I am currently running Kingmaker AP and my players are starting to out level the campaign. I don't have much fun when players start steam-rolling the encounters so I am trying to find a way to make sure that the players don't continue to out level the game.
The first way I have done this is to add more monsters. 6 trolls are scarier than 5 trolls and increase the CR by 1.
The second way is to add the advanced template to bosses. This increases their CR by 1.
I am anxious about this because I am afraid that I will either advance a NPC too much, or I won't advance them properly. The problem that I am having is that this creates a vicious cycle... more CR = more XP. What do I do to end this cycle or make sure that my players don't out level the game in general?
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well the simple answer to this one is actually do away with the xp system more or less. you as the GM level the party when you feel is good. if the party purposfully goes looking for random encounters to level, have them fight a couple and level. but dont feel like you are locked into the rules cuz your not. i personally buff the crap outa monsters to make fights tougher but still only give base xp, keeps fights tough but party at appropriat level for where they should be.
Try to use monsters with tactics.
Target the caster(s), prepare advantageous terrain, don't let them sleep to regain class features, and try to give equipment to monsters, they have treasure and it's hard to explain that the entire loot is made of coins. Remember, great part of a monster loot comes from dead adventurers, and they don't walk naked in a dungeon. Probably.
Thanks, psychic rat. That seems like a really good idea. What about benchmarks if you are going to do away with XP entirely? Make the PCs level up right after the boss fight or something like that.
most AP's from paizo will have at the start of them a guide which will give you a rough idea of when to have them be what level. because king maker is alot more free roam you may have to make personal judgements on that but it should set you on a rough track at least
Elmustacho, my favorite tactic is to make them burn all their resources on trash mobs and not give them a chance to rest before the boss. I feel like a lot of encounters are meant to be "one day encounters" and so if my players retreat I find a way to make them stay a "one day encounter".
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This is why we don't use XP.
Not all increases to CR are equal. If your players are steamrolling things, you are better to add more enemies over adding templates. Enemies added are more challenging if they complement the existing monsters. So if your npc enemy group is missing ranged, casters or healers, then try adding in that order.
Take a look at Alexander Augunas' GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters, and associated thread. He provides a well thought out way to set encounter budgets.
Since you're playing Kingmaker, be aware that one of the common issues with it is that players can nova many of the encounters with little drawback. Of course the flip side to this is that there are some of the random encounters which can be a TPK at lower level if the players don't recognize that discretion is the better part of valor. The general theme I've gathered from some of the KM discussions is that to prevent nova play you've got to add enough random encounters during adventuring days to keep players on their toes & make them concerned about conserving resources.
I'd also suggest reviewing the Kingmaker Adventure Path message boards for AP specific ideas.
How did they get overleveled in the first place? I would imagine that there's not a lot of extra exp just laying around.
They got a series of difficult random encounters.
My 2cp:
- use adjusted encounters with normal xp
- "adjust" means usually more numbers, not added HD; the single BBEG is a dead duck, several medium threats are far better; the more melee a mob is, the easier it dies
(changing 5 trolls to 6 does not do much, as they are simple melee threats; adding two troll shamans (with hexes and dispel) to the 5 melee types will probably do the trick; since it's trolls, I would probably give them bloodrager, barbarian or ranger abilities, too)
- don't toss too many random encounters their way, it stimulates the inflation
- check the xp on what your players meet beforehand, so it won't happen again; if the current level isn't much above the suggested one, the one jump should not matter for long
My players enjoy to get regular xp, so doing away with them is out. If yours are different, the idea to play without them is a possibility.