#d&d 5e

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.

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.