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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1625600" data-attributes="member: 3146">Something to look at: what are the characters' stats? If they've got multiple 18s or 18, 17,16, 10, 12, 10, then they're more powerful than their level would indicate. If their scores are more like 16, 13, 14, 13, 10, 8, then they're at about the typical power level. A party like yours is significantly more powerful than a 4 person party as others have noted. If you treat them as if they were level 3 or so (+1 level for the extra three players) you'll have a more realistic assessment of their capabilities although one that is prone to some error.An EL 3-4 encounter will be a speedbump for them.An EL 5 encounter will usually be challenging but not deadly.An EL 6 encounter will have the potential to turn deadly but usually won't.An EL 7+ encounter will be deadly and will frequently kill at least one character.Now, you don't want to take this any more seriously than you should take the CR system. Tossing the party up against a troll is more likely to kill characters than tossing them against a pair of ogres (any character hit by both troll claws and rended is probably dead). Similarly, a manticore who just flies around and pelts the party (or worse yet, one character at a time) with tailspikes will be much more likely to kill a PC than eight orc warriors.A few things to consider:1. Terrain.Don't just set the monsters on one side of a featureless plain and the PCs on the other side. If you do this, the PCs will manuever to maximize their advantage against the monsters. Instead, try pitting the PCs against an ogre on the side of a winding mountain road with a steep slope to the left and a cliff to the right. Only two or three PCs can approach the ogre at once. Or try pitting the PCs against kobolds in the narrow tunnels of a gnomish mine where all medium sized PCs will be squeezing. Or try putting the troll on the center of a bridge (he lives underneath it of course).Terrain makes combat more interesting, encourages PCs to do interesting and creative things (like jump on top of tables to get a height advantage against their foes or take cover behind an overturned table). It also gives you a chance to funnel the combat and keep the PCs from all ganging up on your bad guy at once.2. Vary the monsters. Don't just toss a monster manual ogre at the PCs. Instead, toss an ogre barbarian with a 13 dex and the combat reflexes feat at the PCs and surprise them with the second AoO. Don't just throw the PCs up against hobgoblin warriors. Throw the PCs up against a group of disciplined Hobgoblins with heavy shields, shortswords, and the Phalanx Fighting feat.3. Don't be afraid to use spell like abilities and spells against them. Give the hobgoblins a wizard with Enlarge Person and Ray of Enfeeblement and have the wizard Enlarge the hobgoblin leader and then Enfeeble whatever PC is facing him. Give the hobgoblins a cleric too and have the cleric use Bane and Doom against the PCs as well as blessing the hobgoblins (and curing his Enlarged Leader). Or try a bunch of hobgoblins with Guisarms and Combat Reflexes and make their leader a hobgoblin fighter with Improved Trip. Enlarge him for extra fun. Give the bad guys a couple of skilled archers (point blank shot, precise shot, rapid shot) with mighty composite longbows to back them up. While the PCs struggle to mow through the bad guy tanks, have the archers light them up.</blockquote>

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