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<blockquote data-quote="Jraynack" data-source="post: 7678632" data-attributes="member: 13894">To be honest, not enough as I would like, though that is a problem I have as a small company.&nbsp; For this product, we had 7 to 8 play testers during the process (most of the play testers have 20+ years experience in a variety of roleplaying games).&nbsp; While I have 25+ years experience as a Game Master and 10+ years as a Game Designer, I am confident in my ability, but not arrogant and often err on the side of caution (ex. if a monster has the numbers to rank as a CR 11, depending on the abilities, especially those without a similar counterpart in an official product, I may settle on CR 12).&nbsp;I rely on consumer feedback and reviewers - over the years, it helped guide my hand.&nbsp; As a small publisher, word-of-mouth and a reputation for game balance is key to a sustained success.As for high-level play in 5E, I enjoy it.&nbsp; In my home campaign, the players reached 18th level not too long ago and last week, several CR 8 assassins proved a challenge.&nbsp; I found in 3rd and 4th edition games, higher levels often meant that each encounter was a borderline TPK in order for it to challenge characters.&nbsp; For years, Cameron (co-founder of APG; <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?5521-Arnix" target="_blank"> Arnix</a> here on the forums) and I often thought that AC should be lower and have Hit Points serve as the buffer.&nbsp; This allows lower CR creatures to threaten higher-level characters and lower-level players to affect higher-level opponents (the archmage &quot;monster&quot; is a perfect example).&nbsp; We were glad to see that concept in 5E.There is a lot of subtlety in the game - the concentration rule for one and restricting the level of +X magic weapons in a playgroup (not everyone should have a +X weapon unless you want that super high-fantasy feel).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jraynack, post: 7678632, member: 13894"] To be honest, not enough as I would like, though that is a problem I have as a small company. For this product, we had 7 to 8 play testers during the process (most of the play testers have 20+ years experience in a variety of roleplaying games). While I have 25+ years experience as a Game Master and 10+ years as a Game Designer, I am confident in my ability, but not arrogant and often err on the side of caution (ex. if a monster has the numbers to rank as a CR 11, depending on the abilities, especially those without a similar counterpart in an official product, I may settle on CR 12). I rely on consumer feedback and reviewers - over the years, it helped guide my hand. As a small publisher, word-of-mouth and a reputation for game balance is key to a sustained success. As for high-level play in 5E, I enjoy it. In my home campaign, the players reached 18th level not too long ago and last week, several CR 8 assassins proved a challenge. I found in 3rd and 4th edition games, higher levels often meant that each encounter was a borderline TPK in order for it to challenge characters. For years, Cameron (co-founder of APG; [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?5521-Arnix"] Arnix[/URL] here on the forums) and I often thought that AC should be lower and have Hit Points serve as the buffer. This allows lower CR creatures to threaten higher-level characters and lower-level players to affect higher-level opponents (the archmage "monster" is a perfect example). We were glad to see that concept in 5E. There is a lot of subtlety in the game - the concentration rule for one and restricting the level of +X magic weapons in a playgroup (not everyone should have a +X weapon unless you want that super high-fantasy feel). [/QUOTE]

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