Yes, the Monster Manual "Thugs" are pretty solid.Whatever you do, don't throw them against a group of "thugs" that outnumber them 2 to 1. That was my first encounter and I severely underestimated what CR meant (GM's guide wasn't out yet), not to mention the effect of pack tactics.
Yes, the Monster Manual "Thugs" are pretty solid.
I might go as far to say the CR rules might be slightly undervaluing the pack tactics ability.
Game night is in two hours.
You could always throw a Gazebo at them.
One thing to keep in mind is the multiple creature multiplier assumes is all the foes can attack the PCs each round with their best attack routine. If foes have to wait in line, the DM has to use their judgement how difficult the encounter really is.After getting the GM's guide, I calculated the encounter difficulty again out of curiosity and it was pretty accurate. It came out to 3 times the "deadly" value.