Hey Valentino!
Really cool to hear that you're planning on playing DURF!
The first advice I'd like to give is that balance in the traditional sense isn't something to bother with in games like this, since there will be ways for an adventuring party to deal with foes which are way stronger than them. They can always run away, try diplomacy, or find a way to stack the odds in their favor. Just make sure you as a GM reward clever thinking from your players :)
But there are some other pointers to help make sure the balance isn't too off when it inevitably leads to a fight:
- Remind your players that they can push their characters to gain a Buff on their rolls.
- A simple way to scale fights is to make sure the combined HD total of the enemies is around the same as the total HD of the party. A little more or less usually isn't a problem, especially once players get their hands on magic items and other advantages.
- Let your players know their characters can die quickly with a few bad rolls. Having them embrace this is honestly the best way to play this game. Let them play their characters like they are driving a stolen car. Character creation is quick for a reason. If you want some more advice for players and GMs, check out the Player and GM Advice section in the preview PDF for DURF Expanded. It has some good advice to help you and your players get in the right mindset for this game.
Some other advice to help specifically with running the game for a smaller party:
- They should probably hire a hireling or two to make up for the smaller party size. A simple carrier to carry their supplies and plundered treasure and someone to help them fight when it comes to that. Even bigger parties usually have a handful of hirelings to help with that. And if a player dies, they can even start playing one of their loyal hireling instead of rolling up a new character.
- Other than that, combined with the general advice above about balance, you should be okay! Just have fun and let the dice fall where they may. Even if shit goes bad, that often makes for the most memorable stories :)
Good luck!
- Emiel