My group is about to enter the Sawmill in Magnimar at midnight on an oathday.
I noticed in the book that it is suggested that the players are level 7 soon after reaching Magnimar. I had forgot that.
However, my players (group of 5 players) are still level 6 (two of them near 7) with one of them level 5.
Do you think that I need to adjust their level before they enter the sawmill or if they gonna be ok as a group of 5 players ?
Magus 5/Fighter 1
Sorceress 6
Cleric of Saranrae 6
Inquisitor of Abadar 6
Sorcerer 3/Fighter 2
What you guys think ?
Hit them with an encounter so the level 5 chap is now level 6. Or you could give them an XP "reward" that is subtracted from future XPs - they earn less in the Sawmill, but have enough XPs for everyone to be level 6.
Mind you, most of the foes will be fairly easy to deal with. Ironbriar is the problem and my group did a number on him even with several allies (admittedly my group was level 7 at this point and I'd increased Ironbriar and his flunkies to be higher level (and a different mix of classes and races). You could always run it as a trial run to see how they do.
I also would give them an encounter to increase your guy to level 6.
Personally I feel like if you run the encounter as written they should be fine. Most of your party looks like they have good will saves, so they should do well against the power of his mask and hold person.
I also changed the fight a bit. Altered the cultists a bit, and made Ironbriar in Inquisitor. I had a 5 man group at level 6-7, but I often have to increase CRs to give them a challenge.
I would recommend maybe giving them bones XP after that fight, or planning another fight, as you will probably want them at the proper level to fight Xensha, otherwise that could go poorly.
If your party has half-decent tactics (i.e., they're not going to alert the entire sawmill by walking in and making a ruckus), then I don't see the level issue as a problem. As Mark_Twain007 said, if they're not 7th level by the time they face Xanesha, she'll wipe the walls with them. Until then, not a big problem.
My party of 4 barely noticed the sawmill encounter because:
(a) They used good tactics and ensured each floor was a separate encounter using well-timed Stealth rolls and Silence spells,
(b) I didn't have to adjust the encounter because I had only 4 PCs.
If your party is a, "We kick in the door and attack whatever's there," type, they're going to have issues with the sawmill, but it's better that they learn that lesson now before they go on to Book 3 or Book 4, where such an attitude is a recipe for a guaranteed TPK.
The sawmill itself shouldn't be a problem at all at that level but the way it plays out, they are very likely to rush off to fight Xanesha the second they're done. You really want to avoid them being under-leveled there.
Or let them walk in on Xanesha under-prepared and let them learn a lesson in rushing into things without a plan. My players' favorite thing to do is kick in the door and smash stuff; they're going to have some hard lessons ahead of them. I'm expecting a TPK against X for this reason, and if not, at least one PC death.
Books 3 and 4 are all about teaching PCs that, "I kick in the front door and attack everyone who responds," is a TPK tactic.
Good luck!
Books 3 and 4 are all about teaching PCs that, "I kick in the front door and attack everyone who responds," is a TPK tactic.
Good luck!
The Graul homestead comes to mind. I can't wait. :D
Oh, my 100% absolute favorite (though I suspect he wasn't as amused by it) was the GM who posted on these threads:
On arriving at Jorgenfist and seeing the sea of giants before them, the party declared that they couldn't possibly win the fight, the AP author was an idiot for thinking they could...
...and they QUIT THE AP OVER IT!!! They couldn't think of a possible solution other than, "Go in, guns blazing, blood-or-glory!"
Amazing...
Unfortunately, I never saw a follow-up, so I have no idea whether that GM's players ever came to their senses.