About to start running this for a group of (probably) 5 players.
Anyone have any advice for areas that they think I will need to pay specific attention to, either because they're too easy or too hard as written for 4 players?
I'll be running it for 5 players as well (I think, maybe even 6), but probably not till January. I can't comment on specifics at the moment (I'm at work), but my general plan is two-fold.
First, I will have to give MOST of the baddies a stat promotion since we play 25 point buy. As the game progresses, loot tends to dominate the power curve (in an AP), so the stats don't make much difference, but this one starts out loot-heavy, and combined with high stats, it may be a walk.
Second, at least in the beginning, action economy is key, but fortunately, most of the encounters are low-level mooks anyway. The notion of keeping XP to the right level for each character holds pretty easily, e.g., 4 Ironfang Recruits becomes 5, etc. It gets a little tougher when you have a main baddy by himself (advanced simple doesn't always help), so I'll start throwing in a couple APL-3 "support" characters as well. I'm not too concerned with the very first section since it's more about role-playing (IMO) and understanding the problem the party is facing, however, but once they get into the Fangwood it may matter. This AP is well-suited for adding additional baddies, btw, since it's not typically confined to a cramped dungeon or room in a mansion somewhere. Mummy's Mask, for example, suffered heavily any time I added a few extra mooks. There just wasn't enough space. Hell's Rebels would as well.
I run this to five at 25 point buy
As GM you have endless baddies to launch at the PCs.
Or as I often do, just make everything basic advanced , so add +2 to most things about
The party will likely be ultra attuned to slaughter hobgoblins. Switch monsters out like for like in CR occasionally and what's the PCs damage potential plummet
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About to start running this for a group of (probably) 5 players.
Anyone have any advice for areas that they think I will need to pay specific attention to, either because they're too easy or too hard as written for 4 players?
We are wrapping up Book 1 (all that is left is the assault on Camp Redjaw). I have six players. Most of my changes have been applying the Advanced Template to creatures and adding extra units to encounters. I've used the Monster Codex quite a bit to beef up hob units. In the Trog caves I made all the trog mooks into Skulkers, I kept Ighiz as the high priest BUT added a chief using the trog cavalier on a chameleon. That made the fight VERY interesting. So far I haven't changed the Redjaw fight, except all the units will be there. I'm expecting my group to full on assault the camp, but we'll see what they come up with.