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<blockquote data-quote="Thorin Stoutfoot" data-source="post: 2546693" data-attributes="member: 1887">This demonstrates the lack of understanding of the D&amp;D 3e rules by most RPG designers. The CR system doesn't say anything about what the DM should be throwing against the party at a given level. The EL of an encounter is the gauge of how hard an encounter should be. An encounter at the same EL of a party should eat up about 20% of a party's resources. Nowhere in the DMG does it say: &quot;All encounters should be at the same EL as a party.&quot; It does, however say that at EL +3 or +4, you should start to see PC fatalities.The CR/EL system is a tool for the DM (and while not perfect, is much better than nothing, which was what previous versions of D&amp;D had). It certainly doesn't prevent the DM from throwing anything he wants at the party, it just helps him guess what the likely outcome will be (whether it's a pushover or likely to be a climatic encounter that leaves the PCs exhausted).If you as a DM think that the CR/EL system restricts you in what you can toss at the players, you haven't read the relevant portions of the DMG or failed to understand them.Here's one of my favorite quotes from Mearl's blog that illustrates my point:Mearl's experience parallels my own. My group has only 1 player out of 5 that doesn't have a college degree. Not unsurprisingly, that one player is the one who has the most trouble with the rules and has to have his character sheet checked by me. Of the other players, 1 has a PhD in astronomy, and the other 2 are software engineers in Silicon Valley. It doesn't surprise me that most of my players have a better grasp (and understanding) of D&amp;D rules than most RPG designers.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Thorin Stoutfoot, post: 2546693, member: 1887"] This demonstrates the lack of understanding of the D&D 3e rules by most RPG designers. The CR system doesn't say anything about what the DM should be throwing against the party at a given level. The EL of an encounter is the gauge of how hard an encounter should be. An encounter at the same EL of a party should eat up about 20% of a party's resources. Nowhere in the DMG does it say: "All encounters should be at the same EL as a party." It does, however say that at EL +3 or +4, you should start to see PC fatalities. The CR/EL system is a tool for the DM (and while not perfect, is much better than nothing, which was what previous versions of D&D had). It certainly doesn't prevent the DM from throwing anything he wants at the party, it just helps him guess what the likely outcome will be (whether it's a pushover or likely to be a climatic encounter that leaves the PCs exhausted). If you as a DM think that the CR/EL system restricts you in what you can toss at the players, you haven't read the relevant portions of the DMG or failed to understand them. Here's one of my favorite quotes from Mearl's blog that illustrates my point: Mearl's experience parallels my own. My group has only 1 player out of 5 that doesn't have a college degree. Not unsurprisingly, that one player is the one who has the most trouble with the rules and has to have his character sheet checked by me. Of the other players, 1 has a PhD in astronomy, and the other 2 are software engineers in Silicon Valley. It doesn't surprise me that most of my players have a better grasp (and understanding) of D&D rules than most RPG designers. [/QUOTE]

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