I've got three problems (sort of) that I'd like to alleviate.
I am GMing a group that is running through one of the APs. I have 5 players:
Halfling Rogue6 dual wielding daggers
Half-Elf Ranger6 Archery
Dwarf Cleric6 (Crusader) the others forget he isn't a fighter
Human Barbarian6 Nodachi and combat reflexes
Gnome Sorcerer6 blaster/evoker
They all rolled stats, which I prefer, and ended up with about 25 point buy. I know that they are a lot stronger than the AP expects, as well as having more players, but I can handle that.
So far though, they have been able to overly depend on their starting stats. Their hp, saving throws, damage, etc are all a little higher, and up until 5th level, and extra +1 or +2 can make a huge difference. Because they have been able to depend on their stats, they haven't been paying much attention to loot. They are almost to 7th level, and most of them have about 6k or 7k in gear, except the dwarf who has been "in charge" of loot distribution.
I let my players handle how loot is distributed, though I have tried to bring up the disparity once. The group was not too concerned.
I'd like to get some additional gear in their hands, and I'd like to pick items that they need or can use. Many of the players are new to Pathfinder and so they don't quite know what sort of items even exist. My goal is to provide the group with these items:
belt of giant strength +2
small mithril armor
lesser bracers of archery efficient quiver belt of dexterity +2
I've also given the NPCs some items that they should have to do their job anyway.
The second sort of issue, is that of challenge. Due to their stats, many early parts of the AP have been fairly easy. But I haven't been able to add too much, due to xp and leveling too quickly. We have dropped down to the medium xp track, and so I think I can start adding more to each combat. Many of the combats have also been single threat, so the players are able to stack up against one foe. I'd like to use an outdoor encounter with a lot of terrain and multiple enemies of varying strengths and abilities to challenge them with.
So, early in the adventure, they sacked a temple to Lamashtu. I'd like a cult that worships Lamashtu to hunt down and ambush the PCs. I decided that the cult is led by Tzeena, a 6th level tiefling cleric that was born to pair of halfling nomads. The red skin and horns sort of scared them, and Tzeena was abandoned. She has been raised by a priestess of Lamashtu. The mentor recently passed away, and now Tzeena is trying to prove that she can lead a cult.
Spoiler:
Lamashtu Cult Leader XP 1,600
Female Tiefling (oni) cleric 6
CE Small outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft; Perception +4
Defense
AC 24, touch 18, flat-footed 20 (+5 armor, +1 shield, +3 Dex, +3 Deflection, +1 Dodge, +1 size)
hp 54 (6d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +8
Offense
Speed 20 ft.
Melee masterwork morningstar +10 (1d6+4)
Ranged light crossbow +8 (1d6/19–20)
Special Attacks channel negative energy 3/day (DC 13, 3d6)
Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +10; +14 when casting defensively)
7/day—Vision of Madness (+3 attack rolls, skill checks, or saving throws, -3 other two)
7/day – Copycat (single mirror image for 6 rounds)
Aura of Madness – 6 rounds per day 30 ft aura Confusion DC 17
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 6th; concentration +10; +14 when casting defensively)
3rd—bestow curse (DC 17), cure serious wounds, prayer, rage*
2nd—bull's strength, hold person (DC 16), silence (DC 16), spiritual weapon, touch of idiocy* (DC 16)
1st—bane (DC 15), disguise self*, entropic shield, obscuring mist, shield of faith
0 (at will)—guidance, resistance, virtue
* Domain spell; Domains Madness, Trickery
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 11
Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 20
Feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Dodge
Skills Knowledge (religion) +5, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +16
Languages Common, Abyssal
SQ aura
Combat Gear: potion of magic weapon, potion of cure moderate wounds (2)
Other Gear: masterwork morningstar, +1 mithril chain shirt, belt of dexterity +2, silver holy symbol, 57 gp
Tzeena met Draxel, another tiefling born to halfling parents. The two have become lovers and sort of act as matriarch and patriarch to the cult, for now. Draxel's most notable features are the fine fur covering most of his body and his oddly jointed hands.
Spoiler:
Manipulative Tyrant XP 1,600
Male tiefling (Rakshasa) sorcerer 6
CE Small outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses darkvision; Perception -1
Defense
AC 20, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +1 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
hp 42 (6d6+6)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +5
Resist Cold 5, Electricity 5, Fire 5
Offense
Speed 20 ft.
Melee dagger +3 (1d3–1/19-20)
Ranged dagger +7 (1d3–1/19-20)
Bloodline Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +11)
9/day—Silver Tongue; +5 Bluff to tell one lie, cannot be made to tell the truth
1/day – Mind Reader; Detect thoughts as standard action as if 3 rounds
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 6th; concentration +11)
3rd (4/day)—Ray of Exhaustion (ranged touch +7)
2nd (7/day)—flaming sphere (DC 18), Hideous Laughter (DC 20), Invisibility
1st (8/day)—Charm Person (DC 19), Expeditious Retreat, Grease (DC 17), Mage Armor, Sleep (DC 19)
0 (at will)—acid splash, dancing lights, detect magic, light, mage hand, ray of frost, read magic
Bloodline Rakshasa
Tactics
Draxel has cast Mage Armor before combat
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 20
Base Atk +3; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Dodge, Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative, Spell Focus (enchantment)
Skills Bluff +16, Disguise +14, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +15
Languages Abyssal, Common, Halfling
SQ bloodline arcana (+3 to the spellcraft DC to identify spells being cast), Fiendish sorcerery
Combat Gear: necklace of Fireballs II
Other Gear: dagger, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +1; 375 gp
The third major member of the cult is a half-orc slayer by the name of Yugnark. Yugnark was raised by two relatively human looking half-orcs. His overly orcish appearance crushed any hope they had of assimilating into human culture. Therefore they banished him at an early age.
Spoiler:
Assassin of Lamashtu XP 1,200
Male Half-Orc Slayer 5
CE Medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft; Perception +9
Defense
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 65 (5d10+15)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Offense
Speed 20 ft.
Melee+1 battleaxe +10 (1d8+5/x3) and masterwork handaxe +9 (1d6+2/x3)
Ranged throwing axe +6 (1d6+5)
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6 plus bleed, favored target (+2 2 targets)
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +10; CMD 21
Feats Dazzling Display, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Tow-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
Skills Climb +13, Intimidate +14, Perception +9, Survival +9
Languages Common, Orc
SQ slayer talent (bleeding attack, ranger archery training), track
Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds
Other Gear +1 battleaxe, masterwork handaxe, masterwork chainmail, belt of giant strength +2, 15 gp
Finally, the group struggled to find the party, so they hired a morally depraved tracker/poacher by the name of Tik. Tik loves money and his horse, in that order. He is willing to do just about anything for coin. He prefers to stay as far away from combat as he can though.
Spoiler:
Mounted Archer XP 1,200
Male Human hunter 5
NE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses low-light vision, Perception +10
Defense
AC 22, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +6 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 50 (5d8+10)
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +3
Resist fire 5
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee masterwork falchion +4 (2d4+1/18–20)
Ranged +1 composite longbow +9 (1d8+2/×3) or +1 composite longbow +7/+7 (1d8+2/×3)
Hunter Spells Prepared (CL 5; concentration +7)
2nd – barksking, cat's grace, resist energy
1st—cure light wounds, faerie fire, magic fang, obscuring mist, speak with animals
0th (at will) – detect magic, flare (DC 12), resistance, stabilize
Statistics
Str 12, Dex 22, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 20
Feats Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Stealth Synergy
Skills Handle Animal +7, Perception +10, Ride +15, Stealth +17, Survival +10
Languages Common
SQ animal companion, animal focus (owl), nature training, wild empathy (+4), precise companion, track, hunter tactics, woodland stride
Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds
Other Gear +1 composite longbow, lesser bracers of archery, eyes of the owl, efficient quiver, masterwork chain shirt, 45 arrows, 67 gp
Charger the horse animal companion
Spoiler:
Charger
Horse animal companion
N Large animal
Init +2, Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
Defense
AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +6 natural, -1 size)
hp 55 (5d8+15)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +2
Offense
Speed 50 ft
Melee bite +7 (1d4+5) and 2 hooves +7 (1d6+5)
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +3, CMB +9, CMD 21
Feats: Armor Proficiency (light), Power Attack, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +6, Stealth +8
SQ: animal focus (owl), evasion, link, share spells, woodland stride
Tricks: Attack come defend down guard heel, stealth, seek, stay
Gear: chain barding, masterwork military saddle, saddlebags
The group will be leading a cult of almost 20. The other 20 will be a mix of humans, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings, though the race classes though. I'm thinking I will use the skulking brute, poacher, and war priest from the npc codex.
This encounter will be the only encounter for the day, so the characters will have all of the hp, abilities, and spells. I'd like it to be a little challenging, both in tactics and individually. Have I gone over the top?
My idea is to have a couple of the low level NPCs, scouring the town for the party. When one of them finds the party, they try to surreptitiously observe them, primarily trying to figure out when they will leave town. When the party leaves town, whichever NPC was tailing them has a horse waiting at the town gate, and will attempt to ride ahead and alert the ambush. This does present an opportunity for the PCs to get a heads up, but they won't know where the ambush is taking place. Even the tail can't describe the ambush site, since he has been in town trailing the PCs while it is set up.
I'll have the rogues and those with a higher stealth check set up behind some trees. About 100 feet beyond them are the less sneaky types. The sneaky ones will try to wait until the party is mostly passed them, before beginning to fire arrows into them. The group still ahead of the party will use that as the signal to charge.
Is this just waiting for a TPK? Give me your advice. I don't really have a map drawn out yet, so I need to figure out the exact arrangement of the ambush.
You've got 4 NPC's (with PC levels) as well as 20 trash-monsters, in a prepared ambush. All this against 5 PC's, allthough PC's with good stats.
If it gets pulled off, the bad guys would be buffed, and the PC's wouldn't. With the numbers against them, and being in a tacticly bad situation, my money would be on a TPK.
I would split the henchmen out in smaller groups, and either have several small ambushes leading up to the fight against the main antagonists, or have one large battle, but where the opponents arrived in small groups. The last one could be justified by having the PC's catch the messenger, and the rest of the bad guys moving up to aid him. They would arrive in small groups because of differences in speed and positioning.
The advantage of several smaller encounters would be to challenge the cleric and sorcerer to conserve their spells.
Yeah. I could see the half orc leading a premature strike before the rest of the ambush is ready. That way you are less likely to get a tpk. TPK is pretty likely, especially if you have the trash mobs use ranged weapons.
I would just use NPC Warriors/Adepts for the regular cultists instead of the once from the NPC codex. 20 shots of ambush focus fire with crossbows will mean death for at least one pc, especially if your cleric buffs the entire group with a prayer first.
If your looking for a brutal ambush, I think this a bit much. Just the leveled characters are going to be tough, 25 points or not. With 20 2nd level classed characters as backup, this easily a TPK.
If you want the mob effect, but not the TPK, you should really consider using non PC classes for the cultists. With the aid another action they will still present a powerful threat as a group, but individually they can be dealt with by party members.
Excellent ways to use a mob like this is a living shield for casters, flanking support for martials and thieves, and lots of Aid another for attacks and defensive support to classed baddies.
Your PCs will tear through them like paper, but in the time they are dealing with the fodder, your real threats will put the hurt on them!
As for the setup, an easy way if for you to lump your baddies into groups and have them take 20 on stealth. Having your big hitters 1 or 2 rounds out just gives the pcs time to reap a body count with out real damage to themselves.
Does the sorc have a familiar or the ranger an animal companion? You could have that notice something isn't right just prior to the ambush.
Have the ambush take place on a windy day right before a storm. Missile fire could have a -2 or -4 circumstance modifier. The bad guys try shooting for a couple rounds until they realize that it isn't working then 1/2 of them close while the other half keep plinking with crossbows and cutting off escape.
It would also be reasonable to have a few things that over confident enemies might do.
When the ambush is sprung 1/4 of the force on each wing move to surround the PC's and cut off escape. Since they are rushing to surround, they won't be shooting for 1 or 2 rounds.
The guys shooting are ordered to take out the horses first so they prey can't get away.
Don't worry about exp and just level them when you feel it's right. APs handily have benchmarks for what levels the party should be at certain parts in the books. That's what I go by when running them.
I guess I thought it was a bit much, but I've been shooting it too easy so far, so I'm going for more than I think they can handle. If that makes sense.
I did forget to through in that the barbarian went superstitious and invulnerable, so DR 3/- helps a lot on ignoring minor minion fire.
I'm afraid that 1st level adept/warriors will not challenge AC ~20 PCs. Though they will be intelligent and I can use aid another this time.
The ranger does have a badger, as well as the party having mounts. The downside is that the barbarian's light horse, and the rogue's riding dog are the only mounts that may get involved.
I don't want to limit ranged too much, the archer depends on it as well. It may show him how much better he is, that he can continue shooting in the storm, or it could discourage him.
If I have 6 warriors set up on each side of the road. When the PCs pass, 3 from each side move to block the road, while the other 3 open fire with crossbows. The slayer is with this group and charges as soon as the others open fire. Six adepts are 100 feet or so beyond this, around a bend and over a rise and begin advancing. They will be one round out of charge range. Round 3, the cleric and sorcerer arrive behind the adepts and begin throwing spells. Finally, round 4 the hunter begins circling the group, firing arrows at the PCs Drop all the trash to 2nd level warriors or adepts, keeps some BAB and spell options, without overwhelming the PCs.
The other thing that could happen, is that the PCs are all mounted and, other than the archer, non of the ambushers are. The PCs could attempt to run at some point.
Finally, both my players and I like xp. It gives my players an incremental satisfaction and allows them to see continual growth and achievement. I also use RP type rewards of xp.
As an aside, would anybody be willing to look at the NPCs I wrote up and see if they are correct?
