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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 6834909" data-attributes="member: 6796661">I'm new to 5th edition and have not role-played for a long time until I bought 5e and started a campaign. So, I'm rusty as a DM. My players characters are now into the 2nd tier of play (most around 6th level) and I create my own adventures in my own world. I'm getting to the point where they are facing more more complex antagonists, where I can't easily look at the Monster Manual and the DMG tables and come up with the appropriate CR and XP. Also, I want to make for some very challenging, climatic battles without making it almost impossible for the party to beat. The DMG's Creating a Monster section (DMG 273) is not so helpful to me when, say, I create a an evil cleric basically using the PHB class-creation rule to build. I would appreciate anything you can share about both your read of the DMG on the and *your* personal approach. What would, for example, a 9th level fighter's CR and XP be? In terms of balance and challenges, if you have 4 6th-level party members, would 4 6th-level NPCs be a considered a hard challenge?Thanks for any tips and experience you can share here.</blockquote>