CR level to character level

[Radlek]

I have been playing the adventure and several of the mobs are a character class. Is there a guide to cross CR to character level?

[Nixitur]

Sort of! NPCs aren't actually built the same way PCs are, so your CR 8 Technomancer didn't actually go through 8 levels of Technomancer to get to where they are.
The rules for building NPCs are in Alien Archive. You're looking for "Class Grafts", page 137. Simple rule, CR = class levels and the special abilities are listed in the stat block.

I'm more curious if it's possible to turn handcrafted characters (through PC generation) into NPCs without going through the grafting process. Because the NPC creation process really seems to lead to some extremely samey NPCs.
But turning PCs into NPCs is not actually that straightforward. The NPC creation process generally leads to lower AC, higher attack rolls and higher damage than PCs. So, the conversion would need some adjustments.

[Malk_Content]

In the Alien Archive there are class grafts you can use instead of other grafts. They tell you what abilities the NPC gets from the class by CR.

[Metaphysician]

Just remember, a CR 1 NPC is not the direct equivalent of a Level 1 PC. A CR 1 NPC is intended to be a moderately tough fight for a whole group of Level 1 PCs.

[Tacticslion]

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[JohannVonUlm]

Nixitur wrote:

Sort of! NPCs aren't actually built the same way PCs are, so your CR 8 Technomancer didn't actually go through 8 levels of Technomancer to get to where they are.

The rules for building NPCs are in Alien Archive. You're looking for "Class Grafts", page 137. Simple rule, CR = class levels and the special abilities are listed in the stat block.

I'm more curious if it's possible to turn handcrafted characters (through PC generation) into NPCs without going through the grafting process. Because the NPC creation process really seems to lead to some extremely samey NPCs.
But turning PCs into NPCs is not actually that straightforward. The NPC creation process generally leads to lower AC, higher attack rolls and higher damage than PCs. So, the conversion would need some adjustments.

Good reference, but that reference essentially says use a NPC's CR as its equivalent class level.

Is there a reference that says the reverse? That a PC's equivalent CR is equal to their class level?

The reason I'm looking is that the Operative's trick attack has a DC based on the CR of your opponent. But it doesn't say specifically what to do when a NPC tries to trick attack a PC. As Metaphysician says above, CR and character level are not equivalents in encounter building.

[Rikkan]

Quote:

Generally, the CR of an NPC equals the level of a PC with the same abilities - for example, an NPC with abilities similar to a 2nd-level technomancer would be CR 2. An NPC usually has armour and a weapon each with a level equal to its CR, give or take a level, and possibly one or two more items of a level equal to its CR.

Basically, CR and level are equivalent when it comes to encounter building.