Encounter Tables

At times during a game when you're looking to liven things up (perhaps during a long overland journey, or maybe when the party's decided to camp in a dangerous dungeon), you can use the following encounter tables to randomly generate monster encounters. These tables do not include all of the monsters in this book—likewise, they don't cover all possible locations the PCs might find themselves in during the course of a game, but you can use these tables as models for generating additional encounter tables of your own design. Note that each of the following tables has been assigned a CR score—this indicates the average difficulty of the encounters that can be rolled up on the table. A CR 4 encounter table works well when challenging a group of 4th level PCs, for example.

Desert CR 6

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–81 giant spider1
9–121 skeletal champion2
13–181d8 skeletons2
19–221 bat swarm2
23–301 giant scorpion3
31–341d3 dire bats4
35–421d6 venomous snakes4
43–461 basilisk5
47–521 mummy5
53–561d4 jann6
57–601 lamia6
61–682d6 giant ants6
69–721 brass dragon (young)7
73–802d6 gnolls and 1d4 hyenas7
81–841 remorhaz (cold desert only)7
85–881 behir8
89–921 sphinx8
93–961 blue dragon (young)9
97–981 brass dragon (adult)11
99–1001 blue dragon (adult)13

Dungeon (Low-Level) CR 2

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–61d6 dire rats1
7–121d6 fire beetles1
13–201d6 human skeletons1
21–241d4 giant centipedes1
25–261 spider swarm1
27–321d6 human zombies2
33–341 choker2
35–361 skeletal champion2
37–442d6 goblins3
45–481d4 ghouls3
49–541d4 giant spiders3
55–561 cockatrice3
57–601 gelatinous cube3
61–641 rust monster3
65–681 shadow3
69–701 wight3
71–762d4 stirges4
77–821d6 darkmantles4
83–861d6 troglodytes4
87–901d4 bugbears4
91–921d4 vargouilles4
93–941 gray ooze4
95–961 mimic4
97–1001 ogre4

Dungeon (Mid-Level) CR 5

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–41 gelatinous cube3
5–81 rust monster3
9–162d4 stirges4
17–221 gray ooze4
23–261 mimic4
27–301 basilisk5
31–341 cloaker5
35–381 gibbering mouther5
39–421 ochre jelly5
43–461 wraith5
47–481 bearded devil5
49–521d4 shadows5
53–561d4 wights5
57–621d8 skeletal champions6
63–682d4 ghouls plus 1 ghast6
69–721 ettin6
73–781 minotaur4
79–841d4 ogres6
85–881d4 trolls7
89–901 babau7
91–941 black pudding7
95–961 medusa7
97–981 shadow demon7
99–1001d4 xills8

Dungeon (High-Level) CR 10

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–41 black pudding7
5–81 dark naga8
9–141 mohrg8
15–181 nabasu8
19–221d6 cloakers8
23–281d6 wraiths8
29–361d4 ettins8
37–401 bone devil9
41–441 night hag9
45–481 spirit naga9
49–541 vampire9
55–581 vrock9
59–661d6 minotaurs9
67–722d4 trolls9
73–761d4 greater shadows10
77–781 bebilith10
79–821 barbed devil11
83–861 devourer11
87–881 hezrou11
89–921d4 rakshasas12
93–941 lich12
95–961 glabrezu13
97–981 ice devil13
99–1001 nalfeshnee14

Forest (Temperate Forest) CR 5

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–61 bat swarm2
7–81 yellow musk creeper2
9–121d4 giant spiders3
13–161 assassin vine3
17–201 giant mantis3
21–221 unicorn3
23–261d4 dire bats4
27–321d4 boars4
33–341 dire boar4
35–381 giant stag beetle4
39–421 owlbear4
43–461 tiger4
47–521d6 werewolves5
53–561d4 dire wolves5
57–601 ettercap and 1d6 giant spiders5
61–702d6 goblins and 1d4 goblin dogs5
71–741 barghest and 2d6 goblins6
75–781d6 centaurs6
79–862d6 wolves6
87–881 nymph7
89–921 dire tiger8
93–941 green dragon (young)8
95–981d4 shambling mounds8
99–1001 treant8

Hill/Mountain CR 8

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–61d6 eagles2
7–142d6 orcs3
15–222d6 tengus4
23–302d6 hobgoblins4
31–361d4 giant eagles5
37–421d6 ogres6
43–441 white dragon (young)6
45–481 bulette7
49–521 chimera7
53–581d6 griffons7
59–642d4 bugbears7
65–661d6 cyclopes8
67–681 gorgon8
69–721d4 wyverns8
73–781d6 trolls8
79–801 ogre mage8
81–821 roc9
83–861d6 hill giants10
87–881 silver dragon (young)10
89–901 red dragon (young)10
91–921d4 frost giants11
93–961d6 stone giants11
97–981 cloud giant11
99–1001d4 fire giants12

Jungle (Warm Forest) CR 5

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–41 bat swarm2
5–81 yellow musk creeper2
9–141 constrictor snake2
15–181d6 giant centipedes2
19–261 leopard2
27–301d4 giant spiders3
31–341d6 venomous snakes4
35–401d4 boars4
41–441 dire boar4
45–501 tiger4
51–541 giant frilled lizard5
55–601d6 monitor lizards5
61–621 army ant swarm5
63–641 ankylosaurus6
65–701d6 dire apes6
71–782d4 gorillas6
79–822d4 deinonychuses7
83–841 nymph7
85–861d4 girallons8
87–901 dire tiger8
91–941d4 shambling mounds8
95–961 treant8
97–981 tyrannosaurus9
99–1001 brachiosaurus10

Ocean CR 8

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–41 octopus1
5–142d6 dolphins4
15–192d6 merfolk4
20–231 sea hag4
24–311d6 squid4
32–361d6 water mephits6
37–381 aboleth7
39–421 giant octopus8
43–502d6 sahuagin8
51–602d6 sharks8
61–662d6 skum8
67–711d6 giant moray eels8
72–771d6 Large water elementals8
78–791 dire shark9
80–811 dragon turtle9
82–831 giant squid9
84–851d4 elasmosauruses9
86–912d4 orcas9
92–931 bronze dragon (young)9
94–951 marid9
96–971 elder water elemental11
981 sea serpent12
991 kraken18
1001 shoggoth19

Ruined City CR 6

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–41 spider swarm1
5–81 rat swarm1
9–162d6 human skeletons3
17–241d6 stirges3
25–281 assassin vine3
29–361d6 ghouls4
37–381 barghest4
39–441d6 skeletal champions5
45–481d4 yeth hounds5
49–541d6 ogres6
55–581d6 shadows6
59–621d6 wights6
63–641 lamia6
65–701d6 harpies7
71–721 medusa7
73–741 nabasu8
75–761 dark naga8
77–841d8 gargoyles8
85–881d6 cyclopes8
89–921d6 wraiths8
93–941 behir8
95–961 sphinx8
97–981 spirit naga9
99–1001d4 spectres9

Savannah (Warm Plains) CR 7

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–61 cheetah2
7–101 cockatrice3
11–161 giant scorpion3
17–201 dire lion5
21–261 giant frilled lizard5
27–301d6 ankhegs6
31–341d6 pteranodons6
35–401d8 monitor lizards6
41–441d6 dire hyenas6
45–522d6 hyenas6
53–602d6 gnolls6
61–661d6 lions6
67–702d6 giant ants7
71–742d4 pegasi7
75–782d6 centaurs8
79–801 dire tiger8
81–821d6 ankylosauruses9
83–841d6 stegosauruses10
85–882d4 rhinoceroses10
89–901 gold dragon (young)11
91–942d4 elephants11
95–961d6 tyrannosauruses12
97–981d8 triceratops12
99–1001d6 brachiosauruses13

Swamp CR 7

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–61 constrictor snake2
7–101 hydra4
11–141 leech swarm4
15–181 gray ooze4
19–221 green hag5
23–261 ochre jelly5
27–322d6 stirges5
33–381d6 crocodiles5
39–462d6 giant frogs6
47–522d6 goblin dogs6
53–561d4 harpies6
57–642d6 lizardfolk6
65–722d6 boggards7
73–741 chuul7
75–761 dracolisk7
77–802d6 giant leeches7
81–821 black dragon (young)7
83–841 giant slug8
85–881d6 shambling mounds9
89–901 spirit naga9
91–941d6 will-o'-wisps9
95–961 dire crocodile9
97–981 giant flytrap10
99–1001 froghemoth13

Underground CR 9

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–102d6 duergar4
11–161d6 cave fishers5
17–221 basidirond5
23–322d6 drow and 1 drow noble5
33–402d6 giant spiders6
41–461d6 violet fungi6
47–521d8 derros7
53–602d6 morlocks7
61–641 black pudding7
65–681 giant slug8
69–721d6 cloakers8
73–822d6 dark creepers, 1 dark stalker8
83–861d6 driders10
87–901d6 intellect devourers11
91–921 purple worm12
93–961d4 ropers14
97–981 neothelid15
99–1001 shoggoth19

Urban (Dangerous City) CR 6

d%EncounterAvg. CR
1–121d6 dogs1
13–201 rat swarm2
21–301d6 riding dogs2
31–321 werewolf2
33–403d6 dire rats4
41–482d6 tengus4
49–562d6 tieflings4
57–621d6 ghouls4
63–681d6 doppelgangers5
69–782d6 wererats7
79–821 succubus7
83–861d6 jann7
87–901d8 gargoyles8
91–921 mohrg8
93–941 intellect devourer (body theft)8
95–961 vampire9
97–981 night hag9
99–1001 rakshasa10