PDF: Challenge Rating Tools and Standards
For Wyrlde, the challenge rating is very different, and expansion to 60 CRs, and an entire set of rules and tools for converting, creating, and altering creatures to meet the challenges and to design encounters.
Encounters
Inevitably, there will come a time when you have an encounter. Whether through the lassitude of misfortune or the grand design of an eon, the calculations of some unseen for of the machinations of a petty noble, you will find yourself faced with one or more somethings and it will be a fight, flight, or negotiation to overcome it.
In a given day, one is anticipated to stumble across from one to eight of these moments, these experiences. Day in, day out, they seem to be unending and eternal and often the only escape from them is to hunker down in some pleasant circumstance until the boredom drives you forth once more to conquer the vicissitudes of an unfeeling and unflinching world.
Thankfully, such opportunities are also how we improve.
Challenge Ratings
Challenge Ratings are modified for Wyrlde. Overall, Wyrlde’s creatures are tougher, meaner, and more capable of killing a whole party with ease. Dealing with them requires more tactical and strategic approaches than is common for hack and slash.
A typical Wyrlde session will have one or two encounters, and they will be usually be fights that take longer than 3 rounds. The average number of rounds of combat expected is double the party’s average level in a given session, divided between two encounters.
The most encounters in a single adventuring day should be no more than 8. In a 16-hour day, that gives time for short rests and recuperating.
Challenge Rating Development
Determining an Encounter CR
Generally speaking, Wyrlde presumes that as one improves, one has more encounters on a daily basis, and uses experience points to determine that. The number of encounters per day is matched roughly to the amount of experience each member of a party should gain from an encounter.
Wyrlde has 60 CR levels. There are 3 CR levels for each of the character levels, representing degrees of challenge – this can make it easier to roughly figure out a CR goal for a given average party level.
To determine the Average Party Level, which is the levels of all the PCs added together and divided by the number of people in the party. This would include the CR, or Challenge Rating, of any companions, sidekicks, and NPCs that are on the side of the party. That is called the APL, or Average Party Level.
Average Party Level to Average CR Level
|
APL |
ACR |
APL |
ACR |
APL |
ACR |
APL |
ACR |
|
1 |
2 |
6 |
17 |
11 |
32 |
16 |
47 |
|
2 |
5 |
7 |
20 |
12 |
35 |
17 |
50 |
|
3 |
8 |
8 |
23 |
13 |
38 |
18 |
53 |
|
4 |
11 |
9 |
26 |
14 |
41 |
19 |
56 |
|
5 |
14 |
10 |
29 |
15 |
44 |
20 |
59 |
Encounters come in five types of difficulty. To determine the difficulty goal of a particular encounter, you have
Easy: ACR -2, these are encounters where the party should be able to handle them with some effort.
Simple: ACR -1, these encounters can look more difficult, but still be within the ability of two characters.
Typical: Equal to ACR, this is the encounter where multiple characters must be involved, and there is likely to be a need for healing afterward.
Hard: ACR +1, this kind of encounter is a real test of the capabilities of more than two members of the party, and may completely deplete ammunition, mana, and other resources, typically needing a rest afterwards.
Deadly: ACR +2, this kind of encounter is a challenge to the Players. It requires communication, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the other players, and playing to them, using their combined skills to defeat the foe. A full party of five should be worried as they battle, for this kind of encounter will often mean death if they don’t plan properly.
The APL, then is used to determine the basic challenge Goal for an encounter, and you can choose to “rule of thumb” a goal from above, or you can calculate a challenge goal.
The challenge goal is next determined by how much of a challenge the party is going to face. If you want to be more precise, you can use the Encounter Difficulty Table. Here, you cross reference the APL with the desired challenge.
On that table, Level is APL = Average Party Level, and features the Degree of Mastery Groups. It also shows the number of Encounters per day, and the bare minimum amount of experience each PC should get from that encounter. It then lists out the five challenge points, and by cross referencing the level with the difficulty, you can gain the goal, or the ACR, which stands for Average Challenge Rating.
Encounter Difficulty Table
|
CR by Encounter Difficulty | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level |
No. of Encounters |
XP / PC |
Easy |
Simple |
Typical |
Hard |
Deadly | |
|
Novice |
1st |
2 |
5 |
-1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
2nd |
2 |
11 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 | |
|
3rd |
3 |
17 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 | |
|
4th |
3 |
23 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 | |
|
Yeoman |
5th |
3 |
35 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
|
6th |
4 |
50 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 | |
|
7th |
4 |
80 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 | |
|
8th |
4 |
110 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 | |
|
Adept |
9th |
5 |
140 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
|
10th |
5 |
190 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 | |
|
11th |
5 |
250 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
24 | |
|
12th |
6 |
310 |
33 |
24 |
35 |
36 |
37 | |
|
Master |
13th |
6 |
370 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
|
14th |
6 |
450 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 | |
|
15th |
7 |
540 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 | |
|
16th |
7 |
630 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
49 | |
|
Grand Master |
17th |
7 |
720 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
51 |
52 |
|
18th |
8 |
810 |
51 |
52 |
53 |
54 |
55 | |
|
19th |
8 |
900 |
54 |
55 |
56 |
57 |
58 | |
|
20th |
8 |
990 |
57 |
58 |
59 |
60 |
61 | |
The ACR is your goal and affects the entre goal for the whole of the particular encounter – it is an average, so you can have stronger or Higher CR creatures in the encounter, but they have to be balanced by lower CR beings in a planned encounter. This produces a range of 5 possible CRs for each level based on how hard you want the encounter to be on a per individual basis.
Number of Creatures
Most encounters involve a group of creatures. It is rare to encounter a solo creature, even in random encounters. The default number of beings encountered is determined by a ratio. The target ratio is 1.5, achieved by adding the total number of rations together.
The number of creatures that a PC can face is determined by their level against the final CR for the creature they are facing. This one is expressed as a multiplier in the table below. Multiply the size of the party by the number shown and round down.
That is how many creatures of that level the party should face. You can flip this as well: 100 Apprentices might be able to handle a CR 23 critter, 4 might be able to handle a CR 8. This is how one balances or determines the number of creatures to push against a party in an encounter.
When dealing with a Party of characters, the CR works off the average level of the characters, and simply multiplying the numbers by the total number of party members.
Ratio of Monsters to Party
|
Degree of Mastery |
CR Rating | |||||||||
|
0 to 5 |
6 to 11 |
12 to 17 |
18 to 23 |
24 to 29 |
30 to 35 |
36 to 41 |
42 to 47 |
48 to 53 |
54 to 60 | |
|
Apprentice |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
0.01 |
0.005 |
0.00125 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Novice |
1.5 |
1.25 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
0.01 |
0.005 |
0.00125 |
— |
|
Yeoman |
2.5 |
1.5 |
1.25 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
0.01 |
0.005 |
0.00125 |
|
Adept |
3.5 |
2.5 |
1.5 |
1.25 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
0.01 |
0.005 |
|
Master |
4.5 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
1.5 |
1.25 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
0.01 |
|
Grandmaster |
5.5 |
4.5 |
3.5 |
2.5 |
1.5 |
1.25 |
1 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.1 |
Yes, this does mean that in most encounters, the party will be outnumbered and outpowered.
The ACR is your goal and affects the entire goal for the whole of the particular encounter – it is an average, so you can have stronger or Higher CR creatures in the encounter, but they have to be balanced by lower CR beings in a planned encounter.
The above presumes facing groups of roughly the same CR. If the group is mixed, then you can use the average values of all attackers to determine the overall CR of a larger encounter, essentially treating them as a single creature for purposes of the math.
Ratios by Level
For this chart, the ratios are expressed directly, with Party size on the left, number of creatures on the right. This table is also useful for calculating the number of lower CR minions one can throw at a party.
Ratios by Level: N to 30
|
LoM |
CR | ||||||||||
|
N |
1 – 3 |
4 – 6 |
7 – 9 |
10 – 12 |
13 – 15 |
16 – 18 |
19 – 21 |
22 – 24 |
25 – 27 |
28 – 30 | |
|
-3 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
|
-2 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
|
-1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2: 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
|
1 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
|
2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
|
3 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
|
4 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
|
5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
|
6 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
|
7 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
|
8 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
|
9 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
.5 : 1 |
|
10 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
|
11 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
|
12 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
|
13 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
|
14 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
|
15 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
|
16 |
1 : 8.5 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
|
17 |
1 : 9 |
1 : 8.5 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
|
18 |
1 : 9.5 |
1 : 9 |
1 : 8.5 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
|
19 |
1 : 10 |
1 : 9.5 |
1 : 9 |
1 : 8.5 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
1 : 5 |
|
20 |
1 : 11 |
1 : 10 |
1 : 9.5 |
1 : 9 |
1 : 8.5 |
1 : 8 |
1 : 7.5 |
1 : 7 |
1 : 6.5 |
1 : 6 |
1 : 5.5 |
Ratios by level, 31 to X
|
CR | |||||||||||
|
LoM |
31 – 33 |
34 – 36 |
37 – 39 |
40 – 42 |
43 – 45 |
46 – 48 |
49 – 51 |
52 – 54 |
55 – 57 |
58 – 60 |
X |
|
-3 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
1000 : 1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
-2 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
1000 : 1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
-1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
1000 : 1 |
— |
— |
|
1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
1000 : 1 |
— |
|
2 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
1000 : 1 |
|
3 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
500 : 1 |
|
4 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
250 : 1 |
|
5 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
100 : 1 |
|
6 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
50 : 1 |
|
7 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
20 : 1 |
|
8 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
10 : 1 |
|
9 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
9 : 1 |
|
10 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
|
11 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
7 : 1 |
|
12 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
6 : 1 |
|
13 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
5.5 : 1 |
|
14 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
|
15 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
4.5 : 1 |
|
16 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
4 : 1 |
|
17 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
3.5 : 1 |
|
18 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
3 : 1 |
|
19 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
2.5 : 1 |
|
20 |
1 : 5 |
1 : 4.5 |
1 : 4 |
1 : 3.5 |
1 : 3 |
1 : 2.5 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 1.5 |
1 : 1 |
1.5 : 1 |
2: 1 |
Total CR by Level and Party Size
This gives you the total of the CRs of all the creatures in a given encounter according to party size and party level. Add up the CR ratings of all the creatures involved in an encounter.
|
APL |
Size of Party | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 | |
|
N |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
|
1 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
2 |
5 |
7 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
15 |
17 |
19 |
21 |
23 |
|
3 |
8 |
11 |
14 |
17 |
20 |
23 |
26 |
29 |
32 |
35 |
|
4 |
10 |
14 |
18 |
22 |
26 |
30 |
34 |
38 |
42 |
46 |
|
5 |
13 |
18 |
23 |
28 |
33 |
38 |
43 |
48 |
53 |
58 |
|
6 |
69 |
21 |
27 |
33 |
39 |
45 |
51 |
57 |
63 |
69 |
|
7 |
18 |
25 |
45 |
39 |
46 |
53 |
60 |
67 |
74 |
81 |
|
8 |
20 |
28 |
36 |
44 |
52 |
60 |
68 |
76 |
84 |
92 |
|
9 |
23 |
32 |
41 |
50 |
59 |
68 |
77 |
86 |
95 |
104 |
|
10 |
25 |
35 |
45 |
55 |
65 |
75 |
85 |
95 |
105 |
115 |
|
11 |
28 |
39 |
50 |
61 |
72 |
83 |
94 |
105 |
116 |
127 |
|
12 |
30 |
42 |
54 |
66 |
78 |
90 |
102 |
114 |
126 |
138 |
|
13 |
33 |
46 |
59 |
72 |
85 |
98 |
111 |
124 |
137 |
150 |
|
14 |
35 |
49 |
63 |
77 |
91 |
105 |
119 |
133 |
147 |
161 |
|
15 |
38 |
53 |
68 |
83 |
98 |
113 |
128 |
143 |
158 |
173 |
|
16 |
40 |
56 |
72 |
88 |
104 |
120 |
136 |
152 |
168 |
184 |
|
17 |
43 |
60 |
77 |
94 |
111 |
128 |
145 |
162 |
179 |
196 |
|
18 |
45 |
63 |
81 |
99 |
117 |
135 |
153 |
171 |
189 |
207 |
|
19 |
48 |
67 |
86 |
105 |
124 |
143 |
162 |
181 |
200 |
219 |
|
20 |
50 |
70 |
90 |
110 |
130 |
150 |
170 |
190 |
210 |
230 |
Core Challenge Ratings
The Core Challenge Rating table shows all 66 possible CRs, their XP value as a single being, and organizes them according to the average level of the party.
|
Average Party level |
Base Challenge Rating (CR) |
Experience Points / XP |
Average Party level |
Base Challenge Rating (CR) |
Experience Points / XP |
Average Party level |
Base Challenge Rating (CR) |
Experience Points / XP |
|
N |
-3 |
1 |
7 |
19 |
70 |
14 |
40 |
420 |
|
-2 |
1 |
20 |
80 |
41 |
450 | |||
|
-1 |
2 |
21 |
90 |
42 |
480 | |||
|
1 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
22 |
100 |
15 |
43 |
510 |
|
2 |
5 |
23 |
110 |
44 |
540 | |||
|
3 |
7 |
24 |
120 |
45 |
570 | |||
|
2 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
25 |
130 |
16 |
46 |
600 |
|
5 |
11 |
26 |
140 |
47 |
630 | |||
|
6 |
13 |
27 |
150 |
48 |
660 | |||
|
3 |
7 |
15 |
10 |
28 |
170 |
17 |
49 |
690 |
|
8 |
17 |
29 |
190 |
50 |
720 | |||
|
9 |
19 |
30 |
210 |
51 |
750 | |||
|
4 |
10 |
21 |
11 |
31 |
230 |
18 |
52 |
780 |
|
11 |
23 |
32 |
250 |
53 |
810 | |||
|
12 |
25 |
33 |
270 |
54 |
840 | |||
|
5 |
13 |
30 |
12 |
34 |
290 |
19 |
55 |
870 |
|
14 |
35 |
35 |
310 |
56 |
900 | |||
|
15 |
40 |
36 |
330 |
57 |
930 | |||
|
6 |
16 |
45 |
13 |
37 |
350 |
20 |
58 |
960 |
|
17 |
50 |
38 |
370 |
59 |
990 | |||
|
18 |
60 |
39 |
390 |
60 |
1020 | |||
|
X |
61 |
1050 | ||||||
|
62 |
1100 | |||||||
|
63+ |
1200 | |||||||
From this point, you can begin to adjust and alter a being in order to change or modify a given CR for each individual creature, as well as for the overall encounter.
Determining a Creature CR
|
DoM |
Base CR |
# Encounters |
|
Apprentice |
1 |
1 |
|
Novice |
6.5 |
2.5 |
|
Yeoman |
18.5 |
4 |
|
Adept |
30.5 |
5 |
|
Master |
42.5 |
6.5 |
|
Grandmaster |
54.5 |
8 |
From time to time, you may need to create or modify a challenge rating. When modifying a creature, you can never go below -3 or above 63.
The N and X categories are for exceptionally weak or difficult beings.
To start from scratch, you have to have a rough idea of what the starting CR for a creature is. This can be determined by either Degree of mastery or by APL. For Degree of mastery, you start with a simple baseline.
For APL, you use the table below. This table gives basic midlines stats for each CR based on the typical expectations for difficulty by Level of Mastery, Ratio, and encounters.
You then begin to use different aspects about the creature to add or subtract from this base number. Each factor has a different impact, and this provides extreme flexibility in determining the rating, allowing you to take a single creature and adjust it according to the needs you have for the encounter. There are several measures that can modify a base challenge rating:
These factors and the change to CR they provide can vary, so each factor has its own modification. You identify the factor, look it up, and see what the modification to the CR is.
Baseline CR by Level
|
APL |
Base CR |
XP |
Scores |
HD |
#HD |
HP |
AC |
ATK Bonus |
Save |
Prof |
Atk / Round |
Damage Die |
Damage / Atk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
N |
-2 |
1 |
5 |
d4 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
-1 |
5 |
-1 |
1 |
d4 |
2 |
|
1 |
2 |
5 |
10 |
d6 |
2 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
d6 |
3 |
|
2 |
5 |
11 |
11 |
d6 |
4 |
14 |
11 |
+1 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
d6 |
4 |
|
3 |
8 |
17 |
12 |
d8 |
5 |
21 |
12 |
+1 |
11 |
+1 |
2 |
d8 |
4 |
|
4 |
11 |
23 |
13 |
d8 |
6 |
28 |
13 |
+1 |
11 |
+1 |
2 |
d8 |
5 |
|
5 |
14 |
35 |
14 |
d10 |
6 |
35 |
14 |
+2 |
12 |
+2 |
2 |
d10 |
5 |
|
6 |
17 |
50 |
15 |
d10 |
8 |
42 |
15 |
+2 |
12 |
+2 |
3 |
d10 |
6 |
|
7 |
20 |
80 |
16 |
d12 |
8 |
49 |
16 |
+2 |
13 |
+3 |
3 |
d12 |
6 |
|
8 |
23 |
110 |
17 |
d12 |
9 |
56 |
17 |
+3 |
13 |
+3 |
3 |
d12 |
7 |
|
9 |
26 |
140 |
18 |
d14 |
8 |
63 |
18 |
+3 |
14 |
+4 |
4 |
d14 |
7 |
|
10 |
29 |
190 |
19 |
d14 |
9 |
70 |
19 |
+3 |
14 |
+4 |
4 |
d14 |
8 |
|
11 |
32 |
250 |
20 |
d16 |
9 |
77 |
20 |
+4 |
15 |
+5 |
4 |
d18 |
8 |
|
12 |
35 |
310 |
21 |
d16 |
10 |
84 |
21 |
+4 |
15 |
+5 |
5 |
d18 |
9 |
|
13 |
38 |
370 |
22 |
d18 |
10 |
91 |
22 |
+4 |
16 |
+6 |
5 |
d20 |
9 |
|
14 |
41 |
450 |
23 |
d18 |
10 |
98 |
23 |
+5 |
16 |
+6 |
5 |
d20 |
10 |
|
15 |
44 |
540 |
24 |
d20 |
10 |
105 |
24 |
+5 |
17 |
+7 |
6 |
d22 |
10 |
|
16 |
47 |
630 |
25 |
d22 |
10 |
112 |
25 |
+5 |
17 |
+7 |
6 |
d22 |
11 |
|
17 |
50 |
720 |
26 |
d24 |
10 |
119 |
26 |
+6 |
18 |
+8 |
6 |
d24 |
11 |
|
18 |
53 |
810 |
27 |
d26 |
10 |
126 |
27 |
+6 |
18 |
+8 |
7 |
d24 |
12 |
|
19 |
56 |
900 |
28 |
d28 |
10 |
133 |
28 |
+6 |
19 |
+9 |
7 |
d26 |
12 |
|
20 |
59 |
990 |
29 |
d30 |
10 |
140 |
29 |
+7 |
19 |
+9 |
7 |
d26 |
13 |
|
X |
62 |
1100 |
30 |
d30 |
10 |
150 |
30 |
+8 |
20 |
+10 |
8 |
d28 |
13 |
Level of Party: The average level of all party members is used to determine the base CR for a given creature. That sets the baseline, which is then modified by all other aspects up or down.
Highest Ability Scores: the highest Ability score of the creature.
Average Ability Score: the average of all their ability scores.
Armor Class: Is the armor class greater or lesser than the base for that creature? This impacts CR.
Proficiency Bonus: The highest proficiency bonus of the creature.
Size: How big is it? Wyrlde has many more sizes of creatures and size determines the kind of hit die they use, and some critters have either bigger or smaller hit dice, which impacts the CR. The size of a creature also determines the size of the damage die it uses.
Hit Dice: The number of and type of hit dice the creature has.
Attack Bonus: the highest attack bonus of the creature.
Save DC: The highest Save DC of the creature.
XP Value: The anticipated XP Value of the Creature.
Attacks: How many attacks per round does the creature have? Some creatures have no attacks, others have many more than 1.
Magic: What Degrees of complexity does the critter have the ability to use based on spells or powers? Note that special abilities and the like do count for this feature, even if they don’t normally use magic spells. So Psionics, Runes, Words of Power, and similar elements apply as well.
Lairs: A creature fought in a lair is more difficult to deal with than one outside of it. Simple Lairs are easier, more well defend and difficult to deal with lairs are harder.
Swarms have a special category. A Swarm may increase the CR of a given creature based on the number of creatures each party member is dealing with. Note that swarms are applied only for Bitty and Micro size creatures; larger ones will use the normal ratio factor.
Creature Type. Some types of creatures increase the or decrease the CR for an encounter.
Situational. Some situations change the CR of an encounter.
Default People
They are the most common sort of person on will meet, an average of the whole world.
Most people on Wyrlde are going to be between 0 and 5th level equivalents. This is the overwhelming majority of folks. From there, you will have people over varying levels of skill and position.
They follow the same essential progression as players do, so you still have Commoner, Novice, Yeoman, Adept, Master, and Grand Masters.
The default person will have scores show as below.
|
DoM |
Commoner |
Novice |
Yeoman |
Adept |
Master |
Grand Master |
|
Base CR |
1 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
14 |
18 |
|
Ability Scores |
10 |
11 |
13 |
15 |
17 |
19 |
|
Hit Dice (D8) |
1 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
14 |
18 |
|
Hit Points (HP) |
5 |
12 |
31 |
49 |
68 |
95 |
|
Armor Class (AC) |
8 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
|
Atk Bonus |
0 |
+1 |
+2 |
+3 |
+4 |
+5 |
|
Save DC |
10 |
11 |
13 |
15 |
17 |
19 |
|
Prof Bonus |
0 |
+1 |
+2 |
+3 |
+4 |
+5 |
|
Actual CR |
1 |
5 |
15 |
32 |
42 |
50 |
|
Level Equivalent |
0 |
2nd |
5th |
11th |
14th |
17th |
Size Modifiers
Size can determine several different elements of a creature that affect their challenge rating. Size is the most obvious, but also both the die and the number of dice that a creature has, as well as the average number of hit points they might have and as a factor of their size, the potential damage they can cause to poor unsuspecting adventurers.
This charts shows the effective baselines for all size of creatures on Wyrlde. However, all of these baselines can be adjusted to achieve the goal you have for a given creature. You can start with a Huge Creature, which is normally a +2 CR, but you can have them use a d4 for hit points, getting a -3 CR.
|
CR Change |
Size Category |
Space |
Hit Die |
Avg HP / Die |
# Hit Dice |
Damage Die (avg) |
Swarms |
|
-5 |
Micro |
1 in by 1 in |
d4 |
1 |
.25 |
1 pt |
— |
|
-4 |
Bitty |
3 in by 3 in |
d4 |
2.5 |
.5 |
2 pts |
— |
|
-3 |
Wee |
6 in by 6 in |
d4 |
2.5 |
.75 |
d4 (2.5) |
— |
|
-2 |
Tiny |
9 in by 9 in |
d6 |
3.5 |
1 |
d4 (2.5) |
— |
|
-1 |
Little |
18 in by 18 in |
d6 |
3.5 |
1 |
d6 (3.5) |
— |
|
0 |
Small |
3 ft. by 3 ft. |
d8 |
4.5 |
1 |
d6 (3.5) |
1 |
|
0 |
Medium |
6 ft. by 6 ft. |
d8 |
5.5 |
2 |
d8 (4.5) |
5 |
|
0 |
Big |
9 ft. by 9 ft. |
d10 |
5.5 |
3 |
d10 (5.5) |
10 |
|
+1 |
Large |
12 ft. by 12 ft. |
d12 |
6.5 |
4 |
d12 (6.5) |
20 |
|
+2 |
Huge |
15 ft. by 15 ft. |
d14 |
7.5 |
5 |
d14 (7.5) |
30 |
|
+3 |
Gigantic |
18 ft. by 18 ft |
d16 |
8.5 |
6 |
d16 (8.5) |
40 |
|
+4 |
Massive |
21 ft. by 21 ft. |
d18 |
9.5 |
7 |
d18 (9.5) |
50 |
|
+5 |
Immense |
24 ft. by 24 ft. |
d20 |
10.5 |
8 |
D20 (10.5) |
60 |
|
+6 |
Monstrous |
27 ft by 27 ft. |
d22 |
11.5 |
9 |
d22 (11.5) |
70 |
|
+7 |
Humongous |
30 ft. by 30 ft |
d24 |
12.5 |
10 |
D24 (12.5) |
80 |
|
+8 |
Gargantuan |
36 ft. by 36 ft |
d26 |
13.5 |
12 |
d26 (13.5) |
90 |
|
+9 |
Colossal |
42 ft. by 42 ft |
d28 |
14.5 |
14 |
d28 (14.5) |
100 |
|
+10 |
Titanic |
48 ft. by 48 ft |
d30 |
15.5 |
17 |
d30 (15.5) |
120 |
After Size, you then begin to look at the various features you want to give the creature, as well as how you want to alter the CR.
CR Modifiers Table
|
CR Change |
Ability Scores |
Die Type |
Hit Dice |
Hit Points |
Armor Class |
Atk Bon |
Save DC |
Prof Bonus |
Atk/ |
Damage Die |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
-10 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
-10 |
— | ||||
|
-9 |
1 |
— |
— |
2 |
-9 |
— | ||||
|
-8 |
2 |
— |
— |
3 |
-8 |
— | ||||
|
-7 |
3 |
— |
— |
4 |
-7 |
— | ||||
|
-6 |
4 |
— |
— |
5 |
-6 |
1 pt | ||||
|
-5 |
5 |
— |
1 or lower |
— |
6 |
-5 |
— | |||
|
-4 |
6 |
— |
2 – 3 |
— |
7 |
-4 |
2 pts | |||
|
-3 |
7 |
D1 |
4 – 5 |
— |
8 |
-3 |
— | |||
|
-2 |
8 |
D2 |
1/4 |
1 |
6 – 7 |
— |
9 |
-2 |
1 |
d4 (2.5) |
|
-1 |
9 |
D4 |
1/2 |
5 |
8 – 9 |
— |
10 |
-1 |
2 |
— |
|
0 |
10 |
D6 |
1 |
10 |
10 – 11 |
— |
12 |
0 |
3 |
d6 (3.5) |
|
+1 |
11-12 |
D8 |
2 |
20 |
12 – 13 |
1-2 |
14 |
+1 |
d8 (4.5) | |
|
+2 |
13-14 |
d10 |
3 |
30 |
14 – 15 |
3-4 |
16 |
+2 |
4 |
d10 (5.5) |
|
+3 |
15-16 |
d12 |
4 |
40 |
16 – 17 |
5-6 |
18 |
+3 |
d12 (6.5) | |
|
+4 |
17-18 |
d14 |
5 |
50 |
18 – 19 |
7-8 |
20 |
+4 |
5 |
d14 (7.5) |
|
+5 |
19-20 |
d16 |
6 |
75 |
20 to 22 |
9-10 |
21 |
+5 |
d16 (8.5) | |
|
+6 |
21-22 |
d18 |
8 |
100 |
23 |
11-13 |
22 |
+6 |
6 |
D18 (9.5) |
|
+7 |
23-24 |
d20 |
10 |
150 |
24 |
14-16 |
23 |
+7 |
— | |
|
+8 |
25-26 |
d22 |
12 |
200 |
25 |
17-19 |
24 |
+8 |
7 |
d20 (10.5) |
|
+9 |
27-28 |
d24 |
14 |
250 |
26 |
20-22 |
25 |
+9 |
— | |
|
+10 |
29-30 |
d30 |
16 |
300 |
27 |
23-25 |
26 |
+10 |
8 |
d24 (12.5) |
|
+11 |
— |
— |
18 |
350 |
29 |
26-28 |
27 |
+11 |
— | |
|
+12 |
— |
— |
20 |
400 |
30 |
29-30 |
28 |
+12 |
9 |
d30 (15.5) |
Combat Modifiers
Certain combat actions and capabilities can alter a CR as they are scaled up or down as well. Several different things can alter the modifiers here.
These changes are reflected in the following chart.
|
CR Change |
Attacks/ |
AC |
Hit Die |
Die Change |
Magic |
Lair |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
-10 |
-10 |
Down 10 |
— |
— | ||
|
-9 |
-9 |
Down 9 |
— |
— | ||
|
-8 |
-8 |
Down 8 |
— |
— | ||
|
-7 |
-7 |
Down 7 |
— |
— | ||
|
-6 |
-6 |
Down 6 |
— |
— | ||
|
-5 |
-5 |
-5 |
Down 5 |
— |
— | |
|
-4 |
-4 |
-4 |
Down 4 |
— |
— | |
|
-3 |
-3 |
-3 |
Down 3 |
— |
Far Away from Lair | |
|
-2 |
-2 |
-2 |
Down 2 |
— | ||
|
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
Down 1 |
— |
Unusually out of lair | |
|
0 |
1 |
Base |
0 |
None |
— | |
|
+1 |
2 |
+1 |
+1 |
Up 1 |
Simple |
In lair |
|
+2 |
3 |
+2 |
+2 |
Up 2 | ||
|
+3 |
+3 |
+3 |
Up 3 |
Rudimentary |
prepared Lair | |
|
+4 |
4 |
+4 |
+4 |
Up 4 | ||
|
+5 |
+5 |
+5 |
Up 5 |
Intermediate |
Deadly lair | |
|
+6 |
5 |
+6 |
+6 |
Up 6 | ||
|
+7 |
+7 |
+7 |
Up 7 |
Advanced |
Dimensional Lair | |
|
+8 |
6 |
+8 |
+8 |
Up 8 | ||
|
+9 |
+9 |
+9 |
Up 9 |
Expert |
Planar Lair | |
|
+10 |
7 |
+10 |
+10 |
up 10 |
Capability Modifiers
Any Resistance or Immunity a creature may have affects its CR as well. These modifiers are for each one.
|
Normal Weapon |
Magical Weapon |
Elemental |
Planar |
Nebulous |
Damage | |
|
Resistance |
+2 |
+4 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
+2 |
|
Immunity |
+4 |
+5 |
+2 |
+2 |
+2 |
+4 |
|
Vulnerability |
-2 |
-0 |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
-2 |
|
Weakness |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
0 |
0 |
-1 |
Creature Type Modifiers
Some types of Creature modify the Challenge rating due to the nature of the being.
|
Creature Type |
CR Modification |
Creature Type |
CR Modification |
Creature Type |
CR Modification |
Creature Type |
CR Modification |
|
Aberrations |
+2 |
Abominations |
+3 |
Grimms |
+1 |
Horrors |
+1 |
|
Constructs |
+1 |
Corruptions |
+1 |
Rumored |
* |
Salathen |
+2 |
|
Denizens |
+4 |
Dragons |
+5 |
Trolls |
+2 |
Spirits |
+1 |
|
Elementals |
+2 |
Giants |
+1 |
Undying |
+3 |
Water Monsters |
+2 |
Situational Modifiers
Certain situations further modify the CR in a planned encounter, much the same way that a Lair structure does.
|
CR Mod |
Situation |
|---|---|
|
-1 |
Minimum hit points |
|
+1 |
Maximum hit points |
|
+2 |
Legendary Actions, each |
|
+1 |
Difficult Terrain |
|
+2 |
Unstable Terrain |
|
+1 |
Lightly Obscured vision |
|
+2 |
Obscured vision |
|
+3 |
Heavily Obscured vision |
|
+1 |
The whole party is surprised, and the enemy isn’t. |
|
+2 |
The enemy has cover, and the party doesn’t. |
|
+3 |
The characters are unable to see the enemy. |
|
+2 |
The characters are taking damage every round from some environmental effect or magical source, and the enemy isn’t. |
|
+4 |
The characters are hanging from a rope, in the midst of scaling a sheer wall or cliff, stuck to the floor, or otherwise in a situation that greatly hinders their mobility or makes them sitting ducks. |
Die Chain
The Die Chain for Monsters is below. Moving up or down that changes the CR as well, with the lowest a d4, the highest a d30.
|
d4 |
d6 |
d8 |
d10 |
d12 |
d14 |
d16 |
d18 |
d20 |
d22 |
d24 |
d26 |
d28 |
d30 |
Balancing
Finally, you balance by adjusting the hit points and the combined damage done in a single turn. Balancing CR is based on the combined hit points of the party and the foes, followed by the combined average damage of each side.
To determine average damage, multiply one half the damage die by the number of attacks of the creature. A balanced encounter on Wyrlde is considered to have a Ratio of Foes to Party of 1.5:1. The creatures should have a ratio of 1.5 on HP and Damage over the party.
