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Are the players really supposed to stand a chance against this thing at level 4? They have no way of knowing it’s a wil-o-wisp to prepare for the encounter and as written a success on diplomacy has the king lizard folk bring them to the wil-o-wisp who then orders the king to attack them. It’s a party level +2 king and party level +3 wil-o-wisp.
The Wil-o-wisp can easily frighten them, has 28 AC and can go invisible. I think the best a non fighter level 4 character has is like +11 to hit. That seems crazy! How is my party going to survive this as written unless a majorly pull punches? Was this encounter tested?
Creative Director
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Several of the encounters in Kingmaker are intentionally difficult, because that's part of the goal of creating a sandbox experience—the chance for the PCs to get in over their heads is a big part of what makes a sandbox game rewarding, with the PCs encountering severe encounters and then having to flee, then return at a higher level to finish things up.
We pegged the encounters in that area to be for 4th level, so that this encounter would be a significant challenge... but it's entirely possible your group might stumble into this area at a lower level or higher level too.
This particular set of encounters gives the PCs a chance to recruit some of the locals for help, as well.
But yes, it's intended to be a dangerous encounter as written.
When running a sandbox game like Kingmaker, the GM should keep a close eye on encounters that the PCs might be heading toward. As mentioned at the start of the book on pages 6–7, PCs in a campaign like this will inevitably stumble into areas that are too easy or too tough, and if you realize your group is headed toward an encounter that might be too much for them, it's important to give them context clues. The simplest is a "DANGER AHEAD" sign. In this specific case, a warning from an allied local can do the same.
Several of the encounters in Kingmaker are intentionally difficult, because that's part of the goal of creating a sandbox experience—the chance for the PCs to get in over their heads is a big part of what makes a sandbox game rewarding, with the PCs encountering severe encounters and then having to flee, then return at a higher level to finish things up.
We pegged the encounters in that area to be for 4th level, so that this encounter would be a significant challenge... but it's entirely possible your group might stumble into this area at a lower level or higher level too.
This particular set of encounters gives the PCs a chance to recruit some of the locals for help, as well.
But yes, it's intended to be a dangerous encounter as written.
When running a sandbox game like Kingmaker, the GM should keep a close eye on encounters that the PCs might be heading toward. As mentioned at the start of the book on pages 6–7, PCs in a campaign like this will inevitably stumble into areas that are too easy or too tough, and if you realize your group is headed toward an encounter that might be too much for them, it's important to give them context clues. The simplest is a "DANGER AHEAD" sign. In this specific case, a warning from an allied local can do the same.
Thanks! I think I might role play the Wil-O-Wisp as being above engaging with the party and just have it try to frighten them and urge the king to kill them. So instead of feeling the full brunt of fighting a level 6 and level 7 creature at the same time, instead have them either fight in waves or have the wisp leave after consuming the terror of the party / lizard king and maybe take a reoccurring role in the next few levels. Maybe have it follow the PCs back to their town and feed on the terror of their citizens. I just don’t see them surviving if I go all out to kill based on their classes and what they have prepared.