4e Fan Creations and House RulesWorking on variant powers? Statting up a PC race or your version of a monster? Creating or converting an adventure? Put it here!
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The current version (1.0.3) has 17 builds for 24 races, levels 1-30. That's over 4000 characters. It includes all the classes in the Player's Handbook, as well as all the races in the Player's Handbook plus the Monster Manual "Racial Traits" section.
If folks are interested, I have several ideas for other books:
1) NPC builds based on Martial Power.
2) Elite NPCs based on Paragon paths.
I'd also appreciate some feedback on the file format, as well as the builds themselves and any typos that folks notice.
[Update] The version 1.0.3 marks the content as OGL.
Last edited by Paul Strack; 5th January 2009 at 11:23 PM..
Reason: Updated for version 1.0.3
I like everything I've read through so far, and haven't noticed any problems.
I'm surprised there hasn't been a 4e site like the NPC Wiki for d20/Modern/D&D 3.5. Is this because of the GSL Fan-site issues (are there any?)? If not, work on something like that should be done, because your NPCs here would be a great kick-off for such a site.
__________________ --neuronphaser
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Edit: No wonder, considering you've gone ahead and created exactly what I asked for in that other thread...
I would especially like to congratulate you on your format choices. Low-tech HTML works wonderfully (and makes grabbing your local copy a no-brainer), especially with your useful interlinking... An instant classic that deserves a web site of its own!
Last edited by CapnZapp; 26th December 2008 at 07:11 PM..
I sincerely hope ENWorld (and Wizards) can see that the utility of this tool far exceeds any content copyright concerns: having this as a free add-on to those DMG pages (pp187-188) just makes the book that much more valuable to have...! :-)
I am pretty confident that the content of the Book of NPCs is allowed under the GSL, which does let you re-print stat blocks if you apply mathematical changes them.
I am equally sure that the code I used to produce the NPCs is not allowed by the GSL, since character creation software is explicitly forbidden. That's why I am providing finished stat blocks instead of a program to produce them (that, and the fact that I am to lazy to produce a user-friendly version or one that covers all the powers).
I think you are perfectly justified posting the output only, and not the generator.
You have already added in the builds variations of each class (with different power selections for each), which is more than we could have asked for!
Not having every concievable power combination on top of that is an advantage, not a disadvantage. :-)
PS. What does "which does let you re-print stat blocks if you apply mathematical changes them" mean? Do you mean you had an ulterior motive for adding in those houserules?
PS. What does "which does let you re-print stat blocks if you apply mathematical changes them" mean? Do you mean you had an ulterior motive for adding in those houserules?
No, the house rules are just for balancing.
The wizard's GSL says that if you apply existing rules to a stat block (like applying a template to a monster) which make mathematical modifications to that stat block, then you can re-print it. The GSL explicitly forbids re-printing stat blocks "as is".
I am waiting for the new GSL version which is supposed to be out in January before I decide whether I want to apply a license to the book, though.
My god, sir! :O
This is even better than what I was doing (one npc per build, levels 2, 6 and 10 - wich is when you have an "all new" power selection). For once, I'm grateful I'm so very slow!
Well done!
I will certainly be using these NPC's and would be happy to see them extended to 30th level, and to additional builds. Your work is much appreciated and is a strong contribution to the community.
A question regarding your rules for NPC ability scores. I noticed you aren't following the standard value-to-bonus numbers. For example, a level 4 Avenging Paladin Dwarf is listed as having Str 17 (+5).
Is this your shorthand for "This NPC has a +5 to all Strength-based skill checks"?
Or did you add the NPC level bonus to ability score bonuses as well? This isn't what the DMG says, it says "Then adjust the scores to account for the NPC’s level, just as you would for a player character." which means that in this particular case, the NPC does play by the (PCs') rules.
Firstly, I can appreciate the effort this must have taken to get this far. I can see it being useful for a lot of people.
However, the concern I have is that with the house rules added to them, you seem to have partially applied the NPC templates to the base races, but you still treat them as "normal" monsters. I don't think you can do that fairly.
A normal monster would not have a "Daily" power or the extra class features and trained skills, so these NPCs are sort of "half-HP" elites, which I imagine would skew them a noticeable bit in practice. That essentially makes them all "glass cannons" who have great offensive ability but HP as low as standard mooks.
If they have no significantly boosted defenses, no extra HP, and no saving throw bonus or action point, they are basically all unnecessarily complex and damaging monsters who have enough time to use their Daily and maybe their Encounter before they die without giving much sense of their class. On the other hand, they might be able to last an incredibly long time and cause much more trouble for the party than a normal monster of the same level and role, based on power selection.
By comparing a level 5 Dwarf Hammerer from page 97 of the Monster Manual with the level 5 Dwarf Guardian Fighter, you can see the Fighter has a better at-will ability (Tide of Iron vs. a Basic attack), a Daily power which causes ongoing damage and reduces defenses, and Combat Challenge and Get Over Here and also a Second Wind which makes it a much stronger Soldier overall.
By comparing a level 2 Human Bandit from page 162 of the Monster Manual with a level 2 Human Brawny Rogue, you can see the NPC version has better defenses, First Strike, higher Sneak Attack damage, more accurate and potentially damaging at-wills, a Daily power which seriously hinders the target, and the ability to Tumble and a Second Wind. And yet it is given the same XP value as the Bandit.
I don't think you can really have classed NPCs which aren't full Elites, with all that it entails, as a matter of game balance. If you apply a template as you suggest in the Index to make them Elite, all you have done is given them normal Elite hit points and added even more abilities on top of what they already can do, so it's a more powerful Elite as well.
I think leaving them as normal Elites using the normal template rules from the DMG may make for a more practical and useful book.
However, the concern I have is that with the house rules added to them, you seem to have partially applied the NPC templates to the base races, but you still treat them as "normal" monsters. I don't think you can do that fairly.
The NPCs in the book are not using the "Class Template" rules on DMG 182. They are using the "Creating NPCs" rules on DMG 186-188. Some of my house rules actually make the NPCs are bit weaker, because I reduce the NPC Level Bonus from the table on DMG 188.
So, the NPCs in the book are "legal", according to the rules. I do agree, however, that for levels 1-10, they are definitely stronger than most equal-level monsters.
Part of the reason I put together the Book of NPCs is to compare them to normal monsters and see how they differ. Also, normal monsters just are not challenging my party enough. Rather than increasing the level of the encounters my PCs face, I decided to experiment with using NPCs.
NPCs have the virtual of dying as fast as normal monsters, so the combats last about the same amount of time. However, they dish out more damage and have more powers, making them a bigger challenge.
I haven't used them in play yet, however, so I can't say for sure how well they work in practice.
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