ArwensDaughter
Adventurer
Later today my players will reach Mbala. Their characters are a mix of 4th and 5th level; they are currently accompanied by 3 NPCs: Musharib (CR1), Artus Cimber (CR 7), and Dragonbait (CR 5).
In Mbala they will encounter a Green Hag (CR 3) and a Flesh Golem (CR 5)
I'm concerned about this being too easy of an encounter, especially with Artus and Dragonbait along. I have good story reasons for Musharib to refuse to join them in exploring Mbala (he is fixated on Hrackhammer and objects to distratctions), but not for Artus and Dragonbait (they and the party have been attacked by Xandala, who fled; there is safety in numbers).
I'm trying to sort out some contingency plans to beef up the encounter if it turns into a cake walk. Some things I've considered:
-a second Flesh Golem
-Have Xandala ambush the party/try to take out Artus as soon as the hag and golem are defeated
-Have Pterafolk (from nearby nest) attack once hag, etc. are gone (this makes less sense narratively-they were at odds with the hag)
I'm not good at assessing difficulty of an encounter. It doesn't help that I don't know how to convert CR to lvl to run encounter building calculations, and that I don't know how many players will be at the table until game time. (They are all high school students with busy schedules)
Suggestions?
In addition to Artus and Dragonbait, the party consists of anywhere from 2 to 6 of the following PCs (3-4 players is most common):
lvl 4 Mood Druid (Aasimar)
lvl 5 Beserker Barbarian (Lizardfolk)
lvl 5 GOO/Tome Warlock (Lizardfolk)
lvl 4 (maybe 5) Devotion Paladin (human)
lvl 4 Sorcerer or Wizard (human?)--this player is rarely present, thus my uncertainty
lvl 4 Champion Fighter (half-orc)
In Mbala they will encounter a Green Hag (CR 3) and a Flesh Golem (CR 5)
I'm concerned about this being too easy of an encounter, especially with Artus and Dragonbait along. I have good story reasons for Musharib to refuse to join them in exploring Mbala (he is fixated on Hrackhammer and objects to distratctions), but not for Artus and Dragonbait (they and the party have been attacked by Xandala, who fled; there is safety in numbers).
I'm trying to sort out some contingency plans to beef up the encounter if it turns into a cake walk. Some things I've considered:
-a second Flesh Golem
-Have Xandala ambush the party/try to take out Artus as soon as the hag and golem are defeated
-Have Pterafolk (from nearby nest) attack once hag, etc. are gone (this makes less sense narratively-they were at odds with the hag)
I'm not good at assessing difficulty of an encounter. It doesn't help that I don't know how to convert CR to lvl to run encounter building calculations, and that I don't know how many players will be at the table until game time. (They are all high school students with busy schedules)
Suggestions?
In addition to Artus and Dragonbait, the party consists of anywhere from 2 to 6 of the following PCs (3-4 players is most common):
lvl 4 Mood Druid (Aasimar)
lvl 5 Beserker Barbarian (Lizardfolk)
lvl 5 GOO/Tome Warlock (Lizardfolk)
lvl 4 (maybe 5) Devotion Paladin (human)
lvl 4 Sorcerer or Wizard (human?)--this player is rarely present, thus my uncertainty
lvl 4 Champion Fighter (half-orc)