asy Encounters (1 Point)
Standard Encounters (2 Points)
Standard encounters are the most common for many
adventuring groups. These battles deplete significant
resources and hit points. While character death is uncom
mon in standard encounters, it isn’t impossible, especially if
a player makes a poor tactical choice or just finds the dice
are against them.
A standard encounter is worth 2 daily encounter points.
Hard Encounters (4 Points)
Hard encounters are typically climactic encounters with
bosses and their minions—or anything else that puts the
characters’ lives in peril. Hard encounters are winnable,
but the characters need all their resources, wits, and luck
to survive.
A hard encounter is worth 4 daily encounter points.
Extreme Encounters (8 Points)
Extreme encounters are ones where the characters will
likely not survive if they try to fight to the bitter end.
Such encounters rarely or never appear in most cam
paigns—though if the characters are level 17 or higher,
they can typically survive (or come back to life after) such
encounters.
An extreme encounter is worth 8 daily encounter points.
Avoiding Combat
T
he characters might avoid combat encounters through
stealth, clever negotiation, luck, or other unforeseen
circumstances. You have two options when this happens.
First is to let the heroes have the extra resources going
into the next battle—clever thinking should be rewarded!
But if your group likes to fight, you can always add another
combat encounter to the adventuring day (if it fits within
your daily encounter points budget).
Step 2: Determine CR Budget
Unless the characters have already depleted many of their
resources and hit points, easy encounters won’t threaten
their lives. Easy encounters are great for adventures that
don’t give the characters much time to rest or for times
when you want the heroes to feel like superheroes.
An easy encounter is worth 1 daily encounter point.
InTRODuCTIOn
Once you choose the desired difficulty of your encoun
ter, you can determine its CR budget. To do so, you’ll
need to know the average character level of the party
(rounding down).
Using the Encounter CR per Character table, find the
row that lists your party’s average character level, then
f
ind the column that lists your desired encounter difficulty.
The number in that intersecting cell is your CR budget
per character—just multiply that number by the number of
characters in the party, and that’s your total CR budget to
spend in the “Step 3: Spend CR Budget” section.
For example, if you wanted to build a hard encounter
for a group of four 5th-level characters, you would multiply
2 ½ (from the Encounter CR per Character table) by 4
(the number of characters) to get a total CR budget of 10.
17
Encounter CR per Character
Average
Character
Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
Easy
1/8*
1/8
1/4
1/2
1
1 ½
2
2 ½
3
3 ½
4
4 ½
5
Standard
1/8*
1/4
1/2
3/4
1 ½
2
2 ½
3
3 ½
Hard
4
4 ½
5
5 ½
5 ½
6
6 ½
7
18th
19th
20th
7 ½
8
8 ½
6
6 ½
7
7 ½
8
8 ½
9
*Given how low a character’s hit points are at 1st level, there isn’t
much difference between an easy and a standard encounter.
Companions and Retainers
For the purpose of encounter building, if the player charac
ters adventure with one or more companions or retainers,
consider them player characters but subtract 2 from their
actual level. However, if a companion’s caregiver is a beast
heart, don’t count the companion as an extra character—
the beastheart and companion together have the equivalent
power of one full character.
CR Cap
Solo Creatures
CR Cap
1/4
1/2
3/4
1
2 ½
1
3
4
6
8
When you use a solo creature, you shouldn’t use the above
encounter-building rules. Instead, refer to the CR cap for
the average character level, then depending on how diffi
cult you want the encounter to be, select one solo creature
within the CR range indicated on the Solo Creatures
Encounters table.
Solo Creature Encounters
Group
Size
Encounter Difficulty
Trivial Easy Standard Hard
3
3 ½
9
10
4–5
characters
CR cap
minus 7+
CR cap
minus 5–6
CR cap
minus 3–4
CR cap
minus 0–2
4
4 ½
5
5 ½
6
6 ½
7
7 ½
8
8 ½
9
9 ½
10
12
13
15
16
17
19
20
22
24
25
26
28
30
6–7
characters
CR cap
minus 6+
CR cap
minus 4–5
CR cap
minus 2–3
CR cap
minus 0–1
For example, a group of four 5th-level characters has a
CR cap of 8. A solo creature with a challenge rating of 1 or
less is a trivial encounter for them, and a solo creature with
a challenge rating of 6–8 is a hard encounter for them.
Low-CR Solo Creatures. The above guidance applies
to most of the solo creatures in this book, but the ankheg
is an exception—CR scales differently at low levels, and at
CR 2, the ankheg has the lowest CR of any solo monster
in this book. If a party has four or five characters, you can
pit the ankheg (or another solo creature of CR 4 or below)
against a party that’s one level lower than indicated by the
Solo Creature Encounters table. If a party has six or seven
characters, you can pit the ankheg against a party that’s
two levels lower than indicated by that table.
Step 3: Spend CR Budget
Now that you have your CR budget, spend it! Select
creatures you want to use in the encounter and add their
challenge ratings together until you get as close as you can
to your CR budget. Here are some things to keep in mind:
• If you’re building a hard encounter, don’t go over
your budget (unless you want to create an extreme
encounter).
• If you’re building an easy encounter, don’t go under
your budget (unless you want to create a trivial
encounter).
• Remember that when encounter building, minions don’t
count as a full creature. Refer to the Minion Encounter
Building table (in the “Minions” section) to determine
how many minions count as one creature of their CR.
Some creatures who fit into your CR budget are too much
for the characters to handle. Those monsters deal a lot of
damage and create effects that are difficult to overcome for
characters under a certain level. That’s why the Encounter
CR per Character table provides a challenge rating cap for
each average character level. When you’re building your
encounter (see “Step 3: Spend CR Budget”), don’t add any
creature with a challenge rating higher than the average
character level’s CR cap.
• You typically shouldn’t use more than three non-minion
creatures per character. For example, a party of four
player characters usually shouldn’t fight more than
twelve non-minion creatures at a time. Going beyond
this limit could increase the difficulty of an encounter.
For instance, if you’re building a hard encounter for four
5th-level characters, you have a CR budget of 10 with a
CR cap of 8. You could build any of the following encoun
ters with these guidelines:
FLEE, MORTALS!
18
• A bugbear predator (CR 3), a lizardfolk terrorsaur
(CR 4), and an owlbear (CR 3)
• Dohma Raskovar (CR 5), ten orc blitzers (CR 1/2
minions), and two orc ramparts (CR 2)
• Four gnoll abyssal archers (CR 1/2), a gnoll bone
splitter (CR 4), four gnoll marauders (CR 1/2), and
ten gnoll wildlings (CR 1 minions)
• A gibbering mouther (CR 2) and a time raider
nemesis (CR 8)
• Five ogres (CR 2)
Start Slow
T
he creatures in this book have more flexibility and depth
than those presented in the core rules. Many of their
attacks do more than simply damage enemies. Their unique
traits, bonus actions, and reactions make them more inter
esting—but also more complicated than other creatures.
T
hat little bit of complexity can add up if you use a lot of
different stat blocks in an encounter.
Until you’re used to running complex encounters, take
it easy the first few times you use a stat block from this
book—we recommend not using more than three unfamil
iar stat blocks in an encounter. While it might be tempting
to use every gnoll in one grand battle, give yourself time to
f
igure out how these creatures work before using a bunch
of stat blocks at once.
Tweaking Difficulty
While these new encounter-building guidelines can help
you target the difficulty of an encounter, it’s impossible
for any system to account for the countless details that
vary widely from game to game. Keep an eye out for the
following factors when building encounters, and tweak
the difficulty as needed.
Party Composition
Player Play Styles
The mechanics of fifth edition reward system mastery.
Experienced and rules-invested players often build char
acters who are more powerful than average by synergiz
ing ancestries, classes, feats, spells, and other elements of
the game. Likewise, players who are less experienced or
rules invested may build characters below average power.
Depending on who plays in your group, you may need to
tweak the numbers to challenge (or avoid slaughtering)
the characters.
Magic Items
The core rules make some brief suggestions about
distributing magic items, but there are no hard-and-fast
rules about how many or what kind of magic items to
give to characters. Some GMs shower characters with
countless baubles and vorpal swords while others hand out
one potion of healing once every five levels. Most games are
somewhere in between. Keep in mind that a group with
many powerful magic items is going to have a much easier
time at any level. And especially at higher levels, a group
with few magic items will have a tougher time battling
powerful creatures—doubly so when a party without magic
weapons has to overcome a creature’s damage immunities
and resistances!
If a character has more magic items than the average
suggested in the core rules, consider that character to be
one level higher when determining the party’s average
character level.
Short Rests
A well-rounded party with a cleric, a fighter, a rogue, and a
wizard is going to handle combat differently than a group
of four barbarians. The new encounter-building system
works well for the former group, but a group of typical
barbarians tears through combat with melee-focused ene
mies … and loses just as quickly against foes who force them
to make a lot of Intelligence or Wisdom saving throws.
Keep the mix of character classes and other features
in mind as you build encounters. Play to the characters’
strengths when you want to ensure success. Exploit their
weaknesses when you want to challenge them—but do so
sparingly. First and foremost, the game should be fun.
You can increase the encounter’s difficulty one step (for
example, from standard to hard) if the encounter exploits
most of the characters’ weaknesses. Decrease it one step if
it plays into most of their strengths.
InTRODuCTIOn
The number of short rests the characters take during a
day influences the difficulty of encounters, especially if
the characters have important class features that recharge
during a short rest (like the warlock’s Pact Magic). A short
rest after every battle makes things a lot easier, and no
short rests at all makes the adventuring day much tougher
the longer it goes on.
If the characters take more than two short rests during
an adventuring day, add an extra 2 points to your daily
encounter budget.
Environment
Combat encounters don’t typically occur in big empty
rooms. Hazards, terrain, traps, and even the shape of an
environment can change the difficulty of an encounter.
An encounter is easier if there’s a choke point where the
characters can easily fight a group of dangerous monsters
one at a time, while a sphere of annihilation rolling through
a hallway can make an easy battle turn deadly.
Similarly, you may need to increase the encounter’s
difficulty by one step if it includes an environment that
deals damage to the characters but not their enemies, or
if it inflicts the blinded, charmed, dazed, frightened, petri
f
ied, poisoned, paralyzed, restrained, stunned, or uncon
scious conditions or similar effects on the characters but
not their enemies.
19
Creatures by CR
The Creatures by Challenge Rating table lists all the
non-companion and non-retainer stat blocks in this book
in order of their challenge rating. The companions and
retainers tables are presented in their respective sections
earlier in this book.
Creature Spreadsheet
We wanted to include lots of tables in this book so that you
could also see the creatures listed by type, role, chapter, or
page number, but we just didn’t have the space. However,
we do have that information in an easy-to-sort spreadsheet,
and we thought you might want it too.
If you go to [Link]/FMCreatureList, you can down
load the spreadsheet, then sort and edit it however works
best for your preparation and play. You can even add in
your own stat blocks or merge it with similar sheets to
create a super list of all the creatures at your command!
The spreadsheet is a living document that we will
update if any new editions of this book are ever created.
It will always live at [Link]/FMCreatureList, so if you lose
your copy, head on over there to pick up another one.
It’s also a free, public document that you can share with
anyone however you like—even on social media.
Reporting Spreadsheet Errors
Since the spreadsheet is a living document that we
might update from time to time, it’s possible you’ll
f
ind errors in it. To report an error, please email hello@
[Link], and we will update the sheet
as soon as possible.
Creatures by Challenge Rating
Name
CR Role
Type
Name
Stirge
Broodling
Angulotl
Blade
Angulotl
Tadpole
Blood-Borne
Ooze
Decrepit
Skeleton
Dragonet
Goblin
Lackey
Goblin
Warrior
Grilp
Kobold
Venator
Mohler
Rotting
Zombie
Skeleton
Snowfox
Zombie
Bird of Prey
Camel
CR Role
1/8 Minion
Type
Entry
Monstrosity Stirges
1/4 Skirmisher Humanoid Angulotls
1/4 Minion
Humanoid Angulotls
1/4 Ambusher Ooze
1/4 Minion
1/4 Support
1/4 Minion
Undead
Dragon
Graveyard
and Tomb*
Undead
Dragonets
Humanoid Goblins
1/4 Skirmisher Humanoid Goblins
1/4 Ambusher Fiend
Hobgoblins
1/4 Ambusher Humanoid Kobolds
1/4 Controller Beast
1/4 Minion
1/4 Artillery
Undead
Undead
1/4 Ambusher Beast
1/4 Brute
Undead
1/2 Skirmisher Beast
1/2 Controller Beast
Orcs
Undead
Undead
Animals
Undead
Animals
Animals
Entry
Crawling
Claw
Yumgrub
Clawfish
Human
Guard
Kobold
Adeptus
Kobold Tiro
Leyleech
Skitterling
0 Minion
0 Minion
1/8 Brute
1/8 Minion
1/8 Artillery
1/8 Minion
Undead
Beast
Beast
Undead
Cave*
Angulotls
Humanoid Humans
Humanoid Kobolds
Humanoid Kobolds
Kobold Veles 1/8 Skirmisher Humanoid Kobolds
1/8 Controller Monstrosity Under
ground*
1/8 Skirmisher Beast
Goblins
Stirge
1/8 Controller Monstrosity Stirges
Gnoll Abyssal
Archer
Gnoll
Marauder
Goblin
Assassin
Goblin
Sniper
Hobgoblin
Recruit
Hobgoblin
Trooper
Human
Raider
Kobold
Legionary
1/2 Artillery
Fiend
1/2 Skirmisher Fiend
Gnolls
Gnolls
1/2 Ambusher Humanoid Goblins
1/2 Artillery
1/2 Minion
1/2 Soldier
Humanoid Goblins
Humanoid Hobgoblins
Humanoid Hobgoblins
1/2 Skirmisher Humanoid Humans
1/2 Soldier
Humanoid Kobolds
Little Wildcat 1/2 Ambusher Beast
Animals
FLEE, MORTALS!
20
Name
Lizardfolk
Grunt
Lizardfolk
Scaletooth
Orc Blitzer
Orc
Bloodrunner
Orc Fury
Shadow
Swarm of
Insects
Swarm of
Spiders
Abyssal
Hyena
Bog Body
Bugbear
Regular
Bugbear
Roughneck
Ghoul
Ghoul Craver
Gnoll
Wildling
Goblin
Cursespitter
Goblin
Spinecleaver
Halorin
Yandres
Harpy
Hobgoblin
Incendiarist
Jedar Pike
CR Role
1/2 Minion
1/2 Brute
1/2 Minion
Type
Entry
Humanoid Lizardfolk
Humanoid Lizardfolk
Humanoid Orcs
1/2 Skirmisher Humanoid Orcs
1/2 Brute
Humanoid Orcs
1/2 Ambusher Undead
1/2 Soldier
Beast
1/2 Controller Beast
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Minion
Fiend
Ambusher Undead
Minion
Brute
Minion
Minion
Undead
Animals
Animals
Gnolls
Swamp*
Humanoid Bugbears
Humanoid Bugbears
Skirmisher Undead
Undead
Fiend
Undead
Undead
Gnolls
Controller Humanoid Goblins
Brute
1
Soldier
Humanoid Goblins
Undead
Name
Mimic
Mimiature
Mycete
Orc Conduit
Orc
Forcecaller
Orc Garroter
Shade
Specter
Starving
Harpy
T
he Horror
Wildcat
Angulotl Slink
Ankheg
Bear
Excess
Gibbering
Mouther
Gnoll Cackler
Goblin
Underboss
Griffon
CR Role
1
1
Minion
Type
Entry
Monstrosity Mimics
Controller Humanoid Grave
Order**
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Artillery
Minion
Humanoid Orcs
Humanoid Orcs
Ambusher Humanoid Orcs
Minion
Undead
Skirmisher Undead
Minion
Undead
Undead
Monstrosity Harpies
Brute
Undead
Ambusher Beast
Grave
Order**
Animals
2 Ambusher Humanoid Angulotls
2 Solo
Monstrosity Road*
2 Controller Beast
Animals
2 Ambusher Monstrosity Abomina
tions**
2 Controller Aberration Gibbering
Mouthers
2 Controller Fiend
2 Support
Gnolls
Humanoid Goblins
2 Controller Beast
Griffons
2 Ambusher Humanoid Hobgoblins
Grave
Order**
1
1
1
Kobold
Centurion
Kobold
Signifer
Little Bear
1
1
1
InTRODuCTIOn
Controller Monstrosity Harpies
Artillery
Support
Humanoid Hobgoblins
Humanoid Grave
Order**
Controller Humanoid Kobolds
Support
Brute
Humanoid Kobolds
Beast
Animals
Hobgoblin
Smokebinder
Human
Brawler
Human Death
Acolyte
Human
Trickshot
Klar
2 Brute
2 Minion
2 Artillery
Humanoid Humans
Humanoid Humans
Humanoid Humans
2 Skirmisher Monstrosity Abomina
tions**
2 Controller Humanoid Kobolds
Kobold
Artifex
Lestheris
Soldrei
Lightning Eel
2 Artillery
2 Artillery
Humanoid Grave
Order**
Beast
Animals
21
Name
Lightthief
Lizardfolk
Bloodeye
Mimic
Mindkiller
Mindkiller
Whelp
Ogre
Ogre Goon
Orc Rampart
Orc
Terranova
Sair
Sea Hag
Shieldscale
Drangolin
Stoneback
Isopod
Swarm of
Skitterlings
Troll
Limbjumble
Basilisk
Boog
Bugbear
Predator
Canon
Athenodorus
Ceemal
Dire Bird
of Prey
Green Hag
Hellhound
CR Role
Type
2 Ambusher Fiend
Entry
Graveyard
and Tomb*
2 Controller Humanoid Lizardfolk
2 Ambusher Monstrosity Mimics
2 Ambusher Aberration Voiceless
Tal kers
2 Minion
Aberration
2 Brute
2 Minion
2 Soldier
Giant
Giant
Humanoid Orcs
2 Controller Humanoid Orcs
2 Artillery
2 Artillery
2 Brute
2 Brute
2 Soldier
2 Minion
3 Brute
3 Brute
Fey
Voiceless
Tal kers
Ogres
Ogres
Monstrosity Abomina
tions**
Hags
Dragon
Beast
Beast
Giant
Kobolds
Sewer*
Goblins
Trolls
Monstrosity Basilisks
Monstrosity Abomina
tions**
3 Ambusher Humanoid Bugbears
3 Controller Humanoid Black Iron
Pact**
3 Support
Name
Human
Scoundrel
Qar, Master
of Jackals
Lady Avalla
Deseo
Manticore
Minotaur
Minotaur
Lackey
Mummy
Owlbear
Queen
Bargnot
Rotbeast
Time Raider
Archon
Time Raider
Armiger
War Spider
Wight
Wight
Siphoner
Angulotl
Needler
Cloak
Deathhawk
CR Role
Type
Entry
3 Ambusher Humanoid Humans
3 Skirmisher Humanoid Black Iron
Pact**
3 Controller Humanoid Black Iron
Pact**
3 Skirmisher Monstrosity Manticores
3 Skirmisher Monstrosity Minotaur
3 Minion
3 Brute
3 Brute
3 Leader
3 Brute
3 Minion
3 Soldier
3 Brute
3 Soldier
3 Minion
4 Artillery
Monstrosity Minotaur
Undead
Undead
Monstrosity Owlbears
Humanoid Goblins
Beast
Enchanted
Forest*
Humanoid Time Raiders
Humanoid Time Raiders
Beast
Undead
Undead
Goblins
Undead
Undead
Humanoid Angulotls
4 Ambusher Humanoid Black Iron
Pact**
4 Skirmisher Beast
Animals
Giant Zombie 4 Brute
Undead
Undead
Gnoll
Bonesplitter
Monstrosity Abomina
tions**
3 Skirmisher Beast
Animals
3 Support
3 Soldier
Hellhound
Cur
Hobgoblin
War Mage
Human
Knave
3 Minion
Fey
Fiend
Fiend
Hags
Hellhounds
Hellhounds
3 Controller Humanoid Hobgoblins
3 Soldier
Humanoid Humans
Gnoll
Mage-Gorger
Hobgoblin
Firerunner
Human Death
Cultist
Lizardfolk
Terrorsaur
Lord Erasmus
Deseo
4 Brute
4 Minion
Fiend
Fiend
Gnolls
Gnolls
4 Skirmisher Humanoid Hobgoblins
4 Support
Humanoid Humans
4 Skirmisher Humanoid Lizardfolk
4 Support
Humanoid Black Iron
Pact**
Mummy
Rotwrap
4 Minion
Undead
Undea
