Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Paradisio 12-16-06, 09:58 PM	Well, I would ask this on the dungeon forums, but the site is down. I'm wondering, what's the best way to deal with more characters in the party? The Dungeon modules advise changes for higher level parties, should I stick with those? Keeping the challenge ratings on par with the ECL/4 of the party. Or should I just add more enemies? I'm afraid just tacking on levels, especially with spellcasters and high damage classes that could lead to one hit kills and the like.
trapspringer 12-16-06, 10:08 PM	Run the encounter as per usual. With just one extra character you won't have too much trouble. Depending on the role your fifth man takes on and the effectiveness of his build, you may find you need to bolster some aspects of various encounters. If he is a particularly capable tank-swordsman, you will probably need to start using monsters with more HP, for example. As you have already suggested, it may be necessary to employ a greater number of baddies. I don't personally recommend this as a solution because it compounds the problems you face as a DM when you increase the number of players, namely more mechanics to keep in mind. However, this may be the best solution if your fifth man is yet another sneaky-stabby rogue type. The worst case scenario would involve a buffer-healer cleric type. Under these circumstances, I think a +2 CR bump is appropriate for your average encounter, with a slightly more tailored, slightly more difficult bump for the big encounters. Oh, and EL/4 of the party sounds wrong. The EL should equal the party level for a standard four-a-day campaign. A simple formula would be: (Standard Encounter Level)/4*(Size of Party)
Paradisio 12-16-06, 10:15 PM	Run the encounter as per usual. With just one extra character you won't have too much trouble. Depending on the role your fifth man takes on and the effectiveness of his build, you may find you need to bolster some aspects of various encounters. If he is a particularly capable tank-swordsman, you will probably need to start using monsters with more HP, for example. As you have already suggested, it may be necessary to employ a greater number of baddies. I don't personally recommend this as a solution because it compounds the problems you face as a DM when you increase the number of players, namely more mechanics to keep in mind. However, this may be the best solution if your fifth man is yet another sneaky-stabby rogue type. The worst case scenario would involve a buffer-healer cleric type. Under these circumstances, I think a +2 CR bump is appropriate for your average encounter, with a slightly more tailored, slightly more difficult bump for the big encounters. Oh, and EL/4 of the party sounds wrong. The EL should equal the party level for a standard four-a-day campaign. A simple formula would be: (Standard Encounter Level)/4*(Size of Party) I meant total ECL... 8 level 2 characters = 16 total levels / 4 = Average ECL 4. And I have 8 players. And I really don't understand the formula you posted, since it doesn't take into account level of the party.
shadowfox628 12-16-06, 10:48 PM	The ECL of 8 Level 2 characters would be... 2... Unless I'm getting horribly confused over things that I don't know... I have no advice for the increased person issue... I, oddly enough, don't even use the MM to produce encounters (please, don't ask), so I can't give you a formula for it... Though, the general thing with an increased PC population is to either add more enemies, or make them tougher.
Artector 12-16-06, 10:54 PM	This may help:http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm
Paradisio 12-16-06, 10:59 PM	This may help:http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm Yea, I've been using similar programs. I'm just trying to find what the best method of execution for calibrating the encounters higher would be.
Sadrx 12-17-06, 12:35 AM	Especially with a level 2 party, your best bet is merely to increase the numbers of foes. Basically, double the monsters for an 8 member party. If you start pitting them against just any old EL 4 encounter, players are going to start to drop irregularly but quickly when it no longer takes a critical hit but a mere max-damage swing to reduce the figher's HP from full to negatve-something in one hit. That's why big parties tend to be a problem. Not only are there more players, there have to be more monsters for them to fight. It's hard to design a single foe to be an adaquate challenge for 8 characters without having a reasonable chance of it killing a couple of them. Stick to multiples of EL 2 encounters; they also wont have to hit through the high damage reductions just yet. (And yeah, doubling the number increases the EL by 2, so 2 x EL 2 = EL 4.)
Mitchell 12-17-06, 02:43 AM	I'm with Sadrx. When possible, increasing the encounter size is preferable to giving them meaner encounters. It slows combat down, but you don't have to worry about too-high ACs, too-big damage, or any special abilities like DR that they can't overcome or save-required abilities that the party isn't at all likely to make, be it poison, SLAs or whatever. Everything they face is appropriate to the abilities and equipment that they should have.