First off, sorry if this is the wrong section to put this in. Wasn't sure if this goes in General or in Products.
I'm planning on picking up Emerald Spire this week, from what I've read about it, it seems pretty groovy. However, I've got a minor problem.... I've only got 2 players these days, neither of which are really capable of running multiple characters.
I could always decrease the number of the monsters and traps, I know. However, my little group likes things a little brutal (real threat of character death, none of this cushy 'waltz through a moonlit dungeon with champagne and gore' we used to deal with), and have stated they'd be rather upset with me if I didn't run it as is.
So... I've decided to let them gestalt, to shore up any holes in typical party make up (healing/trapfinding/melee being typical lost holes). That's all well and good, particularly since I may put them on the fast-track for experience, and/or just not divide the experience between the party (not dividing has been an excellent way for them to deal with having only 2 characters in my games). Fortunately, one's already going to be taking Leadership for the cohort (she doesn't want to track all the followers), so that might help.
Only thing I worry about is action economy. I make extensive use of hordes, so I'm all too aware of how bad, say, 10 enemy actions to 2 party actions is.
So what I'm basically asking, is can 2 gestalt characters handle a basic run through of Emerald Spire? Or am I going to have to make them upset and trim the super dungeon a little?
I can easily imagine it'll get relatively easier the higher level they get (better summons, eventual cohort [played by me], excessive WBL/treasure), if they can manage to maneuver through the painful lower levels.
Side quetions: I saw on the Archives of Nethys, under the source page for Emerald Spire, a MR 8 monster. I've read over Mythic rules, but have yet to actually use them. How important are they to the deeper floors of Emerald Spire?
I can answer the MR question - The Mythic creature is included for worldbuilding purposes, but is not actually included in the dungeon proper. Only in the bestiary in the back.
Good to know. As much as I want to introduce mythic, I'm waiting for my second player (who's kind of new to the game) to get more used to the system. Thanks Iammars ^_^