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I know this has been discussed before, but I still have a few questions regarding APL calculations. To start off, I'm going to include the pertinent section of the Guide:
In order to determine which subtier a mixed-level group of PCs must play in, calculate the group’s average party level (APL). Divide the total number of character levels by the number of characters in the party. You should always round to the nearest whole number.
Starting with Season 4, scenarios are designed for six characters and contain instructions on how to adjust the scenario for four-character parties. When the APL of a table is between two subtiers (like APL 3 for a Tier 1–5 scenario), a party of four characters must play the lower tier without any adjustments for party size. A party of five to seven characters whose APL is between two subtiers must play the higher tier with the four-character adjustment.
For scenarios written in Seasons 0 to 3, when the APL is in between subtiers, a party of six or seven characters must play the higher subtier. Parties with four or five characters must play the lower subtier. In the fringe case where there are no players that are high enough to have reached the subtier level (such as a party of six 3rd level characters), the group may decide to play down to the lower subtier.
Ok, so here is the question: Is the bolded text intended to apply in all cases (and therefore should be broken out into a separate paragraph), or only to Season 0 to 3 scenarios (as the paragraph structure suggests)?
If it is only intended to apply to season 0-3, a group of 8s and 9s playing a season 4+ scenario could be forced to play the 10-11 sub-tier. For example, 3 level 9s (27) and two level 8s (16) would equal an APL of 9 ((27+16)/5=8.6, rounds to 9), and therefore be forced to play at subtier 10-11, despite not having a single character in the subtier's level range. Is that intentional?
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Yes, you are reading it correctly. The fringe case is only applicable to seasons 0-3. In your example with that spread, they would indeed be playing the higher sub-tier, but they would be doing it with the four-player conversion. This gives them a more level APL appropriate challenge. Since seasons 0-3 didn't have four-player conversions, they instead get a choice. It is the only time a choice factors into it these days.