Maybe I'm just bad, but doesn't stone guardian boss have too much health at apprentice level? I got an event for no lvl restrictions and took level 4 grave robber and level 5 shieldbreaker for armor piercing and my party still got nuked after the boss charged his eye lasers and there was no way for me to get him below 50%. Is that intended? I mean, I guess it's possible to beat him if I bring the snake scales, but the apprentice version of this boss feels stronger than the same boss at champion level in vanilla CC. Crocodilian and Baron are way easier too and they give basically the same rewards I think.

He is definitely meant to be tanky and it is intended for him to be tanky enough to let out his eye lasers at least once in the fight, even if you bring a high amount of damage to the fight.

I'll be making balance adjustments in the future so keep an eye out to see if he recieves any changes.

In the meantime, here are some tips that can help you if you're having difficulty:

1. The Guardian's Shield can only guard one part of his body at a time. AoE can be very effective for bypassing its protection.
2. Despite only having one turn each, since they all share the same HP, DoTs can do considerable damage if you can apply multiples instances at once (e.g. Plague Grenade)
3. The Guardian's Spear prioritizes heroes that are marked. Man-At-Arms' Retribution is an excellent skill for drawing the spear's attacks and damaging it through Riposte.
4. You're given ample time to prepare his major attack, so stacking buffs can be effective.

Is the apprentice guardian supposed to drop blueprints? I believe that was the point of farming him in the base game. He does not even give very rare trinkets as a quest reward and he was rather hard as a boss even compared to the reworked bosses mod type bosses.

Garden Guardian should not drop blueprints at the apprentice level. While he does not reward a trinket upon quest completion, you should receive one CC trinket upon defeating him, which is of equal value.

Once I met that composition...
--------------------------------------------
hall: .chance 1 .types chevalier_C chevalier_C chevalier_C chevalier_C
room: .chance 1 .types chevalier_C chevalier_C chevalier_C chevalier_C
--------------------------------------------
(courtyard.5.mash.darkest & courtyard.6.mash.darkest)

During 2 rounds a few their crits + double attacks with bleed DOTs sent 3 of my party members to death door, simultaneously! Btw one was MAA + 10% hp from district. And I had about 6 checks, luckely nobody died. But also that could be 3 easy deaths.

So... isn't it too much?
(as I recall in vanilla max I saw was 3 of them together and that mash was like veeeery close fight to die)

Bonuses of Sculptor's Head feels too OP.
I suggesting numbers should be around:
or +15% dmg; +10% prot or +10% dmg; +15% prot

Fighting Viscount during all difficulties I noticed, that closer to champion difficulty, then fight go eternity.
In vanilla CC before making boss fight at least you could go back to town and switch to some powerful composition (here you need bring team which will go through all quest to boss room and which will fight boss as well)

So I hadn't much choices, so I intentionally brought less damage team, but team which can survive vs big damage & stress.

Problem:
He is always aim "feed_on_bloated" and always stay full hp, summon new mobs, eat etc, feel like endless circle... Especially "helps" situation, when Loyal Manservant is starting to protect "Bloodstuffed body" or when Viscount spawn more than 1 "Bloodstuffed body" (2 or 3).
For example I'm currently at turn #44 and feel that sorta stuck (my heroes alive, but Viscount full hp) and that doesn't feel so fun...

Suggestion:
-------------------------
courtyardOverhaul.monster_brains.json
"id" = "c0_viscount":
--> skill_cooldowns --> "combat_skill_id": "feed_on_bloated" (change "amount" 0 to 2)
--> bonus_initiative_desires--> data (change "monsters_size_limit" 3 to 2)
Goal is to make Viscount make "mistakes" sometimes and eat some other mob instead of bloated dude and get less hp)
-------------------------

Quad-Chevalier composition is meant to be brutal, but also very rare (1.2% to spawn in halls; 3% in rooms). Most I would do is lower the spawn chance in room encounters.

Sculptor's Head is strong, as most Trophy rarities should be. Your suggested values would be good if it was a normal trinket, but I intend for all Trophies to be somewhat OP.

Not all teams are viable for all bosses. You should not be bringing low damage to Viscount, much like you shouldn't bring slow heroes to Garden Guardian. Regardless, Viscount will be receiving some changes next update

After finished mod, I would like to share suggestion about CC_VO quirks:

It is really felt spam pressure of their appearance:
- at Stage Coach,
- after any missions,
- and also pressure of special virulent quirks (one per roster) after killing croc/altair countress or any bosses - because I used that chance a lot to farm trinkets, especially countress
altair; once I had croc, 2 altair fights and after when mission was done there were a lot the given.

Let me spicify my point of view:
These quirks are cool, but cool only inside CC location. So I would call them very situational.
But their chances of appearance is counted as equal to chances of core quirks.

Quirks of locations (-Explorer; - Scrounger; -Tactitian; - Adventurer) can be counted same weight as of core locations, because in that case they are on same level of demand and level of utility.

But about rest CC_VO quirks there is collision:
CC_VO (-Hater; -Slayer; etc.) can't be useful in other locations, but core (eldritch, unholy, beast, man --> -Hater; -Slayer; etc.) can be.
So weight of such core quirks is much bigger, than CC_VO quirks. And when CC_VO often appear from different sources, they are sorta "steal" chances of appearance for some vital core quirks.
And I had mixed feeling about that situation during playing my run.

Suggestions:
----------------
1) Maybe all CC_VO quirks (good, bad or virulent) only should be given after making CC-quests? Like it is happening with Shrieker plot-quest and his corvids set.
IMO it will have some sense - if you are often visit some location, then you get quirks which correspond to that exact location.

Here an easy way how to provide it:
1) Leave "random_chance" = 1 for this list (to let them apprear in ordinary way)
"courtyard_explorer"
"courtyard_adventurer"
"courtyard_scrounger"
"courtyard_tactician"
"courtyard_phobe"

2) Make "random_chance" = 0.00 for that list of quirks:
"fear_of_bloodsuckers"
"hatred_of_bloodsuckers"
"slayer_of_bloodsuckers"
"entomophobia"
"blood_lover"
"blood_hater"

3) Expand current list of loot-quirks with +6 quirks (list from step [2]) inside info-files of certain mobs (who use that "loot: .raid_finish_quirk_class_id" mechanic)

Also in that way getting virulent quirks would be harder to get, because will be gamble amoung: good, bad or virulent.

2) Or just make separate "Virulent Add-On" which will bring all these new quirks and leave base mod without them.

3) Or implement both suggestions (1) + (2)

I just want to describe one champion fight with mash:
#1:[V.Manser], #2:[V.Courtesan], #3:[V.Chevalier], #4:[V.Chevalier]

I came to fight with full hp party (all heroes 6-lvl)
I couldn't kill Courtesan in 1-st round (she is dodged a lot). But I stunned her.
So her 1-st action was spent on recovery from stun and with 2-nd she is use her dance skill (and Chevalier got double actions).

Then during 2 rounds I had literaly 3 stunned heroes, which couldn't do anything (AOE stun from Chevaliers & additional single stuns from Courtesan).
At the time their double actions keep critting my party members and Chevaliers keep applied huge bleed DOTs. In end of round 2 --> 2 heroes were dead (they died being stunned)

I literary just sitting and watching how party was diying without be able to do anything.
I don't know if I could call it turn base fight lol

So I started 3-rd round like this:
https://i.ibb.co/Cn3QbmK/humm.png

So my question. Are you sure about that Courtesan's skill?
I can understand if double action could be given for 1 random mob... But for all mobs...
Feel too much. IMO it require additional tweaking.

I'll make adjustments to the rates of all the "vs. Bloodsucker" quirks, for reasons you've stated (less useful than other "vs." quirks).

I'm sure about the Courtesan's skill. She is suppose to be very dangerous, as a Champion-exclusive enemy; it is the reason that all Virulent Courtesan encounters drop 2 CC trinkets instead of 1. The encounter you faced is one of the more brutal encounters in the mod, as it features 3 powerful foes, all of which are much more powerful than your typical Champion enemy.

I see, well that was first reaction. I need to try test it more and bring Arbalest to remove stuns.
But from first look and first experience being stunned without chance of doing anything is feel more than brutal :D

Btw, I forgot mention issue with "castellan_A" + "obsolete_invitation"
It is good idea of enemy and trinket, but getting "very rare" and so powerful trinket in so early dungeon feel too op.

In core locations early lack of good scouting is always player's problem till the game middle.
It is bring us problems which make game interesting and intriguing (like you can miss secret room or you can be ambushed with some crazy shuffling).
So when your scouting became so good, then automatically player's life became easier.

I suggesting he should be available starting from Veteran quests (in mashes "B" & "C")

I get what you mean, and I had put some thought into it before allowing it to spawn in Apprentice dungeon. The reason I made it so it could spawn in apprentice dungeons is simply because the core game already does this with The Collector, who drops incredibly useful trinkets and can be encountered early on.

Perhaps the spawn chances were a bit too high, but the most recent update had added several encounters to apprentice dungeons, which has indirectly lowered its spawn rate.

I have to say i like all the changes and decisions that went into this mod but i also think the courtesan is too strong.

One encounter with this enemy can take away all of your chances of finishing the expedition, she is almost impossible to kill first round with her high health, ridiculous dodge, and her spawning in the backline.
Stunning is not effective either cuz she has two actions and she minuets her party anyway at which point you just watch your party get absolutely devastated.

Then, when you finally defeat the encounter with huge stress levels and possibly low health, depending on the enemy stuns, you find her again in the next battle.

I get wanting to have a dangerous champion enemy like the other areas but the courtesan is in league of her own making you feel powerless.

If you really want her to remain as is, then i think at least a spawn rate nerf is in order.
Another alternative is making an add-on reverting her to vanilla although personally i'm not a fan of this option.