Encounters and Leveling
Encounters are any situation that the party deserves XP for completing. They are often combat, but could also be a tense social situation, a trapped hallway, or even a puzzle in a dungeon. One rule of thumb is this: if the players can fail then its an encounter. The official recommendation is that an adventuring party should have 6 encounters per day.
Encounters Per Level
| Level | Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 6 |
| 3 | 12 |
| 4-10 | 15 |
| 11+ | 10 |
To make this chart I compared the XP granted by a single medium encounter to the XP required to level up.
Three Pillars of Encounters
The three pillars of D&D are Combat, Exploration and Social Interaction. If you want to run a balanced campaign, you should consider having some encounters for each pillar.
When designing an encounter remember that the players should be able to interact with an encounter using their normal abilities, and completing it should usually cost them something - health, daily abilities, potions, etc. If your players do something extremely clever to bypass an encounter without expending any resources or taking any damage then good for them! It still counts as a completed encounter.
Marathon Experience and Leveling
As a simple alternative to XP or milestone leveling, simply grant the players one mark each time they complete an encounter (or three, if they complete a deadly/boss encounter). When the players choose to take a long rest, they gain XP equal to the number of marks they have, minus 2, and their marks reset. When the players accrue 10 XP, they gain a level.
This encourages players to experience the full adventuring day, as resting too often means they miss out on XP. Under this system, the players should be allowed to sleep without it counting as a long rest, if thats what they wish.
Encounter Loot
Encounter Loot is a replacement for the individual loot table from the DMG. Encounter Loot might be the trinkets found by searching a pile of slain foes, the valuables in a trapped chest, or even the payment given by a grateful NPC.
The Loot Bank
It might not make sense for each encounter to result in treasure. In this case, you may instead write down the value, and add it to the loot from the next encounter or hoard that results in treasure.
Encounter Loot by CR
These values are intended for a party of 4 characters. If your party has few spellcasters then feel free to roll twice for a potion and skip the scroll, or vice versa if your party has many spellcasters.
| Loot Type | CR 1-4 | CR 5-8 | CR 9-12 | CR 13-16 | CR 17-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuables | 1d6 x 5 gold | 1d10 platinum | 1d8 x 10 platinum | 1d6 x 100 platinum | 2d20 x 100 platinum |
| Potions | 10% chance of a Common Potion | 10% chance of a Common Potion | 10% chance of a Uncommon Potion | 10% chance of a Rare Potion | 10% chance of a Very Rare Potion |
| Scrolls | 10% chance of a Common Scroll | 10% chance of a Common Scroll | 10% chance of a Uncommon Scroll | 10% chance of a Rare Scroll | 10% chance of a Very Rare Scroll |
Hoards and Magic Items
What is a Hoard?
When the party slays a dragon and finds the pile of gold and jewels in its lair, that's a hoard. When the party navigates a booby trapped maze and escapes with the ancient artifacts held within, that's a hoard. When the mayor thanks the party and grants them a lavish reward befitting their services to the town, that’s a hoard. Generally speaking, a hoard is a large amount of loot gained all at once. This document makes a few assumptions about hoards:
- That the party will find about one hoard per level.
- That hoards will account for all the magic items in your campaign.
- That hoards will account for half of the party’s gold, with the rest found from encounter loot.
Magic Items?
The designers of 5th edition D&D recommend that parties gain a certain number of magic items. This document operates based on those recommendations. If you give your players more magic items, beyond what is in this document, you may find that they become more powerful than expected. If you give them fewer magic items, you may find your players are weaker than expected.
Hoard Contents By CR
Coinage and Valuables
| CR 1-4 | CR 5-8 | CR 9-12 | CR 13-16 | CR 17-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| d6+3 platinum | d12+7 platinum | 3d6 x 5 platinum | 4d12 x 10 platinum | 3d8 x 100 platinum |
Multiply the value rolled by the CR of the encounter.
For example a CR 3 encounter would yield d6+3 platinum, muliplied by 3.
Permanent Magic Item (chance)
| Rarity | CR 1-4 | CR 5-8 | CR 9-12 | CR 13-16 | CR 17-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 60% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Uncommon | 80% | 80% | 40% | 20% | 20% |
| Rare | - | 20% | 80% | 60% | 20% |
| Very Rare | - | - | 20% | 60% | 20% |
| Legendary | - | - | - | 20% | 80% |
Magic Consumables (Potions and Scrolls)
| Rarity | CR 1-4 | CR 5-8 | CR 9-12 | CR 13-16 | CR 17-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1d4-1 | 1d4-1 | |||
| Uncommon | 1d4-1 | 1d4-1 | 1d4-1 | ||
| Rare | 1d4-1 | 1d6-1 | 1d4-1 | ||
| Very Rare | 1d4-1 | 1d6-1 | |||
| Legendary | 1d6-3 |
Determine the appropriate CR column, then go down the rows and roll once for each category that has a value. All values are intended for a party of 4 characters.
Gold
The Money Problem
Gold makes the world go 'round, but what is it actually good for?
As players gain money, they are able to afford better adventuring gear. However, unless your campaign has a magic item shop, this stops being the case once a player has acquired about 1,500 gold (the cost of a suit of full plate armor). This document assumes that a player will reach that point somewhere around level 8.
Past that point, gold is more about a character’s social status, and the things they can purchase that reflect that status - such as taverns, ships, temples, and castles. By about 10th level, a character's wealth should start to "weigh them down", encouraging them to set down roots in your world and invest that gold in a community.
Is Gold Just Gold?
No! Any time I list a loot value in coinage, you can feel free to reflavor part or all of that amount as other types of valuables, such as precious jewels, works of art, or anything else that the party could reasonably sell.
Copper vs Platinum
The denominations in this document aren't meant to be ironclad. Feel free to split your large coins into smaller coins. Giving your players a pouch with 50 gold feels less impactful than giving them a chest with 300 silver and 2,000 copper inside, even if the values are exactly the same. 50 coins (of any denomination) weigh 1 lb, so giving your players large amounts of smaller denominations can lead to new challenges, as your party struggles to transport their precious treasure.
Character Wealth, By Level
| Level | Starting Gold (Gold Gained During Level) | Level | Starting Gold (Gold Gained During Level) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 (40) gold | 11 | 5,500 (3,000) gold |
| 2 | 80 (50) gold | 12 | 8,500 (5,500) gold |
| 3 | 130 (70) gold | 13 | 14,000 (8,000) gold |
| 4 | 200 (120) gold | 14 | 22,000 (14,000) gold |
| 5 | 320 (200) gold | 15 | 36,000 (24,000) gold |
| 6 | 520 (280) gold | 16 | 60,000 (30,000) gold |
| 7 | 800 (500) gold | 17 | 90,000 (60,000) gold |
| 8 | 1,300 (800) gold | 18 | 150,000 (90,000) gold |
| 9 | 2,100 (1,400) gold | 19 | 240,000 (110,000) gold |
| 10 | 3,500 (2,000) gold | 20 | 350,000 (250,000+) gold |
This chart can be used to grant new characters a pool of starting gold.
Credits
All art is in public domain.
Castle by David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross
Treasure by b0red, on pixabay
