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Dungeons and Dragons 5e Combat Encounter Builder for the 2024 Rules and SRD 5.2: XP Budget by Party Level and Difficulty, SRD Monster Picks, Terrain Features, Monster Tactics and Morale, Scaling Levers, and a One Page DM Run Sheet
Build a combat encounter for Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition using the 2024 rules and SRD 5.2: an XP budget from the party's levels and the difficulty you choose, SRD monster picks that fit the story, terrain that changes decisions, monster tactics and morale, scaling levers to adjust on the fly, and a one page run sheet for the table.
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Prompt
Act as a veteran Dungeon Master and adventure designer who builds fifth edition combat encounters with the 2024 rules and SRD 5.2, and who designs fights that ask players to make choices about terrain, targets, and retreat, not just trade hit points. Inputs: - The party: number of characters, each character's level and class, and anything notable (no healer, strong ranged, low hit points): [Party] - Difficulty wanted: Low, Moderate, or High, and whether this is the only fight before a rest: [Difficulty] - Story context: where, why the monsters are here, what they want, and what the party wants: [StoryHook] - Environment and map notes: size, cover, elevation, hazards, light: [Environment] - Monster preferences: creature types or factions to use, or ones to avoid: [MonsterThemes] - Table notes: play style, session length, players who dislike long fights: [TableNotes] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. The XP budget: look up the XP Budget per Character for each character's level at the chosen difficulty in the 2024 encounter rules, add them, and show the math. Repeat for one difficulty step up and down. 2. Monster picks by name from SRD 5.2 only, with challenge rating and XP each, the total spent, and the budget left. Spend close to the budget without going over, and keep the creature count low enough to run quickly. 3. Roles: who is the leader, who holds the line, who harasses, and how each pick fits the StoryHook. 4. Terrain features: three or four features with a clear game effect (cover, difficult terrain, a hazard with a save, a chokepoint, a height advantage) and a reason both sides will want to use them. 5. Monster tactics by round: opening positions, what they do in rounds 1 to 3, who they target and why, and how they react when the plan fails. 6. Morale: the trigger for retreat or surrender (leader down, half the group down), what fleeing monsters do next, and what a captured monster knows. 7. Scaling levers: changes for the table to make in play, such as holding back reinforcements or adding them, with the new XP total for each. 8. A one page DM run sheet: initiative notes, positions, stat block references to look up, tactics in one line per creature, terrain reminders, morale trigger, and treasure or clue. Constraints: - Use only SRD 5.2 monster names. Refer to stat blocks by name; do not reproduce stat block text from any book. - Use the 2024 budget table, not the 2014 multiplier method, and say that difficulty depends on the table. - Every fight needs a way to end besides death: retreat, surrender, or an objective. No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.

Examples
Example Input
Party: 4 characters, all level 5: Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard; Wizard has low hit points Difficulty: Moderate, second fight of the day, short rest taken StoryHook: a hobgoblin war band has taken the toll bridge over Ashwater Gorge and is taxing caravans; the party must reopen the bridge, and the captain carries the orders that name who hired them Environment: rope and plank bridge 60 feet long over a gorge, stone toll house at the far end, rocky slope with boulders on the near side, dusk light MonsterThemes: hobgoblins and their allies, no undead TableNotes: players like clever plans, 3 hour session, want the fight under an hour
Example Output
1. XP budget (2024 encounter rules) Moderate at level 5: 750 per character x 4 = 3,000 XP. Low: 500 x 4 = 2,000. High: 1,100 x 4 = 4,400. 2. Monster picks (SRD 5.2) | Creature | CR | XP each | Count | XP | | Hobgoblin Captain | 3 | 700 | 1 | 700 | | Ogre | 2 | 450 | 1 | 450 | | Hobgoblin Warrior | 1/2 | 100 | 4 | 400 | | Worg | 1/2 | 100 | 2 | 200 | | Start total | | | 8 | 1,750 | | Reinforcements round 3: Bugbear Warrior | 1 | 200 | 2 | 400 | | Total with reinforcements | | | 10 | 2,150 | Budget left: 850, held as scaling room. Moderate on paper; the bridge makes it feel harder. 3. Roles Captain: leader, stays at the toll house door with the orders. Ogre: holds the far end of the bridge. Hobgoblin Warriors: two on the bridge, two shooting from the toll house roof. Worgs: flank on the near slope. Bugbears: the captain's reserve, sleeping in the toll house. 4. Terrain - Bridge (60 ft): 5 ft wide, one creature abreast. Cutting a rope (your table's call, for example AC 11 and 5 hit points) tilts it: Dexterity save or fall prone, failure by 5 or more means hanging on. - Boulders on the near slope: half cover, good spot for the Wizard. - Toll house roof: 10 ft high, half cover for archers, reached by a ladder inside. - Gorge: 80 ft drop to fast water. Use it as a threat, not a surprise kill. 5. Tactics Round 1: archers fire at whoever leads onto the bridge; Worgs come around the boulders toward the Wizard. Round 2: Ogre steps onto the bridge to block it. Bridge warriors hold position. Round 3: Captain shouts; two Bugbears come out of the toll house. If the party is not on the bridge, the Bugbears hold the door instead. If the bridge plan fails (the party flies, climbs, or crosses fast), the Captain retreats inside and bars the door. 6. Morale Captain down or Ogre down plus half the warriors: the rest surrender or cut the bridge and flee upriver. Captured warriors know the band was paid in silver by a merchant from the town of Brindle; the orders name him. 7. Scaling levers - Down to Low: no reinforcements, 1,750 XP. - Up within Moderate: Bugbears arrive round 2 and add a third, 2,350 XP. - Up to High: the 2,350 version plus a second Ogre and 4 more Hobgoblin Warriors, 3,200 XP, above Moderate and inside the High budget of 4,400. 8. DM run sheet Initiative: roll Captain, Ogre, Warriors, Worgs as groups. Look up: Hobgoblin Captain, Ogre, Hobgoblin Warrior, Worg, Bugbear Warrior (SRD 5.2). Positions: Ogre at far end, 2 warriors mid bridge, 2 on roof, Worgs hidden behind boulders, Bugbears inside. One liners: Captain directs, never fights alone. Ogre blocks. Archers focus the leader. Worgs hunt the Wizard. Bugbears guard the orders. Terrain: rope AC 11, 5 HP; boulders half cover; roof half cover. Morale: Captain down, or Ogre plus half the warriors. Clue: the orders and a pouch of Brindle silver.