I'm trying to make a Jaeger in dnd. I've got some ideas and need help getting concrete info, so try to convince my dm not to ban this. I am going to attach a link to a Google Slide. Please add your suggestions either on this Thread or on the Slideshow.
Is this a Jaeger as in the team-operated robots from Pacific Rim, or a Jaegermonster from Girl Genius, or something else by that name?
(This may be in your slide; it's not publicly viewable.)
In any event, whatever you're trying to make, what you need is to work with your DM to come up with something that they feel is balanced, and that works within the world they're running. All the internet assistance in the world will not avail you if you cannot get them on board.
Also, I am trying to make this adaptable to any campaign. As of now, my DM is running Decent Into Avernus, and he is thinking of making us fight a BBEG that is a gargantuan version of Zariel. We are currently level 7, and he is throwing a Cr 26 boss at us, so I am trying to make something that will give us a better chance at not dying.
Also, I am trying to make this adaptable to any campaign. As of now, my DM is running Decent Into Avernus, and he is thinking of making us fight a BBEG that is a gargantuan version of Zariel. We are currently level 7, and he is throwing a Cr 26 boss at us, so I am trying to make something that will give us a better chance at not dying.
Don't! This is the wrong way of thinking. You cannot and will not "beat the dm" by homebrewing stuff, so do not think about it like that and do not try to do that. The one and only reason to do homebrew is because you think something will be cool & fun, and it doesn't already exist. You should never ever homebrew because you want your character to be more powerful.
If you are worried about the difficulty of the game talk to the DM. I played Decent Into Avernus and the boss fight was completely winnable without any fancy homebrew. The module is pretty balanced and well written. So trust your DM to not be setting you up for failure - the game fundamentally doesn't work if you don't have this level of trust.
Avernus already has some cool vehicles that are Mad-Max themed, but if you think it would be cool to reflavour them as Jaegers that could be fun, but you should talk to the other players and the DM about it to see if they agree and also think that would be cool, and maybe they could be home-brewed a bit to even better fit that theme.
If you want to make one for fun then you need to consider a few things:
1) How many players are involved in running the Jaeger? Does each player character have their own? Do multiple characters need to work together to run one?
2) What type of encounter are they involved in? Does the scale of combat change when using the Jaeger? A Pacific Rim Jaeger that covers a whole city block with one foot step and can use an oil tanker as a weapon is operating on a completely different scale of combat than fighting a few Red Caps. Similarly the vehicles already in Avernus move so quickly that their combat work more like chases than traditional D&D combat. So consider, should it be possible for a humanoid size enemy to keep up with and fight a Jaeger, or will a Jaeger be fighting other Jaegers?
3) Does the Jaeger need to scale? Is this something used here and there early on but then gets surpassed by a character's class abilities? Is it something that can be upgraded along side the player characters?
4) How do the player characters use their uniqueness when operating the Jaeger? Typically players love their character and the choices they have made during character creation to make that character unique. They usually want to be able to use that uniqueness in combat so how will a character's abilities interact with the Jaeger?
Each Jaeger will need at least 2 player pilots, or they will take damage(I'm still thinking how much, maybe 1 or 2 d12 )
I'm thinking that every time we enter combat, I'll roll a d10 (as the DM) and, on a 1, 2, or 3, an enemy Jaeger will appear, and the players can summon their own Jaeger.
The Players can visit different Jaeger Depots as they level up to upgrade their Jaeger or trade for/purchase a new one. The party can have 1 Jaeger every 5 levels.
They will be able to customize their Jaeger however they want, and they can also upgrade their Jaeger around their class if they wish. For example, if they are playing a barbarian, their Jaeger can be heavily armoured and use a battle axe. If they are playing a spellcaster, their Jaeger can have lighter armour, be faster and be able to cast spells. If they are playing a ranger, their Jaeger can have a bow or crossbow, with lighter armour.
Also, any buffs that the player has cary over to the Jaeger, eg Haste Bardic Inspiration, etc.
The war machine frame is a Gargantuan humanoid shaped vehicle with a walking speed of 40 ft, and +10 ft bonus to its reach with melee weapons. It has three seats : a Ranged Pilot, a Melee Pilot, and an Eldritch Controller. Any creature within the War Machine has full cover from attacks / effects outside of the War Machine but they can see normally out of various windows. The War Machine uses the follow statistics and counts as a creature for the purpose of targeting spells and other abilities:
Explosive Core. When reduced to 0 HP the War Machine explodes dealing 8d6 fire damage to each creature within it and throwing them 10 ft away from it in a random direction. After exploding the War Machine is non-functional until at least 4 hours are spent repairing it with appropriate tools.
Actions:
The War Machine can be equipped with 2 weapons: one melee and one ranged weapon. These weapons are oversized versions of any ordinary simple or martial weapon, they have the same properties of their counterparts but deal 3x the damage dice in damage, however, they can only be used to make one attack per turn each. While piloting the War Machine a character's initiative changes to be the same of the War Machine's.
Melee Pilot. Controls the arms of the War Machine and the oversized melee weapon it is holding. The War Machine makes melee attacks as if the Melee Pilot was making the attacks, e.g. if the melee pilot is affected by Bless the War Machine gains a +1d4 to its melee attacks.
Ranged Pilot. Controls the ranged weapons mounted on the shoulders and head of the War Machine. The War Machine makes ranged attacks as if the Ranged Pilot was making the attacks, e.g. if the ranged pilot is affected by Bless the War Machine gains a +1d4 to its melee attacks. These weapons are mounted far from the War Machine's arms thus do not suffer disadvantage if the War Machine is within 5ft of another creature.
Eldritch Controller. Can channel their spells through the War Machine's Infernal Spell Focus which amplifies the power of those spells. When the Eldritch Controller casts through the Infernal Spell Focus they can choose one of the following effects to apply to the spell:
Increase the range of the spell to 300 ft.
Increase double size of the area targeted by the spell.
Only one spell per turn can be channelled through the Infernal Spell Focus.
Repair. Any creature within the War Machine can use an action to repair the War Machine causing it to regain 2d8+3 hit points.
Then you can have upgrades like:
Reflective Plating. The War Machine gains resistance to 1 damage type from: fire, cold, lightning, thunder, radiant.
Heavy Armour. The War Machine gains a +2 bonus to its armour class.
Plasma Rifle. Ranged War Machine weapon (100/300 ft), deals 2d10 fire + 2d10 radiant damage on a hit.
Energy Sword. Melee War Machine Weapon (15 ft Reach), deals 3d12 force damage on a hit.
Boosters. The War Machine can jump up to 50 ft as a Bonus Action on its turn, once used Boosters cannot be used again for 1 minute.
Well, It's not a Jaegar, but it's a giant mech all the same. only one pilot, but no Homebrew, so it works in all campaigns. Using 2024 rules, a level 5 goliath artificer (the new 2024 version) with the armorer subclass can grow to approximately 30-40 feet tall, or huge sized by using giant stature and the growth feature of a armorer dreadnought suit. then cast enlarge/reduce on yourself to become about 60-80 feet tall, or gargantuan sized. at level 15 this becomes 120-160 feet tall, or above gargantuan sized. at this size you could easily lift a red greatwyrm with one hand. I'm using this build in a campaign right now.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm just your everyday dungeon master. Ignore that jar full of souls. And those bones in the corner are just props, don't worry. I'm definitely NOT a lich. Definitely.
Yes, I like beholders. Yes, I curated an exquisite personality for commoner #2864. Yes, my catchphrase is "are you sure?"
Also, every 5 levels, instead of getting another Jaeger, they can choose to upgrade their Jaeger with a critical upgrade that can change how the Jaeger fights.
For example.
Elemental Weaponry. With each attack, the Jaeger can choose to add 2d12 Damage of an elemental type. (eg, Fire, cold, lightning, acid, etc.)
Elemental Plating. The Jaeger Gains resistance to elemental damage. If the pilot already has resistance, the Jaeger gains immunity to the elemental types that the pilot has resistance to.
General System Upgrade. Each of the Jaegers' stats increases by 3. (This can not increase a stat beyond 30.)
Spell Casting Bonus. The Jaeger becomes a +3 arcane focus. All spells casted through the Jaeger deal an additional 2d10 Damage.
Easy Crit. The Jaeger crits on an 18, 19 and 20 on the d20.
Regen. The Jaeger gains a hp regen of 1d8 per round. The regen kicks in at the end of your turn. The regens stop for 1 round if you take radiant damage. The regen increases by 1d8 per level.
Flight. The Jaeger gains a fly speed equal to half of its walking speed.
Heavy Armour. The Jaeger's AC increases by its Dex mod + its Con mod divided by 2.
I'm trying to make a Jaeger in dnd. I've got some ideas and need help getting concrete info, so try to convince my dm not to ban this. I am going to attach a link to a Google Slide. Please add your suggestions either on this Thread or on the Slideshow.
Is this a Jaeger as in the team-operated robots from Pacific Rim, or a Jaegermonster from Girl Genius, or something else by that name?
(This may be in your slide; it's not publicly viewable.)
In any event, whatever you're trying to make, what you need is to work with your DM to come up with something that they feel is balanced, and that works within the world they're running. All the internet assistance in the world will not avail you if you cannot get them on board.
Thank you. And I am trying to make a Jaeger, as in the robots from Pacific Rim.
Also, try the link again. You should be able to access it now.
Also, I am trying to make this adaptable to any campaign. As of now, my DM is running Decent Into Avernus, and he is thinking of making us fight a BBEG that is a gargantuan version of Zariel. We are currently level 7, and he is throwing a Cr 26 boss at us, so I am trying to make something that will give us a better chance at not dying.
Don't! This is the wrong way of thinking. You cannot and will not "beat the dm" by homebrewing stuff, so do not think about it like that and do not try to do that. The one and only reason to do homebrew is because you think something will be cool & fun, and it doesn't already exist. You should never ever homebrew because you want your character to be more powerful.
If you are worried about the difficulty of the game talk to the DM. I played Decent Into Avernus and the boss fight was completely winnable without any fancy homebrew. The module is pretty balanced and well written. So trust your DM to not be setting you up for failure - the game fundamentally doesn't work if you don't have this level of trust.
Avernus already has some cool vehicles that are Mad-Max themed, but if you think it would be cool to reflavour them as Jaegers that could be fun, but you should talk to the other players and the DM about it to see if they agree and also think that would be cool, and maybe they could be home-brewed a bit to even better fit that theme.
I am also trying to make Jaegers for fun.
If you want to make one for fun then you need to consider a few things:
1) How many players are involved in running the Jaeger? Does each player character have their own? Do multiple characters need to work together to run one?
2) What type of encounter are they involved in? Does the scale of combat change when using the Jaeger? A Pacific Rim Jaeger that covers a whole city block with one foot step and can use an oil tanker as a weapon is operating on a completely different scale of combat than fighting a few Red Caps. Similarly the vehicles already in Avernus move so quickly that their combat work more like chases than traditional D&D combat. So consider, should it be possible for a humanoid size enemy to keep up with and fight a Jaeger, or will a Jaeger be fighting other Jaegers?
3) Does the Jaeger need to scale? Is this something used here and there early on but then gets surpassed by a character's class abilities? Is it something that can be upgraded along side the player characters?
4) How do the player characters use their uniqueness when operating the Jaeger? Typically players love their character and the choices they have made during character creation to make that character unique. They usually want to be able to use that uniqueness in combat so how will a character's abilities interact with the Jaeger?
Each Jaeger will need at least 2 player pilots, or they will take damage(I'm still thinking how much, maybe 1 or 2 d12 )
I'm thinking that every time we enter combat, I'll roll a d10 (as the DM) and, on a 1, 2, or 3, an enemy Jaeger will appear, and the players can summon their own Jaeger.
The Players can visit different Jaeger Depots as they level up to upgrade their Jaeger or trade for/purchase a new one. The party can have 1 Jaeger every 5 levels.
They will be able to customize their Jaeger however they want, and they can also upgrade their Jaeger around their class if they wish. For example, if they are playing a barbarian, their Jaeger can be heavily armoured and use a battle axe. If they are playing a spellcaster, their Jaeger can have lighter armour, be faster and be able to cast spells. If they are playing a ranger, their Jaeger can have a bow or crossbow, with lighter armour.
Also, any buffs that the player has cary over to the Jaeger, eg Haste Bardic Inspiration, etc.
Ok here's a basic design:
War Machine Frame:
Uncommon Infernal Vehicle
The war machine frame is a Gargantuan humanoid shaped vehicle with a walking speed of 40 ft, and +10 ft bonus to its reach with melee weapons. It has three seats : a Ranged Pilot, a Melee Pilot, and an Eldritch Controller. Any creature within the War Machine has full cover from attacks / effects outside of the War Machine but they can see normally out of various windows. The War Machine uses the follow statistics and counts as a creature for the purpose of targeting spells and other abilities:
STR 16, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 16
Hit Points: 100
AC: 18
Immunities: poison, psychic, poisoned, charmed, frightened.
Explosive Core. When reduced to 0 HP the War Machine explodes dealing 8d6 fire damage to each creature within it and throwing them 10 ft away from it in a random direction. After exploding the War Machine is non-functional until at least 4 hours are spent repairing it with appropriate tools.
Actions:
The War Machine can be equipped with 2 weapons: one melee and one ranged weapon. These weapons are oversized versions of any ordinary simple or martial weapon, they have the same properties of their counterparts but deal 3x the damage dice in damage, however, they can only be used to make one attack per turn each. While piloting the War Machine a character's initiative changes to be the same of the War Machine's.
Melee Pilot. Controls the arms of the War Machine and the oversized melee weapon it is holding. The War Machine makes melee attacks as if the Melee Pilot was making the attacks, e.g. if the melee pilot is affected by Bless the War Machine gains a +1d4 to its melee attacks.
Ranged Pilot. Controls the ranged weapons mounted on the shoulders and head of the War Machine. The War Machine makes ranged attacks as if the Ranged Pilot was making the attacks, e.g. if the ranged pilot is affected by Bless the War Machine gains a +1d4 to its melee attacks. These weapons are mounted far from the War Machine's arms thus do not suffer disadvantage if the War Machine is within 5ft of another creature.
Eldritch Controller. Can channel their spells through the War Machine's Infernal Spell Focus which amplifies the power of those spells. When the Eldritch Controller casts through the Infernal Spell Focus they can choose one of the following effects to apply to the spell:
Only one spell per turn can be channelled through the Infernal Spell Focus.
Repair. Any creature within the War Machine can use an action to repair the War Machine causing it to regain 2d8+3 hit points.
Then you can have upgrades like:
Reflective Plating. The War Machine gains resistance to 1 damage type from: fire, cold, lightning, thunder, radiant.
Heavy Armour. The War Machine gains a +2 bonus to its armour class.
Plasma Rifle. Ranged War Machine weapon (100/300 ft), deals 2d10 fire + 2d10 radiant damage on a hit.
Energy Sword. Melee War Machine Weapon (15 ft Reach), deals 3d12 force damage on a hit.
Boosters. The War Machine can jump up to 50 ft as a Bonus Action on its turn, once used Boosters cannot be used again for 1 minute.
etc... etc...
Well, It's not a Jaegar, but it's a giant mech all the same. only one pilot, but no Homebrew, so it works in all campaigns. Using 2024 rules, a level 5 goliath artificer (the new 2024 version) with the armorer subclass can grow to approximately 30-40 feet tall, or huge sized by using giant stature and the growth feature of a armorer dreadnought suit. then cast enlarge/reduce on yourself to become about 60-80 feet tall, or gargantuan sized. at level 15 this becomes 120-160 feet tall, or above gargantuan sized. at this size you could easily lift a red greatwyrm with one hand. I'm using this build in a campaign right now.
I'm just your everyday dungeon master. Ignore that jar full of souls. And those bones in the corner are just props, don't worry. I'm definitely NOT a lich. Definitely.
Yes, I like beholders. Yes, I curated an exquisite personality for commoner #2864. Yes, my catchphrase is "are you sure?"
.-. .- -. -.. --- -- / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . .-.-.-
PM "Avocado" to Pug_With_Big_Weapons for a prize.
Don't touch the Jar
Also, every 5 levels, instead of getting another Jaeger, they can choose to upgrade their Jaeger with a critical upgrade that can change how the Jaeger fights.
For example.
Elemental Weaponry. With each attack, the Jaeger can choose to add 2d12 Damage of an elemental type. (eg, Fire, cold, lightning, acid, etc.)
Elemental Plating. The Jaeger Gains resistance to elemental damage. If the pilot already has resistance, the Jaeger gains immunity to the elemental types that the pilot has resistance to.
General System Upgrade. Each of the Jaegers' stats increases by 3. (This can not increase a stat beyond 30.)
Spell Casting Bonus. The Jaeger becomes a +3 arcane focus. All spells casted through the Jaeger deal an additional 2d10 Damage.
Easy Crit. The Jaeger crits on an 18, 19 and 20 on the d20.
Regen. The Jaeger gains a hp regen of 1d8 per round. The regen kicks in at the end of your turn. The regens stop for 1 round if you take radiant damage. The regen increases by 1d8 per level.
Flight. The Jaeger gains a fly speed equal to half of its walking speed.
Heavy Armour. The Jaeger's AC increases by its Dex mod + its Con mod divided by 2.