Player Equivalent CR (5e Variant Rule)

Player Equivalent CR

Anyone could tell you that 5e's CR is a little broken. With this variant rule, all creatures are built from the ground up as player characters. This variant rule is intended to replace 5e's base CR, and thus is not readily applicable to every campaign.

When balancing a combat encounter, add the players' levels and the CR of any friendly creatures fighting alongside them with each creature's proficiency bonus. The result is the Party's Combat Value (PCV). Next, add the CR of any creatures fighting the party with each creature's proficiency bonus, with the result being the Threat's Combat Value (TCV). If a creature's CR or level is less than half the average level or CR of the other side, their CR or level counts as 0 when calculating their side's Combat Value. With PCV and TCV calculated, use the following calculations to determine the difficulty of a combat encounter. Additionally, each difficulty has a PCV penalty meant to represent how much of their resources the party will likely lose during the encounter in an outright assault, which would reasonably make later encounters harder. PCV penalties are successive, not cumulative. Taking a long rest removes any PCV penalties, and taking a short rest removes half of all PCV penalties.

Below is an overview of non-setting specific creatures using this variant rule.