You’re asking for simple addition system when that’s just not something the system supports. Depending on how many creatures and those creatures abilities the math would change drastically. The side with the most actions typically has an advantage. Some abilities subvert this by taking actions from the opposing side: stun, paralyze, banishment.
You can achieve results that are very similar to the current encounter builder by means of a simple addition system (it has somewhat different results for mixed-CR opposition... but that's a known weak spot of the current system). Sure, it won't be significantly more accurate than the current system, but "as accurate and easier to use" is already an upgrade.
If you're curious, the simple addition system is:
point budget = (existing xp budget/2)^2/3. At level 1, this is Easy 5.4, Medium 8.5, Hard 11.2, Deadly 13.6 (obviously, you'd want to massage numbers to be prettier)
On "magic complexity", you can use spell levels. 0 to 1 is simply, 2 to 3 is Rudimentary, 4 to 5 is Intermediate, 6 to 7 is Advanced, and 8 or 9 is Expert.
Baseline is a Small or Medium Humanoid. The weird dice are focused on the highest number, so you can do combo rolls for them. Dice chain system i use, so for die change, if the die is larger it is up 1, f small it is lower 1. D4 to d30, evens to 20, then d24, d30. I suppose one could use a d2, but flipping a coin isn't my style.
The Zero and 1/2 are for "normal people" reference -- so before characters start to adventure, assuming minors.
It operates similar to your point based system, but is laid out in a chart, with more variables, separates attacks from damage done so one can add variability for multiple attacks but low damage.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
That appears to be a new way of computing CR. Which isn't a bad concept, monster design is also a mess that could do with some improvement, but somewhat different in intent.
Unpopular opinion: Whatever rules 1DD uses for encounter design is immaterial next to explaining how encounters work. A DM should not have to comb third-party sources to know what the term "action economy" is or how it impacts battles, nor should they need a bunch of forum posts/YouTube videos explaining R5e's attrtion-based system of encounter design and how the One Fight Per Day standard completely throws it off. A DMG that explains how encounters work, what tends to make them more challenging or less, and arms the DM with the knowledge of why the encounter design rules are the way they are is vastly more important than the actual encounter design rules themselves.
...that and the Mob Attack rules should be much easier to find and more tightly integrated into combat, to give DMs better options for using large hordes of smaller critters when it's narratively appropriate without having to invent a "Swarm" statblock.
This bigtime. I've seen some very strong foes get downed because I conjured up a pack of wolves and trounced an entire 'difficult' fight because the GM didn't understand how to deal with a Mind Sliver + TMW combination.
This bigtime. I've seen some very strong foes get downed because I conjured up a pack of wolves and trounced an entire 'difficult' fight because the GM didn't understand how to deal with a Mind Sliver + TMW combination.
To be fair, the way to deal with them is to forbid them from your game and/or just make them not work. The whole concept of 'any stat can be used for saves' is problematic unless you just give all your stupid monsters the trait "To dumb to be affected: immune to all spells with Int saves".
I like the current system but there is one big flaw with it in my opinion. When calculating encounters using creatures of wildly ranging CR
4 level 20 character fighting one Cr 20 pit fiend is a adjusted 25.000 medium challenge. But 4 level 20 character fighting one Cr 20 pit fiend and a CR 1/4 goblin is seen is a 37,575 Hard challenge.
I don't feel that adding the goblin makes the challenge increase by 50.5 %
So there should be some form of diminished return on lower level creatures.
This bigtime. I've seen some very strong foes get downed because I conjured up a pack of wolves and trounced an entire 'difficult' fight because the GM didn't understand how to deal with a Mind Sliver + TMW combination.
To be fair, the way to deal with them is to forbid them from your game and/or just make them not work. The whole concept of 'any stat can be used for saves' is problematic unless you just give all your stupid monsters the trait "To dumb to be affected: immune to all spells with Int saves".
The actual solution is to not rely on single, powerful, monsters by themselves without backup and to make sure your monster doesn't need to use all three things to be a threat.
This bigtime. I've seen some very strong foes get downed because I conjured up a pack of wolves and trounced an entire 'difficult' fight because the GM didn't understand how to deal with a Mind Sliver + TMW combination.
To be fair, the way to deal with them is to forbid them from your game and/or just make them not work. The whole concept of 'any stat can be used for saves' is problematic unless you just give all your stupid monsters the trait "To dumb to be affected: immune to all spells with Int saves".
The actual solution is to not rely on single, powerful, monsters by themselves without backup and to make sure your monster doesn't need to use all three things to be a threat.
True, the non-obvious encounter design principal that has ended up working well for me, is a Deadly encounter is monsters of a CR equal to the level of the characters in your party and and equal number of them as members of your party. Reduce the CR by 2 or the number of monsters by 2 for a medium-hard encounter.
The actual solution is to not rely on single, powerful, monsters by themselves without backup and to make sure your monster doesn't need to use all three things to be a threat.
The problem is: that should be a viable fight design. It shouldn't be every fight, but it's what creatures like the purple worm were designed for.
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You can achieve results that are very similar to the current encounter builder by means of a simple addition system (it has somewhat different results for mixed-CR opposition... but that's a known weak spot of the current system). Sure, it won't be significantly more accurate than the current system, but "as accurate and easier to use" is already an upgrade.
If you're curious, the simple addition system is:
Try your numbers for this.
On "magic complexity", you can use spell levels. 0 to 1 is simply, 2 to 3 is Rudimentary, 4 to 5 is Intermediate, 6 to 7 is Advanced, and 8 or 9 is Expert.
Baseline is a Small or Medium Humanoid. The weird dice are focused on the highest number, so you can do combo rolls for them. Dice chain system i use, so for die change, if the die is larger it is up 1, f small it is lower 1. D4 to d30, evens to 20, then d24, d30. I suppose one could use a d2, but flipping a coin isn't my style.
The Zero and 1/2 are for "normal people" reference -- so before characters start to adventure, assuming minors.
It operates similar to your point based system, but is laid out in a chart, with more variables, separates attacks from damage done so one can add variability for multiple attacks but low damage.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
That appears to be a new way of computing CR. Which isn't a bad concept, monster design is also a mess that could do with some improvement, but somewhat different in intent.
This bigtime. I've seen some very strong foes get downed because I conjured up a pack of wolves and trounced an entire 'difficult' fight because the GM didn't understand how to deal with a Mind Sliver + TMW combination.
To be fair, the way to deal with them is to forbid them from your game and/or just make them not work. The whole concept of 'any stat can be used for saves' is problematic unless you just give all your stupid monsters the trait "To dumb to be affected: immune to all spells with Int saves".
I like the current system but there is one big flaw with it in my opinion.
When calculating encounters using creatures of wildly ranging CR
4 level 20 character fighting one Cr 20 pit fiend is a adjusted 25.000 medium challenge.
But
4 level 20 character fighting one Cr 20 pit fiend and a CR 1/4 goblin is seen is a 37,575 Hard challenge.
I don't feel that adding the goblin makes the challenge increase by 50.5 %
So there should be some form of diminished return on lower level creatures.
The actual solution is to not rely on single, powerful, monsters by themselves without backup and to make sure your monster doesn't need to use all three things to be a threat.
True, the non-obvious encounter design principal that has ended up working well for me, is a Deadly encounter is monsters of a CR equal to the level of the characters in your party and and equal number of them as members of your party. Reduce the CR by 2 or the number of monsters by 2 for a medium-hard encounter.
The problem is: that should be a viable fight design. It shouldn't be every fight, but it's what creatures like the purple worm were designed for.