Adjusting Encounters
Source GM Core pg. 85
Telling stories where a large group of low-level monsters can still be a significant threat to a high-level PC (and conversely, where a single higher-level monster is not much of a threat to a group of PCs) requires some significant shifts in encounter building, including shifts in the PCs' rewards.
Under the default math, two monsters of a certain level are roughly as challenging as a single monster 2 levels higher. However, with level removed from proficiency, this assumption is no longer true. The XP budget for creatures uses a different scale, as shown in the Creature XP (No Level) table. You'll still use the same XP budget for a given threat level as shown on the Encounter Budget (80 XP for a moderate-threat encounter, 120 for a severe-threat encounter, and so on).
Under the default math, two monsters of a certain level are roughly as challenging as a single monster 2 levels higher. However, with level removed from proficiency, this assumption is no longer true. The XP budget for creatures uses a different scale, as shown in the Creature XP (No Level) table. You'll still use the same XP budget for a given threat level as shown on the Encounter Budget (80 XP for a moderate-threat encounter, 120 for a severe-threat encounter, and so on).
Creature XP (No Level)
| Creature's Level | XP |
|---|---|
| Party level – 7 | 9 |
| Party level – 6 | 12 |
| Party level – 5 | 14 |
| Party level – 4 | 18 |
| Party level – 3 | 21 |
| Party level – 2 | 26 |
| Party level – 1 | 32 |
| Party level | 40 |
| Party level + 1 | 48 |
| Party level + 2 | 60 |
| Party level + 3 | 72 |
| Party level + 4 | 90 |
| Party level + 5 | 108 |
| Party level + 6 | 135 |
| Party level + 7 | 160 |
| While the XP values in the Creature XP (No Level) table work well in most cases, sometimes they might not account for the effects of creatures' special abilities when facing a party of a drastically different level. For instance, a ghost mage could prove too much for 5th-level PCs with its incorporeality, flight, and high-rank spells, even though it's outnumbered. | |