Though I will "check my work" with the DM guidelines after the fact just to see where the encounter difficulty has fallen, I chose "through some combo of DM intuition and feel."
Lots of answers for "intuition and feel."
For those folks, are there ANY encounter guidelines/rules that you would find helpful on a DM screen/cheat sheet, or do you enjoy the freewheeling nature of your approach without any guidelines?
I answered "intuition and feel", but I really do follow the DMG guidelines (checking against the guidelines after I have designed the encounter). Too weak of an encounter is a waste of gaming time. Too strong of one will often result in at least one PC death (regardless of popular opinion here on the forums, running away is not always an option, especially if a monster is faster), which in turn will result in one or more players having to create a new PC which in turn is a waste of gaming time.
Yep, I design the same way.I design what is appropriate for the world. The PCs are not meant to fight their way through everything, nor is the world built around their current level. If it makes sense for there to be 150 bandits in an area, then there are 150 bandits.
Disclaimer: I use the "encounter" lingo since that's what the D&D books use, but what this thread is really asking about is combat encounters. Just wanted to clarify.Too many players have taken the "kill it" mentality in recent years, forgetting that running, sneaking past, and negotiating are all viable options.
Lots of answers for "intuition and feel."
For those folks, are there ANY encounter guidelines/rules that you would find helpful on a DM screen/cheat sheet, or do you enjoy the freewheeling nature of your approach without any guidelines?
The responsibility for enabling "run away" rests on the players, not the DM. If someone decides to play a dwarf, he knows that a major drawback is "can't run away easily unless someone Longstriders me."
No it doesn't. The fastest Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger in the party with mobility and Longstrider and bonus action Dash (max distance 165 feet) is still going to be caught by an Ancient Red Dragon that can fly 80 feet and breath 90 feet and can also cast Longstrider or Dimension Door or other movement improving spells (obviously an infrequent example, but most PCs at most tables do not have great mobility).
So when you said, "contrary to popular opinion, running away is not always an option" you were just straw manning? Because nobody in "popular opinion" thinks that running away from dragons is "always an option."