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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5563084" data-attributes="member: 4937">Pretty much the same way I design them for 3e; I decide how the world works and then build everything to that.  I never worry much about 'balanced encounters' except inside a particular dungeon.  Instead, I decide what 'level' a particular dungeon is, then I pick a theme for that dungeon level that I think I can support and then build to that standard.  That's not a particularly old skool approach to the issue.No.  1e is organic.  It assumes the world not the encounter.  If the challenge is to great for the party, it assumes the party avoids it either by avoiding the lair or by not going down another level in the dungeon, or by evading it in the event of a wandering monster.  It classifies monsters from I to X, roughly equivalent to being an appropriate challenge for a party of 1st to 10th level accordingly.  It defines how many of those monsters appear in the monster entry, and assumes that a DM will - if he adjusts at all - favor the lower end of the number appearing for parties lower than the monster level and higher for those higher than the monster level.  Treasure should be randomly determined and adjusted up or down depending on whether the number appearing is above or below the expected average.Also note that once the party much exceeds name level (say 12th), pretty much nothing in the Monster Manuals is going to be a challenge in and of itself - not even necessarily the various lords of the lower planes.  To keep adventuring at such exalted levels, assuming that the levels are fairly earned by the now very skilled players, you will have to be creative in your challenges either by inventing new and tougher monsters or rigging encounters in the monsters favor.  The 1e DMG is filled with advice on this, having everything from random monster generators appropriate to a particular dungeon depth, to detailed advice on placing treasure, monsters, and challenging your players.  You might also want to look at published 1e modules for guidelines as to what players can potentially overcome.  Keep in mind however that a module like Ravenloft is absolutely lethal at its suggested level of play provided the DM doesn't go soft.</blockquote>

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