One challenge I keep seem to be having is the overall game balance of Pathfinder, especially with 2nd edition. I am not sure if my experience is not the norm, or if this is common, but it seems the like the Adventure Path difficulty scale dramatically increases near Chapter 3 or 4. In first edition, this was a problem as well, but only for some of the campaigns – Rise of the Runelords did not have an issue (for our group), but Carrion Crown did (for our first edition group years ago).
In each case, the groups are solid – good balance of classes and options, and as least mostly knowledgeable characters. Gear is likely lacking – in 1st edition this was a much bigger problem, but 2nd edition has made a strong effort to reduce the reliance on gear. However, the challenges presented, unless specifically handicapped, tend to overwhelm the group.
Case in point is our current Extinction Curse battle that is raging. It is the end of Chapter 3, and the group is facing off against Thessekka, the Xulgath chieftain. She is intended to be a strong fight certainly, and according to the advancement plan of the story, the group should be (and is) level 11 when they face her. However, if she is an intelligent foe (and she is, since she has taken control of the Xulgaths), there is no logical way should would fight single-handedly against a group whom she knows to be powerful – thus she has arrayed the local defense forces in front of her.
So per the way the story is written, the group must fight their way thru several layers of strong guards, expending resources. Then, assuming she doesn’t join the fight early, they have to face off against the leader herself. This would be challenging for a solid group regardless, but then Thessekka as written is a level 14 threat (by herself). And since Xulgaths are naturally very strong, agile, and quick, her stats are correspondingly high – she is a severe threat by herself against a standard group who is fully prepared.
Side note – our group is not typical. We normally have 8 players, compared to a normal 4 person group. This last game, we continued with 6 players. Up until recently, I routinely would double the size of the threat, given the oversized-group. For this particular fight however, I have not adjusted any of the challenge, except by increasing the number of trogs at the base of the tower (which are predominantly level 6, and not much of a threat).
The group, sensing the threat, did manage a very successful distraction maneuver – almost all of the defense force is now out in the wilderness searching for an archer that has gone invisible and flown over their heads. The main group however had faced off against the main threat, and quite honestly gotten their butts beaten down. Most of their big powers are gone, and several characters have gone down multiple times – Thessekka has only taken about 29 points out of her Xulgath health levels.
Having read into the next chapter, it only seems to get worse – the creature continue to get tougher and stronger, and the group struggles to maintain.
Now, mitigating factors of course are the luck of the dice – my dice were rather strong for the game, which rarely a lower than 15 rolled, while the group just couldn’t hit much of anything – that of course makes a huge difference in the story.
But what are your experiences? Do you have to tone down adventures or challenges, or do you simply kill off the group? I am not opposed to a party wipe, but the intent of the story is to have fun, and not to be defeated by poor balance. Poor decisions and choices are not an issue, but it is heavy handed just to toss in a rather overwhelming foe against the group.
