Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mesh Hong" data-source="post: 4714474" data-attributes="member: 73463">OK, I think we approach the game from 2 different angles. I like the system because I can easily design any creature I like at any level. While you equally like the system because you can easily apply a template to a standard creature to add variety.  Not necessarily, it is gaining a free aura attack, but the vulnerability and resistances sort of cancel each other out. The main other point is that the creature should have a low or standard damage value, and probably only one other attack power, probably either recharge or encounter.  I think at minimum a "large sized creature" swarm would have aura 2 free attack, and a reach 2 attack. Otherwise it would probably follow the same rules......it just depends on what the creatures are. Can you really see the need for an Ogre Swarm or a Young Red Dragon Swarm?   The above mechanics are what makes a swarm a swarm (in most normal cases). They are not added for free, they are the foundation principles the creature is designed from.   The first 7 are indeed all standard swarms from the MM. You can see the general design intentions from them. With the Bloodweb Spider swarm having an additional interesting effect, and the Needlefang Drake Swarm having an overpowered effect against low level characters (pull down as a minor action in combination with big extra damage vs. prone creature). I can't comment on the Kobold Swarm as I don't have that article. But it sounds like an interesting, non standard swarm. The problem you are going to face is that all of these creatures havn't had a template attached to them to make them a swarm, they have been designed as a swarm. Hence my original comment that it would be better to just build your own swarms as needed.   If you want to just increase the size of a creature and keep it a standard creature you are probably best just giving it reach 2 (large) or 3 (huge) and keeping everything else the same. The actual size of a creature has no real bearing on its stats other than reach. (see vicejaw crocodile p46 and warforged soldier p262 - same HPs, same AC these are part of its role and level) Your Dire Beast template is alright I think, though I am not an expert on templates. However I would give it +2 AC and +3 fortitude defences and change the trample attack to move instead of shift, and state that it provokes attacks of opportunity as normal during this move. If you want to reduce the size of a creature then apply the opposite of increasing the size of a creature. medium to small - no change, small to tiny - not sure, I don't think there are any tiny sized single creatures? It might have reach 0 and have to enter the targets square (again I would say this would need to be a designed creature, not a template) To turn a standard creature into a minion all you need to do is to reduce it to 1 HP, decrease the xp to the correct amount (4 minions = 1 standard creature), and add an interesting "on miss reaction" or quirky conditional power. Also look at its powers and reduce them to its basic attacks and up to 1 additional power. All its defences etc can stay the same.  I think the guidlines in the DMG are fine, once you understand them. I agree they could have been written more clearly and had a couple of examples to guide you through. Have you tried Asmors Monster maker? it does a lot of the maths for you making designing creatures much quicker and will give you consistant results.</blockquote>

Verification