The 4th-level bard with a CR of 1

[the Jester]

DMs- How much do you adjust CRs from their book value when appropriate? For example, I call this fella CR 1, though by the RAW he's CR 4:

BRAGI “THE OLD-TIMER”-- CR 1

Halfelf bard 4
Align Size Type (subtype)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, Listen +6, Spot +2
Languages Gnollish, Gnomish, Kamendan, Tydonian

AC touch , flat-footed
Hit Dice 4d6-4 (5 hp)
Fort +, Ref +, Will +

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee dagger +1 (1d4-2/19-20)
Ranged dagger +3 (1d4-2/19-20)
Base Atk +3; Grp +1
Special Actions Bardic music 4/day (countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire courage +1)

Str 6, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 6, Cha 15
SQ elfblood traits, low-light vision
Feats Alertness, Encore, Improved Initiative, Lingering Song, Skill Focus (perform (fiddle))
Skills Bluff +9, Decipher Script +10, Diplomacy +9, Gather Information +4, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (history, local, nobility & royalty) +10, Knowledge (religion) +6, Listen +6, Perform (fiddle) +10, Perform (singing) +7, Search +4, Spot +2, Tumble +7
Possessions fiddle, fancy boots (worth 2 gp), dagger



What do you think?

 

[kolikeos]

this guy might be a great addition to a party but definitely not in combat

 

[EricNoah]

CR guestimation is an art; I think you probably have the right CR pegged. He's weak and possibly demented/insane (that low Wis score ... how'd he get that -- you're supposed to get more wisdom with age! ). Also he doesn't have the equipment for a 4th level character, so that's another strike against his CR. Does he have some spells?

 

[Quicken]

Each character/monster has a CR assuming you'll use it for what it's good at. If you've got Zombies at 300 yards then it's no real risk to any player with a ranged weapon.

Your bard might well be justified at being CR 4 if he's in a good position to: fascinate the players, cast some buffs on himself, have some companions to buff, have something to keep some distance between him and the players or even has a magical item (his equipment value should allow for one).

 

[painandgreed]

Unless I'm missing something, his HP are too low. 5 for first level plus at least one for the other three means a minimum of 8 HP with and average of 12.5

 

[Quickleaf]

Jester, what do the feats encore and lingering song do?
And, how is the old-timer bard going to be used?

Remember, the term is challenge rating, not combat rating like WotC would have you think. So the circumstances really matter.

For example, put this seemingly innocuous bard into a situation where he's the only one who can speak with the party of gnolls which have the PCs surrounded, and give him a reason to want to keep the PCs occupied. He could rat out the PCs to the gnolls while pretending to be their ally, feigning bewilderment when the gnolls take the PCs captive. Later, while held captive by gnolls, he might bluff one of the PCs into stealing something, and use his fascinate ability with their chieftain to cover the PCs' moves. Later, the bard might (speaking in gnollish) inform a lesser gnoll commander about the theft. When the commander raids the PCs' tent and finds the item, he presents it to the chieftain who order the party killed/imprisoned/exiled on a desert island/etc.

All from the crafty bard. Certainly worth more than CR 1 in this case, and he only used three of his abilities: speak gnollish, bluff, and fascinate (and possibly his low Wisdom for thinking the PCs would let him get away with this trick)

 

[Mark]

I might drop him to CR 3 if I had undermined his hit points and Strength in that way, too, but otherwise (with spells and his abilities, not to mention halfelf traits) he's still a dangerous opponent if he is played that way.

As an NPC he'd be a good Information Contact to have for the party.

 

[Darkness]

Unless I'm missing something, his HP are too low.

Hm, assuming his hp aren't in error, he's probably an Average character, not an Elite one (DMG, p.110).

 

[William_2]

I don't think it maters what CR NPCs "walk around with", really. This one could be dangerous depending on what the encounter is, as people have said. Obviously, if they were to leap into the open in the forest and yell "Now you die!", a fourth level party would not even need to wake up to dispatch them, so you might want to adjust the XP at that point.

Really, does any one 4th level character EVER provide any serious danger for a fourth level party?! So I'm not sure this NPC in particular needs to be adjusted. A solid level 4 Fighter is getting his head handed to him in a fight with a 4th level party, too, in my view.

 

[S'mon]

These days I set NPC CRs by actual power rather than rely on their character level, yup. Eg the NPC classes like Warrior get progessively weaker, so CR around 2/3 their level is about right, depending on gear. Conversely last but 1 session I rated a 3rd level NPC Fighter/Paladin CR 4 (& gave double XP) because the cursed bracers he was wearing made him far tougher than standard. I strongly advise not trusting 'book' CRs and always be willing to adjust.