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D&D 5e Encounter Calculator

A D&D 5e encounter calculator compares party XP budgets from the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide with adjusted monster XP. Thresholds, challenge-rating XP, and monster-count multipliers are fixed tables. They do not change with later monster books.

Quick Summary & Direct Answer
D&D

How is a 5e encounter rated Easy, Medium, Hard, or Deadly?

Sum each character's Easy through Deadly XP from the 2014 table. Sum monster XP by challenge rating, multiply by the monster-count factor, and compare. Two monsters use ×1.5; three to six use ×2. A party of 1–2 steps the multiplier up; six or more steps it down.

Key Takeaways

  • Budgets are per character, then summed for the table.
  • Adjusted XP = raw XP × monster-count multiplier.
  • This page uses 2014 DMG numbers, not the 2024 method.
  • Players split raw XP, not adjusted XP, after the fight.

Monsters

Encounter-building math is published in the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide and restated in the 5e Systems Reference Document materials.

Encounter rating

Deadly

Raw XP2,700
Multiplier×2
Adjusted XP5,400
XP each675
Easy budget1,000 XP
Medium budget2,000 XP
Hard budget3,000 XP
Deadly budget4,400 XP

Frequently asked questions

Party XP thresholds come from the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide by character level. Monster XP is summed, then multiplied by a monster-count factor (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 4). Adjusted XP is compared with Easy, Medium, Hard, and Deadly budgets.

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Publisher notes · reviewed 29 October 2026

2014 encounter ratings compare adjusted XP with a party budget

Each character level has Easy, Medium, Hard, and Deadly XP in the 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide. Monster XP is summed from challenge rating, then multiplied by a count factor. A party of one or two steps that factor up; six or more steps it down. Award raw XP, not adjusted XP, after the fight.

Why 2014, not 2024

The 2024 rules use a different encounter-building method. This page keeps the 2014 table because those numbers are frozen and still match most published 5e adventures. Mixing both methods on one form would make the band unreadable. Enter challenge rating and count; named stat blocks are unnecessary.

Worked examples

  • Four 5th-level characters versus two CR 2 and one CR 5

    Party Deadly budget is 4 × 1,100 = 4,400. Raw XP is 2 × 450 + 1,800 = 2,700. Three monsters use ×2, so adjusted XP is 5,400, which is beyond the Deadly line for that table.

Limits of this page

  • Terrain, legendary actions, and action economy beyond the count multiplier are not scored.
  • The 2024 encounter method is not implemented.

Sources