werecorpse
Adventurer
I use donjon encounter size calculator, plug in the number of characters and levels and find out how many CR x creatures equal a deadly or hard fight. Say it’s 3 CR 5 or 4-6 CR 3 or whatever.
Then I look at the list of monsters and look at the CRs around the ones suggested. In the above example I might decide to use two CR 5 as 2/3 the value and 2 CR 3 as the other 1/3. I know there’s some math about multiple monsters = higher danger but I don’t worry about that.
So I got a Hill Giant a troll (2xCR5) & 2 Bugbear chiefs (2 x CR3)
Once I have the cast of bad guys I come up with a story. Why are they there? The Bugbears have been sent by their tribe to pay a tithe to the Hill Giant clan. They sent a couple of chiefs because they were a cunning pair and they heard adventurers were in the area and they want to get them to attack the Hill Giants. They will try and surrender immediately a fight starts or try and do whatever they can to give the impression the Giants are rich and poorly defended (they arent). Them I look at that and decide the Bugbears aren’t really a threat to the PCs given they will surrender so I give the hill Giant an ogre slave and a couple of dire wolf Pets.
So it starts out looking at the numbers then goes off on a tangent focussing on the story.
Then I look at the list of monsters and look at the CRs around the ones suggested. In the above example I might decide to use two CR 5 as 2/3 the value and 2 CR 3 as the other 1/3. I know there’s some math about multiple monsters = higher danger but I don’t worry about that.
So I got a Hill Giant a troll (2xCR5) & 2 Bugbear chiefs (2 x CR3)
Once I have the cast of bad guys I come up with a story. Why are they there? The Bugbears have been sent by their tribe to pay a tithe to the Hill Giant clan. They sent a couple of chiefs because they were a cunning pair and they heard adventurers were in the area and they want to get them to attack the Hill Giants. They will try and surrender immediately a fight starts or try and do whatever they can to give the impression the Giants are rich and poorly defended (they arent). Them I look at that and decide the Bugbears aren’t really a threat to the PCs given they will surrender so I give the hill Giant an ogre slave and a couple of dire wolf Pets.
So it starts out looking at the numbers then goes off on a tangent focussing on the story.