Let me start by saying an encounter doesn't have to involve combat. I'll say that one more time. An encounter doesn't have to involve combat. That said, the DMG doesn't really give good guidelines on how to determine the experience reward for non-combat encounters, so we'll cover that too.
You are granted a "per encounter" max budget - that is to say, no single encounter in your mission may exceed your budget. That budget - similar to your level of control over game lore - is based on your Ordning rank (your "social activity", in other words).
It's worth noting that Great Wyrms who have finished (read as: "had approved") twenty or more missions may exceed the above budget. Still run it through staff in case a certain stat block has been reserved for something else, but otherwise, you're free to go nuts. It's also worth noting that you don't have to use your maximum allowed budget - you're free to make smaller, lower budget missions if you want to cater to lower level players with your content.
Last, but not least, we strongly recommend you avoid going over the four-player maximum for mission design. D&D is a precariously "balanced" system and Chromatia's high power, high magic environment does not help with that. Each player added to a mission may slow down overall game pace and runs the risk of completely obliterating any attempt at challenging encounter design. That's not to say it's going to happen, but you've been warned.
Working on a Budget
When designing combat encounters, use D&D Beyond's
Encounter Builder tool to easily search monsters and track your budget. Remember to use the adjusted modifier when determining what you can or cannot bring, not to be confused with total experience which will be used to determine what you award when the mission is complete.
In addition to the monsters you plan to use, do make sure to note their individual CRs when you submit for approval. This will help staff double-check your totals and rewards all add up a bit quicker.
Determining XP for Traps & Hazards
Xanathar's Guide offers a great overview on how to create traps and assign them an approximate CR value. We won't dig too deep into this one, but be aware we usually don't count hazards against the budget of a mission. A good hazard can completely transform a run-of-the-mill encounter into something wild and exciting, like the presence of heavy rain in the middle of the night, or a statue that shoots lasers at anything that makes a sound, etc.
Determining XP for Skill-Based Encounters
A skill-based encounter is any encounter in a mission that doesn't explicitly involve combat as the solution. That's not to say combat won't be involved, but it's at least not the default. "Social" encounters, for example, are a type of skill-based encounter often using character traits and an array of skills (if not just Charisma skills) to navigate the scenario to success (or failure).
A typical social encounter requires a minimum of three skill checks. They may all be the same check, or they may be different checks (convince the guard to let you passed (persuasion) -> climb the wall (athletics) or sneak through the sewers (stealth) -> pick the lock (sleight of hand)).
Choose a DC for each of your three skill checks. Refer to the difficulty class chart provided by the DMG (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/running-the-game#DifficultyClass) to get an idea of how difficult you want a particular check to be (you do not have to pick one from the chart - just use it as a reference if needed).
Add the DCs together, divide by the number of checks (3 checks = divide by 3), then round down to the nearest whole number to get your "Average DC". Then, take half of this (so, if your Average DC is 16, you get an 8).
The result is your skill-based encounter's challenge rating - thus, the amount of experience you can award for completing the encounter.
What do I do if the players circumvent or trivialize the encounter?
It's not uncommon for players to dummy an encounter you had in mind. Maybe they use a skill you weren't expecting and it makes sense for the opposition to surrender without a fight. Whatever the context, if the players successfully overcome the encounter in an unintended way, you still award the full XP for the encounter. We don't punish folks for being creative.
If the encounter was avoided completely - that is to say, without context, the players' choices resulted in an outcome where the encounter just didn't happen (maybe they saw the monster in the distance and bailed long before the monster would have noticed them and given chase), still consider awarding at least half the encounter's experience value.
