balancing encounters

Let me just start by saying, I am no expert. I barely qualify as experienced. To be fair, I struggle with this every time I plan an encounter to set before my players. As I have said before, each system has suggestions and guidelines to aid you in doing this, but when I have used it, I still find my players walking all over the monsters, or it results in a TPK. So how do we figure this out?

First thing we must realize: it’s not designed for a single combat. Most of the equations are set to have multiple encounters between recovery times. We can interrupt a rest and our players will not be at a detrimental disadvantage. They will be able to handle multiple fights at their “level” of challenge, and still come out unscathed.

Next thing is party size: it’s designed for an average party of four. If we have a larger party, we will have to adjust it a bit. Same thing applies if the party is smaller (though I personally feel like this is a larger adjustment). Again, we need to keep in mind that this is designed for several encounters before the party resets their resources.

Last, we might as well just throw the whole system out the window. Why? Because we all know  there is only going to be one battle, and we want it to be challenging for our players. (Confession here, I don’t care if my players are challenged by anything other than the major plot points.) To do this though, we must make major adjustments to the enemy. Let me give you some things that I’ve done.

To make these encounters balance, I have added hit points, given legendary actions/reactions, and increased the number of minions. My most challenging fights are with intelligent creatures. They know to spread out and expend the weaker ones to save themselves. I also try to utilize mechanics such as lair actions and pre-cast wards for protection.

If the equations laid out by the system works for you to balance the encounters, then use them if you’d like. However, do not let it hold you back from building your own battles. I encourage you to do what works best for your party and the style of game you have chosen to play.