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<blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 6179078" data-attributes="member: 463">I find it easier to use Companion Characters, eg if I have 3 regular &amp; 2 drop-in players I might have a single Companion Character I can use if both drop-ins are absent, so that group size is always 4-5, and stat encounters so that typical encounter is EL+1 if only 4 PCs, EL+0 for 5 PCs. This makes TPK slightly more likely if only 3-4 players show up, but as long as you're not using too hard a baseline or outliers it's workable with minimal adjustment. Alternatively you can use 2 Companion Characters to replace the 2 missing PCs, but I think that's a bit much and could detract from the PCs.Alternative if your group are not brilliant tactically would be to stat the average encounter at EL+0 for 4 PCs, which gives EL-1 if 5 show up, and use a Companion Character if only 3 show. IME players don't notice the difference between 1 point of EL, and if necessary you can always add in 1 extra standard monster - it's much easier to add monsters than deduct them IME. But in general you don't want a supposedly winnable fight to go over EL+4 for 4 PCs, and at low level it's more like EL+3. In general with 4e it's much better to have the occasional fight be easier than expected, than to have the unexpected TPK - the possibility of defeat needs to be on the table, but in practice it can be almost arbitrarily unlikely as long as you don't intervene in play to save the PCs - nothing is worse for a player than thinking the GM will intervene to get the 'right' outcome to a fight, because it makes the fight seem pointless.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="S'mon, post: 6179078, member: 463"] I find it easier to use Companion Characters, eg if I have 3 regular & 2 drop-in players I might have a single Companion Character I can use if both drop-ins are absent, so that group size is always 4-5, and stat encounters so that typical encounter is EL+1 if only 4 PCs, EL+0 for 5 PCs. This makes TPK slightly more likely if only 3-4 players show up, but as long as you're not using too hard a baseline or outliers it's workable with minimal adjustment. Alternatively you can use 2 Companion Characters to replace the 2 missing PCs, but I think that's a bit much and could detract from the PCs. Alternative if your group are not brilliant tactically would be to stat the average encounter at EL+0 for 4 PCs, which gives EL-1 if 5 show up, and use a Companion Character if only 3 show. IME players don't notice the difference between 1 point of EL, and if necessary you can always add in 1 extra standard monster - it's much easier to add monsters than deduct them IME. But in general you don't want a supposedly winnable fight to go over EL+4 for 4 PCs, and at low level it's more like EL+3. In general with 4e it's much better to have the occasional fight be easier than expected, than to have the unexpected TPK - the possibility of defeat needs to be on the table, but in practice it can be almost arbitrarily unlikely [U]as long as you don't intervene in play [/U]to save the PCs - nothing is worse for a player than thinking the GM will intervene to get the 'right' outcome to a fight, because it makes the fight seem pointless. [/QUOTE]

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