System Reference Document 5.2.1
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Combat Encounters
The following features can make a combat encoun -
ter more interesting or challenging:
Changes in Elevation. Terrain features that pro -
vide a change of elevation (such as stacks of empty 
crates, ledges, and balconies) reward clever posi -
tioning and encourage characters to jump, climb, 
fly, or teleport.
Defensive Positions.  Enemies in hard-to-reach 
locations or defensive positions force characters 
who normally attack at range to move around.
Mixed Monster Groups.  When different types 
of monsters work together, they can combine 
their abilities—just like characters with differ -
ent classes and origins. A diverse force is more 
powerful.
Reasons to Move. Use features that encourage 
characters and their enemies to move around, 
such as chandeliers, kegs of gunpowder or oil, and 
rolling stone traps.
Combat Encounter Difficulty
Use the following guidelines to create a combat en -
counter of a desired level of difficulty.
Step 1: Choose a Difficulty
Three categories describe the range of encounter 
difficulty:
Low Difficulty. An encounter of low difficulty is 
likely to have one or two scary moments for the 
players, but their characters should emerge vic -
torious with no casualties. One or more of them 
might need to use healing resources, however. 
As a rough guideline, a single monster generally 
presents a low-difficulty challenge for a party of 
four characters whose level equals the monster’s 
Challenge Rating.
Moderate Difficulty. Absent healing and other re -
sources, an encounter of moderate difficulty could 
go badly for the adventurers. Weaker characters 
might get taken out of the fight, and there’s a slim 
chance that one or more characters might die.
High Difficulty. A high-difficulty encounter could 
be lethal for one or more characters. To survive 
it, the characters will need smart tactics, quick 
thinking, and maybe even a little luck.
Step 2: Determine Your XP Budget
Using the XP Budget per Character table, cross-ref -
erence the party’s level with the desired encounter 
difficulty. Multiply the number in the table by the 
number of characters in the party to get your XP 
budget for the encounter.
XP Budget per Character
Party’s 
Level
——— Encounter Difficulty ———
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 11,70 0
18 5,000 8,700 14,200
19 5,500 10,700 17,200
20 6,400 13,200 22,000
Step 3: Spend Your Budget
Every creature has an XP value in its stat block. 
When you add a creature to your combat encounter, 
deduct its XP from your XP budget to determine 
how many XP you have left to spend. Spend as much 
of your XP budget as you can without going over. It’s 
OK if you have a few unspent XP left over. Examples 
are given below:
Example 1. A low-difficulty encounter for four level 
1 characters has an XP budget of 50 × 4, for a total 
of 200 XP. With that, you could build any of the fol -
lowing encounters:
•  1 Bugbear Warrior  (200 XP)
•  2 Giant Wasps (100 XP each), for 200 XP total
•  6 Giant Rats (25 XP each), for 150 XP total
Example 2. A moderate-difficulty encounter for 
five level 3 characters has an XP budget of 225 × 5, 
for a total of 1,125 XP. With that, you could build 
either of these encounters:
•  2 Druids (450 XP each) and 9 Stirges (25 XP 
each), for 1,125 XP total
•  1 Wight (700 XP), 1 Warhorse Skeleton (100 XP), 
and 6 Skeletons (50 XP each), for 1,100 XP total