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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 6394596" data-attributes="member: 2525">The CR system is specifically meant to not be a solid hard and fast rule, but to function as guidelines for the DM to eyeball and adjust.   For example, from the Basuc rules, the CR rules are repeatedly called "guidelines".  It uses language such as, "according to the needs of your story and the logic of your adventure setting" and "estimate" and "advice in this section" and "Challenge rating is only a guidepost" and "Simple guide" and "Depending on the circumstances and resources available to the party".  It describes the rules in descriptors such as "Probably" and "should", not firm claims like "will" and "must".  It tells you that once you have a feel for things, "From there, you can adjust", and gives helpful advice depending on "typical adventuring conditions and average luck" and describes the rules as a "rough estimate".That seems like the epitome of what you called "intentionally to include DM adjudication".  All of the language tells you that's what it is about, and that it is not meant to be a rules as written type of sub-system.  The CR system is definitely not a bad system in 5e, it just admits what we've all known for decades - challenging a particular party in any given set of circumstances requires DM intervention. It requires a DM to know their group, understand how challenges work with that group, and adjust based on that party, and those circumstances.  It will be more of an art than a science.  No rules will ever fix this robotically, and a computer can never accurately make this judgement call (until Artificial Intelligence is invented) because the parties and circumstances have so much variation that it would be a hopeless task to try and write rules that would address every situation and group that could come up.The rules are up front about this, and don't pretend the CR system can be used without adjudication.  The purpose is to serve as advice and guidelines and rough estimates, and then the DM takes it from there.  That's the rules functioning well, not poorly, because of the nature of those types of rules.</blockquote>

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