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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
    
Montreal
 | | 02/27/2007 9:02 AM |
| I'm going to start DMing for a group of nine players (many beginners) in RHoD. I was hoping to increase the number of opponents or the monster HPs by a set percentage. Is that utopic? For example, add 25% to each encounter. I know it's a weird approach, just wondering.
Has anyone played this module with close to that number of players? What did you do?
Sky
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The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 02/27/2007 10:19 AM |
| I should mention...
The reason why i'm asking all those questions suddenly is because of this upcoming RHoD game. Of the nine players, a single one has ever played any 3.X D&D, and about 5 or 6 have played previous versions so i have 3-4 players that are entirely new to D&D and 8 new to 3.5. However, these are all gamers and as they are reading the rules and preparing their characters, i'm being literally bombarded by a zillion questions (10+ emails per day for the last couple of weeks, and a few news group postings on top of that), pretty much all very relevant, as they delve into feats and skills and synergies and so on. And some question directly or indirectly bring about points for which the rules are unclear in my mind.
Just thought i'd share this info to explain my sudden question threads spree 
Sky | |
The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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Ramirez777
Skirmisher
11 Posts
| | 02/27/2007 1:52 PM |
| | I have not read all the way through the module yet, but from what I understand it is difficult for 4 players of ECL 5. You have a couple of options; start your players at ECL 3-4, or increase the number of encounters. I imagine that adjusting the encounters would be the wisest choice, as them being new players, are working to understand tactics, and mistakes are easier to take at a higher level. For boss encounters increase the mobs HD, & for weak encounters, multiply the number of mobs. I don't know if this is exactly the answer your looking for, but Im pretty certain you could run the module with 9 players, but thats one heck of a group. | | | |
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 02/27/2007 2:07 PM |
| Your comments are welcome. I'm actually quite confident about being able to run it, although they'll be things to tweak here and there. I'm also confident i could tailor each encounter to fit a larger group.
I was hoping for (1) specific comments on running RHoD for a large group; and (2) comment on changing all encounters by a set percentage of HPs or monsters (e.g. 25%).
Sky | |
The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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zenthrus
Commander
4677 Posts
SLC, UT
| | 02/27/2007 3:05 PM |
| RHoD with 4 players resulted in a total of 9 character deaths before we finished playing (made it to Rhest).
So, bear in mind that it's already exceptionally difficult for APL 5.
That said, in order to keep things challenging (since 9 players is double the norm) I'd consider the following tweaks:
1) Max boss HP (i.e. any named critter)
2) Increase non-boss mobs by CR2 (i.e. adding 4 goblins, 2 orcs, etc.).
3) Give non-boss mobs +25% HP (up to normal maximum).
4) Use every single nasty, underhanded tactic written into the module (i.e. flying bull rush + ledge) to the fullest extent.
5) Carefully consider the Ghost Lord. I'd recommend giving him a body guard (i.e. Specter) or two or bumping his level/augmenting his spell selection, etc. He's already disproportionately tough for an average party, but such a large party could possibly turn a saddistic encounter into a mediocre one.
Granted, I haven't play-tested any of these suggestions so remember that they're worth what you pay for them 
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dumdragon
Sergeant
683 Posts
Amityville, NY
| | 02/27/2007 5:13 PM |
| | For most encounters I would either double the number of enemy combatants or add a few levels to the same number of baddies.
You want to keep XP and gold awards in line or you will find you players quickly falling behind in levels or equipment. | |
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kestrel.ca
Underboss
1671 Posts
| | 02/27/2007 8:15 PM |
| I've found it to be reasonably balanced for a APL 6 (not 5). The PCs are just about to confront the GhostLord (knocked on his door last session) and have only had 1 player death so far. There probably could easily have been more if I was a little more sadistic, but I'm usually happy with simply dropping PCs to negative hit points and then picking on the next guy.
That said, as your party is double the normal number, you could probably double the number of enemies they encounter. Be careful of course that this doesn't simply provide more fodder for a wizard's fireball. Maybe think about having groups coming from different directions (relief squad arriving at Skull Gorge bridge at the same time as the PCs for example could make for an interesting encounter). For bosses and unique enemies, I'd try to increase their CR by 2 (as that is typically what happens to an EL when you double the number of monsters). Increasing the CR by 2 is probably as simple as adding on two PC levels, or increasing a dragon's age category by 1. Of course, you'll probably want to increase the treasure very slightly to compensate for the extra toughness.
Doubling the number of combatants also creates enough experience when divided by 9 that they should still increase at a reasonable rate. Although much of the treasure gained becomes repetitive (22 suits of studded leather +1?), there are obvious hoards which are designed to provide specialty items specifically for the PCs (cellar of Vraath Keep, Greenspawn nest, etc.). These would be the obvious locations to add an extra item or two that would appeal to certain PCs.
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ggowan
Skirmisher
22 Posts
| | 02/27/2007 10:31 PM |
| Playing with 9 players is a great way to turn a bunch of people off on D&D. The amount of time that each player has to say anything and do anything during a typical 4 hour play session with 9 players is less than half what they would have with a 4 player group. Granted, it was a long time ago, but I once tried to run a D&D game with a large number of players and basically everybody has to be quiet or excuse themselves from the game just so other people would have a chance to play for a little bit. Most people end up just sitting and listening, and eventually getting bored. You should do two separate campaigns or find another DM for the other campaign, or something.
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Skyscraper
Sergeant
659 Posts
Montreal
| | 02/28/2007 11:33 AM |
| Thanks for the comments. Perhaps augmenting each encounter by CR 2 could be the simple way to go, and it is a fixed value so i like it My idea was to remove an arbitrary evaluation of each encounter when bumping them up, to rather have a module with a preset difficulty level that the players will have to manage through.
We'll see how it goes. For treasure, i'll indeed throw in a few additional items.
Ggowan: i hear you concerning large groups. In this particular case, i'm also going to try a play by web game (similar to play by email, but you play on a forum). This is my first time trying this At least no one is going to be talking at the same time as the others, haha There will be many challenges to make this game work, and the result is far from certain. But everyone wanted to make a go at it, even if the game may break at some point. If they don't play with me as a DM, they won't play at all - at least for the time being. I've read a lot of forum threads on the subject and actually visited many publicly accessible online games, and we've been actively preparing this game for about a month now. We'll see how it goes. And thanks for your heads up.
Sky | |
The wise man doubts often. The ignorant, sometimes. The fool, never. | |
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