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EL essentially did the same thing that CR did; it gave you a number to judge how dangerous an encounter was based upon the combination of monsters, traps, and other elements. We dropped the term "Encounter Level" (EL) because it was too confusing to a lot of folks having two phrases being different even though they meant the same thing.
James,
Thanks for weighing in again. I appreciate the way that you guys always seem to take into account the needs of the players.
Having said that, I think that the CR and EL actually represented two different things.
Challenge Rating (CR) = Refers to the relative power of singular creatures, traps et.
Encounter Level (EL) = Refers to the relative difficulty of an encounter, which is made up of (usually) a grouping of creatures, traps etc. (each of which may vary in their CR)
Merging these muddied the waters, at least for me. As a DM, I would have preferred to make use of both of these terms since it allows me to better understand the relative power of creatures singularly, by their CR, and how much threat they represent when combined with others, the EL.
Regardless, I believe you have answered my initial question and I have a better understanding of what CR relates to in the Pathfinder system. I know that I'm trying hard to unlearn some of the mechanics of the 3.0/3.5 system and some things are just easier to let go of than others.
like_a_god