UnearthedArcana:EncounterBuilding
ThiseditionofUnearthedArcanaintroducesan
alternativesetofencounter-buildingguidelinesfor
D&D.Thoughthisapproachusesthesamebasic
mathunderlyingtheencountersystempresented
intheDungeonMaster’sGuide,itmakesafew
adjustmentstohowitpresentsthatmathto
produceamoreflexiblesystem.
Thisencounter-buildingsystemassumesthat,as
aDungeonMaster,youwanttohaveaclear
understandingofthethreatposedbyagroupof
monsters.It’llbeofinteresttoanyDMswhowant
toemphasizecombatintheirgames,whowantto
ensurethatafoeisn’ttoodeadlyforaspecific
groupofcharacters,andwhowanttounderstand
therelationshipbetweenacharacter’slevelanda
monster’schallengerating.
Buildinganencounterusingthesenew
guidelinesbreaksdownintoaseriesofsimple
steps.
Step1:AssesstheCharacters
Tobuildanencounterusingthissystem,firsttake
stockoftheplayercharacters.Thissystemuses
thecharacters’levelstodeterminethenumberand
challengeratingofcreaturesyoucanpitthem
againstwithoutmakingafighttoohardortooeasy.
Butthoughcharacterlevelisimportant,you
shouldalsotakenoteofeachcharacters’hitpoint
maximumandsavingthrowmodifiers,aswellas
howmuchdamagethestrongestcombatantsor
spellcasterscaninflictwithasingleattack.Even
thoughcharacterlevelandchallengeratingare
usefultoolsfordefiningthedifficultyofan
encounter,theydon’ttellthewholestory,and
you’llmakeuseoftheseadditionalcharacter
statisticswhenyouselectmonstersforan
encounterinstep4.
Step2:EncounterSize
Determineifyouwanttocreateabattlethatpits
onelegendarycreatureagainstthecharacters,orif
youwanttousemultiplemonsters.Ifyouwantto
useasinglemonster,you’retypicallybestoffusing
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alegendarymonster,allofwhicharespecifically
designedtomakelifeinterestingforagroup.
Step3:DetermineNumbers
andChallengeRatings
Theprocessforbuildingfightsthatfeatureonlya
singlelegendarymonsterissimple.Thetable
belowshowsyouwhichchallengeratingtousefor
alegendarycreaturefightingapartyoffourtosix
characters,creatingasatisfyingbutdifficultbattle.
Forexample,forapartyoffive9th-level
characters,aCR12legendarycreaturemakesan
appropriateencounter.
Foradeadlybattle,matchupthecharacterswith
alegendarycreaturewhosechallengeratingis1or
2higherthanoptimal.Forafairlyeasyfight,usea
legendarycreaturewhosechallengeratingis3or
morebelowthechallengeratingforanoptimal
encounter.
1stto20thLevel(SoloMonsters)
Character
6
5
4
Level
Characters Characters Characters
1st
2
2
1
2nd
4
3
2
3rd
5
4
3
4th
6
5
4
5th
9
8
7
6th
10
9
8
7th
11
10
9
8th
12
11
10
9th
13
12
11
10th
14
13
12
11th
15
14
13
12th
17
16
15
13th
18
17
16
14th
19
18
17
15th
20
19
18
16th
21
20
19
17th
22
21
20
18th
22
21
20
19th
23
22
21
20th
24
23
22
Ifyourencounterfeaturesmultiplecreatures,
balancingittakesalittlemorework.First,you
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needtodeterminehowmanycreaturestheparty
willface,alongwiththechallengeratingforeach
creature.Thefollowingtablesarebrokenupby
levelranges,providinginformationforhowto
balanceencountersforcharactersof1stto5th
level,6thto10thlevel,11thto15thlevel,and16th
to20thlevel.
Tocreateyourencounter,findthelevelofeach
characterontheappropriatetable.Eachtable
showsyouwhatasinglecharacterofagivenlevel
isequaltointermsofchallengerating—avalue
representedbyaproportionthatcompares
numbersofcharacterstoasinglemonsterranked
bychallengerating.
Thefirstnumberisthenumberofcharactersof
thatgivenlevel.Thesecondnumberindicateshow
manymonstersofthelistedchallengeratingthose
charactersareworth.
Readingtherowfor1st-levelcharactersfrom
the1stto5thLeveltable,weseethatone1st-level
characteristheequivalentoftwoCR1/8monsters
oroneCR1/4monster.Theproportionreverses
forhigherchallengeratings,withcreaturesatCR
1/2andhigherbecomingmorepowerfulthanone
1st-levelcharacter.Three1st-levelcharactersare
equivalenttooneCR1/2creature,whilefiveare
equivalenttoaCR1opponent.
1stto5thLevel(MultipleMonsters)
Character
Level
1/8
1st
1:2
2nd
1:3
3rd
1:5
4th
1:8
5th
1:12
1/4
1:1
1:2
1:2
1:4
1:8
—ChallengeRating—
1/2 1
2
3
4
5
6
3:1 5:1 –
–
–
–
–
1:1 3:1 6:1 –
–
–
–
1:1 2:1 4:1 6:1 –
–
–
1:2 1:1 2:1 4:1 6:1 –
–
1:4 1:2 1:1 2:1 3:1 5:1 6:1
6thto10thLevel(MultipleMonsters)
Character
Level
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
1/8
1:12
1:12
1:12
1:12
1:12
1/4 1/2
1:9 1:5
1:12 1:6
1:12 1:7
1:12 1:8
1:12 1:10
1
1:2
1:3
1:4
1:4
1:5
—ChallengeRating—
2
3
4
5
6
1:1 2:1 2:1 4:1 5:1
1:1 1:1 2:1 3:1 4:1
1:2 1:1 2:1 3:1 3:1
1:2 1:1 1:1 2:1 3:1
1:2 1:1 1:1 2:1 2:1
7
8
9 10
6:1 –
–
–
5:1 –
–
–
4:1 6:1 –
–
4:1 5:1 6:1 –
3:1 4:1 5:1 6:1
11thto15thLevel(MultipleMonsters)
Character
Level
1
2
11th
1:6 1:3
12th
1:8 1:3
13th
1:9 1:4
14th
1:10 1:4
15th
1:12 1:5
3
1:2
1:2
1:2
1:3
1:3
4
1:1
1:1
1:2
1:2
1:2
5
2:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
—ChallengeRating—
6
7
8
9 10
2:1 2:1 3:1 4:1 5:1
2:1 2:1 3:1 3:1 4:1
1:1 2:1 2:1 3:1 3:1
1:1 2:1 2:1 3:1 3:1
1:1 1:1 2:1 2:1 3:1
11
6:1
5:1
4:1
4:1
3:1
12 13 14 15
–
–
–
–
6:1 –
–
–
5:1 6:1 –
–
4:1 5:1 6:1 –
4:1 5:1 5:1 6:1
16thto20thLevel(MultipleMonsters)
Character
Level
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
2
1:5
1:7
1:7
1:8
1:9
3
1:3
1:4
1:5
1:5
1:6
4
1:2
1:3
1:3
1:3
1:4
5
1:1
1:2
1:2
1:2
1:2
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6
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:2
1:2
7
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
8
2:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
—ChallengeRating—
9 10 11 12 13
2:1 2:1 3:1 4:1 4:1
2:1 2:1 2:1 3:1 3:1
2:1 2:1 2:1 3:1 3:1
1:1 2:1 2:1 2:1 3:1
1:1 1:1 2:1 2:1 2:1
14
5:1
4:1
4:1
3:1
3:1
15
5:1
4:1
4:1
4:1
3:1
16
6:1
5:1
5:1
4:1
4:1
17 18 19 20
–
–
–
–
6:1 –
–
–
6:1 6:1 –
–
5:1 6:1 6:1 –
4:1 5:1 5:1 6:1
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Let’ssayyouhaveapartyoffour3rd-level
characters.Usingthetable,youcanseethatoneCR
2foeisagoodmatchfortheentireparty,butthat
thecharacterswilllikelyhaveahardtime
handlingaCR3creature.
Usingthesameguidelines,youcanmixand
matchchallengeratingstoputtogetheragroupof
creaturesworthfour3rd-levelcharacters.For
example,youcouldselectoneCR1creature.That’s
worthtwo3rd-levelcharacters,leavingyouwith
twocharacters’worthofmonsterstoallocate.You
couldthenaddtwoCR1/4monsterstoaccount
foroneothercharacter,andoneCR1/2monster
toaccountforthefinalcharacter.Intotal,your
encounterhasoneCR1,oneCR1/2,andtwoCR
1/4creatures.
Forgroupswithavarietyoflevels,youhavetwo
options.Youcangroupallcharactersofthesame
leveltogether,matchthemwithmonsters,and
thencombineallthecreaturesintooneencounter.
Alternatively,youcandeterminethegroup’s
averagelevelandtreateachcharacterasbeing
thatlevel.
Theaboveguidelinesaredesignedtocreatea
fightthatwillchallengeaparty,butwhichisstill
winnable.Ifyouwanttocreateanencounterthat
willchallengecharacterswithlittlethreatofdefeat,
youcantreatthepartyasifithadroughlytwothirdsofitsmembers.Forexample,apartyoffive
characterswouldhaveaneasytimeofan
encounterdesignedforthreecharacters.Likewise,
youcantreatthepartyasuptofiftypercentlarger
tobuildbattlesthatarepotentiallydeadly,though
stillnotlikelytoyieldanautomaticdefeat.Aparty
offourcharactersfacinganencounterdesignedfor
sixcharacterswouldfallintothiscategory.
WeakMonstersandHigh-LevelCharacters.To
savespaceonthetablesandkeepthemsimple,
someofthelowerchallengeratingsaremissing
fromthehigher-leveltables.Forlowchallenge
ratingsnotappearingonthetable,assumea1:12
ratio,indicatingthattwelvecreaturesofthose
challengeratingsareworthonecharacterofa
specificlevel.
Step4:SelectMonsters
Havingusedthetablesabovetodeterminethe
challengeratingsofthemonstersinyour
encounter,you’rereadytopickindividual
©2016WizardsoftheCoastLLC
monsters.However,thisprocessismoreofanart
thanascience.
Inadditiontoassessingmonstersbychallenge
rating,it’simportanttolookathowspecific
monstersmightstackupagainstyourgroup.Hit
points,attacks,andsavingthrowsarealluseful
indicators.Comparethedamageamonstercan
dealtothehitpointmaximumofeachcharacter.
Bewaryofanymonstercapableofdroppinga
characterwithasingleattack,unlessyouintend
thefighttobedeadly.
Inthesameway,considerthemonsters’hit
pointsascomparedtothedamageoutputofthe
party’sstrongestcombatantsandspellcasters.
Havingasignificantnumberoffoesdropinthe
firstroundsofcombatcanmakeanencountertoo
easy.Likewise,lookatwhetheramonster’sbest
attacksaremadeagainstsavingthrowsthatmost
ofthepartymembersareweakwith,andcompare
thecharacters’attackstothemonsters’saving
throwsinthesameway.
Iftheonlycreaturesyoucanchoosefromatthe
desiredchallengeratingaren’tagoodmatchfor
thecharacters’statistics,don’tbeafraidtogoback
tostep3.Byalteringyourchallengeratingtargets
andadjustingthenumberofcreaturesinthe
encounter,youcancomeupwithdifferentoptions
forbuildingtheencounter.
Step5:AddComplications
WhilemanyD&Dgroupsarecontenttolookat
encounterssimplyintermsofcombat,thereality
isthatanysituationoffersthepotentialfor
problemsolvingandroleplaying.ThefunofD&Dis
thatyouneverknowwhattheplayersmighttry
next.Ifyouaccountforthechancethatthe
charactersmighttrytotalktothemonsters,you’re
settingyourselfupforamoreinterestinggame.
MonsterPersonality
Ifyouhavethetime,createnamesand
personalitiesforafewofthemonstersinvolvedin
theencounter.Youcanusethetablesfromchapter
4,“CreatingNonplayerCharacters,”oftheDungeon
Master’sGuide,usethequicktablebelow,or
simplyjotdownafewpointsofyourownbasedon
acreature’sMonsterManualwrite-up.Duringthe
battle,youcanusetheseideastoinformhowyou
portrayindividualmonstersandtheiractions.To
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keepthingssimple,youcanalsoassigntraitstoa
groupofmonsterstocapturehowthemobasa
wholeacts.Forexample,onebanditgangmightbe
anunrulymobofbraggarts,whileanotheris
alwaysonedgeandreadytobreakatthefirstsign
ofdanger.
Toadddetailstoanencounterareaatrandom,
looktothetablesinappendixA,“Random
Dungeons,”oftheDungeonMaster’sGuideto
determineroomandareafeatures,potential
hazards,obstacles,traps,andmore.
MonsterPersonality
Considerwhatmighthappeninanencounterarea
ifthecharactersweretoneverenterit.Dothe
guardsrotateinshifts?Whatothercharactersor
monstersmightvisit?Docreaturesgatherthereto
eatorgossip?Arethereanynaturalphenomena
suchasstrongwinds,earthtremors,orrain
squallsthatsometimestakeplaceinthearea?
Randomeventsarefunbecausetheyaddan
elementoftheunexpectedtoanencounter.Just
whenyouthinkafight’soutcomeisclear,an
unexpectedeventcanmakethingsmore
interesting.
AnumberofthetablesintheDungeonMaster’s
Guidecansuggestrandomeventstobeaddedtoa
location,dependingonthenatureoftheencounter
setup.Thetablesusedforencounterlocation,
weirdlocales,andwildernessweatherinchapter5,
“AdventureEnvironments,”oftheDungeon
Master’sGuideareagoodstartingpointfor
outdoorencounters.ThetablesinappendixA,
“RandomDungeons,”canbeusefulforindoorand
outdoorencounters—especiallythetablesfor
obstacles,traps,andtricks.
d8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Trait
Cowardly;lookingtosurrender
Greedy;wantstreasure
Braggart;makesashowofbraverybutrunsifin
danger
Fanatic;readytodiefighting
Rabble;poorlytrainedandeasilyrattled
Brave;standsitsground
Joker;tauntsenemies
Bully;refusestothinkitcanlose
MonsterRelationships
Arethererivalries,hatreds,orfriendshipsamong
themonstersinanencounter?Evenifthe
charactersdon’ttrytotalktotheirfoes,youcan
usesuchrelationshipstoinformthemonsters’
actionsandreactionsduringcombat.Thedeathof
amuch-reveredleadermightthrowitsfollowers
intoafrenzy.Abitterrivalcouldslinkawayas
soonasitsenemyfalls,oramistreatedtoady
mightbeeagertosurrenderandbetrayitsmaster.
MonsterRelationship
d6
1
2
3
4
5
6
RandomEvents
Trait
Rival;wantsonerandomallytosuffer
Abused;hangsback,betraysatfirstchance
Worshipped;otherswilldieforit
Outcast;othersignoreit
Mercenary;caresonlyforself
Bully;allieswanttoseeitdefeated
TerrainandTraps
Afewelementsthatmakethebattlefield
interestingcangoalongwaytowardmakingan
encountermorememorable.Asagoodruleof
thumb,trytosetuptheareaofthebattlesothatit
wouldbechallengingevenwithoutafighttaking
placethere.Whatthingsmightdrawthe
characters’attention?Whyaremonsterslurking
here?Interestingareafeaturescanhelpprompt
improvisationandkeepthingsfresh.
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