Balancing Monster Encounters

[Solaris]

Hello,

We played Aspect last weekend, and we noticed that depending on the monster composition of the encounter, it works better for a balanced fight. I had 5 characters at level 4 fighting 3-4 orc brutes in two separate encounters. I had balanced the encounters according to book rules. The fight was more challenging and the players had a lot more fun. It seems to me when the encounters has a lot of minions or basics, the players have no trouble defeating the encounter with their powers even if it's balanced according to the rule book. However, if I add several elites or hero level monsters, it's much more challenging. I was hoping there would be some mechanism to balance encounters better to make them a match for the players, including adding so many elites or minions, etc. If there is, could there be a modification for experience to reflect this difficulty?

Thanks,

Solaris

[Cal]

The balance would depend on the PCs powers. With a good selection of area effect powers, lots of low grade monsters would be easier. With more single target powers, fewer high grade opponents may be easier.

[Heather Gunn]

With minions and basics, you also have to be wary of choke points, as those can make your hordes much easier to deal with. The street battle in the Here There be Demons starter adventure (free on these forums somewhere) is a great example of breaking up the game space and making those minions and fodder actually count and have maneuvering room. Minions and fodder are always chumps and should be demolished by players handily. That is their purpose.