After the party saved the town and made their grievances to the mayor of the town known for his incompetence, they convinced the town to throw an emergency election. Mayor (water genasi) decides screw it and packs his bags and leaves.
The players explore the now open to the public town hall (mayor was using it as a personal residence) and one of the players remarked "Where is his pet monkey?". I had forgotten that I indeed gave the mayor a monkey and left without one, being the obsessive compulsive story teller I am I had them find it when they rolled high on an investigation check of the property. After some high animal handling checks (they were rolling high that session, fml) they now have a little monkey with them.
Now these players are new and I don't wanna be the ******* killing off a cute npc monkey when shit goes down (I don't intend to do it on purpose, but things can and will happen). what can I do to help the players. One thought is to have monkey take the sidekick class for Xanathars. Or maybe have it connect with the druid (she rolled the animal handling checks) and have it that if the monkey dies they can use wild shape familiar ability to 'resurrect it' if things got bad.
Or I can pull a sprinkles and have that poor monkey suffer in their adventures being resurrected by a sadistic fey lord.
Any advice is appreciated, I am a new dm and I just want my players to have fun
Do what you see makes the adventure fun, or you can simply make him a non combatant meaning he is not in the initiative during battles so no danger. However he wont be able to help around those times as well. Do this if you know the monkey can die.
Talk with the players and tell them there’s two ways to do it.
Either they have a pet monkey for purely fun and rp purposes, in which case, it will be safe, enemies won’t target it, it won’t have to make saves when it’s caught in a fireball. It’s just for fun.
Or they can have a pet monkey that actually helps them. It squeezes through tight spaces, scouts ahead, snatches up small, unattended items; but then it’s fair game. It may be targeted, it will have to make its saves against fireballs.
In all honesty, I'd treat the Monkey as a pet. If they players really care about this monkey then they won't want it attacking or at risk in combat. So, if they're leaving a town, or entering a dungeon maybe check in with the players: 'and are you taking the monkey with you into this dark dungeon entrance that reeks of sulfur?'
If the party care they will hopefully have the monkey climb a nearby tree and wait for them to come back...of course your players need to trust that the monkey will be safe being left behind so maybe the first few times they are about to enter a dangerous space have a convenient stand of trees with thick branches, big leaves, and juicy fruit so that you can be clear that monkey will be safe and hidden in the trees until the party return.
If they take the hints that'll eliminate the danger of the monkey dying due to combat. Likewise, almost all animals have self preservation instincts and one mistake I've seen DMs (myself included) make is not remembering that enemies can run away. If monkey is in danger and gets hit, maybe he runs off and away. I'd make it so that there is no possible check that will get the monkey to remain in the battle area. It's going to flee regardless to the nearest safe place it finds. This might lead to the party having to find it, but if something tried to kill me I'd be running, wouldn't you?
Then, when not dealing with combat I'd set it up so that as long as they feed and look after the monkey well it'll take some instruction from players. That way you can have the monkey be used in schemes like theft or scouting. I'd do this by using the stat block here Monkey (5e Creature) - D&D Wiki (dandwiki.com). I love it's features even though it's homebrew. It feels pretty much what I'd want from a Monkey. So should the little tyke be instructed to get that map on the desk there's a neat slight of hand bonus there. This though, I'd recommend against animal handling or other checks for the party's pet. Instead simply decide in your own mind what the monkey's current feeling toward the group is. If the party have left it alone for two days while exploring a dungeon maybe it's not inclined to follow instructions today but will pester the party for food. If the party have been treating the monkey well maybe it will follow instructions. I know a lot a DMs don't like this approach, but there's an equal downside to everything becoming mechanics heavy by constantly asking for rolls. So it's the approach I'd prefer in this situation.
Either way, have fun with it. And with the monkey, consider the creatures attitude to each player in the party. Maybe your rogue has been horrid to the monkey, but the druid has been very kind...could the monkey be persuaded to lift the rogues' favourite weapon with it's tail as a practical joke? Will it poop in the boots of the Prim and Proper Paladin who thinks Monkeys are unclean pests? There are sooo many opportunities with things like this and you can have so much fun.
I don't think you want to turn the monkey into anything more than the cute pet it seems to have become so I would avoid the sidekick option.
During regular play, the party is a bigger threat so I doubt most creatures would attack it. If combat starts, the monkey could either flee or hide inside a backpack. Being inside the backpack gives the monkey total cover from spells and effects so it wouldn't be affected by fireball or other spells. It also couldn't be targeted by weapons so it is likely the safest place for it. If a character has a bag of holding, the monkey could hide inside if the players have trained it to not stay inside for too long.
Finally, you could have the monkey capable of little tricks and smart enough to follow simple instructions but if the party decides to ask the monkey to do something risky then they should be aware that the monkey could be killed which will likely limit their use of it.
During regular play, the party is a bigger threat so I doubt most creatures would attack it. If combat starts, the monkey could either flee or hide inside the backpack. Being inside the backpack gives the monkey total cover from spells and effects so it wouldn't be affected by fireball or other spells. It also couldn't be targeted by weapons so it is likely the safest place for it. If a character has a bag of holding, the monkey could hide inside if the players have trained it to not stay inside for too long.
A backpack is 1 cubic foot. The average adventurer won't have room for a monkey to be entirely concealed by a backpack.
I know this gets overlooked a lot because it can be a hassle to keep track of, but it's that limit for a reason. I had a character recently say they were going to take an entire book collection with them. When asked how are they going to carry it they replied in their backpack. Sorry but they aren't like video game inventories (unless a DM houserules it).
So, I'd suggest that while I appreciate where you're coming from...there isn't enough room in a backpack for a monkey to hide alongside all the other stuff like rations and loot that an adventurer carries.
As for a bag of holding, sure a monkey could hide there, but do DMs really hand out bags of holding like candy? Also be aware...BoH means only 10 minutes of air for the poor monkey. It won't be claustrophobic, but it will be dark and alone in there...I'd consider how the monkey would react to being stuffed into a dark space with limited air and filled (potentially) with junk.
Genuinely, I can see the cuteness of the monkey riding around inside the backpack, but there are some big limitations to that strategy and it will depend on the exact monkey too. Even a capuchin can grow to like 2ft, and 9lbs or so.
A house rule that a fellow DM I know has is that the "Find Familiar" spell doesn't conjure a brand new creature from nowhere... rather, casting it converts a creature the party already knows into a Familiar, which makes them functionally immortal, even if they get killed by an AOE effect or something they can just be resummoned when the caster has time for it.
If you use the optional "Wild Companion" feature from Tasha's Cauldron, then the Druid can use one of their Wildshape uses to cast Find Familiar, although it has a time limit. I would treat the monkey, then, as a normal animal companion unless the Druid uses Wild Companion, then they get the benefits of the Find Familiar spell, and even if the monkey dies while not functioning as a familiar it would still simplify things to just have it poof into a pocket dimension until the Druid uses Wild Companion again. I think I'd also have the monkey transform into a Flying Monkey while Wild Companion is active, just to have a solid visual sign.
Ok so here is what happened:
After the party saved the town and made their grievances to the mayor of the town known for his incompetence, they convinced the town to throw an emergency election. Mayor (water genasi) decides screw it and packs his bags and leaves.
The players explore the now open to the public town hall (mayor was using it as a personal residence) and one of the players remarked "Where is his pet monkey?". I had forgotten that I indeed gave the mayor a monkey and left without one, being the obsessive compulsive story teller I am I had them find it when they rolled high on an investigation check of the property. After some high animal handling checks (they were rolling high that session, fml) they now have a little monkey with them.
Now these players are new and I don't wanna be the ******* killing off a cute npc monkey when shit goes down (I don't intend to do it on purpose, but things can and will happen). what can I do to help the players. One thought is to have monkey take the sidekick class for Xanathars. Or maybe have it connect with the druid (she rolled the animal handling checks) and have it that if the monkey dies they can use wild shape familiar ability to 'resurrect it' if things got bad.
Or I can pull a sprinkles and have that poor monkey suffer in their adventures being resurrected by a sadistic fey lord.
Any advice is appreciated, I am a new dm and I just want my players to have fun
Do what you see makes the adventure fun, or you can simply make him a non combatant meaning he is not in the initiative during battles so no danger. However he wont be able to help around those times as well. Do this if you know the monkey can die.
Talk with the players and tell them there’s two ways to do it.
Either they have a pet monkey for purely fun and rp purposes, in which case, it will be safe, enemies won’t target it, it won’t have to make saves when it’s caught in a fireball. It’s just for fun.
Or they can have a pet monkey that actually helps them. It squeezes through tight spaces, scouts ahead, snatches up small, unattended items; but then it’s fair game. It may be targeted, it will have to make its saves against fireballs.
Let them pick, and then go with it.
Ok that is a good idea, I will talk to my group with that
Just don't try feeding it bits of cucumber when it does good things, whilst the rest of you are eating grapes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KSryJXDpZo
In all honesty, I'd treat the Monkey as a pet. If they players really care about this monkey then they won't want it attacking or at risk in combat. So, if they're leaving a town, or entering a dungeon maybe check in with the players: 'and are you taking the monkey with you into this dark dungeon entrance that reeks of sulfur?'
If the party care they will hopefully have the monkey climb a nearby tree and wait for them to come back...of course your players need to trust that the monkey will be safe being left behind so maybe the first few times they are about to enter a dangerous space have a convenient stand of trees with thick branches, big leaves, and juicy fruit so that you can be clear that monkey will be safe and hidden in the trees until the party return.
If they take the hints that'll eliminate the danger of the monkey dying due to combat. Likewise, almost all animals have self preservation instincts and one mistake I've seen DMs (myself included) make is not remembering that enemies can run away. If monkey is in danger and gets hit, maybe he runs off and away. I'd make it so that there is no possible check that will get the monkey to remain in the battle area. It's going to flee regardless to the nearest safe place it finds. This might lead to the party having to find it, but if something tried to kill me I'd be running, wouldn't you?
Then, when not dealing with combat I'd set it up so that as long as they feed and look after the monkey well it'll take some instruction from players. That way you can have the monkey be used in schemes like theft or scouting. I'd do this by using the stat block here Monkey (5e Creature) - D&D Wiki (dandwiki.com). I love it's features even though it's homebrew. It feels pretty much what I'd want from a Monkey. So should the little tyke be instructed to get that map on the desk there's a neat slight of hand bonus there. This though, I'd recommend against animal handling or other checks for the party's pet. Instead simply decide in your own mind what the monkey's current feeling toward the group is. If the party have left it alone for two days while exploring a dungeon maybe it's not inclined to follow instructions today but will pester the party for food. If the party have been treating the monkey well maybe it will follow instructions. I know a lot a DMs don't like this approach, but there's an equal downside to everything becoming mechanics heavy by constantly asking for rolls. So it's the approach I'd prefer in this situation.
Either way, have fun with it. And with the monkey, consider the creatures attitude to each player in the party. Maybe your rogue has been horrid to the monkey, but the druid has been very kind...could the monkey be persuaded to lift the rogues' favourite weapon with it's tail as a practical joke? Will it poop in the boots of the Prim and Proper Paladin who thinks Monkeys are unclean pests? There are sooo many opportunities with things like this and you can have so much fun.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
Thank you so much for the link to the monkey stat block. And you have given me some really good ideas for the monkey.
Also love that 'ranged' attack the monkey has
Such a good ranged attack isn't it? Absolutely perfect!
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
I don't think you want to turn the monkey into anything more than the cute pet it seems to have become so I would avoid the sidekick option.
During regular play, the party is a bigger threat so I doubt most creatures would attack it. If combat starts, the monkey could either flee or hide inside a backpack. Being inside the backpack gives the monkey total cover from spells and effects so it wouldn't be affected by fireball or other spells. It also couldn't be targeted by weapons so it is likely the safest place for it. If a character has a bag of holding, the monkey could hide inside if the players have trained it to not stay inside for too long.
Finally, you could have the monkey capable of little tricks and smart enough to follow simple instructions but if the party decides to ask the monkey to do something risky then they should be aware that the monkey could be killed which will likely limit their use of it.
A backpack is 1 cubic foot. The average adventurer won't have room for a monkey to be entirely concealed by a backpack.
I know this gets overlooked a lot because it can be a hassle to keep track of, but it's that limit for a reason. I had a character recently say they were going to take an entire book collection with them. When asked how are they going to carry it they replied in their backpack. Sorry but they aren't like video game inventories (unless a DM houserules it).
So, I'd suggest that while I appreciate where you're coming from...there isn't enough room in a backpack for a monkey to hide alongside all the other stuff like rations and loot that an adventurer carries.
As for a bag of holding, sure a monkey could hide there, but do DMs really hand out bags of holding like candy? Also be aware...BoH means only 10 minutes of air for the poor monkey. It won't be claustrophobic, but it will be dark and alone in there...I'd consider how the monkey would react to being stuffed into a dark space with limited air and filled (potentially) with junk.
Genuinely, I can see the cuteness of the monkey riding around inside the backpack, but there are some big limitations to that strategy and it will depend on the exact monkey too. Even a capuchin can grow to like 2ft, and 9lbs or so.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
A house rule that a fellow DM I know has is that the "Find Familiar" spell doesn't conjure a brand new creature from nowhere... rather, casting it converts a creature the party already knows into a Familiar, which makes them functionally immortal, even if they get killed by an AOE effect or something they can just be resummoned when the caster has time for it.
If you use the optional "Wild Companion" feature from Tasha's Cauldron, then the Druid can use one of their Wildshape uses to cast Find Familiar, although it has a time limit. I would treat the monkey, then, as a normal animal companion unless the Druid uses Wild Companion, then they get the benefits of the Find Familiar spell, and even if the monkey dies while not functioning as a familiar it would still simplify things to just have it poof into a pocket dimension until the Druid uses Wild Companion again. I think I'd also have the monkey transform into a Flying Monkey while Wild Companion is active, just to have a solid visual sign.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium