Hi all, first time posting here but our party's necromancer recently had us thinking about how to make his class more flavorful, and I wanted to share some rules I thought up. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, I think these could go well with a monster building guide and stat block templates.
1. All members of the party can command combinedextras.The CR of extras you command can't be greater than a quarter of your level.
2. An extra can't be added by a player without magic, a class feature or a background feature (can reflavor retainers and remove action restrictions). Additional player or DM created extras must be encountered in-game.
3. Forget all other summon spells, any magic caster can create a thematically appropriate creature by expanding a spell slot equal to that creature's CR and using resources or suffering restrictions the DM finds appropriate. (Examples: time and bodies for undead, time and materials for constructs; betrayal from fiends, trickery from fae, semi-random summons for wild magic).
4. Players can equally contribute to an extra with a higher CR. (Ex. Four level one players can hire a CR 1 fighter instead of four CR 1/4 fighters).
5. Players can combine compatible magic spells (at the DMs discretion) as long as the spell levels are the same and level 5 or less.
6. You can maintain an extra that was summoned through magic by recasting a spell slot at the end of a long rest or within a minute of it's hp reaching zero.
7. You can change the level of spell used to maintain your summon, along with the extra's CR and it's stat block each time you recast. If you do not recast, the DM assumes control of the extra at the end of the long rest.
8. You can order an extra to take an action by using a bonus action. If multiple players control an extra, they can each command it with a bonus action, but it can't use the same action twice in one round. Otherwise, the extra takes the dodge action. No action is required to order movement.
9. As long as at least one class feature is made irrelevant by these rules (at DMs discretion) you can give an additional command to an extra for each affected feature. An extra can't take the same action twice in one round
10. You can give the same order to multiple units if they A) share a stat block B) take the same action and C) occupy individual adjacent squares (tiny creatures can share a space). To attack with a group of extras, roll once to hit and multiply damage by the number of extras in range to attack.
Optional rule: You no longer roll death saving throws. When your player character is reduced to 0 hit points, you may use a reaction to launch your soul at an extra you command. If the extra has an intelligence score of eight or more and is humanoid, you may roll a new character based on that extra at your previous level. If either of these conditions are false, that extra's descendents will eventually meet both conditions after 1d4 generations. If the player character can cast at least one spell, they may attempt to transmit their consciousness as well with their reaction by making a mental ability saving throw of their choice with DC 10 + their player level. On a success an extras body is invaded by your consciousness and they can either submit, coexist, or challenge; with both creatures making a mental ability check of their choice for control of the body.
Hi all, first time posting here but our party's necromancer recently had us thinking about how to make his class more flavorful, and I wanted to share some rules I thought up. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, I think these could go well with a monster building guide and stat block templates.
1. All members of the party can command combinedextras.The CR of extras you command can't be greater than a quarter of your level.
2. An extra can't be added by a player without magic, a class feature or a background feature (can reflavor retainers and remove action restrictions). Additional player or DM created extras must be encountered in-game.
3. Forget all other summon spells, any magic caster can create a thematically appropriate creature by expanding a spell slot equal to that creature's CR and using resources or suffering restrictions the DM finds appropriate. (Examples: time and bodies for undead, time and materials for constructs; betrayal from fiends, trickery from fae, semi-random summons for wild magic).
4. Players can equally contribute to an extra with a higher CR. (Ex. Four level one players can hire a CR 1 fighter instead of four CR 1/4 fighters).
5. Players can combine compatible magic spells (at the DMs discretion) as long as the spell levels are the same and level 5 or less.
6. You can maintain an extra that was summoned through magic by recasting a spell slot at the end of a long rest or within a minute of it's hp reaching zero.
7. You can change the level of spell used to maintain your summon, along with the extra's CR and it's stat block each time you recast. If you do not recast, the DM assumes control of the extra at the end of the long rest.
8. You can order an extra to take an action by using a bonus action. If multiple players control an extra, they can each command it with a bonus action, but it can't use the same action twice in one round. Otherwise, the extra takes the dodge action. No action is required to order movement.
9. As long as at least one class feature is made irrelevant by these rules (at DMs discretion) you can give an additional command to an extra for each affected feature. An extra can't take the same action twice in one round
10. You can give the same order to multiple units if they A) share a stat block B) take the same action and C) occupy individual adjacent squares (tiny creatures can share a space). To attack with a group of extras, roll once to hit and multiply damage by the number of extras in range to attack.
Optional rule: You no longer roll death saving throws. When your player character is reduced to 0 hit points, you may use a reaction to launch your soul at an extra you command. If the extra has an intelligence score of eight or more and is humanoid, you may roll a new character based on that extra at your previous level. If either of these conditions are false, that extra's descendents will eventually meet both conditions after 1d4 generations.
If the player character can cast at least one spell, they may attempt to transmit their consciousness as well with their reaction by making a mental ability saving throw of their choice with DC 10 + their player level. On a success an extras body is invaded by your consciousness and they can either submit, coexist, or challenge; with both creatures making a mental ability check of their choice for control of the body.
Edit: fixed numbers
For some reason, I thought this would be about sidekicks...
What does number 5 have to do with allied creatures?
Most of these are about summons and net the actual 4 sidekicks: Warrior, Expert, Spellcaster - Healer, and Spellcaster - Mage.
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