#Tactical Templates

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tawdry silo
#

A mix of many systems, trying to make an easy to run set of monster "classes" lancer style, visually in the 4e style with 5e lingo

horriblemix.png
#

The goal with this project is to have templates that let you create a good portion of a monster's tactics before you add the finishing touches to make it a specific monster. The goal is not to make these templates in totality encompass all possible monsters. Prebuilt tactics and an easy way to quickly form a group of monsters that work together is what I"m going for

Link: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/7fuIgIxwVMw2

The Homebrewery - Make your Homebrew content look legit!
4e/5e/Lancer Monsters

No description.

#

the current testing grounds result

image.png
stoic raptor
#

"A level 17 mosquito appears"

tawdry silo
#

swat or die, your choice

stoic raptor
#

but also lookin' gud so far blobeyes
I could see the top bit being cramped for constructs and ghosts, though

nimble hound
#

I really like this format.

tawdry silo
#

it flows under the stat block if it goes long enough tho

#

like dis

image.png
#

also, I have plans to make a full stat block like this for every one of these monster classes that are mostly fantasy renames of the lancer NPC classes

image.png
#

we'll see how far my madness takes me

stoic raptor
#

You could go even further and abbreviate Armor Class and Hit Points (like '24 statblox)

tawdry silo
#

wait they abbreviated those? 👀

#

how did I not notice that, wow

#

tho, it won't earn me much room

nimble hound
#

You could also put conditions and damage type under the same Resistances and Immunities like 2024.
Resist: blinded, radiant
Immune: grappled, cold
Like that. The above is not taken from any monster.

tawdry silo
#

That's the plan! I do really like that they did that in '24

stoic raptor
#

What would a condition "resistance" do?

tawdry silo
#

adv on saves

#

tho I'll prob have to fully spell that out somewhere

nimble hound
#

Ye

tawdry silo
#

like the mosquito is resistant to grapple/restrained, so it should have advantage on saves to avoid those

nimble hound
#

True, better to clarify at the beginning of the book then have to repeat it in every applicable stat block.

hushed sedge
tawdry silo
#

The goal with these stat blocks btw would be to be able to do something like

The party faces a pair of Stirges. They are Mosquitos (drone, flight, latch-on), and also have Blood Sucker trait.
(Book then details blood sucker as it draining HP at start of turn while grappled)

#

so you can have a lot of custom monsters with modular stat blocks, and can still make even more unique monsters by just adding even more to an existing thing

hushed sedge
tawdry silo
#

we'll see if I hold out long enough lol, my current motivation is at a high but can shift unpredictably

hushed sedge
#

Mood

hushed sedge
tawdry silo
#

it took a lot of iterations (and help from Izzy today in #general_dnd)

hushed sedge
#

Tell me thouests secrets

hushed sedge
tawdry silo
#

I also based it heavily on 4e monsters

image.png
hushed sedge
#

It scratches a specific part of my brain lmao

tawdry silo
#

I love breaking parts of a stat block with color rather than Line ™️ like 5e does it

hushed sedge
#

I do both 😭 i shall never forget the pain of the different width within the same column events of the past

tawdry silo
#

I still find it crazy that 5e decided to do Bloodied again like 4e and past, but decided not to include the value on stat blocks

#

like, yah its just hp/2, but its so nice to just have the value there so you can go "ah they are lower than that value, they are bloodied"

hushed sedge
#

Wait i thought 5e explicitly DIDNT do bloodied lol

tawdry silo
#

5.24e did

hushed sedge
#

Ohhhh yeyeye sry

tawdry silo
#

but didn't put it back on the block 😭

hushed sedge
#

We rly need an easier way to say 5.24e 😭

tawdry silo
#

'24 is the best I have rn

#

5.5 works too

hushed sedge
tawdry silo
#

man why couldn't they just give it a new name 😭

hushed sedge
#

Cause they like fully have the room to include bloodied and other stuff if they wanted

tawdry silo
#

I appreciate them bundling saves at least, I ignored those things way too many times

#

now they are just right there

hushed sedge
#

Ok just saw the 24e stat block format, its better than 5e, but still ehhhh

tawdry silo
#

I'm gonna move the ranged sting to an optional trait as I realized that kinda forces a lotta would-be-mosquitos into a weird narrative

tawdry silo
#

also, one thing I'm still not super happy on but can't figure a better way to do it... the scaling effects of the base attacks. Mosquito only has the one and it just scales damage but others will be more complex. Is there a cleaner way to list how it improves as it tiers up? I originally had each level have its own copy of it with its own upgraded scaling but that ate so much room and forced a lot more back-and-forth referencing so I wasn't happy with it

image.png
nimble hound
#

Artillery Bombard has my vote.

tawdry silo
#

I'm also thinking about removing damage types in general from these stat blocks

#

As they are meant to represent a sorta... template for a creature rather than a full detailed creature

stoic raptor
#

Would that not mean having to specify that too? For a stirge, it'd probably deal necrotic, but idk a hellwasp would be fire or possibly poison (or both)

tawdry silo
#

while certainly not final, I think a special monster stat block might be something like this?

image.png
lapis ridge
#

I think that will RAPIDLY become unwieldy

tawdry silo
#

it feels like such a waste of space to reprint 70% of the stat block each time

#

but that would certainly fix my issue with the scaling attack

lapis ridge
#

Its not a waste if it becomes better to actually use

tawdry silo
#

Not untrue

#

Not like it's hard for me to do in homebrewery anyway

tawdry silo
#

spread out much more but its prob much easier to read now

image.png
#

I also changed the border color to match the main header color, which I think blends nicely

#

(closer shot)
the word mosquito has lost all meaning to me and looks wrong

image.png
#

tho, I still need to include level jumps in the optional features. Does this seem a good way to do it still?

image.png
tawdry silo
#

also, new version of an actual individual's stat block

image.png
tawdry silo
#

note, Crowd Killer's additional damage will scale as it gets higher level

nimble hound
# tawdry silo V1 complete

Looks sweet. The only note is that maybe have base entrench only ignore half cover and then upgrade later to ignore three quarters cover, but that's just a nitpick.

tawdry silo
#

do you mean arcing shots ignoring cover?

#

or that entrench should only start as half, not 3/4th?

nimble hound
#

My bad I meant arcing shots.

tawdry silo
#

🤔 I could see it. Either it can upgrade at a later level or an optional feature bumps it up

nimble hound
#

My vote would be for an upgrade at later level.

tawdry silo
#

#wotc_wording message Gonna try to clean up one of the attacks for the bombard and I'll expand it to the other levels soon

tawdry silo
#

finished em up, and I also think I've got a solid set of optionals too

image.png
stoic raptor
#

Funny interpretation of the immovable object feature; Looney Toons gravity
Sorry, gravity, the feature can't make me fall without a save. I'm staying riiiiight here!

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
stoic raptor
#

evoker maybe

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
tawdry silo
#

The evoker also had me testing the labels I wanna use for magical abilities. Since I don't wanna actually reference any spells and want everything written out in full for the monsters, I'm giving the abilities a "level" for things like dispel/counterspell

#

I might ask a brew channel for some ideas for optional features, but given this is almost not 5e with such dramatic styling and rewording it may not get much traction

#

made an example monster for it

image.png
stoic raptor
#

nice

tawdry silo
#

#homebrew message Giving it a shot while the channel isn't busy, lets see if anything happens or I just have to explain myself for 10 minutes then get no reply expression

tawdry silo
#

regardless, I think Evoker is finished. I can go back and fill in more optionals later, time to move on to the next one....

image.png
tawdry silo
#

Starting on the Dragon

image.png
tawdry silo
#

#brew_14 message Seeking support, we'll see what happens

stoic raptor
#

okay das cool
the delayed blasts, "charging aoe breath" and such are spicy

tawdry silo
#

Starting on Hex

image.png
#

meant to be kinda the "CC warlock"

stoic raptor
#

Having an attack named after the creature seems like it'd get confusing, is the maledict trait referring to the attack or the creature?

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
#

Basic boi time

image.png
tawdry silo
#

colossus, I really struggled with optional traits for it, but I think I have some other sources I can steal from later

image.png
#

also sapper started! Many more ideas for it

image.png
#

Sapper I think is gonna be an interesting role where it specializes in removing the advantages of the players. Pin can counter dodge/prone/blur type things, Crush counters armor builds, and Breach can break up cover that the players are relying on. Then its got optional features to cover even more areas

tawdry silo
#

sapper tactics

image.png
tawdry silo
#

I think I've finished the dragon, its got legendary actions now, more optional traits (burrow/swim options), and it has two more "ages"; youth (between wyrm/young) and elder (between adult/ancient). Ancient isn't statted yet as I consider it above the 17th level stuff, its a CR 21+ mostly, and I don't have a slot yet for that stuff

image.png
tawdry silo
#

I'm trying to figure out a proper way to word this trigger

image.png
#

the idea is that the berserker foe can be kinda gamed into attacking its allies via this, but it only works if the GM can't just choose to not use this reaction

#

I tried to put the "must be used on trigger" thing there to indicate that its not a choice, if its triggered it must execute, but I'm not sure if that's super clear?

nimble hound
#

Maybe specify the nearest creature and if there's more than one creature within the same distance you roll randomly. I.E. if there's two creatures roll a d6, creature A is 1-3 and creature B is 4-6.

tawdry silo
#

I think the random aspect is OK (or at least works in my head), the thing I can't figure out is how to force the monster to use this reaction when it gets hit, and not let it save it for a better moment when their allies move far enough away kinda thing

nimble hound
#

In that case I think the (must use on trigger) I clear enough

tawdry silo
#

fantastic

#

I might be getting in my head a bit too much with these wordings, I'm trying to make em brief enough to fit nicely but also explain their purpose without a GM having to reference some keyword sheet

nimble hound
#

I get it

tawdry silo
nimble hound
#

Cataphract

tawdry silo
#

Its starting to come together

image.png
tawdry silo
#

Priest complete

image.png image.png
tawdry silo
#

Also working on a tool to make running these templates a little easier, but we'll see where that goes

image.png
tawdry silo
#

Much progress has been made on the tool, its coming along nicely

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
#

punch man enters the brawl

image.png
nimble hound
#

I'm imagining a down time event where a player/the players can enter a tournament and each round is against the the next level version of this dude.

tawdry silo
#

its actually the same guy, he just has less training weights on him each time

lilac oracle
tawdry silo
#

At the start of the doc I'll put a small dictionary, but its using the onednd dazed condition (basically Tasha's Mind Whip)

nimble hound
tawdry silo
#

this will be the condition

image.png
#

this also reminds me I gotta put an end condition on that attack....

tawdry silo
#

The Abjurer

image.png
mellow dew
tawdry silo
#

I forgot to include the tactics blurb

image.png
stoic raptor
#

I never imagined abjurers as being "disturbing", now I wonder what this one did to unsettle people that much...

nimble hound
tawdry silo
#

But ye

nimble hound
#

Yeah figured

lilac oracle
#

Any objections if I field test these in #1351214364904132679 and report my findings when I get a chance?

tawdry silo
lilac oracle
tawdry silo
lilac oracle
#

Summoner

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
lilac oracle
#

Trapper

Sorry didn't read instructions it's early

tawdry silo
#

lmao its ok

tawdry silo
lilac oracle
#

Why not an ability to teleport the traps to an unoccupied space within 120 ft?

Trap
Elemental land mine
Place a trap that does 1d4 damage to any hostile creature with a range of 10 ft that fail vs a DC 14 dexterity save

The trap once placed is active for 10 minutes recharges every 24 hours

When a target fails in range they either take force, poison, acid, fire,cold,thunder, lightning, necrotic, or radiant damage

Half damage on a success

tawdry silo
#

gah forgot to rename the second trap in the description

#

also, new terms described better

image.png
lilac oracle
#

Nice it's a good clean up of my concept

tawdry silo
#

The illusionist! I really like False Barrier, it does so much with just a simple feature

image.png
#

Trying to perfect the wording of it as its a little confusing rn, we'll see if #wotc_wording message can help

tawdry silo
#

Little stuff like Blindspot meaning that a creature also can't target an ally with some buff spells is neat

tawdry silo
#

digital tool making good progress between templates

image.png
tawdry silo
#

@sharp hornet welcome to the thread

#

I do need to make a "template breakdown" page at some point that just explains every part of it like a dissection diagram

sharp hornet
#

Hello there!

tawdry silo
#

But ye, these templates are meant to be the foundation of the stat block. So its not like Shadow Dragon template where you take an existing dragon and +X and -Y to make a new guy, this is the starting place and you add stuff to it to make it into a guy

#

so like, if you want a goblin priest, you'd start by taking the Priest template, pick any optional prebuilt-traits you want to add to it, then add anything extra you need to make it the Goblin Priest that you want it to be

#

The goal is to have sorta "baked in tactics" to the stat blocks, where you can have a hundred different "Priest" role enemies each behaving uniquely but having a similar core design. Its sorta like classes and subclasses with players, where an enemy may recognize a wizard due to their spellbook and familiar and instantly know they gotta deal with that (but not know they are a conjuration wiz). The players can recognize "hey this is probably a priest" and use knowledge they've gained from other priests to better counter it.

sharp hornet
#

Ah, I see. The phrasing is a bit weird then. At least in 3e templates were added to creatures, not creatures to templates.

#

Do you want this to work with the MM?

tawdry silo
#

So, this was born out of my original idea of fully rebuilding the MM with my own styles with another rebuild project I was doing, realizing how much of an undertaking that would be, and realizing many of my issues with dnd is that too many enemies are just "meat bag with bonk stick". This is my attempt at making modular replacements for enemies that act more interestingly, but also can still be used alongside existing ones

#

so you can have a Goblin Priest and 3x basic 5e goblins, and BAM now its a slightly more interesting encounter

sharp hornet
#

I think I need to see that goblin stat block. I think the stirge is a pretty poor proof of concept because it should rarely get a template...and the template it gets, like Giant should probably work the 3e way with the Stirge as base and the Giant as the template for a Giant Stirge.

sharp hornet
#

Neither are found in the MM, so that's a lot of work.

#

As opposed to the reverse if you had a Priest modifier.

tawdry silo
#

Its certainly not as easy as something like how Flee Mortals already has a hundred various monsters each with a role and built-in flavor

#

but this was more designed with future-proofing and modular design in mind, with the ability to go "oh I want to make an Aarakocra set of foes, lemme just make an Aarakocra modifier and slap it on the templates I want to use"

#

The weakness of this ofc will be narrative/flavor, as the templates are entirely skeletal and have no inbuilt story or drive behind their actions. A GM is responsible for including that, though if they are being built to replace an existing stat block (like a goblin or a stirge) the GM can reuse the existing narrative

sharp hornet
#

I think you're taking the long way around. I think you could easily make this Priest a template for the MM monsters to get your Goblin Priest with half the work of this approach.

EG:

Priest:

+1 CR
Wisdom +2 score/+1 Modifier
Spell DC 8 + Wis modifier + PB

Action
Bane 1st level spell

#

I've already done this a bit with Foundry to add alternates.

tawdry silo
#

Right, you def can add the idea of a priest to any stat block. But the purpose with this is to have tactics built in

#

the preist isn't the priest because it can do a little cleric magic. Its the priest because it has that powerful warding bond feature, it can shield allies, invoke retribution. It forces the players to play a little different, rather than continue running at the nearest enemy and bonking

#

This project's goal is to change up the fights every time you use a template. The evoker lays down fields of damage such that players have to choose to stay in the blast or run away, the conjurer slowly but surely keeps summoning more and more threats and has to be focused down before they snowball, the bombard punishes the players that group up with AOE's that scale based on the number of targets hit forcing players to disperse or face the damage... etc etc

tawdry silo
#

To put in short, this project was born of my desire for a more dynamic "default" combat where tactics emerge from gameplay. "Enemy does X, players respond to X" rather than "Enemy does X, Player does Y, repeat till someone wins"

tawdry silo
#

This has made me realize I really need to write down my goals and intents for this somewhere...

tawdry silo
tawdry silo
#

if anything on there's confusing lmk as I do plan to make that the intro to the doc, I think its a good idea to have and I want it to be as clear as possible

#

alright @mellow dew, Conjurer. NGL, I am still very uncertain how exactly I want to handle its summons as I really don't want to make an entire stat block for each one, but I also don't want them to just feel super lame. Until I figure that out I'm not going to make optional traits for additional summons (as that's the plan, to make a lot of variant summons optional features)

image.png
#

(I also forgot to include the magic levels... pretend they are there)

#

Do you have any opinions on how to handle the summons?

#

(note, the ones in the standard block will be very generic and boring on purpose, the optional ones will have the Spice ™️)

mellow dew
tawdry silo
#

Radical

tawdry silo
#

@terse topaz Rampart 1.0!

#

lemme just repost it, there were a few other minor errors

image.png
tawdry silo
#

@terse topaz (and others), now that the rampart actually has a stat block with features, can you think of a better name than rampart to give a better description of its MO

#

the name originally was like, "they are making castle ramparts, standing at the head and daring people to come closer"

sharp hornet
#

In a modern game that would be something like Engineer.

#

Here I might simply go with Blocker.

#

I like Rampart, but it still took an explanation to know what you're going for.

#

I'm not sure what's different between Bulwark and Rampart.

tawdry silo
#

I do think it needs a new name, but "blocker" sounds so... square?

#

Engineer is def too high tech sounding too yah

sharp hornet
#

I think part of the issue is that this isn't a common archetype so we're failing to come up with a common name.

#

Rampart might be best because of that.

tawdry silo
#

so the Bulwark is meant to be the cover for the allies, think overwatch Reinhart/big guy you can't shoot past/etc. Rampart is meant to deploy the cover and focus on more CC than pure defense

#

Rampart narrows options, Bulwark protects and defends

sharp hornet
#

You could try something like Mantlet-eer or Pavise-lier

tawdry silo
#

I've also now realized I've yet to do a single Defender role template... gotta get one of those next

terse topaz
#

Maybe like, Builder? For something really generic

tawdry silo
#

I think that's too generic, not fantasy enough

#

builder feels like an NPC that won't fight back

terse topaz
#

Constructor? Shieldwright?

tawdry silo
#

Of the two, shieldwright seems the most interesting, but I'm still unsure

nimble hound
#

Armiger?

mellow dew
#

barricadeer... 🦌

tawdry silo
#

Barricade?

terse topaz
#

Barricader doesnt sound bad to me

mellow dew
#

constructor goes kind of hard as a guy that makes cover appear on the battlefield

#

fortifier?

#

bastioneer? 🦌

nimble hound
#

Steward?

mellow dew
#

palisader,

tawdry silo
#

I actually kinda like Barricade 🤔

mellow dew
#

fieldmason?

#

architect?

#

engineer isn't really necessarily modern either it's just kind of. still used

#

siegewright...

#

sapper?

tawdry silo
#

Already gotta sapper unfortunately

nimble hound
#

Keep Holder?

tawdry silo
#

The issue is so many irl titles for people who make things are never the same people who kill things

mellow dew
#

pavisar? i love made up shit

nimble hound
#

Turret?

#

Cover Fire?

mellow dew
#

shieldwright... coverwright.... i looove -wright...

tawdry silo
#

Bunker related term?

#

a fortification thing

#

Fortifier?

tawdry silo
mellow dew
tawdry silo
#

thought it sounded somewhat familiar

mellow dew
#

pioneer?

tawdry silo
#

not mobile enough

mellow dew
#

oh pavisar is not made up. that's just a guy using a pavise

tawdry silo
#

tempting, tho it forces a complete image for the template

mellow dew
#

something mantlet related.... but i dont think that has like. a name for the guy using it

#

mantletier. easy

#

also gabions related but there's no. name for the guy using it either. gabioneer

#

arbalest/arquebusier also looooves cover but it's more of a sniper guy and it also sounds so familiar that i think its already taken

#

trencher? kind of world war vibes thou

#

pioneer just feels so. moving into the frontline and setting up infrastructure core im not sure what not mobile enough meant 😔

mellow dew
tawdry silo
#

Honestly I'm between Barricade and Fortifier

mellow dew
#

yeah i think proper "person title" Fortifier is more appropriate out of those two. barricade kind of sounds like they're the bullwark

#

emplacer...

#

ok i have been squeezed of my creative juices i hope there is something salvagable in there :3c dog walking time

tawdry silo
#

thanks all y'all

tawdry silo
#

Making a "describe the stat block" page, does this read OK?

#

lemme just use this one instead for the post

image.png
sharp hornet
#

I lean Barricade, or perhaps Barricadier.

tawdry silo
#

The first defender 1.0, the Sentinel! Bet you could never guess what feat it is similar to

image.png
stoic raptor
#

Alert, obviously hmm

tawdry silo
#

a winnar is you!

tawdry silo
#

something I learned when making the sentinel is that the only ranged topple mastery weapon is the trident... weirdly

tawdry silo
#

a g-g-g-ghost!

#

currently only has some very simple (but very powerful) optional traits, I hope to make more powerful ones as well as new attacks. But its here!

versed trench
tawdry silo
#

I made it halfway in the Intangible optional trait

#

I wasn't sure how much I wanted the ghost template to only apply to literal ghosts, as I wanted it to also apply to like, rogues or even fey with strong hiding/invis abilities, so I didn't want it in the base

#

I might make the optional trait just straight up incorporeal movement, but I'm... uncertain

#

also @mellow dew I made a few optional summons for the conjurer, and I'm working on ways to show its level up progression. All of them take up a ton of space... I can't figure out a nice one yet

image.png
#

alternatively, I make it so summons don't scale and instead give the base conjurer exponentially more summon slots at higher levels... but that sounds like a not great idea

tawdry silo
#

Posted a request for help: #brew_14 message
I can't figure out a solution, lets hope someone has a good idea and is willing to interact

tawdry silo
#

OK, so, after the talks in #brew_14 and looking more at the most relevant source material here (Lancer), I think I have a solution, kinda

#

I'm going to minimize the number of moving parts, likely only scaling HP, Attack/DC, Damage, and Saves. I think I'm also going to make their save bonus equal to the conjurer's PB to simplify that scaling too

tawdry silo
#

new ver, still not 100% but I do think its better and leaves enough room for more summons

image.png
#

full boi

image.png
sharp hornet
#

I think the Lancer bit works because it's only got two upgrades. After three options it gets a bit jumbled.

#

I think you need to separate them for clarity. It loses it's simplicity, but it has to so you're not missing the right one, imo. eg:

FANG
Opportunist: Attacks have advantage....
Level 1: AC 12; HP 10 (5); Speed: 30 ft; Saves: +0
Attack: +4, 5 ft, one creature. HIT: 3 damage.
Level 5: AC 12; HP 15 (8); Speed: 30 ft.; Saves: +1
Attack: +5, 5 ft. one creature. HIT: 5 damage.
Level 9:....

#

Formatting tbd.

tawdry silo
sharp hornet
#

Yes. I shifted the Feature up so it's easier to find why you want this summon and gets it out from amongst the clutter of the levels.

#

The real question for me is Servant since it doesn't upcast should it's stats be below it's feature.

#

I'm not super excited by them getting a static save bonus. I kind of want saves to be different so you have an interesting choice on what you attack with. Beast Spirits like Fang might get adv on Str and Dex for example. While Undead like Shroud might have adv on Con checks.

tawdry silo
#

sure, but the summons should be so weak that it doesn't really matter which save u use

sharp hornet
#

So every answer is the right answer? I'm not sold on that.

tawdry silo
#

a +4 bonus to saves at level 17 is... extremely bad

#

these summons should never steal the show in any way, they are just force multipliers

sharp hornet
#

So is the optimal approach to the Conjurer just to focus fire on them and ignore their summons?

tawdry silo
#

yes, and the goal of the conjurer is to make that not easy

#

part of this project also is to have more cooperative enemies, so the conj wouldn't just be alone. They'd have allies preferably ones that can help displace the players, slow them, or otherwise prevent the players from melting the conj

sharp hornet
#

I'll just go back to my starting statement for how I think the summons should be formatted.

NAME
Features
Level 1
Level 5
...

tawdry silo
#

Alternatively, I cut tier 5 and tier 13, then its just 3 variants

#

so just level 1/9/17 versions

tawdry silo
#

It has the perk of not needing to parse all that data, though it works really weird when there's stuff like the Shroud that has both varying stats and ability

sharp hornet
#

I noticed that with Shroud, but Shroud is the exception. If they all did that I might feel differently.

#

I think it's better than the others...but I'd still push the Feature up to the top and have all the stats behind their level, even level 1.

#

The feature at the top pushes why you want to summon this one over that one, the Opportunist (do I have extra creatures around) vs the Shroud (do I need to obscure vision).

#

For the DM that's the most important part of the summon. They've already made the choice of what level the NPC is so there's no choice in what level the summon is.

#

Or at least that's what I'm looking for. I want it out front not in between stats and attacks.

tawdry silo
#

tbf, shroud being 1/3 is hard to view as an exception, I don't know what other summons I might add

#

though I could just "fix" shroud by starting it in a middle slot and never upgrading it for simplicity

tawdry silo
sharp hornet
#

That's what I'd do. Your unique feature is right at the top and everything you need to run the summon at it's level is collected together.

tawdry silo
#

altered both now

image.png
sharp hornet
#

I wonder if you could fit the 9th and 17th at the end of their stat blocks lines. eg:

Level 9: AC 9, HP 24, Speed 20 ft, Shroud 30 ft radius

tawdry silo
#

🤔 maybe, though shouldn't the ability and its upgrades all be in one place?

sharp hornet
#

I'm ambivalent about that. I see the reasoning there, but this is a quick stat block and I'm looking at the 9th level line for This creature.

#

Maybe even add the shroud radius to all the level lines and take that detail out of the Feature.

#

So anytime you use it you're looking at the Clouded Form and the shroud radius in the stat line.

#

You don't miss that at 13th it's 30 ft because it's listed as 9th.

#

It's not bad as is, I'm just musing about how to set it up so DM's don't miss the details in the moment.

tawdry silo
#

so like this?

image.png
sharp hornet
#

Yes.

#

Every number you need in one line.

tawdry silo
#

I can work with that

#

should I include any kinda note in the feature description to signal that the radius is given in the stat lines?

#

or is it clear enough

sharp hornet
#

I think it's clear enough, but I'd get some new eyes on it to check.

#

Maybe just a "radius (listed below)"

#

For absolute clarity.

tawdry silo
#

maybe something like

Clouded Form. :: The shroud emanates a cloud in a radius (size varies by level) that heavily obscures the area. Its conjurer can see through this area.

sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

With popular demand, the Healer! I've gotta make some more optional traits for them, but honestly they already have a fair few good ones.

image.png
#

@mellow dew, @sharp hornet, @rapid nymph, and @frank quiver, feast your eyes (and criticisms)

mellow dew
#

maybe optional trait to grant one creature death saving throws? :3 it's so so cool

#

like as opposed to dropping dead at 0

tawdry silo
#

Also some helpful rules for those new here

SPOILER_image.png SPOILER_image.png SPOILER_image.png
tawdry silo
frank quiver
#

Oh that second chance could be fun

tawdry silo
#

The goal for every support type template is to make players go "man I can't do anything while that guy's around", and Second Chance would be the ultimate form of it lol

#

I do wonder if I can make it more clear that this benefit it only active because the healer is around... maybe require the healer move adjacent to a 0 HP enemy to let them revive?

#

On a result of 1-3, it dies. On a result of 4-6, it becomes stable at 0 Hit Points until it takes damage again. If the healer moves adjacent to a creature stabilized in this way, it immediately gains 1 Hit Point.

tawdry silo
#

I've made all the various levels of Healer now too, see the others in the doc link (top of forum post)

image.png
#

At max level its kinda a lot, if they wanted to focus heal one guy they could totem them for 50 HP, restore once for 25 Temp HP, then restore them again to cleanse all conditions on them. Not to mention if they had optional traits

#

tho also at max level players are dishing like, 100 damage per turn so maybe I need to make it even stronger meowsip

#

eh, I'll leave more optimized parties to face 2x healers at once

sharp hornet
#

I'm curious, do your players ever get to drop Totems?

tawdry silo
#

drop totems? What u mean?

#

The totem is based on the Healing Spirit spell, so that's the closest a player gets to imitating that ability. There's also a chance a GM might use this NPC as an ally to the players, in which case... stronk

sharp hornet
#

I was just curious if it's a NPC only style effect or if it worked for both.

tawdry silo
#

nah I'd never put this in a player's hands, infinite healing on a Recharge would go insane

tawdry silo
#

@sharp hornet duelist! Only got a handful of optionals so far, but I think the vision is there

image.png
sharp hornet
#

With that Focused Defense I'd consider dropping the ranged attack. Something that's a more like a dagger toss with limited uses but not a reliable ranged attack.

#

I like the rest of it. It feels well done.

tawdry silo
#

I could drop their Dex a little bit and have them be more STR based, which would make the ranged attack less reliable? I try to make every attack based on an actual weapon with mastery, and the shot rn is based on the light crossbow's Slow

#

the javelin also throws so I could do that?

#

cut the STR by 1 and change the weapon to a javelin and bam, double tiny nerf

image.png
sharp hornet
#

I understand the mechanical importance of that. I still would lean dagger. I might add to that an effect where the target has disadvantage on ranged attacks and concentrations saves because of it's disruption.

#

Reducing speed might be great if they want to leave, but it might be terrible if they were approaching anyway.

tawdry silo
#

The idea was to give them a route to prevent quick characters from dashing to safety and also hamper the movement of someone such that they can loop around the group and single out the slowed character

#

it can backfire if there's only one martial and it just slows their approach though yah

sharp hornet
#

Maybe give them a Dodge+Dash action instead?

#

Also I'm not sure about Focused Defense and Parry. I keep thinking about how you want them to shine in that one v one, but how to get the player to engage with that rather than it being so much better to avoid that. I'm a bit ambivalent about how to build it to get the best encounter out of it.

tawdry silo
#

🤔

tawdry silo
#

Thinking on this, it is odd that this monster can't manufacture the situation it needs to shine. Hampering shot might sometimes trigger it but that requires the duelist place itself between the Frontline and backline of the players so it'd get melted

#

Ofc typically there will be a player separate from the group in most battles, or spin around someone to position itself such that only one player is adjacent...

#

Maybe having a limited use dash+disengage action wouldn't be bad. I kinda like them having perma dodge with focused defense where players can use positioning to counter it

sharp hornet
#

I kind of wonder if a Player is playing a "duelist" how would you make a fight against this Duelist pop, or do you always want to gang up on them and not "fight fair"? As is it feels like that epic moment might just be frustrating as they're hard to hit.

#

I can totally see an encounter where the Duelist stands forward and makes a challenge (with or without Compelled) and a martial player jumps at that moment.

tawdry silo
#

I see it more like the swashbuckler's thing

#

Where they excel when they can isolate, but are fine when not

tawdry silo
#

I think it should be frustrating to 1v1, as that's what this guy's whole shtick is to encourage teamwork. But if you were to manufacture an actual 1v1 forced situation, like an actual duel, it would be quite mean to use this stat block

tawdry silo
#

I wonder if thats a bad thing... I feel like certain templates being a soft-counter for specific playstyles is OK provided it only counters niches and not super general playstyles (like totally anti-magic/anti-martial), but should the nature of the countering try to avoid "annoying" methods and instead focus on more "resistance" stuff?

sharp hornet
sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

So the main vibe I want this template to accomplish is
A) Its good at focusing down a single target
B) Its bad if it has to swap targets

#

I angled towards it being a 1v1'er, but that is just the route I decided on to accomplish A and avoid B

#

I wanted it to be focused on melee because its way harder for players to ever avoid being focused by a ranged unit with there not being guaranteed cover

sharp hornet
#

I don't think any of that is a bad direction.

#

or are you asking for a new name?

tawdry silo
#

maybe, or perhaps a new route of achieving the goals

sharp hornet
#

I'm wondering if there's a recognizable term for when predators pick of the creatures at the edge of the pack. Like Harrier or something. That could leave Duelist for a more lieutenant role to make a good dueling encounter.

tawdry silo
#

swashbuckler's feature that does that is Rakish Audacity

#

which doesn't really fit

sharp hornet
#

Rake might work though.

#

def: a dissolute man in fashionable society

tawdry silo
#

it may fit by definition, but its such a rare word I don't think people would understand it

sharp hornet
#

Yeah.

#

So the crux of the issue as I see it is the Parry and Focused Defense stacking making that 1v1 situation annoying as you have difficulty hitting.

#

Maybe if Focused Defense was an Action with Riposte as a reaction it might thread that needle.

#

That would change Focused Defense basically to a Dodge.

#

Either you go 1v1 and they strike as an action and Parry as a reaction or you gang up on them and they Dodge as an action, and Riposte as a reaction.

tawdry silo
#

Hmm, perhaps it is a bit too defense focused for a striker role

#

I think parry fits duelist a bit too well to cut, but focused defense could shift to the opposite side: making them hit easier in a 1v1 rather than making you hit less

#

(make it melee only too)

#

perhaps require it start its turn with a hostile adjacent to trigger as well, so constant disengaging still works

#

The duelist’s Melee attacks gain advantage if the duelist starts its turn with exactly one hostile creature adjacent to it. It loses this benefit if it breaks adjacency with the triggering creature.

sharp hornet
#

I think I'm also running up against 5e's martial simplicity. I want more out of this encounter and I'm "taking it out" on your Duelist.

#

Focused Offense is growing on me. That plays into what the Duelist wants to do, and allows space for Parry.

#

The Player can work out how they're going to get advantage to counter them.

tawdry silo
#

I do think looking back this guy was way too defensive

#

though, focused offence now counter-synergizes with Vexing Strike

sharp hornet
#

True. Maybe Sapping strike to match the Longsword?

tawdry silo
#

isn't that just back where we started then?

sharp hornet
#

Or return to the drawing board for the Trait....

tawdry silo
#

perhaps

sharp hornet
#

yeah. I still have to look up the Weapon Masteries.

tawdry silo
#

maybe like... it gains temp HP if it starts adjacent to only one hostile?

sharp hornet
#

I like that.

tawdry silo
#

a little tanky-ness, and completely visible to players

#

The duelist gains 5 Temporary Hit Points if it starts and ends its turn with the same hostile creature adjacent to it and it is never adjacent to another hostile creature during its turn.
A bit wordy, but its there

#

alt

The duelist gains 5 Temporary Hit Points at the end of its turn if it starts and ends its turn with the same hostile creature adjacent to it. It does't gain this benefit if it is adjacent to another hostile creature during its turn.

sharp hornet
#

What about just making it be the end of the turn? KIS, baby!

tawdry silo
#

🤔 sure, worst case it just dances around someone to ensure they are only adjacent to one but that risks opportunity attacks so its a price

#

back to defense, but less annoying style counter

image.png
#

"exactly one"

lilac oracle
tawdry silo
#

as a formatting update, I've included CR in the header of each template so it can be more easily used alongside existing monsters

image.png
#

as while the level works perfectly fine if you are only using templates, I realized that if you wanna mix and match it becomes harder to utilize

#

this does make the PB a bit weird as technically monsters don't get PB bumps until their CR is 5/9/13/17, but... eh

sharp hornet
#

I've come to a point where I don't think that CR and PB should be locked in. If I want a Fire Giant conscript I don't want that +4 PB, but if that Fire Giant is the king's champion then it might be +5 or more.

tawdry silo
#

For the purpose of this project at least, PB equals player PB when it's built to be an equal foe

sharp hornet
#

The idea is that you could add the Duelist to a Fire Giant, right? If so, then how do you modify the Level/CR?

#

I don't remember that from the example you showed me.

tawdry silo
#

So these templates are made to be the foundation, then u add flavor to fit the particular monster u wanna make

#

So a fire giant duelist would start with a duelist, then u add fire giant traits to it

sharp hornet
#

I with you so far.

tawdry silo
#

However, u also can just nab the abilities of the duelist and slap em on a dnd monster, it's not made for that tho

#

So for the fire giant duelist, I'd grab the duelist stat block for the tier I want them in, give em fire giant stuff like being a huge giant, fire immune, and flavor the weapon as a massive thing

sharp hornet
#

Add a bonus to Str and Con?

tawdry silo
#

I'm not sure yet if I'm gonna have specific instances of a template change the stats

#

As yah, a giant should have beefy STR/CON, but that'd change up many numbers in the block

sharp hornet
#

I think you need to if this is going to be a complete system.

#

Wouldn't changing the damage of the weapon change the Level/CR?

tawdry silo
#

Yeah. That's the issue.

sharp hornet
#

If you don't add to things, then I'd drop the "template" from the title. Templates should modify something, or at least be modified. Without the modification you're just making new creatures.

tawdry silo
#

🤔 maybe I can make a template (the kind u apply to a block, not these) for each creature type to better fit specific blocks? Like, the giant may not have massive STR/CON stats, but would gain a trait that gives it adv on all str/con rolls

sharp hornet
#

I think that's a compromise that's not really going to satify many.

tawdry silo
sharp hornet
#

What I think of when I see Templates is like how to quickly make a Giant Wolf from a Wolf block and Giant template (or Wolf template and Giant block) , or a Dire Wolf from a Wolf block and a Dire template (or vice versa).

tawdry silo
#

this is exactly what these are no? A model for others to copy, a preset format to be duplicated without having to remake

#

its annoying that the only place dnd uses "template" is for stuff like shadow dragon where its explicitly a "apply template to existing" rather than a "start from template" which makes this confusion

sharp hornet
#

Like Fire Giant Duelist is Fire Giant + Duelist.

#

I'm not real attached to which one is the core and which is the modifier.

tawdry silo
#

So I've always seen the word used like, you make a document template and now you have a standard document that you can use to turn into anything else. Use that template to turn it into a presentation, or turn it into a resume, etc

#

like, if you google resume template, you don't get existing resumes + templates, you get a formatted sheet that is ready for you to enter the details into

sharp hornet
#

Sure, in both that, and DnD you have a base and a modifier.

tawdry silo
#

what other words would you use then? Preset implies a completed thing, "model" implies this is how you should do it rather than one way to do it, guide implies lack of functionality

#

template to me implies a base from which to complete

#

looking at every definition of template on google seems to line up with what I'm doing

sharp hornet
#

I'd say that a template approach, at least for creatures, would include a base and a modifier. I see that base, but I don't get the modifiers.

tawdry silo
#

is this less of an issue with the word and more just where dnd has already used the term confusing it?

#

I mean, there are modifiers, the Optional Traits

sharp hornet
#

DnD already uses the term so that's what I was expecting when I started commenting. You had to explain to me that this is nothing like that. I'd guess that happens from time to time, and there's probably people who just move on rather than engage. So that's something to consider based on your goals.

tawdry silo
#

ironically, Lancer also uses the term templates for the same things which is where I took it from

sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

Hmm, annoying if that word is conflicting, as I don't see any other great alternatives

sharp hornet
#

Sure, but how much is that because they're giant mechs that have a set design template "as they roll off the assembly line".

#

I don't think you need the word template involved here at all.

#

You're doing an alt MM.

#

They don't use the word for their base stat blocks.

tawdry silo
#

blueprint sounds too modern... framework sounds too technical... archetype is already used in dnd too...

#

tho the whole thing about this is that these stat blocks are not complete, they are devoid of soul. They are a skeleton of mechanics which you place within a body of flesh and blood to form into a distinct creature. There is no set of 5 goblin stat blocks and a beholder, there is a base set of numbers that you turn into a guy

sharp hornet
#

This really reminds me of Essential NPCs.

tawdry silo
#

🤔 maybe I can just call these monster classes

sharp hornet
sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

Well, a PC class isn't really "applied" to an existing thing, its a new formation. A new PC is a class with a race with a background, not a CR 5 knight given fighter levels

#

Hmm, if that concept is an issue I'd have to make some word that implies entire newness, but also incompleteness

#

which seems impossible?

sharp hornet
#

Class + Race is enough. The Monsterous races make it a bigger deal. In 3e some of those counted for class levels.

tawdry silo
#

theoretically, if I did make "templates" for each race type that you could combine with each class template to create a new monster, that would work right?

sharp hornet
#

An Fire Giant Duelist is going to be at a different place than a Goblin one.

tawdry silo
#

monster race + monster class = monster

#

hmm, I was considering making race based templates, which will be a little strange since I do have a literal dragon class... but I think that could help?

sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

eww, I just realized how open ended that's gonna be for the more vague ones like Aberration

#

giant, beast, even humanoids are gonna be more concrete

sharp hornet
#

I mean there's like eight? types of giant?

#

How many Aberrations are going to be Duelists?

tawdry silo
#

If I want this to be truly customizable, the answer is not how many, its yes

sharp hornet
#

Some creatures I think the modifier would probably be rare, like the wolf example.

tawdry silo
#

a wolf sniper would go hard

#

but yah, these are meant to work alongside the MM so they don't have to replace everything that already works fine

#

(which is most things), its more making new stuff

sharp hornet
#

Which does ask the question: Do you want an Orc who happens to be a Duelist or a Duelist who happens to be an Orc?

tawdry silo
#

the latter, I think? Or perhaps an orc duelist is simply an orc duelist

#

I'd rather have it be simply a whole unit created by a mixing process

sharp hornet
#

How are you going to get there? Some creatures are stronger/quicker/hardier/smarter/etc. than others. Some "jobs" or "classes" need to be stronger/quicker/etc. than others.

tawdry silo
#

🤔 same way with players imo, sure they might have better STR on average as an orc, but based on their background and training and environment they can fulfill any class role requirements

#

this giant isn't actually that strong, they are just big. They trained with a fine thrusting blade as they were not as strong as their siblings. They are the fire giant duelist

sharp hornet
#

Sure, but how to translate that into an integrated statblock?

tawdry silo
#

sorta like player races have 1-3 traits you apply to a stat block to embody the creature they are

sharp hornet
#

I don't think this is going to get you there. Giants defining characterisc is strength, as we see in potions and belts.

#

If the Fire Giant has a +1 Str that's not really going to feel like it works, even if they have advantage.

tawdry silo
#

then don't make a giant with a non STR based class template?

#

if a GM wants to make them a DEX based template go for it, but if they want them to always be strong, use STR ones

#

I think by being a giant they will have bonuses to STR/CON, but that won't change the role/purpose of the template

sharp hornet
#

I think this idea has a lot of potential, but I think that approach limits it severely.

tawdry silo
#

like, the giant may gain adv on STR/CON saves/ability checks, but not adjust the actual values

#

adv is effectively a ~+3-4 to a roll anyway, so it works

sharp hornet
#

I don't think you can really do a giant without changing those numbers and to some degree that continues down the line. You want your Goblins to be Dexy and your Orcs to be Stry, so that Goblin Duelist feels different than the Orc one.

#

I think advantage should be used sparingly, espcially when you have the numbers in front of you in the stat block.

tawdry silo
#

OK but, I don't want the GM to have to do math to figure out the stats of a creature and change the attack values to match

#

a Player can do that during chargen, this shouldn't require that same process

#

the stats have to fit with the part that gives it its attacks and AC and stuff, so the class

#

Maybe... under each race I note which templates they best fill?

sharp hornet
#

I think that's just about recording things in a way that's clear what you're using. Either something like:

Explosive Hurl
Int DC vs Dexterity save

adding a DC line in the stats.

~or~

Explosive Hurl
DC 11 (Int + Prof) Dexterity

making it clear what's modified so it's easy to find when adding species.

#

Granted Int wasn't a great example in current 5e.

sharp hornet
#

Like you said the MM works in ways, so how does this elevate what the MM starts with?

tawdry silo
#

so, mission statement: primary goal of this project is to make new monsters with built in tactical options. I'm doing this via making diverse templates that a GM can fill in details on to form into a creature and have it immediately ready to go

sharp hornet
#

What details are you expecting? just the Optional Traits?

tawdry silo
#

tactics are good, that part is going along well. Hot and ready is good for now, but if I add in new steps where the GM can't just use the stat blocks and has to either reprint it manually changing values or remember modifications, that ruins that

sharp hornet
#

(Also option 3:

Smart Chummer
Int +2, add +1 to any Int based attacks, or DC's)

sharp hornet
tawdry silo
#

I don't know what Essential NPCs is

#

but this isn't meant to be "jobs" its meant to be "tactical roles". Sorta like player classes, but a little more niche

sharp hornet
#

The tactial role always reminds me of 4e.

tawdry silo
#

it do be in the title of this forum for a reason 😉

#

looking at the essential NPCs, it does look like we are doing similar things yah

sharp hornet
#

To me that suggests that I have my ...orcs...but want them more tactical, so I need to apply this so I now have my Striker orcs and Defender orcs and a Leader orc.

#

But I still want them to be orcs.

tawdry silo
#

So the idea is you've got your orcs, but you want them to be more tactical. So you swap out one of the orcs with a Duelist, another with a Barricade, and the rest you leave as 5e orcs

#

at its most basic with minimal customization, you literally just use those stat blocks 1 for 1 and give it the name "duelist orc". +1 complexity to add some optional traits to mix things up, +1 realism to add common orc traits to it too

#

if you've got the spare time to prep, you even add in your own custom traits/actions to make em even more fancy, beyond what I've already provided

#

ironic that 2024 actually did something similar-ish, they also replaced specific blocks like the thug or the drow assassin with a generic "tough" and "tough boss" or "assassin"

tawdry silo
sharp hornet
#

KIS, turned up to 11.

tawdry silo
#

Maybe I should do the same meowsip

#

also, they used archetype, maybe I steal that

sharp hornet
#

I suppose I might go make some 3e style templates for Foundry then. No worries about modifying things when the VTT does it for you.

#

Though a website could probably do the same.

tawdry silo
#

I could let that be an upgrade for people who use my web tool I suppose

#

but I'd hate to force stat changes without it

sharp hornet
#

I mess with creatures enough that it doesn't bother me, and what I'm looking for is some quick guidelines to do it.

tawdry silo
#

maybe I can have a recommendation thing, where if people do wanna do more adjustments

#

sorta like recommended ASI for races post TCE

sharp hornet
#

I think that's a good idea. For the PC races that should be pretty easy, even if you add some traits to round them out.

#

It's the "monsterous" races that get tricky.

tawdry silo
#

planning to test these in a bossfight soon so I made some complete templates

image.png image.png
tawdry silo
#

I got to test them! Unfortunately my party had some incredibly well placed and unsuccessfully saved against CC so they didn't get to do much, but it did give me some insight into how to run them at least

tawdry silo
#

So, some things I learned from the playtest detailed here for my own reference as well as for others to see how it can be experienced. I also used an additional pair of stat blocks, pictured here.

image.png
#

Bodyguard

  • The bodyguard action being 1/day made it basically instantly lose it because the party managed to incapacitate it for 1 round, so it broke adjacency. This also made me realize it technically has no end condition, and I'd 100% consider it unable to remain adjacent to break it
  • The bodyguard relies on enemies trying to get away from it, and my loadout didn't have enough threats/CC to convince players to move much around it. Gotta keep that in mind next time
  • I homebrewed a reaction for it that I really liked, it moved into an AOE that affected its bodyguarded target and protected a cone behind it from the last, granting those targets 3/4 cover + evasion at the cost of the bodyguard auto-failing the save. Gonna add that
    Santifier
  • This guy did pretty solid, got off some good heals.
  • However, they failed at their main task of Warding Bond due to being incapacitated early and rolling bad to regain it.
  • They also were obscured from their allies, making them unable to really do anything as they required LOS for much
  • It was hard for me to remember that Warding Bond shared the magic resistance, maybe doubling the wording to also be in the Divine Protection trait would help?
    Berserker
  • This guy was very fun, I liked the random attacks
  • Free advantage when they got hit was a fun mechanic to make players somewhat want to avoid them but also not avoid them so much that they let them keep getting free damage, exactly my goal with this tactical template
  • I never needed to use Pursuit or Charge as I always had people in reach, so those didn't get tested
  • Enraging Presence was neat, but wasn't able to be used to full effect as the Monk stayed near them and a single punch was basically free
#

Illusionist

  • Blurred Form + AOE was a bit hard to remember as the AOE is deceptively large (and the party used a lot of darkness/fog cloud). But it was effective, and the players learned about the whole "damage breaks it for a round" late into the fight and engaged with it well
  • Bolt of Confusion making people invisible to the target was useful and interesting, but was a confusing mechanic for the players to fully understand. They kept thinking they were blind, but they were still able to target points with spells and stuff like fireball/darkness
  • False Barrier was very powerful but underutilized by allies. DC may be a bit low as every PC that ran through it succeeded, even tho most had not great CHA
  • False Impression was extremely powerful, which was perfect. It made the party stop trying to insta-rush the Boss and turn to face the support, which is their goal
#

Blaster

  • Ironically, this enemy only hurt its allies. Players could tank an opportunity attack against the mooks and were highly evasive, and the mooks suffered the difficult terrain and got exploded, lmao. I might want this to have an innate Careful Spell style thing...
  • I wasn't able to see much of what they could do as they got insta CC'd to death round 2 😔
#

Dragon

  • This specific dragon also got insta CC'd to death so fast it only got one round of battle 😔
  • However, I had earlier tested a vanilla dragon that used some of the optional traits I made, specifically Elemental Scour (the telegraphed aoe blast). Players were confused why they had disadvantage on the save (they thought they could tank it with evasion) as they felt a move being telegraphed should make it easier to dodge rather than harder. This should be more clearly communicated to avoid this issue
#

So in summary
Bodyguard: 2/10, needs buffs, could be better with the homebrew move I gave it. Requiring a perfect support combo to be able to do its core conceit as a Defender seems a bad thing
Sanctifier: 7/10, mostly suffered due to the party being a good counter rather than its own failures
Berserker: 9/10, did exactly what I wanted out of these stat blocks, might want to make more interesting optionals
Illusionist: 8/10, very good at its job, still a bit confusing at times
Blaster: 3/10, needs more testing to be certain
Dragon: 7/10, seems good but needs more testing to be certain, the dangerous moves should be better communicated

tawdry silo
#

🤔 I may want some features to have a "read aloud" portion, for clarifying to players exactly what's about to happen when there's a visibly telegraphed thing happening

#

tho at the same time, maybe not? Maybe they should learn by experience and not have the DM protect them from danger

sharp hornet
#

I'm trying to have more telegraphing, especially for large and larger creatures. I want them to feel slow and deliberate so I tend to give them multiple turns and sometimes set up actions, like "the Deep Breath" before the breath weapon.

tawdry silo
#

I buffed both Sentinel (bodyguard) and Evoker (blaster) by moving one of their optional traits to the core of the stat block. Sentinel got its Intercept reaction which lets it move when a hostile creature moves, and Evoker got a "sculpt spells" style trait to avoid nuking allies as hard

sharp hornet
#

Those sound pretty solid. I especially like how the Evoker matches the subclass.

tawdry silo
#

Always nice to have a bit of monster/player symmetry without being a direct 1:1

#

I'm somewhat tempted to make a template for every subclass, but I don't think some have very distinct combat styles (at least in 5e)

sharp hornet
#

Yeah that can be tricky. The wizards I think are peak for making unique ones, especially the school specialists.

#

They can really push a particular approach, and therefore lead the Players to understanding their approach and making tactical choices around that.

tawdry silo
#

Tactical Templates

#

So its been a while since I last messed with this (nearly a YEAR 🤯 ). But I am returning

#

The campaign will start at 6th level, so my main goal is to try to get as many of these blocks up and running with 5th level variants of each usable

#

looking back at the doc and seeing this wheeze

image.png
lucid crystal
#

this is how I do them for my online campaign, if that's of any use

image.png
tawdry silo
#

Excel?

lucid crystal
#

Yeah. Annoying to do formatting in, but neat if I want to integrate something semi-automated

tawdry silo
#

I remember doing something a while back where I made it easier to quickly adjust formatting globally for all my spells during design iterations with that kinda stuff, wonder if you could do a similar thing to make typing up a stat block easy and have it output the formatted version elsewhere

image.png
#

Though I am considering looking into onion statblocks more and seeing what I can learn from them to incorporate

tawdry silo
#

Currently I am working on moving the base source of these blocks to a more digitally usable template form (.json) as since these blocks are more complex, I really wanna have them work with a digital tool for my own use

tawdry silo
#

I had an old site I'd been working on to do this, but ngl the code was really hard to interpret after all this time (and it was kinda ugly), so I worked on rebuilding it from scratch

image.png
#

making good progress thus far

tawdry silo
#

Very good progress

image.png
#

the great pain will be fully translating all the templates into .json format with proper entries for everything the page needs in order to display it painsmile

tawdry silo
#

But... once its done it should make it much easier to modify and test

#

Started with the built-in AI in VSCode trying to translate stuff and it does ok but does AI things and changes formatting randomly at times so gotta check all its work and fix it anyway

tawdry silo
#

Current progress, most are in and formatting is so far working, just need to add in some more existing templates (priest, pugilist, sapper, sentinel, trapper, warrior)

tawdry silo
#

Its done! Well, at least all the text is now present in digital form it just needs to be put into the right boxes

image.png image.png
#

most of these were already blank to start with as I hadn't done everything yet

tawdry silo
#

Beginning the Giant template

image.png
tawdry silo
#

More complete

image.png
#

Gonna need to get some more ideas for Optional Traits, will hit up a homebrew chat

#

oh rip forgot to update Massive Crush's wording

tawdry silo
#

#brew_14 message we shall see if it gets any attention

tawdry silo
#

In case anyone's curious, here's how the file is laid out for these guys. Each array (the [] things) is for each tier of it, for instance looking at the STR ability you can see its Strength modifier at level 1, 5, 9, 13, 17

image.png image.png image.png
#

Which makes it much easier to make the higher tiers of these guys as I can just add more values to each array and it'll process it on the web side

tawdry silo
#

TODO: Archer, Assassin, Bulwark, Elementalist, Guardian, Inventor, Raptor, Scout, Sniper
Exempting solo-class foes, this is what I got left that has no work done on it yet

Anyone got a vote for which one of these I should do next? Attached pic has descriptions of each one's purpose

image.png
tawdry silo
#

Random wheel has chosen Elementalist, but I also want to figure out a better name for them as the name evokes imagry of a wizard/sorcerer, but I want them to be durable

#

#quick_questions message asking for ideas for the name

tawdry silo
#

Found a name I like for the time being, Warden

#

protector vibe, slow, hard to escape, and "ward" evokes magic mentality in this context with elemental protections

frank quiver
#

Are names strictly one word?

tawdry silo
#

when possible

#

they all are so far so it'd be weird to break the pattern

tawdry silo
#

So far... a little unsure how exactly I want this guy to work

image.png
#

This monster template is making me realize dnd doesn't have a lot of examples of short-range elemental users

tawdry silo
#

I'm considering this angle instead, focus on the "Warden" vibe a little more.

image.png
frank quiver
#

LET ME OUT

#

What's the damage type on this? Since you said it's elemental I'm assuming either it picks or it's preset when picking the guy out?

tawdry silo
#

The idea is that these are base skeleton templates, so you turn these into full templates by taking this text and adding little parts. So this could be a fire elemental that does fire damage and gains the ephemeral body trait (or whatever its called), or it could be a storm giant that's huge and has lightning cages, or a necromancer who summons a wave of grasping hands from the ground to restrain the target

#

The template gives you a strong starting place with tactics and mechanics to jump from to make your actual guy, if I added damage types it'd restrict the template to fewer things. But for something like the Dragon template there are a few pre-stated damage types on stuff like their claw/bite (tho it also has additional untyped damage for elemental extra damage on such things)

#

So like, these are some examples of a time I used some templates for a test run

image.png
#

since they were astral elves, they gained charm resistance, darkvision, and the starlight step action (which is normally a bonus action, but I removed bonus actions on these guys in favor of just giving them more actions but limiting some to X/turn... so I let you teleport then immediately do another action lol)

tawdry silo
#

full text of current Warden

image.png