How many PCs do you wanna kill?
Depends. How many PCs do you want to lose, in the process?
Eight tigers is about ECL 10, BUT that's assuming proper gear. Without that, they'll be pretty easy to hit, do almost no damage, and take a whole lot!
Fists do 1D3+STR (1D2 if they're size Small), and worse yet, it's subdual damage, or else they take a -4 to hit! Assuming he fights (which he may not have to), and uses both hands (TWF), the Ranger will be at -6. The Monk will do better than the rest, at normal "To-Hit", or -2 for Flurry of Blows, which will probably actually be useful, here... Both sides should hit, most of the time.
The problem is that that AC 10 or 11 PCs will get hit, then get hit, again, when attacking. They'll take more damage than they inflict, and probably have no way to heal it...
Thus, my first thought is three tigers... That allows for flanking.
Of course, if the PCs know what they're getting into, and use good tactics, this shouldn't be so bad... The Ranger might be able to stop his lion/tiger without it attacking. The Monk might be able to (Tongue of the Sun and Moon? Psi?), and the Fighter & Barbarians ought to be able to finish off the other one, with help from them and the Rogue, as time allows.
Of course, that might be "too easy", in some people's minds, so you might want to add one more... Going beyond that will almost certainly get someone's PC killed. Besides, there is no gaurantee that the PCs will use good tactics. The Ranger might not have animal spells, and Animal Empathy might fail. The Monk's Flurry of Misses might, and all of the cats' AoO will most likely hit (and if they pounce)!... PCs will probably get knocked down, allowing the cats a big bonus to hit. That would turn ugly, as getting back up takes too long, and draws yet another AoO!
My gut instinct says go with three, and maybe have a couple "chained up", so that they can't move to attack, unless some foolish Gladiator enters their area.
Also, allow charmed, etc., creatures to count as "defeated", for XP purposes.
Finally, allow some cover, and creative combat tactics. If the players think to kick the arena's sand in the cats' eyes, give them a to-hit roll, followed by a Reflex save for the cat, and blinding effects for 1D3 rounds, if it fails. Also, if the Rogue can pick a collar lock with a splinter of wood (-2 Circumstance Penalty), then he can gain a length of weighted chain to use as a weapon! Sounds like you're already using a lot of these types of things, but some cover and chained lions might add a bit to the mix.
So are the lions and tigers starved, expecting attack, and Hostile? Merely Unfriendly? Newly arrived and Neutral? It's important to know, for the Ranger's Animal Empathy attempt(s).
Emirikol said:
Depends. How many PCs do you want to lose, in the process?
Eight tigers is about ECL 10, BUT that's assuming proper gear. Without that, they'll be pretty easy to hit, do almost no damage, and take a whole lot!
Fists do 1D3+STR (1D2 if they're size Small), and worse yet, it's subdual damage, or else they take a -4 to hit! Assuming he fights (which he may not have to), and uses both hands (TWF), the Ranger will be at -6. The Monk will do better than the rest, at normal "To-Hit", or -2 for Flurry of Blows, which will probably actually be useful, here... Both sides should hit, most of the time.
The problem is that that AC 10 or 11 PCs will get hit, then get hit, again, when attacking. They'll take more damage than they inflict, and probably have no way to heal it...
Thus, my first thought is three tigers... That allows for flanking.
Of course, if the PCs know what they're getting into, and use good tactics, this shouldn't be so bad... The Ranger might be able to stop his lion/tiger without it attacking. The Monk might be able to (Tongue of the Sun and Moon? Psi?), and the Fighter & Barbarians ought to be able to finish off the other one, with help from them and the Rogue, as time allows.
Of course, that might be "too easy", in some people's minds, so you might want to add one more... Going beyond that will almost certainly get someone's PC killed. Besides, there is no gaurantee that the PCs will use good tactics. The Ranger might not have animal spells, and Animal Empathy might fail. The Monk's Flurry of Misses might, and all of the cats' AoO will most likely hit (and if they pounce)!... PCs will probably get knocked down, allowing the cats a big bonus to hit. That would turn ugly, as getting back up takes too long, and draws yet another AoO!
My gut instinct says go with three, and maybe have a couple "chained up", so that they can't move to attack, unless some foolish Gladiator enters their area.
Also, allow charmed, etc., creatures to count as "defeated", for XP purposes.
Finally, allow some cover, and creative combat tactics. If the players think to kick the arena's sand in the cats' eyes, give them a to-hit roll, followed by a Reflex save for the cat, and blinding effects for 1D3 rounds, if it fails. Also, if the Rogue can pick a collar lock with a splinter of wood (-2 Circumstance Penalty), then he can gain a length of weighted chain to use as a weapon! Sounds like you're already using a lot of these types of things, but some cover and chained lions might add a bit to the mix.
So are the lions and tigers starved, expecting attack, and Hostile? Merely Unfriendly? Newly arrived and Neutral? It's important to know, for the Ranger's Animal Empathy attempt(s).
