Making an encounter

[Vildar]

Maybe I am the blinded and stupid guy that didn't saw it, but I couldn't find a part of the manuals regarding the preparation of a balanced encounter, nor a chart to say me "how strong" is a monster compared with the charachters number and level.
I KNOW this is not D&D
But i'd like to know how to make an encounter that is nor too hard or too easy..

[Brokensoul]

The idea of "balanced" encounters might be something they are trying to avoid. Sometimes the players have to know when to run, or use stealth, beg for their lives, ect....

But yeah I do agree a threat rating on the monsters by level would be nice probably something us fans will have to do.

[Jason_Sunday]

I would like atleast some guide lines for building encounters even if they are "balanced". However maybe all villains in this box set are ok for levels 1-5

[Drew D Scott]

Attack, damage, defence and armour are the stats to look at. From eyeballing alone (I run my first DA game tomorrow evening) it appears that opponents with strong defensive capabilities will prove particularly problematic for 1st level PCs, especially those who have yet to pick up their first offensive focus.

[Zapp]

Super-quick guidelines for a "nice" encounter:

1) if the foes have a greater Defense than the PCs (on average), have one less foe than PCs.
2) if the foes have about the same Defense as the PCs (on average), have the same number of foes as PCs.
3) if the foes have a lower Defense than the PCs (on average), have one more foe than PCs.

This ain't D&D, so the expectation is really that as the Games Master you need to learn the system, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your players' characters, and make up encounters suitable for your personal group.

Much like, well, almost every other game on the market except D&D, really!