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Small Party

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 43
Sometimes you have a player who can’t make it to this week’s session; sometimes you only know two other gamers in your area. Either way, having a small party presents you with some unique challenges. With fewer characters, a battle can shift against them very quickly— one unconscious, charmed, or held PC in a group of three is a loss of 33% of the party’s resources compared to 25% in a standard party. Often, one or more PCs may have to take on multiple roles (melee character, skill character, arcane damage-dealer, or divine healer), and as the game rewards specialization, this means these hybrid characters are slightly less effective at either task than two focused characters would be. Fewer characters means it’s more likely they’re clustered together, and thus are more vulnerable to area attacks. When dealing with a small party, temperance is the key—start with smaller, weaker encounters, and give the players time to get the feel of their group’s vulnerabilities. Once the players have an idea about their party dynamics, test them with encounters closer to their average party level, and eventually you’ll find a good CR range that suits their abilities and is still challenging.

Archives of Nethys

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Small Party