Help! How many tigers vs. naked 12th lvl PC group? (gladitorial)

[Emirikol]

All:

I've got a gladiator game coming up soon in my world of Conan D&D game. The PC's are 12th level characters infiltrating the Arena at Belverus, Nemedia to find out who has been murdering gladiators outside the ring. During all this they will be sent into the pits.

Here's my issue:
One of the combats is as follows:

(5) 12th level PC's without armor or weapons vs. Tigers(CR4) and/or Lions(CR3)

Group:
Rogue/Shadowdancer (total 11 levels)
Barbarian (11th)
Barbarian/Bear-Lord (total 12 levels)
Fighter (12th)
Ranger (10th)

How many tigers or lions should I use to make it an APL = EL fight? How should I figure the modifiers to APL?

Jh

 

[Emirikol]

Ooops! I forgot one character:

Monk/Psionist: 7th/5th

jh

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Will the players have no gear what so ever? Or will they be able to chose items from the gladiators armory?

It looks like most of your characters will retain a good deal of power. No spellcasters who will be completely useless. The Monk character will see no real drop in character firepower at all.

I would assume that each character will easily take a single foe with two being a moderate challenge. A lot of it will depend on how you roll. The lions and tigers will have no trouble hitting and the parties main saving grace will be high hitpoints.


Of course this misses the most important question of all. Do you have a copy of the origional ST TOS gladiatorial music to play in the background. Mood is everything.

 

[Voadam]

tigers are tough, size large, serious attributes and claw, claw bite with pounce.

Do any of the characters have Improved unarmed strike besides the monk? Improved grapple? Are there weapons lying around the field they can pick up? Unarmed characters vs tigers are not a fight but a slaughter.

They are going to be drawing AoO with every strike they do and not doing a lot of damage, and good luck grappling a tiger.

The monk will be effective and maybe the rogue's sneak attack, I don't know what the powers of the bear character are but the barbarians, fighters and ranger are going to have a tough time.

Is one of the rangers enemies animals?

Can the rogue sneak in some daggers?

 

[Emirikol]

The monk will be effective and maybe the rogue's sneak attack, I don't know what the powers of the bear character are but the barbarians, fighters and ranger are going to have a tough time.

Is one of the rangers enemies animals?

Can the rogue sneak in some daggers?

They are 12th level characters. The fighter has 18 str. The barbarians str 22 each. The ranger is the weakest one at 16 str.
Hand damage does d2 + STR.

There may be small rocks, bones, or timber to use if necessary (breakage easily).

Yes, the AOO's will be dangerous.

Should I look at one tiger (CR4) to each PC?

jh

 

[Emirikol]

Will the players have no gear what so ever? Or will they be able to chose items from the gladiators armory?

In the tiger fight, they will have nothing but a loincloth.

In the other fights: I'm deliberately making them only use the gear from the stable armory:

Armor (cheap, crappy ornamental stuff)
Weapons: Choose
Brown-handled short sword
Blue handled short sword
Red handled short sword
Trident
Daggers(2)
Sickle
Club
Javelin
Net

 

[Thanee]

How about this, I suppose you have the character data.

Just sit down yourself and try it. Pick a tiger each and run the combat through, then you will have a good foundation to decide, I think.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Kahuna Burger]

A serious question - if the ranger tries to use wild empathy to get one or more tigers to back off, will you roll for it? This is a class ability that probably sees little use, and this situation seems like the kind that could make it all worthwhile... I'd give anything to get a real "androcles and the lion" moment out of this...

MWHAHAHAHA!!! the ranger has access to both calm animals and charm animal, no material compontents!!!! can you imagine how pissed the management would be? "We told you to FIGHT the tigers, you idiots, not settle down and let them groom you!!!!"

Kahuna Burger

 

[Norfleet]

I generally go for the "however damn many tigers I frickin' feel like" approach. If it seems at all reasonable, or even if it doesn't seem reasonable, that's the number I'd go with.

Hey, some days you spank the monkey, and other days the monkey spanks you.

 

[Thanee]

Hehe, yep, in that scenario Wild Empathy could work pretty well!

Bye
Thanee