[3.5] Monster Advice

[Turkagent]

DMing for my first game and I need some monster help.

If I were to take monster encounters from an equivalent level(lvL 1) that is made for a group of 4 and double them to make it for a party of 7 will my party survive?

[Turkagent]

I"m sorry for bumping this but...can I get a yes or no? I don't wan to royally mess this up on my first time...

[sirpercival]

I would use this (http://www.d20srd.org/extras/d20encountercalculator/) for guidelines, but really the CR system is broken so it's just guidelines. As DM you'll probably have to fudge things, especially with 1st-level characters.

[lord pringle]

They count as a fourth level party, so quadruple it, but you should really just eyeball it.

[Turkagent]

Are two CR 1's really "VERY DIFFICULT" for a party of 7?

[sirpercival]

Depends on the party makeup and the specific monsters.

EDIT: I ran a CR 3 vs a group of 9 level 1s, and though one of them would have dropped (had I not rolled a 1 on the attack), they made it through in 2 rounds no problem. Still, the monster was not highly optimized.

[Chronos]

One thing that'll make a big difference is whether the monsters and/or your party have a lot of ranged attacks. If everyone fights at range, then scaled-up battles get a lot deadlier on both sides, since the sides can focus-fire on one target at a time. Eight goblins, say, all shooting at a single low-level PC, are very likely to drop him.

On the other hand, if they're all melee, then it becomes a lot like two small-group battles side-by-side, except that once one sub-party wins, they can help out the other one (this benefits the players, since they're the ones who are expected to win most battles).

[teslas]

One thing that'll make a big difference is whether the monsters and/or your party have a lot of ranged attacks. If everyone fights at range, then scaled-up battles get a lot deadlier on both sides, since the sides can focus-fire on one target at a time. Eight goblins, say, all shooting at a single low-level PC, are very likely to drop him.

On the other hand, if they're all melee, then it becomes a lot like two small-group battles side-by-side, except that once one sub-party wins, they can help out the other one (this benefits the players, since they're the ones who are expected to win most battles).

Very, very true. Ranged attacks are the bane of basically anyone at level 1. 1d6 damage from an arrow, (3d6 after a crit) is deadly, let alone four people all firing them at you. Gods help you if they are composite (+1) bows. Players will definitely need to understand that they are not yet super-heroic-bad-asses and might want to simply not engage enemies that have higher ground, are already entrenched, or know they are coming. Players must also understand that bad luck, more than any other time in the game, can and will happen with the most serious results.

The good news: re-rolling a level 1 character isn't a big deal, and it's sometimes excusable if they simply remake the same character with a different name and backstory.

For any future campaigns where your players don't absolutely want to start out at level 1, I'd suggest starting at 2 or 3.

[nedz]

It really all depends upon how experienced, or rather how competant, your players are. It can take a little while for a player to get to grips with a new character, or they could pick it up straight away.
Best way to do this is by experimentation. Take some simple monster, eg goblins, and throw a couple of goblins at them. Next encounter use 4, then 8, etc. eventually you will get a feel for the actual strength of the group.