[RPG] Adjusting Modules for More Players

dnd-3.5eencounter-designpublished-adventures

I am planning on running a D&D 3.5 campaign soon. I underestimated how many of my friends would be interested, and my group of 4 has quickly turned into a group of 6. I have seen various Encounter Level calculators and calculation tips, but I'm not sure that is what I'm looking for. I'm going to be running our sessions from modules rather than completely making each encounter from scratch, so I need more info on how to adjust what is already there then how to calculate the EL. I don't have all that much experience with DMing (I have done it some), and I plan to use a module such as "The Sunless Citadel" or "The Forge of Fury" (I know those are for different levels but I was just giving examples). The problem I'm having is that those modules have already calculated out an EL for you, but its for a group of 4 players.

How do I keep the encounter level the same for a larger group? Breaking down the precalculated EL the module gives me for 4 players into the CR's of the monsters and traps and then recalculating them and trying to add CR's so that the EL for the larger group is the same seems like a hassle. And with my lack of experience, I'm also worried I will do it wrong. Also, how do I deal with the premade "boss" monsters to make sure they aren't underpowered for the larger group?

Best Answer

Quickly, I thought that my DM wrote this question, because we were in that exact same scenario. What helped us was:

  1. The experienced players knew the material, and each took a pupil to help guide the new players. We're still having trouble actually "roleplaying" as a group. Most still treat it as a series of battles and not as an interactive story. We're getting better as a group, but be prepared for inexperienced players to decide that all they want to do is kill things. An overwhelming battle is a good idea for this. Make them need to retreat/consider not engaging.

  2. Our DM used the total number of players as the guideline for us. Instead of 6 orcs, there were four orcs and two ogres. Instead of a group of skeletons, there were two wights and a high level mummy. Some caused problems, some didn't, but it was all fun.

  3. Never underestimate the power of deus ex machina. An inexperienced DM can overwhelm his party. He can also use deus ex machina to solve the problem he created. For instance, we are a group of 6 (2 experienced players), and we had an encounter suitable for 8 characters. When it was clear we were in trouble (it was our 3rd/4th encounter), the DM used his god-like powers to help us out. We were near a town, and townspeople "witnessed our heroics and were inspired to help us" and took some flanking positions near some of the weaker enemies. This allowed our healer to retreat and heal the two tanks, and the rogue and ninja to clear out using sneak attacks. I think one villagers did 2 damage with a pitchfork. The damage wasn't the important part, but the attacks weren't centered on as many of the party, and the flanking helped with extra damage/increased attack rolls.

Just remember to think of creative solutions to problems that you will create, even just by mistake. In a dungeon, perhaps a trap springs and hits an enemy, rendering him unconscious for 5 rounds. Thing like this will allow the newbies to learn combat, and you can phase out the deus ex as you learn to better estimate your players skills and knowledge of the game.