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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mengu" data-source="post: 5503206" data-attributes="member: 65726">Yup, adventuring days have been shortened significantly, and skill challenges, traps, and certain undead that eat up surges shorten them even more.3-4 encounters is the max I can do with the current MM3 damage expressions. I hammer their surges even with level equivalent encounters, and a single hard encounter can easily cost half the surges of a defender.Recently I ran a nonlethal arena fight that was level+1, when the group was fresh, and they lost.The brutality makes it fun, but also very swingy, and chews up a whole lot of surges. I started a similar thread a few months back, pretty much got the impression most people enjoy the higher damage expressions, and find the 3-4 encounters a day to be reasonable.I think the encounter design guidelines need to be rewritten. I've been doing some trial and error, and can't really find a sweet spot. I think maybe encounter levels and their difficulty ratings need to be rearranged a bit.Easy: Level-3, Level-2Standard: Level-1Hard: Level, Level+1Beware this encounter will tap out resources: Level+2Beware this encounter may TPK: Level+3I also think the guidelines for what's appropriate in an encounter of a given difficulty need to be adjusted. According to the DMG, a level+5 threat is acceptable in a hard encounter. If I stick two level+5 brutes in an encounter, and sprinkle a controller and some lower level skirmishers, they will mop the floor with the PC's. The problem is especially evident at lower levels.Also with the new damage expressions, back to back encounters without short rest, or the accidental triggering of two encounters at the same time is lethal. If that happens, I pretty much immediately have to pull some monsters and reduce one of the encounters to a Level-3. If I want the good old 7 encounter days, I think I now have to stick with Level-2 encounters for the majority.Another solution to possibly try is to give defenders 3-5 extra surges, everyone else 2-3 extra surges, and after every 3 encounters recover the lowest level expended daily attack power. This would likely extend the adventuring day by 1-2 encounters, leaving difficulties as is.</blockquote>

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