During your Dungeons & Dragons campaign, your group of adventurers is going to come across many creatures. No matter where you are in this fantasy world, you will have many combat encounters with any number of monsters of varying toughness. Here is a complete list of monsters you could potentially come across in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition sorted by their challenge rating. For more information on specific monsters in the list, be sure to consult the monster manual.
0 challenge rating
These monsters are typically non-hostile by nature and can often be found in towns and other areas. They will offer up at most 10 experience per kill.
- Awakened Shrub
- Baboon
- Badger
- Bat
- Cat
- Commoner
- Crab
- Cranium Rat
- Crawling Claw
- Deer
- Eagle
- Frog
- Giant Fire Beetle
- Goat
- Hawk
- Homunculus
- Hyena
- Jackal
- Lemure
- Lizard
- Myconid sprout
- Octopus
- Owl
- Quipper
- Rat
- Raven
- Scorpion
- Sea Horse
- Shrieker
- Spider
- Vulture
- Weasel
1/8 challenge rating
These creatures are on the lower end of threats of the D&D world. They give 25 experience per kill.
- Bandit
- Blood Hawk
- Boggle
- Camel
- Cultist
- Dolphin
- Flumph
- Flying Snake
- Giant Crab
- Giant Rat
- Giant Weasel
- Guard
- Kobold
- Manes
- Mastiff
- Merfolk
- Monodrone
- Mule
- Neogi Hatchling
- Noble
- Poisonous Snake
- Pony
- Slaad Tadpole
- Stirge
- Tribal Warrior
- Twig Blight
- Xvart
1/4 challenge rating
Now we are starting to get into monsters that you are likely to encounter in early game locations. They give 50 experience per monster.
- Aarakocra
- Acolyte
- Apprentice Wizard
- Axe Beak
- Blink Dog
- Boar
- Bullywug
- Constrictor Snake
- Cow
- Draft Horse
- Dretch
- Drow
- Duodrone
- Elk
- Flying Sword
- Giant Badger
- Giant Bat
- Giant Centipede
- Giant Frog
- Giant Lizard
- Giant Owl
- Giant Poisonous Snake
- Giant Wolf Spider
- Gnoll Witherling
- Goblin
- Grimlock
- Grung
- Kenku
- Kobold Inventor
- Kuo-toa
- Mud Mephit
- Needle Blight
- Panther
- Pixie
- Pseudodragon
- Pteranodon
- Riding Horse
- Skeleton
- Smoke Mephit
- Sprite
- Steam Mephit
- Swarm of Bats
- Swarm of Rats
- Swarm of Ravens
- Troglodyte
- Vegepygmy
- Velociraptor
- Violet Fungus
- Winged Kobold
- Wolf
- Zombie
1/2 challenge rating
At this challenge rating, monsters are a little more dangerous, but they aren’t unmanageable to take down solo. They give 100 experience per kill.
- Ape
- Black Bear
- Chitine
- Cockatrice
- Crocodile
- Darkling
- Darkmantle
- Deep Gnome (Svirfneblin)
- Dust Mephit
- Firenewt Warrior
- Gas Spore
- Gazer
- Giant Goat
- Giant Sea Horse
- Giant Wasp
- Gnoll
- Gnoll Hunter
- Gray Ooze
- Hobgoblin
- Ice Mephit
- Jackalwere
- Lizardfolk
- Magma Mephit
- Magmin
- Myconid adult
- Orc
- Piercer
- Reef Shark
- Rust Monster
- Sahuagin
- Satyr
- Scout
- Shadow
- Swarm of Insects
- Swarm of Rot Grubs
- Thug
- Tridrone
- Vine Blight
- Warhorse
- Warhorse Skeleton
- Worg
1 challenge rating
These monsters are worth 200 experience and are the start of things becoming more challenging for low-level characters.
- Animated Armor
- Brass Dragon Wyrmling
- Brown Bear
- Bugbear
- Copper Dragon Wyrmling
- Death Dog
- Dire Wolf
- Dryad
- Duergar
- Faerie Dragon
- Fire Snake
- Firenewt Warlock of Imix
- Ghoul
- Giant Eagle
- Giant Hyena
- Giant Octopus
- Giant Spider
- Giant Strider
- Giant Toad
- Giant Vulture
- Gnoll Flesh Gnawer
- Goblin Boss
- Grung Wildling
- Half-Ogre
- Harpy
- Hippogriff
- Imp
- Kobold Dragonshield
- Kobold Scale Sorcerer
- Kuo-toa Whip
- Lion
- Maw Demon
- Nilbog
- Quadrone
- Quaggoth spore servant
- Quasit
- Quickling
- Scarecrow
- Sea Spawn
- Specter
- Spy
- Swarm of Quippers
- Thorny
- Thri-kreen
- Tiger
- Vargouille
- Xvart Warlock of Raxivort
- Yuan-ti Pureblood
2 challenge rating
450 experience will be your reward for taking down any of these monsters.
- Allosaurus
- Ankheg
- Aurochs
- Awakened Tree
- Azer
- Bandit Captain
- Bard
- Berserker
- Black Dragon Wyrmling
- Bronze Dragon Wyrmling
- Carrion Crawler
- Centaur
- Cult Fanatic
- Darkling Elder
- Druid
- Ettercap
- Gargoyle
- Gelatinous Cube
- Ghast
- Giant Boar
- Giant Constrictor Snake
- Giant Elk
- Gibbering Mouther
- Githzerai Monk
- Gnoll Pack Lord
- Green Dragon Wyrmling
- Grick
- Griffon
- Grung Elite Warrior
- Guard Drake
- Hobgoblin Iron Shadow
- Hunter Shark
- Intellect Devourer
- Lizardfolk Shaman
- Meenlock
- Merrow
- Mimic
- Minotaur Skeleton
- Myconid Sovereign
- Nothic
- Ochre Jelly
- Ogre
- Ogre Zombie
- Orc Claw of Luthic
- Orc Eye of Gruumsh
- Orc Hand of Yurtrus
- Orog
- Pegasus
- Pentadrone
- Peryton
- Plesiosaurus
- Polar Bear
- Priest
- Quaggoth
- Quetzalcoatlus
- Rhinoceros
- Rug of Smothering
- Saber-Toothed Tiger
- Sahuagin Priestess
- Sea Hag
- Shadow Mastiff
- Silver Dragon Wyrmling
- Spined Devil
- Swarm of Poisonous Snakes
- Vegepygmy Chief
- Wererat
- White Dragon Wyrmling
- Will-o’-Wisp
- Yuan-ti Broodguard
3 challenge rating
These monsters are worth 700 experience.
- Ankylosaurus
- Archer
- Basilisk
- Bearded Devil
- Blue Dragon Wyrmling
- Bugbear Chief
- Cave Fisher
- Choldrith
- Deep Scion
- Displacer Beast
- Doppelganger
- Flail Snail
- Giant Scorpion
- Githyanki Warrior
- Gold Dragon Wyrmling
- Green Hag
- Grell
- Hell Hound
- Hobgoblin Captain
- Hook Horror
- Illusionist
- Killer Whale
- Knight
- Leucrotta
- Manticore
- Martial Arts Adept
- Minotaur
- Mummy
- Neogi
- Nightmare
- Orc Red Fang of Shargaas
- Owlbear
- Phase Spider
- Redcap
- Slithering Tracker
- Spectator
- Swashbuckler
- Trapper
- Veteran
- Water Weird
- Werewolf
- Wight
- Winter Wolf
- Yeti
- Yuan-ti Malison
4 challenge rating
1,100 experience is the reward for taking these monsters down.
- Babau
- Banshee
- Barghest
- Black Pudding
- Bone Naga
- Chuul
- Couatl
- Elephant
- Ettin
- Flameskull
- Ghost
- Girallon
- Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu
- Helmed Horror
- Hobgoblin Devastator
- Lamia
- Lizard King/Queen
- Neogi Master
- Orc Blade of Ilneval
- Orc War Chief
- Red Dragon Wyrmling
- Shadow Demon
- Succubus
- Warlock of the Archfey
- Wereboar
- Weretiger
- Yeth Hound
- Yuan-ti Mind Whisperer
- Yuan-ti Nightmare Speaker
5 challenge rating
These monsters are worth 1,800 experience.
- Air Elemental
- Banderhobb
- Barbed Devil
- Barlgura
- Beholder Zombie
- Bulette
- Cambion
- Catoblepas
- Drow Elite Warrior
- Earth Elemental
- Enchanter
- Fire Elemental
- Flesh Golem
- Giant Crocodile
- Giant Shark
- Gladiator
- Gorgon
- Half-Red Dragon Veteran
- Hill Giant
- Kraken Priest
- Master Thief
- Mezzoloth
- Mindwitness
- Night Hag
- Otyugh
- Red Slaad
- Revenant
- Roper
- Sahuagin Baron
- Salamander
- Shambling Mound
- Spawn of Kyuss
- Swarm of Cranium Rats
- Tanarukk
- Tlincalli
- Transmuter
- Triceratops
- Troll
- Umber Hulk
- Unicorn
- Vampire Spawn
- Water Elemental
- Werebear
- Wood Woad
- Wraith
- Xorn
- Young Remorhaz
- Yuan-ti Pit Master
6 challenge rating
Your experience will go up 2,300 points upon killing these.
- Annis Hag
- Bodak
- Chasme
- Chimera
- Conjurer
- Cyclops
- Drider
- Galeb Duhr
- Gauth
- Githzerai Zerth
- Hobgoblin Warlord
- Invisible Stalker
- Kuo-toa Archpriest
- Mage
- Mammoth
- Medusa
- Mouth of Grolantor
- Vrock
- Warlock of the Great Old One
- Wyvern
- Young Brass Dragon
- Young White Dragon
7 challenge rating
These monsters reward 2,900 points of experience per kill.
- Bheur hag
- Blue Slaad
- Draegloth
- Drow Mage
- Giant Ape
- Grick alpha
- Korred
- Mind Flayer
- Oni
- Shield Guardian
- Stone Giant
- Warlock of the fiend
- Young Black Dragon
- Young Copper Dragon
- Yuan-ti Abomination
8 challenge rating
These are worth 3,900 experience.
- Assassin
- Blackguard
- Chain Devil
- Cloaker
- Diviner
- Drow Priestress of Lolth
- Fomorian
- Frost Giant
- Githyanki Knight
- Green Slaad
- Hezrou
- Hydra
- Shoosuva
- Spirit Naga
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Young Bronze Dragon
- Young Green Dragon
9 challenge rating
These monsters have 5,000 experience hiding inside them.
- Abjurer
- Abominable Yeti
- Bone Devil
- Champion
- Clay Golem
- Cloud Giant
- Evoker
- Fire Giant
- Flind
- Glabrezu
- Gray Slaad
- Necromancer
- Nycaloth
- Treant
- Ulitharid
- War priest
- Young Blue Dragon
- Young Silver Dragon
10 challenge rating
You take 5,900 experience from these foes.
- Aboleth
- Alhoon
- Death Kiss
- Death Slaad
- Deva
- Froghemoth
- Guardian Naga
- Stone Giant Dreamwalker
- Stone Golem
- Yochlol
- Young Gold Dragon
- Young Red Dragon
11 challenge rating
You get 7,200 experience for killing these monsters.
- Behir
- Cloud Giant Smiling One
- Dao
- Djinni
- Efreeti
- Gynosphinx
- Horned Devil
- Marid
- Morkoth
- Remorhaz
- Roc
12 challenge rating
8,400 experience is rewarded upon death.
- Arcanaloth
- Archdruid
- Archmage
- Erinyes
- Frost Giant Everlasting One
- Ki-rin
- Warlord
- Yuan-ti Anathema
13 challenge rating
10,000 experience is yours after vanquishing these foes.
- Adult Brass Dragon
- Adult White Dragon
- Beholder
- Devourer
- Nalfeshnee
- Neothelid
- Rakshasa
- Storm Giant
- Ultroloth
- Vampire
- Young Red Shadow Dragon
14 challenge rating
These monsters are worth 11,500 experience.
- Adult Black Dragon
- Adult Copper Dragon
- Death Tyrant
- Elder Brain
- Fire Giant Dreadnought
- Ice Devil
15 challenge rating
These monsters reward 13,000 experience.
- Adult Bronze Dragon
- Adult Green Dragon
- Mummy Lord
- Purple Worm
16 challenge rating
15,000 experience points rewarded to the group when you take down these guys.
- Adult Blue Dragon
- Adult Silver Dragon
- Iron Golem
- Marilith
- Planetar
- Storm Giant Quintessent
17 challenge rating
18,000 experience points will be your just rewards for killing these monsters.
- Adult Blue Dracolich
- Adult Gold Dragon
- Adult Red Dragon
- Androsphinx
- Death Knight
- Dragon Turtle
- Goristro
18 challenge rating
The 18th challenge rating has only one monster in it, worth 20,000 experience.
- Demilich (outside of its lair)
19 challenge rating
Again, only one monster here, worth 22,000 experience.
- Balor
20 challenge rating
These four foes are worth 25,000 experience.
- Ancient Brass Dragon
- Ancient White Dragon
- Demilich (in lair)
- Pit Fiend
21 challenge rating
At this high rating, you are rewarded 33,000 experience.
- Ancient Black Dragon
- Ancient Copper Dragon
- Lich (not in lair)
- Solar
22 challenge rating
These two dragons and laired beast are worth 41,000 experience.
- Ancient Bronze Dragon
- Ancient Green Dragon
- Lich (in lair)
23 challenge rating
Take down one of these bosses for 50,000 experience.
- Ancient Blue Dragon
- Ancient Silver Dragon
- Empyrean
- Kraken
24 challenge rating
The toughest of dragons are worth 62,000 experience.
- Ancient gold dragon
- Ancient red dragon
30 challenge rating
For taking down the strongest monster in Dungeons & Dragons, you can get 155,000 experience.
- Tarrasque
