I've looked all around the internet to try and figure out how to calculate the Spellcasting level of a monster so I can homebrew some but good god I've gotten more answers than i thought possible and am now more confused than I was originally. How???
The real answer is that there really is no way to “calculate” it, especially not the way they’re doing monsters now as opposed to before. My advice, just shoot for a CR range by Proficiency bonus, and make the monster to fit. Whatever “caster level” they end up is where they end up. The alternative is to just make it however you like and then calculate the CR afterwords, but that gets to be a hassle if you end up at the border between two different Proficiency bonuses and have to tweak the monster up and down.
Ah okay thank you. I assumed from what I read that is was gonna be a mess trying to do it and it sadly seems to be the case. This helps though cause im not trying to make anything crazy so I'll just stick with the CR by proficiency thank you for the tip.
Edit: Just checked up on CR based on Proficiency bonus and unless im looking in the wrong place which is highly likely it says that CR 7 creatures have a proficiency of +3 which is fine but the hit points being 161-175 is absolutely maddening for a CR 7 Acererak is 60ish hit points off that at CR 23 and the DPR being 45 to 50 also seems a bit high are those the actual rules to follow or am I missing something?
Those are the correct rules. The HP tends to be a bit higher and the DPR lower than what people have seen for actual monsters in the monster manual. Remember a single CR 7 creature is meant to be a moderate challenge for a party of 4x level 7 characters. The e average level 7 character can put out 20-30 damage per round when using their resources before you account for magic items, so 161 hit points is less than two rounds of focused fire from a party of 4.
That’s because those creatures usually have multiple resistance/immunities, higher then average AC, multiple saving throw proficiencies, other offensive or defensive traits (like nimble escape, etc.), or a combination of those things. Those all go into a gusting a creature’s “defensive” (or “offensive”) CR when making your calculations. Don’t just go by the chart, read through that whole section and you’ll see.
I've looked all around the internet to try and figure out how to calculate the Spellcasting level of a monster so I can homebrew some but good god I've gotten more answers than i thought possible and am now more confused than I was originally. How???
The real answer is that there really is no way to “calculate” it, especially not the way they’re doing monsters now as opposed to before. My advice, just shoot for a CR range by Proficiency bonus, and make the monster to fit. Whatever “caster level” they end up is where they end up. The alternative is to just make it however you like and then calculate the CR afterwords, but that gets to be a hassle if you end up at the border between two different Proficiency bonuses and have to tweak the monster up and down.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Ah okay thank you. I assumed from what I read that is was gonna be a mess trying to do it and it sadly seems to be the case. This helps though cause im not trying to make anything crazy so I'll just stick with the CR by proficiency thank you for the tip.
Edit: Just checked up on CR based on Proficiency bonus and unless im looking in the wrong place which is highly likely it says that CR 7 creatures have a proficiency of +3 which is fine but the hit points being 161-175 is absolutely maddening for a CR 7 Acererak is 60ish hit points off that at CR 23 and the DPR being 45 to 50 also seems a bit high are those the actual rules to follow or am I missing something?
Those are the correct rules. The HP tends to be a bit higher and the DPR lower than what people have seen for actual monsters in the monster manual. Remember a single CR 7 creature is meant to be a moderate challenge for a party of 4x level 7 characters. The e average level 7 character can put out 20-30 damage per round when using their resources before you account for magic items, so 161 hit points is less than two rounds of focused fire from a party of 4.
Yeah I know and that makes sense but almost none of the CR 7 creatures have anything above like 110 Hit points so it just seems insane to me.
That’s because those creatures usually have multiple resistance/immunities, higher then average AC, multiple saving throw proficiencies, other offensive or defensive traits (like nimble escape, etc.), or a combination of those things. Those all go into a gusting a creature’s “defensive” (or “offensive”) CR when making your calculations. Don’t just go by the chart, read through that whole section and you’ll see.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting