Koren n'Rhys
Explorer
My experiences with the Expeditions guidelines have not been good. They have a number of significant flaws, especially for Tier 1 adventures. (For example, a group of six level 1 adventurers in a APL 3 adventure is not an average party...) They are a good starting point, but they don't substitute for DM experience.
You should start by looking at the guidelines for encounter creation in the DMG. They'll give you an idea of what appropriate threats are for a party - although, again, DM experience helps more than just the guidelines.
I'll see if I can write an article about modifying and balancing encounters. I think it'd be useful...
Cheers!
Thanks for the observations, Merric. I'm still getting my footing with 5E, so judging encounter levels on the fly is tricky. I'd love to see you do an article on this - your stuff is always informative.
Thanks!