clearstream
(He, Him)
This came from a couple of other threads. My goals were to 1) bring encounter thresholds and encounters per adventuring "day" together, 2) dial up the game difficulty because the book values yield encounters far below what my PCs find challenging, and 3) ensure that the effort to use this respected its accuracy (i.e. it had to be quick to use!)
XP Budgets Per Encounter and Adventuring Day
The table below is intended to help size encounters that your PCs can handle. It is derived from the DMG, but multiplies the thresholds there by about 1.6 to produce a harder game. Encounters are categorised as attritional and lethal. Both types can result in PC death, but attritional encounters are not likely to do so unless preceded by other encounters: characters should be able to handle around 2 attritional encounters between short rests, and 6 between long rests. Lethal encounters consume more resources and may deplete the party: count one as equal to three attritional encounters. For example, a party might overcome 3 attritional encounters before a short rest, and then face 1 lethal encounter.
The table provides an XP Budget (per PC) for attritional difficulty. To build an attritional encounter, add together the budgets for each PC in your party and then choose creatures for your encounter (applying adjustments per the DMG) until at or just over that total. To build a lethal encounter, use double the attritional total. For example, for a party of 3 level 4 and 1 level 5 PC, the budget for an attritional encounter is 2200, doubled to 4400 for a lethal encounter. Six orcs plus an ogre should be attritional, adding a war chief pushes that up to lethal.
Level....XP Budget (per PC)
1..........80
2..........160
3..........300
4..........440
5..........880
6..........1000
7..........1260
8..........1500
9..........1880
10........2260
11........2640
12........2880
13........3380
14........3760
15........4500
16........5000
17........6260
18........6760
19........7500
20........10000
XP Budgets Per Encounter and Adventuring Day
The table below is intended to help size encounters that your PCs can handle. It is derived from the DMG, but multiplies the thresholds there by about 1.6 to produce a harder game. Encounters are categorised as attritional and lethal. Both types can result in PC death, but attritional encounters are not likely to do so unless preceded by other encounters: characters should be able to handle around 2 attritional encounters between short rests, and 6 between long rests. Lethal encounters consume more resources and may deplete the party: count one as equal to three attritional encounters. For example, a party might overcome 3 attritional encounters before a short rest, and then face 1 lethal encounter.
The table provides an XP Budget (per PC) for attritional difficulty. To build an attritional encounter, add together the budgets for each PC in your party and then choose creatures for your encounter (applying adjustments per the DMG) until at or just over that total. To build a lethal encounter, use double the attritional total. For example, for a party of 3 level 4 and 1 level 5 PC, the budget for an attritional encounter is 2200, doubled to 4400 for a lethal encounter. Six orcs plus an ogre should be attritional, adding a war chief pushes that up to lethal.
Level....XP Budget (per PC)
1..........80
2..........160
3..........300
4..........440
5..........880
6..........1000
7..........1260
8..........1500
9..........1880
10........2260
11........2640
12........2880
13........3380
14........3760
15........4500
16........5000
17........6260
18........6760
19........7500
20........10000
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