13th Age 13th Age monster powers for 5th edition D&D

[Nebulous]

Not in the FACE: On a critical hit the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded for one round.

How about this - tying cool powers to "just" critical hits often means that the 5% chance of it happening just doesn't happen. 13th Age approached this by adding triggers to the d20 roll, such as rolling a Natural Even hit, or rolling 16+ on a hit, to trigger the secondary power. In this case, I would say "On a 16+ hit, you are Blinded if you fail the Con save equal to the damage." That offers a 25% of the condition, and on a Critical hit, that save will (likely) be impossible to make. Well, it really depends on how much damage is rolled, and that depends on the nature of the attack.

Not in the Face - On a hit of 16+, the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded for one round. Alternatives: Use a Constitution save to resist a physical attacks, a Dexterity save to dodge an attack, a Strength save to push away an attack, an Intelligence save to resist a psychic attack.

 

[Nebulous]

QUESTION - ?

What do you all think of adding this caveat to everything:

Alternatives: Use a Constitution save to resist a physical attacks, a Dexterity save to dodge an attack, a Strength save to push away an attack, an Intelligence save to resist a psychic attack.

Well, maybe not every single thing, or maybe just a blurb at the beginning to make it clear that powers can be easily modified by changing the target attribute. Now, the originals from which I drew these were tied to specific monsters with specific abilities and a theme. It's more generic now, but it makes it far easier to tag to anything you want.

 

[Nebulous]

Not in the Face - On a hit of 16+, the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded for one round. Alternatives: Use a Constitution save to resist a physical attacks, a Dexterity save to dodge an attack, a Strength save to push away an attack, an Intelligence save to resist a psychic attack.

To take it a step further...


Actions
Curse of blindness: Ranged Attack: +5 to hit, range 30 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) psychic damage; On a hit of 16+, the target must make a INT save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded from demonic whispers for one round.

 

[Nebulous]

Actions
Funnel of filth: Ranged Attack: +5 to hit. range 30 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 +2) damage; On a hit of 16+, the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded from filthy grit for one round.

Omg, i love that this thing is called an excremental....


Edit:

Actions
Pile of poo: Ranged Attack: +5 to hit. range 30 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 +2) damage; On a hit of 16+, the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded from filthy hot excrement for one round.

 

[Unwise]

Go For The Eyes - Crit range is 16-20. If it does not get a critical, it misses.

This is for little blighters like those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that spit stuff, or for birds who claw at your eyes, but have no penetrating power past that. It can also be used for a fencing master who only takes precise shots.

Defensive Feint - If you miss with all attacks, take the full defense action instead for free.

This is for guys that you want to make out are masters of their craft. They do not make mistakes like normal plebs. If they did not hit you, it is because they were fighting defensively on purpose.

 

[trentonjoe]

How about this - tying cool powers to "just" critical hits often means that the 5% chance of it happening just doesn't happen. 13th Age approached this by adding triggers to the d20 roll, such as rolling a Natural Even hit, or rolling 16+ on a hit, to trigger the secondary power. In this case, I would say "On a 16+ hit, you are Blinded if you fail the Con save equal to the damage." That offers a 25% of the condition, and on a Critical hit, that save will (likely) be impossible to make. Well, it really depends on how much damage is rolled, and that depends on the nature of the attack.

Not in the Face - On a hit of 16+, the target must make a CON save (DC damage dealt) or be blinded for one round. Alternatives: Use a Constitution save to resist a physical attacks, a Dexterity save to dodge an attack, a Strength save to push away an attack, an Intelligence save to resist a psychic attack.

I like that mechanic. I plan on using something like the 16+ for most "bonus effects". For example, I am thinking of replacing the 7 points of extra damage hobgoblins do with something like:

Sweep the leg: On a hit of 16+ the target must make Reflex save (DC 8 + damage dealt) or be knocked prone. The attacker may then take a bonus action against the prone foe.

 

[trentonjoe]

QUESTION - ?

What do you all think of adding this caveat to everything:

Alternatives: Use a Constitution save to resist a physical attacks, a Dexterity save to dodge an attack, a Strength save to push away an attack, an Intelligence save to resist a psychic attack.

Well, maybe not every single thing, or maybe just a blurb at the beginning to make it clear that powers can be easily modified by changing the target attribute. Now, the originals from which I drew these were tied to specific monsters with specific abilities and a theme. It's more generic now, but it makes it far easier to tag to anything you want.

I like that. I use something like that for most of my saves.

 

[trentonjoe]

Hammer to the Helmet- Only useable with a bludgeoning weapon- On an 16+ hit against an opponent wearing metal armor the enemy must make a WIS save (DC= Damage Dealt) or she can’t:

• use reactions.
• use both an action AND a bonus action
• make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn

 

[Nebulous]

Sweep the leg: On a hit of 16+ the target must make Reflex save (DC 8 + damage dealt) or be knocked prone. The attacker may then take a bonus action against the prone foe.

Yup, that works for me. Replace the standard ability with this one.

 

[Nebulous]

Hammer to the Helmet- Only useable with a bludgeoning weapon- On an 16+ hit against an opponent with wearing metal armor the enemy must make a WIS save (DC= Damage Dealt) or she can’t:

• use reactions.
• use both an action AND a bonus action
• make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn

My first reaction to this one was questions: Why only metal helmet, wouldn't a leather or no helmet also hurt? Also, tying the Wisdom save to what I assume is the pain threshold, that doesn't sound quite right, although I see what you're going for, mentally dazed from the attack. Lastly, this ability feels like it's dipping pretty far into 4e character powers, this one seems quite suitable for that. Nothing wrong there, but something like this might be better suited as a houserule for a critical hit: instead of doing Double damage, you do X-Y or Z.

Anyway, wasn't trying to negate your efforts, what are your thoughts?