D&D 5E Creature Features: Resistances, Vulnerabilities, and Bloodied Condition for all Creatures

[Charlaquin]

Nice! I do something similar with resistances and vulnerabilities myself, but the bloodied effects are a really nice touch! Some of my rules of thumb (of course there are always exceptions):

Constructs
Vulnerabilities: Thunder
Resistances: Necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-adamanitine weapons
Immunities: Poison; exhaustion, stunned, unconscious

Fae
Resistances: Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from magical weapons
Immunities: Charmed

Mindless
Resistances: Psychic*
Immunities: Psychic**; charmed, frightened

* If capable of rudimentary thought
** If completely thoughtless

Swarms
Vulnerabilities: Damage from attacks and spells that affect each target in an area
Resistances: Damage from attacks and spells that target a single creature
Immunities: Charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, prone, stunned

Undead (Corporeal)
Vulnerability: Fire*
Resistance: Necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing**
Immunity: Poison; exhaustion, poisoned

* skeletal undead are vulnerable to bludgeoning instead of fire
** often, there is a specific exception to undead resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, such as attacks targeting the head or another weak point (imposing disadvantage)

Undead (Incorporeal)
Vulnerabilities: Radiant
Resistances: Acid, cold, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons
Immunities: Necrotic, poison; exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained

Constructs and corporeal undead are often mindless.

 

[jayoungr]

The bloodied condition tends to trigger the 4e connotations. Nothing wrong with that, though I do use the bloodied condition (different than 4e though) in my game, it is not a standard 5e thing.

In my experience, it may just be the single most popular thing from 4E that people like to port into 5E games.

 

[Nebulous]

Great idea. That's the kind of thing that would fit nicely into core D&D (or Level Up). And I agree, removing Bloodied from 5e wasn't the best idea; I did like how it changed combat with monsters.

 

[J.Quondam]

I didn't play 4e, so could someone answer a couple questions about it....

1. Did every monster in 4e have a "Bloodied" condition?
2. Was every "Bloodied" condition a combat boost (as opposed to a nerf, change in tactics, or plea/flee attempt, or something)?

 

[dave2008]

I didn't play 4e, so could someone answer a couple questions about it....

1. Did every monster in 4e have a "Bloodied" condition?
2. Was every "Bloodied" condition a combat boost (as opposed to a nerf, change in tactics, or plea/flee attempt, or something)?

Every monster and PC had the bloodied condition. It was triggered when you first dipped below 50% of your max HP in an encounter. The condition itself didn't do anything, but certain abilities or traits only triggered when a creature was bloodied. And not every creature had such a trait, but PCs might have a power that triggered off your opponent (ie monsters) being bloodied. So it was typically always relevant. Either monsters got something special (dragon's instantly recharged their breathweapon and could use it as a reaction when they were bloodied) or the PCs got something (I was a DM so I don't remember the PC as well).

 

[Charlaquin]

I didn't play 4e, so could someone answer a couple questions about it....

1. Did every monster in 4e have a "Bloodied" condition?
2. Was every "Bloodied" condition a combat boost (as opposed to a nerf, change in tactics, or plea/flee attempt, or something)?

What @dave2008 said. Bloodied didn’t do anything on its own, but there were lots of features both positive and negative that cared about whether a creature was bloodied.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Brilliant thread...just sayin'