Very first forum post, so I'm not entirely sure I'm in the correct thread but here is my question/dilemma. I've been thinking about the possibility of giving one of my PC's a Guard Drake as a potential quest reward but have no idea how I'd go about scaling it to keep it from getting too OP but also keep it from becoming useless since it's only a CR 2 monster. Any suggestions?
Not sure if you have TCoE, but sidekicks might be good for this. It is supposed to be for CR 1/2 and lower, but in my opinion sidekicks are pretty weak compared to class levels (the rules say to treat them as PCs for encounter balance). They are great for keeping NPC followers alive and helpful though. You could try to balance it by keeping its level lower than the PCs.
I would just add the average HP to drake as the pc levels up. 1d8/2 = 4 + 3 (con bonus). I would not change the other stats. So now the pc has to work on getting loot to armour up his pet. Barding is I think *4 the cost of regular armour. Some magic items I would allow the critter to wear.
Check out the Drakewarden, and adjust from there. Trim it back a considerable amount, or else you're handing out a 2nd subclass for free. At a minimum, I'd stick to just the stat block, & not add the buffs from higher levels.
To start, I'd just bump up HP every level and attack every level that the PC's proficiency bonus increases. Barding sounds pretty good to keep AC up. The other thing that will fall behind is saving throws. You could consider granting proficiency in two: generally you pick one out of DEX/CON/WIS and one out of STR/INT/CHA.
Looks like I have a few more avenues to tackle this with than I thought. I appreciate the information and advice, thank you very much!
Bear in mind barding will make the drake easier to kill, baseline, because it's not proficient in the barding. You can fix this by giving it proficiency, like the TCOE rules for sidekicks encourage. Your question isn't much different from trying to scale horses in a way that makes them relevant to battles at higher levels, and that's been an unsolved problem since 5E dropped, until TCOE gave us the sidekick rules.
Others in this thread have already mentioned how making the drake a full sidekick would be very, incredibly powerful.
I haven't seen any mounts proficient in barding, I don't know if that applies, that's why barding cost 4x the armor type, it doesn't cost 4x to armor a riding dog just to cripple it.
Looks like I have a few more avenues to tackle this with than I thought. I appreciate the information and advice, thank you very much!
Bear in mind barding will make the drake easier to kill, baseline, because it's not proficient in the barding. You can fix this by giving it proficiency, like the TCOE rules for sidekicks encourage. Your question isn't much different from trying to scale horses in a way that makes them relevant to battles at higher levels, and that's been an unsolved problem since 5E dropped, until TCOE gave us the sidekick rules.
Others in this thread have already mentioned how making the drake a full sidekick would be very, incredibly powerful.
I believe the MM states that the DM decides whether or not to make a monster proficient in x. If MS is the DM, then the drake is proficient in barding.
I believe the MM states that the DM decides whether or not to make a monster proficient in x. If MS is the DM, then the drake is proficient in barding.
Certainly the DMG states how to scale CR with adding AC, so the new CR of the animal in barding isn't in doubt. And as I mentioned, TCOE already has rules for adding armor proficiency to a pet. Let me see in the MM...
I think you're referring to this:
Assume that a creature is proficient with its armor, weapons, and tools. If you swap them out, you decide whether the creature is proficient with its new equipment. - MM p9
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Very first forum post, so I'm not entirely sure I'm in the correct thread but here is my question/dilemma. I've been thinking about the possibility of giving one of my PC's a Guard Drake as a potential quest reward but have no idea how I'd go about scaling it to keep it from getting too OP but also keep it from becoming useless since it's only a CR 2 monster. Any suggestions?
Not sure if you have TCoE, but sidekicks might be good for this. It is supposed to be for CR 1/2 and lower, but in my opinion sidekicks are pretty weak compared to class levels (the rules say to treat them as PCs for encounter balance). They are great for keeping NPC followers alive and helpful though. You could try to balance it by keeping its level lower than the PCs.
I would just add the average HP to drake as the pc levels up. 1d8/2 = 4 + 3 (con bonus). I would not change the other stats. So now the pc has to work on getting loot to armour up his pet. Barding is I think *4 the cost of regular armour. Some magic items I would allow the critter to wear.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
Check out the Drakewarden, and adjust from there. Trim it back a considerable amount, or else you're handing out a 2nd subclass for free. At a minimum, I'd stick to just the stat block, & not add the buffs from higher levels.
To start, I'd just bump up HP every level and attack every level that the PC's proficiency bonus increases. Barding sounds pretty good to keep AC up. The other thing that will fall behind is saving throws. You could consider granting proficiency in two: generally you pick one out of DEX/CON/WIS and one out of STR/INT/CHA.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Looks like I have a few more avenues to tackle this with than I thought. I appreciate the information and advice, thank you very much!
Just use an ambush drake.
Bear in mind barding will make the drake easier to kill, baseline, because it's not proficient in the barding. You can fix this by giving it proficiency, like the TCOE rules for sidekicks encourage. Your question isn't much different from trying to scale horses in a way that makes them relevant to battles at higher levels, and that's been an unsolved problem since 5E dropped, until TCOE gave us the sidekick rules.
Others in this thread have already mentioned how making the drake a full sidekick would be very, incredibly powerful.
I haven't seen any mounts proficient in barding, I don't know if that applies, that's why barding cost 4x the armor type, it doesn't cost 4x to armor a riding dog just to cripple it.
I believe the MM states that the DM decides whether or not to make a monster proficient in x. If MS is the DM, then the drake is proficient in barding.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Certainly the DMG states how to scale CR with adding AC, so the new CR of the animal in barding isn't in doubt. And as I mentioned, TCOE already has rules for adding armor proficiency to a pet. Let me see in the MM...
I think you're referring to this: