4e is modeled on approximately 10 encounters/level. So if you are playing 2 encounters/session then you will level approximately once every 2.5 months.
The experience point numbers in the game are built
so that characters complete eight to ten encounters
for every level they gain. In practice, that’s six to eight
encounters, one major quest, and one minor quest per
character in the party. (DMG 121)
That means that yes it will take you a bit over 2 years to get to L10 playing twice a month and probably longer to reach higher levels as paragon and epic encounters may take longer (higher XP budgets, PC damage doesn't scale as well with monster health at epic etc)
This has been borne out in my experience. My group meets weekly for about 4 hours. We usually get through two combat encounters in a session (or 1 combat and a social encounter or similar). We have been playing for a bit over a year and are nearly at L10.
Theoretically if this math continues (I don't think it scales quite the same way) and you can continue to finish 2 encounters in a session it will take aproximately 150 sessions to get to L30. at 26 sessions/year it will take a bit over 5 and a half years to level all the way to epic.
Addendum:
Here is a breakdown of time taken to Level from 1-30 assuming 2 encounter/session 26 sessions/year at 6, 8, and 10 encounter/level:
- 10 encounter/level -> 300 encounters -> 150 sessions -> 5.76 years
- 8 encounters/level -> 240 encounters -> 120 sessions -> 4.61 years
- 6 encounters/level -> 180 encounter -> 90 sessions -> 3.46 years
This gives you an idea at least of potential different rates at which you can level depending on how challenging your adventuring becomes.
OK, From the looks of it, you want the following:
- Stealthy
- Leadery needs to be able to command numerous minions
- Level Appropriate, but formidable.
You want this guy
Danjani, He's a L4 Tiefling darkblade solo. Make him a human by making one small change, instead of his racial power give him a reroll on an attack.
Dajani, Tiefling Darkblade
Medium natural humanoid
Level 4 Solo Lurker
XP 875
Initiative +12 Senses Perception +5; low-light vision
HP 224; Bloodied 112
AC 21; Fortitude 16, Reflex 20, Will 16
Resist 12 fire
Saving Throws +4
Speed 7
Action Points 2
Poisoned Short Sword (standard, at-will) Poison, Weapon
+9 vs AC; (+10 against bloodied target)1d6+4 damage, and Dajani makes a secondary attack against the same target.
Secondary Attack +10 vs Fortitude; ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends).
Double Attack (standard, at-will)
Dajani makes two poisoned short sword attacks but cannot make both attacks against the same target.
Demonic Frenzy (immediate reaction, when attacked by an adjacent enemy while bloodied, at-will)
Dajani makes a frenzied short sword attack against the enemy; +9 vs AC; (+10 against bloodied target)1d6+4 damage.
Secondary Attack +10 vs Fortitude; ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends).
Cloak of Lurking (move; at-will) Teleportation
Dajani teleports 5 squares and becomes invisible until the end of its next turn.
Infernal Wrath (minor; encounter, recharges when first bloodied)
Dajani gains a +1 power bonus to its next attack roll against an enemy that hit him since his last turn. If the attack hits and deals damage, Dajani deals an extra 3 damage.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Supernal
Skills Bluff +13, Stealth +15
Str 13 (+3) Dex 20 (+7) Wis 14 (+4)
Con 16 (+5) Int 13 (+3) Cha 16 (+5)
Equipment: cloak, cult tunic, 2 poisoned short swords, Naarash talisman, boots of striding , leather armor .
That's a tough foe, if you want something a bit more run of the mill, I recommend going the elite route. Kelson is a good monster here.
Kelson
Small natural humanoid, halfling
Level 5 Elite Skirmisher (Leader)
XP 400
HP 120; Bloodied 60 Initiative +9
AC 20, Fortitude 16, Reflex 19, Will 16 Perception+7
Speed 6
Saving Throws +2 (+5 against fear effects); Action Points 1
Traits
Gang Leader Aura 3
Allies gain a +2 power bonus to saving throws while in the aura.
River Rat Tactics
Kelson has combat advantage against any enemy that is adjacent to at least one of his allies.
Standard Actions
Short Sword (weapon) At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +10 vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + 6 damage.
Throwing Dagger (poison, weapon) At-Will
Attack: Ranged 10 (one creature); +10 vs. AC
Hit: 1d4 + 5 damage, and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Flickering Blades At-Will
Effect: Kelson uses short sword against one enemy, shifts up to 3 squares, and then uses throwing dagger against a different enemy.
River Rat's Gambit Encounter
Requirement: Kelson must be bloodied.
Effect: Kelson makes a basic attack. If the attack hits, the target takes 2d6 extra damage. If the attack misses, Kelson takes 1d6 damage.
Triggered Actions
Second Chance Encounter
Trigger: An enemy hits Kelson with an attack.
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The triggering enemy must reroll the attack and use the new result.
Skills Acrobatics +12, Bluff +9, Stealth +12, Streetwise +9, Thievery +12
Str 14 (+4) Dex 20 (+7) Wis 11 (+2)
Con 12 (+3) Int 10 (+2) Cha 15 (+4)
Alignment Evil Languages Common
Equipment: dagger x10, leather armor , short sword .
All that to say, forget the race, focus on getting the powers, level and role right, and then just reflavor the monster however is required for your campaign. 4e monsters are just a set of powers to hang a character on. The name and race rarely matter, just use them as a canvas on which to paint your world.
Best Answer
If you have access to the DMG (if you're DMing, you're going to want it) page 57 has a chart listing how much XP an encounter of level X for a group of 4, 5, or 6 PCs should be. You ought to be able to modify this for a group of 2 fairly easily by taking the XP for a 4-person encounter of the level you want and dividing by 2.
In case you don't have it handy, here are the XP totals for a group of 2 for the first 10 encounter levels:
Remember that not every fight should be the same level as the party. Fights of the party's level are average difficulty (or easy if the party is optimized), fights of lower than the party's level are easy (or speedbumps at best if the party is optimized), and fights that are higher than the party's level are hard (how hard again depends on party optimization). Generally any fight of less than party level -2 or -3 is too easy, and any fight of party level +4 or more is too hard for all but heavily optimized parties. The same range also applies when selecting monster levels, so monsters should be within 3 levels of the party; a single regular level 10 monster might be the right amount of XP for a level 1 encounter (in a 5-person party), but its defenses and attack values will be much higher than the party's.
Thus, if you want a typical fight for a level 1 party with 2 PCs, you should use 200xp worth of monsters. If you want a challenging fight for a level 1 party with 2 PCs, you should use 300xp of monsters. You can compare a fight's XP total to the recommended XP for a 5 person to estimate what level the Kobold Hall fights should be, then turn it into an appropriate fight of the same level for a 2-person fight.
That said, paladin and warlord is a relatively good 2-person combination (as long as the paladin has a good MBA), so you might find that you need to add in a little extra XP worth of monsters. If you find that adding monsters makes combat take too long (paladin & warlord combo has a lot of healing, but isn't a damage powerhouse), try going back to the normal number of monsters, but double their damage and cut their HP in half.