Group EL 6 - 7 = Worth magic items

[Celesil]

Hello therem,

first time to post here.
First of all, i'm not a english speaking guy, so sorry for bad grammar or something else :)

Our group are:
Elv Scout lvl 9
dwarf barb lvl 8 or 9
gnome rouge/illusionist 3/3
dwarf monk 9
drow cleric (me) EL 7 (5 + 2 AL)
fighter 9 (range fighter)

So if i'm correct the groups EL should be around 7.

So old DM (i'm now DM for a while) gave us at the last session magic items, which in my opinion are way to strong for that lvl.

Scout = Composite +2, Str. 4; every! second attck is a crit if it hits
barb = +2 mithrill full plate; 2x greataxe + 2 with 1/day 1+d6 fire for 5 rounds (a full of +3?)
rouge/wizard = xbow +2 with some special on it (forgot about it :( )
fighter = neverending case of arrows with 1d6 fire/ shoc and force; got (early in game) a bow which splits every arrow and the bow it self has a + 2, +4 str
cleric (me) = elven longsword +2, 18-20 crit with x3, 2d8 dmg and a heavy steel shield +2, 5/day blind for 1 round

So i think these magic items are way to worth for this level.
I must say, only the barb and me are a little bit optimized.

My problem is, i'm mastering expedition to castle ravenloft and i don't know how to tune up the fights, cos of this magic items.
The old DM send (after new magic items) a Ghour (minotaur thing from 3rd forgotten realms monster book) and this thing last for 2 rounds. But i think this thing was at CR 13 or 14 and should be our death?

I hope you understand my question/ problem and can help me or give out some tips.

[OldTrees1]

Is the Scout's bow naturally that accurate (a special ability that automatically crits every other hit) or is it merely an increased chance and a sequence of lucky rolls?

Are the Fighter's Arrows Fire, Shock, & Force?



Yeah it sounds like they have a lot of wealth for their level(uneven too, some have more than others). Sounds like the wealth from a few ~15th level encounters or the WBL of ~11th level characters. But that is from a rough estimate.



As for a single CR 12 monster dying quickly, well that is what happens when against 6 PCs of 8th level. So you can tell the wealth is high from that but you can't tell how high or even if it is/is not going to be a problem.

My advice is to observe the party against a CR 10 fight where there are 8 or so monsters. If they have trouble, scale back. If they walk through it then you will need to drastically boost the module's encounters. If they have an easy fight but it still takes effort on their parts, then boost the module so the encounters are from CR 10-13 in the beginning to CR 14-17 at the end. Remember to avoid letting the monsters be outnumbered.

[Darrin]

My problem is, i'm mastering expedition to castle ravenloft and i don't know how to tune up the fights, cos of this magic items.


The thing to remember with Strahd is he generally has a huge information advantage over the PCs. Every raven, every mouse, every bat is a potential spy. Any of these creatures watching the PCs closely will find out their strengths and weaknesses.

That and the party seems to have a lot of magic ranged weapons. So make sure your enemies have access to wind wall, sleet storm, and all the various mist/fog spells. Make sure your enemies are prepared to take advantage of concealment with abilities like blindsight (giant bats), tremorsense (giant spiders), and scent (any animals, dire or otherwise).

The other thing to keep in mind is the Dark Powers don't play fair, and a "Horror" theme should have a different feel to it than a standard D&D hack-and-slash. There should be moments where the PCs feel frustrated and powerless. Don't be afraid to say "That doesn't work" or "You should consider running away". Yes, it's railroading to keep pulling out the Plot Immunity card, but it's also part of the horror genre.

[Celesil]

Thanks for the quick answer and tips :)

@OldTrees1

Yep, the Bow of the Scout is naturally that accurate. The DM said "every second attack is a crit, if the attack hits". So it automatically crits, if the second attack hits. The second attack can be in one round if the Scout uses his 2 attacks per round or in round 2, if the scout uses only 1 attack per round.
He self designed it, i think.

The Arrows of the fighter are infused with shock, force and fire. The case refills alone, so he doesn't go empty.


In the first part, the Village of Barovia is attacked by undead force. There're some death locks (i think thats the monster name).
If i'm correct, the death lock can cast level 3 spells. So it could cast the wind wall spell and is immune for the box/ xbow. The other zombies and carcass eaters can work as defence wall.
The first encouters got an ECL of 6 or 7. The markt square has a 8 or 9. So there are some monsters.

I thought of to bring one or two curses in the game. Like some villagers lay a curse of a PC.
Example: May your hands fail you, if you need them the most! So this means for me, a -2 or -4 at Dex/ Str (based on class) if the monsters focus on someone or gets closer and closer to the range guys. So this could be a little bit of the said Dark Powers.