CapnZapp
Legend
One thing I really miss from worlds like Lord of the Rings and such is the ability of regular forest animals to actually be dangerous to heroes (and not just commoners and level 1 characters).
But in D&D, spiders, wolves and the like always (as in every edition) are lowest-tier fodder.
That's why I like the idea of "dire animals". In short, a way to turn an especially mean forest cat, an especially large spider, or an especially mythic elk into something that gives pause to even a mid-level party.
So I looked back to how 3rd edition actually implemented them.
That I should not have done. It's a hot fracking mess, that only reminds me why I stopped DMing d20 games...
Either they're implemented with pages upon PAGES with super-detailed stat blocks that do their utmost to upgrade each animal in an idiosyncratic super-detailed way...
...Or they go the template route, but immediately fail by making that a super-detailed process.
I really did forget how excruciatingly fiddly d20 was, and I'm having none of it.
For a "can't look away from the train wreck" kind of experience, just have a look at this PDF. Twelve (12!!) pages of fiddly details followed by the real horror of a template. Cripey, I say!
Of course "dire" should be a template - who wants dire animals to take up pages after pages - but it should be quick and easy. Much like other 5E templates (and 5E in general).
Quick and easy means: modify hp and attacks, and possibly something else like speed. Done.
No mucking about with ability scores (that means recalculating other things). Just say things like "all saves and checks increase by X" (justifying this by how the proficiency bonus is tied to CR anyway for non-PCs).
So what do we want out of a "dire" template? Basically to bring up a stat block one tier. For most (all? that's my point) animals that means from tier I into tier II. That is, a dire animal should be a viable opponent for a level 5-9 party. So it should be CR... what, 2? Minimum.
Basically, what we want is a template that takes a critter a number of steps up the "ladder of CRs", which is 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2... Say five such steps.
Most animals are CR 1/8 and CR 1/2 and such, and I'm okay with that ending up with CR 3 and CR 5 (five steps up the "ladder" each)
(I didn't say "solo opponent" because any solo opponent to a tier II party needs to be in the double-digit CRs. But that would have to be "legendary animals", and I'm not sure the need is such that a template is warranted. Besides, once you involve legendary lair actions etc you're probably better off statting up an individual creature)
But in D&D, spiders, wolves and the like always (as in every edition) are lowest-tier fodder.
That's why I like the idea of "dire animals". In short, a way to turn an especially mean forest cat, an especially large spider, or an especially mythic elk into something that gives pause to even a mid-level party.
So I looked back to how 3rd edition actually implemented them.
That I should not have done. It's a hot fracking mess, that only reminds me why I stopped DMing d20 games...
Either they're implemented with pages upon PAGES with super-detailed stat blocks that do their utmost to upgrade each animal in an idiosyncratic super-detailed way...
...Or they go the template route, but immediately fail by making that a super-detailed process.
I really did forget how excruciatingly fiddly d20 was, and I'm having none of it.
For a "can't look away from the train wreck" kind of experience, just have a look at this PDF. Twelve (12!!) pages of fiddly details followed by the real horror of a template. Cripey, I say!
Of course "dire" should be a template - who wants dire animals to take up pages after pages - but it should be quick and easy. Much like other 5E templates (and 5E in general).
Quick and easy means: modify hp and attacks, and possibly something else like speed. Done.
No mucking about with ability scores (that means recalculating other things). Just say things like "all saves and checks increase by X" (justifying this by how the proficiency bonus is tied to CR anyway for non-PCs).
So what do we want out of a "dire" template? Basically to bring up a stat block one tier. For most (all? that's my point) animals that means from tier I into tier II. That is, a dire animal should be a viable opponent for a level 5-9 party. So it should be CR... what, 2? Minimum.
Basically, what we want is a template that takes a critter a number of steps up the "ladder of CRs", which is 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2... Say five such steps.
Most animals are CR 1/8 and CR 1/2 and such, and I'm okay with that ending up with CR 3 and CR 5 (five steps up the "ladder" each)
(I didn't say "solo opponent" because any solo opponent to a tier II party needs to be in the double-digit CRs. But that would have to be "legendary animals", and I'm not sure the need is such that a template is warranted. Besides, once you involve legendary lair actions etc you're probably better off statting up an individual creature)