Hi all - I'd love to get some feedback on my first homebrew monster! With inspiration taken from bagworm moths that use bits of leaves and sticks to form their cocoon, this (much, much) bigger version uses pieces of discarded armor, weapons, etc. My scanned image didn't translate that well, but I tried to sketch what one might look like. Thanks so much for any constructive feedback!
I like the creature, it's something that would make for a nifty "gotcha" for those adventurers who are always looking for that next piece of loot. Toss it in a room with a Carrion Crawler just to make things really interesting :)
A few things jump out at me:
First, you have Speed 15 ft., 25ft. Walk, 15ft. Climb. I think there's an entry that you forgot to delete or add in that section.
Second, how are you getting the +5 damage to the tail attack? From it's stat block it should have a +1 (STR and DEX are both +1). If it's from Collector, I would add something to that ability to explain the extra damage.
Which also makes me question the Collector ability, due to it's stat block the To Hit wouldn't go below +3 (+1 from ability score and +2 from Proficiency). I'd also say that if it's tied to the damage bonus, they both should drop, damage going no lower than +1.
Thanks - I'll have to look into the numbers of the damage bonus and plus to hit.
I meant for there to be a burrowing speed as well, but whenever I enter it it just comes up like that. Maybe I'll delete for now in case there's just a bug with that entry.
OK, I have a v2 that I think is a bit more balanced. There's a bug with burrowing speed, so I just deleted that. Adjusted the hit bonus and changed "collector" slightly. It doesn't follow damage modifier rules to a T but I'm OK with that.
The armor mechanic that you used is pretty interesting to me. However, it does seem incomplete. First of all, the "bonus to hit" is more of a mechanic based on the enemy's stats/weapons/attacks than the Cave Bugworm. I feel like the second part of the "Collecter" trait is pretty good, but it's a little unclear. I like the idea that you can lower your enemy's AC, and it makes sense. Awesome.
Like DMThac0 mentioned already, the speeds are a little bit off. It seems slow to me, as the playable (medium) races are at 30 ft. per regular movement action, but there's really no problem with it. Usually the first speed stat is considered the walking speed, too.
Overall, it seems like a pretty cool creature, and with some small adjustments, it would be pretty good and ready to use.
I did want it to be fairly slow as it's basically a big worm dragging around a ton of armor, haha. I'd like to think that the piles it collects might also include some jewelry or coins, tempting adventurers to stick around and fight rather than simply outrun it...maybe I'm giving people too much credit in the bravery department, haha.
Oh, nice! That's perfect. I had that in my head already and thought it would a "DM's discretion" kind of thing, but I'm glad there's something already in the books.
I did want it to be fairly slow as it's basically a big worm dragging around a ton of armor, haha. I'd like to think that the piles it collects might also include some jewelry or coins, tempting adventurers to stick around and fight rather than simply outrun it...maybe I'm giving people too much credit in the bravery department, haha.
That sounds like a really cool idea. And, yeah, if your adventurers are similar to mine, they'd go to the monster just for some money. Mine went to a basilisk just for the small possibility of cutting off its head and using the eyes to paralyze things.
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Hi all - I'd love to get some feedback on my first homebrew monster! With inspiration taken from bagworm moths that use bits of leaves and sticks to form their cocoon, this (much, much) bigger version uses pieces of discarded armor, weapons, etc. My scanned image didn't translate that well, but I tried to sketch what one might look like. Thanks so much for any constructive feedback!
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/381949-cave-bagworm
DM - Above & Below
I like the creature, it's something that would make for a nifty "gotcha" for those adventurers who are always looking for that next piece of loot. Toss it in a room with a Carrion Crawler just to make things really interesting :)
A few things jump out at me:
First, you have Speed 15 ft., 25ft. Walk, 15ft. Climb. I think there's an entry that you forgot to delete or add in that section.
Second, how are you getting the +5 damage to the tail attack? From it's stat block it should have a +1 (STR and DEX are both +1). If it's from Collector, I would add something to that ability to explain the extra damage.
Which also makes me question the Collector ability, due to it's stat block the To Hit wouldn't go below +3 (+1 from ability score and +2 from Proficiency). I'd also say that if it's tied to the damage bonus, they both should drop, damage going no lower than +1.
Thanks - I'll have to look into the numbers of the damage bonus and plus to hit.
I meant for there to be a burrowing speed as well, but whenever I enter it it just comes up like that. Maybe I'll delete for now in case there's just a bug with that entry.
DM - Above & Below
OK, I have a v2 that I think is a bit more balanced. There's a bug with burrowing speed, so I just deleted that. Adjusted the hit bonus and changed "collector" slightly. It doesn't follow damage modifier rules to a T but I'm OK with that.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/390375-cave-bagworm
Thanks for any additional feedback! Does this look good for CR2?
DM - Above & Below
The armor mechanic that you used is pretty interesting to me. However, it does seem incomplete. First of all, the "bonus to hit" is more of a mechanic based on the enemy's stats/weapons/attacks than the Cave Bugworm. I feel like the second part of the "Collecter" trait is pretty good, but it's a little unclear. I like the idea that you can lower your enemy's AC, and it makes sense. Awesome.
Like DMThac0 mentioned already, the speeds are a little bit off. It seems slow to me, as the playable (medium) races are at 30 ft. per regular movement action, but there's really no problem with it. Usually the first speed stat is considered the walking speed, too.
Overall, it seems like a pretty cool creature, and with some small adjustments, it would be pretty good and ready to use.
Thanks! I'll keep tweaking as I get feedback.
I did want it to be fairly slow as it's basically a big worm dragging around a ton of armor, haha. I'd like to think that the piles it collects might also include some jewelry or coins, tempting adventurers to stick around and fight rather than simply outrun it...maybe I'm giving people too much credit in the bravery department, haha.
DM - Above & Below
Well, you could give it the same thing as Twig Blights and the like:
False Appearance. While the Cave Bagworm remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a pile of armor, weapons, and trinkets.
This might prompt the adventurers to get close enough to aggravate the critter.
Oh, nice! That's perfect. I had that in my head already and thought it would a "DM's discretion" kind of thing, but I'm glad there's something already in the books.
DM - Above & Below
That sounds like a really cool idea. And, yeah, if your adventurers are similar to mine, they'd go to the monster just for some money. Mine went to a basilisk just for the small possibility of cutting off its head and using the eyes to paralyze things.