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<blockquote data-quote="Dr_Ruminahui" data-source="post: 4887381" data-attributes="member: 81104">I run a campaign with 5 players, but attendance can be.... sporadic.So, whenever I plan encounters, I plan them for 3, 4 or 5 players, basically using the same set of monsters but reducing their numbers for if I have fewer players.To determine the appropriate XP budget for 3 players, I take the difference between that for a 4 and 5 member party, and subtract that difference from the 4 member XP budget.Haven't really had a problem with it, other than the smaller the party size, the less diverse the encounter, as you simply can't have as many models on the table (unless you swap a monster for a bunch of minions).As a DM, I find encounters for 5 members to be the most interesting, both because they seem more heroic (what with more monsters), more diverse monster abilities (more monsters means more different monsters) and more party synergies.&nbsp; As you drop players, it gets less interesting (IMHO), but its still better than not playing.&nbsp; They aren't any more difficult for the players, though, unless you don't reduce the XP budgets for the encounters, obviously.Other than reducing the XP value of the encounters (either by using less monsters, or delevelling them), you don't really need to do anything different.&nbsp; Well, I mean, you need to be more aware of the party &quot;holes&quot; (no controller, for example), and adjust according, but you need to do that for any party, you are just going to get more holes with fewer players.&nbsp; So, no striker, don't use many solos, no controller, avoid encounters that are all/mostly minions... that kind of thing.As for being careful fielding monsters above the players levels, no need to be any more careful than you would with any other party, so long as you keep your XP budget in mind.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dr_Ruminahui, post: 4887381, member: 81104"] I run a campaign with 5 players, but attendance can be.... sporadic. So, whenever I plan encounters, I plan them for 3, 4 or 5 players, basically using the same set of monsters but reducing their numbers for if I have fewer players. To determine the appropriate XP budget for 3 players, I take the difference between that for a 4 and 5 member party, and subtract that difference from the 4 member XP budget. Haven't really had a problem with it, other than the smaller the party size, the less diverse the encounter, as you simply can't have as many models on the table (unless you swap a monster for a bunch of minions). As a DM, I find encounters for 5 members to be the most interesting, both because they seem more heroic (what with more monsters), more diverse monster abilities (more monsters means more different monsters) and more party synergies. As you drop players, it gets less interesting (IMHO), but its still better than not playing. They aren't any more difficult for the players, though, unless you don't reduce the XP budgets for the encounters, obviously. Other than reducing the XP value of the encounters (either by using less monsters, or delevelling them), you don't really need to do anything different. Well, I mean, you need to be more aware of the party "holes" (no controller, for example), and adjust according, but you need to do that for any party, you are just going to get more holes with fewer players. So, no striker, don't use many solos, no controller, avoid encounters that are all/mostly minions... that kind of thing. As for being careful fielding monsters above the players levels, no need to be any more careful than you would with any other party, so long as you keep your XP budget in mind. [/QUOTE]

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