[PF] Awarding XP for multiple creatures, and CR

[Laniius]

Ok, so I'm not sure how to figure out the CR and thus XP award when there's multiple enemies.

What would the CR be of 12 CR2 creatures? 6 CR2 creatures? 1 CR12 and 1CR 7 creature and 3 CR6 creatures? And so on.

Thanks.

[jindra34]

This is easy in PF (and in 3.5 too, just not quite as). Add the rewards for the individual monsters together, as though the party/player has fought them one at a time.

[Laniius]

Then where do the tables here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html) come into play?

So would a CR6 + CR7 = CR13 + 2 (as there are two creatures) for CR15 total?

And would 12 CR2 creatures be (12*2) = 24 and then +7 as there are 12 creatures for a CR33?

Something seems off.

[TuggyNE]

Then where do the tables here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html) come into play?

So would a CR6 + CR7 = CR13 + 2 (as there are two creatures) for CR15 total?

And would 12 CR2 creatures be (12*2) = 24 and then +7 as there are 12 creatures for a CR33?

Something seems off.

You never add CR together for any reason, because it's a logarithmic scale*, not a linear one; instead, you count up how many monsters (or equivalents) of CR X there are, and adjust X by that amount to get the EL. If there is a CR 6 and a CR 7, it's a weak EL 9 or a strong EL 8 (7+2 or 6+2 respectively); twelve CR 2 is, of course, EL 9 per the table (2+7).

You add XP totals from individual monsters to get the total award, and if you like you can also reverse-engineer the EL from the total award.

*More precisely, addition on a logarithmic scale is equivalent to multiplication normally. +2 CR means "twice as hard", +4 CR means "four times as hard", and +6 CR means "eight times as hard".

[Jack_Simth]

Ok, so I'm not sure how to figure out the CR and thus XP award when there's multiple enemies.

What would the CR be of 12 CR2 creatures? 6 CR2 creatures? 1 CR12 and 1CR 7 creature and 3 CR6 creatures? And so on.

Thanks.Simple answer:
Use a Cheat Sheet someone else made (http://www.d20srd.org/extras/d20encountercalculator/)

[Laniius]

Simple answer:
Use a Cheat Sheet someone else made (http://www.d20srd.org/extras/d20encountercalculator/)

Does Pathfinder adjudicate XP differently than 3.5?

Say, for example, I had a CR13 monster.

If I have 5 level 11 PCs, that calculator gives each one 1320 XP.

However, according to the table here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html), a level 13 encounter with Pathfinder gives 25600 XP and a party of 5 would get 6400 xp each.

Or does that table mean that the TOTAL xp is 6400, and each player gets (6400/5) = 1280 xp?

Edit: And what if the 5 member level 11 party in Pathfinder (not 3.5) were facing a CR 13 monster and a CR 10 monster? Would they get a total of CR13 + CR10 xp, or 25600 + 9600 = 35200 xp, or 7040 xp each? Or would they get xp as if it were a CR15 encounter (51200 total)?

[TuggyNE]

Does Pathfinder adjudicate XP differently than 3.5?

A little differently, I believe. I know the XP/level charts are different, and the XP/monster summing wasn't a thing in 3.5.

[Phaederkiel]

the problem with the +2 cr method is, that even quite easy encounters (say, 12 zombies at lvl 3) will give truly prodigeous experience, thus leading to very fast leveling.

If I remember right, somewhere it says that about 13 encounters should pass before you level up, but in my experience, only about 6 to 8 are needed.

help would be appreciated.

[Laniius]

A little differently, I believe. I know the XP/level charts are different, and the XP/monster summing wasn't a thing in 3.5.

From various places I've found that one difference is that a monster of a given CR always gives a certain amount of XP regardless of PC level.

So fighting a CR13 monster when you are level 12 will yield as much xp as when you are level 1, or level 20.

This is apparently why xp values are included in PF monster statblocks.

Still not entirely sure how multiple monsters works.

[Phase]

This used to confound me to no end.

Then someone linked me this guide (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nx-o8VAjhUwh3nnfzDQT-JA5eFLnN_BZJiBitGjBMDg/edit#) to CR in Pathfinder.

I swear, not a day goes by that I don't thank the gods for this work of art. Especially that table.