Question about book 3 encounter

[AwfulAccident]

Quick question about the encounter at the end of chapter 2, after they cast transmigrate. The book says the PCS should be level 9 before they get a chance to do the ritual, but the encounter that takes place when they cast it is a level 8 encounter. We are doing milestone levelling, so I was wondering if I should have the party level before or after this encounter, and if anyone else had ran it at either level and had some input. Thank you!

[James Jacobs]

If you're doing milestone leveling, your BEST indication as to when to level up appears in the header of the encounters.

Spoiler:

The ecnounters on page 45 under the Transmigrating section have the following header:

BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH SEVERE 8

The "8" in a header like this tells you what level the encounter was designed for. If your PCs are level 7 when they hit this, it'll be an Extreme 7 encounter (and will likely kill off some PCs), but if you level up your PCs to level 9, it turns into a Moderate 9 encounter and runs the risk of not feeling as climactic.

Since it's a level 4 ritual (so you have to be a minimum of 7th level to learn and cast it), and the Advancement Track on page 3 indicates the PCs should be level 9 by the time they reach Mago Kai's fort (which happens after the transmigration ritual), the indication on page 45 that the PCs should be 9th level before they learn the ritual is, in effect, a confusing typo. Should say "close to 9th level" instead.

[AwfulAccident]

James Jacobs wrote:

If you're doing milestone leveling, your BEST indication as to when to level up appears in the header of the encounters.

** spoiler omitted **

makes a lot of sense, thank you!