Hey ya'll, I have a homebrew world where a good chunk of the wildlife is based on prehistoric creatures... no, not dinosaurs! Things like terror birds, bear dogs, synapsids, gorgonopsids, etc. I've run into a problem where it turns out nobody has really given them much thought, so I need to create my own custom stat blocks to fill my wilderness encounter tables.
I'm... a total beginner to homebrew lol. I have no idea how to create creatures with any semblance of balance. Are there any resources out there that could guide me through the process of creating a creature of a particular CR? I know dndbeyond has resources for creating custom creatures based on existing ones, but I have a very large variety of beasts I'm hoping to make stat blocks for. Ideally something that has a list of abilities and damage types I could pick and choose from would be helpful.
I do own the DMG, but I find the guide difficult to use because of how dense it is, and it assumes I have a really good handle on the rules already... which if im honest, I dont, it's a lot to absorb, and it's a lot of math. I'm looking for tools that'll help me make sense of all this info while I figure out exactly how this all works together.
This website has been very helpful for creating homebrew monsters. You can choose to print out the statblock or save it as an image, among other things: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Step three: cross out the description (again, I recommend crayon).
Step four: add your own name and description (still, use crayon, but I recommend a different color).
Step five: Congratulations, you have a new monster.
It really is that easy. I do that all the time. I don't have to worry about it being balanced, as it's the same thing, just with a different name and description.
Step three: cross out the description (again, I recommend crayon).
Step four: add your own name and description (still, use crayon, but I recommend a different color).
Step five: Congratulations, you have a new monster.
It really is that easy. I do that all the time. I don't have to worry about it being balanced, as it's the same thing, just with a different name and description.
Oh, wait, Step six: Profit!!!
Yes, but this does not work for making fully or partially homebrew monsters, and doesn't challenge players who have played multiple times before.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I just look at other creatures of the CR I want, whether its from the monster manual or just searching monsters here on DNDBeyond...So say I want to create a CR 3 monster. I just look at other CR 3 monsters. Give it similar hit points and AC. Anything that deals damage I make sure it does similar damage. Anything with a save I make sure it has a similar DC.
Then it just really comes down to experience. Create the monster, you'll see in battle whether it is balanced or not, then over time you'll learn how to balance better. If it's a homebrew monster and you are not confident of your balancing skills. Just change it mid battle without telling the players. If you tell the players you nerfed it mid battle they may find it cheap and not ruin the satisfaction of their victory. If it's not strong enough, just let em demolish it.
This website has been very helpful for creating homebrew monsters. You can choose to print out the statblock or save it as an image, among other things: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
These are both helpful at a first glance, I'll take a deeper dive into them sometime here soon!
Someone in a discord chat recommended to me another resource that lays out things in neat organized tables - https://giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/ which maybe that'll be useful for anyone looking through this thread.
Then it just really comes down to experience. Create the monster, you'll see in battle whether it is balanced or not, then over time you'll learn how to balance better. If it's a homebrew monster and you are not confident of your balancing skills. Just change it mid battle without telling the players. If you tell the players you nerfed it mid battle they may find it cheap and not ruin the satisfaction of their victory. If it's not strong enough, just let em demolish it.
I guess that's just going to have to be most of it, throwing it at players and seeing what sticks. I DO make a pretty consistent habit of adjusting encounters behind the screen if some monsters are too easy/hard already... so I'll give it a try. May not be a bad idea to ask some people to playtest some creatures for me as well.
This website has been very helpful for creating homebrew monsters. You can choose to print out the statblock or save it as an image, among other things: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
This website has been very helpful for creating homebrew monsters. You can choose to print out the statblock or save it as an image, among other things: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
I use that! That’s really good!
Yeah, it's a lot easier (and quicker) to use than the D&D Beyond monster creator, so I always make my homebrew monsters on there first, even if I plan to put them on D&D Beyond.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Choose a template creature of approximately the right power level for your monster.
Change key details for flavour. I'm going to do an example for you, and it will take under 5 minutes.
Step 1: Google Gorgonospid (I don't know what that is, saw it in your post)
Step 2: Ok it's a sort of predator with a big jaw
Step 3: Choose template base monster. Wikipedia says "bear like proportions" for larger ones, so let's choose a Black Bear.
Step 4: Change base factors. Remove the Keen Smell ability, and then this creature isn't going to fight with its claws, it's all about that big biting head. So remove Multiattack, give it just a single Bite, but then we need to keep the damage up - so instead of doing d6+2 with bite, and with claws, this will deal 2d6+6 with both. Why +6 and not +4? Because without multiattack it's only going to hit once every other round or so, and you want the players to feel it when it does! Change move speed to 25ft and remove Climbing speed.
Step 5: Add a special ability. I always do this. You only need one for basic things like this. Try to make it something flavourful and something that makes the fight a little different, but not something that's just more damage. I've gone for: Lock and drag: If the Gorgonospid successfully bites a creature, that creature is Grappled and the Gorgonospid can immediately move itself and its prey 10 feet away from other hostile creatures.
Took about 5 minutes to make, and should be a decently balanced creature that feels right for its part. I've shared it with the community, so please feel free to look it up and use it if you wish to.
Use the CR guidelines in the DMG as a start, but work backwards. Decide on a CR (based on what level of PCs the monster ought to challenge) and use that to pick your target numbers for AC, HP, etc. Tweak as needed based on other CR modifiers.
Then, if you want to test your beastie without throwing him straight at the PCs, create a mock combat. Create a fake party of adventurers at the appropriate level and run a combat in the typical environment where the monster would be encountered. If the monster is challenging enough, great! Otherwise, adjust the CR up or down based on how the PCs fared. If you have a real party in mind, use them, as you're likely to be more familiar with their tactics and less likely to "cheat" your own encounter.
As far as design goes, focus on the creature's iconic features. What makes a Smilodon different than just a rather large lion?
Hey ya'll, I have a homebrew world where a good chunk of the wildlife is based on prehistoric creatures... no, not dinosaurs! Things like terror birds, bear dogs, synapsids, gorgonopsids, etc. I've run into a problem where it turns out nobody has really given them much thought, so I need to create my own custom stat blocks to fill my wilderness encounter tables.
I'm... a total beginner to homebrew lol. I have no idea how to create creatures with any semblance of balance. Are there any resources out there that could guide me through the process of creating a creature of a particular CR? I know dndbeyond has resources for creating custom creatures based on existing ones, but I have a very large variety of beasts I'm hoping to make stat blocks for. Ideally something that has a list of abilities and damage types I could pick and choose from would be helpful.
If you own the DMG, it has a step by step process for making monsters, and a table of potential abilities.
I do own the DMG, but I find the guide difficult to use because of how dense it is, and it assumes I have a really good handle on the rules already... which if im honest, I dont, it's a lot to absorb, and it's a lot of math. I'm looking for tools that'll help me make sense of all this info while I figure out exactly how this all works together.
I don't know about tools to organize the rules, but this solves most of the math: https://********/crcalculator.html
This website has been very helpful for creating homebrew monsters. You can choose to print out the statblock or save it as an image, among other things: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Step one: pick a monster you like.
Step two: cross out the name (I use crayon).
Step three: cross out the description (again, I recommend crayon).
Step four: add your own name and description (still, use crayon, but I recommend a different color).
Step five: Congratulations, you have a new monster.
It really is that easy. I do that all the time. I don't have to worry about it being balanced, as it's the same thing, just with a different name and description.
Oh, wait, Step six: Profit!!!
Yes, but this does not work for making fully or partially homebrew monsters, and doesn't challenge players who have played multiple times before.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I just look at other creatures of the CR I want, whether its from the monster manual or just searching monsters here on DNDBeyond...So say I want to create a CR 3 monster. I just look at other CR 3 monsters. Give it similar hit points and AC. Anything that deals damage I make sure it does similar damage. Anything with a save I make sure it has a similar DC.
Then it just really comes down to experience. Create the monster, you'll see in battle whether it is balanced or not, then over time you'll learn how to balance better. If it's a homebrew monster and you are not confident of your balancing skills. Just change it mid battle without telling the players. If you tell the players you nerfed it mid battle they may find it cheap and not ruin the satisfaction of their victory. If it's not strong enough, just let em demolish it.
These are both helpful at a first glance, I'll take a deeper dive into them sometime here soon!
Someone in a discord chat recommended to me another resource that lays out things in neat organized tables - https://giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/ which maybe that'll be useful for anyone looking through this thread.
I guess that's just going to have to be most of it, throwing it at players and seeing what sticks. I DO make a pretty consistent habit of adjusting encounters behind the screen if some monsters are too easy/hard already... so I'll give it a try. May not be a bad idea to ask some people to playtest some creatures for me as well.
I use that! That’s really good!
Yeah, it's a lot easier (and quicker) to use than the D&D Beyond monster creator, so I always make my homebrew monsters on there first, even if I plan to put them on D&D Beyond.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
On D&D Beyond, go to Create a Homebrew Monster.
Choose a template creature of approximately the right power level for your monster.
Change key details for flavour. I'm going to do an example for you, and it will take under 5 minutes.
Step 1: Google Gorgonospid (I don't know what that is, saw it in your post)
Step 2: Ok it's a sort of predator with a big jaw
Step 3: Choose template base monster. Wikipedia says "bear like proportions" for larger ones, so let's choose a Black Bear.
Step 4: Change base factors. Remove the Keen Smell ability, and then this creature isn't going to fight with its claws, it's all about that big biting head. So remove Multiattack, give it just a single Bite, but then we need to keep the damage up - so instead of doing d6+2 with bite, and with claws, this will deal 2d6+6 with both. Why +6 and not +4? Because without multiattack it's only going to hit once every other round or so, and you want the players to feel it when it does! Change move speed to 25ft and remove Climbing speed.
Step 5: Add a special ability. I always do this. You only need one for basic things like this. Try to make it something flavourful and something that makes the fight a little different, but not something that's just more damage. I've gone for: Lock and drag: If the Gorgonospid successfully bites a creature, that creature is Grappled and the Gorgonospid can immediately move itself and its prey 10 feet away from other hostile creatures.
Took about 5 minutes to make, and should be a decently balanced creature that feels right for its part. I've shared it with the community, so please feel free to look it up and use it if you wish to.
Use the CR guidelines in the DMG as a start, but work backwards. Decide on a CR (based on what level of PCs the monster ought to challenge) and use that to pick your target numbers for AC, HP, etc. Tweak as needed based on other CR modifiers.
Then, if you want to test your beastie without throwing him straight at the PCs, create a mock combat. Create a fake party of adventurers at the appropriate level and run a combat in the typical environment where the monster would be encountered. If the monster is challenging enough, great! Otherwise, adjust the CR up or down based on how the PCs fared. If you have a real party in mind, use them, as you're likely to be more familiar with their tactics and less likely to "cheat" your own encounter.
As far as design goes, focus on the creature's iconic features. What makes a Smilodon different than just a rather large lion?
I also recommend the Monster Building advice from the AngryGM.