Monsters in Relict
This page is intended to be both an explainer of the systems, and as a template for monster design - for us internally, our community during brainstorming, and for GMs/homebrewers whipping up their own stuff. We'll adjust it over time as we test and edit. For now, have fun! -Chris
Relict divides monsters, enemies, and non-player characters into two groups for the purposes of running encounters, called "Simple Monsters" and "Advanced Monsters."
Both groups contain foes that run the gamut from trivially easy to extremely dangerous (developing a reliable "threat level" system for encounter balancing is ongoing, stay tuned). The distinction made here is in the complexity of their game mechanics.
Generally, Simple Monsters have straightforward abilities, a simple Health value, and less to keep track of; whereas Advanced Monsters actively manage Mana and Stamina for some abilities, and have a Health and Wounds system for defeating them.
Simple Monsters
Advanced Monsters
There is no rules-as-written limitation to how many Advanced Monsters a GM may employ at once, but know that they have been designed with the assumption that it would be unusual to have more than 1~3 in a single encounter. If a GM is comfortable running more, or wishes to use them sparingly/not at all, that's entirely up to them.
Below you will find a sample Stat Block for a hypothetical Simple and an Advanced monster (thank you, Discord), along with a detailed explanation of each category and how they work in practice. Formatting here is not final, this is just intended to be easy to copy/paste between text documents while we work.
Finally, I've included some Quick Reference material at the very bottom so you don't have to jump around between tabs.
Relict divides monsters, enemies, and non-player characters into two groups for the purposes of running encounters, called "Simple Monsters" and "Advanced Monsters."
Both groups contain foes that run the gamut from trivially easy to extremely dangerous (developing a reliable "threat level" system for encounter balancing is ongoing, stay tuned). The distinction made here is in the complexity of their game mechanics.
Generally, Simple Monsters have straightforward abilities, a simple Health value, and less to keep track of; whereas Advanced Monsters actively manage Mana and Stamina for some abilities, and have a Health and Wounds system for defeating them.
Simple Monsters
- Expected to make up the bulk of most campaign's encounters/monsters (75-90%).
- Designed to be manageable in small or large groups, with or without Advanced Monsters in the same encounter.
Advanced Monsters
- Built around more nuanced core mechanics
- Designed to reward players for adapting to the twists they present on the battlefield.
- Make for good "boss/mini-boss" fights, or a way to present parties with new and interesting challenges.
There is no rules-as-written limitation to how many Advanced Monsters a GM may employ at once, but know that they have been designed with the assumption that it would be unusual to have more than 1~3 in a single encounter. If a GM is comfortable running more, or wishes to use them sparingly/not at all, that's entirely up to them.
Below you will find a sample Stat Block for a hypothetical Simple and an Advanced monster (thank you, Discord), along with a detailed explanation of each category and how they work in practice. Formatting here is not final, this is just intended to be easy to copy/paste between text documents while we work.
Finally, I've included some Quick Reference material at the very bottom so you don't have to jump around between tabs.
Simple Monsters
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Simple Monster Example
Spudlet Spudlets are terrible, burrowing little carbohydrates commonly found roaming in packs. Enterprising alchemists have found numerous unexpected uses for their flesh for them in various concoctions, “spud-hunts” provide a key source of food for many regions with otherwise nonarable land. Core Stats: Might 1 Precision 1 Cleverness 2 Knowledge 0 Willpower 0 Fortitude 3 Speed: 25ft. / 10ft. (Burrow) Armor: 3 Health: 8 Size: Small Type: Spud Detection: 2 Tags: Spud, plains, regenerating Tendencies: pack hunters, retreat if outnumbered, burrow while idle Tactics: Ambush from burrowing, target weakest perceived enemy |
rawr
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Strengths & Weaknesses
Burning Weakness. If a Spudlet takes Burning Damage, increase the amount by 2.
Freezing Empowerment. If a Spudlet takes Freezing Damage, reduce it to 1, and increase its armor by +1 for one Round.
Actions
Lil’ stabbers (Melee attack, 5ft., 1 target, +1 to hit). Deals 1d4 Piercing Damage.
Carbo-load (Counterspell Cost: 2 Mana, Target self). Recover 1 HP.
Reactions
Counterspell: (1)
Burning Weakness. If a Spudlet takes Burning Damage, increase the amount by 2.
Freezing Empowerment. If a Spudlet takes Freezing Damage, reduce it to 1, and increase its armor by +1 for one Round.
Actions
Lil’ stabbers (Melee attack, 5ft., 1 target, +1 to hit). Deals 1d4 Piercing Damage.
Carbo-load (Counterspell Cost: 2 Mana, Target self). Recover 1 HP.
Reactions
Counterspell: (1)
Simple Monster Template
Monster Name
Lore, description, and/or flavor text.
Core Stats:
Might X
Precision X
Cleverness X
Knowledge X
Willpower X
Fortitude X
The Core Stats of the monster. See Quick Reference below or the Core Rules. These primarily come into play if a Player's action/spell/effect/etc. requires the monster to make a Check (contested or not).
Speed: (x)ft. / (y)ft. (type)
Usually walking speed. Some creatures have additional speeds (y) for flying, climbing, burrowing, etc. Specified in (type) if applicable.
Armor: #
Attacks must meet or beat this number to hit the creature.
Health: #
Subtract when creature takes damage. The creature dies when this number hits 0.
Size: (Tiny thru Titanic)
Type: (Creature Type(s))
See quick reference panel below for Size & Type.
Detection: #
Baseline passive detection of the creature. Active Search Actions use 1d12+Precision.
Tags: (A, B, C)
Tags are used to help GMs search for monsters with specific attributes or themes, and as a keyword for certain rules interactions (a magic item may help players detect creatures with the "ethereal" tag, for example). This list is growing as we design and will be streamlined and standardized once we have a body of work to organize.
Tendencies: (A, B, C)
Short descriptive notes of how the creature(s) commonly behave, in combat or normal behavior e.g. "Pack-hunter, aggressive when numerically superior" or "forager, shy, avoids groups." These are intended as suggestions to aid GMs in encounter design/play, improvisation, or worldbuilding, and can be modified or ignored at your table as needed.
Tactics: (A, B, C)
Similar to Tendencies, but specific to combat, e.g. "targets strongest known threat, prefers ranged combat, hit and run," etc.
Strengths & Weaknesses
If the creature is particularly strong or vulnerable to specific damage types (or other variables), they are described in this section.
Damage Type Weakness. (Describe severity, usually in terms of taking additional damage)
Damage Type Strength. (Describe effect, usually in terms of reducing damage taken from these sources and/or gaining a buff, for example a Fire Elemental becoming stronger from Burning attacks).
Actions
The attacks, spells, or abilities the creature has. Creatures have two actions per turn unless specified otherwise. Movement also counts as an Action.
Weapon Attack Name (Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Attack Name (Counterspell Cost: (Mana), (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Spell Name (Counterspell Cost: (Mana), (X)ft. range, # of targets, Spell Save and Type). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
To simplify things for the GM, we do not track Mana or Stamina capacity and regeneration for Simple Monsters. It is assumed that they have enough to use their abilities. A Counterspell Cost is provided so players can use the Counterspell Action against that ability. If under an anti-magic field effect, abilities with Counterspell Cost cannot be used.
Reactions
Counterspell: (Value)
How much this creature can spend on a Counterspell reaction. May be a flat number ("2") or a variable ("1d4+1"). If this Reaction is not listed, it is assumed this creature cannot counterspell.
Most Simple Monsters, especially at low levels, will have a value of 0-3. This number may be higher for spellcasting-focused Simple Monsters, like enemy mages, but usually major Counterspelling roles will be filled by Advanced Monsters.
It is assumed that most creatures can use universal Reactions like Retreat or Opportunity Attack (using one of their attacks listed under Actions above), so they will not be reproduced in the stat block unless there are special circumstances.
Monster Name
Lore, description, and/or flavor text.
Core Stats:
Might X
Precision X
Cleverness X
Knowledge X
Willpower X
Fortitude X
The Core Stats of the monster. See Quick Reference below or the Core Rules. These primarily come into play if a Player's action/spell/effect/etc. requires the monster to make a Check (contested or not).
Speed: (x)ft. / (y)ft. (type)
Usually walking speed. Some creatures have additional speeds (y) for flying, climbing, burrowing, etc. Specified in (type) if applicable.
Armor: #
Attacks must meet or beat this number to hit the creature.
Health: #
Subtract when creature takes damage. The creature dies when this number hits 0.
Size: (Tiny thru Titanic)
Type: (Creature Type(s))
See quick reference panel below for Size & Type.
Detection: #
Baseline passive detection of the creature. Active Search Actions use 1d12+Precision.
Tags: (A, B, C)
Tags are used to help GMs search for monsters with specific attributes or themes, and as a keyword for certain rules interactions (a magic item may help players detect creatures with the "ethereal" tag, for example). This list is growing as we design and will be streamlined and standardized once we have a body of work to organize.
Tendencies: (A, B, C)
Short descriptive notes of how the creature(s) commonly behave, in combat or normal behavior e.g. "Pack-hunter, aggressive when numerically superior" or "forager, shy, avoids groups." These are intended as suggestions to aid GMs in encounter design/play, improvisation, or worldbuilding, and can be modified or ignored at your table as needed.
Tactics: (A, B, C)
Similar to Tendencies, but specific to combat, e.g. "targets strongest known threat, prefers ranged combat, hit and run," etc.
Strengths & Weaknesses
If the creature is particularly strong or vulnerable to specific damage types (or other variables), they are described in this section.
Damage Type Weakness. (Describe severity, usually in terms of taking additional damage)
Damage Type Strength. (Describe effect, usually in terms of reducing damage taken from these sources and/or gaining a buff, for example a Fire Elemental becoming stronger from Burning attacks).
Actions
The attacks, spells, or abilities the creature has. Creatures have two actions per turn unless specified otherwise. Movement also counts as an Action.
Weapon Attack Name (Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Attack Name (Counterspell Cost: (Mana), (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Spell Name (Counterspell Cost: (Mana), (X)ft. range, # of targets, Spell Save and Type). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
To simplify things for the GM, we do not track Mana or Stamina capacity and regeneration for Simple Monsters. It is assumed that they have enough to use their abilities. A Counterspell Cost is provided so players can use the Counterspell Action against that ability. If under an anti-magic field effect, abilities with Counterspell Cost cannot be used.
Reactions
Counterspell: (Value)
How much this creature can spend on a Counterspell reaction. May be a flat number ("2") or a variable ("1d4+1"). If this Reaction is not listed, it is assumed this creature cannot counterspell.
Most Simple Monsters, especially at low levels, will have a value of 0-3. This number may be higher for spellcasting-focused Simple Monsters, like enemy mages, but usually major Counterspelling roles will be filled by Advanced Monsters.
It is assumed that most creatures can use universal Reactions like Retreat or Opportunity Attack (using one of their attacks listed under Actions above), so they will not be reproduced in the stat block unless there are special circumstances.
Advanced Monsters
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Advanced Monster Example
Ser Idaho Ser Idaho is an affront to gods and men, and a testament to the dangers of an unmonitored Discord channel. He roams the land seeking one who can best him in combat and deliver unto him the sweet release of final death. But gosh darn it if we don’t love him for it. Core Stats: Might 4 Precision 2 Cleverness 2 Knowledge 2 Willpower 3 Fortitude 8 Speed: 35ft. / 10ft. (Burrow) Armor: 8 Size: Medium Type: Spud, Humanoid Detection: 5 Tags: Spud, plains, cursed, regenerating, spawns minions Tendencies: Seeks honorable combat, eternally wanders, never surrenders Tactics: Prefers single combat, uses minions to manage groups, focuses on strongest combatant Stamina & Mana Stamina: 10, Regenerate: 3 Mana: 8, Regenerate: 2 Special Features Curse of Life. When killed, if Ser Idaho’s body is not burned, he regenerates in 30 days. Strengths & Weaknesses Burning Weakness. If Idaho takes Burning Damage, increase the amount by 2. Greater Freezing Empowerment. If Idaho takes Freezing Damage, reduce it to 1, and increase his armor by +4 for one Round. |
Discord did this. They did this to you.
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Actions
Sword Attack. (Melee, 5ft., 1 target, +5 to hit). Deals 1d8 Slashing Damage.
Sodium Blast. (Ranged Attack, 15ft., 1 target, Check: Fortitude 5) On failure, target’s speed reduced by 5ft. until the end of its next turn.
Advanced Actions
Project Nihilism (Cost 4 Mana, Ranged Spell Attack, 15ft., 1 target, +5 to hit). Target must grapple with why such a creature is allowed to exist. Deals 3d4 Psychic Damage.
Propagate (Cost: 2 Stamina). Ser Idaho recovers 1d10 Health.
Sprout (Cost: 5 Stamina). Ser Idaho creates a Spudlet in an unoccupied space adjacent to him.
Reactions
Wail of the Doomed Tuber. When he takes a Wound, Ser Idaho may use his reaction to psychically bellow his joy at his possible end, making everybody very sad. Everyone loses 1 Stamina.
Counterspell.
Endurance.
Health: 80
Wound Threshold: 12. If Ser Idaho takes 12 or more damage in a single Turn, he gains a Wound.
Number of Wounds: 5. If Ser Idaho suffers 5 or more Wounds, he is instantly killed.
Grievous Wounds. If Ser Idaho suffers a wound as a result of the specified Damage Type, he suffers the additional effect below. Each effect can only be suffered once.
( ) Burning (1st): Ser Idaho can no longer use the Sprout Action.
( ) Burning (2nd): Ser Idaho can no longer use the Propagate Action.
( ) Slashing: Ser Idaho’s Sword Attack bonus is reduced from +5 to +3.
( ) Psychic: Ser Idaho may only take 1 Action on his next turn.
( ) Infernal: Ser Idaho’s Curse of Life feature is removed.
Sword Attack. (Melee, 5ft., 1 target, +5 to hit). Deals 1d8 Slashing Damage.
Sodium Blast. (Ranged Attack, 15ft., 1 target, Check: Fortitude 5) On failure, target’s speed reduced by 5ft. until the end of its next turn.
Advanced Actions
Project Nihilism (Cost 4 Mana, Ranged Spell Attack, 15ft., 1 target, +5 to hit). Target must grapple with why such a creature is allowed to exist. Deals 3d4 Psychic Damage.
Propagate (Cost: 2 Stamina). Ser Idaho recovers 1d10 Health.
Sprout (Cost: 5 Stamina). Ser Idaho creates a Spudlet in an unoccupied space adjacent to him.
Reactions
Wail of the Doomed Tuber. When he takes a Wound, Ser Idaho may use his reaction to psychically bellow his joy at his possible end, making everybody very sad. Everyone loses 1 Stamina.
Counterspell.
Endurance.
Health: 80
Wound Threshold: 12. If Ser Idaho takes 12 or more damage in a single Turn, he gains a Wound.
Number of Wounds: 5. If Ser Idaho suffers 5 or more Wounds, he is instantly killed.
Grievous Wounds. If Ser Idaho suffers a wound as a result of the specified Damage Type, he suffers the additional effect below. Each effect can only be suffered once.
( ) Burning (1st): Ser Idaho can no longer use the Sprout Action.
( ) Burning (2nd): Ser Idaho can no longer use the Propagate Action.
( ) Slashing: Ser Idaho’s Sword Attack bonus is reduced from +5 to +3.
( ) Psychic: Ser Idaho may only take 1 Action on his next turn.
( ) Infernal: Ser Idaho’s Curse of Life feature is removed.
Advanced Monster Template
Monster Name
Lore, description, and/or flavor text.
Core Stats:
Might X
Precision X
Cleverness X
Knowledge X
Willpower X
Fortitude X
The Core Stats of the monster. See Quick Reference below or the Core Rules. These primarily come into play if a Player's action/spell/effect/etc. requires the monster to make a Check (contested or not).
Speed: (x)ft. / (y)ft. (type)
Usually walking speed. Some creatures have additional speeds (y) for flying, climbing, burrowing, etc. Specified in (type) if applicable.
Armor: #
Attacks must meet or beat this number to hit the creature.
Size: (Tiny thru Titanic)
Type: (Creature Type(s))
See quick reference panel below for Size & Type.
Detection: #
Baseline passive detection of the creature. Active Search Actions use 1d12+Precision.
Tags: (A, B, C)
Tags are used to help GMs search for monsters with specific attributes or themes, and as a keyword for certain rules interactions (a magic item may help players detect creatures with the "ethereal" tag, for example). This list is growing as we design and will be streamlined and standardized once we have a body of work to organize.
Tendencies: (A, B, C)
Short descriptive notes of how the creature(s) commonly behave, in combat or normal behavior e.g. "Pack-hunter, aggressive when numerically superior" or "forager, shy, avoids groups." These are intended as suggestions to aid GMs in encounter design/play, improvisation, or worldbuilding, and can be modified or ignored at your table as needed.
Tactics: (A, B, C)
Similar to Tendencies, but specific to combat, e.g. "targets strongest known threat, prefers ranged combat, hit and run," etc.
Stamina & Mana
Stamina: (#), Regenerate: (#)
Mana: (#), Regenerate: (#)
The creature's Stamina and Mana pools, and how much it Regenerates each turn. Spent on Advanced Actions, below.
Printed/fillable form versions of the statblock will include a graphic to help tracking.
Special Features
Any unique feature the GM should know about. Usually non-combat. Things like a Lich's Phylactery, a Dragon reshaping the landscape, etc.
Feature Name. (Effect)
Strengths & Weaknesses
If the creature is particularly strong or vulnerable to specific damage types (or other variables), they are described in this section.
Damage Type Weakness. (Describe severity, usually in terms of taking additional damage)
Damage Type Strength. (Describe effect, usually in terms of reducing damage taken from these sources and/or gaining a buff, for example a Fire Elemental becoming stronger from Burning attacks).
Actions
The attacks, spells, or abilities the creature has. Creatures have two actions per turn unless specified otherwise. Movement also counts as an Action.
Weapon Attack Name (Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Special Ability Name (Attack or save conditions, or effects)
This section works the same as it does for Simple Monsters. Anything involving Mana or Stamina consumption belongs in the next section.
Advanced Actions
Unique to Advanced Monsters, here are the abilities/spells that involve spending Mana or Stamina from the creature's pool.
Fancy Attack Name (Cost X Stamina, Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Attack Name (Cost: X Mana, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Spell Name (Cost: X Mana, (X)ft. range, # of targets, Spell Save and Type). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Reactions
Unique Reaction (Condition, effect)
Any special reactions the monster can do go here.
Counterspell
Advanced Monsters follow the same Counterspell rules as Player Characters, spending Mana to oppose other's spellcasting.
Endurance.
There are two ways to kill an Advanced Monster: reduce its Health to 0, or inflict enough Wounds to kill it. Wounds are more efficient, but require greater success moment to moment to inflict.
Health. (#)
Wound Threshold. (#)
If the monster suffers this much damage in a single creature's turn, it suffers a Wound.
Number of Wounds. (#)
The number of Wounds this monster can suffer before dying outright. Has a little skull graphic.
Grievous Wounds.
When this creature suffers a Wound as a result of a specific Damage Type (as described below), it triggers an additional effect. Each option can only be triggered once. Methods to reward (or imperil) players as they fight their way through a big encounter. Not all Advanced Monsters will have Grievous Wound options, or more than a few.
( ) Damage Type A. Effect on creature.
( ) Damage Type B. Effect on creature.
( ) Damage Type C. Effect on creature.
...
Monster Name
Lore, description, and/or flavor text.
Core Stats:
Might X
Precision X
Cleverness X
Knowledge X
Willpower X
Fortitude X
The Core Stats of the monster. See Quick Reference below or the Core Rules. These primarily come into play if a Player's action/spell/effect/etc. requires the monster to make a Check (contested or not).
Speed: (x)ft. / (y)ft. (type)
Usually walking speed. Some creatures have additional speeds (y) for flying, climbing, burrowing, etc. Specified in (type) if applicable.
Armor: #
Attacks must meet or beat this number to hit the creature.
Size: (Tiny thru Titanic)
Type: (Creature Type(s))
See quick reference panel below for Size & Type.
Detection: #
Baseline passive detection of the creature. Active Search Actions use 1d12+Precision.
Tags: (A, B, C)
Tags are used to help GMs search for monsters with specific attributes or themes, and as a keyword for certain rules interactions (a magic item may help players detect creatures with the "ethereal" tag, for example). This list is growing as we design and will be streamlined and standardized once we have a body of work to organize.
Tendencies: (A, B, C)
Short descriptive notes of how the creature(s) commonly behave, in combat or normal behavior e.g. "Pack-hunter, aggressive when numerically superior" or "forager, shy, avoids groups." These are intended as suggestions to aid GMs in encounter design/play, improvisation, or worldbuilding, and can be modified or ignored at your table as needed.
Tactics: (A, B, C)
Similar to Tendencies, but specific to combat, e.g. "targets strongest known threat, prefers ranged combat, hit and run," etc.
Stamina & Mana
Stamina: (#), Regenerate: (#)
Mana: (#), Regenerate: (#)
The creature's Stamina and Mana pools, and how much it Regenerates each turn. Spent on Advanced Actions, below.
Printed/fillable form versions of the statblock will include a graphic to help tracking.
Special Features
Any unique feature the GM should know about. Usually non-combat. Things like a Lich's Phylactery, a Dragon reshaping the landscape, etc.
Feature Name. (Effect)
Strengths & Weaknesses
If the creature is particularly strong or vulnerable to specific damage types (or other variables), they are described in this section.
Damage Type Weakness. (Describe severity, usually in terms of taking additional damage)
Damage Type Strength. (Describe effect, usually in terms of reducing damage taken from these sources and/or gaining a buff, for example a Fire Elemental becoming stronger from Burning attacks).
Actions
The attacks, spells, or abilities the creature has. Creatures have two actions per turn unless specified otherwise. Movement also counts as an Action.
Weapon Attack Name (Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Special Ability Name (Attack or save conditions, or effects)
This section works the same as it does for Simple Monsters. Anything involving Mana or Stamina consumption belongs in the next section.
Advanced Actions
Unique to Advanced Monsters, here are the abilities/spells that involve spending Mana or Stamina from the creature's pool.
Fancy Attack Name (Cost X Stamina, Melee or Ranged, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Attack Name (Cost: X Mana, (X)ft. range, # of targets, +(Y) bonus to hit). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Magic Spell Name (Cost: X Mana, (X)ft. range, # of targets, Spell Save and Type). Deals (1234) (Damage Type), (any additional effect).
Reactions
Unique Reaction (Condition, effect)
Any special reactions the monster can do go here.
Counterspell
Advanced Monsters follow the same Counterspell rules as Player Characters, spending Mana to oppose other's spellcasting.
Endurance.
There are two ways to kill an Advanced Monster: reduce its Health to 0, or inflict enough Wounds to kill it. Wounds are more efficient, but require greater success moment to moment to inflict.
Health. (#)
Wound Threshold. (#)
If the monster suffers this much damage in a single creature's turn, it suffers a Wound.
Number of Wounds. (#)
The number of Wounds this monster can suffer before dying outright. Has a little skull graphic.
Grievous Wounds.
When this creature suffers a Wound as a result of a specific Damage Type (as described below), it triggers an additional effect. Each option can only be triggered once. Methods to reward (or imperil) players as they fight their way through a big encounter. Not all Advanced Monsters will have Grievous Wound options, or more than a few.
( ) Damage Type A. Effect on creature.
( ) Damage Type B. Effect on creature.
( ) Damage Type C. Effect on creature.
...
Quick Reference Panel
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. 2x2 or 3x3 grid depending on body type, up to 4x4 if it's 20ft. straight across the ground. Small dragons, elephants, er...well, Giants, etc.
- Humongous - 20-100ft. in its biggest direction, 15,000-150,000lbs. 3x3 to 5x5+. Dragons, whales, very massive things.
- Colossal - 50-100ft, 150,000- 500,000lbs. 5x5+. Few naturally occurring creatures. Greatest dragons and furies, godly avatars, massive constructs, vehicles.
- Titanic - 100ft+, 500,000lbs.+, 5x5+. We're talking about kaiju or literal titans here.
Creature Types (raw notes, work in progress)
- 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."
Core Stats
Might codifies a character's strength, athleticism, and physical power. Mighty characters come in all shapes and sizes, but can often be intimidating when they choose. A long-distance runner, Olympic swimmer, and competitive weightlifter have a wide range of physicality, but would all be considered Mighty.
Precision encompasses a character's attention to detail, finesse, and accuracy. A Precise character has a better chance of stealth, tracking, or detecting hidden things, and may make an excellent archer, duelist, hunter, or fine craftsman.
Cleverness covers all facets of performance & guile, including being charming, deceitful, flirtatious, or persuasive. Clever characters also excel in dealing with traps and complex mechanisms, solving riddles, and seeing patterns others miss. A dogged detective, scene-stealing actor, scandalous flirt, or grifting conman could all be considered Clever characters.
Knowledge includes what a character knows, their ability to learn more, and how well they apply that knowledge to new problems. History, science, medicine, engineering, trivia, and the likelihood of unearthing useful information through research and observation all fall into this category. A highly educated inventor, wizened hermit-sage, or village elder may have taken different paths to get there, but would all be Knowledgeable characters in their own right.
Willpower describes mental strength, emotional robustness, determination, conviction, or zeal. Willful characters can resist influences, magical or otherwise, that may sway or even harm less hardy minds. A righteous civil servant determined to root out corruption may be just as Willful as a winner-take-all, ruthless tycoon, or an unshakable zealot convinced of their path, damn the consequences.
Fortitude describes a character's capacity to endure hardship. Exceptionally Fortitudinous characters can take more damage, shrug off more pain, and push through scenarios where others would falter. They can also weather the physical and mental toll of acting as a conduit for more magic than they otherwise could.
Might codifies a character's strength, athleticism, and physical power. Mighty characters come in all shapes and sizes, but can often be intimidating when they choose. A long-distance runner, Olympic swimmer, and competitive weightlifter have a wide range of physicality, but would all be considered Mighty.
Precision encompasses a character's attention to detail, finesse, and accuracy. A Precise character has a better chance of stealth, tracking, or detecting hidden things, and may make an excellent archer, duelist, hunter, or fine craftsman.
Cleverness covers all facets of performance & guile, including being charming, deceitful, flirtatious, or persuasive. Clever characters also excel in dealing with traps and complex mechanisms, solving riddles, and seeing patterns others miss. A dogged detective, scene-stealing actor, scandalous flirt, or grifting conman could all be considered Clever characters.
Knowledge includes what a character knows, their ability to learn more, and how well they apply that knowledge to new problems. History, science, medicine, engineering, trivia, and the likelihood of unearthing useful information through research and observation all fall into this category. A highly educated inventor, wizened hermit-sage, or village elder may have taken different paths to get there, but would all be Knowledgeable characters in their own right.
Willpower describes mental strength, emotional robustness, determination, conviction, or zeal. Willful characters can resist influences, magical or otherwise, that may sway or even harm less hardy minds. A righteous civil servant determined to root out corruption may be just as Willful as a winner-take-all, ruthless tycoon, or an unshakable zealot convinced of their path, damn the consequences.
Fortitude describes a character's capacity to endure hardship. Exceptionally Fortitudinous characters can take more damage, shrug off more pain, and push through scenarios where others would falter. They can also weather the physical and mental toll of acting as a conduit for more magic than they otherwise could.
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.
