the summoner's critters for a turn or two, and don't be afraid to bring some more into the fight when you feel like it. (See how they like it!)
3. A loooong adventuring day - These guys will both have a MOUNTAIN of spells and abilities to chuck at enemies they come across. I would highly recommend you pull some sort of gimmick - cursed item, timeless plane, pissed-off deity, whatever - to not let them rest and get their stuff back except once in a blue moon. This will make them actually consider whether they really need to use up that high-level spell or keep a performance going, instead of letting them go nova on everything they come across. (If they're really beat up you can drop them a bone - perhaps the blessing of a friendly demigod can give them half their resources back.)
Remember, a 20th level Wizard/Alchemist will be able to cast Time Stop and drink who-knows-what extracts before the enemies have even gone once, not to mention that his Overland Flight and Greater Mutagen/Cognatogen will last all day by default. Don't be afraid to throw some Dispel Magics at both of them; you probably won't be able to even get close to damaging them otherwise.
Gestalt characters are 1.5 stronger than a normal character, so two will equal three pc characters. Check if they min maxed, built character to do one thing really well such as a banisher wizard, necromancer, etc....