I am currently running a homebrew campaign and my players are now getting heavily involved with the plot. Pretty soon they will have to come face to face with an important NPC that I anticipate them to fight. The problem is that I don't know where to begin in creating a stat block for this enemy. The main premise is that the enemy can cast magic but has recently begun to incorporate experimental guns into their fighting style. My players know that the NPC can cast magic but they aren't sure how powerful the magic is. I want to overall feel of the boss to be a mixture of magic and gun play. I just need help trying to come up with a usable stat block. If anyone wants to give me suggestions I'm welcome to them. (I have 5 level 5 players)
I'd say their magic is more Warlockish in nature but very offensive based. The NPC will be fighting them alone in a dark forest. Ideally I want the NPC to have a way to escape so they can grow stronger and become a reoccurring villain for them to deal with. If they die here though it's not a super big deal. The main theme is that they are getting their powers from a higher force than themselves.
I'd say their magic is more Warlockish in nature but very offensive based. The NPC will be fighting them alone in a dark forest. Ideally I want the NPC to have a way to escape so they can grow stronger and become a reoccurring villain for them to deal with. If they die here though it's not a super big deal. The main theme is that they are getting their powers from a higher force than themselves.
Okay that gives us three things: 1. They have darkvision 2. They should have the warlock spell dimension door prepared. 3. They should have this for their spellcasting ability: [BOSS NAME] is a [WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL]-level spellcaster. [HIS/HER] spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC [CHA SAVE DC], [CHA ATK BONUS] to hit with spell attacks). [BOSS NAME] has the following warlock spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): [CANTRIP NAME], [CANTRIP NAME], [ETC.] 1st-[CONSULT WARLOCK TABLE BASED ON WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL] level (2 [CONSULT WARLOCK TABLE BASED ON WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL]-level slots): [SPELL NAME], [SPELL NAME], [ETC.]
Okay, that's plenty to work with. I'm going to throw together a block that we can toy with. I'll aim for a CR 5-7 with legendary actions, warlock spellcasting, and some flair of a gunslinger type. FYI, when making monsters that have class abilities, the "monster class features" link in my sig may help. I've tried to record any instance of a monster having an ability similar to that of a PC class.
How's this for starters? It lacks racial traits or skill proficiencies, but those are easy to fill in. From the block, you'll see that I may have bent some rules around how the hexblade subclass interacts with ranged weapons... but who cares?
Devil's Sight. Magical darkness doesn't impede the hex gunner's darkvision.
Evasion. If it is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the hex gunner instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. It can’t use this trait if it's incapacitated.
Hexblade's Curse (Recharges on a Short or Long Rest). As a bonus action, the hex gunner chooses one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, the hex gunner dies, or the hex gunner is incapacitated. Until the curse ends, the hex gunner gains the following benefits:
The hex gunner gains a +3 bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target.
Any attack roll the hex gunner makes against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
If the cursed target dies, the hex gunner regains 18 hit points.
Innate Spellcasting. The hex gunner’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
Spellcasting. The hex gunner is a 14th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It regains its expended spell slots when it finishes a short or long rest. It knows the following warlock spells:
Multiattack. The hex gunner makes two attacks with its hex pistols or two attacks with its shortsword.
Shortsword.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
Hex Pistol.Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 5 (1d10) necrotic damage.
One with Shadows. While it is in dim light or darkness, the hex gunner can become invisible. It remains so until it moves or takes an action or reaction.
Reactions
Accursed Specter (Recharges on a Long Rest). When the hex gunner slays a humanoid, it can cause its spirit to rise from its corpse as a specter. The specter is under the hex gunner's control. It remains for 1 minute, until it or its summoner dies, or until its summoner dismisses it as an action.
Legendary Actions
The hex gunner can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The hex gunner regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Quick Step. The hex gunner moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The hex gunner makes one attack with its shortsword or two attacks with its hex pistols.
I would say to add another one or two hit dice, so that they don't die so easily, and that they are a bit more of a challenge.
As it stands, this guy has very strong defenses. Evasion halves area effects. They can become invisible in darkness, which they can magically create and see through. They can levitate to avoid any melee attack. They get mage armor for free. They can use blur, or blink, or both at the same time. They could use far step to keep 60 feet of distance without expending movement. They also have a superior AC for their CR.
My spreadsheet incorporates the DMG tables with all modifiers. This guy can't take too many good hits, but they can keep their distance and avoid a ton of attacks.
I just relooked, and you are right. That guy would be fun to have as an annoying person, just shooting down with the hex pistol from a tree,a flying away if they need to.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'd say their magic is more Warlockish in nature but very offensive based. The NPC will be fighting them alone in a dark forest. Ideally I want the NPC to have a way to escape so they can grow stronger and become a reoccurring villain for them to deal with. If they die here though it's not a super big deal. The main theme is that they are getting their powers from a higher force than themselves.
you could give him the dryad tree stride to help him escape since they are going to be fighting in a forest
Tree Stride. Once on her turn, the dryad can use 10 feet of her movement to step magically into one living tree within her reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or bigger.
I am currently running a homebrew campaign and my players are now getting heavily involved with the plot. Pretty soon they will have to come face to face with an important NPC that I anticipate them to fight. The problem is that I don't know where to begin in creating a stat block for this enemy. The main premise is that the enemy can cast magic but has recently begun to incorporate experimental guns into their fighting style. My players know that the NPC can cast magic but they aren't sure how powerful the magic is. I want to overall feel of the boss to be a mixture of magic and gun play. I just need help trying to come up with a usable stat block. If anyone wants to give me suggestions I'm welcome to them. (I have 5 level 5 players)
I'd be happy to help you build this guy. First two questions.
The first thing I'd do to start is find one or two existing NPCs/monsters of the right CR and start altering their properties.
I'd say their magic is more Warlockish in nature but very offensive based. The NPC will be fighting them alone in a dark forest. Ideally I want the NPC to have a way to escape so they can grow stronger and become a reoccurring villain for them to deal with. If they die here though it's not a super big deal. The main theme is that they are getting their powers from a higher force than themselves.
Okay that gives us three things:
1. They have darkvision
2. They should have the warlock spell dimension door prepared.
3. They should have this for their spellcasting ability:
[BOSS NAME] is a [WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL]-level spellcaster. [HIS/HER] spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC [CHA SAVE DC], [CHA ATK BONUS] to hit with spell attacks). [BOSS NAME] has the following warlock spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): [CANTRIP NAME], [CANTRIP NAME], [ETC.]
1st-[CONSULT WARLOCK TABLE BASED ON WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL] level (2 [CONSULT WARLOCK TABLE BASED ON WARLOCK CASTER LEVEL]-level slots): [SPELL NAME], [SPELL NAME], [ETC.]
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
Okay, that's plenty to work with. I'm going to throw together a block that we can toy with. I'll aim for a CR 5-7 with legendary actions, warlock spellcasting, and some flair of a gunslinger type. FYI, when making monsters that have class abilities, the "monster class features" link in my sig may help. I've tried to record any instance of a monster having an ability similar to that of a PC class.
How's this for starters? It lacks racial traits or skill proficiencies, but those are easy to fill in. From the block, you'll see that I may have bent some rules around how the hexblade subclass interacts with ranged weapons... but who cares?
My spreadsheet calculates a CR of 6.25.
Devil's Sight. Magical darkness doesn't impede the hex gunner's darkvision.
Evasion. If it is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the hex gunner instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. It can’t use this trait if it's incapacitated.
Hexblade's Curse (Recharges on a Short or Long Rest). As a bonus action, the hex gunner chooses one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, the hex gunner dies, or the hex gunner is incapacitated. Until the curse ends, the hex gunner gains the following benefits:
Innate Spellcasting. The hex gunner’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: levitate (self only), mage armor (self only)
Spellcasting. The hex gunner is a 14th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It regains its expended spell slots when it finishes a short or long rest. It knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (at will): eldritch blast, green-flame blade, minor illusion, toll the dead
1st–5th level (3 5th-level slots): blink, blur, cone of cold, crown of madness, darkness, far step, hex, hold monster, hunger of Hadar, mirror image, phantasmal killer, shield
Multiattack. The hex gunner makes two attacks with its hex pistols or two attacks with its shortsword.
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
Hex Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 5 (1d10) necrotic damage.
One with Shadows. While it is in dim light or darkness, the hex gunner can become invisible. It remains so until it moves or takes an action or reaction.
Accursed Specter (Recharges on a Long Rest). When the hex gunner slays a humanoid, it can cause its spirit to rise from its corpse as a specter. The specter is under the hex gunner's control. It remains for 1 minute, until it or its summoner dies, or until its summoner dismisses it as an action.
The hex gunner can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The hex gunner regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Quick Step. The hex gunner moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The hex gunner makes one attack with its shortsword or two attacks with its hex pistols.
I would say to add another one or two hit dice, so that they don't die so easily, and that they are a bit more of a challenge.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
As it stands, this guy has very strong defenses. Evasion halves area effects. They can become invisible in darkness, which they can magically create and see through. They can levitate to avoid any melee attack. They get mage armor for free. They can use blur, or blink, or both at the same time. They could use far step to keep 60 feet of distance without expending movement. They also have a superior AC for their CR.
My spreadsheet incorporates the DMG tables with all modifiers. This guy can't take too many good hits, but they can keep their distance and avoid a ton of attacks.
I just relooked, and you are right. That guy would be fun to have as an annoying person, just shooting down with the hex pistol from a tree,a flying away if they need to.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
Thanks a million, this actually hits everything I was trying to go for. I can't wait to throw this at my players.
No problem. Just be sure to play it by ear. Given the right circumstances, a monster like this can hit far above its CR.
you could give him the dryad tree stride to help him escape since they are going to be fighting in a forest
Tree Stride. Once on her turn, the dryad can use 10 feet of her movement to step magically into one living tree within her reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or bigger.
but maybe have it be something other than a tree