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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jenck" data-source="post: 7518361" data-attributes="member: 6776455">If you play Aquenti, Bear, Varis, Zangeon, or Boddyknock and are on the Frozen Plains: Please stop reading!=================================================================I have a number of questions about running my next session. How to prepare and build a well balanced encounter with so many moving parts. The party is 5 level 8 PCs, but with various allies they are a party of 21 PCs and NPCs. The party needs an artifact that a White Dragon has in it's hoard. They are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 8 Lore Bard</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 8 Wild Magic Sorcerer</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 8 Devotion Paladin</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 8 Bear Totem Barbarian</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 8 Moon Druid</li> </ul>They have 2 long time NPC allies:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Level 4 Life Cleric</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Guard NPC</li> </ul>And recently acquired additional allies from a Barbarian Tribe who are ready for the battle<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3 NPC Berserkers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3 NPC Tribal Warriors</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">1 NPC Berserker with bumped up stats, 90 HP, and rage</li> </ul>They also have an allied party traveling with them (but which they don't really trust) which may help out some in the fight too:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">an NPC Necromancer</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">an NPC Cult Fanatic (apprentice)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3 NPC Thugs</li> </ul>I realize that is a huge party to take on an Adult White Dragon. The White Dragon has some allied Winter Wolves that help it hunt and with whom he sort of "shares" the entrance areas of his cave, so they will defend their home and help the White Dragon. I need to determine how many Winter Wolves should be involved.Since the party did well convincing some of the Barbarian Tribe members to help them fight the dragon, I want that to be meaningful and make the fight easier, but I would like this to be challenging (Hard?) but not Deadly.And the Necromancer party will mostly hang back but contribute a bit. They mostly want to get access to the artifact but not risk their lives to get it. I predict some of the Tribal Warriors and Thugs will go down during the fight.So...my questions are:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">How do I create a balanced encounter? I'm using Kobold Fight Club [<a href="http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder" target="_blank">http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder</a>]. If I ONLY include the main party (5 PCs and the two long time NPC allies), that is a Medium encounter with an Adult White Dragon. But as I start to add Winter Wolves, it gets Deadly after only 2.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">I'm not sure how to account for the Berserker, Tribal Warrior, Necromancer, and other allies on Kobold Fight Club. What level should they be? In other words, is there a reliable CR to PC level conversion?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">When running it, how do I manage 21(!) party and ally turns each round? That seems like it will take forever and be boring and tedious! (Someone elsewhere on Reddit suggested I have the Berserkers and Tribal Warriors off fighting the Winter Wolves in a separate, abstracted combat, but I'm not sure how to do that. And I would like the PCs face some Winter Wolves because I've been foreshadowing them for many sessions).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If I make the White Dragon Ancient, then it gets much harder to defeat (obviously)... But maybe easier to make it challenging? I just have no idea how the players are going to approach the fight. If they are going to keep the Necromancer party out of the fight, or insist they participate, or have the Berserkers fight the wolves or help the party, etc.</li> </ol></blockquote>

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