Hey I am planning an adventure centered around Grimlocks for an upcoming session of my 5e game. The characters are going to be fresh 3rd levels. The thing is there are no stats for Grimlock Chieftains or Shamen or any advancements of the standard Grimlock. So I was wondering if anyone had homebrewed any or had any suggestions of abilities and what not to give them.
Thanks in advance.
Here are three variants I whipped up for an encounter - Grimlock "cannibals", "brutes" and "warriors". I'd peg them at CR 2 (or CR 3 if you feel cautious).
Cannibals:
50 hp, Speed:
40 ft, Bone Club
+5 for 1d6+3 dmg,
Grisly totem (+5 AC single-use);
Blood Frenzy: bonus attack against wounded foe
Brutes:
70 hp, Two-handed Spiked Bone Greatclub
+6 for 1d8+4 blunt dmg, on ⚃-⚅: nasty gash for
1d8+4 extra slashing dmg;
Bloodied Fury: bonus attack when bloodied
Warriors:
60 hp, Two Spiked Bone Clubs:
two attacks at +5 for 1d6+3 dmg, on ⚄-⚅: nasty gash for
1d6+3 slashing dmg
Any statistic not mentioned is unchanged from the Grimlock MM entry.
The "cannibal" fights with a single hand weapon, much like the MM Grimlock depiction. To explain why (not using your other hand is sub-optimal, after all) I gave them a single-use totem that acts like a Shield spell. This would be the decapitated head of a fallen foe on a stick, or a bloody spine, or something similar. These guys would be obsessed with the
sight smell of blood, and so they get a version of the Sahaguin trait (preferring extra attacks to advantage, which they should be able to benefit from anyways). This guy also gets a bit of extra speed; important to help mitigate kiting tactics.
The "brute" is inspired by the nasty spiked club in the illustration. On a hit, roll a d6: on 4-6 you deal extra damage (automatically, no further to hit roll) to model how the spike tears you up. This guy gets a bonus attack when bloodied (at half hit points) himself, as opposed to the first guy.
A "warrior" has mastered the art of two-weapon fighting, and can inflict bonus damage on each hit in similar manner as the brute.
They all compensate miserable AC by hefty chunks of hit points.