Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Godzilla 01-21-05, 07:18 PM	Well, I'm running a campaign with six PCs. They went into a dungeon with five different good sized maps, and came out with a total loss of about 75 HP, spread through the group. Five of them are at level two, and one more at level three. When they'd fight monsters/humans at challenge rating 3, they'd clobber them hard, and even harder if they were only 2. They took down 2 Wyrmling Black Dragons in only three turns. Am I being too soft on them? Should I send them through some level four dungeons instead of three when they all get to level three? Or just what? Oh, and I'm sure they'd love the great challenge if I did send them through a level 4 dungeon.
mercurial67 01-21-05, 07:28 PM	Well, I'm running a campaign with six PCs. They went into a dungeon with five different good sized maps, and came out with a total loss of about 75 HP, spread through the group. Five of them are at level two, and one more at level three. When they'd fight monsters/humans at challenge rating 3, they'd clobber them hard, and even harder if they were only 2. They took down 2 Wyrmling Black Dragons in only three turns. Am I being too soft on them? Should I send them through some level four dungeons instead of three when they all get to level three? Or just what? Oh, and I'm sure they'd love the great challenge if I did send them through a level 4 dungeon.Remember, the challenge ratings are designed for a party of four. If you have six players, it would mean the party should not have any problems (only expend 25% of their resources) against a challenge rating equal to their level + 1. (Remember, doubling an encounter increases the CR by +2, increasing by 50% should increase it by +1)
scarolina 01-21-05, 09:23 PM	Also remember that the more PCs in the party, the more opponents they need to face in a single encounter. DMs here will tell you that 4 PCs against one monster is going to be tough on the monster; the party gets 4 moves for every one their enemy takes. This is exacerbated when the number of PCs in a party increases. Cheers
Mule of La Mancha 01-25-05, 03:38 AM	I don't know about your players, but mine has about sixty years of gaming experience between the five of them, and that counts for A LOT when determining CR. They're between levels 2 and 3 right now, but I throw CR 5-7 stuff at them and they come out alright.
Sildatorak 01-25-05, 05:31 AM	To challenge them more I recommend putting more foes in the encounter. A level 3 party with 6 PC's will destroy a level 4 wizard (or level 5 sorcerer) without expending the resources you would expect them to burn on an encounter of that level. Throw a level 3 wizard with about 4 warrior 1 flunkies at them and they are actually in for a fight. I'll admit that that example is an extreme one since casters are generally so fragile relative to their potential damage output, especially if they get caught with their figurative pants down. It does hold true in general, though, since 6 PC's will get 6 actions to every 1 that a single foe gets. If that foe is ambushed and then beat in initiative, he, she, or it may be hit with 12 attacks before it has a chance to react. I would suggest making at least half of the challenge rating for most of your encounters at this level come from flunkies. Once the PC's get area of effect spells the power of flunkies will drop dramatically, but right now it will make them fight through something before getting to a caster, gives the enemy rogue someone to flank with, keeps the monster from getting flanked and sneak attacked, etc.
HomebrewedMonster 01-25-05, 05:42 AM	As a DM its also your job to challenge your PC's so creature encounters that might exploit a weakness or test their team tactics. The key to any encounter is to play the monsters intellegent and the environment. Four Orcs using longbows will die easily, but four Orcs using longbows on a 20 ft. ledge shooting down at the PC's while taking cover behind some rubble are a lot more difficult. So instead of head on combats, test the PC's with night encounters, hit and run encounters, and environmental challenges.
Al2902 01-25-05, 09:06 AM	Could you post semi-detailed stat blocks of the characters in question? I'm afraid that we don't have enough information to go on: it could be any one of luck, tactics or powerful characters, or (more likely) a combination.