Need assistance: HotDQ Esp 3 for Level 13 PCs

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

Gruff_Ironfist

Nov 02, 2014 21:02:27

We're starting Episode 3 in Horde of the Dragon Queen as four Level 13 characters. I was wondering if anyone has run this and has suggestions for swapping in more powerful creatures and/or changing quantities (while trying not to incorporate anything too wonky story-wise).

 

Also curious if anyone has used the XP budget in v2 of DM Basic for PCs of around this level, and if they are decent guidelines (in actual play) for the stated "difficulty."

 

That table says four 13th PCs would be budgets of 4,400 XP (easy), 8,800 XP (medium), 13,600 XP (hard), 20,400 XP (deadly). The encounter multipliers combined with multiples of lower-level CR creatures seem (on paper) like they don't add up to the proper difficulty. I.E., one storm giant being 10k XP or one beholder being 11.5k XP (i.e., individually, each somewhere between medium and hard difficulty) is the same difficulty as 15 hill giants and 1 stone giant being a sum of about 10k. Doesn't sound right at all.

#2

Dragoloth

Nov 03, 2014 9:07:58

 

http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder 

   Use this link, it makes upgrading encounters much easier. You are forgetting to multiply the xp based on the number of monsters used. Pg. 57 of the DM download PDF explains this. Also 15 hillgiants would be 27,000 xp(1,8000X15) before multiplying X4, 108,000 after.

 

 

 

Based on the number of monsters in the
encounter, multiply the encounter’s XP value by the
matching multiplier from the Encounter XP Multipliers
table. Thus, if you have an encounter with 4 monsters
in it, multiply the total XP value of the encounter by
2 for the purposes of determining how difficult the
encounter is. This doesn’t change the actual XP award
the adventurers receive for overcoming the monsters,
just your calculations of how difficult the encounter is.

 

~Encounter XP Multipliers
Number of Monsters XP Multiplier
Single Monster —
Pair (2 monsters) × 1.5
Group (3-6 monsters) × 2
Gang (7-10 monsters) × 2.5
Mob (11-14 monsters) × 3
Horde (15 or more monsters) × 4

(Reply to #2)

Gruff_Ironfist

Dragoloth... dude... you rock. Thank you for that link and the extra clarification.

#4

Dragoloth

Nov 03, 2014 20:12:53

You're welcome. Just happy I could help.