I am having difficulties on ballancing my encounters the right way.
The party of my players will consist of:
a lvl 2 rogue, a lvl 2 blood hunter, a lvl 2 fighter and a lvl 2 sorcerer.
Do you guys think an encounter of the following monsters is too much or too hard? :
2 Chitines
2 Skeletons
Somehow when i summarize all of this with challenge rating it is already a "hard" encounter but to me it just does not feel like a hard encounter. I would like to add a lvl 3 Assasin because it would fit the story but I do not know if that is too much or not. What is your opinion?
Thx to you in advance for your answers and opinions.
Considering 2 chitines and 2 skeletons add up to a total cr of only about 1 and a half, I'd suggest changing it from 2 skeletons to 4 skeletons. adding an assassin, however, would definitely be overkill considering how easy it would be for one to get an instant kill on a PC even without sneak attack.
Levels 1 and 2 are really hard to predict for because they're SO dependent on the RNG since player/monster modifiers aren't high yet. looking at the two you have its feels to me like its a real tossup (They hit PCs, they die. PC hits monster, THEY die) I think I would have the assassin hiding (invisible, or up a tree or whatever) and have them appear if the PC's seem like they have a handle on it after the first few rounds. But if those 3-attack wielding Chitines start stomping on the PC's, maybe have them noticing the assassin leaving so you still get the flavor of having it there.
Also, encounter ratings like "hard" are based on the expected daily budget of 6-8 encounters per long rest. A "hard" encounter has a good chance of not being particularly challenging for fully rested PCs, but might be significantly more challenging at the end of the day, or if they're trying to get through it without taking much damage or using too many spell slots to be ready for the next one.
Also just to add to the discussion, you might want to give your players a few healing potions if you haven't already. It seems from first glance that the party doesn't really have a dedicated healer (unless of course the sorcerer is divine soul), so if one player drops to 0 hp they're basically toast without healing potions. Action economy and all that.
It's all about context. If this is the only encounter in a day, not only is that frustrating for non-spellcasters and warlocks, who will feel very underpowered, but it'll likely get steamrolled as is. If it's just a Hard encounter in a series of 4, 6, or even 8, it should be fine. Good luck!
Hello guys!
I am having difficulties on ballancing my encounters the right way.
The party of my players will consist of:
a lvl 2 rogue, a lvl 2 blood hunter, a lvl 2 fighter and a lvl 2 sorcerer.
Do you guys think an encounter of the following monsters is too much or too hard? :
2 Chitines
2 Skeletons
Somehow when i summarize all of this with challenge rating it is already a "hard" encounter but to me it just does not feel like a hard encounter. I would like to add a lvl 3 Assasin because it would fit the story but I do not know if that is too much or not. What is your opinion?
Thx to you in advance for your answers and opinions.
Considering 2 chitines and 2 skeletons add up to a total cr of only about 1 and a half, I'd suggest changing it from 2 skeletons to 4 skeletons. adding an assassin, however, would definitely be overkill considering how easy it would be for one to get an instant kill on a PC even without sneak attack.
Levels 1 and 2 are really hard to predict for because they're SO dependent on the RNG since player/monster modifiers aren't high yet. looking at the two you have its feels to me like its a real tossup (They hit PCs, they die. PC hits monster, THEY die) I think I would have the assassin hiding (invisible, or up a tree or whatever) and have them appear if the PC's seem like they have a handle on it after the first few rounds. But if those 3-attack wielding Chitines start stomping on the PC's, maybe have them noticing the assassin leaving so you still get the flavor of having it there.
Also, encounter ratings like "hard" are based on the expected daily budget of 6-8 encounters per long rest. A "hard" encounter has a good chance of not being particularly challenging for fully rested PCs, but might be significantly more challenging at the end of the day, or if they're trying to get through it without taking much damage or using too many spell slots to be ready for the next one.
Also just to add to the discussion, you might want to give your players a few healing potions if you haven't already. It seems from first glance that the party doesn't really have a dedicated healer (unless of course the sorcerer is divine soul), so if one player drops to 0 hp they're basically toast without healing potions. Action economy and all that.
It's all about context. If this is the only encounter in a day, not only is that frustrating for non-spellcasters and warlocks, who will feel very underpowered, but it'll likely get steamrolled as is. If it's just a Hard encounter in a series of 4, 6, or even 8, it should be fine. Good luck!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club