Royalty Stat Blocks?

[Nikushimi]

Hey there! Just wondering, is there any book with Royal Statblocks? Like for Kings and Queens or nah?

I know there is a Noble stat block, but I see that as just a plain old noble. Not a King or Queen.

I can always create the statblock myself, but I wanted to try to use something generic so I didn't have to do much work.

I'd appreciate any sort of help or direction. Thanks.

[Sigreid]

Hey there! Just wondering, is there any book with Royal Statblocks? Like for Kings and Queens or nah?

I know there is a Noble stat block, but I see that as just a plain old noble. Not a King or Queen.

I can always create the statblock myself, but I wanted to try to use something generic so I didn't have to do much work.

I'd appreciate any sort of help or direction. Thanks.

What kind of king/queen are you thinking of? A few types:

1. Warrior kink like King Arthur: I'd probably use the Warlord statblock.
2. Wizard or sorcerer king: I'd use Archmage
3. King George: I'd use noble or commoner if they'd never been expected to train or fight.

[Nikushimi]

What kind of king/queen are you thinking of? A few types:

1. Warrior kink like King Arthur: I'd probably use the Warlord statblock.
2. Wizard or sorcerer king: I'd use Archmage
3. King George: I'd use noble or commoner if they'd never been expected to train or fight.

Fair enough.

Though, I can't find the Warlord Statblock. What book is it in? I don't see it in the Monster Manual under the NPC section.

I basically need a Warrior King/Queen statblock.

The Queen of the Human nation is a bit of a fighter.

Same with the Dwarven ruler.

The Elven rulers are more magical in nature though.

I may end up adjusting things to suit my needs, but wanted a base rather than creating from scratch all these characters.

[Sigreid]

Warlord is in Volo's apparently. I use Fantasy Grounds so all my NPC's and monsters are in one convenient place.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Just use any martial NPC stat block that's appropriate to the CR you want, and adjust the skills and mental ability scores (and AC depending on when/where he's encountered) as needed.

[J-H]

Yes, plus load some magical items onboard. It may change CR, but what self-respecting warrior king isn't going to have +1 or +2 gear? Assuming it's available to rich adventurers in your game, a king who comes from a 500-year old family line has plenty of accumulated family gear to wear if battle is coming. He should also be wearing some wondrous items that protect against mind-affecting spells, and maybe a Death Ward type item. If he's smart, he'll also have something that gives him Zone of Truth or some sort of insight bonus.

[GlenSmash!]

Volo's Guide to Monsters has a bunch of NPC statblocks such as the Warlord. The Archfey Warlock one good be a good fit for a magicy elven ruler.

[Dark.Revenant]

For a monarch appropriate for tier 1 or early tier 2 play, I gave it a shot:

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/wyTGg655l

Basically, this is a CR 4 guy who is specialized more for politics and hiding behind allies, but practiced enough with fencing and possessing of shiny enough toys to be able to handle common threats. Should be interesting to fight, considering how much of a turtle he is. In addition to soldiers and a bodyguard knight to order around, I'd recommend pairing him with a court wizard with Counterspell to deal with his weakness: Fireball.

[Angelalex242]

For a monarch appropriate for tier 1 or early tier 2 play, I gave it a shot:

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/wyTGg655l

Basically, this is a CR 4 guy who is specialized more for politics and hiding behind allies, but practiced enough with fencing and possessing of shiny enough toys to be able to handle common threats. Should be interesting to fight, considering how much of a turtle he is. In addition to soldiers and a bodyguard knight to order around, I'd recommend pairing him with a court wizard with Counterspell to deal with his weakness: Fireball.

A king should probably have more toys than that. A monarch lacking a mantle of spell resistance is asking for every wizard in town to come get him.

Ring of Mind Shielding is also a must, or the king will soon be dancing to the wizard's tune.

Maybe add a shield with the same +2 bonus.

Gotta remember, the kingdom's probably been THROUGH an evil wizard or two trying to take the crown. Evil clerics took. Possibly a vampire. Any reasonably well prepared king should have appropriate countermeasures for human waste product hitting the air circulation device.

[Dark.Revenant]

I'm specifically targeting low tiers, and having gobs of easily-lootable items on a low-CR foe is just a recipe for disaster, in my experience.

Besides, the king's men (and women) should be dealing with those kinds of threats. Even in an entire kingdom, there may not be a single Mantle of Spell Resistance to find, and if they have the luxury of having one, the king's right hand knight is the better man to wear it.

The king ain't lugging around a shield. Even plate armor is a bit of a stretch if he's not on campaign. Being loaded down with protective gear in times of peace is bound to put people on edge, so it would generally not be done. I think it's more realistic that a king would invest in divination items like a Helm of Telepathy or a scrying mirror, since those things would be of tremendous advantage for leading a kingdom and for foiling plots before they happen.

[Jerrykhor]

There's no generic statblock for them because each king/queen is different. Most official modules have custom statblocks for a them, such as Bruenor Battlehammer, Deepking Horgar Steelshadow and Quenthel Baenre in OOTA. While a Drow Matron Mother would almost always expected to be powerful due to their culture, the Deepking is a mere CR3 creature that can be killed in a few hits... if you can get past his royal guards and legion of duergar. Not every ruler is expected to fight battles.

[Angelalex242]

Personally, I treat royalty like the kingdom deals with T3 threats to the kingdom every 5 years or so, and t4 threats every 20 years or so.

The Kingdom is prepared for far, far more than your puny PCs.

[Zonugal]

In terms of items that a royal monarch might possess (even during peace times)?

-- Amulet of Health
-- Cloak of Protection
-- Headband of Intellect
-- Periapt of Health
-- Ring of Protection
-- Stone of Good Luck

[Nikushimi]

In terms of items that a royal monarch might possess (even during peace times)?

-- Amulet of Health
-- Cloak of Protection
-- Headband of Intellect
-- Periapt of Health
-- Ring of Protection
-- Stone of Good Luck

I'm not quite looking for items, as I can figure those out myself, but I do appreciate the help.

I'm just hoping to find somewhere to start as a base rather than creating them from scratch, though that's probably what I'll have to do for some of them.

The input from everyone though has given me a bit of thought, though most people have been focusing more on the power of the King/Queen and how well they can deal with the players if they fight them. :\ Something I HOPE doesn't happen, but I mean...good luck to the players if they try lol.

[Aussiehams]

The Knight statblock might be a good start. A king would probably have similar stats to a noble warrior. Maybe change his gear slightly, and give him 1 legendary action or something where he can command a minion.

[Amnestic]

I'm not quite looking for items, as I can figure those out myself, but I do appreciate the help.

I'm just hoping to find somewhere to start as a base rather than creating them from scratch, though that's probably what I'll have to do for some of them.

The input from everyone though has given me a bit of thought, though most people have been focusing more on the power of the King/Queen and how well they can deal with the players if they fight them. :\ Something I HOPE doesn't happen, but I mean...good luck to the players if they try lol.

There's a Warlord statblock in Volo's (CR12, page 220) that you could modify if you want ideas on what sort of abilities to tack on. It should fit quite well for a 'Warrior King'.

[J-H]

You could also just give him some special abilities that are basically "NPC class features" like Royal Resistance, or Crown of the Iron Mind, etc. to grant the mind-protecting effects without a lootable magic item.

[N810]

I would imagine they would have fairly high charisma, and decent wisdom and intelligence.

[Sigreid]

The Knight statblock might be a good start. A king would probably have similar stats to a noble warrior. Maybe change his gear slightly, and give him 1 legendary action or something where he can command a minion.

This really depends on whether the King is still a warrior or if the kingdom has been around long enough, and the throne is secure enough for the royal line to have become soft, decadent and lazy.

[Dark.Revenant]

On the subject of building encounters:

Consider a throne room situation where the party, for whatever reason, finds themselves in a position to fight royalty.

1x Monarch (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/wyTGg655l) [CR 4 (5)]
1x Mage [CR 6]
1x Retainer (Knight) [CR 5]
1x Knight [CR 3]
1x Priest [CR 2]
2x Noble [CR 1/8]
10x Guard [CR 1/8]

X-factor: One of the knights is the monarch's personal retainer. The retainer has a Cloak of Protection and a Flame Tongue, and has 12 hit dice (78 HP) to represent a high level of experience. This raises their CR to 5, which also bumps proficiency up by 1 (+1 to saves, attack, and Parry). The monarch's effective CR goes up to 5 as well to represent the additional effectiveness of having a whopping 4d6+3 attack on demand as a bonus action.
X-factor: The mage has a Cape of the Mountebank, which they will use to get the monarch out of danger in a pinch (or cravenly escape, if the monarch is unreachable). The item prevents Dimension Door from being counterspelled.
X-factor: The priest has Keoghtom's Ointment (5 charges), just in case extra healing is needed.
X-factor: The monarch, the knight, and the retainer each have a Potion of Superior Healing for emergencies.
X-factor: The monarch's dagger is actually a Dagger of Warning, preventing them, the retainer, and any allies nearby from being surprised (and granting the monarch advantage on initiative).

Tactics: The guards swarm the threat, the monarch Royal Commands the knight to rush in and attack while backing away and Dodging, the retainer rushes to the monarch and uses Leadership, the priest gets behind non-total cover and casts Spirit Guardians, and the mage opens with Fireball or Cone of Cold if the party is bunched up, Ice Storm if they're looking to rush the monarch through the priest's Spirit Guardians, or Greater Invisibility on the king otherwise. As the fight progresses, the monarch will Hide behind cover if possible and Dodge, unless cornered and forced to fight. The monarch's Royal Commands will be used to keep up pressure on the party, or to bring an ally nearby for Protect the Crown! to work. The retainer will stick with the monarch unless ordered otherwise, mercilessly attacking any PC who comes within 30 feet. The priest casts Sancuary on the monarch at the next opportunity and Spiritual Weapon after that, and will usually spend actions to Dodge or re-cast Spirit Guardians, unless an important NPC is brought down and needs healing to get back up. The mage is the main wild-card, and will capitalize upon opportunities or try to force openings where possible, but always stays within 60 feet of PC spellcasters so that Counterspell can be used to stop dangerous blasts aimed at the monarch.

All told, this is a pretty nasty encounter, with the NPCs' features all synergizing with each other. It is Deadly for a standard (read: non-optimized) 10th-level party, so I'd say it is appropriate for Tier 2 play. If the party wins, they should get a fair bit of loot, though they're likely to lose some of the consumables (and probably the Cape of the Mountebank when the mage escapes).

A king doesn't have to personally fight the party on his own. Even relatively low-CR foes working together with good resources and planning can be a difficult fight for a team of mid-level PCs. That's why I made the Monarch NPC only CR 4; they're more of a cheerleader sitting on the throne than a dangerous personal combatant. Decking the monarch out in all those magic items would be a waste compared to spreading them out to those who are best equipped to use them.

[Nikushimi]

This really depends on whether the King is still a warrior or if the kingdom has been around long enough, and the throne is secure enough for the royal line to have become soft, decadent and lazy.

This is a fair point, but typically all my rulers and leaders of guilds keep up with their skills. Unless it's a village elder, then they tend to be relatively weaker due to age.

I only have a few rulers of kingdoms who are actually soft.

The current world I'm working on though, the leaders of the Three Nations are all relatively decent and capable fighters. Whether it be by magic or by martial prowess. Or in the case of the Queen of the human nation, both.

The softest ruler between the Three Nations would probably be the Dwarven Ruler because they're more political, but they're still decent.

The Queen of the human nation just got done with a civil war 5 years before the start of the campaign. So her skills are still upkept.

The Elven rulers, as it is a biarchy, are both extremely strong with magic due to their ancestry.

That, and the world is almost constantly beset by some sort of trouble. Which is one of the main staples of the campaign so the skills of the leaders are typically kept pretty decent.

[Chronos]

There are basically two kinds of monarchs: Those who are in charge just because their father and grandfather and great-grandmother were, and those who have earned their own place. The former are just another noble, maybe with more wealth. The latter, meanwhile, got to where they are because they aren't just like everyone else, and in fact not just like anyone else. They should all have their own unique statblock, comparable to (but perhaps not matched by) the statblock of a high-level adventurer (and even what class they're most similar to will vary from one to the next).

[Vogie]

If you're looking for a low CR-but-higher-than-Noble base, a Veteran with amplified mental stats would work.

As for a single bodyguard/right hand man, using a Shield Guardian base would also work - Even transforming it from a construct to a humanoid of the appropriate race with a Greatsword would work (see also, The Mountain from Game of Thrones)

[Lord Von Becker]

For a monarch appropriate for tier 1 or early tier 2 play, I gave it a shot:
https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/wyTGg655l
The way you've phrased Heirloom Arsenal, the players can use the sword if they make sure to bury the monarch in its' armor.
(I'm also amused at how your phrasing treats 'monarch' as a species, by the way.)

Consider a throne room situation where the party, for whatever reason, finds themselves in a position to fight royalty.

1x Monarch (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/wyTGg655l) [CR 4 (5)]
1x Mage [CR 6]
1x Retainer (Knight) [CR 5]
1x Knight [CR 3]
1x Priest [CR 2]
2x Noble [CR 1/8]
10x Guard [CR 1/8]
This is a cool fight and I thank you for designing it. That said, your tactics don't seem to really account for the 10 guards who're likely contributing a large portion of the encounter's DPS, or any reinforcements that might be called. Bounded accuracy makes mookspam kinda dangerous, if they aren't considered a Swarm.
So, uh, how do you advise handling that?

[Dark.Revenant]

The way you've phrased Heirloom Arsenal, the players can use the sword if they make sure to bury the monarch in its' armor.
(I'm also amused at how your phrasing treats 'monarch' as a species, by the way.)
The king is a beautiful butterfly.


This is a cool fight and I thank you for designing it. That said, your tactics don't seem to really account for the 10 guards who're likely contributing a large portion of the encounter's DPS, or any reinforcements that might be called. Bounded accuracy makes mookspam kinda dangerous, if they aren't considered a Swarm.
So, uh, how do you advise handling that?

A single Fireball is likely to wipe out all the guards, and even the martial PCs can kill one or two per round on their own. They also have only +3 to hit, for a piddly 4.5 damage (each) on average. Against an AC 20 Paladin, for instance, they're barely going to scratch the PC. They are only really a threat, on their own, if they get to someone with relatively weak AC.

They're dangerous only because of buffs, basically. The knights and priest can make them more effective, overcoming their weak to-hit modifier, and the mage can counterspell a Fireball aimed at them. Their purpose is basically to make sure the PCs can't just direct undivided attention on taking down a more powerful threat, and have to be discerning when choosing a priority.

[Nikushimi]

Guys...I'm not looking for battle strategies or encounter setups.

I mean, I appreciate the ideas, but it's just not what I was looking for.

I just needed something close to what is a King or Queen in official material so that I can balance my own Royalty against it with the few tweaks to fit the characters.

Trust me, if the players try to fight these guys (for whatever reason) it won't be pretty. Especially at lower levels, but I'm not building them just so they can be fought.

I want a starting point to build them so I have information. In case a insight, deception, or whatever check comes up I can have that information without making their skills ungodly strong. Something to balance my Royalty against, if that makes sense.

So, taking a look at Warlord and such has been helpful. Any other resources people have that are official that might help, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[Sigreid]

For your magical monarch, I think that's pretty clearly the arch-mage.

[Lord Von Becker]

The king is a beautiful butterfly.
*amusement*

A single Fireball is likely to wipe out all the guards, and even the martial PCs can kill one or two per round on their own. They also have only +3 to hit, for a piddly 4.5 damage (each) on average. Against an AC 20 Paladin, for instance, they're barely going to scratch the PC. They are only really a threat, on their own, if they get to someone with relatively weak AC.

They're dangerous only because of buffs, basically. The knights and priest can make them more effective, overcoming their weak to-hit modifier, and the mage can counterspell a Fireball aimed at them. Their purpose is basically to make sure the PCs can't just direct undivided attention on taking down a more powerful threat, and have to be discerning when choosing a priority.
You're still underestimating them. Against the AC20 guy, that's 4.5, times 10, divided by 4 - because of the four numbers on the d20 that they hit with, one of them's a crit - which translates to around 11.25 per turn. Comparable to a Level 8 Fighter with a +2 Longsword.
Granted, good positioning and any decent area attack definitely ameliorate it, but they're definitely something worth mentioning in the tactical summary.
EDIT: Oh, and grapples and shoving prone - those could be really nasty, even with just two or three of them. 5E armyfighting is hard.

Guys...I'm not looking for battle strategies or encounter setups.

I mean, I appreciate the ideas, but it's just not what I was looking for.

I just needed something close to what is a King or Queen in official material so that I can balance my own Royalty against it with the few tweaks to fit the characters.

Trust me, if the players try to fight these guys (for whatever reason) it won't be pretty. Especially at lower levels, but I'm not building them just so they can be fought.

I want a starting point to build them so I have information. In case a insight, deception, or whatever check comes up I can have that information without making their skills ungodly strong. Something to balance my Royalty against, if that makes sense.

So, taking a look at Warlord and such has been helpful. Any other resources people have that are official that might help, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Ah, are you asking about a social encounter? Or are you just wanting a statblock just in case someone asks for one? Kings and queens vary pretty wildly by kingdom and proclivity both - Chronicles of Prydain is a fairly good example of the low end, whereas the high end goes very high indeed.
It may help to consider what the court looks like, if you haven't already. Large, small, unified, factionalized, wafflers, brinksmen, warriors, mages, bureaucrats - who's present, and which ones are calling the shots? Even having a loose grasp might help you get an angle on anything that's giving you trouble.
To give more help, I'd need more details of what you're going for.

[Dark.Revenant]

Granted, good positioning and any decent area attack definitely ameliorate it, but they're definitely something worth mentioning in the tactical summary.
EDIT: Oh, and grapples and shoving prone - those could be really nasty, even with just two or three of them. 5E armyfighting is hard.

I didn't give them much mention beyond "swarms the party" because they're supposed to be "dumb". They're still dangerous (because of the other, stronger creatures acting as force multipliers), just predictable.