Encounter budget for a level 5 party

Every number on this page is arithmetic you can check: Torchline budgets 450 XP per character at level 5 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

Difficulty	Party of 3	Party of 4	Party of 5	Party of 6
Skirmish — resources barely dented	743	990	1,238	1,485
Standard — a real fight, rarely lethal	1,350	1,800	2,250	2,700
Hard — someone will probably go down	2,160	2,880	3,600	4,320
Brutal — a character can die here	3,240	4,320	5,400	6,480

These are effective-XP budgets: a group of monsters is multiplied up before it is compared against them, so a budget of 1,800 does not mean 1,800 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 990

A lone threat — about 990 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Black Pudding	Ooze	Large	4	7	85	1,100
Chuul	Aberration	Large	4	16	93	1,100
Couatl	Celestial	Medium	4	19	97	1,100
Elephant	Beast	Huge	4	12	76	1,100
Ettin	Giant	Large	4	12	85	1,100

A pair — about 330 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ankheg	Monstrosity	Large	2	14	39	450
Awakened Tree	Plant	Huge	2	13	59	450
Azer	Elemental	Medium	2	17	39	450
Bandit Captain	Humanoid	Medium	2	15	65	450
Berserker	Humanoid	Medium	2	13	67	450

A group of four — about 124 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ape	Beast	Medium	1/2	12	19	100
Black Bear	Beast	Medium	1/2	11	19	100
Cockatrice	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	27	100
Crocodile	Beast	Large	1/2	12	19	100
Darkmantle	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	22	100

A swarm of eight — about 50 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Acolyte	Humanoid	Medium	1/4	10	9	50
Axe Beak	Beast	Large	1/4	11	19	50
Blink Dog	Fey	Medium	1/4	13	22	50
Boar	Beast	Medium	1/4	11	11	50
Constrictor Snake	Beast	Large	1/4	12	13	50

Build a skirmish encounter for a level 5 party

Standard — budget 1,800

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

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Air Elemental	Elemental	Large	5	15	90	1,800
Barbed Devil	Fiend	Medium	5	15	110	1,800
Bulette	Monstrosity	Large	5	17	94	1,800
Earth Elemental	Elemental	Large	5	17	126	1,800
Fire Elemental	Elemental	Large	5	13	102	1,800

A pair — about 600 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Basilisk	Monstrosity	Medium	3	12	52	700
Bearded Devil	Fiend	Medium	3	13	52	700
Blue Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Medium	3	17	52	700
Doppelganger	Monstrosity	Medium	3	14	52	700
Giant Scorpion	Beast	Large	3	15	52	700

A group of four — about 225 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Animated Armor	Construct	Medium	1	18	33	200
Brass Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Medium	1	16	16	200
Brown Bear	Beast	Large	1	11	34	200
Bugbear	Humanoid	Medium	1	16	27	200
Copper Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Medium	1	16	22	200

A swarm of eight — about 90 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ape	Beast	Medium	1/2	12	19	100
Black Bear	Beast	Medium	1/2	11	19	100
Cockatrice	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	27	100
Crocodile	Beast	Large	1/2	12	19	100
Darkmantle	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	22	100

Build a standard encounter for a level 5 party

Hard — budget 2,880

A lone threat — about 2,880 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Giant Ape	Beast	Huge	7	12	157	2,900
Oni	Giant	Large	7	16	110	2,900
Shield Guardian	Construct	Large	7	17	142	2,900
Stone Giant	Giant	Huge	7	17	126	2,900
Young Black Dragon	Dragon	Large	7	18	127	2,900

A pair — about 960 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Black Pudding	Ooze	Large	4	7	85	1,100
Chuul	Aberration	Large	4	16	93	1,100
Couatl	Celestial	Medium	4	19	97	1,100
Elephant	Beast	Huge	4	12	76	1,100
Ettin	Giant	Large	4	12	85	1,100

A group of four — about 360 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ankheg	Monstrosity	Large	2	14	39	450
Awakened Tree	Plant	Huge	2	13	59	450
Azer	Elemental	Medium	2	17	39	450
Bandit Captain	Humanoid	Medium	2	15	65	450
Berserker	Humanoid	Medium	2	13	67	450

A swarm of eight — about 144 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ape	Beast	Medium	1/2	12	19	100
Black Bear	Beast	Medium	1/2	11	19	100
Cockatrice	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	27	100
Crocodile	Beast	Large	1/2	12	19	100
Darkmantle	Monstrosity	Small	1/2	11	22	100

Build a hard encounter for a level 5 party

Brutal — budget 4,320

A lone threat — about 4,320 XP each (×1 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Assassin	Humanoid	Medium	8	15	78	3,900
Cloaker	Aberration	Large	8	14	78	3,900
Frost Giant	Giant	Huge	8	15	138	3,900
Hezrou	Fiend	Large	8	16	136	3,900
Hydra	Monstrosity	Huge	8	15	172	3,900

A pair — about 1,440 XP each (×1.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Black Pudding	Ooze	Large	4	7	85	1,100
Chuul	Aberration	Large	4	16	93	1,100
Couatl	Celestial	Medium	4	19	97	1,100
Elephant	Beast	Huge	4	12	76	1,100
Ettin	Giant	Large	4	12	85	1,100

A group of four — about 540 XP each (×2 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Ankheg	Monstrosity	Large	2	14	39	450
Awakened Tree	Plant	Huge	2	13	59	450
Azer	Elemental	Medium	2	17	39	450
Bandit Captain	Humanoid	Medium	2	15	65	450
Berserker	Humanoid	Medium	2	13	67	450

A swarm of eight — about 216 XP each (×2.5 crowd multiplier)

Creature	Type	Size	CR	AC	HP	XP
Animated Armor	Construct	Medium	1	18	33	200
Brass Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Medium	1	16	16	200
Brown Bear	Beast	Large	1	11	34	200
Bugbear	Humanoid	Medium	1	16	27	200
Copper Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Medium	1	16	22	200

Build a brutal encounter for a level 5 party

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