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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 221016" data-attributes="member: 3424">I agree that CR is a blunt instrument, but unless someone can come up with a matrix of monsters vs classes, it's the best we've got.Consider:An ogre is likely to slaughter a 1st-level party that has no magical support or special equipment.&nbsp; However, a wizard or a sorcerer with sleep has a good chance of taking one down with a single spell.&nbsp; He has a 81.25% chance of affecting 4 or more hit dice, and an average ogre has a 45% chance of failing a DC 11 Will save, i.e. the ogre snoozes 36.56% or more of the time.Even a simple tanglefoot bag can make the battle a cakewalk - the party only needs to hit AC 8 because it's a ranged touch attack, the ogre is Large and has a Dex of 8.&nbsp; The ogre is 30% likely to fail the initial DC 15 Reflex save, and since the average ogre has a Str modifier of +5 and is armed with a greatclub and longspear, it is unlikely to succeed at either the DC 27 Str check or deal the 15 points of slashing damage needed to break free.&nbsp; The party can just stay out of its reach and missile it to death.Similarly, wererats hold no fear for paladins because they are immune to lycanthropy.&nbsp; A single wererat encounter is the best way to level a solitary paladin.CR is a good rule of thumb.&nbsp; However, like all rules, it needs to be applied intelligently.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 221016, member: 3424"] I agree that CR is a blunt instrument, but unless someone can come up with a matrix of monsters vs classes, it's the best we've got. Consider: An ogre is likely to slaughter a 1st-level party that has no magical support or special equipment. However, a wizard or a sorcerer with [I]sleep[/I] has a good chance of taking one down with a single spell. He has a 81.25% chance of affecting 4 or more hit dice, and an average ogre has a 45% chance of failing a DC 11 Will save, i.e. the ogre snoozes 36.56% or more of the time. Even a simple tanglefoot bag can make the battle a cakewalk - the party only needs to hit AC 8 because it's a ranged touch attack, the ogre is Large and has a Dex of 8. The ogre is 30% likely to fail the initial DC 15 Reflex save, and since the average ogre has a Str modifier of +5 and is armed with a greatclub and longspear, it is unlikely to succeed at either the DC 27 Str check or deal the 15 points of [I]slashing[/I] damage needed to break free. The party can just stay out of its reach and missile it to death. Similarly, wererats hold no fear for paladins because they are immune to lycanthropy. A single wererat encounter is the best way to level a solitary paladin. CR is a good rule of thumb. However, like all rules, it needs to be applied intelligently. [/QUOTE]

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