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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ashockney" data-source="post: 80119" data-attributes="member: 1363">I'm a little surprised that four pages later, I don't think anybody has said...the CR, EL, and XP system works for them.  Let me be the first.  I've bent this thing over backward, twisted, morphed, and re-worked it several different ways, and it has held up in all circumstances for over two 3rd Ed campaigns! I will admit that there are some things that could be improved upon, based on my gameplay experience.  However, for the most part, it works very well.  One issue is around a four on one fight against a single character or creature, especially when the character only has class levels (ie, a 7th level fighter).  Ok, this one is the toughest to swallow.  HOWEVER, this CAN be a good challenge to a 7th level party of four.  It certainly is not the challenge that other, better balanced CR 7 creatures can be, though.  I think this is a function of the "versatile" nature of the character classes, particularly in light of the fact that you can use these class abilities in so many other circumstances beyond a 4 on 1 fight.  The second issue is the simple fact that the laws of numbers outweigh the CR ratings everytime.  The monster manual works hard to address this with things like improved grab, swallow whole, EXTREMELY HIGH BAB's, SR, and AC, but it 4 on 1 is almost always going to be less challenging than 4 on 4 or 4 on 8.  The second issue I've seen is that supplemental material (outside of the original PH) often has issues with some of the CR ratings (too high and too low).  I think this is attributable to a lack of playtesting, statistical analysis, or simply D&D knowledge(for non-WOTC products).  Having addressed these two concerns, however, they have hardly held me back in the use of the CR and EL system.  To the contrary, I have found this system FAR more versatile (although somewhat complex) in awarding XP's than other 1st and 2nd Ed counterparts.  This is to say nothing of the fact that you don't have to flip through the MM for an hour to calc XP's!  Woo hoo!Having said all that, I also want to complement Rel on his excellent system.  Out of frustration in the past (editions) I've used this kind of system and found it very effective.  Instead, today, I am sure to include traps, puzzles, roleplaying encounters, and specific goals in each module I develop and award appropriate (CR) XP values for each accordingly.  This seems to work very well also.  If anything, it may speed up the XP system to be even faster than I would like to see it go!Lastly, as it regards certain creatures in the MM like Solars, Dragons, and the Tarrasque, I've heard straight from the Wizards designers that they've made some creatures a little "tougher for their level" in hopes of building or maintaining a sense of "awe" that may already exist around some of the key brand personas.  Are there others out there who've used the system successfully?</blockquote>

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