# Encounter Challenge Calc

> Tabletop RPG encounter difficulty calculator for balanced challenges. (iPhone/iPad app by Thomas Crocker.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encounter-challenge-calc/id1022619865 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Thomas Crocker](https://appshunter.io/developer/980409840)
- Category: Games, Lifestyle, Adventure, Role Playing
- Price: $0.99
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 8.3 · 45 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-08-01
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encounter-challenge-calc/id1022619865/reviews.md

## What is Encounter Challenge Calc?

Determining what constitutes an appropriate challenge for your party of heroes can be a real chore.  This app handles all the math for you, including modifiers for creature count and number of characters, so you can spend more time planning your adventure.

First, describe the character levels that comprise your party.  The app can handle any reasonable number of characters, at levels up to 20.  You could, for example, specify that your party is made up of three level-4 characters, one level-5 character, and one level-6 character. 

Once your party is defined, the app will tell you the XP thresholds appropriate for challenges of easy, medium, hard, and deadly difficulties. Those thresholds become the basis for a couple of other features: Creature Count per CR, and Custom Encounter Difficulty.

Creature Count per CR is essentially a quick-reference chart which shows you the maximum number of creatures of each Challenge Rating that you can throw at the party to generate encounters of various difficulty.  For example, suppose you want the 5-member party described above to have a Hard encounter with some Challenge 2 creatures, such as ogres.  The chart will tell you that you'll need to use 4 of those creatures.

Custom Encounter Difficulty is a calculator that allows you to define an encounter that consists of multiple, mixed CR creatures, and then tells you the difficulty of that encounter.  To illustrate, consider again our 5-member example party.  Using the Custom Encounter Difficulty calculator, you can create an encounter consisting of one CR1, two CR2, and one CR3 creatures, and it will tell you that this constitutes a hard encounter worth 3,600 XP.

## Key features

- Party level and character count input
- XP thresholds for easy, medium, hard, deadly
- Creature Count per CR chart
- Custom Encounter Difficulty calculator
- Supports characters up to level 20
- Handles any reasonable number of characters

## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encounter-challenge-calc/id1022619865/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Solid but not perfect

*2018-02-12*

Not bad, much easier than doing it manually. The graphics aren’t beautiful, but they definitely don’t need to be. Only issue I have is this: the SRD has CRs of 1/3, 1/8, etc and those aren’t options in this app. 

If you don’t intend a Tucker’s Kobolds or a lot of time at lower level, it probably won’t affect you.

## Frequently asked questions about Encounter Challenge Calc

### What is Encounter Challenge Calc?

Encounter Challenge Calc is a tool designed to help game masters determine the appropriate difficulty for encounters in tabletop role-playing games. It calculates challenge ratings based on your party's levels and composition.

### How does Encounter Challenge Calc determine difficulty?

The app takes your party's character levels and number of characters as input. It then provides XP thresholds for easy, medium, hard, and deadly encounters, which form the basis for its calculations.

### Can Encounter Challenge Calc handle custom encounters with different creature types?

Yes, the Custom Encounter Difficulty feature allows you to input multiple creatures of varying Challenge Ratings (CR). The app will then calculate the overall difficulty and XP value of that mixed encounter.

### What is the Creature Count per CR feature?

This feature provides a quick reference chart showing the maximum number of creatures of a specific CR you can include in an encounter to achieve a desired difficulty level for your party.

### What is the price of Encounter Challenge Calc?

Encounter Challenge Calc is a paid app, priced at $0.99. This one-time purchase grants you access to all its features.

### What devices does Encounter Challenge Calc support?

Encounter Challenge Calc is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It is designed for iOS devices.

### What is the age rating for Encounter Challenge Calc?

The app has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users.

### How often is Encounter Challenge Calc updated?

The latest version of Encounter Challenge Calc is 1.0, and it was last updated on August 1, 2015. Future updates may be released by the developer.

## Version history (last 1 release)

### 1.0 — 2015-08-01

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

## Apps similar to Encounter Challenge Calc

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [PrismScroll: 5e Companion](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/prismscroll-5e-companion/id1364209163) | 4.6 (3,049) | Free | Games |
| [Mirrorscape: Tabletop AR Maps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mirrorscape-tabletop-ar-maps/id1590209212) | 4.2 (84) | Free | Games |
| [Single Mom Life Simulator Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/single-mom-life-simulator-game/id1628788640) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Games |
| [5e Companion App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/5e-companion-app/id1507254451) | 4.0 (414) | Free | Games |
| [PrismScrollDM](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/prismscrolldm/id1408372017) | 4.8 (215) | $2.99 | Games |
| [D&D Spellbook 5e](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/d-and-d-spellbook-5e/id1458993307) | 4.3 (52) | Free | Games |

## More apps by Thomas Crocker

- [Troll Speed](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/troll-speed/id985358812)
- [DMQuick Random Treasure](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dmquick-random-treasure/id1425502046)
- [DMQuick Random Names](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dmquick-random-names/id1448171889)

All apps by Thomas Crocker: https://appshunter.io/developer/980409840

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*