Dear Unregistered! We notice you don't currently have a silver subscription here on EN World. We'd love to encourage you to give it a try, so we've made this coupon for $5 off your first 4-month Silver Subscription. Simply go to the subscription page and enter coupon code SILVER. With that subscription you get access to TWO adventure paths, which between them cover D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, and D&D 4th Edition - War of the Burning Sky (which has been completed) and ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution (which is currently ongoing). You also get a whole bunch of site perks and features here on EN World, including access to the Search function, images and links in your forum signature, a larger PM box, give out more XP at a time, and more. Please give a try; we're proud of our adventure paths, and we're sure you'll love them both!
D&D 4th Edition DiscussionDiscuss D&D 4E rules and house rules in here.
All the latest EN World
official reviews, columns, and subscriber articles here.
Don't have your subscription yet? It's only $3 a month and you can grab
it right
here!
"What's with this New Math?" is a fairly common topic, so I'm posting an explanation and a contribution of my own to give inquisitive folks a hand.
The Explanation: The New Monster Math was introduced with the MM3, and is designed to make monsters [more] threatening. You can read WotC's new damage chart in the DMG errata pdf, which boils down to "8 + level damage for standard monsters, 25% to 50% more for high damage attacks and upper caste monsters."
My Own Contribution: I find the single damage chart, and the second half of that advice frustratingly vague. So I spent a few hours to write damage charts for every monster role and caste and added it to my personal monster-making guide, Marvelous Monsters. (Attached below.)
MarMon has a few other useful tidbits, like a new role and caste, but other things in it are incomplete. You've been warned!
Updated 5 April, 2012: After play testing, I changed the mechanism by which elites and solos ignore hindering effects. This one is more satisfying for everyone at the table!
Updated 15 April, 2012: Added an up-to-date glossary of monster terminology. Added comments about the swarm and insubstantial keywords.
__________________ LFG in NYC -- JanuaryDM@gmail.com
Last edited by Tequila Sunrise; 15th April 2012 at 08:47 PM..
__________________ This is what Yoda would probably say about it:
"No, no different. Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned (about D&D)."
By approaching the new game without ego or bias, I do feel like it's 1990 all over again and I just discovered that awesome black boxed game with the huge red dragon in it.
D&D is not an edition. D&D is not my D&D. D&D is not your D&D. D&D is D&D. -Androlphas
I was wondering, though, if there should be damage modifiers if a condition lasts more than 1 turn (save ends) and whether controllers should get any bennies for that kind of thing.
I've seen controllers as low as 8th-level dishing out at-will attacks with immobilize (save ends) ... at full damage.
I was wondering, though, if there should be damage modifiers if a condition lasts more than 1 turn (save ends) and whether controllers should get any bennies for that kind of thing.
I've seen controllers as low as 8th-level dishing out at-will attacks with immobilize (save ends) ... at full damage.
Good question. My current rule of thumb is "recharge effects end with a save, and equivalent at-will effects end on the target's turn," but this might change as I keep experimenting with home brew monsters.
As to controllers, here's how I think of it. A controller should either have a simple go-to control mechanism, like the Distract ability I wrote up in the pdf, or extra strong control powers.
For example I've been writing my own rendition of beholders and illithids for an upcoming one-shot. I normally prefer artilleries, brutes and skirmishers because they don't require finicky effects, but these two monsters just scream CONTROLLER! So I created a kind of condition track for mind-frak powers that my beholders and illithids will use. Instead of a power saying "the target is dazed/stunned/dominated," the power inflicts special tokens on the target. As the target accrues tokens, I upgrade the bad condition. In this way, weak beholders and illithids (minions and goons) can exist alongside stronger monsters (elites and solos) without any of them becoming redundant, overpowered or underpowered.
I even invented a new condition that's basically dominate+! Originally I had both at-wills and recharge powers dealing these tokens, so that some would end automatically on the target's turn and some on a save, but I think that'd be too much of a bookkeeping hassle. So I'm currently working out exactly how I want to implement these powers.
__________________ LFG in NYC -- JanuaryDM@gmail.com
Nice job! I have to say though that the formatting bothered me so much, I reformatted it for myself. Let me know if you'd like me to re-post it here as a .docx.
I'm kind of amazed how popular this is! I guess more DMs home brew monsters than I imagined.
Also, I've got to get more familiar with exel one of these days.
TBH that little sheet took me the better part of a day (but I may or may not have been watching Futurama the whole time). Here's a little snippet from one cell:
Anyway, do you plan on updating this further? IMO controllers should have some sort of AOE, but I don't think I'm versed enough in legitimate homebrew monsters to judge how powerful they should be. I usually just end up making things up on the spot to give my PCs some challenge (but hopefully now that will all change). If you do update it, I'll be right behind you with the excel.
And I don't think I said this before, so thanks for the guide.
TBH that little sheet took me the better part of a day (but I may or may not have been watching Futurama the whole time). Here's a little snippet from one cell:
Wow!
How do I change a monster's caste? I typed in 'Standard' and the generator got confused.
Quote:
Originally Posted by riotshieldnation
Anyway, do you plan on updating this further? IMO controllers should have some sort of AOE, but I don't think I'm versed enough in legitimate homebrew monsters to judge how powerful they should be. I usually just end up making things up on the spot to give my PCs some challenge (but hopefully now that will all change). If you do update it, I'll be right behind you with the excel.
And I don't think I said this before, so thanks for the guide.
You're welcome!
I will update it -- in fact I recently boosted the minion damage threshold -- but I'm not going to get in-depth with power guidelines. I've gone down that road, and that way lies madness. The best I can, and will do is to write example powers for each role.
For example if I were making an NPC wizard (controller), scorching burst would be a low-damage power otherwise identical to the PC power.
__________________ LFG in NYC -- JanuaryDM@gmail.com
Hm, I don't see a drop-down menu. Might be just because I'm not real familiar with exel.
In other news, apparently I can't switch attachments in the OP so I attached my update to this one. (Raised minion damage threshold, added some example powers and copied Infiniti's formatting.)
__________________ LFG in NYC -- JanuaryDM@gmail.com
Recent News
The best I can, and will do is to write example powers for each role.
.
Linear Mode
