By all means keep the Yochlol. If it looks like the company is having a great time and in good health then by all means up the ante. Your post is about the perception of the combat calculation being completely screwed up. My experience tells me that you're using it wrong. That doesn't make you a bad DM. People argue about 1 line sentences and here we're talking about numerous rules and tables. Everyone posting in here is working towards a best understanding of the calculation.
The Yochlol stayed around but it appears the last round the summoner is alive. Why perceive the calculation as if Yochlol was there from the beginning? The description of events fits a multi-part encounter. Additionally, One elite fled and one is alive. The remaining elite's CR is half the Yochlol's. Depending on the remaining elite's condition I would likely not include a multiplier. Therefore this part of the encounter is "hard".
A champion was taken out during the deadly portion. You had an option to kill the player but didn't. They owe you a smoothie.
A monk was hurt to the point of retreat during the hard portion.
Success. Well done. The encounter aligns with the calculation guidelines.
Next time it may not. There is a caveat in the PHB remember? Also: Nothing takes into a count the nearly infinite combinations of map layouts that people come up with.
I once placed a Blue Dragon (human form) at the end of a tunnel where the space widened out to an excavation area. The party attacked and the human morphed. Most of the casters stayed in the middle of the tunnel. They all hid behind each other (perfect line) and then got cooked. This was a medium encounter because I had 7 players (multiplier). It was the third week in a row they lined up and my monster launched a lightning bolt at them.
I guess could blame the wizards and warlocks for not running in to the room with the dragon...oh wait. I eventually realized that I had better give the group a little more space when working with lightning hurling NPCs in "medium" encounters because I was effectively maximizing AoE. Initiative alone might fry the whole party plus all it took was one loose cannon to get the other 6 guys into a fight with a dragon.
The Yochlol stayed around but it appears the last round the summoner is alive. Why perceive the calculation as if Yochlol was there from the beginning? The description of events fits a multi-part encounter. Additionally, One elite fled and one is alive. The remaining elite's CR is half the Yochlol's. Depending on the remaining elite's condition I would likely not include a multiplier. Therefore this part of the encounter is "hard".
A champion was taken out during the deadly portion. You had an option to kill the player but didn't. They owe you a smoothie.
A monk was hurt to the point of retreat during the hard portion.
Success. Well done. The encounter aligns with the calculation guidelines.
Next time it may not. There is a caveat in the PHB remember? Also: Nothing takes into a count the nearly infinite combinations of map layouts that people come up with.
I once placed a Blue Dragon (human form) at the end of a tunnel where the space widened out to an excavation area. The party attacked and the human morphed. Most of the casters stayed in the middle of the tunnel. They all hid behind each other (perfect line) and then got cooked. This was a medium encounter because I had 7 players (multiplier). It was the third week in a row they lined up and my monster launched a lightning bolt at them.
I guess could blame the wizards and warlocks for not running in to the room with the dragon...oh wait. I eventually realized that I had better give the group a little more space when working with lightning hurling NPCs in "medium" encounters because I was effectively maximizing AoE. Initiative alone might fry the whole party plus all it took was one loose cannon to get the other 6 guys into a fight with a dragon.
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