All Questions
23
questions
16
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why would anyone kill a dragon rather than subdue it in OD&D?
The rule for subdual in OD&D says (Monsters & Treasure, p. 12/13):
Subduing Dragons: Any attack may be to subdue rather than to kill, but this intent
must be announced before melee begins. ...
- 129k
2
votes
2
answers
200
views
How to properly boost monster damage?
So here's the situation:
In D&D 4e, I have began to reduce monster's HP by a lot (at least by half or even more than that).
The reason for this, is that I realized the combat encounters can take ...
- 341
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Would a monster trait-based Kobold race be balanced?
There are playable races for a number of monsters, for example you can play a Bugbear, Duergar, Goblin, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kenku, Kobold, Lizardfolk, or Orc, and Satyr all of which are directly ...
- 129k
8
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Is there any monster with statblock changes during an encounter?
So I've been DMing D&D 5e for quite some time. My table enjoys long, challenging encounters. However many monsters end up repeating the same actions after a few rounds. I usually circumvent this ...
- 83
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What implications would a monstrosity as a player character entail?
Travelers of the Multiverse Unearthed Arcana lists the Thri-kreen race, and its type is monstrosity. I am wondering what playing as a monstrosity would entail.
All things that come to my mind are ...
- 3,207
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Ways to balance a Tarrasque Fight [closed]
Running a campaign right now where the planned BBEG is going to unleash a Tarrasque at some point. I think its a really cool monster, but balancing the encounter seems impossible. It's a CR 30 monster,...
- 863
18
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How can I avoid accidentally deadly encounters from monsters that are more deadly than their challenge rating suggests?
Monster Deadliness: In the DMG (p.82) there is guidance about the calculating encounter deadliness. This is entirely based on the XP of the monsters encountered, and each challenge rating (CR) has a ...
- 129k
6
votes
2
answers
646
views
Does my version of Fire Breath break my pseudodragon?
I am starting a campaign in which my character is an accomplished and award-winning chef, and in an egg-themed competition won a dragon egg with a pseudodragon. I've talked with my DM, and he's ...
- 181
4
votes
1
answer
190
views
Why are zephyr hawks and river drakes both level 3?
Both zephyr hawks and river drakes are level 3 creatures. This seems insane.
Zephyr hawks are worse than river drakes in just about every way. Their AC being 2 points higher than that of a river drake ...
- 1,091
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are oozes overpowered for their levels due to the Engulf ability?
Background
Early in my campaign, there was a combat encounter where three level 2 PCs fought a single gelatinous cube. The cube was the standard level 3, and there were no special outside ...
- 1,091
2
votes
2
answers
196
views
Does adding multiple skills when combining creatures cause balance issues?
I'm creating a Svirfneblin Evil Mage by combining the stat blocks for each Evil Mage and Svirfneblin.
A Svirfneblin has the skills Investigation +3, Perception +2, Stealth +4.
An Evil Mage has the ...
- 10.2k
20
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Is the earth elemental's Earth Glide trait as potentially game-breaking as I think it is?
I'm DMing a campaign themed around monsters based on the elements, so making use of the Elementals naturally came to mind.
Taking a look at the Earth Elemental, it strikes me that there is some very ...
- 209
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Corroded Metal vs Magical Armor, should it melt it?
The DM in our game homebrewed something called a Dire Otter Swarm and had the Corroded Metal attribute that can destroy nonmagical items, but he gave it a buff that allowed them to destroy Magical ...
- 111
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to balance a monster modification (zombie)?
I am DM'ing a campaign called "Army of the Damned" based on Magic the Gathering: Innistrad in which a horde of zombies is attacking a town. In the 5e Monster Manual, zombies have poison immunity but ...
- 1,102
5
votes
1
answer
21k
views
What sets the Tressym apart from the rest of the options for familiars as such a good option [closed]
I was looking at the tressym's description in the Storm King's Thunder adventure, and saw this (p. 243):
With the DM's permission, a person who casts the find familiar spell can choose to conjure a ...
- 4,840