We've run some encounters with allies using character templates, so I thought I'd return them as monsters using character classes they had originally with monster traits. If this is even a good idea, what should I keep in mind for building these characters? Is there any CR equivalent? The DM guide has a section on Monsters with Classes, but gives no help on the difficulty rating change.
As a bonus, how do you tackle multiple sets of encounters in a row? The guide also has very little statistical advice for events in a row, or between short rests.
Just try to compare their stats and abilities with the CR charts in DMG chapter 9. All I got is that (from my observations) monsters usually have 1~1.5x their CR in class levels when they have them.
Xanathar's has a section on monster v character level equivalents that you can try to use to reverse-engineer a CR rating for character class levels. (The purpose of the data is for encounter building.) According to one of the tables on page 90, for example, a group of 1st level characters should have a balanced encounter with an equal number of CR 1/4 monsters and at 4th level with an equal number of CR 1 monsters. I have sometimes used those tables to estimate CR for classed NPC encounters when the level in the MM is too high or low, but the tables (and the CR ratings generally) have seemed a bit conservative to me, and I have often found myself needing to add another foe or two to keep the encounters challenging, especially after the characters have been adventuring a while and collecting items that boost their own CR.
As to events in a row, that's often feel for me. If the PCs are hanging on by a thread, I might space out the encounters over a longer distance than originally planned or, if they are barely winded, double up. I can usually come up with slowing mechanisms on the fly--a sudden rain storm that makes the river impassable or a cave-in that's going to take hours to clear since only one character at a time can get in there to effectively work on it (or something along those lines) if I know they have a high CR encounter ahead that they're not going to survive in their current state. During the last game session, my players fought to a stalemate with a group of foes, so both sides barricaded themselves into defensible positions, set watches, and camped. After a long rest (for both sides) they got back to it--turning a single encounter into two. Part of it's on the players, too. If they are beaten up, they know it. They should be "looking for a place to camp" or whatever. If you find some guidance on that, I hope you'll share it here.
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Recently returned to D&D after 20+ years.
Unapologetic.
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We've run some encounters with allies using character templates, so I thought I'd return them as monsters using character classes they had originally with monster traits. If this is even a good idea, what should I keep in mind for building these characters? Is there any CR equivalent? The DM guide has a section on Monsters with Classes, but gives no help on the difficulty rating change.
As a bonus, how do you tackle multiple sets of encounters in a row? The guide also has very little statistical advice for events in a row, or between short rests.
Just try to compare their stats and abilities with the CR charts in DMG chapter 9. All I got is that (from my observations) monsters usually have 1~1.5x their CR in class levels when they have them.
Xanathar's has a section on monster v character level equivalents that you can try to use to reverse-engineer a CR rating for character class levels. (The purpose of the data is for encounter building.) According to one of the tables on page 90, for example, a group of 1st level characters should have a balanced encounter with an equal number of CR 1/4 monsters and at 4th level with an equal number of CR 1 monsters. I have sometimes used those tables to estimate CR for classed NPC encounters when the level in the MM is too high or low, but the tables (and the CR ratings generally) have seemed a bit conservative to me, and I have often found myself needing to add another foe or two to keep the encounters challenging, especially after the characters have been adventuring a while and collecting items that boost their own CR.
As to events in a row, that's often feel for me. If the PCs are hanging on by a thread, I might space out the encounters over a longer distance than originally planned or, if they are barely winded, double up. I can usually come up with slowing mechanisms on the fly--a sudden rain storm that makes the river impassable or a cave-in that's going to take hours to clear since only one character at a time can get in there to effectively work on it (or something along those lines) if I know they have a high CR encounter ahead that they're not going to survive in their current state. During the last game session, my players fought to a stalemate with a group of foes, so both sides barricaded themselves into defensible positions, set watches, and camped. After a long rest (for both sides) they got back to it--turning a single encounter into two. Part of it's on the players, too. If they are beaten up, they know it. They should be "looking for a place to camp" or whatever. If you find some guidance on that, I hope you'll share it here.
Recently returned to D&D after 20+ years.
Unapologetic.