My Brilliant Homebrew

[josha]

I needed a place to dump all of my amazing 4e homebrew; so I started this thread. Here you will find the best of my carefully-balanced, intuitively designed creations crafted with the new D&D Essentials philosophy.

I am taking requests, and can whip up anything you can imagine. :smallamused:


Why not start off with a monster?

Drawing by my friend Cody​

DRUGRETH
Deformed horrors with beguiling illusionary magic, these seductive bullies enjoy tormenting weaker creatures.

Drugreths are strange mutated fey creatures descended from eladrin and succubi. They have the unsettling ability to make themselves appear to be their victim's loved ones, although they actually resemble twisted, vaguely humanoid horrors with a one of their arms massive and swollen and a mouth full of wicked fangs.

Ruthless and Wicked: Drugreths are brutal and antagonistic. These fiends take great joy in torturing and mauling their disoriented victims before savagely beating them to death.

Tricky and Seductive: Drugreths are always surrounded by minions that they have tricked, bullied, bribed, seduced, or deceived into helping them. They are masters of guile and espionage, taking great joy in playing psychological games with "lesser" beings who they make their minions before eventually killing them.

Disturbing Sense of Humor: Part of what makes these vile menaces scary is their morbid and sadistic sense of humor. They love nothing more than gleefully mutilating and humiliating their prey in disturbingly inventive ways.

Short Tempered: Although drugreths have fun abusing their "friends", they are quick to lose their temper if resisted. If they run across an indignant adventurer, they are not above ripping out their throat without much thought.


Drugreth Tormentor Level 13 Elite Controller
Medium fey humanoid XP 1,600
HP 218; Bloodied 109
AC 24; Fortitude 24; Reflex 23; Will 24
Speed 6
Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerability 10 radiant
Saving Throws +2 (+5 against illusions); Action Points 1
Initiative +10
Perception +14
Truesight 5
- - - - - - - - - -
Traits
O Terror (charm) • Aura 3
Enemies within the aura take a -2 penalty to will defence.
- - - - - - - - - -
Standard Actions
m Brutal Pounding • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +15 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 2d8 + 9 damage, and the target grants combat advantage until the end of the drugreth tormentor's next turn.
M Jagged Jaws • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature granting combat advantage to the drugreth); +17 vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d12 + 10 damage, and the target is slowed (save ends).
- - - - - - - - - -
Move Actions
Dastardly Escape • At-Will
Effect: The drugreth tormentor shifts 4 squares.
- - - - - - - - - -
Minor Actions
C Cunning Illusion (charm) • At-Will
Attack: Close burst 10 (1 creature within the burst); +15 vs. Will
Hit: The target is dominated (save ends).
- - - - - - - - - -
Triggered Actions
Wounded Fury • At-Will
Trigger: The drugreth tormentor becomes bloodied.
Effect (Immediate Reaction): For the rest of the encounter, the drugreth tormentor gains a +10 bonus to damage with all attacks but cannot use Cunning Illusion.
- - - - - - - - - -
Skills Bluff +15, Stealth +12
Str 19 (+10) Dex 13 (+7) Wis 16 (+9)
Con 16 (+9) Int 16 (+9) Cha 19 (+10)
Alignment evil
Languages Common, Elven

 

[josha]

BURNING RAGE - Level 3 Disease
Those infected by this disease fly into a mindless, irrational fury at the slightest provocation. They also suffer from hot flashes and foaming mouths.
Stage 0: The target recovers from the disease.
Stage 1: The target loses a healing surge, and cannot willingly flee from a fight.
Stage 2: The target loses a healing surge, cannot willingly flee from a fight, and takes a -5 penalty to all diplomacy checks.
Stage 3: The target loses all healing surges, cannot regain hit points, cannot willingly flee from a fight, and takes a -5 penalty to diplomacy checks.
Check: At the end of each extended rest, the target makes an Endurance check..
9 or lower: The stage of the disease increases by one.
10 -13: No Change
14 or higher: The stage of the disease decreases by one.

MUTANT DEATH PLAGUE - Level 30 Disease
All victims of this disease can really do is curl up in a fetal position and wait to die.
Stage 0: The target recovers from the disease.
Stage 1: The target loses all healing surges, and can not regain hit points.
Stage 2: The target loses all healing surges, can not regain hit points, and is weakened.
Stage 3: The target dies horribly and cannot be resurrected by any means.
Check: At the end of each extended rest, the target makes an Endurance check.
30 or lower: The stage of the disease increases by one.
31 -33: No Change
34 or higher: The stage of the disease decreases by one.

 

[josha]

The krenshar hasn't been getting enough love, so I decided to expand on it. I provided enough fluff that you can use this monster entry without possessing the MM2.


KRENSHAR
Little children hear their parents tell stories of ghastly monsters with rotten, skinless flesh. If only they were just stories...

Krenshars are dreaded feline predators that have the unnerving ability to peal back the skin on their faces revealing diseased flesh, jagged fangs, and bulging eyes. They use this tactic to shock their enemies so they can dispatch them with minimal effort.

Widely Feared: Everyone knows what a krenshar is, and everyone knows to stay away from them. These awful beasts are a thing of dark legend and fokelore, giving children nightmares and entertaining peasants at taverns.

Efficient Pack Hunters: Although they only posses animal intellect, krenshars have a wicked predatory cunning. They utilize complex tactics enhanced by their frightening face-peeling.

Vile Pets: Krenshars are kept as guard beasts by hobgoblins, bugbears, orcs, and sometimes even ogres. Keeping them is no easy task, and many a foolhardy goblin has been eaten by their unusual pet.


Krenshar Daggerfang Level 3 Soldier
Medium natural beast XP 150
HP 34; Bloodied 17
AC 18; Fortitude 15; Reflex 14; Will 13
Speed 8
Initiative +5
Perception +5
Low-Light Vision
- - - - - - - - - -
Standard Actions
m Blood-Stained Claws • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +8 vs. AC
Hit: 1d10 + 6 damage.
M Wicked Jaws • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +6 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6 + 5 damage, and ongoing 5 damage (save ends).
- - - - - - - - - -
Move Actions
Predatory Advance • Encounter
Effect: The daggerfang shifts 3 sqares in the direction of an enemy.
- - - - - - - - - -
Minor Actions
C Unnerving Skull (fear, gaze) • At-Will
Action: Minor 1/round.
Attack: Close burst 5 (targets one creature); +7 vs. Will
Hit: The target takes a -3 penalty to all defences (save ends). This effect does not stack.
- - - - - - - - - -
Skills Intimidate +4
Str 23 (+7) Dex 15 (+3) Wis 9 (+0)
Con 8 (+0) Int 1 (–4) Cha 12 (+2)
Alignment unaligned


Krenshar Mauler Level 2 Elite Brute
Medium natural beast XP 250
HP 75; Bloodied 38
AC 14; Fortitude 15; Reflex 14; Will 13
Speed 8
Saving Throws +2; Action Points 1
Initiative +3
Perception +5
Low-Light Vision
- - - - - - - - - -
Standard Actions
m Claw Swipe • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +6 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 3 damage, and the target must make a saving throw to avoid falling prone.
M Brutal Maul • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 prone target); +5 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + 4 damage.
Miss: Half Damage.
- - - - - - - - - -
Triggered Actions
M Nightmarish Rage • At-Will
Trigger: The mauler is hit by a melee attack.
Attack (Immediate Reaction): Melee 1 (the creature who hit the mauler); +5 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8 + 3 damage.
- - - - - - - - - -
Minor Actions
C Unnerving Skull (fear, gaze) • At-Will
Action: Minor 1/round.
Attack: Close burst 5 (targets one creature); +3 vs. Will
Hit: The target takes a -2 penalty to all defences until the end of the mauler's next turn. This effect does not stack.
- - - - - - - - - -
Skills Intimidate +4
Str 17 (+4) Dex 15 (+3) Wis 9 (+0)
Con 14 (+3) Int 1 (–4) Cha 12 (+2)
Alignment unaligned

 

[the Jester]

I always like threads full of campaign info.

A couple things:

The drugreth's bite seems to do too much damage- it's an at will that averages 29 damage. Too much IMHO.

Also, there's an official version of the krenshar in- I think MM3?

 

[josha]

The drugreth's bite seems to do too much damage- it's an at will that averages 29 damage. Too much IMHO.

Not really. Paragon-tier characters are often underestimated, and the drugreth needs to have combat advantage to use the attack.

Also, there's an official version of the krenshar in- I think MM3?

There is an official version of the krenshar in the MM2, and I am expanding on it.

 

[josha]

TREN
Born in the horrific laboratories of the yuan-ti, tren are twisted reptilian beasties built to maim and kill.

Many adventurers tell dark tales of the tren. Reptilian underdark-dwelling creatures of madness and fury, driven insane at the hands of the yuan-ti. The tren were originally a cross between Lizardfolk and Troglodytes but they were warped and perverted by torturous experiments.

Feral and Insane: The tren retain almost no sense of patience or reason possessed by their ancestors. This is their greatest weakness, because they have no comprehension of tactics or planning.

Hard to Control: Many ambitious races have tried to enslave the tren but few have emerged successful. This is partly due to their incredible physical power and mobility, and partly due to their instinct to maim and disembowel all those around them. Multiple drow cities have fallen to hordes of escaped tren slaves.

Don't Know When to Stop: Part of what makes the tren damn scary is that they never give up or flee, a single tren with fight any number of opponents with reckless fury. This doesn't mean they try to find ways to throw their lives away, but once they choose a foe to bring down, they don't stop.


Tren Thrasher Level 11 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid XP 600
HP 110; Bloodied 55
AC 22; Fortitude 21; Reflex 21; Will 20
Speed 8, climb 5, swim 5
Initiative +12
Perception +6
Darkvision
- - - - - - - - - -
Traits
O Tren Stench • Aura 1
Foes in the aura take a -5 penalty to healing surge value. This effect stacks.
Smell of Blood
The tren thrasher gains a +3 bonus to attack rolls against bloodied targets.
- - - - - - - - - -
Standard Actions
m Slashing Claws • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +16 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + 11 damage and the target must make a saving throw or grant combat advantage until the start of the thrasher's next turn.
M Leaping Bite • Recharge 4 5 6
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +16 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 11 damage and the target falls prone.
Effect: The tren thrasher flies 2 squares before making the attack.
- - - - - - - - - -
Triggered Actions
m Reactive Slash • At-Will useable only while bloodied.
Trigger: When hit by a melee attack.
Attack (Immediate Reaction): melee 1 (the triggering creature); +16 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10 + 11 damage.
Effect: The tren thrasher can shift 1 square before or after the attack.
- - - - - - - - - -
Str 21 (+10) Dex 21 (+10) Wis 12 (+6)
Con 18 (+9) Int 5 (+2) Cha 12 (+6)
Alignment chaotic evil
Languages Understands deep speech.


Tren Berserker Level 13 Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 800
HP 140; Bloodied 70
AC 24; Fortitude 25; Reflex 24; Will 23
Speed 8, climb 5, swim 5
Initiative +9
Perception +7
Darkvision
- - - - - - - - - -
Traits
O Tren Stench • Aura 1
Foes in the aura take a -5 penalty to healing surge value. This effect stacks.
Smell of Blood
The tren berserker gains a +3 bonus to attack rolls against bloodied targets.
- - - - - - - - - -
Standard Actions
m Greatsword • At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +17 vs. AC
Hit: 2d8 + 15 damage, and if the target is bloodied they also fall prone.
M Crippling Strike • Recharge 5 6
Attack: Melee 1 (1 target); +17 vs. AC
Hit: 5d8 + 13 damage, and the target is slowed (save ends).
- - - - - - - - - -
Skills Athletics +17, Endurance +18, Intimidate +12
Str 22 (+12) Dex 16 (+9) Wis 13 (+7)
Con 25 (+13) Int 7 (+4) Cha 13 (+7)
Alignment chaotic evil
Languages Deep Speech

 

[corwyn77]

Not really. Paragon-tier characters are often underestimated, and the drugreth needs to have combat advantage to use the attack.

Which it can do at will as a minor action.

 

[lostingeneral]

Which it can do at will as a minor action.

With a -2 penalty to the defense automatically within 3 squares and even though this is disabled when bloodied, it no longer matters because the non-CA dependent at-will does 28 damage on average at that point, anyway.

 

[the Jester]

Not really. Paragon-tier characters are often underestimated, and the drugreth needs to have combat advantage to use the attack.

It can also dominate three creatures per round, save ends, every round. And while dominated those creatures grant combat advantage. So the "high damage" attack becomes brute strength, every round.

SRSLY, you're underestimating this guy. Trust me, it's far more dangerous than you're giving it credit for.

 

[Camelot]

It's cool to see some homebrewed monsters. They're what I find hard to homebrew, so kudos and I'll be sticking around!