Might make more sense for it to be an elemental, especially considering it knows Auran and has such a high Dexterity.
It should probably have resistance to Thunder damage.
Winding Flight seems antithetical to its nature. If it's always hanging out in storms, it should be able to control itself against wind.
Bite should be a +7 to hit (5 Dex + 2 PB).
Thunder Eater should either specify that it only works at 1 hp or higher, like the death slaad.
Sting is only really effective in swarms. If that's your intention, then there's no problem with it, but I just wanted to point it out.
That's most of what I can help with, I'm not so good with the numbers. I'd recommend comparing it to a troll for the math, since they're surprisingly similar.
There is a reason for the creature type: it is one of many types of creatures plagued by the world and shaped by the primordial of monsters. I may need to remove Auran. I thought it might have been a good idea at the time lol. Resistance to thunder damage might not be a bad idea. Thanks for catching that mistake on the Bite. Winding Flight’s wind weakness is there because Stormriders don’t control themselves against the wind, they wind their way along it with their fins allowing them maneuverability and lift. Good call on Thunder Eater. The intent is to include three or more in one encounter, as stated in the description: “Moving in packs ranging from a few beasts to dozens upon dozens…”
Ice Walk. Níðhöggr can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Níðhöggr fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack. Níðhöggr can use its Frightful Presence or Allure of Chaos. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack:+11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) cold damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack:+11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack:+11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of Níðhöggr's choice that is within 120 feet of Níðhöggr and aware of it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Níðhöggr's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Allure of Chaos. A creature of Níðhöggr's choice within 60 feet of him must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw, or become charmed for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Níðhöggr's Allure of Chaos for the next 24 hours.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6). Níðhöggr exhales an icy blast in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Bonus Actions
Call of Fimbulvetr. Níðhöggr commands a charmed creature within 90 feet of it. Until the start of Níðhöggr's next turn, that creature is hostile to creatures that are hostile towards Níðhöggr.
Legendary Actions
Níðhöggr can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Níðhöggr regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. Níðhöggr makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack. Níðhöggr makes a tail attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). Níðhöggr beats its wings. Each creature within 10 feet of Níðhöggr must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Níðhöggr can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Lair and Lair Actions
Níðhöggr's Lair
Níðhöggr's lair rests beneath the roots of the great Tree, in the untamed world known as Ishjerte beyond the Low Lands, from which no one returns.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Níðhöggr takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Níðhöggr can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
Chew the Roots. Níðhöggr calls upon its prophesied role as the destroyer of the roots of the great Tree, and its ice is imbued with its ancient power. All effects that channel the Shaltani are suppressed until the next lair action, and during this time, whenever Níðhöggr deals cold damage to a creature channeling a Shaltani, they must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they stop channeling the Shaltani.
Unending Chaos. Níðhöggr's chilling influence is strengthened. Each creature within 30 feet of Níðhöggr has disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws until the next lair action.
Winter's Ire.Níðhöggr summons a cloud of whirling wind and freezing fog that fills a 10-foot radius sphere originating from a point within 60 feet of it until the next lair action. The area is heavily obscured. When a creature starts its turn within the cloud, it must make a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet in a random direction and take 11 (2d10) cold damage. A creature that succeeds on this save takes half as much damage and isn't pushed.
Regional Effects
The region is warped by Níðhöggr's magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
Chilly fog lightly obscures the land within 6 miles of Níðhöggr's lair.
Freezing precipitation falls within 6 miles of Níðhöggr’s lair, sometimes forming blizzard conditions when Níðhöggr is at rest.
Icy walls block off areas in Níðhöggr’s lair. Each wall is 6 inches thick, and a 10-foot section has AC 5, 15 hit points, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to acid, cold, necrotic, poison, and psychic damage. If Níðhöggr wishes to move through a wall, it can do so without slowing down. The portion of the wall Níðhöggr moves through is destroyed, however.
If Níðhöggr dies, the fog and precipitation fade within 1 day. The ice walls melt over the course of 1d10 days.
Just so there's no confusion, it is based on the adult white dragon statblock.
What all is different from the basic statblock?
Increased INT, WIS, CHA
Resistance to mundane, non-adamantine damage
Immunity to petrified, stunned, paralyzed, charmed, frightened
History, Intimidation Proficiency
Increased HP
New Allure of Chaos ability
Changed lair actions
New Call of Fimbulvetr ability
Looks about okay for its CR. I reckon the HP and immunities can bump it up to 14, and then the Charmed effects and out-of-combat utility are enough to take it the extra couple notches, even though the charm probably only makes sense to use after everybody's either affected by or immune to Frightful Presence. Though, again, I'm not good at the numbers.
Minor things: it doesn't make much sense for the ice walls to be immune to Acid, or Necrotic for that matter. Most objects are only immune to Poison and Psychic. Also, Unending Chaos doesn't feel very interesting, or like a Lair Action. Lair Actions should bring dynamic environmental effects to the table, not just disadvantage.
Seeing as Frightful Presence debuffs multiple creatures at once where Allure of Chaos only affects one per turn, it is likely that Níðhöggr would use it first. The walls are also base RAW lol. I will take you up on changing Unending Chaos, however.
The Way of the Viridian Earth looks really cool. The formatting for the Animal Handling, Nature, and Survival thing was repetitive and weird but other than that it looks good.
The Way of the Viridian Earth looks really cool. The formatting for the Animal Handling, Nature, and Survival thing was repetitive and weird but other than that it looks good.
Yeah lol, it needed to be formatted that way in order for it to be an option in character creation sorry
Just realized that while Verdant Stream was meant to last a little while, it has no maximum duration, meaning you can use it immediately after a long rest and, as long as you don’t fall unconscious or use up your ki points, it lasts until your next long rest without consequence. Gonna change it to 10 minutes or an hour. Which do you guys think
Just realized that while Verdant Stream was meant to last a little while, it has no maximum duration, meaning you can use it immediately after a long rest and, as long as you don’t fall unconscious or use up your ki points, it lasts until your next long rest without consequence. Gonna change it to 10 minutes or an hour. Which do you guys think
Just thought of something which is potentially genius, potentially very cruel. Let's say, Evil Genius.
You need a premise of some sort along the lines of "meet your nemesis" and a dark doorway or portal or something, and ideally a powergamer player.
When they enter the doorway, they need to save or die. Success means they walk through, and nothing happens - move on with the game. But, if they die, describe the goddess of death sucking their soul out and pouring herself into their body, taking control. Then ask them to make a new character, possibly emphasising "to fight death".
Then, when they do, their character comes back to life - and you take the character they made as an NPC antagonist, hunting them down. The whole thing was a weird illusion, designed to prompt the player into making a character that is their perfect counter - their nemesis.
It's hardly more than a concept right now, but thought I'd throw it out there for discussion.
WEAPON (LONGSWORD), LEGENDARY (REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT BY AND GOOD ALIGNED CREATURE)
"FORGED BY THE LEGENDARY BLACKSMITH ADREK UNGART, THIS SWORD CONTAINS HIS SOUL. A large gem with his dwarf face is placed in the center of the crossguard, Runes decorate the blade, Keeping it forever sharp."
"You gain a +3 Bonus against evil creatures, elves, and orcs; And a -3 bonus against dwarves. It has the additional properties:"
"Translator: Whenever you have this item on your character, You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish"
"Sneeze: Any Evil Aligned Creature Will Sneeze for 3 Turns within 40 feet of the Blade. After 2 Uses, you must take a long rest before you can use it again."
"Sentience: The Sword Is a lawful Good Weapon With An Intelligence Of 13, Wisdom of 16, And a charisma Of 15. It Can Hear And see, And Has Darkvision for 120 Ft. It Can Speak, Read, And write Dwarvish, It Also Knows Languages The wielder Knows. His voice Is Wise, Bubbly And Humorous. It Likes Being Called Adrek Ungart."
"Personality: Adrek Speaks In A cheerful tone. He is Extremely Positive, But Longs To Be Free. His goal Is to Get His Grandson To Destroy The Sword He Is Trapped In"
WEAPON (LONGSWORD), LEGENDARY (REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT BY AND GOOD ALIGNED CREATURE)
"FORGED BY THE LEGENDARY BLACKSMITH ADREK UNGART, THIS SWORD CONTAINS HIS SOUL. A large gem with his dwarf face is placed in the center of the crossguard, Runes decorate the blade, Keeping it forever sharp."
"You gain a +3 Bonus against evil creatures, elves, and orcs; And a -3 bonus against dwarves. It has the additional properties:"
"Translator: Whenever you have this item on your character, You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish"
"Sneeze: Any Evil Aligned Creature Will Sneeze for 3 Turns within 40 feet of the Blade. After 2 Uses, you must take a long rest before you can use it again."
"Sentience: The Sword Is a lawful Good Weapon With An Intelligence Of 13, Wisdom of 16, And a charisma Of 15. It Can Hear And see, And Has Darkvision for 120 Ft. It Can Speak, Read, And write Dwarvish, It Also Knows Languages The wielder Knows. His voice Is Wise, Bubbly And Humorous. It Likes Being Called Adrek Ungart."
"Personality: Adrek Speaks In A cheerful tone. He is Extremely Positive, But Longs To Be Free. His goal Is to Get His Grandson To Destroy The Sword He Is Trapped In"
1. You don't need to capitalize full words, pretty much ever in D&D.
2. You don't need to place quotation marks before and after every line, or any line at all. The text alone is fine.
3. You wouldn't call a -3 to attacks and damage rolls against dwarves a 'bonus'. I would phrase the feature as
You have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon against creatures of evil alignment, elves, and orcs, and you have a -3 penalty to attack and damage rolls made with it against dwarves.
4. You don't need to state 'It has the additional properties'.
5. You made a lot of capitalizing errors. I would recommend fixing those.
6. The properties shouldn't have colons, but periods after their names.
7. The 'Sneeze' feature is both vague and seemingly off-flavor. In terms of mechanics, you don't explain what sneezing does to a creature, nor when the trigger for when an evil aligned creature begins sneezing. You also state a limited use, but never state an activation which the limit is attached to.
8. What would happen once the sword is destroyed, as it desires? Maybe explain that.
Keen Hearing and Sight. Elkhazel has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Unarmored Defense. While Elkhazel isn’t wearing armor or holding a shield, his AC includes his Wisdom modifier.
Blood Frenzy. Elkhazel’s weapon attacks against creatures that are missing hit points and aren’t constructs or plants have advantage and are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage.
Spellcasting. Elkhazel is a 9th-level half-caster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). Elkhazel has the following ranger spells prepared:
Hand of Harm (3/Short or Long Rest). When Elkhazel hits a creature that isn’t a construct or a plant with an Unarmed Strike attack, he can unleash a blight upon them. They must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they become poisoned for 1 minute. If Elkhazel uses this on a creature that is already poisoned and the target fails the save, they are instead stunned until the end of Elkhazel’s next turn.
Tireless Hunter. Elkhazel‘s exhaustion level is lowered by 1 whenever he finishes a short rest. In addition, he can move at a fast pace while tracking the trail of a humanoid or beast.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). When Elkhazel fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. Elkhazel makes two attacks. He can make an additional two melee attacks, targeting only creatures that have lost hit points.
Unarmed Strike.Melee Weapon Attack:+8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Bow of the Flowing River. Ranged Weapon Attack:+10 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw if Elkhazel has made no more than twelve Longbow attacks. The target takes 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save. Miss: If the attack roll was a critical fail, Elkhazel may instead treat the attack roll as a normal attack. Roll 1d10, adding the result to the attack roll, possibly turning a miss into a hit. If it does, add the result of the d10 to the damage roll.
Bonus Actions
Call the Hunt. Elkhazel summons two beasts from blood spilled within the last hour, each of which are represented as either a Beast of the Land or a Beast of the Sky, as represented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Use 5 whenever Elkhazel’s class level is called for. The beasts appear in unoccupied spaces of Elkhazel’s choice and obey his verbal commands (no action required). Elkhazel can have no more than four beasts summoned at a time. These summoned beasts disappear after 1 hour.
Reactions
Deflect Missiles. In response to being hit with a ranged weapon attack, Elkhazel reduces the damage of that attack by 16 (1d10+10) damage. If this reduces the damage to 0, the projectile can fit in Elkhazel’s hand, and he has a hand free, he may catch the projectile and make a ranged weapon attack using it. Elkhazel is proficient with this attack, which can use a d6 in place of its normal damage dice and has a range of 20/60.
Slow Fall. In response to taking fall damage, Elkhazel reduces the damage by 30.
Legendary Actions
Elkhazel can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Elkhazel regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Detect. Elkhazel makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Pursue. Elkhazel moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Elkhazel must end this movement by moving towards a creature he is hostile to.
Hunter’s Command (Costs 2 Actions). One beast summoned by Elkhazel uses its reaction to move up to half its speed and make one attack against a creature he is hostile to.
Description
Elkhazel Corimar was a soldier in the corps of the Burning-Crest Empire, but in his first battle, discovered a deep bloodlust that won his battalion the victory, but also got him discharged: he had not only harmed enemy soldiers in his rampage, but also attacked allies and disobeyed orders. Elkhazel spent a month in the wilds of Burning-Crest hunting and tracking, and was eventually discovered by a band of traveling monks, who he willingly joined in the hopes that he would learn to control his bloodlust through asceticism. Although he became an accomplished member of the order, his murderous urges eventually broke free and he slaughtered the whole band in the night.
Elkhazel discovered that he could utilize the techniques the monks taught him even in the midst of a blood frenzy, and in the year of solitude that he then spent in the wilderness, he developed a technique using the residual ki in blood that enabled him to create beasts of blood to assist him in the hunt. It was then Elkhazel turned his eyes to civilization.
Though his bloodlust would certainly prevent him from the close company of others, another idea caught his interest: bounties. Through bounty hunting, Elkhazel could hunt his most desired prey — people — while not attracting the specific ire of others. So now, Elkhazel roams the cities and towns of Eturnaem, hunting bounty after bounty to slake his bloodlust.
After all, as long as there are two people on Aegir, someone is going to want somebody else dead.
So I'm working on a homebrew subrace for elf that's essentially an animation, and I'm wondering if you guys think that having resistance to radiant damage would be too over powered. My reasoning is that they were created by the elven goddess of art and magic Correlon Larethian and I wanted to replace elves fey ancestry with celestial ancestry and them having advantage on saving throws against being charmed seems kinda out of place. What do you guys think?
So I'm working on a homebrew subrace for elf that's essentially an animation, and I'm wondering if you guys think that having resistance to radiant damage would be too over powered. My reasoning is that they were created by the elven goddess of art and magic Correlon Larethian and I wanted to replace elves fey ancestry with celestial ancestry and them having advantage on saving throws against being charmed seems kinda out of place. What do you guys think?
Seems roughly equivalent to me. Radiant is a pretty rare damage type among monsters, especially monsters that most players will be fighting, so it's not too powerful or anything.
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Keen Hearing and Sight. Elkhazel has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Unarmored Defense. While Elkhazel isn’t wearing armor or holding a shield, his AC includes his Wisdom modifier.
Blood Frenzy. Elkhazel’s weapon attacks against creatures that are missing hit points and aren’t constructs or plants have advantage and are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage.
Spellcasting. Elkhazel is a 9th-level half-caster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). Elkhazel has the following ranger spells prepared:
Hand of Harm (3/Short or Long Rest). When Elkhazel hits a creature that isn’t a construct or a plant with an Unarmed Strike attack, he can unleash a blight upon them. They must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they become poisoned for 1 minute. If Elkhazel uses this on a creature that is already poisoned and the target fails the save, they are instead stunned until the end of Elkhazel’s next turn.
Tireless Hunter. Elkhazel‘s exhaustion level is lowered by 1 whenever he finishes a short rest. In addition, he can move at a fast pace while tracking the trail of a humanoid or beast.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). When Elkhazel fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. Elkhazel makes two attacks. He can make an additional two melee attacks, targeting only creatures that have lost hit points.
Unarmed Strike.Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Bow of the Flowing River. Ranged Weapon Attack:+10 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw if Elkhazel has made no more than twelve Longbow attacks. The target takes 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save. Miss: If the attack roll was a critical fail, Elkhazel may instead treat the attack roll as a normal attack. Roll 1d10, adding the result to the attack roll, possibly turning a miss into a hit. If it does, add the result of the d10 to the damage roll.
Bonus Actions
Call the Hunt. Elkhazel summons two beasts from blood spilled within the last hour, each of which are represented as either a Beast of the Land or a Beast of the Sky, as represented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Use 5 whenever Elkhazel’s class level is called for. The beasts appear in unoccupied spaces of Elkhazel’s choice and obey his verbal commands (no action required). Elkhazel can have no more than four beasts summoned at a time. These summoned beasts disappear after 1 hour.
Reactions
Deflect Missiles. In response to being hit with a ranged weapon attack, Elkhazel reduces the damage of that attack by 16 (1d10+10) damage. If this reduces the damage to 0, the projectile can fit in Elkhazel’s hand, and he has a hand free, he may catch the projectile and make a ranged weapon attack using it. Elkhazel is proficient with this attack, which can use a d6 in place of its normal damage dice and has a range of 20/60.
Slow Fall. In response to taking fall damage, Elkhazel reduces the damage by 30.
Legendary Actions
Elkhazel can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Elkhazel regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Detect. Elkhazel makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Pursue. Elkhazel moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Elkhazel must end this movement by moving towards a creature he is hostile to.
Hunter’s Command (Costs 2 Actions). One beast summoned by Elkhazel uses its reaction to move up to half its speed and make one attack against a creature he is hostile to.
Description
Elkhazel Corimar was a soldier in the corps of the Burning-Crest Empire, but in his first battle, discovered a deep bloodlust that won his battalion the victory, but also got him discharged: he had not only harmed enemy soldiers in his rampage, but also attacked allies and disobeyed orders. Elkhazel spent a month in the wilds of Burning-Crest hunting and tracking, and was eventually discovered by a band of traveling monks, who he willingly joined in the hopes that he would learn to control his bloodlust through asceticism. Although he became an accomplished member of the order, his murderous urges eventually broke free and he slaughtered the whole band in the night.
Elkhazel discovered that he could utilize the techniques the monks taught him even in the midst of a blood frenzy, and in the year of solitude that he then spent in the wilderness, he developed a technique using the residual ki in blood that enabled him to create beasts of blood to assist him in the hunt. It was then Elkhazel turned his eyes to civilization.
Though his bloodlust would certainly prevent him from the close company of others, another idea caught his interest: bounties. Through bounty hunting, Elkhazel could hunt his most desired prey — people — while not attracting the specific ire of others. So now, Elkhazel roams the cities and towns of Eturnaem, hunting bounty after bounty to slake his bloodlust.
After all, as long as there are two people on Aegir, someone is going to want somebody else dead.
Bump because I have quite literally 1 week to know if this boss is balanced
Ok, I am personally doubtful that Elkhazel is worth CR15. It's a good statblock, but is he the equivalent of an adult dragon?
Firstly, I would double the dice for his damage. Give him 2d6 on hits and 2d8 on the bow.
Secondly, I would drop a little of the bloat in the statblock - there is a lot of information here which is not going to be needed for the purposes of combat. Unarmoured defence is unneeded, as he's unlikely to be forced into armour. Tireless hunter is also an ability which matters to PCs, but not to NPCs. He can turn up wherever you want him to!
To reflect the powerful monk aspect of him, and make him more survivable against a party who will be fighting a CR15 enemy, I would bump up the hitpoints some, and I would tweak "Deflect Missiles" to "Deflect Attacks", so that you can use it against melee attacks as well. That will make people who rely on one hard hit (EG paladins) worry a bit! For extra "Oh no!", have him disarm them and throw their weapon as a ranged attack. Damn, that's actually awesome, I'm using that!
Also worth considering that if this is to be a boss, I would consider adding 2 Legendary Resistances, or something similar but thematic (if he fails a save, he can instead choose for one of his beasts to fail that save and recieve the effects). Otherwise, one spellcaster will pop Hold Person and the fight will be finished!
What is the party built like? That will mean a lot for whether this is a scary battle or an easy one!
Ok, I am personally doubtful that Elkhazel is worth CR15. It's a good statblock, but is he the equivalent of an adult dragon?
Firstly, I would double the dice for his damage. Give him 2d6 on hits and 2d8 on the bow.
Secondly, I would drop a little of the bloat in the statblock - there is a lot of information here which is not going to be needed for the purposes of combat. Unarmoured defence is unneeded, as he's unlikely to be forced into armour. Tireless hunter is also an ability which matters to PCs, but not to NPCs. He can turn up wherever you want him to!
To reflect the powerful monk aspect of him, and make him more survivable against a party who will be fighting a CR15 enemy, I would bump up the hitpoints some, and I would tweak "Deflect Missiles" to "Deflect Attacks", so that you can use it against melee attacks as well. That will make people who rely on one hard hit (EG paladins) worry a bit! For extra "Oh no!", have him disarm them and throw their weapon as a ranged attack. Damn, that's actually awesome, I'm using that!
Also worth considering that if this is to be a boss, I would consider adding 2 Legendary Resistances, or something similar but thematic (if he fails a save, he can instead choose for one of his beasts to fail that save and recieve the effects). Otherwise, one spellcaster will pop Hold Person and the fight will be finished!
What is the party built like? That will mean a lot for whether this is a scary battle or an easy one!
He has two legendary resistances, but I like your ideas a lot. Both for Deflect Attack and Legendary Resistance rework.
For reference, the party is level 8 and consists of two rangers (one melee drakewarden, one ranged Hunter), one melee Lycan Blood Hunter, one melee Arcane Trickster rogue, one no-damage Peace Cleric, one melee Bear Barbarian, and one ranged Sun Soul Monk.
Elkhazel, notably, has setup time. The past few sessions, he’s been baiting the party into this forest, where he’s prepared snares and once the party confronts him, he casts plant growth to prevent the party from simply rushing him. He also puts “safe paths” in the growth that contain the snares, so that if the party tries to take an easier path to get to him, they might get snared.
With a party that big, I doubt the Detect legendary action will be coming into play. The action economy vs 7 PCs means I'd be inclined to give him legendary actions to move and attack. Make it 1 legendary action to make 2 attacks, or 1 legendary action to move up to 30ft. and make one attack.
Main thoughts here is that the party could probably deal 190 damage fairly easily in one or two turns. How long do you want the fight to last, and how much damage do you want him to deal? Do you want him to be a tricky boss to defeat, or a slugfest?
I'm trying to think what would make him a good challenge. For sure the Snares, and the beasts. I think I'd maybe give him a few more HP, let him Hide and reposition as a legendary action if in foliage, and call it there. To make him a real tricky one, consider:
Melt Away. Elkhazel takes the Hide action, provided he is in natural cover such as foliage. If successful, he immediately teleports to a new location within 60ft, provided that this new location is entirely within foliage.
That alone could make this a real struggle, with them getting one or two turns before he disappears and has to be found again!
There is a reason for the creature type: it is one of many types of creatures plagued by the world and shaped by the primordial of monsters. I may need to remove Auran. I thought it might have been a good idea at the time lol. Resistance to thunder damage might not be a bad idea. Thanks for catching that mistake on the Bite. Winding Flight’s wind weakness is there because Stormriders don’t control themselves against the wind, they wind their way along it with their fins allowing them maneuverability and lift. Good call on Thunder Eater. The intent is to include three or more in one encounter, as stated in the description: “Moving in packs ranging from a few beasts to dozens upon dozens…”
Seeing as Frightful Presence debuffs multiple creatures at once where Allure of Chaos only affects one per turn, it is likely that Níðhöggr would use it first. The walls are also base RAW lol. I will take you up on changing Unending Chaos, however.
Thanks so much!
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
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Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Stormrider [v1.1] if anyone wants it.
I would also like feedback for this monk subclass, the Way of the Viridian Earth.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
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The Way of the Viridian Earth looks really cool. The formatting for the Animal Handling, Nature, and Survival thing was repetitive and weird but other than that it looks good.
Yeah lol, it needed to be formatted that way in order for it to be an option in character creation sorry
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Just realized that while Verdant Stream was meant to last a little while, it has no maximum duration, meaning you can use it immediately after a long rest and, as long as you don’t fall unconscious or use up your ki points, it lasts until your next long rest without consequence. Gonna change it to 10 minutes or an hour. Which do you guys think
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I would say 10 minutes.
Just thought of something which is potentially genius, potentially very cruel. Let's say, Evil Genius.
You need a premise of some sort along the lines of "meet your nemesis" and a dark doorway or portal or something, and ideally a powergamer player.
When they enter the doorway, they need to save or die. Success means they walk through, and nothing happens - move on with the game. But, if they die, describe the goddess of death sucking their soul out and pouring herself into their body, taking control. Then ask them to make a new character, possibly emphasising "to fight death".
Then, when they do, their character comes back to life - and you take the character they made as an NPC antagonist, hunting them down. The whole thing was a weird illusion, designed to prompt the player into making a character that is their perfect counter - their nemesis.
It's hardly more than a concept right now, but thought I'd throw it out there for discussion.
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All my "Good" Homebrew is on paper
Mmmm, crunchy math rocks
Rat king, leader of the rat army
Opposed to the scorpion army
MY RP WAR THREAD
Transcribe it, perhaps
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Ahem:
SWORD OF ADREK UNGART
WEAPON (LONGSWORD), LEGENDARY (REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT BY AND GOOD ALIGNED CREATURE)
"FORGED BY THE LEGENDARY BLACKSMITH ADREK UNGART, THIS SWORD CONTAINS HIS SOUL. A large gem with his dwarf face is placed in the center of the crossguard, Runes decorate the blade, Keeping it forever sharp."
"You gain a +3 Bonus against evil creatures, elves, and orcs; And a -3 bonus against dwarves. It has the additional properties:"
"Translator: Whenever you have this item on your character, You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish"
"Sneeze: Any Evil Aligned Creature Will Sneeze for 3 Turns within 40 feet of the Blade. After 2 Uses, you must take a long rest before you can use it again."
"Sentience: The Sword Is a lawful Good Weapon With An Intelligence Of 13, Wisdom of 16, And a charisma Of 15. It Can Hear And see, And Has Darkvision for 120 Ft. It Can Speak, Read, And write Dwarvish, It Also Knows Languages The wielder Knows. His voice Is Wise, Bubbly And Humorous. It Likes Being Called Adrek Ungart."
"Personality: Adrek Speaks In A cheerful tone. He is Extremely Positive, But Longs To Be Free. His goal Is to Get His Grandson To Destroy The Sword He Is Trapped In"
Mmmm, crunchy math rocks
Rat king, leader of the rat army
Opposed to the scorpion army
MY RP WAR THREAD
1. You don't need to capitalize full words, pretty much ever in D&D.
2. You don't need to place quotation marks before and after every line, or any line at all. The text alone is fine.
3. You wouldn't call a -3 to attacks and damage rolls against dwarves a 'bonus'. I would phrase the feature as
4. You don't need to state 'It has the additional properties'.
5. You made a lot of capitalizing errors. I would recommend fixing those.
6. The properties shouldn't have colons, but periods after their names.
7. The 'Sneeze' feature is both vague and seemingly off-flavor. In terms of mechanics, you don't explain what sneezing does to a creature, nor when the trigger for when an evil aligned creature begins sneezing. You also state a limited use, but never state an activation which the limit is attached to.
8. What would happen once the sword is destroyed, as it desires? Maybe explain that.
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Here’s my second attempt at the Aberrant Mind signature spell, Vio’s Fractal Fracture (v2)
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Also this boss:
Keen Hearing and Sight. Elkhazel has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Unarmored Defense. While Elkhazel isn’t wearing armor or holding a shield, his AC includes his Wisdom modifier.
Blood Frenzy. Elkhazel’s weapon attacks against creatures that are missing hit points and aren’t constructs or plants have advantage and are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical damage.
Spellcasting. Elkhazel is a 9th-level half-caster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). Elkhazel has the following ranger spells prepared:
1st level (4 slots): hunter’s mark, absorb elements, snare
2nd level (3 slots): spike growth, pass without trace
3rd level (2 slots): plant growth
Hand of Harm (3/Short or Long Rest). When Elkhazel hits a creature that isn’t a construct or a plant with an Unarmed Strike attack, he can unleash a blight upon them. They must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they become poisoned for 1 minute. If Elkhazel uses this on a creature that is already poisoned and the target fails the save, they are instead stunned until the end of Elkhazel’s next turn.
Tireless Hunter. Elkhazel‘s exhaustion level is lowered by 1 whenever he finishes a short rest. In addition, he can move at a fast pace while tracking the trail of a humanoid or beast.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). When Elkhazel fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Special Equipment. Elkhazel has and is attuned to a pair of bracers of defense, a bow of the flowing river, and a pair of boots of elvenkind.
Multiattack. Elkhazel makes two attacks. He can make an additional two melee attacks, targeting only creatures that have lost hit points.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Bow of the Flowing River. Ranged Weapon Attack:+10 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw if Elkhazel has made no more than twelve Longbow attacks. The target takes 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save. Miss: If the attack roll was a critical fail, Elkhazel may instead treat the attack roll as a normal attack. Roll 1d10, adding the result to the attack roll, possibly turning a miss into a hit. If it does, add the result of the d10 to the damage roll.
Call the Hunt. Elkhazel summons two beasts from blood spilled within the last hour, each of which are represented as either a Beast of the Land or a Beast of the Sky, as represented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Use 5 whenever Elkhazel’s class level is called for. The beasts appear in unoccupied spaces of Elkhazel’s choice and obey his verbal commands (no action required). Elkhazel can have no more than four beasts summoned at a time. These summoned beasts disappear after 1 hour.
Deflect Missiles. In response to being hit with a ranged weapon attack, Elkhazel reduces the damage of that attack by 16 (1d10+10) damage. If this reduces the damage to 0, the projectile can fit in Elkhazel’s hand, and he has a hand free, he may catch the projectile and make a ranged weapon attack using it. Elkhazel is proficient with this attack, which can use a d6 in place of its normal damage dice and has a range of 20/60.
Slow Fall. In response to taking fall damage, Elkhazel reduces the damage by 30.
Elkhazel can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Elkhazel regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Detect. Elkhazel makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Pursue. Elkhazel moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Elkhazel must end this movement by moving towards a creature he is hostile to.
Hunter’s Command (Costs 2 Actions). One beast summoned by Elkhazel uses its reaction to move up to half its speed and make one attack against a creature he is hostile to.
Description
Elkhazel Corimar was a soldier in the corps of the Burning-Crest Empire, but in his first battle, discovered a deep bloodlust that won his battalion the victory, but also got him discharged: he had not only harmed enemy soldiers in his rampage, but also attacked allies and disobeyed orders. Elkhazel spent a month in the wilds of Burning-Crest hunting and tracking, and was eventually discovered by a band of traveling monks, who he willingly joined in the hopes that he would learn to control his bloodlust through asceticism. Although he became an accomplished member of the order, his murderous urges eventually broke free and he slaughtered the whole band in the night.
Elkhazel discovered that he could utilize the techniques the monks taught him even in the midst of a blood frenzy, and in the year of solitude that he then spent in the wilderness, he developed a technique using the residual ki in blood that enabled him to create beasts of blood to assist him in the hunt. It was then Elkhazel turned his eyes to civilization.
Though his bloodlust would certainly prevent him from the close company of others, another idea caught his interest: bounties. Through bounty hunting, Elkhazel could hunt his most desired prey — people — while not attracting the specific ire of others. So now, Elkhazel roams the cities and towns of Eturnaem, hunting bounty after bounty to slake his bloodlust.
After all, as long as there are two people on Aegir, someone is going to want somebody else dead.
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So I'm working on a homebrew subrace for elf that's essentially an animation, and I'm wondering if you guys think that having resistance to radiant damage would be too over powered. My reasoning is that they were created by the elven goddess of art and magic Correlon Larethian and I wanted to replace elves fey ancestry with celestial ancestry and them having advantage on saving throws against being charmed seems kinda out of place. What do you guys think?
Seems roughly equivalent to me. Radiant is a pretty rare damage type among monsters, especially monsters that most players will be fighting, so it's not too powerful or anything.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
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Thanks!
Bump because I have quite literally 1 week to know if this boss is balanced
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Ok, I am personally doubtful that Elkhazel is worth CR15. It's a good statblock, but is he the equivalent of an adult dragon?
Firstly, I would double the dice for his damage. Give him 2d6 on hits and 2d8 on the bow.
Secondly, I would drop a little of the bloat in the statblock - there is a lot of information here which is not going to be needed for the purposes of combat. Unarmoured defence is unneeded, as he's unlikely to be forced into armour. Tireless hunter is also an ability which matters to PCs, but not to NPCs. He can turn up wherever you want him to!
To reflect the powerful monk aspect of him, and make him more survivable against a party who will be fighting a CR15 enemy, I would bump up the hitpoints some, and I would tweak "Deflect Missiles" to "Deflect Attacks", so that you can use it against melee attacks as well. That will make people who rely on one hard hit (EG paladins) worry a bit! For extra "Oh no!", have him disarm them and throw their weapon as a ranged attack. Damn, that's actually awesome, I'm using that!
Also worth considering that if this is to be a boss, I would consider adding 2 Legendary Resistances, or something similar but thematic (if he fails a save, he can instead choose for one of his beasts to fail that save and recieve the effects). Otherwise, one spellcaster will pop Hold Person and the fight will be finished!
What is the party built like? That will mean a lot for whether this is a scary battle or an easy one!
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He has two legendary resistances, but I like your ideas a lot. Both for Deflect Attack and Legendary Resistance rework.
For reference, the party is level 8 and consists of two rangers (one melee drakewarden, one ranged Hunter), one melee Lycan Blood Hunter, one melee Arcane Trickster rogue, one no-damage Peace Cleric, one melee Bear Barbarian, and one ranged Sun Soul Monk.
Elkhazel, notably, has setup time. The past few sessions, he’s been baiting the party into this forest, where he’s prepared snares and once the party confronts him, he casts plant growth to prevent the party from simply rushing him. He also puts “safe paths” in the growth that contain the snares, so that if the party tries to take an easier path to get to him, they might get snared.
Thanks so much!
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Oop, missed the legendary resistances!
With a party that big, I doubt the Detect legendary action will be coming into play. The action economy vs 7 PCs means I'd be inclined to give him legendary actions to move and attack. Make it 1 legendary action to make 2 attacks, or 1 legendary action to move up to 30ft. and make one attack.
Main thoughts here is that the party could probably deal 190 damage fairly easily in one or two turns. How long do you want the fight to last, and how much damage do you want him to deal? Do you want him to be a tricky boss to defeat, or a slugfest?
I'm trying to think what would make him a good challenge. For sure the Snares, and the beasts. I think I'd maybe give him a few more HP, let him Hide and reposition as a legendary action if in foliage, and call it there. To make him a real tricky one, consider:
Melt Away. Elkhazel takes the Hide action, provided he is in natural cover such as foliage. If successful, he immediately teleports to a new location within 60ft, provided that this new location is entirely within foliage.
That alone could make this a real struggle, with them getting one or two turns before he disappears and has to be found again!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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