an encounter where each party member fights alone - need some advice

[Mansyno]

hi,
i very recently started GMing and its kinda of a home-brew adventure.
i thought of one encounter where by reasons of circumstances there are several monsters/npcs in the room but since each one is standing on a platform where only two can stand(to much weight will drop everyone in the chute underneath) the party member have to decide which monster each of them face. how would i go about choosing enemies and CR in such circumstance?
each of the party is currently lvl 3 , but it doesn't really matter. it can happen at any lvl.
basically my Q is how should i match each party member with a matching (not too hard - i want them to pass lol) CR.
somehow using the regular method (AVL vs enemy CR) doesn't seem appropriate (its been designed as i learned for a "normal" 4 ppl party)

i'm looking for a general advice: (E.G.) what CR to choose
and some more specific advice: (E.G.) which should i match with my Bard PC and which with my half-elf barbarian, elf ranger, half-orc fighter, halfling rouge or my human cleric

thanks for any input
PS
BTW, GMing ROCKS lol:)

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

I say let the party members pick. That way, win or lose, it's their win or loss.

[nicholas storm]

If the platform is small, it's going to highly favor melee pcs. Spellcasters will have to cast defensively. Ranged attackers will trigger attacks of opportunity. So you might want to make it harder for melee and easier for casters/ranged.

[Alderic]

What's going to stop your players from engaging the enemies from range one by one without even stepping on the platforms ?

But if you can get them there, let them choose their target, and give them some hints as to what would be best for each pc

[Mansyno]

thank you all for answering

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

I say let the party members pick. That way, win or lose, it's their win or loss.

of course they will pick who fights who, the question who to choose for enemies. their lv/hp/cr etc.

the idea is 4 enemies since i have 6 PCs so not everyone needs to fight

Alderic wrote:

What's going to stop your players from engaging the enemies from range one by one without even stepping on the platforms ?.

the platforms are surrounded by invisible walls so ranged weapons/spells wont work.

nicholas storm wrote:

If the platform is small, it's going to highly favor.......

the platforms are 15x15 feet so there is some room for moving. i can put a stone in the middle sqr on some platforms about half high.

i can also putt bridges interconnecting all the platforms so its possible to flee/chase in between
(there are many possibilities).

but the main Q is how to compose the enemies

[zza ni]

to avoid ranging out some1 else target id suggest doing the following:
have the room open into (party members number) paraler coradors. the moment anyone step into a corador the wall behind him close up. if two try to get in together the door at the end won't open (or wall for knock csaters\lockpickers) then metch them up. rangers migth actuly end up in opposite chasems, melee at a middile of a long narrow bridge or pathway etc.
a great rouge fight can be done in a smokey\foggy room

[zza ni]

as for combetants:
a abrbarian orc with power attack will chaalnge almost any mellee (remmber they fight even after negetive hit poitns).

a group of them gremlins with unluck aura (pumgwanqi? not sure how they are spelled) and small\tiny bows for the ranged fight.

a tiefling (for darkness spell and darkvision) for the rouge fight.

a drow wizard or witch for the caster fight.

for extra hardness have a cleric with selective chunneling in the dead center healing his friends - the party must get some1 to finish off his opponent fast enough to go deal with him or the rest might have a very hard fight...(cleric is under or above the ladder to the next part\exit)

[J4RH34D]

You could have them fight themselves, but dumber. So same physical stats but less tactical thinking. That way you know that in a 1 on 1 fight they have a good chance if they fight smart and figure out they are fighting themselves.

I second zza ni in his suggestion. You effectively make bank interlocks and each opens up into a room specifically designed for that fight. So it doesn't actually matter who steps into which corridor.

[Mansyno]

Hi all that answered and thanks,

all your inputs and ideas ware recorded and will definitely reference them in the future.
what i decided to do is based partially on your suggestions and some tweaks in my original idea.

the party enters a large room
in the center there is a pit 60x60 feet and 15 feet deep
(should i have said foot? never knew when to use which lol)
but it is divided by a 10 foot wall. a part of the glass in each side is framed with silvery metal, in one side there is no glass in the frame. a staircase leads from each frame down into the room and there is a door in the other side of each room.(they dont know it yet, but both doors lead to the same next room)
in the room that is currently closed they and two gold chalices full of coins on top.
the room that is open have the same looking altar but with two glass vials containing a bluish liquid on it.

on the floor about a foot from the glass and just between the framed glass doors there is a sqr made of stone that is a bit raised above the ground. inspecting it reveals that its some kind of pressure plate.
upon depressing it, the glass doors switch their status, now the room with the gold is open.

each time the plate is depressed again the doors switch position again.

the party have 3 options (im sure the guys will think of more lol)

go the gold route,
go the vials route
or split the party and go for both.

in each side there are different encounters. proebly somthing envolving magic for the side with the vials and something needing strength and power on the other
this time the party doesn't know in advance what are the enemies.

Mansyno

[Ectar]

A creature with a CR that is the same as a PC'S level is a VERY difficult fight. So difficult that the PC only wins half the time. If you cloned a member of the party (including items), the CR of the clone would be equal to the level of the original PC.

So for a quick answer, use a monster with a CR 2 lower than the PC'S level for a tough but winnable encounter.

For a less quick answer, take the level of the PC and find a CR greater than that by between 1 and 3, depending how tough you want the fight to be. Take the XP of that monster and divide it by 4 (since only 1 PC out of the aimed party of 4 will be fighting).
Find what CR that XP equals out comes close to. Pick a monster of that CR. I suggest using NPC with class levels when doing 1v1 fights. The numbers work out somewhat better.

[Mansyno]

Ectar wrote:

A creature with a CR that ....

WOW thanks, that totally fills the gap for me:)

Mansyno