[RPG] What does a “party level” mean

character-levelsdnd-5epublished-adventures

What does a "3rd level party" mean in a published adventure?

this adventure assumes the characters begin this chapter at level 3. some of the haunted keeps are tougher than others. featherdale spire is designed for a 3rd level party (Princes of the Apocalypse)

Does it just mean all player characters are level 3, because Princes of the Apocalypse would be scaled up incredibly high if that is the case?

Best Answer

It refers to the average level of the characters in the party. Example: four 3rd level characters are a "3rd level party". That having been said, 5e generally makes all claims about encounter difficulty assuming that the party consists of 3-5 PCs. If there are more or less than this, the difficulty of the challenges they can overcome needs to be adjusted accordingly. See the DMG, p. 83 (and surrounding pages) for more information.

I'm unclear what you mean by "Princes of the Apocalypse would be scaled up incredibly high", so I cannot address that.