3.5 New DM needs some monsters

[Swaoeaeieu]

Hi playground!
So a few days ago i had my first session in wich i was the DM. One of my players didnt show up and character creation took a while. but it was awsome and lots of fun. So we decided to doe the second session tomorrow and now i need to prepare the dungeon they found at the end of the session.

The island they arrived at (the campaign is inspired by one piece) is protected by Nycter, the halfing/bat people from MM3. Now they will explore the cavesystem inhabited by the same creatures.

http://digitalsorcery.net/srd/srd/resource/images/races/racesMm3Nycter.jpg

What are some good creatures that could also inhabit these caves so i dont throw the same enemies at them room after room?

Thanks in advance!

[Wacky89]

what level are they and what CR's do you want them to fight against?

[Swaoeaeieu]

oh right, i forgot to mention the party :P

It's a party of 4 level 1 characters. a ranger, a psychic warrior, a sorcerer and a cloistered cleric. So the CR should be around 4 or 6.

[Wacky89]

ah then its not CR 4-6 its CR 0-3. Level 1 is a very dangerous level to be at, you're so easily killed.
I'll try and find some monsters for you :)


Grimlock CR 1 SRD
Chitine CR1 Monsters of Faerun
Groundling CR2 Monsters of Faerun
Dark Creeper CR1 Fiend Folio

http://www.d20srd.org/extras/d20encountercalculator/

use this to calculate the encounters. The Encounter levels should never go above 3

[Swaoeaeieu]

ah then its not CR 4-6 its CR 0-3. Level 1 is a very dangerous level to be at, you're so easily killed.
I'll try and find some monsters for you :)

yes monsters with CR 0-3 but total encounter CR arround 4. Or did i completely misread the DM manual?

also, thanks a lot for helping

[ASBERON88]

Look up some level 1-3 quests a lot of them you are able to download as PDFs. Like the Sunless Citadel for instance. The boss of that dungeon is a level 3 Druid, CR 4. Just make sure to keep the pace at a safe manner and build your party up, because level 1 is extremely dangerous. A full party wipe out is around every corner.

[tzar1990]

yes monsters with CR 0-3 but total encounter CR arround 4. Or did i completely misread the DM manual?

also, thanks a lot for helping

You misread the manual.

A monster having CR 1 means that a SINGLE specimen is an appropriate encounter for a 4-man, level 1 party. It's not likely to murderstomp them (although it can with a lucky hit, since level one characters have such low hp), but it will require them to expend resources (i.e. spells and HP) to overcome.

A CR4 encounter would be a "fair fight" - that is, you would have something like a 50% chance of your players outright losing (and thus, having a TPK if it's a serious fight and they won't/can't flee). This is appropriate for a climactic boss battle, but definitely NOT cool for your average mooks.

[Swaoeaeieu]

You misread the manual.

A monster having CR 1 means that a SINGLE specimen is an appropriate encounter for a 4-man, level 1 party. It's not likely to murderstomp them (although it can with a lucky hit, since level one characters have such low hp), but it will require them to expend resources (i.e. spells and HP) to overcome.

A CR4 encounter would be a "fair fight" - that is, you would have something like a 50% chance of your players outright losing (and thus, having a TPK if it's a serious fight and they won't/can't flee). This is appropriate for a climactic boss battle, but definitely NOT cool for your average mooks.

well uhm... oops. I had them fight 3 cr 2 creatures as a start. i'l go change that now then...

[jordan.k93]

Here's something I think might help you with CR, this is not necessarily rules, or probably even correct by many people's standards, but I think it'll help.

Lets take CR3 Ogre. CR3 means he is a good fight for a 4 man balanced party of level 3s.

But it assumes things, like that the wizard has some combat spells prepared, the fighter is gonna be at the front to tank, the Ranger has arrows, it assumes a whole load of things that there's not point in really going deeply into.

Don't just go look at the CR and throw it in the campaign.

For another example, an Allip (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/allip.htm), also CR3. It is incorporeal so if you aren't going by WBL or even if you are, the average party member might not even be able to damage it, and chances are, they only have a 50% chance. This means that even though it's CR3, if the party can barely hurt it, yet it deals attribute damage on touch AC, that's gonna be a TPK (Total Party Kill).

Basically what I'm trying to say, is that CR is an arbitrary number, it's a rough indicator at best, chances are there are some CR3 things your party can kill, but try throwing an Allip against that band and they will all die, just start easy and ramp up the difficulty until the party has a good challenege.

EDIT

As for interesting monsters, I like "Carrion Crawlers MM1" they paralyze on their EIGHT tendril attacks, ask for a fortitude save and on the fail describe bow they're character falls limply to the floor and decline to answer if they're dead... mwhuhuhuhuh

[ezkajii]

I've always been partial to the darkmantle. Pretty badass beasty for a CR1. Some other good choices:

MM1: Shrieker fungus, monstrous centipede (tiny through large, maybe huge for a miniboss)
MM2: Jermlaine
MM3: Mindshredder larva
CPsi: Larval flayer
Fiend Folio: Shadow asp

For alternate campaign setting material, we've got
Bestiary of Krynn, Revised: Funno (just an animal)

Eberron Campaign Setting: Dolgrim

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: Lizard (spitting crawler)
Monsters of Faerun: Beholderkin (eyeball), chitine, gibberling, hairy spider
City of the Spider Queen: Wraith Spider (small or medium)
Races of Faerun: Cavvekan (cave dog), osquip

[Extra Anchovies]

Bat Swarm (Monster Manual, page 237) is CR 2; maybe have it flee if the PCs deal it enough damage or think to use fire. Always good to have one or two encounters that can be easily solved with enough thought and proper application of resources, it makes everyone at the table feel smarter (the players because they thought their way past a potentially tough encounter, and the DM because the monster's weakness wasn't obvious but wasn't too hidden).

It's hard to find good enemies for level 1 PCs, as they tend not to last more than three or four encounters before needing to heal (which is why I like to start players at third level), but there's still some interesting stuff you can do.

The Desmodu (Monster Manual 2, page 62) are Large-sized bat-people, albeit without their own ability to fly (they raise huge bats to ride on, though, and are great climbers). They're also way, way out of the question as enemies, at a CR of 9, but their alignment is "usually neutral good". Maybe there's one of them who found his way onto the island as part of a larger group, but the Nycter have been using force of numbers to wear them down and he's the last one left. He's too badly injured (give him a severe limp or a missing arm or some major, permanent injury), but if the PCs play their cards right he could give them useful information/equipment, and could maybe even lend them one of the few remaining desmodu bats (described below). Noncombat encounters are a good way to add more depth and plot to low-level adventures, as they expend little to none of the PCs' hit points/spells/resources but give a lot of room for roleplaying.

Desmodu Bats (MM2, page 65) come in three breeds, created by the aforementioned Desmodu. The hunting bats are CR 3 and Medium size; if you include something similar to my above suggestion for the Desmodu, this could be the sort that the PCs are allowed to borrow. There are also Guard Bats (Large, CR 3); their attack and damage are lower than the hunting bat, but they have more HP and their bite bleeds for extra damage each turn. War Bats (Huge size, CR 5) are used as mounts by Desmodu, but probably shouldn't show up in the adventure.

Some weak but still interesting vermin/other cave animals with CR less than 1 (i.e. takes more than one to equal a level 1 encounter):
Giant Fire Beetle (CR 1/3, so 3 of them are a level 1 encounter): They have light-producing glands that can be removed and still produce light for a few days, makes for an interesting piece of treasure.
Stirge (CR 1/2, so two or maybe three): basically killer mosquito. Drains blood.
Twig Blight (CR 1/3): Tiny-sized evil human-shaped shrubs.