Mixed CR XP awards, help with calculating

[kengar]

So the group fought and beat a mess of nasty gnolls. It was a fun battle (with 1 PC death) and lots of clever tactics all around. Now I need to give them their XP. Here's what they took out:

A Gnoll Cleric/Sorcerer calculated to a CR4
2 Gnoll "Grunts" @ CR1 each
3 Gnoll Warriors (a la WotC's "Battle Sheets") @ CR2 each
A Gnoll Barbarian5 tricked out with magic items to CR7
A Gnoll Fighter/Rogue @ CR6

Now, using the CR chart on p.101 of the DMG, and trying to consolidate stuff into the "Mixed Pairs" column, I come up with this being roughly a CR9 encounter. Is this right??

Here's my math:

The 2 grunts make for a CR2 (two CR1 creatures)
The 3 Warriors make for a CR5 (three CR2 creatures)

Now I have:
CR2 (Grunts)
CR4 (Cleric/Sorc)
CR5 (Warriors)
CR6 (Ftr/Rog)
CR7 (Barbarian)

Still with me?
On the "Mixed Pair" column:

The 2+4 (Grunts + Cleric/Sorc) becomes a CR5
The 5+7 (Warriors + Barbarian) becomes a CR8
This new 8+ the leftover 6 (Ftr/Rogue) becomes a CR9

Leaving a CR9 + CR5. There is no "9+5" option, but they add to 14 which, if you used the "6+8" option in it's place, would = CR9

Am I just doing this COMPLETELY wrong or is this correct? They are a party of five 7th Level characters, so given the result of the encounter, I don't think it should be a LOT higher than their party level, but I am still confused about whether I'm doing this right.

 

[Murrdox]

No no no no no no no!

Please don't use that table for handing out XP... your players will hate you for it!

That table is mainly used for calculating Encounter Level... mainly what kind of an encounter your players should be handling.

Let's take a less complex example than what you say... a 5th level party against 2 1st level NPCS and one 5th level NPC.

The 5th level NPC is a CR 5.
The 2 1st level NPC's combine to be a CR 2.

Which makes the whole encounter (by the table, I believe) to still be a EN 5 Encounter - namely, the CR 2 isn't enough to make the encounter an EL 6.

While this table is great for figuring out what your characters can handle in combat, don't use EL for XP... use CR for XP. I believe this method of handing out XP is detailed in the FRCS, and it's much better. Give the PCs XP for each monster they kill individually. If they kill a CR 6, 8, three 2s, and twenty 1/2s, then give them XP for each one - don't try to combine all those CRs into ONE EL for the whole encounter and give them XP for that.

My problem with this method... is that if you have a level 10 fighter, that's CR 10, and you get that much experience for defeating him.

BUT, if you then give that CR 10 fighter 5 level 1 henchmen... the henchmen aren't enough to make the encounter an EL 11... so the characters would get just as much experience for defeating the level 10 fighter and all his henchmen as they would get for defeating only the fighter himself.... which doesn't make much sense.

 

[kengar]

This was sort of the problem I was having too, Murrdox. Using your method, I would give them each 1181XP or approx 5900 total. That's right between a CR9 and CR10 encounter for a 7th level party of 5 PCs, which is what the other method indicated as well. That sounds about right challenge-wise (one PC death, a lot of resources burned, etc.). Now, I don't know if that works all the time, but in this case it does. I think I like your way better, though, btw


FWIW, I decided to give them 1400 xp each to take certain other factors into account. They were attacking a fortified position, uphill in a snowstorm. That -4 to missle fire and x1/3 movement for snow & terrain was messing them up bad!

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

In FRCS you calculate thus:

For every character, you calculate the experience he would get independantly from the levels of the other characters in the party. You take each character's level and cross-reference it with the CR of each defeated creature, then divided the XP amount by the number of characters in the party. You'll have to cross-reference a lot (# of characters in party X # of opponents) but it makes for a more equitable XP systme, IMO.

Maitre D

 

[mypetrock]

For calculating experience and CR, I use

http://www.d20reviews.com/Eric/downloads/encounter_calculator.htm

I find that it is easy to use and gets me a good approximation. From there you can add or substract a little for circumstance.

mypetrock

 

[Murrdox]

Kengar, very nicely done - I also frequently add in "ad hoc" experience rewards onto an encounter.

For example, I recently gave my players an encounter on a spiral stairway around a large pit in the middle of the room. The stone stairway was broken in many places, and overgrown with vegetagion. Two Gricks had made homes for themselves in the walls of the stairway.

I made it such that anytime any character was hit while on the stairs, a balance check was required to avoid tripping and falling down the stairs. I figured this was the equivalent of a CR 3 trap added into the encounter, and the Gricks were immune to the effects (unless bum-rushed perhaps) because they don't have legs, and can't "trip".

So when the encounter was over, they got a "bonus" CR 3, because of additional circumstances against them.