5e Encounter Builder & Calculator

This 5e encounter calculator adds up your monsters' XP and compares it with your party's budget. Under the 2024 rules the total is checked against Low, Moderate and High budgets per character; under the 2014 rules it is multiplied by the number of monsters and compared with the Easy, Medium, Hard and Deadly thresholds.

Party

Monsters

XP budget per character (2024 rules)

Level	Low	Moderate	High
1	50	75	100
2	100	150	200
3	150	225	400
4	250	375	500
5	500	750	1,100
6	600	1,000	1,400
7	750	1,300	1,700
8	1,000	1,700	2,100
9	1,300	2,000	2,600
10	1,600	2,300	3,100
11	1,900	2,900	4,100
12	2,200	3,700	4,700
13	2,600	4,200	5,400
14	2,900	4,900	6,200
15	3,300	5,400	7,800
16	3,800	6,100	9,800
17	4,500	7,200	11,700
18	5,000	8,700	14,200
19	5,500	10,700	17,200
20	6,400	13,200	22,000

XP thresholds per character (2014 rules)

Level	Easy	Medium	Hard	Deadly
1	25	50	75	100
2	50	100	150	200
3	75	150	225	400
4	125	250	375	500
5	250	500	750	1,100
6	300	600	900	1,400
7	350	750	1,100	1,700
8	450	900	1,400	2,100
9	550	1,100	1,600	2,400
10	600	1,200	1,900	2,800
11	800	1,600	2,400	3,600
12	1,000	2,000	3,000	4,500
13	1,100	2,200	3,400	5,100
14	1,250	2,500	3,800	5,700
15	1,400	2,800	4,300	6,400
16	1,600	3,200	4,800	7,200
17	2,000	3,900	5,900	8,800
18	2,100	4,200	6,300	9,500
19	2,400	4,900	7,300	10,900
20	2,800	5,700	8,500	12,700

Encounter multipliers (2014 rules)

Number of monsters	1	2	3–6	7–10	11–14	15+
Multiply XP by	×1	×1.5	×2	×2.5	×3	×4

Monster XP by challenge rating

CR	XP	CR	XP	CR	XP
0	10	1/8	25	1/4	50
1/2	100	1	200	2	450
3	700	4	1,100	5	1,800
6	2,300	7	2,900	8	3,900
9	5,000	10	5,900	11	7,200
12	8,400	13	10,000	14	11,500
15	13,000	16	15,000	17	18,000
18	20,000	19	22,000	20	25,000
21	33,000	22	41,000	23	50,000
24	62,000	25	75,000	26	90,000
27	105,000	28	120,000	29	135,000
30	155,000

How challenge rating and encounter difficulty work

Challenge rating: Every monster has a challenge rating (CR) and an XP value. CR is a rough guide to the party level the monster is a fair fight for on its own, not a precise power score; action economy, terrain and abilities matter a lot.

2024 rules: Add up the XP of every monster, then compare it with the party's combined budget for the difficulty you want. There is no multiplier for the number of monsters.

2014 rules: Add up the monster XP, multiply it by a factor that grows with the number of monsters (×1 for one, up to ×4 for fifteen or more), and compare the adjusted total with the party's combined thresholds. Parties of fewer than three or six or more characters shift the multiplier one step. When the fight starts, roll it in the initiative tracker.

5e Encounter Builder & Calculator FAQ

What is a 5e encounter builder?

An encounter builder adds up the XP of the monsters you plan to use and compares it with your party's budget, so you know whether a fight will be easy or deadly before you run it. This one checks the result against both the 2024 and 2014 rules.

How do you calculate encounter difficulty in 5e?

Add the XP of every monster. In the 2024 rules, compare that total with the party's XP budget for Low, Moderate or High difficulty. In the 2014 rules, multiply it by the encounter multiplier for the number of monsters and compare it with the Easy, Medium, Hard and Deadly thresholds.

What does CR mean in D&D?

CR means challenge rating. It is a rough measure of how dangerous a monster is, roughly the level of a party of four that can face it alone. Each CR has a fixed XP value, from 10 XP at CR 0 to 155,000 XP at CR 30.

Why are 2014 and 2024 results different?

The 2014 rules make groups of monsters count for more XP using multipliers, while the 2024 rules use plain XP against a larger budget. The same fight can land in a different difficulty band under each system.

Is a "High" or "Deadly" encounter going to kill the party?

Not necessarily. These bands describe how taxing a fight is likely to be. Monster abilities, terrain, surprise and how many fights the party has already had that day all change the real danger.

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