Is there a way to calculate CR for a single PC rather than the "3 or less" guideline given in the Core Rulebook?
4 creatures have a total Challenge Rating equal to their individual CR +4. So 4 CR 6 creatures have a CR of 10. That would mean that 4 CR 6 creatures are an appropriate fight for 4 level 10 characters.
That would seem to imply that if alone, an appropriate challenge for a single character would be equal to his level -4. A CR 10 encounter is appropriate for a party of 4 level 10 characters, while a CR 6 encounter is appropriate for a single level 10 character.
(Note that challenges are supposed to be easily overcome, using only about 20% of the parties resources. Also note that CR is not an exact measure of challenge - its only guidelines. The actual challenge posed by a creature would depend on party composition, optimization level, and several other factors.)
4 creatures have a total Challenge Rating equal to their individual CR +4. So 4 CR 6 creatures have a CR of 10. That would mean that 4 CR 6 creatures are an appropriate fight for 4 level 10 characters.
That would seem to imply that if alone, an appropriate challenge for a single character would be equal to his level -4. A CR 10 encounter is appropriate for a party of 4 level 10 characters, while a CR 6 encounter is appropriate for a single level 10 character.
(Note that challenges are supposed to be easily overcome, using only about 20% of the parties resources. Also note that CR is not an exact measure of challenge - its only guidelines. The actual challenge posed by a creature would depend on party composition, optimization level, and several other factors.)
This seems reasonable- If 4 level 8 PC's defeat a CR8 encounter, they get 1200xp each. If 2 level 8 PC's defeat a CR6 encounter, they get 1200xp each. If 1 level 8 PC defeats a CR 4 encounter, she gets 1200xp. The game seems to deem these CR as appropriate in its readiness to give awards for success.
Thanks!