encounter-balance

name

encounter-balance

description

This skill should be used when the user asks to "check encounter balance", "review CR", "is this too hard", "is this too easy", "balance my encounters", "encounter difficulty", "TPK check", "deadly encounter", "party level check", or mentions "challenge rating", "encounter math", or "XP budget". Analyzes module encounters against party composition using D&D 5e math to identify deadly, trivial, or unbalanced fights.

Encounter Balance Review

Purpose

Analyze encounters in modules against expected party composition to identify deadly, trivial, or unbalanced fights using D&D 5e encounter math.

Analysis Process

1. Establish Party Parameters

Ask for or assume:

• Number of players (default: 4)
• Average party level
• Party composition (optional, for tactical analysis)

2. Gather Encounter Data

get_campaign_details()
list_modules()
# For each module:
get_module_details(module_id: module_id)
# Extract monster list with counts

# Also check maps for token placements
list_maps(module_id: module_id)
get_map(map_id: map_id)  # includes token positions

Important: Verify the module exists and has monsters before analysis. If a monster is not found in the catalog via search_catalog(category: "monster"), flag it as homebrew.

3. Calculate Per Encounter

For each encounter:

1. Sum base XP — Add XP for each monster by CR (see references/5e-encounter-math.md)
2. Apply multiplier — Based on monster count
3. Compare to thresholds — Determine difficulty category
4. Flag concerns — Deadly, trivial, or resource-draining

4. Adventuring Day Analysis

D&D 5e assumes 6-8 medium encounters per long rest. Calculate:

• Total adjusted XP across module
• Expected adventuring days
• Resource pressure (will the party run out of spell slots?)

Output Format

# Encounter Balance Report: [Module Name]
**Party**: [X] players, level [Y]

## Daily XP Budget
- Easy threshold: [X] XP
- Medium threshold: [X] XP
- Hard threshold: [X] XP
- Deadly threshold: [X] XP
- Daily budget: [X] XP (6-8 medium encounters)

## Encounter Analysis

### [Encounter Name/Location]
| Monster | CR | Count | Base XP |
|---------|-----|-------|---------|
| [Name] | [CR] | [N] | [XP] |

- **Total Base XP**: [X]
- **Adjusted XP** (x[multiplier]): [X]
- **Difficulty**: [Easy/Medium/Hard/Deadly]
- **Assessment**: [Notes]

### Summary

| Encounter | Difficulty | Adjusted XP | Concern |
|-----------|------------|-------------|---------|
| [Name] | Deadly | 5,400 | [WARNING] TPK risk |
| [Name] | Easy | 200 | Filler |
| [Name] | Hard | 2,100 | Good challenge |

## Concerns

### Deadly Encounters
- [Encounter]: [Why it's dangerous] -> [Suggestion]

### Trivial Encounters
- [Encounter]: [Why it's too easy] -> [Suggestion]

### Resource Pressure
- Module contains [X] adjusted XP
- Expected adventuring days: [Y]
- Assessment: [Over/under tuned]

## Recommendations
1. [Specific adjustment]
2. [Specific adjustment]

Interactive Mode

1. Ask for party composition
2. Present module-by-module analysis
3. For deadly encounters, offer alternatives:
   • "This encounter is deadly. Should I suggest monster substitutions?"
   • Search catalog for CR-appropriate alternatives
4. For trivial encounters, suggest enhancements

Reference Data

For XP thresholds, CR-to-XP tables, and encounter multipliers, see references/5e-encounter-math.md.