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<blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 2266645" data-attributes="member: 463">This isn't right at all.Per RAW, 2 PCs will get twice as much XP each as a default 4-person party.&nbsp; So if you give them encounters EL 2 under Party Level they will get the exact same XP.&nbsp; Personally I'd suggest averaging encounters more like 3 or 4 under Party Level - they get 1/3 or 1/2 less XP than standard, but 3e's standard XP table awards so much XP anyway that that's unlikely to be a problem.&nbsp; And if it _is_ a problem just increase the XP awards you hand out!&nbsp; Maybe give full monster XP plus story/roleplay/goal XP on top.&nbsp; XP should _never_ be a problem, it's entirely in the hands of the GM unless you have a rotating GM system and an agreed XP mechanism.&nbsp; Even then it's easy to tweak.I think your mistake is probably hitting them with encounters too high for their level.Here's my guideline for you:A 2 PC party has about 1/2 the offensive power of a 4 person party, but only about 1/4 the survivability because they lack defense in depth and the synergy effects of a good spread of classes.&nbsp; Thus a typical 2-man party should be treated as having Party Level roughly 3 under the actual character level of the PCs.So a challenging encounter that's unlikely to kill PCs should be 3 ELs under Party Level.&nbsp; If you have 2 level 6 PCs, an EL 3 encounter like 1 Ogre or a Wight (both CR 3) will be a fair challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp; An EL 6 encounter (eg a troll) will use up 50% of party resources - in practice that could mean a dead PC - and so should be avoided except for critical combats.&nbsp; Of course a 2 person party's capabilities are narrower than the standard party, and you need to use judgement in assessing CRs.&nbsp; A party of Cleric-6 + Wizard-6 will easily defeat a wight but might have trouble with an Ogre.&nbsp; A party of Ftr-6 plus Rogue-6 should handle the Ogre ok (unless the ogre crits the Rogue) but will be in severe danger from the wight.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="S'mon, post: 2266645, member: 463"] This isn't right at all. Per RAW, 2 PCs will get twice as much XP each as a default 4-person party. So if you give them encounters EL 2 under Party Level they will get the exact same XP. Personally I'd suggest averaging encounters more like 3 or 4 under Party Level - they get 1/3 or 1/2 less XP than standard, but 3e's standard XP table awards so much XP anyway that that's unlikely to be a problem. And if it _is_ a problem just increase the XP awards you hand out! Maybe give full monster XP plus story/roleplay/goal XP on top. XP should _never_ be a problem, it's entirely in the hands of the GM unless you have a rotating GM system and an agreed XP mechanism. Even then it's easy to tweak. I think your mistake is probably hitting them with encounters too high for their level. Here's my guideline for you: A 2 PC party has about 1/2 the offensive power of a 4 person party, but only about 1/4 the survivability because they lack defense in depth and the synergy effects of a good spread of classes. Thus a typical 2-man party should be treated as having Party Level roughly 3 under the actual character level of the PCs. So a challenging encounter that's unlikely to kill PCs should be 3 ELs under Party Level. If you have 2 level 6 PCs, an EL 3 encounter like 1 Ogre or a Wight (both CR 3) will be a fair challenge. An EL 6 encounter (eg a troll) will use up 50% of party resources - in practice that could mean a dead PC - and so should be avoided except for critical combats. Of course a 2 person party's capabilities are narrower than the standard party, and you need to use judgement in assessing CRs. A party of Cleric-6 + Wizard-6 will easily defeat a wight but might have trouble with an Ogre. A party of Ftr-6 plus Rogue-6 should handle the Ogre ok (unless the ogre crits the Rogue) but will be in severe danger from the wight. [/QUOTE]

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