CR and Treasure for Creatures with a CR <1

[Olaf the Stout]

Ok, this is an incredibly dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. When you are dealing with creatures with CR less than 1 how do you calculate their CR? I'm pretty certain that you just add the fractions together (which is different to normal CR calculations). For example Dire Rats are CR 1/3. 3 Dire Rats would be a CR 1 encounter. Kobolds are CR 1/4 so you need 4 of them to be a CR 1 encounter. 2 ordinary Rats (CR 1/8), 1 Kobold (CR 1/4) and 1 Orc (CR 1/2) would be a CR 1 encounter, correct?

My next question is how do you work out the treasure for an encounter where the CR is less than 1. Do you simply use the CR1 treasure table and divide the result by whatever fraction the encounter is? So if you have a CR 1/2 fight, do you calculate the treasure simply by rolling on the CR1 treasure table and dividing the result by 2?

Olaf the Stout

 

[the Jester]

First, you're right in that you add CRs together when they're less than one to get a total- at least, up to CR 1. I've never thought about whether, say, 4 CR 1/2 creatures are an EL 2 encounter (4*1/2 = 2) or an EL 3 encounter (2 CR 1/2s = 1 CR 1; 2 CR 1s = EL 3) before, though.

On the question of treasure, AFAIK, this is not addressed anywhere in the rules. I just ad lib treasure imc anyway, but if you want to follow the treasure values in the DMG on average, I'd just divide a CR 1 treasure in half for a CR 1/2 monster (or, I guess, for an EL 1/2 encounter of 2 CR 1/4 monsters or something).

 

[Olaf the Stout]

First, you're right in that you add CRs together when they're less than one to get a total- at least, up to CR 1. I've never thought about whether, say, 4 CR 1/2 creatures are an EL 2 encounter (4*1/2 = 2) or an EL 3 encounter (2 CR 1/2s = 1 CR 1; 2 CR 1s = EL 3) before, though.

On the question of treasure, AFAIK, this is not addressed anywhere in the rules. I just ad lib treasure imc anyway, but if you want to follow the treasure values in the DMG on average, I'd just divide a CR 1 treasure in half for a CR 1/2 monster (or, I guess, for an EL 1/2 encounter of 2 CR 1/4 monsters or something).

That's what I wasn't sure about, whether they follow the normal CR pattern of two of the same level equals CR+2 or whether they just add together. Adding together seems to make sense to me.

I looked about the treasure and I couldn't find anything. I thought maybe I was looking in the wrong spot.

I haven't ran a game with 1st level PC's in quite a few years so I'm having difficulty remembering what I did previously.

Olaf the Stout

 

[irdeggman]

The treasure table doesn't say - but the xp award says to divide so I would use that pattern for treasure to be consistent.

Example Orc CR 1/2. xp calculated as CR (then divided by 2) {DMG pg 37} so use the treasure table result for a CR 1 creature and divide by 2.