I'm playing D&D with a group of experience friends (I'm the DM). I'm using the random encounters of xanathar for travels. I one encounter I got a bit scared because with the CR calculator I saw that the adjusted XP of the combat was two times the one of a deadly combat, also this encounter happened just after a hard one, and there was no option for short rest.
Still, even do the combat was not easy, the party never had a threat of loosing the combat or even loosing any member (and they miss-played a bit the combat). Now I was looking into possible rules from Xanathar for manually creating encounters (mainly for bosses or scripted fights). There are options for include either battles against one monster or several mosnters based on party size and level. As far as I can tell, my players should have a comfortable fight (with average luck) if I put both the one monster described as a challenging combat against the party and the several monsters also described as challenge for all the party.
WDYT guys: I'm missing something at higher levels or CR is just made ridiculously permissive so players don't feel they have been destroyed by an overwhelming force?
Honestly I use the CR as a guideline more then anything and look at the encounters. If I feel its too strong then I use my judgement and will lower things. That is part of being a Dm IMO, sometimes you need to make adjustments to things on the fly like that. Had a party once that got hit pretty hard in one encounter so the next encounter the NPCs they were suppose to fight woke up and didn't get a chance to get there weapons....
Monsters are only one part of an encounter's difficulty. Other contributors include:
Environmental hazards
Traps
Blocking/hindering terrain
Monster tactics
Monster/PC positioning at the start of battle
Alternate goals (protect this NPC, disrupt the ritual, destroy the 4 crystal globes, etc)
Fighting 4 goblin archers in a 30'x30' room is a very different fight than fighting 4 goblin archers who are 120 feet away on top of battlements with a moat and a muddy, trap-filled field in between you. CR doesn't reflect any of that.
I'm playing D&D with a group of experience friends (I'm the DM).
I'm using the random encounters of xanathar for travels. I one encounter I got a bit scared because with the CR calculator I saw that the adjusted XP of the combat was two times the one of a deadly combat, also this encounter happened just after a hard one, and there was no option for short rest.
Still, even do the combat was not easy, the party never had a threat of loosing the combat or even loosing any member (and they miss-played a bit the combat). Now I was looking into possible rules from Xanathar for manually creating encounters (mainly for bosses or scripted fights). There are options for include either battles against one monster or several mosnters based on party size and level. As far as I can tell, my players should have a comfortable fight (with average luck) if I put both the one monster described as a challenging combat against the party and the several monsters also described as challenge for all the party.
WDYT guys: I'm missing something at higher levels or CR is just made ridiculously permissive so players don't feel they have been destroyed by an overwhelming force?
Also before someone points out, I know CR is not consistent and some monsters under perform or over perform their CR, but I'm talking in general.
Honestly I use the CR as a guideline more then anything and look at the encounters. If I feel its too strong then I use my judgement and will lower things. That is part of being a Dm IMO, sometimes you need to make adjustments to things on the fly like that. Had a party once that got hit pretty hard in one encounter so the next encounter the NPCs they were suppose to fight woke up and didn't get a chance to get there weapons....
Monsters are only one part of an encounter's difficulty. Other contributors include:
Fighting 4 goblin archers in a 30'x30' room is a very different fight than fighting 4 goblin archers who are 120 feet away on top of battlements with a moat and a muddy, trap-filled field in between you. CR doesn't reflect any of that.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm