Encounter Generator Guide

Generate balanced D&D 5e encounters with automatic CR calculations, tactical suggestions, and treasure recommendations. Create challenging battles tailored to your party's level and size with just a few clicks.

Quick Start

1. Navigate to Generate → Encounter Generator
2. Enter your Party Level (1-20) and Party Size (1-8)
3. Select encounter Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, or Deadly
4. Click Generate Encounter (or press Cmd+Enter / Ctrl+Enter)
5. Review the generated encounter with enemy groups, tactics, and treasure
6. Click Save to Library (or press Cmd+S / Ctrl+S) to save for later use

Form Inputs

Required Fields

Party Level (1-20)

• The average level of your player characters
• Determines XP thresholds and target CR for the encounter
• Example: Level 5 party → Medium encounter targets ~1000 XP

Party Size (1-8)

• Number of player characters in your party
• Affects XP multipliers for multiple enemies
• Smaller parties → fewer enemies; larger parties → more enemies

Difficulty

• Easy: Quick fights with minimal resource drain
• Medium: Balanced challenge requiring tactical thinking
• Hard: Significant threat requiring resource expenditure
• Deadly: Potential for character death; use sparingly

Optional Fields (Expert Mode)

Encounter Type

• Standard: Balanced mix of enemy types
• Boss: Single powerful enemy or lieutenant with minions
• Swarm: Many weak enemies
• Mixed: Varied enemy types and CRs

NPC Count (2-8)

• Approximate number of enemy groups to generate
• System may adjust based on CR requirements
• Default: 3 groups

World Setting

• Select a campaign setting for flavor (e.g., Forgotten Realms, Eberron)
• Influences enemy names and descriptions
• Note: Uses SRD-compliant terms only (no trademarked content)

Include Legendary Actions

• Enable for boss encounters at higher levels
• Adds legendary actions to powerful enemies (CR 10+)
• Increases encounter difficulty

Notes (500 characters max)

• Add context for the encounter (location, plot hooks, enemy motivations)
• Example: "Ambush in forest clearing, goblins defending sacred tree"
• System filters unsafe content and trademarked terms

Display Modes

Simple Mode

Designed for new players and quick generation

What You See:

• Kid-friendly difficulty labels (Easy, Medium, Hard)
• Enemy groups with basic stats (HP, AC, attack bonus)
• Hidden: XP calculations, CR warnings, tactical details

What's Hidden:

• Adjusted XP and multiplier calculations
• CR deviation warnings
• Detailed tactical suggestions
• Complex treasure descriptions

Best For:

• New Dungeon Masters learning the ropes
• Quick encounter generation during live sessions
• Players under 13 (content is age-appropriate)

Expert Mode

Full control and detailed information

What You See:

• Standard D&D terminology (Easy, Medium, Hard, Deadly)
• Complete XP calculation breakdown (base XP, multiplier, adjusted XP)
• CR validation warnings (when encounter is off-balance)
• Detailed tactical suggestions panel
• Treasure suggestions panel with loot tables
• All optional form fields (encounter type, NPC count, legendary actions)

Best For:

• Experienced Dungeon Masters
• Campaign planning and preparation
• Learning encounter balance mechanics
• Fine-tuning difficulty

Toggle Modes:

• Click your avatar → Settings → Display Mode
• Or use the mode toggle in the top navigation bar

Difficulty Scaling

CritForge uses the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) Adjusted XP system for encounter balance.

XP Thresholds (per character per day)

XP Multipliers (based on enemy count)

The system adjusts XP based on the number of enemies to account for action economy:

CR Validation

CritForge validates encounter balance using a 10% CR tolerance:

Green (Balanced):

• Encounter total CR is within ±10% of target CR
• Example: Target CR 6.0 → Actual CR 5.5-6.5 ✅

Yellow Warning (Slightly Off):

• Encounter CR exceeds ±10% but under ±20%
• Example: Target CR 6.0 → Actual CR 4.9 or 7.1 ⚠️
• Suggestion: Add/remove creatures to balance

Red Warning (Significantly Off):

• Encounter CR exceeds ±20% of target
• Example: Target CR 6.0 → Actual CR 4.5 or 7.5 🔴
• Recommendation: Regenerate encounter or manually adjust

Encounter Display

Enemy Groups Section

Each enemy group shows:

Basic Information:

• Creature Name: Species/type (e.g., "Goblin", "Orc Warrior")
• Count: Number of this enemy type (e.g., "× 6")
• CR: Challenge Rating per creature (e.g., "CR 1/4")

Combat Stats:

• HP: Hit points per creature (e.g., "7 HP each")
• AC: Armor Class (e.g., "AC 15")
• Attack: Attack bonus and damage (e.g., "+4, 1d6+2 slashing")
• XP: Experience points per creature and total for group

Tactics (if provided):

• Suggested combat tactics for this enemy type
• Example: "Use hit-and-run tactics, retreat if outnumbered"

Quick Actions:

• Generate as NPC: Create a full NPC stat block for this creature
• Useful for promoting generic enemies to named NPCs with backstories

XP Calculation Display (Expert Mode)

Base XP: Sum of all enemy XP values before multiplier

Multiplier: Applied based on enemy count (see table above)

Adjusted XP: Final XP value after multiplier (base XP × multiplier)

Target XP: Expected XP for chosen difficulty and party size

Deviation: Percentage difference between adjusted and target XP

• Green: ±10% or less (balanced)
• Yellow: ±10-20% (slightly off)
• Red: ±20%+ (significantly off)

Tactical Suggestions Panel (Expert Mode)

AI-generated tactics for the encounter:

• Terrain Use: How enemies leverage the environment
• Group Tactics: Coordination between enemy groups
• Special Abilities: Key abilities to emphasize during combat
• Retreat Conditions: When enemies flee or surrender

Example:

Treasure Suggestions Panel (Expert Mode)

Loot appropriate for the encounter difficulty and party level:

Individual Treasure:

• Coins found on enemies (copper, silver, gold pieces)
• Small trinkets or personal items

Hoard Treasure:

• Larger valuables (gems, art objects)
• Magic items (if appropriate for party level)

Example for Level 5 Medium encounter:

Saving Encounters

Save to Library

1. Generate an encounter
2. Click Save to Library or press Cmd+S / Ctrl+S
3. Encounter is saved to your content library with:
   • All enemy groups and stats
   • Tactical suggestions
   • Treasure recommendations
   • Generation parameters (for regeneration)

Tier Limits:

• Free Tier: 5 saved encounters per month
• Premium Tier: Unlimited saved encounters

Unsaved Encounter Warning

If you have an unsaved encounter and navigate away or refresh the page:

Warning Banner Appears:

• Shows encounter name (or "Untitled Encounter")
• Displays time remaining before session expires (1 hour TTL)
• Provides two options:
  1. Continue Editing: Restores the encounter to the generator
  2. Discard: Deletes the session and clears the form

Session Storage:

• Encounters are auto-saved to browser sessionStorage
• Survives page refreshes but not browser close
• Expires after 1 hour of inactivity
• Security: Content is re-sanitized on load to prevent XSS

Regenerating Encounters

From Saved Encounters

1. Go to Library → Encounters
2. Click on a saved encounter to view details
3. Click Regenerate button
4. System uses the original generation parameters (party level, size, difficulty, notes)
5. Generates a new encounter with different enemies but same balance
6. You can save both versions for variety

Use Cases:

• Create alternate encounters for the same encounter slot
• Generate backup encounters for your session
• Explore different enemy compositions at same difficulty

Session Recovery

CritForge automatically saves your work to prevent data loss.

How Session Recovery Works

1. After Generation: Encounter is saved to browser sessionStorage
2. On Page Refresh: Warning banner appears if unsaved encounter exists
3. 1-Hour Expiration: Sessions expire after 1 hour of inactivity
4. Security: Notes are re-sanitized on load to prevent stored XSS

Recovering an Unsaved Encounter

If you refresh the page or navigate away:

1. Warning banner appears at the top of the page
2. Shows encounter details and time remaining
3. Click Continue Editing to restore the encounter
4. Or click Discard to start fresh

Note: Session recovery only works in the same browser session. Closing the browser window clears sessionStorage.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with keyboard shortcuts:

Accessibility Note: All actions are keyboard-accessible. Use Tab to navigate between interactive elements.

Tips & Best Practices

For New Dungeon Masters

1. Start with Medium difficulty - Easy encounters can feel too simple
2. Use 3-4 enemy groups - Provides variety without overwhelming complexity
3. Regenerate if unsatisfied - Each generation is unique
4. Save your favorites - Build a library of go-to encounters
5. Use Simple Mode - Focus on running the game, not calculating XP

For Experienced Dungeon Masters

1. Adjust difficulty for pacing:

   • Use Easy encounters after a Hard/Deadly fight (resource drain)
   • Chain 2-3 Medium encounters for adventuring day resource management
   • Save Deadly encounters for climactic battles or chapter finales

2. Customize after generation:

   • Edit enemy HP/AC to fine-tune difficulty
   • Add or remove enemy groups manually
   • Combine multiple generated encounters for complex battles

3. Leverage tactical suggestions:

   • Use AI-generated tactics as a starting point
   • Adapt tactics to your party's composition
   • Add environmental hazards or terrain features

4. Plan encounter chains:

   • Generate 3-4 encounters for a dungeon level
   • Vary difficulty: Medium → Easy → Hard → Deadly
   • Use regenerate feature for alternate encounter slots

Accessibility

CritForge's Encounter Generator is designed for accessibility:

Screen Reader Support

• All interactive elements have ARIA labels
• State changes announced via live regions (generating, success, errors)
• Semantic HTML structure (headings, regions, forms)
• Keyboard focus is managed after state changes

Keyboard Navigation

• Full keyboard access - no mouse required
• Tab through all interactive elements in logical order
• Shift+Tab for reverse navigation
• Keyboard shortcuts for common actions

Visual Accessibility

• High contrast text (WCAG 2.1 AA compliant)
• Focus indicators on keyboard navigation
• Error messages clearly styled and positioned
• Loading states with visual indicators

Tested With:

• NVDA (Windows)
• JAWS (Windows)
• VoiceOver (macOS, iOS)