Giant tabanid (horsefly)
Cleon
Legend
Hmm.
Well first, it's just "natural armor" for the Armour Class. If a Giant Spider or Giant Beetle doesn't specify "natural exoskeleton" in its AC a Giant Fly oughtn't to either.
There's an "Oppionents" typo in Adept Flyer and a stray "stirge" in Blood Drain.
I suspect its ability to neutralize attacks by dodging them might boost its defensive CR enough to give it a higher Challenge than 1/2 but would have to run some comparisons to check.
Shouldn't the Fly's attacks be +5 to hit rather than +3? 10 +3 for stat +2 for proficiency.
It has the same combat stats (STR, DEX, PROFICIENCY) as a Giant Spider, and they have +5 to hit.
Not sure I care for the Grapple. It's not something real-life Horseflies do - they land on their victim and bite them, then dodge away if counterattacked.
Now a 5E Giant Dragonfly could have a grappling attack, as those insects seize victims out of the air with their legs and start chewing away at them.
That'll do for now.
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Great feedback. Given they have honking great eyes, have given them Perception as a skill, and acrobatics to go with their flying. Hvae ditched the grapple. Question is, is passive perception only modofied by wisdom or is it by the skill as well, hence passive perception would be 12...?
The attack bonuses were left over from original statblock I think.
PS: this weekend will be using pine kindred too
The attack bonuses were left over from original statblock I think.
PS: this weekend will be using pine kindred too
Attachments
Cleon
Legend
Passive perception includes proficiency bonus if it has it, so a creature with WIS 10, Perception +2 would have passive Perception 12.
Not entirely sure I'd bother with giving it Skills as 5E seems really stingy with them.
What's an equivalent Monster Manual creature to a Giant Fly? A bird? One of the Giant Arthropods? Guess the Giant Wasp is the closest, and it doesn't have any skill proficiencies at all.
There are plenty of critters with a single Skill though, usually Perception, and quite a few of them are flyers like the Hawk or Giant Vulture, so I guess I'm OK with Perception +2 if you want it.
Oh, and just to remind you, making Duck 'n Dive a Reaction means it can only dodge ONE melee blow every six seconds, as creatures only get one Reaction per round.
If you want it to dodge multiple melee attacks per round it'd need to be a trait.
That said, I'm fine making it a Reaction that it can only use once per round.
Also not sure about it only being triggered by an actual melee attack. Real world flies don't only dodge things that would potentially hit them, they jump away from anything they see approaching them (like a fly swat or bird), they don't wait until it's within melee range. The reflex is probably "hardwired" into their tiny insect brains.
Cleon
Legend
PS: this weekend will be using pine kindred too
Enjoy!
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Heh, I really like the idea of making it a trait. Flies dodge anything they perceive as a threat. A giant fly will be alert to big things. okay maybe anything medium-size or larger that approaches in a sudden manner
Cleon
Legend
Yes, although if it can do it an unlimited number of times I'd require it to spend its bonus action and/or reaction that round if it actually moves any distance, otherwise it could theoretically travel at infinite speed if it flies along a passage filled with things that trigger its Dodge Response.
Maybe give it a Burst of Speed trait that allows it to fly X feet as a bonus action or reaction, and have it be automatically triggered the first time it uses its reflexive dodge?
Putting a size limit on the Dodge sounds good, although it would mean it can't dodge missiles (unless they're giant boulders or the like). That's one reason many parasitic wasps are a LOT smaller than their arthropod victims - if the target doesn't register them as big enough to be a threat it's a lot easier to get within attack range.
Having the trigger limit be Medium sized sounds OK, although I'd be fine making it Small too. Depends whether you want gnomes and halflings to get a free pass.
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
Cleon
Legend
Hmm, I'd go more for:
Evasive Flyer: A giant tabanid gains advantage on Dexterity saving throws when flying and attackers have disadvantage on attack rolls against it.
If the giant tabanid is mounted, it must make a DC 12 STR check to use evasive flight each time it is attacked.
Reactions
Dodging Flight: If a creature of at least Small size attempts a melee attack against a giant tabanid or the fly is targeted by ranged weapon of similar size such as a giant-hurled boulder, the giant tabanid can dodge out of the way as a reaction. The giant tabanid makes a Dexterity saving throw with advantage, and if it beats the attack roll or DC of the attack the giant tabanid takes no damage and flies up to 30 feet.
Evasive Flyer: A giant tabanid gains advantage on Dexterity saving throws when flying and attackers have disadvantage on attack rolls against it.
If the giant tabanid is mounted, it must make a DC 12 STR check to use evasive flight each time it is attacked.
Reactions
Dodging Flight: If a creature of at least Small size attempts a melee attack against a giant tabanid or the fly is targeted by ranged weapon of similar size such as a giant-hurled boulder, the giant tabanid can dodge out of the way as a reaction. The giant tabanid makes a Dexterity saving throw with advantage, and if it beats the attack roll or DC of the attack the giant tabanid takes no damage and flies up to 30 feet.
Casimir Liber
Adventurer
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