A couple quick questions from a frustrated DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

A couple quick questions from a frustrated DM [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
toddfrazie
09-14-06, 01:59 AM I need the exact formula for Encounter Level. I have looked all over the DMG, and I'm not satisfied I've found what I need to find.

I have been struggling with Armor bonuses. What enhancement bonuses to armor stack, and what do not?

When I get these questions answered, I will be a happy man. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks
Jutter
09-14-06, 04:05 AM I need the exact formula for Encounter Level. I have looked all over the DMG, and I'm not satisfied I've found what I need to find.

You might want to try out this link. It doesn't give you the formula, but it is able to calculate the EL of a specific encounter. If you 'just' need to calculate some EL's, this should do.
http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm

I have been struggling with Armor bonuses. What enhancement bonuses to armor stack, and what do not?

According to the stacking rules, bonuses with the same name do not stack, but overlap. So if you cast bull's strength on a character wearing gauntlets of ogre power, the total bonus to his STR will be +4, since both are enhancement bonuses and do not stack. To make life easy, there are three exceptions:
- Dodge bonuses stack.
- Circumstance bonuses stack.
- Unnamed bonuses stack.

So to answer your question: enhancement bonuses to AC don't stack.

All this from the top of my head, since I don't have my books at hand. In case somebody notices any mistakes, please feel free to correct me.
Poisonelf
09-14-06, 11:09 AM Couple of things that might make life a little easier:

In general, nothing in DnD stacks if it has the same descriptor; i.e. - Dodge + Circumstance + Enchantments will stack, but Dodge + Dodge, Enchantment + Enchantment, etc... will not.

When you talk about Encounter Level, I think a great tool to help you gauge "what should the stat be" (how high of an AC is appropriate to what Encounter Level, what strength should they have, etc...) is the monster building chapter in the back of the Monster Manual (3.5 version) (I forget what it's exactly called, but it gives you fomulaic suggestions for what stats are appropriate for what Challenge Rating).

Hope that helps a little.
Zherog
09-14-06, 02:20 PM Couple of things that might make life a little easier:

In general, nothing in DnD stacks if it has the same descriptor; i.e. - Dodge + Circumstance + Enchantments will stack, but Dodge + Dodge, Enchantment + Enchantment, etc... will not.

Dodge + Dodge will stack just fine - it's an exception to the rule.
toddfrazie
09-14-06, 03:21 PM Thanks for all taht guys. The link was particularly helpful! Now I'm gonna spend a couple hours boiling over the mathmatical system that works encounter level, so I don't have to be near a computer when calculating it. Man this is a tough job:(
Jhaelen
09-14-06, 04:26 PM Thanks for all taht guys. The link was particularly helpful! Now I'm gonna spend a couple hours boiling over the mathmatical system that works encounter level, so I don't have to be near a computer when calculating it. Man this is a tough job:(
It isn't that difficult really. Basically you just have to apply two rules:
1. n + n = n+2
2. n + (n-2) = n+1
Example: CR3, 2*CR4, CR5, CR6:
CR4+CR4=EL6, CR5+CR3=EL6, EL6+EL6=EL8, EL8+CR6=EL9 voila!

But definitely use the posted calculator link. It's great for more complex encounters and gives more exact numbers. It works especially well if your group has more (or less) than 4 characters where creating appropriate encounters becomes challenging. There should also be a downloadable offline version of it somewhere.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
toddfrazie 09-14-06, 01:59 AM	I need the exact formula for Encounter Level. I have looked all over the DMG, and I'm not satisfied I've found what I need to find. I have been struggling with Armor bonuses. What enhancement bonuses to armor stack, and what do not? When I get these questions answered, I will be a happy man. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks
Jutter 09-14-06, 04:05 AM	I need the exact formula for Encounter Level. I have looked all over the DMG, and I'm not satisfied I've found what I need to find. You might want to try out this link. It doesn't give you the formula, but it is able to calculate the EL of a specific encounter. If you 'just' need to calculate some EL's, this should do. http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm I have been struggling with Armor bonuses. What enhancement bonuses to armor stack, and what do not? According to the stacking rules, bonuses with the same name do not stack, but overlap. So if you cast bull's strength on a character wearing gauntlets of ogre power, the total bonus to his STR will be +4, since both are enhancement bonuses and do not stack. To make life easy, there are three exceptions: - Dodge bonuses stack. - Circumstance bonuses stack. - Unnamed bonuses stack. So to answer your question: enhancement bonuses to AC don't stack. All this from the top of my head, since I don't have my books at hand. In case somebody notices any mistakes, please feel free to correct me.
Poisonelf 09-14-06, 11:09 AM	Couple of things that might make life a little easier: In general, nothing in DnD stacks if it has the same descriptor; i.e. - Dodge + Circumstance + Enchantments will stack, but Dodge + Dodge, Enchantment + Enchantment, etc... will not. When you talk about Encounter Level, I think a great tool to help you gauge "what should the stat be" (how high of an AC is appropriate to what Encounter Level, what strength should they have, etc...) is the monster building chapter in the back of the Monster Manual (3.5 version) (I forget what it's exactly called, but it gives you fomulaic suggestions for what stats are appropriate for what Challenge Rating). Hope that helps a little.
Zherog 09-14-06, 02:20 PM	Couple of things that might make life a little easier: In general, nothing in DnD stacks if it has the same descriptor; i.e. - Dodge + Circumstance + Enchantments will stack, but Dodge + Dodge, Enchantment + Enchantment, etc... will not. Dodge + Dodge will stack just fine - it's an exception to the rule.
toddfrazie 09-14-06, 03:21 PM	Thanks for all taht guys. The link was particularly helpful! Now I'm gonna spend a couple hours boiling over the mathmatical system that works encounter level, so I don't have to be near a computer when calculating it. Man this is a tough job:(
Jhaelen 09-14-06, 04:26 PM	Thanks for all taht guys. The link was particularly helpful! Now I'm gonna spend a couple hours boiling over the mathmatical system that works encounter level, so I don't have to be near a computer when calculating it. Man this is a tough job:( It isn't that difficult really. Basically you just have to apply two rules: 1. n + n = n+2 2. n + (n-2) = n+1 Example: CR3, 2*CR4, CR5, CR6: CR4+CR4=EL6, CR5+CR3=EL6, EL6+EL6=EL8, EL8+CR6=EL9 voila! But definitely use the posted calculator link. It's great for more complex encounters and gives more exact numbers. It works especially well if your group has more (or less) than 4 characters where creating appropriate encounters becomes challenging. There should also be a downloadable offline version of it somewhere.