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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 5802403" data-attributes="member: 53980">Power scales differently in 3e and 4e. A +3 encounter in 4e means a significantly larger xp budget, meaning that the PCs may very well be outnumbered. I very rarely use higher level creatures in a higher level encounter; using more equal level creatures typically ensures both a greater challenge and more enjoyability. These fights do significantly more damage because there are significantly more sources of damage and the encounter lasts longer because there are more hp on the monsters' side. They're much more difficult for PCs to manage because the PCs tend to be outnumbered and therefore it's harder for them to stay in control. Because it's harder to stay in control, the wizard is in greater danger.A CR +4 encounter in 3e was, IME, usually against one or two creatures of greater level. It tended to be a fairly quick fight, as either the PCs would manage to burn down the enemy before it could inflict losses, or they died. If the wizard was targeted in this type of encounter he was typically one-shot, unless he had active magical defenses that could save him.What makes them similar, IMO, is that they're both defined as hard encounters in the DMG. A DM who uses an encounter of that caliber should be prepared for the possibility that one or more PCs might die. They're certainly different, but I'd say that the difficulty is approximately on par.</blockquote>