Ello everyone!! Made a homebrew monster and I haven't been able to throw it into a campaign or one shot yet. I was wondering if I could get any input on my monster. Is it too strong, weak, or whatever. Thanks and I hope to hear what you all think.
The root mechanics in general don't make sense to me. How do they spread if the creature doesn't move? How far/fast? Does hurting those extended roots hurt the core that didn't move?
Similarly, I'd look at your Uncontrollable Flinching. The creature doesn't move so it occupies four distinct squares on the map...moving its roots doesn't actually do anything. It still occupies the same 4 squares and still isn't moving. I'd also get rid of both references to 'radius' as that doesn't do anything either. The flame is within '15 feet of the dread wood'...that's it, no need to refer to radius.
you could make it immune to the prone condition as well.
CR is too high for a creature that does 10 damage...opponents just need to pull up a chair 15 away and fill it with arrows until it dies, its super easy to kill.
10 INT sure is smart for a coffin (its as smart as I am IRL).
It seems dangerous, but with a movement of 0 and 10ft range, a smart party will finish this off - but it won't necessarily be quick to get through 100hp at range, especially if half the party is melee.
I'd consider:
1: Reword the Flame Flinching to be "As a Reaction, the Dread Wood can make a Root Whip attack against any creature moving within 10ft. whilst carrying any flame, or against any creature who casts a spell which deals fire damage within range.
II: Make Root Whip have a 30ft. range, for a more dangerous foe and more variety - or make the Rotting Touch activate if you hit with a root whip - or both.
C: Up the damage if you want a CR6 monster, or drop the HP for a lower CR monster. As it is, I'd rate it CR3-4 for its lower damage outputs and lack of movement. I'd also up the Con and Strength, as these are the things it uses!
It's a cool concept, I like the idea of it being necromancy gone a bit wild!
If you look at the stats of other CR creatures, their cumulative stat modifiers tend to equal +5-7 while this guy has -10. Don't think of it as a coffin, think of it as an animated undead creature.
I'd also crank the damage way up, because it's probably only going to get one hit in before the party backs off. Maybe somewhere around 12-15 average damage, or bump up the STR and give it a grapple effect. A rooty coffin that grapples you down into itself is a pretty cool image.
It's a cool concept, but I'd play this kind of thing more like a trap or hazardous terrain than a creature. It's easy to kill at range, so its main job would be to surprise the party and keep them out of a specific area of the battlefield for a while.
Thank you everyone for your input! This will help me retool this creature to be more effective. I like the idea of using it as a trap for my players while they travel.
Rotting Touch is simply worse than Root Whip, unless a target is immune to bludgeoning damage, so there's no reason to use it in the Multiattack.
For a monster with 12 hit dice, it deals very low damage. This damage is appropriate for level 1-2 characters, but its regeneration and hit points aren't appropriate for level 1-2.
This is really CR1 in damage, and CR5 in hit points.
It has no way to overcome the PCs standing back and shooting arrows at it. It can't move and has a short range.
Ello everyone!! Made a homebrew monster and I haven't been able to throw it into a campaign or one shot yet. I was wondering if I could get any input on my monster. Is it too strong, weak, or whatever. Thanks and I hope to hear what you all think.
Necromancers' Dread Wood (Large)
just my own thoughts/opinions:
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
It seems dangerous, but with a movement of 0 and 10ft range, a smart party will finish this off - but it won't necessarily be quick to get through 100hp at range, especially if half the party is melee.
I'd consider:
1: Reword the Flame Flinching to be "As a Reaction, the Dread Wood can make a Root Whip attack against any creature moving within 10ft. whilst carrying any flame, or against any creature who casts a spell which deals fire damage within range.
II: Make Root Whip have a 30ft. range, for a more dangerous foe and more variety - or make the Rotting Touch activate if you hit with a root whip - or both.
C: Up the damage if you want a CR6 monster, or drop the HP for a lower CR monster. As it is, I'd rate it CR3-4 for its lower damage outputs and lack of movement. I'd also up the Con and Strength, as these are the things it uses!
It's a cool concept, I like the idea of it being necromancy gone a bit wild!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
If you look at the stats of other CR creatures, their cumulative stat modifiers tend to equal +5-7 while this guy has -10. Don't think of it as a coffin, think of it as an animated undead creature.
I'd also crank the damage way up, because it's probably only going to get one hit in before the party backs off. Maybe somewhere around 12-15 average damage, or bump up the STR and give it a grapple effect. A rooty coffin that grapples you down into itself is a pretty cool image.
It's a cool concept, but I'd play this kind of thing more like a trap or hazardous terrain than a creature. It's easy to kill at range, so its main job would be to surprise the party and keep them out of a specific area of the battlefield for a while.
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
Thank you everyone for your input! This will help me retool this creature to be more effective. I like the idea of using it as a trap for my players while they travel.
Rotting Touch is simply worse than Root Whip, unless a target is immune to bludgeoning damage, so there's no reason to use it in the Multiattack.
For a monster with 12 hit dice, it deals very low damage. This damage is appropriate for level 1-2 characters, but its regeneration and hit points aren't appropriate for level 1-2.
This is really CR1 in damage, and CR5 in hit points.
It has no way to overcome the PCs standing back and shooting arrows at it. It can't move and has a short range.