Gnothic, a thaumavore variant of the nothic

[jjordan]

Scrubbing for reasons.

[sandmote]

Conceptually, I would scale this to a higher CR, just so it isn't being fought at a low level (or if it is, there aren't multiple). Cr 6-ish, I think, so losing spells slots is still a problem but it'll take more failed Int saves to wear out a PC's spellcasting for the whole day. Especially given it can fight and drain slots on the same round.

In execution:

The perception bonus is inconsistent between the Wis Bonus, the Skills listing, and the passive perception score.
You didn't actually give it any known languages.
You didn't list the telepathy's range.
Is there a reason not to use the standard language for how Thaumavore refreshes?


That said, resistance to spell damage is really nice to see on a monster stat block.

[jjordan]

Conceptually, I would scale this to a higher CR, just so it isn't being fought at a low level (or if it is, there aren't multiple). Cr 6-ish, I think, so losing spells slots is still a problem but it'll take more failed Int saves to wear out a PC's spellcasting for the whole day. Especially given it can fight and drain slots on the same round.Even with the thaumavore attack as a bonus action (which it has a 1 in 3 chance of recovering) it's still pretty much a glass cannon. Executing a sneak attack from hiding and breaking contact is still the best attack this guy has.


In execution:
The perception bonus is inconsistent between the Wis Bonus, the Skills listing, and the passive perception score.
That was deliberate. I wanted the creature to have good perception in general but lousy wisdom saves.

You didn't actually give it any known languages.Yeah.... I was using D&D Beyond to put this together and in my mind the gnothic is a universal communicator using telepathy. It doesn't really speak any language but it understands all thought.

You didn't list the telepathy's range. Guilty.

Is there a reason not to use the standard language for how Thaumavore refreshes?Ignorance on my part? No, really. What would be better language?



That said, resistance to spell damage is really nice to see on a monster stat block. The glass cannon needs all the help it can get.

[sandmote]

Even with the thaumavore attack as a bonus action (which it has a 1 in 3 chance of recovering) it's still pretty much a glass cannon. Executing a sneak attack from hiding and breaking contact is still the best attack this guy has. As far as I'm aware, "glass cannon" is for something that can dish out a lot of harm, but can't take much itself. Like a wizard who can fireball but goes down after 1 round in melee. I think the gnothic and nothic are just kind of weak. I mean they can afford to be, because the nothic isn't something you put in the game to reduce PC's hitpoints, but neither the original nor this are glass cannons.

Conceptually, I think the problem is that if you're using this to drain PCs spell slots, it's awkward to use at any point in the game. I don't think its fair to drain PC spell slots directly from them at very low levels, because they have so few spell slots in the first place. At higher levels, however, I think a gnothic will drop dead very quickly, just from the martial PCs wailing on it for a moment (especially since it lacks ranged damage). I think with such a weak gnothic the second problem pops up before the first problem goes away.

I think the above is the only concern I have for something you'd just use at your own table. Everything after this is really only relevant if you want to be able to write out the statblock in the manner of published material (which is, of course, not necessary).


That was deliberate. I wanted the creature to have good perception in general but lousy wisdom saves. Usually 5e monsters use proficiency bonuses of a similar level to PCs, to help maintain the illusion the two are similar in any way. To be consistent with that, the gnothic should have Insight +3, Perception +3, and Passive Perception 13.


Yeah.... I was using D&D Beyond to put this together and in my mind the gnothic is a universal communicator using telepathy. It doesn't really speak any language but it understands all thought. Huh. I'm not sure if there's an existing way to format that. Is it like a perpetual detect thoughts/comprehend languages the gnothic automatically uses on everyone within range?

Still, I would add "Understands [Language] but can't speak it" for the purpose of establishing the gnothic counts as understanding a language for the purpose of spells and abilities that rely on that.


Ignorance on my part? No, really. What would be better language? Yeah, I phrased it that way on purpose because I couldn't tell if you were forgetting it or were intentionally not using it. "Roll a d6 to see if the ability refreshes" is common enough that they made it part of the standard 5e rules. Although You've gone with the ability refreshing on a low roll, and the default language has it refresh on a high roll. For a 1/3 chance of it refreshing, add "(Recharge 5–6)" at the end of the ability's name. To grab an example from the SRD:


Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 63 (18d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Note that for the CR calculations used in the DMG, it is assumed an attack will be used once if it refreshes on 5-6 or 6, twice if it refreshes on 3-6 or 4-6, and for all three turns if it refreshes on 2-6. Although I don't recall ever seeing 2-6 used on any ability.

[jjordan]

Good points. Thank you.

I'm thinking about adding some lair actions for the gnothic to make it more of a challenge in its little world.