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Tequila Sunrise's Epic Level Handbook 3.75
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<blockquote data-quote="Tequila Sunrise" data-source="post: 3925027" data-attributes="member: 40398"><p><strong>Epic Monsters</strong></p><p>Rather than spend hours stating up a few individual monsters that other DMs may or may not use, I’ll spend a few hours stating up a few basic monster progressions that can be used to quickly and easily stat up many different monsters as DMs need them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Damage Reduction:</strong> I prefer old style damage reduction because it remains relevant throughout all levels and because it encourages players to enchant their weapons with enhancement bonuses rather than just bonus-equivalent abilities. Old style damage reduction does have its problems though, so I use a bit differently. For each enhancement bonus that a weapon is below that which a monster’s damage reduction requires, the weapon deals 5 less damage than normal. For example a fighter battling a dragon loses his primary weapon and must resort to a +1 sword. The dragon has damage reduction 15/+3, so the fighter must subtract 10 from each damage roll made with his +1 sword.</p><p></p><p><strong>Monster Ability Progressions:</strong> Monster abilities progress as a definable rate based on their CR. When reading a monster ability formula, the first number is the ability score that a monster starts with. The second number, most often a formula, is the rate at which that ability score advances as the monster’s CR rises. (see table below) For example a dragon’s Strength is equal to 11 + 5/8, so a CR 21 dragon would have a 37 Strength.</p><p>[code]</p><p>CR 0 1/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8 1</p><p>21 +0 +4 +10 +14 +20 +26 +30 +36 +42</p><p>22 +0 +4 +10 +16 +22 +26 +32 +38 +44</p><p>23 +0 +4 +10 +16 +22 +28 +34 +40 +46</p><p>24 +0 +6 +12 +18 +24 +30 +36 +42 +48</p><p>25 +0 +6 +12 +18 +24 +30 +36 +42 +50</p><p>26 +0 +6 +12 +18 +26 +32 +38 +44 +52</p><p>27 +0 +6 +12 +20 +26 +32 +40 +46 +54</p><p>28 +0 +6 +14 +20 +28 +34 +42 +48 +56</p><p>29 +0 +6 +14 +20 +28 +36 +42 +50 +58</p><p>30 +0 +6 +14 +22 +30 +36 +44 +52 +60</p><p>31 +0 +6 +14 +22 +30 +38 +46 +54 +62</p><p>32 +0 +8 +16 +24 +32 +40 +48 +56 +64</p><p>33 +0 +8 +16 +24 +32 +40 +48 +56 +66</p><p>34 +0 +8 +16 +24 +34 +42 +50 +58 +68</p><p>35 +0 +8 +16 +26 +34 +42 +52 +60 +70</p><p>36 +0 +8 +18 +26 +36 +44 +54 +62 +72</p><p>37 +0 +8 +18 +26 +36 +46 +54 +64 +74</p><p>38 +0 +8 +18 +28 +38 +46 +56 +66 +76</p><p>39 +0 +8 +18 +28 +38 +48 +58 +68 +78</p><p>40 +0 +10 +20 +30 +40 +50 +60 +70 +80</p><p>[/code]</p><p></p><p><strong>Draconian</strong> (Monstrous Humanoid [draconic])</p><p><strong>Size</strong> CR 1-2: Small, CR 3-4: Medium, CR 5-8: Large, CR 9-12: Huge, CR 13-20: Gargantuan, CR 21-28: Colossal, CR 29-44: Colossal +, CR 45-60: Colossal ++</p><p><strong>HD</strong> 1-1/2 x CR</p><p><strong>Strength</strong> 11 + 1/2</p><p><strong>Dexterity</strong> 10 + 0</p><p><strong>Constitution</strong> 11 + 1/4</p><p><strong>Intelligence</strong> 10 + 0</p><p><strong>Wisdom</strong> 10 + 0</p><p><strong>Charisma</strong> 11 + 0</p><p><strong>Natural Armor Bonus: </strong> 1 x CR</p><p><strong>Attacks: </strong> Great Sword (manufactured, one and a half Strength) or Claw (primary, full Strength)</p><p>[code]</p><p>Size Speed Space/Reach Claw</p><p>Small 30 5/5 1d4 (1)</p><p>Medium 40 5/5 1d6 (1)</p><p>Large 40 10/10 1d8 (1)</p><p>Huge 50 15/15 1d12 (2)</p><p>Gargantuan 50 20/20 2d8 (2)</p><p>Colossal 60 30/30 3d6 (2)</p><p>Colossal + 60 40/40 4d6 (2)</p><p>Colossal ++ 70 50/50 5d6 (2)</p><p>[/code]</p><p><strong>Special Qualities</strong></p><p><strong>Death Throes:</strong> When a draconian is reduced to -10 hit points, its body explodes with the pent up element of its ancestor dragon. This deals 1d6 points of acid, cold, electricity or fire damage per CR (Reflex half).</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Dragon</strong></p><p><strong>Size</strong> CR 1-2: Tiny, CR 3-4: Small, CR 5-8: Medium, CR 9-12: Large, CR 13-20: Huge, CR 21-28: Gargantuan, CR 29-44: Colossal, CR 45-60: Colossal +</p><p><strong>HD</strong> 1-1/2 x CR</p><p><strong>Strength</strong> 11 + 5/8</p><p><strong>Dexterity</strong> 10 + 0</p><p><strong>Constitution</strong> 11 + 3/8</p><p><strong>Intelligence</strong> 10 + 1/4</p><p><strong>Wisdom</strong> 10 + 1/4</p><p><strong>Charisma</strong> 11 + 1/4</p><p><strong>Natural Armor Bonus: </strong> 1-1/4 x CR</p><p><strong>Attacks: </strong> Bite (primary, full Strength), Claw (secondary, half Strength)</p><p></p><p>[code]</p><p>Size Speed Fly Space/Reach Bite Claw</p><p>Garg 60 220 (clumsy) 20/15 (20 with bite) 3d6 (2) 2d8 (4)</p><p>Col 70 240 (clumsy) 30/20 (30 with bite) 4d6 (2) 3d6 (4)</p><p>Col + 70 260 (clumsy) 40/30 (40 with bite) 5d6 (2) 4d6 (4)</p><p></p><p> Cone Line</p><p>Gargantuan 60 120</p><p>Colossal 70 140</p><p>Colossal + 80 160</p><p>[/code]</p><p></p><p><strong>Special Abilities</strong></p><p><strong>Breath Weapon (Su):</strong> Each dragon's breath weapon takes the form of either a cone or a line and deals damage of a certain type: either acid, cold, electricity or fire. Using a breath weapon is a standard action and deals 1d6 damage per CR. Once a dragon breaths, it can't breathe again until 3 rounds later. A blast brom a breath weapon always starts at any intersection adjacent to the dragon and extends in a direction of the dragon's choice. Creatures caught in the area can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. The save is Constitution-based.</p><p><strong>Crush (Ex):</strong> This special attack allows a flying or jumping dragon to land on opponents as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are effective only against opponents three or more size categories smaller than the dragon though it can attempt normal overrun or grapple attacks agianst larger opponents). A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under the dragon's body. Creatures in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning damage during the next round unless the dragon moves off them. If the dragon chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. Pinned opponents take damage from the crush each round if they don't escape. A crush attack deals bite damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus. The save DC is Constitution-based.</p><p><strong>Frightful Presence (Ex):</strong> This special attack allows a dragon to unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon attacks, charges or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 15 feet per CR are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragon. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save remains immune to that dragon's frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons. The save DC is Charisma-based.</p><p><strong>Spell-like Abilities (Sp):</strong> Caster Level = CR - 4. A dragon gains two spell-like abilities at each CR after 4. These spell-like abilities can be drawn from any spell list, but should generally reflect the dragon's alignment and natural habitat. Spells that incapacitate or kill should not be chosen as spell-like abilities. Highest Level -- 1/day; Second Highest Level -- 2/day; Third Highest Level -- 3/day; Lower Levels -- at will. The save DCs are Charisma-based.</p><p><strong>Tail Sweep (Ex):</strong> This special attack allows a dragon to sweep with its tail as a standard action. The sweep affects a half-circle with a radius of 30 feet (for a Gargantuan dragon) or 40 feet (for a Colossal dragon), extending from an intersection on the edge of the dragon's space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are four or more size categories smaller than the dragon. A tail sweep automatically deals claw damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus. Affected creatures can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.</p><p><strong>Special Qualities</strong></p><p><strong>Alternate Form (Su): </strong> This special ability allows a dragon to assume any animal, humanoid or vermin form as a standard action three times per day. This form may not have a CR more than 8 less than the dragon's CR. This ability functions as the polymorph spell cast on itself at its caster level, except that the dragon does not regain hit points for changing form and can only assume the form of an animal or humanoid. The dragon can remain in its animal or humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one or return to its natural form.</p><p><strong>Blindsense (Ex): </strong> Dragons can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents which the dragon can't actually see still have total concealment against the dragon.</p><p><strong>Damage Reduction (Su): </strong> CR 21-24: 20/+4, CR 25-28: 25/+5, CR 29-32: 30/+6. The natural weapons of a dragon with damage reduction are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.</p><p><strong>Immunity (Ex): </strong> A dragon is immune to the same type of energy which its breath weapon is.</p><p><strong>Keen Senses (Ex): </strong> A dragon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 feet.</p><p><strong>Spell Resistance (Ex): </strong> CR + 7.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tequila Sunrise, post: 3925027, member: 40398"] [b]Epic Monsters[/b] Rather than spend hours stating up a few individual monsters that other DMs may or may not use, I’ll spend a few hours stating up a few basic monster progressions that can be used to quickly and easily stat up many different monsters as DMs need them. [b]Damage Reduction:[/b] I prefer old style damage reduction because it remains relevant throughout all levels and because it encourages players to enchant their weapons with enhancement bonuses rather than just bonus-equivalent abilities. Old style damage reduction does have its problems though, so I use a bit differently. For each enhancement bonus that a weapon is below that which a monster’s damage reduction requires, the weapon deals 5 less damage than normal. For example a fighter battling a dragon loses his primary weapon and must resort to a +1 sword. The dragon has damage reduction 15/+3, so the fighter must subtract 10 from each damage roll made with his +1 sword. [b]Monster Ability Progressions:[/b] Monster abilities progress as a definable rate based on their CR. When reading a monster ability formula, the first number is the ability score that a monster starts with. The second number, most often a formula, is the rate at which that ability score advances as the monster’s CR rises. (see table below) For example a dragon’s Strength is equal to 11 + 5/8, so a CR 21 dragon would have a 37 Strength. [code] CR 0 1/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8 1 21 +0 +4 +10 +14 +20 +26 +30 +36 +42 22 +0 +4 +10 +16 +22 +26 +32 +38 +44 23 +0 +4 +10 +16 +22 +28 +34 +40 +46 24 +0 +6 +12 +18 +24 +30 +36 +42 +48 25 +0 +6 +12 +18 +24 +30 +36 +42 +50 26 +0 +6 +12 +18 +26 +32 +38 +44 +52 27 +0 +6 +12 +20 +26 +32 +40 +46 +54 28 +0 +6 +14 +20 +28 +34 +42 +48 +56 29 +0 +6 +14 +20 +28 +36 +42 +50 +58 30 +0 +6 +14 +22 +30 +36 +44 +52 +60 31 +0 +6 +14 +22 +30 +38 +46 +54 +62 32 +0 +8 +16 +24 +32 +40 +48 +56 +64 33 +0 +8 +16 +24 +32 +40 +48 +56 +66 34 +0 +8 +16 +24 +34 +42 +50 +58 +68 35 +0 +8 +16 +26 +34 +42 +52 +60 +70 36 +0 +8 +18 +26 +36 +44 +54 +62 +72 37 +0 +8 +18 +26 +36 +46 +54 +64 +74 38 +0 +8 +18 +28 +38 +46 +56 +66 +76 39 +0 +8 +18 +28 +38 +48 +58 +68 +78 40 +0 +10 +20 +30 +40 +50 +60 +70 +80 [/code] [b]Draconian[/b] (Monstrous Humanoid [draconic]) [b]Size[/b] CR 1-2: Small, CR 3-4: Medium, CR 5-8: Large, CR 9-12: Huge, CR 13-20: Gargantuan, CR 21-28: Colossal, CR 29-44: Colossal +, CR 45-60: Colossal ++ [b]HD[/b] 1-1/2 x CR [b]Strength[/b] 11 + 1/2 [b]Dexterity[/b] 10 + 0 [b]Constitution[/b] 11 + 1/4 [b]Intelligence[/b] 10 + 0 [b]Wisdom[/b] 10 + 0 [b]Charisma[/b] 11 + 0 [b]Natural Armor Bonus: [/b] 1 x CR [b]Attacks: [/b] Great Sword (manufactured, one and a half Strength) or Claw (primary, full Strength) [code] Size Speed Space/Reach Claw Small 30 5/5 1d4 (1) Medium 40 5/5 1d6 (1) Large 40 10/10 1d8 (1) Huge 50 15/15 1d12 (2) Gargantuan 50 20/20 2d8 (2) Colossal 60 30/30 3d6 (2) Colossal + 60 40/40 4d6 (2) Colossal ++ 70 50/50 5d6 (2) [/code] [b]Special Qualities[/b] [b]Death Throes:[/b] When a draconian is reduced to -10 hit points, its body explodes with the pent up element of its ancestor dragon. This deals 1d6 points of acid, cold, electricity or fire damage per CR (Reflex half). [b]Dragon[/b] [b]Size[/b] CR 1-2: Tiny, CR 3-4: Small, CR 5-8: Medium, CR 9-12: Large, CR 13-20: Huge, CR 21-28: Gargantuan, CR 29-44: Colossal, CR 45-60: Colossal + [b]HD[/b] 1-1/2 x CR [b]Strength[/b] 11 + 5/8 [b]Dexterity[/b] 10 + 0 [b]Constitution[/b] 11 + 3/8 [b]Intelligence[/b] 10 + 1/4 [b]Wisdom[/b] 10 + 1/4 [b]Charisma[/b] 11 + 1/4 [b]Natural Armor Bonus: [/b] 1-1/4 x CR [b]Attacks: [/b] Bite (primary, full Strength), Claw (secondary, half Strength) [code] Size Speed Fly Space/Reach Bite Claw Garg 60 220 (clumsy) 20/15 (20 with bite) 3d6 (2) 2d8 (4) Col 70 240 (clumsy) 30/20 (30 with bite) 4d6 (2) 3d6 (4) Col + 70 260 (clumsy) 40/30 (40 with bite) 5d6 (2) 4d6 (4) Cone Line Gargantuan 60 120 Colossal 70 140 Colossal + 80 160 [/code] [b]Special Abilities[/b] [b]Breath Weapon (Su):[/b] Each dragon's breath weapon takes the form of either a cone or a line and deals damage of a certain type: either acid, cold, electricity or fire. Using a breath weapon is a standard action and deals 1d6 damage per CR. Once a dragon breaths, it can't breathe again until 3 rounds later. A blast brom a breath weapon always starts at any intersection adjacent to the dragon and extends in a direction of the dragon's choice. Creatures caught in the area can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. The save is Constitution-based. [b]Crush (Ex):[/b] This special attack allows a flying or jumping dragon to land on opponents as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are effective only against opponents three or more size categories smaller than the dragon though it can attempt normal overrun or grapple attacks agianst larger opponents). A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under the dragon's body. Creatures in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning damage during the next round unless the dragon moves off them. If the dragon chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. Pinned opponents take damage from the crush each round if they don't escape. A crush attack deals bite damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus. The save DC is Constitution-based. [b]Frightful Presence (Ex):[/b] This special attack allows a dragon to unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon attacks, charges or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 15 feet per CR are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragon. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save remains immune to that dragon's frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons. The save DC is Charisma-based. [b]Spell-like Abilities (Sp):[/b] Caster Level = CR - 4. A dragon gains two spell-like abilities at each CR after 4. These spell-like abilities can be drawn from any spell list, but should generally reflect the dragon's alignment and natural habitat. Spells that incapacitate or kill should not be chosen as spell-like abilities. Highest Level -- 1/day; Second Highest Level -- 2/day; Third Highest Level -- 3/day; Lower Levels -- at will. The save DCs are Charisma-based. [b]Tail Sweep (Ex):[/b] This special attack allows a dragon to sweep with its tail as a standard action. The sweep affects a half-circle with a radius of 30 feet (for a Gargantuan dragon) or 40 feet (for a Colossal dragon), extending from an intersection on the edge of the dragon's space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are four or more size categories smaller than the dragon. A tail sweep automatically deals claw damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus. Affected creatures can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based. [b]Special Qualities[/b] [b]Alternate Form (Su): [/b] This special ability allows a dragon to assume any animal, humanoid or vermin form as a standard action three times per day. This form may not have a CR more than 8 less than the dragon's CR. This ability functions as the polymorph spell cast on itself at its caster level, except that the dragon does not regain hit points for changing form and can only assume the form of an animal or humanoid. The dragon can remain in its animal or humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one or return to its natural form. [b]Blindsense (Ex): [/b] Dragons can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents which the dragon can't actually see still have total concealment against the dragon. [b]Damage Reduction (Su): [/b] CR 21-24: 20/+4, CR 25-28: 25/+5, CR 29-32: 30/+6. The natural weapons of a dragon with damage reduction are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. [b]Immunity (Ex): [/b] A dragon is immune to the same type of energy which its breath weapon is. [b]Keen Senses (Ex): [/b] A dragon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 feet. [b]Spell Resistance (Ex): [/b] CR + 7. [/QUOTE]
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