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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
CR and Encounter Difficulty: Is It Consistently Wrong?
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 6480095" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>This is addressed on DMG pgs 84 & 85 under Modifying Encounter Difficulty. If the party has surprise (or a free round of missile fire which is effectively the same thing) you should modify the encounter down by one step.</p><p></p><p>Granted, you won't always know in advance whether the party will have surprise, but you can often tell. If the PCs are headed to a gate they know is guarded, and they're not in a 10' corridor, odds are they'll try to get the drop on the guards. Even for encounters where surprise is randomly determined, if you're the sort of DM who really likes pushing the PCs to their limits, just adjust the next encounter up a notch if the previous one was easier than expected.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I love it when my PCs try to ambush the enemy. If it makes the adventuring day easier than intended, then I just consider that their reward for coming up with a good plan and executing it successfully.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 6480095, member: 53980"] This is addressed on DMG pgs 84 & 85 under Modifying Encounter Difficulty. If the party has surprise (or a free round of missile fire which is effectively the same thing) you should modify the encounter down by one step. Granted, you won't always know in advance whether the party will have surprise, but you can often tell. If the PCs are headed to a gate they know is guarded, and they're not in a 10' corridor, odds are they'll try to get the drop on the guards. Even for encounters where surprise is randomly determined, if you're the sort of DM who really likes pushing the PCs to their limits, just adjust the next encounter up a notch if the previous one was easier than expected. Personally, I love it when my PCs try to ambush the enemy. If it makes the adventuring day easier than intended, then I just consider that their reward for coming up with a good plan and executing it successfully. [/QUOTE]
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CR and Encounter Difficulty: Is It Consistently Wrong?
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