Recommended Damage Threshold: This is the recommended upper limit on the average damage that a creature of the given CR should be capable of dealing in a single round with a full attack action. After this point, the monster’s damage for individual attacks should be increased primarily through abilities or feats to approach the monster’s recommended damage threshold (such as rend, natural attack enhancements, or the Power Attack feat). The recommended upper limit on a reasonable number of attacks for a monster to take is 6-7. This recommended value is reduced by increases to a monster’s size, but may also vary depending on special abilities and feat selection. Recommended Number of Attacks: This is an estimation of the number of attacks for a monster to deal damage in a round approaching the monster’s recommended damage threshold. Some abilities or creature types alter natural armor or swap it for different types of armor class bonuses. Natural Armor: A monster’s natural armor represents its inherent resistance to harm. Skilled monsters have strong Reflex saves. Spellcaster monster have strong Will saves. Combat (soldier) monsters have all strong saves. Saves: Combat (barbaric) monsters have strong Fortitude and Reflex saves. The following abbreviations are used: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom (Wis), and Charisma (Cha). Ability scores are modified by changes to the monster’s size, and certain creature types have limitations on maximum ability scores. The monster may also purchase bonus feats using ability points.Ībility Scores: The monster’s ability scores are determined by focus and CR, which decides many of their other base statistics. A monster may take any feat it meets the prerequisites for. Spellcasters (arcane) and weak monsters have a slow base attack bonus progression.įeats: This is the number of feats that a monster of the given focus and CR gains (one feat at 1 HD, and an additional feat for every 2 HD thereafter). Spellcasters (divine) and skilled monsters have a medium base attack bonus progression. All combat-focused monsters have a strong base attack bonus progression. For example, treat the average of 1d4 as 2 and the average of 2d4 as 5.īAB: This is the creature’s base attack bonus at the given CR. Table: Average Die ResultsĪlways round down after multiplying. The monster’s focus determines the hit die type - combat (barbaric) d12, combat (soldier) d10, spellcaster (arcane) d6, spellcaster (divine) d8, skilled d8, and weak d6. HD: This is the total number of Hit Dice that the monster possesses at the given CR. Altering the monster’s size in Step 3 can affect the monster’s base CR and statistics. When referring to the monster focus tables, keep the following points in mind.ĬR: This is the CR for a Medium-sized monster. A monster cannot have more than one focus. The following rules allow for creatures of any type to fulfill any role: combat, spellcasting, skilled, or a relatively weak monster (comparable to an NPC class). In the normal monster creation process it is assumed that a monster’s role and base statistics are, to a certain extent, pre-determined by creature type. The major departure from the Bestiary rules for monster creation is the concept of a monster focus. Once you have these basic pieces of information, you can consult the following tables and chapters to customize the creature. Generally, this involves picking the creature’s CR, size, type, physical appearance, and theme. The first step in creating a new creature is to define its concept and role in the game. The following guidelines are provided to assist in monster creation, and to help balance a creation for its CR. The following rules and tools simplify the complex aspects of balanced monster creation and modification, opening up a world of new possibilities. Even experienced designers often make mistakes, resulting in creatures that pose either an unfair or disappointing challenge to player characters.
Unholy heights monster guide how to#
It takes a lot of experience to learn how to make a “good” monster - a creature with appropriate abilities and statistics for its challenge rating. The Talented Bestiary seeks to move monster design out of the realm of guess-and-check and into a streamlined step-by-step process. We strongly recommend using the table of contents to navigate, rather than scrolling.īuilding a monster is part science and part art, with innumerable rules of thumb combining to create balanced antagonists. Wiki Note: This is one of the largest pages on the site.
The Genius Guide to the Talented Bestiary
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