Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
GM seeking monster for long term relationship...
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 1353670" data-attributes="member: 3051"><p>I'd also suggest making your own critter. Okay, you can take something like the Rakshasa as a baseline, but remove the ultra-specific stuff (Maze and blessed crossbow bolts?), change the physical appearance to be more human-like, and add a few nifty things of your own. But frankly, while that method works great for one-shot enemies, it's not so good for recurring types. Sooner or later the players might figure out what it was based on. Even if it's not that obvious, the players will be using the same tactics they've always used.</p><p></p><p>I'd reinforce an earlier suggestion: why exactly was this race powerful enough to gain control? Everyone's used to the psionic race that reads thoughts and dominates minds. What if it was simpler than that?</p><p></p><p>Make a lawful evil ECL+1 race that has minor stat boosts (STR +2, CON +2, INT +2, CHA -2), DR 5/chaotic, Fast Healing 1, and some severe drawbacks, including light vulnerabilities and double damage from sonic attacks. As an additional benefit, give them better "technology"; for example, maybe all of their weapons are automatically Keen.</p><p>The armies of this race would be practically unstoppable against the standard conscript armies of the world. Even though the benefits aren't that impressive, there'd be this whole mythos of immortality about them, where fallen soldiers immediately got back up to continue fighting, and their weapons cut right through the best human armor. With no real need for healing, their attacks never pause or break; even if you kill a few, attrition will eventually overwhelm you. Sure, everyone might know their vulnerabilities, but where are you going to find enough chaotic weapons or sonic attacks to equip an entire army?</p><p>Then, of course, they're led by a smart Evil Overlord type who's actually read the Top 100 Things I'd Do list a few times. Someone who actually plans ahead and knows how to train a large army to be more than cannon fodder.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, you don't need to stack up tons of special abilities to make a good enemy; class levels work just fine for that. Just give a few basic abilities that'd make them invulnerable to peasant soldiers, and you're set.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spatzimaus, post: 1353670, member: 3051"] I'd also suggest making your own critter. Okay, you can take something like the Rakshasa as a baseline, but remove the ultra-specific stuff (Maze and blessed crossbow bolts?), change the physical appearance to be more human-like, and add a few nifty things of your own. But frankly, while that method works great for one-shot enemies, it's not so good for recurring types. Sooner or later the players might figure out what it was based on. Even if it's not that obvious, the players will be using the same tactics they've always used. I'd reinforce an earlier suggestion: why exactly was this race powerful enough to gain control? Everyone's used to the psionic race that reads thoughts and dominates minds. What if it was simpler than that? Make a lawful evil ECL+1 race that has minor stat boosts (STR +2, CON +2, INT +2, CHA -2), DR 5/chaotic, Fast Healing 1, and some severe drawbacks, including light vulnerabilities and double damage from sonic attacks. As an additional benefit, give them better "technology"; for example, maybe all of their weapons are automatically Keen. The armies of this race would be practically unstoppable against the standard conscript armies of the world. Even though the benefits aren't that impressive, there'd be this whole mythos of immortality about them, where fallen soldiers immediately got back up to continue fighting, and their weapons cut right through the best human armor. With no real need for healing, their attacks never pause or break; even if you kill a few, attrition will eventually overwhelm you. Sure, everyone might know their vulnerabilities, but where are you going to find enough chaotic weapons or sonic attacks to equip an entire army? Then, of course, they're led by a smart Evil Overlord type who's actually read the Top 100 Things I'd Do list a few times. Someone who actually plans ahead and knows how to train a large army to be more than cannon fodder. Anyway, you don't need to stack up tons of special abilities to make a good enemy; class levels work just fine for that. Just give a few basic abilities that'd make them invulnerable to peasant soldiers, and you're set. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
GM seeking monster for long term relationship...
Top