I'm not quite grasping the DMG description of encounter difficulty as it relates to the Maps. According to DDB, the Maps encounter tracker manages difficulty by the 2024 method. However, the numbers are off, or I'm manually calculating it wrong.
Example:
Single Level 5 Character.
XP Budgets:
Low: 500xp
Moderate: 750xp
High: 1100xp
Using Animated Armor as the example, CR 1, 200XP units, the Map responds with:
1-3 Armor (200-600xp) - Low.
4-5 Armor (800-1000xp) - Moderate
6+ Armor (1200xp+) - High
From my understanding, the XP budgets are 'up-to'. As in when you exceed a threshold, you're going into the next tier. All examples followed this. While I don't see the point of High having an XP value, except as something to aim for, aren't these brackets still wrong?
I would have expected:
1-2 Armor (200-400xp) - Low. Does not exceed 500xp.
3 Armor (600xp) - Moderate. Above 500xp, and does not exceed 750xp.
4+ Armor (800xp+) - High. Above 750xp, with a preference to use 5 armor (1000xp) for a High encounter as the closest without exceeding.
Are the XP Budgets per Character a middle point? Meaning the break points would be 625xp and 925xp. This still doesn't fit with 5 Armor at 1000xp being "Moderate".
Doing the same with 4 Level 5 characters:
XP Budgets:
Low: 2000xp
Moderate: 3000xp
High: 4400xp
Using Animated Armor as the example, 200XP units, the Map responds with:
1-14 Armor (200-2800xp) - Low.(breaks the 2000xp budget)
15-21 Armor (3000-4200xp) - Moderate (breaks the 3000xp budget as a starting point)
22+ Armor (4400xp+) - High (Starts at the High budget)
Midway breakpoints for this would be 2500xp and 3700xp which doesn't fit with this either.
Using a CR5, 1800xp Hill Giant:
1 Hill Giant (1800xp) - Low
2 Hill Giants (3600xp) - Moderate (Breaks the 3000xp budget)
3 Hill Giants (5400xp) - High
What am I missing here? Or does the Maps engine not really work with the system outlined in the DMG?
I can also say, it does not like having 300 rats (10xp) on the map, but it is definitely at 3000xp that it considers a 4 5th level character encounter to become "Moderate difficulty". 2990xp is "Low".
Looks like the Maps engine has an off by one -- it's using 2014 budget logic, where the given budget is the bottom of the range, rather than the top. I'd post it as a bug wherever Maps takes feedback.
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I'm not quite grasping the DMG description of encounter difficulty as it relates to the Maps. According to DDB, the Maps encounter tracker manages difficulty by the 2024 method. However, the numbers are off, or I'm manually calculating it wrong.
Example:
Single Level 5 Character.
XP Budgets:
Using Animated Armor as the example, CR 1, 200XP units, the Map responds with:
From my understanding, the XP budgets are 'up-to'. As in when you exceed a threshold, you're going into the next tier. All examples followed this. While I don't see the point of High having an XP value, except as something to aim for, aren't these brackets still wrong?
I would have expected:
Are the XP Budgets per Character a middle point? Meaning the break points would be 625xp and 925xp. This still doesn't fit with 5 Armor at 1000xp being "Moderate".
Doing the same with 4 Level 5 characters:
XP Budgets:
Using Animated Armor as the example, 200XP units, the Map responds with:
Midway breakpoints for this would be 2500xp and 3700xp which doesn't fit with this either.
Using a CR5, 1800xp Hill Giant:
What am I missing here? Or does the Maps engine not really work with the system outlined in the DMG?
I can also say, it does not like having 300 rats (10xp) on the map, but it is definitely at 3000xp that it considers a 4 5th level character encounter to become "Moderate difficulty". 2990xp is "Low".
Looks like the Maps engine has an off by one -- it's using 2014 budget logic, where the given budget is the bottom of the range, rather than the top. I'd post it as a bug wherever Maps takes feedback.