How do I convert D&D monsters into Daggerheart adversaries?

If you came here for a spreadsheet that turns AC and HP into Daggerheart numbers, I do not have one, and I do not think a reliable 1:1 formula exists. The tier, the adversary type and the job of the fight matter more than any converter. For whole adventures, I wrote about converting a 5e one-shot without converting monsters 1:1, which covers rebuilding scene by scene. Here I only want the habit for a single monster.

The hard line

I do not trust HP and AC maths. I ask what the monster is for at my table, whether that is solo pressure, a pack of hands, a swarm, a sniper or a face to talk to. Then I pick the tier for the night and the adversary type that does that job. The rules list Bruisers, Hordes, Leaders, Minions, Ranged, Skulks, Socials, Solos, Standards and Supports, and one of them almost always fits.

Reskin before you build

Once I know the tier and type, I take a printed adversary from that band and change the nouns. A Tier 1 Leader from the book can be a hobgoblin, a bandit chief or a foreman with a clipboard, and its numbers already fit the tier. I add a Fear feature only if I know I will spend it.

If nothing printed fits and I have to build from scratch, I use the stat block benchmarks in the SRD instead of the 5e numbers. A Tier 1 adversary sits around a +1 attack modifier, a Difficulty of 11 and thresholds of 7 and 12, so I start there and adjust.

One rebuild from my table

Before our Motherboard campaign, I ran a kitchen one-shot I had loved running in 5e, and its boss was a hobgoblin captain I used to play as a sticky elite with legendary-style reactions. The first time I ported him close to 1:1, and he just stood there soaking up hits. When I rebuilt him, he became a Tier 1 Leader with groups of Minion guards instead of a Solo with extra HP. His job was to make the guards dangerous, so I spent Fear on the moments where he gave orders and let the guards do the damage. The fiction was the same, and the fight stopped feeling like translated homework.

What I would do tonight

Write the monster’s job in one line, then pick its tier and adversary type. Reskin a printed block before you build one, and reach for the benchmarks only if nothing fits. The free sheets on the Resources hub are there if you want a pad for the fight.