Challenge Ratings 2.0

by DragnaCarta

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CR2.0

Challenge Ratings 2.0

Combat is a core part of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Yet most Dungeon Masters have found 5th Edition's combat-building system to be unreliable at best and misleading at worst.

Some have written that the system is "hopelessly broken" and that relying on it is a "mistake". Others have suggested that combat-building is largely "experience and guesswork" and that combat balance "is an art based on pseudoscience."

Most critics agree that the "action economy" lies at the core of 5th Edition's shortcomings. Yet no combat-building guides thus far have mathematically analyzed how combat works and where 5th Edition goes wrong.

Challenge Ratings 2.0 is the first to do so. Built on a comprehensive mathematical analysis of 5th Edition combat rules, this system provides Dungeon Masters with a simple, flexible, and resilient method for building encounters. From mild skirmishes to overwhelming ordeals, Challenge Ratings 2.0 allows Dungeon Masters to precisely calibrate each encounter to its intended difficulty.

This system is split into two parts: a basic guide and an advanced guide:

  • The basic guide features a simple, yet powerful method for building balanced encounters.
  • The advanced guide allows Dungeon Masters to build even more challenging encounters and accounts for unique characteristics like magic items, multiclassing, waves of monsters, and more.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding Challenge Ratings 2.0, you can submit your feedback through the playtest feedback form. You can also contact me at dragnacartacreations@gmail.com or on Twitter @DragnaCarta with any questions.

Thank you for playtesting Challenge Ratings 2.0, and happy gaming.

—DragnaCarta

Part I. Basic Guide

Building an Encounter

Step 1. Calculate Party Power

Using the table below, add together the Power of each PC in your party. This is the Party Power.

Level Power
1 6
2 10
3 12
4 15
5 25
Level Power
6 29
7 32
8 37
9 44
10 48
Level Power
11 56
12 59
13 67
14 69
15 73
Level Power
16 76
17 88
18 91
19 94
20 103

Then, increase the Party Power by the total Power of all summoned monsters and NPC allies. (You can find this information in the table in Step 3.)

Step 2. Determine Encounter Difficulty

Find the intended Encounter Difficulty on the table below.

Encounter Difficulty
Multiplier
 Cost
Mild. The PCs will win without a scratch. 0.40 2
Bruising. The PCs will win with minor injuries. 0.60 4
Bloody. The PCs will win with major injuries. 0.75 6
Brutal. The PCs will win, but some may fall unconscious. 0.90 8
Oppressive. The PCs can only win with a little luck or skill. 1.00 10

Then, multiply the Party Power by the encounter's Multiplier. This is the Encounter Power Budget.

Step 3. Choose Monsters

Using the table below, choose a number of monsters whose total Power equals the Encounter Power Budget.

CR Power
0 1
1/8 4
1/4 6
1/2 10
1 15
2 20
3 25
CR Power
4 30
5 40
6 45
7 55
8 65
9 70
10 80
CR Power
11 85
12 95
13 105
14 110
15 115
16 130
17 145
CR Power
18 150
19 160
20 175
21 200
22 225
23 250
24 275
CR Power
25 300
26 325
27 350
28 375
29 400
30 450

You're done!

Building an Adventuring Day

Find the Fatigue Level for the adventuring day you'd like to run on the table below. (Resources include hit dice, spell slots, and abilities.)

Total Cost
Fatigue Level
2 Light. The PCs will use few resources.
4 Moderate. The PCs will use some resources.
6 Taxing. The PCs will use a large minority of their resources.
9 Draining. The PCs will use a majority of their resources.
12 Debilitating. The PCs will use nearly all of their resources.
15 Exhausting. The PCs will use all of their resources.

Then, build a number of combat encounters whose total cost (as given in the Cost column in Step 2 of Building an Encounter) is equal to the Total Cost for that Fatigue Level.

Example Encounter

Assume a party of four fourth-level PCs. Each PC has 15 Power, so the Party Power is 60.

The party also includes a CR 1/2 scout, who has 10 Power. The Party Power is now 70.

We want to build a Bloody encounter. A Bloody encounter has a Multiplier of 0.75. We multiply 70, the Party Power, by 0.75 to get 52, the Encounter Power Budget.

We need to choose any number of monsters whose total Power adds up to 52. Let's choose:

  • One CR 1 bugbear (15 Power each),
  • Two CR 1/2 hobgoblins (10 Power each), and
  • Three CR 1/4 goblins (6 Power each).

That brings us to 53 Power, which is almost exactly equal to the Encounter Power Budget. We're done!

Example Adventuring Day

Assume an adventuring day with the following encounters:

  • A Mild encounter (cost 2),
  • A Bruising encounter (cost 4), and
  • A Brutal encounter (cost 8).

The Total Cost is 14, making this a nearly Exhausting day. Assuming they get enough short rests, the PCs will use almost all of their resources, including hit points, hit dice, spell slots, and abilities.

Note: Special Monsters

Be careful when building encounters with monsters whose Power is twice as much as any individual PC's Power. These monsters may have the ability to knock out a weaker PC in a single hit, removing them from combat and setting the PCs onto a "death spiral" that may be impossible to recover from.

Additionally, the following monsters are Special CR and should not be used except by an experienced Dungeon Master: shadow, intellect devourer, sea hag, and banshee.

Credits

Challenge Ratings 2.0 is created by DragnaCarta. You can read about the theory behind the system here. (Note that this article is not yet complete.)

Special thanks to: Twi, whose feedback, knowledge, and experience made this project possible; and to Linus, whose mathematical insight cracked the final code.

Additional thanks to: aldman123, Archer, Az, Booyahg, Busdriver, CanadianCruelty, Dragoncrown Games, EpicBlundersRPG, Humanfarmerman, James Lorimer, JazzHammy, nolonunez, Rolling For What Now?, Schelling, StoryWeaver, Taffer, The Count, and whatisaplunk for feedback and review.

Image credit to: Wizards of the Coast, used under the Fan Content Policy. Dungeon Master's Guide watercolor stains by Jared Ondricek.

Designed with: GMBinder.

Part II. Advanced Guide

Player Character Power
Level 0 Boosts 1 Boost 2 Boosts 3 Boosts 4 Boosts 5 Boosts 6 Boosts 7 Boosts 8 Boosts 9 Boosts
1 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
2 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 12
3 12 12 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14
4 15 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18
5 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29 29
6 29 29 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 34
7 32 33 33 34 34 35 36 36 37 37
8 37 38 39 40 40 41 42 42 43 44
9 44 45 46 47 47 48 49 50 51 51
10 48 49 51 52 52 53 54 55 56 57
11 56 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
12 59 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 69 69
13 67 68 70 71 72 73 75 76 77 78
14 69 71 72 74 75 76 78 79 80 81
15 73 75 77 78 80 81 82 84 85 86
16 76 78 80 81 83 84 86 87 89 90
17 88 91 93 94 96 98 99 101 103 104
18 91 93 95 97 99 101 102 104 106 107
19 94 96 98 100 102 104 105 107 109 110
20 103 106 108 110 112 114 116 117 120 121

Building an Encounter

Step 1. Calculate PC Power

For each PC in your party, repeat the following steps.

First, count the number of levels that the PC has taken in their highest-leveled class. This is the PC's base level. If the PC's highest-leveled class is bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, wizard, paladin, ranger, or artificer, increase the PC's base level as follows:

  • Add every multiclass level that the PC has taken in bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, and/or wizard.
  • Add half of every multiclass level (rounded down) that the PC has taken in paladin, ranger, and/or artificer.

Second, using all multiclass levels that weren't counted in the base level, give the PC a number of boosts equal to 10 × (Other Levels ÷ Total Levels).

(A "boost" reflects a small increase in power.)

Third, for each bonus that the PC has from a magical or mundane item not obtainable from the starting equipment of their highest-leveled class, give the PC a number of additional boosts given by the table below:

Bonus Boosts
+1 to Attack Rolls or Spell Save DC +0.5
+1 to Armor Class +0.5
+1 to All Saving Throws +0.25

Then, using the PC's base level and their total number of boosts, find the PC's Power on the table on the following page.

Step 2. Calculate Party Power

Add together each PC's Power, including the Power of any monster summons or NPC companions (see Step 4 for this information). The result is the Party Power.

Step 3. Determine Encounter Difficulty

Find the intended Encounter Difficulty on the table below.

Encounter Difficulty
Multiplier
 Cost
Mild. The PCs will win without a scratch. 0.40 2
Bruising. The PCs will win with minor injuries. 0.60 4
Bloody. The PCs will win with major injuries. 0.75 6
Brutal. The PCs will win, but some may fall unconscious. 0.90 8
Oppressive. The PCs can only win with a little luck or skill. 1.00 10
Overwhelming. The PCs can only win with a lot of luck or skill. 1.10 13
Crushing. The PCs can only win with an exceptional amount of luck or skill. 1.30 17
Devastating. The PCs can only win under perfect conditions. 1.60 25
Impossible. The PCs cannot win. 2.25 50

Then, multiply the Party Power by the encounter's Multiplier. This is the Encounter Power Budget.

Step 4. Choose Monsters

First, determine which tier of play your PCs are in:

Level Tier of Play
1-4 Tier 1
5-10 Tier 2
Level Tier of Play
11-16 Tier 3
17-20 Tier 4

Using the table to the right, choose a number of monsters whose total Power equals the Encounter Power Budget, given the PCs' tier of play.

However, if a monster has resistance or immunity to all nonmagical weapon damage, decrease its CR by 2 if all PCs can consistently deal magical damage. If a monster can kill or KO one or more PCs on the first turn of combat, increase its CR by 4.

Note that the following monsters are Special CR and should not be used except by an experienced Dungeon Master: shadow, intellect devourer, sea hag, and banshee.

Why Does Power Change?

Why does a monster's Power vary with the PCs' level? If a PC has a comparatively low AC and attack bonus, the monster hits more often (increasing its effective damage) and is hit less often (increasing its effective HP). The inverse is also true!

Monster Power by Challenge Rating
CR Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
0 1 1 0 0
1/8 3 2 2 1
1/4 6 3 3 2
1/2 10 8 5 4
1 15 12 10 5
2 20 16 13 10
3 25 20 17 13
4 30 24 20 15
5 50 40 30 25
6 55 45 35 30
7 70 55 45 35
8 80 65 50 45
9 90 70 55 45
10 100 80 65 55
11 115 105 85 70
12 125 120 95 75
13 140 130 105 85
14 145 140 110 90
15 155 145 115 90
16 175 165 130 105
17 240 190 180 150
18 250 200 190 150
19 270 210 200 160
20 290 230 220 180
21 400 325 275 250
22 450 375 300 275
23 500 425 325 325
24 550 450 375 350
25 600 500 400 375
26 650 550 425 400
27 700 575 475 450
28 750 625 500 475
29 800 675 525 500
30 900 750 600 575

Building an Adventuring Day

Find the Fatigue Level for the adventuring day you'd like to run on the table below. (Resources include hit dice, spell slots, and abilities.) Note down its Total Cost.

Total Cost
Fatigue Level
2 Light. The PCs will use few resources.
4 Moderate. The PCs will use some resources.
6 Taxing. The PCs will use a large minority of their resources.
9 Draining. The PCs will use a majority of their resources.
12 Debilitating. The PCs will use nearly all of their resources.
15 Exhausting. The PCs will use all of their resources.

Then, for each consumable magic item or fully-charged magical item that your PCs can use to deal damage, recover hit points, or inflict debilitating conditions, find the item's Resource Modifier on the table below and divide it by the number of PCs in the party. Add the result to the Total Cost. (For a consumable magic item, use the number in parentheses instead.)

Party Level Uncommon Rare Very Rare Legendary
1-4 15 (2) 120 (17) 360 (51) 600 (85)
5-10 2 (0) 15 (2) 45 (6) 75 (10)
11-16 1 (0) 5 (0) 15 (2) 25 (3)
17-20 0 (0) 3 (0) 9 (1) 15 (2)

Then, build a number of combat encounters whose total cost (as given in the Cost column in Step 2 of Building an Encounter) is equal to the Total Cost for that Fatigue Level.

In order to ensure that short-rest classes have as many resources to spend as long-rest classes, aim to ensure that your party takes an average of two short rests per day.

Example Encounter

Assume the following fourth-level party:

  • One 4th-level wizard with a wand of magic missile.
  • One 4th-level cleric with a +2 holy symbol.
  • One Fighter 2/Rogue 2 wielding a +1 shield.
  • One Paladin 2/Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1.
  • One CR 1/2 scout NPC ally.

According to Step 1 of Building An Encounter, each PC has the following base level:

  • Wizard: Level 4
  • Cleric: Level 4
  • Fighter: Level 2
  • Paladin/Sorcerer: Level 3

Each PC has the following number of boosts:

  • Wizard: +0
  • Cleric: +1 from +2 holy symbol.
  • Fighter: +0.5 from +1 shield and +5 from uncounted multiclass levels, for a total of 5.5 boosts (rounded to 6).
  • Paladin/Sorcerer: +2.5 from uncounted multiclass levels, for a total of 2.5 boosts (rounded to 3).

Accordingly, each PC has the following power:

  • 4th-Level Wizard (0 Boosts): 15
  • 4th-Level Cleric (1 Boost): 16
  • 2nd-Level Fighter (6 boosts): 11
  • 3rd-Level Paladin/Sorcerer (3 Boosts): 13

According to the Monster Power chart in Step 5, the CR 1/2 scout NPC ally has 10 power. Altogether, the Party Power is 65.

Let's build a Bloody encounter—the PCs will be notably injured, but will win the encounter. Accordingly, we multiply the Party Power by 0.75, the Difficulty for a Bloody encounter, to get the Encounter Power Budget: 49.

Now, we need to choose any number of monsters whose total power adds up to 49. Let's choose:

  • One CR 1 bugbear (15 power each) ,
  • Two CR 1/2 hobgoblins (10 power each) ,
  • Two CR 1/4 goblins (6 power each) , and
  • Two CR 0 rats (1 power each) .

This brings us to 49 monster power exactly.

Example Adventuring Day

Let's assume that this is the only encounter our PCs will face today. The Total Cost for today starts at 6, which is the sum of all Encounter Costs that the PCs will face.

Now, because our wizard has a fully-charged magic item that can deal damage or inflict debilitating conditions (a wand of magic missile), we need to subtract the item's Resource Modifier from the Total Difficulty.

A wand of magic missile is an Uncommon charged magic item. As such, its modifier for a party of level 4 is equal to 15 divided by the number of characters in the party (5).

The modifier is therefore equal to 3, which we then subtract from the Total Cost (6) for a final result of 3 (Light).

A Point of Comparison

Imagine an encounter between two trolls (CR 5) and four fifth-level PCs. According to 5th Edition, this is a Deadly encounter—but according to Challenge Ratings 2.0, it's merely Bruising.

Things get worse if you add a single extra fifth-level PC. According to 5th Edition, this is still a Deadly encounter. According to Challenge Ratings 2.0, though, it's now a Mild encounter.

Which result feels more accurate?

Note: Waves of Monsters

For an encounter with multiple consecutive waves of enemies (or a single enemy with multiple phases), build each wave as a separate encounter. Then, add each wave's cost together to determine the cost (and therefore the difficulty) of the overall encounter.

Note: Creature Agency

Creature Power is only one component to evaluating an encounter's difficulty. Monsters and PCs with access to spells and spell-like effects, such as teleportation or flight, can reach even greater heights with the right tactics and strategy. Look out for a companion guide on "Creature Agency" to be released soon on the Dragna's Den Substack.

Changelog

  • Aug. 3, 2022. Updated Monster Power by Challenge Rating table to account for low-CR monster power decay.