Another ?: CR and EL

[SurfMonkey01]

Yesterday I asked about CR and ECL and how they're comparable, today I'll ask the same about CR and EL. And, since my original text works here, I'm just gonna cut and paste to save typing...

Okay, can someone please clear this up for me? I'm completely lost on these two concepts and just how they differ... what is each one to cover? Why do we need them both? Is there a way to convert from one to the other, and if so, what is it? Any and all insights that anyone has on this subject would be simply wonderful...

PS - Does Monte still post around here sometimes? If so, help, please?

Thanks once more

 

[hong]

A creature's Challenge Rating (CR) is used to calculate the XP award for defeating it. A CR 1 creature is worth 300 XP to a 1st level character.

An encounter's Encounter Level (EL) is just a number used for adventure planning purposes. The rule of thumb is that a party of 4 Xth level characters can have about 4 encounters of EL X before having to rest and recover. Another rule of thumb is that one creature of CR X is approximately an EL X encounter. This rule breaks down for weak creatures (CR less than 1), and for large mobs. Various circumstances can affect how difficult an encounter really is, compared to its nominal EL.

See the DMG for full details on how CR and EL work.