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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 9520400" data-attributes="member: 6680772">Are you bored with your D&D monsters being sacks of hit points with multiattacks? Are you looking for a little more tactical variety, but without making your monsters too complex? Storywise, would you like to make your boss monster a challenge without adding a bunch of minion creatures that add to your combat bookkeeping without adding to the story or fun of the boss battle? Then perhaps Sword World 2.5's multi-part monsters are the cure for what ails you!SW2.5's multi-part monsters are elegant and simple. Each part of the monster acts as its own character. It has an attack bonus, an armor class, saves, and HP, and its own turn in which to act. However, for movement purposes, all parts move as one unit. One part is designated the core; if this part is reduced to 0 HP, then the monster is defeated. The obvious target, then, is the core, but the other parts work to protect this core in various ways.For example, a giant (or similar Huge humanoid) might have two parts: the Upper Body (its core), and the Lower Body. The Upper Body attacks with the giant's weapon. The Lower Body attacks with kicks. Because of its height, the Upper Body gets a +2 (or more!) to its AC against attacks from the ground. But if the Lower Body is reduced to 0 HP, the giant stumbles to one knee, unable to move, and the Upper Body's AC loses its bonus. The party has a tactical choice: attack the more difficult-to-hit core in an attempt to end the fight quickly, or attack the legs to hobble the giant and make it easier to take out the core.Let's take an Adult Blue Dragon and make it a multi-part monster.The Adult Blue Dragon has 225 HP, and AC 19. For attacks, it has a Bite, a Claw, a Tail, and a Breath Weapon. It also has a Wing Attack in its Legendary Actions, but we're going to take the Wing Attack out of Legendary Actions, and make it a regular attack of the Wings part. Because the dragon will get progressively weaker as it loses parts, we're going to buff its HP a bit (this will make it a little stronger than the standard Adult Blue Dragon. Keeping the original HP and simply distributing them to the different parts is also doable.)The dragon's core is going to be its Head. The Head has the Bite attack, and can also use the Breath Weapon. It gets 150 HP. While the dragon's Forearms are functional, the head gets a plus +4 to AC, giving it a 23. If the Head is destroyed, the dragon is dead.The dragon has two Forearms, each with 50 HP, and AC 19. Each has a Claw attack. If a forearm is destroyed, the dragon loses a Claw attack. If both forearms are destroyed, the Head loses its AC bonus.The dragon has Wings, with 50 HP and AC 19. They make a Wing attack, and also give the dragon its flight speed. As part of its Wing attack, the dragon can hover as high as 40 ft, but also as low as 5 ft, giving it reach for all its attacks. When flying, each part gets an additional +2 AC. If the Wings are destroyed, the dragon can no longer fly.Finally, the dragon has a Tail, with 50 HP, AC 19, and a Tail attack. If the Tail is destroyed, the dragon loses its Tail attack.Each time the dragon loses a body part, its Frightful Presence Save DC goes down by 1. The dragon as a whole retains its 3/Day Legendary Resistance, which can be used for any part. A dragon can only use its 3 Legendary Actions to Detect, unless only the Head remains, after which, in its fury to survive, the dragon can use any remaining Legendary Actions to Bite or use its Breath Weapon (if recharged).With an initial 5 attacks on its turn, the dragon will hit hard in the early rounds. But if the PCs can weather the storm, it will get progressively easier. There is a natural narrative flow to the battle: smaller victories that lead to the final one.The above dragon is a rather extreme case, with its five parts, but even lower level sub-boss enemies like the bugbear chief, or really anything that has multiattack or legendary actions can benefit from splitting these into two or more parts. Just remember that one or more of those parts will protect the core in some way, either by providing a constant bonus to AC, or using reactions to soak attacks meant for the core.</blockquote>

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