I really like the idea of characters oscillating between hostile or friendly. My campaign has a ton of fleshed out NPCs that may either fight or align with the adventurers.
What's the best way to convert an existing Player Character stat block into a monster one, especially re: a corresponding CR? What are some algorithms/strategies you use?
I try to find comparable examples and go from there. For example, the Abjurer is CR 9. Can cast 7th-level spells, figure 13th or 14th level. Not all the same tricks as a School of Abjuration Wizard, and no Race or Background, but a few more HP. Okay, as a 13th-14th level PC Abj Wiz is gonna be around CR10ish, maybe 11ish with Magic Items. Give or take. Ish....
From most of the non player character stat blocks and other sources CR seems to be their level halfed so a CR 3 creature is level 6 or 7 stuff like that (Also you could just make stat blocks for them since they're NPCs not PCs)
I tried using the rules for monster creation from the DMG to convert some character sheets to monster stat blocks, and the CR roughly equaled the level. Rangers and Artificers will usually be lower in CR than level because they are half-casters and have many non-combat related abilities.
It is somewhat time consuming to convert a DNDBeyond character to a monster, but I do it often so that I can have a one page stat block and so I can use it in the Encounters feature for a battle. I think the best solution would be if DnDBeyond could add the feature. It might not capture everything, but if it could do most of the work for us as far as a button that would turn a character into a HomeBrew Monster. Then, we could make a few adjustments to the Monster and use it in our Encounters. As far as sharing the monster with the community, maybe selectively but for me it would be for the benefit of my own game.
I would ask why would you build NPCs as PC characters in the first place? That 'N' is tacked on to the acronym for a reason.
The characters run by your players are the only things that ever need to be PCs. Everything else, whether it's a shopkeeper, a knight of the holy temple, or a hedgehog should use a monster stat block.
Hey, everyone!
I really like the idea of characters oscillating between hostile or friendly. My campaign has a ton of fleshed out NPCs that may either fight or align with the adventurers.
What's the best way to convert an existing Player Character stat block into a monster one, especially re: a corresponding CR? What are some algorithms/strategies you use?
I try to find comparable examples and go from there. For example, the Abjurer is CR 9. Can cast 7th-level spells, figure 13th or 14th level. Not all the same tricks as a School of Abjuration Wizard, and no Race or Background, but a few more HP. Okay, as a 13th-14th level PC Abj Wiz is gonna be around CR10ish, maybe 11ish with Magic Items. Give or take. Ish....
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From most of the non player character stat blocks and other sources CR seems to be their level halfed so a CR 3 creature is level 6 or 7 stuff like that (Also you could just make stat blocks for them since they're NPCs not PCs)
I tried using the rules for monster creation from the DMG to convert some character sheets to monster stat blocks, and the CR roughly equaled the level. Rangers and Artificers will usually be lower in CR than level because they are half-casters and have many non-combat related abilities.
It is somewhat time consuming to convert a DNDBeyond character to a monster, but I do it often so that I can have a one page stat block and so I can use it in the Encounters feature for a battle. I think the best solution would be if DnDBeyond could add the feature. It might not capture everything, but if it could do most of the work for us as far as a button that would turn a character into a HomeBrew Monster. Then, we could make a few adjustments to the Monster and use it in our Encounters. As far as sharing the monster with the community, maybe selectively but for me it would be for the benefit of my own game.
I would ask why would you build NPCs as PC characters in the first place? That 'N' is tacked on to the acronym for a reason.
The characters run by your players are the only things that ever need to be PCs. Everything else, whether it's a shopkeeper, a knight of the holy temple, or a hedgehog should use a monster stat block.
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