Guess we should talk about
Hit Points and complete the pre-abilities stats.
The original monster went from HD 3d8 for the White up to HD 5d8+2 for the Gold.
A Small monster has d6 Hit Dice, and 3d6 to 5d6 would be too weedy. Even the basic White has more hit points than a
Ghoul (HD 2d8+2 in AD&D, Hit Points 22 (5d8) in 5E), and the low-tier Black is meatier than a
Bugbear (3d8+1 in AD&D, Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5) in 5E).
So maybe just double the Hit Dice and give the ones with a +2 an extra HD?
That'd be:
White = 6d6 for 21 hit points
Black = 7d6 for 24 hit points
Green = 8d6 for 28 hit points
Blue = 9d6 for 31 hit points
Red = 10d6 for 35 hit points
Gold = 11d6 for 38 hit points
Hmm, might want to slap a Constitution bonus on. The Black is
slightly weedier than a Bugbear, not slightly stronger.
Hmm, so how tough is the Gold Dragonfly comparatively? The original had 5d8+2 hit points which, if memory serves me right, is the same as an Owlbear.
Checking my 2E
Monstrous Manual and I'm right, "Hit Dice: 5+2" for an Owlbear.
Let's see, a 5E
Owlbear is Hit Points 59 (7d10 + 21), so we'd want the Goldfly to have a +2 CON modifier and Hit Points 60 (11d6 + 22) to get the best match.
Hmm, switching from +0 CON to +1 and +2 would make the Hit Points jump about quite a bit.
I'll just whip up a handy table to illustrate…
Variety | AC | 5E AC | BECMI HD | Ratio | +0 CON | +1 CON | +2 CON | Ratio |
|---|
White | 2 | 14 | 13½ (3d8) | 1.0000 | 21 (6d6) | 27 (6d6+6) | 33 (6d6+12) | 1.0000 |
Black | 1 | 15 | 15½ (3d8) | 1.1481 | 24½ (7d6) | 31½ (7d6+7) | 38½ (7d6+14) | 1.1666 |
Green | 0 | 16 | 18 (4d8) | 1.3333 | 28 (8d6) | 36 (8d6+8) | 44 (8d6+16) | 1.3333 |
Blue | –1 | 17 | 20 (4d8+2) | 1.4815 | 31½ (9d6) | 40½ (9d6+9) | 49½ (9d6+18) | 1.5000 |
Red | –2 | 18 | 22½ (5d8) | 1.6666 | 35 (10d6) | 45 (10d6+10) | 55 (10d6+20) | 1.6666 |
Gold | –3 | 19 | 24½ (5d8+2) | 1.8148 | 38½ (11d6) | 49½ (11d6+11) | 60½ (11d6+22) | 1.8333 |
If we stick to a set CON for all the Dragonflies, they will be pretty close to the original's Hit Point ratios BUT if we use the low +0 CON the higher rank ones
might be a bit lower in hit points than approximately equivalent 5E creatures, while if we go for +2 CON the lowest rank ones would end up stronger, and presumably the +1 CON ones might be a little too strong at the bottom and a little too weak at the top.
However, if we try to fit the White to be a little weedier than a 5E Ghoul and the Gold to be as tough as an Owlbear in 5E, we're going to have to stagger them, perhaps:
White = 6d6 for 21 hit points
Black = 7d6 for 24 hit points
Green = 8d6+8 for 36 hit points
Blue = 9d6+9 for 40 hit points
Red = 10d6+20 for 55 hit points
Gold = 11d6+22 for 60 hit points
Or, if we wanted it to be more even in the middle:
White = 6d6 for 21 hit points
Black = 7d6 for 24 hit points
Green = 8d6+8 for 36 hit points
Blue = 9d6+9 for 40 hit points
Red = 10d6+10 for 45 hit points
Gold = 11d6+22 for 60 hit points
Considering that Fifth Edition monster hit points can be quite different from other editions, that isn't terribly important.
So we might as well pick whichever of the HD feels right.
So what's your preference?
The same CON modifier for them all, or some kind of staggering arrangement?
