Encounter builder › Budget reference

Encounter budget for a level 18 party

Every number on this page is arithmetic you can check: Torchline budgets 4,700 XP per character at level 18 for a standard fight, scales it by party size, then by the difficulty band. Below each table are the SRD 5.1 creatures that actually land in that budget.

Budgets by party size and difficulty

DifficultyParty of 3Party of 4Party of 5Party of 6
Skirmish — resources barely dented7,75510,34012,92515,510
Standard — a real fight, rarely lethal14,10018,80023,50028,200
Hard — someone will probably go down22,56030,08037,60045,120
Brutal — a character can die here33,84045,12056,40067,680
These are effective-XP budgets: a group of monsters is multiplied up before it is compared against them, so a budget of 18,800 does not mean 18,800 XP of monsters.

What actually fits, for a party of four

The crowd multiplier is the part that catches people out. Two creatures count for 1.5× their XP, three to six count double, seven to ten count 2.5×, eleven or more count triple. So the XP you can spend per creature falls fast as the group grows.

Skirmish — budget 10,340

A lone threat — about 10,340 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Adult Brass DragonDragonHuge131817210,000
Adult White DragonDragonHuge131820010,000
NalfeshneeFiendLarge131818410,000
RakshasaFiendMedium131611010,000
Storm GiantGiantHuge131623010,000

A pair — about 3,447 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
AssassinHumanoidMedium815783,900
CloakerAberrationLarge814783,900
Frost GiantGiantHuge8151383,900
HezrouFiendLarge8161363,900
HydraMonstrosityHuge8151723,900

A group of four — about 1,293 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Black PuddingOozeLarge47851,100
ChuulAberrationLarge416931,100
CouatlCelestialMedium419971,100
ElephantBeastHuge412761,100
EttinGiantLarge412851,100

A swarm of eight — about 517 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
AnkhegMonstrosityLarge21439450
Awakened TreePlantHuge21359450
AzerElementalMedium21739450
Bandit CaptainHumanoidMedium21565450
BerserkerHumanoidMedium21367450
Build a skirmish encounter for a level 18 party

Standard — budget 18,800

A lone threat — about 18,800 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Adult Gold DragonDragonHuge171925618,000
Adult Red DragonDragonHuge171925618,000
AndrosphinxMonstrosityLarge171719918,000
Dragon TurtleDragonGargantuan172034118,000
BalorFiendHuge191926222,000

A pair — about 6,267 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
AbolethAberrationLarge10171355,900
DevaCelestialMedium10171365,900
Guardian NagaMonstrosityLarge10181275,900
Stone GolemConstructLarge10171785,900
Young Gold DragonDragonLarge10181785,900

A group of four — about 2,350 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
ChimeraMonstrosityLarge6141142,300
DriderMonstrosityLarge6191232,300
Invisible StalkerElementalMedium6141042,300
MageHumanoidMedium612402,300
MammothBeastHuge6131262,300

A swarm of eight — about 940 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Black PuddingOozeLarge47851,100
ChuulAberrationLarge416931,100
CouatlCelestialMedium419971,100
ElephantBeastHuge412761,100
EttinGiantLarge412851,100
Build a standard encounter for a level 18 party

Hard — budget 30,080

A lone threat — about 30,080 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Ancient Black DragonDragonGargantuan212236733,000
Ancient Copper DragonDragonGargantuan212135033,000
LichUndeadMedium211713533,000
SolarCelestialLarge212124333,000
Ancient Brass DragonDragonGargantuan202029725,000

A pair — about 10,027 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Adult Brass DragonDragonHuge131817210,000
Adult White DragonDragonHuge131820010,000
NalfeshneeFiendLarge131818410,000
RakshasaFiendMedium131611010,000
Storm GiantGiantHuge131623010,000

A group of four — about 3,760 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
AssassinHumanoidMedium815783,900
CloakerAberrationLarge814783,900
Frost GiantGiantHuge8151383,900
HezrouFiendLarge8161363,900
HydraMonstrosityHuge8151723,900

A swarm of eight — about 1,504 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Air ElementalElementalLarge515901,800
Barbed DevilFiendMedium5151101,800
BuletteMonstrosityLarge517941,800
Earth ElementalElementalLarge5171261,800
Fire ElementalElementalLarge5131021,800
Build a hard encounter for a level 18 party

Brutal — budget 45,120

A lone threat — about 45,120 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Ancient Bronze DragonDragonGargantuan222244441,000
Ancient Green DragonDragonGargantuan222138541,000
Ancient Blue DragonDragonGargantuan232248150,000
Ancient Silver DragonDragonGargantuan232248750,000
KrakenMonstrosityGargantuan231847250,000

A pair — about 15,040 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
Adult Blue DragonDragonHuge161922515,000
Adult Silver DragonDragonHuge161924315,000
Iron GolemConstructLarge162021015,000
MarilithFiendLarge161818915,000
PlanetarCelestialLarge161920015,000

A group of four — about 5,640 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
AbolethAberrationLarge10171355,900
DevaCelestialMedium10171365,900
Guardian NagaMonstrosityLarge10181275,900
Stone GolemConstructLarge10171785,900
Young Gold DragonDragonLarge10181785,900

A swarm of eight — about 2,256 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

CreatureTypeSizeCRACHPXP
ChimeraMonstrosityLarge6141142,300
DriderMonstrosityLarge6191232,300
Invisible StalkerElementalMedium6141042,300
MageHumanoidMedium612402,300
MammothBeastHuge6131262,300
Build a brutal encounter for a level 18 party

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