So I really dislike 1st and 2nd level as a GM and a player.
So what would the thoughts be on starting APs at 3rd level with the players having a small back story that accounts for the first two levels.
I already redo all the combats changing the CR of all the combats so I would just redo the base CR of all the encounters. I would keep the base of the encounters the same just advance the combatants to the proper CRs
Another bonus to this is players would get an opportunity to play some of the higher levels cause the APs usually stop at 17th or 18th now they would stop at 19th 20th.
So what are your thoughts on this?
No this was for my own running of APs not the official Pathfinder setup.
I’m not going to 2nd ed but that is cool the APs will go to 20th
So I really dislike 1st and 2nd level as a GM and a player.
So what would the thoughts be on starting APs at 3rd level with the players having a small back story that accounts for the first two levels.I already redo all the combats changing the CR of all the combats so I would just redo the base CR of all the encounters. I would keep the base of the encounters the same just advance the combatants to the proper CRs
Another bonus to this is players would get an opportunity to play some of the higher levels cause the APs usually stop at 17th or 18th now they would stop at 19th 20th.
So what are your thoughts on this?
Seems like a lot of work but I know you have some aptitude for it having seen your posts on the Rise of the Runelord forum on adding difficulty for more pc's, etc.
You wouldn't have to let them advance to 19th or 20th level - you could still have the XP end them at 17th or 18th. But if those levels appeal to you, great.
The only drawback I can think of - and I can't provide an example - is that advancing the NPC's may make certain plot or encounter elements irrelevant or incongruent. When the NPC only had access to 4th level spells his tactics maybe even story motivation reflected that limitation. If he has 5th or 6th level spells, challenges the NPC was facing may be much easier to handle, make it unlikely he'd still the lingering around waiting for the pc's to come and kick in his door, etc.
"Why didn't he just use teleport?"
"Maybe he can't cast 5th level spells..."
"No, he cast cloudkill."
"Maybe he couldn't afford it..."
"We just found 20000gp worth of loot in his bag of holding."
You could also a) skip the AP until 3rd level, or if you don't want to lose content, start at 3rd level but not award XP until they reach the appropriate part. That way you're still on course. You could also buff encounters to compensate, or just let your party go wild and stomp like crazy.
Honestly, 1st and 2nd level aren't all that long and will be even shorter with an overleveled party. I don't think the WBL you get at 1st and 2nd will really even matter all that much in the long run.
Just some ideas. I planned to start Iron Gods at 2nd and skip most of the cave stuff.
I’ve read Iron Gods I don’t think I would skip the caves stuff those are some challenging encounters but to each their own.
I would totally scale up the encounters. I never run easy encounters all encounters are at a minimum APL +2
I’ve read Iron Gods I don’t think I would skip the caves stuff those are some challenging encounters but to each their own.
I would totally scale up the encounters. I never run easy encounters all encounters are at a minimum APL +2
The encounters are totally challenging, but don't add much to the story except explain what happened to the other parties.
I love the challenge and the back story that the tunnels give.