Encounter Builder: Homebrew Monster Spell Discrepancy (2014 vs 2024 Versions)

I've encountered an interesting issue while using the Encounter Builder, and I'm hoping someone might have some insight or a solution.

Here's the situation:

• I created an encounter using a homebrew version of a cult fanatic.
• I updated the spells for this homebrew monster using the [spells] tooltip tag to reflect the 2024 versions.
• When viewing the monster's individual page, the spells correctly show as the 2024 versions.
• However, when running the encounter and hovering over the spells, it displays the 2014 versions instead.

Has anyone else experienced this discrepancy? It seems like there might be a caching issue or some disconnect between the homebrew monster page and the encounter builder.

If you've encountered this problem or have any suggestions for a workaround, I'd greatly appreciate your input. It's a bit confusing during gameplay to have different spell versions showing up in different contexts.

Thanks in advance for any help or insights!

You have to remove the monster, add it back again, and re-save the encounter.

Quote from IamSposta >>

You have to remove the monster, add it back again, and re-save the encounter.

 So remove the monster from the encounter and remake the encounter? Not delete the monster from my homebrew database and remake it right?

I am encountering the same issue, even after deleting and recreating my encounter, the problem persists.

Workaround: Forcing Homebrew Monsters to Use 2024 (5.5e) Spells in Encounter Builder

I found a reliable workaround for an issue where D&D Beyond's Encounter Builder continues to reference Legacy (2014) spells, even after updating the spell tags in a homebrew monster.

The Problem

If you create a homebrew monster using a Legacy creature as the template, changing the spell references from "[ spell ]spellname[ /spell ]" to "[ spells ]spellname[ /spells ]" may not resolve the issue.  Note: In order to post this message I needed to add the spaces inside the brackets.  Do not use the spaces when editing or a Tooltip error may occur.

Even though the tags have been corrected, hovering over or clicking the spell in Encounter Builder can still bring up the Legacy version.

The Solution

The workaround is to create the monster completely from scratch using the 2024 ruleset.

1. Go to D&D Beyond's Homebrew Monster editor and select Create from Scratch rather than using an existing Legacy creature as a template.

2. At the top of the editor, select 5.5e from the ruleset dropdown.

3. Manually copy the creature's statistics, traits, actions, descriptions, and other relevant details from the original Legacy creature.

4. Update all spell references to use the 2024 tag format (Using the Sleep spell as an example):

   • Legacy: sleep : [ spell ]sleep[ /spell ]

   • 2024: sleep : [ spells ]sleep[ /spells ]

5. Save the new homebrew creature and use this version in Encounter Builder.

Naming Tip

I recommend adding (2024) to the creature's name to distinguish it from the Legacy version in the Encounter Builder's monster list.

For example, I named mine Dusk Hag (2024).

The Result

Using this method, Encounter Builder correctly references the 2024 versions of the spells when clicked or hovered over.

The important distinction is that simply changing the spell tags in a monster originally created from a Legacy template may not be sufficient. Creating the monster from scratch with the 5.5e ruleset selected resolves the issue.

Hopefully this saves someone else the troubleshooting time!