I'm running a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign. It's been super fun so far. I'm kind of cherry-picking the adventures and then also weaving in some arcs based on the player characters. One PC escaped a slaver before they came to Saltmarsh, so I created this guy and I'm hoping he will end up as a mini boss for the party.
Does CR 8 feel right? Does he feel balanced? I think he's a bit of a glass canon at the moment, but unless isolated he will also have crew.
Seeing how the pistol deals a lot more damage than one of his eldritch blasts, maybe switch the amount of legendary actions for single eldritch blast and and pistol around?
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He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
I am running a very similar concept but my villain is a Pirate Captain Lord - Captain Gallows. He is the leader of the 'Drowned Men' who I've adapted somewhat, who wishes to seek vengeance on his father and the Beoland. He is seeking the other half of a magical treasure map, that's in the parties possession, that leads to a sunken ship and its lost treasure. Captain Gallows regenerates if he is near sea water, can cause water to fill enemies lungs when they near him, has a tentacled arm that strangles and diseases opponents and a sea seagull familiar. He can not be killed except on dry land.
Captain Gallows was once a simple Naval Captain, the respected son of the Legendary Admiral Thomas Kingsley. When the princess was kidnapped by pirates and all investigation proved fruitless, the Admiral asked his son to disguise himself as a smuggler and try and infiltrate Saltmarsh's dark underbelly. He rose through the ranks of the Smugglers and his search lead him to become a pirate captain in their sinister fleet, before he finally discovered the truth from the pirates themself on one rain drenched night -
The princess was kidnapped by order of King himself.
He sent a secret message to his father to meet him in Saltmarsh and it was in the backrooms of the Empty Net that he shared the shocking truth. The Admiral was horrified, instructing his son to stay hidden in town with his crew, until the morning.
That night, the son was dragged fro his bed, along with his confused crew and in the morning, they were hung from the cliffs of Saltmarsh and thrown into the bone littered waters of the town, by orders of the Admiral himself.
But the sea has a sense of dark justice and the son did not disappear along with his secret, like his father had hoped. Captain Gallows rose from beneath the waves and dragged his crew back to life with him, to clamber aboard his ship and sail for the safety of his Pirate Haven. There he has built is vengeance, a fleet of more than a dozen ships, and found a way to destroy his fathers naval armada. He just needs the treasure lost on the sunken ship and to do that, he needs the last piece of the treasure map and he'll do anything to get it.
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Hey, posting here for some fellow DM advice!
This is my first time homebrewing a monster. Could I have some thoughts and feedback on him? Margrave Dain (the Grinning Captain) - Monsters - Homebrew - D&D Beyond
I'm running a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign. It's been super fun so far. I'm kind of cherry-picking the adventures and then also weaving in some arcs based on the player characters. One PC escaped a slaver before they came to Saltmarsh, so I created this guy and I'm hoping he will end up as a mini boss for the party.
Does CR 8 feel right? Does he feel balanced? I think he's a bit of a glass canon at the moment, but unless isolated he will also have crew.
I feel like having a pistol and eldritch blast is kind of redundant. Choose one or the other, or get one attack called eldritch pistol or something.
Any sufficiently widespread magic is indistinguishable from technology.
The second funniest thing to make a D&D party do is explain morality
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I probably nitpick and scrutinize too much
thank you for the feedback!
Seeing how the pistol deals a lot more damage than one of his eldritch blasts, maybe switch the amount of legendary actions for single eldritch blast and and pistol around?
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"
Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far! :)
Updated version here: Margrave Dain (the Grinning Captain) - Monsters - Homebrew - D&D Beyond
I am running a very similar concept but my villain is a Pirate Captain Lord - Captain Gallows. He is the leader of the 'Drowned Men' who I've adapted somewhat, who wishes to seek vengeance on his father and the Beoland. He is seeking the other half of a magical treasure map, that's in the parties possession, that leads to a sunken ship and its lost treasure. Captain Gallows regenerates if he is near sea water, can cause water to fill enemies lungs when they near him, has a tentacled arm that strangles and diseases opponents and a sea seagull familiar. He can not be killed except on dry land.
Captain Gallows was once a simple Naval Captain, the respected son of the Legendary Admiral Thomas Kingsley. When the princess was kidnapped by pirates and all investigation proved fruitless, the Admiral asked his son to disguise himself as a smuggler and try and infiltrate Saltmarsh's dark underbelly. He rose through the ranks of the Smugglers and his search lead him to become a pirate captain in their sinister fleet, before he finally discovered the truth from the pirates themself on one rain drenched night -
The princess was kidnapped by order of King himself.
He sent a secret message to his father to meet him in Saltmarsh and it was in the backrooms of the Empty Net that he shared the shocking truth. The Admiral was horrified, instructing his son to stay hidden in town with his crew, until the morning.
That night, the son was dragged fro his bed, along with his confused crew and in the morning, they were hung from the cliffs of Saltmarsh and thrown into the bone littered waters of the town, by orders of the Admiral himself.
But the sea has a sense of dark justice and the son did not disappear along with his secret, like his father had hoped. Captain Gallows rose from beneath the waves and dragged his crew back to life with him, to clamber aboard his ship and sail for the safety of his Pirate Haven. There he has built is vengeance, a fleet of more than a dozen ships, and found a way to destroy his fathers naval armada. He just needs the treasure lost on the sunken ship and to do that, he needs the last piece of the treasure map and he'll do anything to get it.