Pathfinder 1E Figuring out how to match enemies

[TabletopAndroid]

Hi,
Im trying to figure out how to match my heros with a suitable enemy. I have level 1 bard, sorcerer, and barbarian. I'm running the adventure path "a dark ans stormy knight" but it does seem appropriate. I'm a new GM and they are new players.

So far i'm guessing spellcasters are good for bards since they counter a lot. Not sure about sorcerers though. I'm guessing any melee class since they need to keep their distance. As for the barbarian i'm guessing any melee type since he/she is a melee class.

Is there a tool i can use to figure this out? Thanks.

Sent using the defunct The Force, which can only be scientifically explained as medi-chlorians. :dry Damn you Tapatalk 2.. you too LG Spirit!

 

[Starfox]

I feel you are overthinking things, it really isn't that hard. A team of a bard, sorcerer, and barbarian is pretty well mixed and can handle most types of adversaries. Just don't throw too many or too powerful monsters at them. And don't expect them too handle too many encounters in a row. A bard might be able to do some healing, but even so both rage and bardic music are limited resources, as is the sorcerer's spells. 3 easy fights a day is about all you can expect such a party to handle.

For your first campaign, I'd recommend that you err on the side of caution and make most encounters balanced to be easy. Remember, your role is to entertain them, not to kill them. Read the rules on challenge rating and make sure most encounters are CR 1 or less, with an occasional dramatic fight at CR 2-3. This will let your players feel heroic, even if they make mistakes.

As to the types of opponents this party can face, I think they will all find ranged opponent's the easiest - the sorcerer excels at range and the barbarian is fast and loves charging. The bard can be built in many ways, so it is harder to tell. Spellcasters are effectively ranged opponents and the barbarian will often take level 1 spellcasters out in a single blow. Melee opponents are probably much trickier for them, as the bard and sorcerer can easily be swamped and unable to use their spells and even the barbarian - with his mediocre AC for a fighter-type - can be overwhelmed. Usually, a mix is best, with some special hazards (such as web-weaving spiders, or weak flying opponents) adding variety.

Don't expect much counterspelling - it requires that you ready an action AND expend a spell, and in most games this happens 1-2 times during an entire campaign. It is dramatic when it happens, but don't count on it to happen much.

 

[TabletopAndroid]

Hi Starfox,

Thanks for the feedback. It's very helpful. The first adventure path I decided to use is an old one called "A Dark and Stormy Knight." Originally it has roughly seven opponents. I might scale it back a bit with this knowledge. Or I might equip them with healing potions (if they exist). I need to research it.

Not sure this next question fits within this post, but I'm having some trouble visualizing the skills challenge. When the PC's arrive in the Tor (Hightower) they have three corridors to travel. The middle one is a long hallway to the "preparation chamber", which has two enemies. To give the PC's a decent introduction to tabletop I wanted to make that long hallway a skills challenge.

I'm thinking of just doing the whole spikes-thing, but I'm not sure how to go about it. They need 4 successes to win and if they fail I figured they'd get transported (through a trap door) directly to the spider's nest.

 

[Mike Myler]

Most skill challenges involve a certain degree of failure. A result of a 7 on a Climb Check (DC 11) isn't good, but nobody falls off - they just don't move.

Get a good look at your party's skills set and turn the hallway into three obstacles each can shine in during a sequence in the passage.
Maybe one of the rooms requires great athleticism (so Acrobatics/Climb/Swim - Barbarian) but leaves an extra 'stage' in the degree of failures for a 'second chance' roll granted by a successful ally (that has to re-check as well).
IE: The Barbarian succeeds his Acrobatics check to jump across the spikes, but the Sorcerer fails. Your barbarian player gets the choice - make a Strength check to drag his buddy across the rest of the threshold, or suffer potential spike damage himself.

Toss in a gem or something that creates a different pathway (for a number of rounds equal to spell level) across a 40ft span of spikes for each school of magic shot into it.
Throw in another stretch of spikes with a phonograph horn or something. While Bardic Music is being used, platforms appear that allow for Acrobatics checks to cross it without taking damage.

 

[TabletopAndroid]

Great ideas, thanks.

Sent using the defunct The Force, which can only be scientifically explained as medi-chlorians. :dry Damn you Tapatalk 2.. you too LG Spirit!

 

[Starfox]

My experience with skill challenges is that they are very xp-efficent - little play time, few resources, and little attrition for quite a bit of experience. But unlike a fight, there is also a real chance of failure. You must always be prepared for a skill challenge to fail, and have your players mentally prepared for this as well.

The reason failure in a skill challenge can be common is that the consequences of failure are much less drastic - failing a fight leaves you dead or captured, failing a skill challenge has dire but survivable consequences.

Also be aware that skill challenges by the book (at least by the first DMG) are bugged. There are many, many suggestions on how to actually run them, including some official errata.

If you can get your players to bye skill challenges they are an easy way to introduce non-combat tasks in the game. But that is a pretty big if. I never got my players to engage in them seriously in a 1-year 4E campaign.

 

[Starfox]

Also, this thread is labeled Pathfinder - there are no skill challenges in Pathfinder. Should it be properly labeled 4E?

 

[Alzrius]

Also, this thread is labeled Pathfinder - there are no skill challenges in Pathfinder.

That depends on what third-party products you use.