As the title mentions above, I'm looking for help and tips on self play testing various character builds. I ask because most of my pathfinder friends will be busy for quite a while and I'd like to test out the possible effectiveness of any particular character PC I come up with (plus I'm looking to help playtest new pathfinder materials).
So I guess this has a few questions built in to it. How does CR work with only 1 or 2 PCs? Am I right in recalling that it's basically half your total levels as CR (so 2 level 1s = a total CR of 1)?
What are the best levels to truly test out characters? I've never gone past lv. 7 in our games as they tend to stop before then, but I'm willing to go higher for experience sake. I'm currently thinking something like 1, 5, 7, 10, 15, 18 and 20? Or is that too much?
How many environments and different enemies should I put them through per level? For instance: swamp and large gator, then ruins ghast, then mountains and flying thingy at lv. 5th?
How would you go about thoroughly and fairly playtesting on your own?
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Yeah, you're right that 1 or 2 PCs are about half their CR.
Try your builds out at about 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels. This provides a good gauge for your ideas without overwhelming yourself with the few changes a character undergoes between, say, 5th and 7th.
The different encounters should be straight-up toe-to-toe melee with a combat brute (ogres, hill giants), underwater with a swimming creature (gator, shark, octopus), against a flying creature (bird of prey, dragon), and a creature that cannot be reached easily (behind a barrier, across a chasm or lava flow). Variations could be ranged attackers (manticore), spellcasters (wizard atop a pillar, merfolk sorcerer), and special attacks (a harpy for the flying creature).
Don't bother rolling dice. Assume all the die rolls are average (10 on d20, etc.) so your tests aren't tainted with large numbers of bad or good rolls. Attack rolls, damage, and saves would show the character's survivability in each scenario.
This should give a good idea of how a given build will perform in various situations. Just remember, no character is going to be good in every situation.
Sounds like a plan. I'll do the averaging as you suggest, but it will feel so... alien. :D
Thanks.