The exceptions are at levels 10, 14-16, 18, and 19 where the monster one CR lower than APL still yields a Medium encounter.ĬR=APL+1 starts Deadly, then scales back. (Recall the encounter descriptors in "Combat Encounter Difficulty" on DMG p.82.) The exceptions are at levels 5-7, where the "CR-appropriate" monster actuallyĬR=APL-1 usually yields an Easy encounter. So let's assume for the moment a party of 4 and a single monster, do the XP-math, and classify each encounter:ĬR=Average Party Level (APL) usually yields a Medium encounter. Recall that CR is meant to be a statement that 4 equipped and rested adventurers of the same level as the CR should find the monster a "worthy" challenge (MM p.8, paraphrasing). "what is the range of CR that they can fight?" Luckily, tools like Kobold Fight Club, spreadsheets, and a head for numbers make it not too onerous to do this until you feel you don't need to any more.
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As and have pointed out, you've got to do the XP-math to evaluate the encounter against the guidelines. We’ve really dived under the hood and there’s plenty more which we didn’t have room to talk about today.1. That’s just a quick look at some of what we’ve done with monsters. Of course there are more exotic things, too, like brown mold, low gravity, magnetized ore, memory crystals, and other fun things to surprise your players with! And There’s More When a creature starts its turn within the area or enters the area for the first time on a turn, it makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw, taking 3 (1d6) poison damage on a failure, or half damage on a success. Poisonous plants can be as sparse as a few shrubs or as pervasive as fields of harmful groundcover. Spotting the telltale signs of dangerous vegetation requires a DC 15 Nature check.
#Dmg 5e challenge rating encounter battle how to
Not only that, we also have details on how to add various encounter elements such as darkness, lava, underwater, webs, crowds, and many, many more things, and how those things affect the encounter CR. The encounter building section also has information on modifying the encounters for low level parties, using elite and legendary monsters, an encounter point budget for the adventuring day at various tiers of play, how to include an exploration challenge in a combat encounter or vice versa. We also give results for parties of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6+ adventurers. Losing is possible but the odds are on the party's side.īetween long rests, the party can probably face 1 such battle per tier (1 hard fight at 1st level, 4 hard fights at 17th level).įor a Tier 1 party, a hard battle can easily prove to be deadly.īut the highlight of this section is a big table which allows you to match the average party level with the encounter CR to find out how tough that battle will be.
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For example: Hard MatchupĪ battle in which the encounter CR approximately equals 1/2 the total party level.Ī fight in which the adventurers must spend significant resources to triumph. You’ll be familiar with the idea of easy or hard encounters from O5E. If the total CR equals or exceeds the total party level, the combat may be impossible to win!Īre there any monsters with a CR 50% higher than the average character level? If so, the battle may be deadlier than anticipated.Īre the adventurers level 4 or lower? Keep battles on the easier side, especially against many foes! For low-level adventurers, a few unlucky die rolls can turn a possible battle into an impossible one. If the total CR is lower than this, the battle will be easier as the CR gets higher, the battle gets harder. Is the total Challenge Rating of all the monsters close to half the total party level? If so, the combat encounter will be hard. We have some basic shortcuts for eyeballing an encounter’s difficulty. Both of these can be mixed freely into one encounter, as each has a Challenge Rating. Encounter Building has also received a complete overhaul.Įncounters are built up of a number of elements, including monsters and exploration challenges.