Encounter Building
Simple vs. Advanced Monsters - Which to Use?
Relict has two categories of monsters: Simple and Advanced. In brief, Simple monsters have a basic health system and straightforward actions, while Advanced monsters track Stamina and Mana much like player characters, and have a Wounds system that alters the monster's abilities as it gets injured, and can be a way for clever and prepared players to win battles more efficiently.
Simple and Advanced monsters can be part of the same encounter. Neither category is inherently harder or easier on players than the other; they are divided to help GMs balance encounter complexity. It's generally expected that most encounters will be mainly Simple monsters, and that you would rarely run more than two or three Advanced monsters at once, but there is no rule against it. See the Simple & Advanced Monster Rules page for more details.
Relict has two categories of monsters: Simple and Advanced. In brief, Simple monsters have a basic health system and straightforward actions, while Advanced monsters track Stamina and Mana much like player characters, and have a Wounds system that alters the monster's abilities as it gets injured, and can be a way for clever and prepared players to win battles more efficiently.
Simple and Advanced monsters can be part of the same encounter. Neither category is inherently harder or easier on players than the other; they are divided to help GMs balance encounter complexity. It's generally expected that most encounters will be mainly Simple monsters, and that you would rarely run more than two or three Advanced monsters at once, but there is no rule against it. See the Simple & Advanced Monster Rules page for more details.
Wound Recovery
Advanced Monsters can suffer Wounds and Grievous Wounds in combat, which affect their abilities.
If a monster suffers a Grievous Wound, but combat ends without it dying (as when it or the players retreat), the monster recovers 1 Grievous Wound per 24 hours it is able to safely rest. Start with the highest numbered Grievous Wound, if applicable (GM's choice in the event of a tie).
Wounds recover in the same way. If the monster has a mix of Wounds and Grievous Wounds, start with the Grievous Wounds.
If a monster suffers a Grievous Wound, but combat ends without it dying (as when it or the players retreat), the monster recovers 1 Grievous Wound per 24 hours it is able to safely rest. Start with the highest numbered Grievous Wound, if applicable (GM's choice in the event of a tie).
Wounds recover in the same way. If the monster has a mix of Wounds and Grievous Wounds, start with the Grievous Wounds.
Encounter Balance and Threat Levels
Press On, or Turn Back? Quest Arcs in Relict.
Due to the Rest system in Relict, we expect parties to venture forth on excursions and turn back when:
Affliction Budgets By Quest Difficulty.
When planning encounters for a quest arc, having a total number of Afflictions for the arc in mind can help anchor it to your desired difficulty.
Player Behavior And Afflictions.
Afflictions are scaled, meaning that the first Afflictions suffered by a character are likely to be less severe than subsequent Afflictions.
Most characters can withstand 8 to 10 Afflictions before being incapacitated. Since they increase in severity and impact, most players will try to avoid getting too close to this line.
Getting to know what risks level the members of your group are comfortable with can help you plan how difficult to make an arc.
Party Level vs. Monster Threat Levels (version 3).
Every monster is assigned a calculated Threat Level score. This number ranges from 0 to 100 for most monsters seen in an average campaign (monsters with 100+ scores are possible for high level play). Below, find this number matched with appropriate player levels. Note there is some deliberate overlap between sections.
The Threat Level (TL X-Y) represents the typical range of monsters that a party of that level should be able to prevail against, with some challenge. So a party of players at 5th level can be expected to fight monsters in the TL 8-25 range and come out the other side.
Building An Encounter With Threat Levels.
Punching Above Your Weight Class
Can players successfully tackle monsters well outside of their typical Threat Level range? You bet! But it requires work.
For example, few parties could be expected to casually square off with a full-powered Spitfire Dragon (TL 76) at anything but the highest levels of play. But a determined party of lower level could acquire potions and magic to resist Burning Damage, lay a trap to prevent the monster from taking to the sky and outmaneuvering them, gather allies -- other heroes, holy messengers, rival dragons -- and prepare attacks that will inflict freezing, puncturing Grievous Wounds that diminish the Spitfire's deadliest area attacks.
Such a strategy would still leave the party with a deadly foe, but increase their chance of victory (and survival) significantly.
Encounters like this make excellent boss battles and defining campaign moments, but take a lot of lead up. Gathering allies and powerful, specific weapons could be a series of quest arcs all on their own, as could finding in-game ways to learn the dragon's weaknesses, lair location, and so on. Set the hook for such encounters well before you plan to run them, and give your players ample chance to stack the odds in their favor. Win or lose, it'll be a fight to remember.
Due to the Rest system in Relict, we expect parties to venture forth on excursions and turn back when:
- They have completed their goals, or:
- They have sustained enough Afflictions that they decide it is no longer with the risk to carry on, and must Full Rest.
Affliction Budgets By Quest Difficulty.
When planning encounters for a quest arc, having a total number of Afflictions for the arc in mind can help anchor it to your desired difficulty.
- Low Threat Quests: plan encounters to inflict 1-3 Afflictions per player. Expect minor recuperation between quest arcs, but death or long incapacitations are unlikely.
- Medium Threat Quests: plan 4-6 Afflictions per player. Player death is unlikely, but injuries will require recuperation.
- High Threat Quests: plan 6-8 Afflictions per player. Player death is very possible if the party is caught unprepared, or luck is not on their side.
- Deadly Quests: budget 9+ Afflictions per player. Death of one or more party members is very likely. You're expecting your players to pull out all the stops to prevent Afflictions, heal them, resurrect some of the fallen if possible, and push through--or die trying.
Player Behavior And Afflictions.
Afflictions are scaled, meaning that the first Afflictions suffered by a character are likely to be less severe than subsequent Afflictions.
Most characters can withstand 8 to 10 Afflictions before being incapacitated. Since they increase in severity and impact, most players will try to avoid getting too close to this line.
Getting to know what risks level the members of your group are comfortable with can help you plan how difficult to make an arc.
- Low Risk Tolerance players will likely look to turn back once they have sustained 3 or less Afflictions.
- Average Risk Tolerance players will likely look to turn around between 5 and 7 Afflictions.
- High Risk Tolerance players will risk death to complete a quest, and will tolerate 8 or more Afflictions so long as their character remains relatively effective.
- Multiple classes, abilities, perks, and items can mitigate or prevent Afflictions, or heal a limited number in the field. The above numbers account for Afflictions the character is stuck with, not what can be healed between battles.
- Expect many players to start as low or average risk-tolerance players in their first experiences with Relict. Some will remain there, but others will trend toward riskier excursions with their characters as they become more comfortable with the system and more confident in their abilities.
Party Level vs. Monster Threat Levels (version 3).
Every monster is assigned a calculated Threat Level score. This number ranges from 0 to 100 for most monsters seen in an average campaign (monsters with 100+ scores are possible for high level play). Below, find this number matched with appropriate player levels. Note there is some deliberate overlap between sections.
- Threat Level Minimal (TL 0)
- Party Level 1-2: Threat Level Low (TL 0-12)
- Party Level 3-6: Threat Level Moderate (TL 8-25)
- Party Level 7-10: Threat Level High (TL 20-40)
- Party Level 11-13: Threat Level Severe (TL 35-65)
- Party Level 14-16: Threat Level Extreme (TL 50-85)
- Party Level 17-20: Threat Level Deadly (TL 70-100)
- Threat Level Impossible (TL 100+)
The Threat Level (TL X-Y) represents the typical range of monsters that a party of that level should be able to prevail against, with some challenge. So a party of players at 5th level can be expected to fight monsters in the TL 8-25 range and come out the other side.
Building An Encounter With Threat Levels.
- A balanced encounter is defined as a battle in which one or more Afflictions are likely, if the party simply squares off with the threat and trades blows. If the party adopts this approach, they will usually emerge victorious but wounded going into the next challenge.
- It is possible for the party to use clever tactics, strategy, and luck to escape a balanced encounter unscathed.
- Conversely, it's possible for them to make disastrous decisions or fall victim to terrible luck and be severely mauled by a balanced encounter.
- To create a balanced encounter, follow one of these three outlines:
- Scenario A: There are roughly as many enemies as their are player characters. The Threat Level of these enemies falls in the middle of the TL range for that party level.
- Scenario B: The party outnumbers their enemies, but the Threat Level of these enemies falls at the high end of the TL range for that party level.
- Scenario C: The enemies outnumber the party, but the Threat Level of these enemies falls at the low end of the TL range for that party level.
- To create a harder encounter, increase the Threat Level and/or number of enemies compared to one of these balanced scenarios. Avoid going more than one bracket above your player's levels.
- To create an easier encounter, decrease the Threat Level and/or number of enemies compared to one of these balanced scenarios.
Punching Above Your Weight Class
Can players successfully tackle monsters well outside of their typical Threat Level range? You bet! But it requires work.
For example, few parties could be expected to casually square off with a full-powered Spitfire Dragon (TL 76) at anything but the highest levels of play. But a determined party of lower level could acquire potions and magic to resist Burning Damage, lay a trap to prevent the monster from taking to the sky and outmaneuvering them, gather allies -- other heroes, holy messengers, rival dragons -- and prepare attacks that will inflict freezing, puncturing Grievous Wounds that diminish the Spitfire's deadliest area attacks.
Such a strategy would still leave the party with a deadly foe, but increase their chance of victory (and survival) significantly.
Encounters like this make excellent boss battles and defining campaign moments, but take a lot of lead up. Gathering allies and powerful, specific weapons could be a series of quest arcs all on their own, as could finding in-game ways to learn the dragon's weaknesses, lair location, and so on. Set the hook for such encounters well before you plan to run them, and give your players ample chance to stack the odds in their favor. Win or lose, it'll be a fight to remember.
Crunchy Corner: How Are Threat Levels Calculated For Monsters?
Oof. This has been a hard process, and is still being refined. Ideally I would like this to be simplified significantly, or at least for there to be a handy wizard tool that does the math for you--working on that. But here's the latest system that seems to be working, for those who wish to do some homebrewing now. -Chris
Monsters are assigned points based on the variables below. These are weighted according to the impact they have on encounter difficulty. (Version 3):
Oof. This has been a hard process, and is still being refined. Ideally I would like this to be simplified significantly, or at least for there to be a handy wizard tool that does the math for you--working on that. But here's the latest system that seems to be working, for those who wish to do some homebrewing now. -Chris
Monsters are assigned points based on the variables below. These are weighted according to the impact they have on encounter difficulty. (Version 3):
- (Health/6): The monster gets 1 point for every 6 health it has.
- (Alternate movement = +8). The monster gets +8 if it has any alternate movement methods (flight, teleportation, burrowing, etc.) to account for it being harder for players to attack consistently. This is a flat adjustment - do not keep adding 8 if it has multiple.
- (Armor/5): The monster gets 1 point for every 5 Armor.
- (2 per Strength): The monster gets 2 points for every favorable Strength (such as a Damage Resistance or ambusher rule) in its stat block.
- (-1 per Weakness): The monster loses 1 point for every detrimental Weakness (such as a Damage Vulnerability) in its stat block. Do not include Grievous Wound effects.
- (Max Damage Per Round/10). Add up the maximum possible damage the monster could do in an ideal round, and divide that by 10 to get a point score.
- (Best Weapon or Spell Attack Roll/3). Divide the monster's best to-hit bonus by 3, and give it that many points.
- (1 Point Per Attack beyond 2). The monster gets an extra point for every attack it can make in a round, beyond the standard two actions (factors in Combo Attacks, etc.)
- (Best Counterspell/2). If the monster can Counterspell, divide its best counter by 2 and assign that many points.
- (Elemental Damage = +2). If the monster can deal any Elemental Damage, add 2. Accounts for Elemental Damage Charts being slightly more dangerous.
- (Esoteric Damage = +2). If the monster can deal any Esoteric Damage, add 2. Accounts for Esoteric Damage Charts being significantly more dangerous.
- (Area of Effect Damage = +2). If the monster has abilities that damage multiple targets or hit areas, add 2.
Quick References & GM Tools:
Creature Sizes
- Tiny. Less than 1ft. tall or wide in any direction, and/or less than 10lbs. 1x1 grid, can overlap other creatures.
- Small. 1-4ft. tall and/or 10-80lbs. Smaller humanoids and children. Some player characters may be small. 1x1 grid.
- Medium. 4-8ft. tall and/or 80-600lbs. Most humanoids and player characters. 1x1 grid.
- Large. 8-12ft. tall and/or 600-4,000lbs. Some larger humanoids and player characters. 2x2 grid.
- Giant. 12-20ft. in its biggest direction, 4,000-15,000lbs. Typically 3x3; may be larger in one or more directions if oddly shaped. Small dragons, elephants, er...well, Giants, etc.
- Humongous. 20-100ft. in its biggest direction, 15,000-150,000lbs. Typically 4x4; may exceed 5+ spaces in some directions. Dragons, whales, very massive things.
- Colossal. 50-100ft, 150,000- 500,000lbs. Typically 5x5, often larger in one or more directions. Few naturally occurring creatures. Greatest dragons and furies, godly avatars, massive constructs, vehicles.
- Titanic. 100ft+, 500,000lbs.+, 6x6+. We’re talking about kaiju or literal titans here.
Creature Types
In addition to being an organizational tool, Creature Types may act as triggers for Checks and effects (a sword that deals extra damage to Fey, characters with a bonus to tracking Fiends, etc.)
Creatures are sorted by their primary type, but may fit into multiple categories. Additional categories are listed in the creature's stat block, if they apply. Example: a deer would be "fauna," but an undead deer would be "undead fauna," while a deer made out of magma would go under "elemental fauna."
In addition to being an organizational tool, Creature Types may act as triggers for Checks and effects (a sword that deals extra damage to Fey, characters with a bonus to tracking Fiends, etc.)
Creatures are sorted by their primary type, but may fit into multiple categories. Additional categories are listed in the creature's stat block, if they apply. Example: a deer would be "fauna," but an undead deer would be "undead fauna," while a deer made out of magma would go under "elemental fauna."
- Aberration - The eldritch, the outsider, the cosmic horror. Aberrations interact with time, space, and the material world in strange ways, and can induce effects related to existential terror, dread, or the mind-rending vertigo spawned from seeing beyond reality. Aberrations often act according to alien logic, and are difficult to predict.
- Aquatic - Anything that lives primarily underwater. Amphibians included by technicality.
- Blighted - Creatures created by corruption of magic/the Ether. Includes natural creatures twisted by such forces, and creatures spawned entirely from it. Blighted creatures are characterized by unpredictable, random-seeming magical effects, and sometimes sap Mana from others.
- Celestial - Divine beings, closely adjacent, or analogous to same. Not inherently good or evil; rather, spawned by and in service to a god, gods, fundamental domain, or other cosmic power. Rarely displays what we would call "free will," as they are very much the embodiment of their domains. Celestials often display Ardent Damage, blinding light, and a capacity to heal - but this is not universal, and can be completely different for more specific Celestials.
- Construct - Crafted creatures, usually referring to golems, automatons, or objects imbued with animation through magic. This category can expand to include vehicles, siege engines, machines, or even structures if necessary for game mechanic purposes, but typically "Constructs" refers specifically to things behaving like creatures. Constructs tend towards durability and damage negation, but only display true sentience in rare circumstances.
- Dragon - Dragons! You know, dragons. Usually big winged lizards, though there are some smaller/weirder critters in the family.
- Etherborn - Isolated entities composed mostly (or entirely) of energy from the Ether. Can spark wild interactions with other magic or Mana.
- Elemental - Creatures born of or mostly composed of animated Fire, Ice/Water, Earth, Air, etc.
- Fauna - Animals typical to an area/world/plane.
- Fey/Fae - A diverse, difficult-to-characterize category of creatures that often hails from a hidden or near-parallel world(s) to the "primary" plane of your setting, and/or has strong associations with archetypal or natural forces like seasons, celestial bodies, predator and prey, and more, but usually do not fit into the realm of deific pantheons. Fae range in form and temperament from humanlike to utterly alien, and in danger level from harmless to near-godlike. Often the more powerful a fae is, the more it is bound to immutable rules tied to its nature--though they will rarely disclose what those are.
- Fiends- Includes devils, demons, fallen celestials, and damned souls. Depending on the cosmology in question, fiends may exist as natural opposites to the divine, former divines who were cast down, or a competing primordial force. Many fiends are brutal, violent, tyrannical, evil, and selfish, though--much like Celestials and free will--exceptions do appear.
- Flora - Plants, plant-people, and plant derivatives. Presumably above-average plants if we're making a statblock, unless you have very severe allergies.
- Fury - Furies are the personifications or avatars of Places of Power, leyline nexuses, or powerful forces. Sometimes called Genius Loci, furies often mirror their domain in temperament and ability. Furies are most often generated by natural forces, but artificial forces may create the conditions for their coalescence as well.
- Giant - Like humanoids, but big. Includes giants, trolls, ogres, and related creatures.
- Humanoid - Includes all playable Lineages (although some have multiple types). Gnolls, kobolds, and other bipeds with generally bilateral symmetry also fall under this umbrella.
- Mage - Creatures and Characters primarily concerned with spellcasting.
- Monstrosity - Monstrosities were once natural creatures (flora/fauna) that were tampered with via magic, corruption, curses, gene tampering, mutation, etc. Whether this resulted in a single monstrosity or an entire new species depends entirely on the circumstances.
- Ooze - Squishy blob friends! *Friendship not guaranteed.
- Shapeshifters - Includes lycanthropes, dopplegangers, mimics, and all manner of creatures that spend significant time looking like different creatures.
- Undead - Like the living version, but deader, but not quite. Usually a combined with another creature type, i.e. "undead dragon, undead humanoid."
Reference Charts when designing/homebrewing monsters:
Typical (player) armor class is expected to be in the 8-12 range.
4 is a character build that chose to forego most armor choices in favor of other options.
15 is a max armor build (max stat bonus, full plate, tower shield) without magic enhancement. 20 is that plus buffs from magic items or spells. These should be treated as an edge case - if a player wants to spend all their choices building a supertank, they should benefit from that most of the time.
Keep in mind, this is to hit; this chart does not take into account damage reduction options.
4 is a character build that chose to forego most armor choices in favor of other options.
15 is a max armor build (max stat bonus, full plate, tower shield) without magic enhancement. 20 is that plus buffs from magic items or spells. These should be treated as an edge case - if a player wants to spend all their choices building a supertank, they should benefit from that most of the time.
Keep in mind, this is to hit; this chart does not take into account damage reduction options.
This chart shows it from the other angle - how likely a player is to hit a target based on its Armor Class, depending on how high their bonus is.
We can expect +0 (a flat 1d12) to cover things that the character has no skill in. A pure mage trying to swing an axe, etc.
A bonus of 3-6 covers the range of class skills for most character's major and minor class abilities/focus. Warriors attacking, archers shooting, mages spellslinging.
A +10 or higher bonus represents either a buffed ability, or a build that's focused heavily on maxing it that out.
From this chart, we can infer that harder to hit monsters should have an AC range from 8-13, and very slippery/heavily armored monsters between 13 and 16. Higher AC would make sense in some encounters, but should be designed around carefully to avoid being frustrating miss-fests and dragging out combat with non-eventful Rounds. Easier to hit monsters (not necessarily easier encounters) should fall between 3 and 9 AC.
As a bonus, this chart doubles as a way to set Check difficulties vs. Skill Bonuses.
We can expect +0 (a flat 1d12) to cover things that the character has no skill in. A pure mage trying to swing an axe, etc.
A bonus of 3-6 covers the range of class skills for most character's major and minor class abilities/focus. Warriors attacking, archers shooting, mages spellslinging.
A +10 or higher bonus represents either a buffed ability, or a build that's focused heavily on maxing it that out.
From this chart, we can infer that harder to hit monsters should have an AC range from 8-13, and very slippery/heavily armored monsters between 13 and 16. Higher AC would make sense in some encounters, but should be designed around carefully to avoid being frustrating miss-fests and dragging out combat with non-eventful Rounds. Easier to hit monsters (not necessarily easier encounters) should fall between 3 and 9 AC.
As a bonus, this chart doubles as a way to set Check difficulties vs. Skill Bonuses.
