Monster fight!

[unseenmage]

Later today we're doing a 2-player one-shot where a CR is chosen and both players build a team of or pick a single monster and then we fight them. The battle area is map tiles where we roll for who places first and then take turns placing terrain.

Back in the day we did the same thing but with character builds and a map made of Legos. The Legos proved to be too immersion-breaking and the builds could take days just to be slain by a wizard with fly and invisibility so that contest faded out.

Does the Playground have any suggestions as to how we might improve this gaming experience? Streamline it?

Has anyone else done something similar?

[Dusk Eclipse]

There was a PVP monster arena a few years back in the PbP forum, the idea was to select a CR and build a monster via template and feat choices, I had some success with my half-dragon blink dog, ah good times.

As far as streamlining I'd say limit to single creatures and ban summoning effects, extra monsters tend to slow down the game, you should also ban or at least severely limit monsters with innate casting ability (SLA's and SU's are ok though).

[unseenmage]

Okay, new question. Which is better, to find and equip a stock monster of the appropriate CR, to advance a lower HD creature, or to find something that qualifies for class levels?

Or Templates. Or customized treasure/equipment.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Depends a lot of the monster, in that arena I mentioned per the rules we only were allowed templates and advancement rules to customize the monster, personally I think that proper feat selection (most monsters have truly horrid feats) is the best way to go. Some templates are pretty good, Half Dragon is great for bruisers and with a couple of feats you get pretty useful BFC, Half Celestial/Demon give some pretty nasty SLA and flight so they are great too.

Adding class level would be against the spirit of a monster arena in my opinion, since then it will be the class not the monster the one that is pulling the weight in the fight.