Balancing CR

[malakav]

Greetings DMs I wanted to ask how to balance CR in each level

I have 5 level 4 players, I have allowed Spells, Races and Class archetypes from Unearthed Arcana

Also their stats were determined with 4d6 removing the lowest dice, which made high stats easier

I am finding that fights have not been that challenging for them, I do not intend to kill them or make it impossible, just challenging fights

do you modify monsters, add more monsters, ignore the xp treshold, or what do you do to make a memorable experience?

[dungeonguru]

Generally speaking you'd probably get a better answer from a forum dedicated to playing the game versus a Hero Lab's specific forum.

That said, I've been playing with a group of 5 for the last year and the adjustments I make are generally the following:
1. Maximize the HP on creatures that are outnumbered by the party (3 or less creatures). The extra HP makes up for the imbalance of damage coming in.
2. Play intelligent creatures appropriately. If the rogue keeps backstabbing and doing tons of damage my creatures try to negate his adjacency (by pushing or moving around). If a healer or other spellcaster does something impressive, they might start to focus fire to take them out. Make use of any tactical advantage the creature might have - it's had time to learn where the best spot to fight is.
3. If the monsters have magic items that don't require attunement in their hoard - let them use them. A potion of healing or a spell scroll can make a fight more memorable.
4. Spice up fights with the environment. Usually a creature that is fighting in its lair has a few traps or other advantageous tricks up its sleeves. Maybe there is a section of floor that grant it partial cover or causes disadvantage on attackers.
5. Don't be afraid to chain smaller encounters together. If the worgs you fought in area 1 can howl where area 2's ogre might investigate, bring in the big guy toward the end of the fight.

DM'ing can be an artform, you'll have to figure out what's best for you.

[malakav]

I appreciate it, i will try to do that to see how it goes