EL for serial duels

The PC is a Bard 11/Rogue 1/Fighter 1. Her dueling weapon is a +2 keen thundering crystal echoblade. Her AC is probably in the low 20s and her HP at the mid 60s. She has the whirlwind attack feat chain.

So each is roughly 2 above what I calculated as being an "equal" encounter.

Now you need to factor in whether or not it is "lethal" or not and other "risk factors".

Are the paladins oath bound to not kill during this duel?

Is the bard evil?

If the bard is evil, I have difficulty fathoming a non-lethal duel.

It almost seems like you are using the KNight's (PHB II) code for the paladins.

It doesn't seem like they should have any qualms about combining forces against a higher level foe, unless it is of course a "contest".

Knights on the other hand must follow a very strict code of conduct for fights.

If the duel is non-lethal combat (from the paladins side) then it is a much lower "risk" encounter and the numbers become way scewed since the paladins are fighting at a huge disadvantage since there is a penalty to use a lethal weapon in a non-lethal manner.
 

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Okay. I need to provide more info, I see. Why would she fight these paladins? What is their motivation?

Basically, these paladins are hell knights: tyrants imposing order in a nation whose god died and is wracked by civil war with freedom loving rebels. They have honor, especially for those with rank, which the PC has. (She's the commodore of opposing forces.) They'll issue the challenge of a duel to the PC, which, if she accepts, they will each duel her individually.

Where this battle is occurring makes this somewhat unusual: on board a galley in a pitched naval battle in a blizzard. The PC is dimension dooring over because if she takes out the hell knights' charge, a wizard with a wand of fireballs, it will be hard to lose the overall naval battle.

The hell knights are scary enough to their own rank and file that the massed soldiers will let this highly antiquated duel continue. The mage is overconfident, decadent, and has his "idiot fighters" for precisely this reason. After she beats them, she'll fight that guy with help from her cohort. These are the last two fights of the day.

Metagame-wise, I needed a rationale for something cool and swashbuckling.

So. Her average party level is nine, since she's a 13th level PC. How many 5th level hell knights should she face in serial duels?
 

In 4e, the hell knights prolly wouldn't be that much of a challenge to the bard individually. In 3e this may be different: They'll prolly have an attack bonus around +9 or so, meaning they'll need to roll about a 14 or so to hit (you said her AC was low-20s, yes?). They'll prolly also out-damage her, being paladin types.

Do you already know the hell knights' hit points and ACs? If they have AC 20-22 and 30-40 hps each, the bard may not be able to handle the duels. She will defeat each paladin, but each one will prolly land a couple of blows first. She won't have time to heal much between fights, either, from the sounds of it; which means that it's prolly going to be a close thing.

On the other hand, mirror image, hold person and other bardy spells might make a big difference too...
 




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