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  1. - Top - End - #1021
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    Mystic Muse's Avatar

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Senor Saguaro seems good to me. I hereby endorse it.
    Last edited by Mystic Muse; 2011-03-02 at 11:42 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #1022
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    GreataxeFighterGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Remorhaz:
    * "which deals 1d10+ 2*STR damage(bludgeoning)" (Rush) - implies the normal charges deal that, not the rush. Reword to 'dealing 1d10 + twice STr mod'?
    * Trouble with item destruction like in Property Destruction is that you're destroying your potential loot.
    So, I hopefully cleaned up Rush to your satisfaction, and replaced Property Damage with Feel the Burn. Feel the Burn was kind of a spur of the moment thing, so I'm not really sure how balanced it is, but I like the idea of having your heat do something other then cause simple damage. Though I did keep the "Burn through stuff" clause at the end, just for kicks and giggles. Bumped it up to 2*Con score damage, so that it could burn through a wooden door pretty quickly.

    And hopefully I'll get some time to review some of these new monsters. I've seen a lot of fun stuff coming up here, and I wanna make my thoughts known.
    "The more I talk, the stupider I sound." ~Me
    "Life is what you make of it." ~Deadpool

  3. - Top - End - #1023
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Hey guys, we've been noticing a slight problem cropping up recently, and we want to address it for the sake of the thread.


    Some of the new monster makers have been making the mistake of putting things in that violate the rules set out in the first post, or they'll choose a monster that they think looks cool but turns out being more than they can handle.

    What we're proposing is this. For your first monster, please contact one of the council members, preferably by chat, before doing anything. This is merely meant as a preventative measure so that we don't have to keep directing you to the first post or reminding you of the rules. We'll review what monster you want to do, go over the monster class building guidelines, format and common pitfalls. This will be your monster building "License" Anyone who wants a license CAN get one, nobody will be turned down, Unless they show a clear unwillingness to follow the rules.

  4. - Top - End - #1024
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    With that said, please share your feedback on the idea.

    I can be contacted by PM or by aol instant messenger. My screen name for the latter is on my user page.

  5. - Top - End - #1025
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyudra View Post
    I can be contacted by PM or by aol instant messenger. My screen name for the latter is on my user page.
    Same here.

    I would also like to stress that this is for the sake of the thread. If this happens too often, it delays the rate at which the classes get done.

  6. - Top - End - #1026
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    Daemon

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    So, wait, do I need to now apply for a monstering license for my Coure?

    Does.. does she need to get shots?

  7. - Top - End - #1027
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Yes. Yes you do. Probably a good idea.

  8. - Top - End - #1028
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Benly View Post
    So, wait, do I need to now apply for a monstering license for my Coure?
    Probably a good idea just so we know you're familiar with the guidelines and such.

    Although, it's doubtful I'll respond tonight. I need to get off in about 3 minutes.

  9. - Top - End - #1029
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Gorgondantess View Post
    If you'd like to request any smaller monsters, though, I'd be willing to look into them myself. I mean, pretty much everyone requests 20+ level monsters and it never happens. Ask for something of less than 10 levels and you're at least 393 times likelier to get it.
    With this in mind I would like to request the Myconid (MM2).
    Mushrooms away!
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    Quote Originally Posted by A Friend Of Mine
    Bloody Mess: The gift that keeps on gibbing.
    Fatigue makes me wax philosophic and/or babble. If I've posted something strange and tangential, that is probably the cause. This entry would be an example.

  10. - Top - End - #1030
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Benly & Mootoall have requested licenses & got 'em.

    Wondering if/where we should keep a list of licensees.
    Last edited by Hyudra; 2011-03-03 at 10:28 AM.

  11. - Top - End - #1031
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    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Since I've been around since the Oslecamo Era, may I be so bold as to assume that I am already a trusted brewer?
    Frog in the playground.

    My homebrewer's extended signature.

    I have Str 5!

    Quote Originally Posted by BobVosh View Post
    Wall of text attacks! CRITS!

  12. - Top - End - #1032
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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    I'm kinda ambivalent about the whole license thing. *shrug* Glad managing this isn't my problem, and glad the people whose problem it is are taking action to deal with stuff, though.

    Sent PM to Hyudra requesting license. Also, the real point of this post: license requirement should probably be added to the OP (and the random "[/quote]" tag at the end of the post excised while you're at it).
    delete Teemo.

  13. - Top - End - #1033
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyborg View Post
    I'm kinda ambivalent about the whole license thing. *shrug* Glad managing this isn't my problem, and glad the people whose problem it is are taking action to deal with stuff, though.

    Sent PM to Hyudra requesting license. Also, the real point of this post: license requirement should probably be added to the OP (and the random "/quote" tag at the end of the post excised while you're at it).
    Have I thanked you yet for your work? If not, thanks! It's like having our own little obsessive compulsive Homonculus doing the important work for us

    Edit: Huh, interesting formatting caused by that quote! Fixing it
    Last edited by mootoall; 2011-03-03 at 11:21 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Divide by Zero View Post
    Hulking Hurler can get something like (10^83)d6 damage, which is many orders of magnitude greater than the number of particles in the universe.
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    Wow, it's been a while. Sorry for the unexplained absence!

  14. - Top - End - #1034
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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Greenbound Creature / Greenbound Paragon is officially ready for first-round critiques. Five of the planned eight symbionts are done; I'm leaving the rest of them until I have a better idea what symbiont balance ought to look like (based on other people's critiques- I'm a poor judge of such things). Formatting/spelling/wording ought to be acceptable- I haven't done the fine-tooth-comb read-through yet, but I think it's fairly free of glaring errors.

    Suggestions for additional symbionts and a first-level active ability for Greenbound Paragon are also welcome.

    Quote Originally Posted by mootoall View Post
    Have I thanked you yet for your work? If not, thanks! It's like having our own little obsessive compulsive Homonculus doing the important work for us
    And to think I haven't bothered requesting an avatar because I didn't know what to ask for. Thank you, sir, you have been most useful. *hurries off to the Request an Avatar thread*
    delete Teemo.

  15. - Top - End - #1035
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Front Page, Changes, March 3rd, 2011:
    • Added submission guidelines, removed the bit encouraging people to use Chumplump's template (which is now absent). There's now a list on the front page detailing the steps one should go through in submitting, including getting a license, not submitting a high CR creature for their first effort and spellchecking.
    • Random quote tag excised.

  16. - Top - End - #1036
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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Somewhat-late fine-tooth comb of the Saguaro Sentinel:
    • General: The Saguaro Sentinel currently has its class features italicized, which is correct according to the guide in the OP. Most dead-tree WotC books and most recent monsters, however, have their class feature names bolded instead. Not a correction, per se, but something to be aware of.
    • Attribute Bonus: I believe the usual practice is to capitalize the abilities ("strength" and "constitution", in this case), and they should always be capitalized when abbreviated ("+9 str, +8 con"). I personally would remove the comma and insert " and" in its place, but that's not strictly necessary.
    • Attribute Bonus: I would also phrase as "its attributes increase" rather than "it gains a bonus to its attributes", raising the base stats like at levels 4/8/12/16/20 rather than adding a bonus to them. This means that the additional stat points gained can be damaged by poison/magic/etc, and that they increase the amount of damage a poison/spell has to do in order to reduce that particular base stat to 0.
    • Natural Defenses:
      • "A creature intending on taking an action..." Change "on" to "to".
      • "...from the thorns ability must make a will save (10+1/2 HD+Cha mod)..." Capitalize "will"; add "DC " at the beginning of the parentheses.
      • "... Sentinel's charisma modifier (minimum 0) plus a number equal to..." Capitalize "charisma".
      • "As a move equivalent action..." Remove the space and insert a hyphen between "move" and "equivalent".
      • "...failed their will saves to be unable..." Capitalize "will".
      • The move-equivalent action option needs to specify a duration for its effect.
      • "...as well as constructs and undead and anything else immune to pain..." Remove the first "and", replacing it with a comma.
    • 1,000 Needles:
      • "...usable only once per day per 2 HD..." The word "only" is unecessary.
      • "The first...Alternately..." Necessary: Correct "alternately" to "alternatively". Recommended: Change to firstly/secondly, the first option/the second option, either/or, or some such pair, or simply "It may X/Or, it may Y"
      • "...adds its constitution modifier to the attack roll or half its BAB, whichever is higher." Capitalize "constitution". Change wording to one of A) "adds its Constitution modifier or half its BAB, whichever is higher, to the attack roll." or B) "gains a bonus to the attack roll equal to its Constitution modifier or half its BAB, whichever is higher." (Basically, get the Con mod and the half BAB on the same side of "attack roll".)
    • Pin Missile: "After using this ability, the Saguaro Sentinel loses is Thorns, Needle Arms, Pin Missile, Sweep (for the purposes of impalement), 1,000 needles & Thorny Grasp ability for 1d6 rounds as the Saguaro Sentinel regrows all its thorns." A) "loses is Thorns" --> "loses its Thorns"; B) "1,000 needles" --> "1,000 Needles"; and C) "...as the Saguaro Sentinel regrows all its thorns." --> "...as it regrows all its thorns..." or "...as its thorns grow back." (The second Saguaro Sentinel in the same sentence is redundant and awkward.)
    • Pin Missile: "This allows one less attack with Sweep, doesn't allow the Saguaro Sentinel to use Improved Grab with that arm's slam attack, and doesn't allow it to use Pin Missile with that arm. A Saguaro Sentinel that has lost all its arms' thorns loses 1,000 Needles orand Thorny Grasp until at least one arm's thorns areis restored." Capitalize or alter as bolded.
    • Even the Mightiest Fall On You: Alter "status effect" to "negative status condition". "Condition" is the correct terminology; "status" is retained and "negative" added for clarity. You may also want to except conditions that prevent movement (Paralyzed/Immobilized/Petrified/Pinned/Dead/Unconscious, possibly Grappled). If you want this ability to be usable in during conditions that do not allow a character to take actions, it should specify so; if you want this ability to be usable even when it's not the Sentinel's turn (as opposed to on its next turn after the status condition begins, and as indicated by the "when knocked prone" language), it couldn't hurt to say so explicitly.
    • Growth: "...and gains...gaining...gaining..." While the present wording is not incorrect, sticking to one or the other wouldn't hurt.
    • Sweep:
      • "...make a reflex save (10+1/2 HD+Str Mod) or..." Capitalize "reflex"; add "DC " at the beginning of the parentheses.
      • "... and may attack it with a -4 penalty, though the Saguaro Sentinel is flat footed against these attacks." Altering wording to "attack it at a -4 penalty" makes it clear that the penalty is to the attack rolls and not anything else. Putting a period after "penalty" and making "The Saguaro Sentinel is flat-footed against these attacks." would eliminate a run-on sentence and make the paragraph easier to read.
      • "...taking both the damage the target would take and the dexterity penalty..." Capitalize "dexterity". The phrase "taking both the damage the target would take and" seems awkward; try altering wording to "taking damage equal to that dealt to the target, plus the Dexterity penalty..." or similar.
      • "...must make a balance check equal to..." Capitalize Balance.
      • "...; flying creatures fall to the ground, and both take appropriate falling damage." Should be its own sentence. Insert "they and the creature hurled at them" between "both" and "take" for clarity.
      • "...strength modifier and may be tossed..." Capitalize Strength; add a comma after Modifier. The sentence also has three instances of "Saguaro Sentinel", but eliminating them is difficult without using it/its, he/his, or she/her language.
    And that's all I have. Sorry I didn't get to it pre-approval. Hope it was helpful.

    Edit: Any requests for next proofread? Anything ready or near-ready to hit the Finished list? Let me know.

    Edit2: I just noticed this project is one supporter away from hitting the Homebrew Galleria. Just letting y'all know, the nomination/support thread is here if anyone wants to give us a boost. (While you're at it, take a look through the list of nominees and see if there's anything else you'd like to support, or nominate a favorite of your own. One nomination/day; no support limit.) This public service announcement was sponsored by Nerds for a Better Tomorrow.
    Last edited by Psyborg; 2011-03-03 at 03:23 PM.
    delete Teemo.

  17. - Top - End - #1037
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Actually, now that you mention it, I kinda want to do the Homunculus. Focusing on the version that I knew before reading the D&D fluff, which was little people who alchemists created to help them craft things, rather than little people who mages created to scout for them. Which I think is weird.
    Avatar by zimmerwald1915

    Quote Originally Posted by Divide by Zero View Post
    Hulking Hurler can get something like (10^83)d6 damage, which is many orders of magnitude greater than the number of particles in the universe.
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  18. - Top - End - #1038
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    Daemon

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    I made some minor tweaks to the Coure Eladrin in response to a friend's suggestion. I'm interested to hear what people have to say about the class - it's short and fairly straightforward, so the main challenge was fitting in what it needs to be a coure eladrin without overloading it. I'll probably end up trimming some bits, but the things that can be easily trimmed without making it no longer a coure eladrin aren't really the things that create a balance problem.
    Last edited by Benly; 2011-03-03 at 03:49 PM.

  19. - Top - End - #1039
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    I'm thinking I'll do another batch critique soon, today or tomorrow, to focus mostly on the new additions to the list. So stay tuned for that.

    Beyond that, I'll be writing up & submitting another short monster in the near future. Leaning towards Leucrotta and Centaur (I saw a pic I liked, checked Oslecamo's centaur, and it's terrible). CR 4 and CR 3, if I'm remembering right.

  20. - Top - End - #1040
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Alright, time to update the fungus.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hyudra View Post
    Level one looks better.
    Good.
    Poison looks borked though. It's not explained well enough, and RAW, you've got each Violet Fungus dealing 2 tentacle attacks, each delivering 1d4/1d6 Str damage and 1d3/1d4 Con damage a hit. That's... quite a lot.

    Given that you've got two tentacles that can hit each round, starting from level one, I'd suggest something like a:
    1d3/1d4
    1d4/1d4
    1d4/1d6
    1d6/1d6
    1d6/1d8
    1d8/1d8
    (And so on) kind of advancement, with less advancement for the con damage. It's not as much as the spider, but you're delivering two potential attacks a round, so enemies are going to suffer.
    Done. Also I started the con damage at a later interval. Hopefully that'll help not make the poison too crazy.
    Fungal Diversity:
    Well, here we go. This is the part I was most unsure about.
    "Creatures grappled by the Fungus have to save against the poison every two rounds." - clarify. Assuming I get your meaning, I'd reword to say you speed up the onset of secondary saves by a set number of rounds.
    Well, what I wanted to say was that being grappled by the Fungus meant they were poisoned like they had been hit by a tentacle, but they were only poisoned every two rounds. Hope the new wording has cleared it up a bit.
    "When a living creature grappled by the Violet Fungus save against the poison, they have to make another Fortitude save, DC 10+1/2HD+Con, or take 1 Con damage on top of any poison damage, as the tentacles eat away at the creature." - bolded bit. It seems to imply that when they succeed on the save, they have to make an additional save. Why not just say you add +1 con damage to whatever initial damage your poison deals?
    Well, I kinda wanted it to be something separate from poisoning, but I could see it working as a bonus to the poison.
    "heals the Fungus by an amount equal to its HD" - whose? The victims or the fungus'?
    I said victim's, as it makes sense (I mean, a bear would give more sustenance than a rat).
    [QUOTE]"If the Fungus has Rapid Poison, the period between the normal secondary damage and this new damage changes to the time between primary and secondary damage." - this is really confusing. It isn't intuitive in the slightest.
    It's kind of inconvenient to stress how much the fungus has to do to survive. What if, instead of the Fungus player feeling like she's in constant peril of starvation, you just stressed the inherent benefits instead?
    Ah. Well, thing is, it does eat differently, and I need to specify the way it does. I put the benefits before the eating requirements, anyway. Hopefully it helps.
    Tough Fungus requires itself.
    Yeah, that was because I originally had the names a little different. Fixed.
    Capturing Fungus is a bit too much. Consider that at 10th level you could be dealing 1d6 Str damage, 1d4 Dex damage and 1d4 Con damage, and then 1d8 Str, 1d6 Dex and 1d6 Con damage the very next round. That's an average of 8 Str damage, 6 Dex damage and 6 Con damage. A little over the top, when you're doing that with both tentacles.
    Paralysed -> Paralyzed.
    Meh, I still say both are proper words, but alright.
    Overall, much better at giving it a role (poisoner/debuffer), but a few tweaks still needed. Poison just seems to ramp up a touch too well, with the two types of ability damage together.[/list]
    Yeah, I often seem to initially make it a bit weak, then go a bit too far buffing it up.


    Link: Violet Fungus

  21. - Top - End - #1041
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Just FYI, there's two quotable sections of text in your reply there that you didn't quote or reply to.

  22. - Top - End - #1042
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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Quote Originally Posted by Volt View Post
    Alright, time to update the fungus.
    And time to proofread it.
    • Table: "Violet Fungus body" Capitalize "body".
    • Skills: "2+int modifier per level, quadruple..." Capitalize "Int". Insert " skill points" after "modifier".
    • Proficiencies: Sentence is missing a period at the end.
    • Features: "Class Features" might be better. Not a big deal.
    • Violet Fungus body:
      • In the ability name, capitalize "body".
      • Capitalize "plant" in "...gains plant traits...".
      • Plant traits are emphatically not "primarily low-light vision". They are: Low-light vision; Immune to mind-affecting spells or abilities; Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning; Not subject to critical hits (and therefore also not subject to Sneak Attack or other precision damage); Does not sleep. (I've been particularly aware of this lately, as that list of goodies is the main reason I abandoned the idea of letting Greenbound Creature actually gain the Plant type in a mere two levels.)
      • Tentacles should specify that they are natural attacks (or possibly "primary natural attacks"), and their damage type(s) should be specified.
    • Ability score increase: Capitalize all three words. List the total attributes gained (append ", for a total of +2 Con by 3rd level." to the existing sentence).
    • Poison: Doesn't say anywhere that characters may choose between Str-damage or Con-damaging poison; the table and wording currently would give both. Also, change "...the Fortitude save against the poison is 10+1/2HD+Con mod." to "...the DC of the Fortitude save against the poison is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con mod." (clarifying that the DC of the save is what's being specified, and adding spaces around the "+" signs for easier reading).
    • Poison Spores: Should specify whether consuming small doses for a week makes the consumer immune to the spores of other Violet Fungi.
    • Poison Quickening: "...gains another use for every 5HD..." should be "...gains another use of this ability or of Poison Quickening for every 5HD..."
    • Rapid Poisoning: Changes "reduces" to "is reduced by", and specify a minimum 1-round delay.
    • Knockout Poison and Paralytic Poison (do I detect undercooked copypasta? ): "...equal half the Fungus' HD." should be "...equal to half the Fungus' HD.
    • Improved Consumption:
      • Run-on sentence; try breaking it after "equal to half the Violet Fungus' HD" and beginning the next sentence "These bonuses last for...".
      • Lasting "ten minutes per pound consumed" would be simpler and clearer than the current wording.
      • Should specify how long something can be dead before it no longer counts as "living flesh" (if any time at all)- can I eat my enemies as soon as the combat ends, or save them for lunch, or for tomorrow, or is Improved Consumption intended solely for those with helpless enemies or Consuming Tentacles?


    And that's all. Looks like a nice class- I'd almost be interested in playing one. (Not quite, but come on, it's a fungus- "almost" is doing pretty darn good!)

    Also, I finally got around to looking up the Goblins. That is both brilliant and hilarious. I sincerely hope that their second iteration over at the Homebrew Monster Classes thread proves finishable.
    Last edited by Psyborg; 2011-03-03 at 05:17 PM.
    delete Teemo.

  23. - Top - End - #1043
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    The post entitled 'Writing up a monster class, a guide' has been updated. Specifically, I've updated the Design Guidelines FAQ, offering a question & answer as far as guidelines & rules of thumb to design by.

    This also freed me to delete the old Q&A spoilered at the bottom of that page.

    Edit: Psyborg, this may be a really silly thing to ask, but could you check out the monster class template in the guide above, critique it for grammar/spelling errors, and give me back something I can replace the old template with? There's a few instances where some stuff (like the inconsistent Str mod vs. con modifier) comes up, but I'm not noticing all of them at any point I look, and I'm elbow deep in critiques & a ⅓-designed monster class at the moment.
    Last edited by Hyudra; 2011-03-03 at 06:06 PM.

  24. - Top - End - #1044
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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyborg View Post
    Attribute Bonus: I would also phrase as "its attributes increase" rather than "it gains a bonus to its attributes", raising the base stats like at levels 4/8/12/16/20 rather than adding a bonus to them. This means that the additional stat points gained can be damaged by poison/magic/etc, and that they increase the amount of damage a poison/spell has to do in order to reduce that particular base stat to 0.
    ...Really?...
    Ugh. RAW nazism. So noted. Actually, I prefer just "gains +1 constitution", rather than "constitution increases by". I was doing the whole thing from scratch this time, though.
    Anyways, I've noted your suggestions, but I'm keeping a few my own way. Personal preference.
    Marceline Abadeer by Gnomish Wanderer

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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyudra View Post
    Psyborg, this may be a really silly thing to ask, but could you check out the monster class template in the guide above, critique it for grammar/spelling errors, and give me back something I can replace the old template with? There's a few instances where some stuff (like the inconsistent Str mod vs. con modifier) comes up, but I'm not noticing all of them at any point I look, and I'm elbow deep in critiques & a ⅓-designed monster class at the moment.
    Absolutely. Do you have preferences for the standard? So far I'm using "Str modifier": capitalized, abbreviated ability; unabbreviated, uncapitalized "modifier".
    Quote Originally Posted by Gorgondantess View Post
    ...Really?...
    Ugh. RAW nazism. So noted. Actually, I prefer just "gains +1 constitution", rather than "constitution increases by". I was doing the whole thing from scratch this time, though.
    Anyways, I've noted your suggestions, but I'm keeping a few my own way. Personal preference.
    That works too. (Anything that avoids the word "bonus" is fine by me.) And I certainly don't expect you to do everything I recommend. If there's a point, ability, type of wording, or whatever, where I'm repeatedly recommending a change you don't like, let me know and I'll stop/modify the recommendations.

    *tasteless joke excised*

    Edit: In-progress version of template rewrite follows. Sorry for huge post; it won't let me spoiler the code window.

    Copy Pastable Monster Class Template:
    PHP Code:
    [size=5][b][Monster][/b][/size
    [
    IMG]Image URL Goes Here![/IMG
    Monster Class [OR] Prestige Monster Class/Template
    Source of Original Monster
    .  For exampleMonster Manual/SRD or Heroes of Horror

    [b]Class:[/b]
    [
    spoiler]

    [
    b][MonsterPrerequisites[/b]
    To become a [Monster], the character must meet the following requirements:

    [
    b]Prerequisite:[/bWhatever that may be.
    [
    b]Prerequisite:[/bWhatever that may be.
    [
    b]Prerequisite:[/bWhatever that may be.

    /////////////Delete everything from monster prequisites, above, down to here if if you're not making a template/prestige monster class.

    [b]HD:[/bD#

    {table=head][b]Level[/b]|[b]BAB[/b]|[b]Fort[/b]|[b]Ref[/b]|[b]Will[/b]|[CENTER][b]Special[/b][/CENTER]

    1st|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    2nd
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    3rd
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    4th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    5th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    6th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    7th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    8th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    9th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    10th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    11th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    12th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    13th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    14th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    15th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    16th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    17th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    18th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    19th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability

    20th
    |[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|[center]+x[/center]|Class Ability[/table]
    //////////////Delete rows from the table until you have an appropriate number.  Be sure to end with [/table]

    [b]Skill Points:[/b] (Int modifierper levelx4 at first level.
    [
    b]Class Skills:[/bThe [Monster]’s class skills (and the key ability for each skillare Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Iaijutsu Focus (Cha),  Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (specificeach listed individually), Knowledge (all skillstaken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Psicraft (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a),  Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Truespeak (Int), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Psionic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).

    /////////////Delete class skills from the above list until you've got an appropriate selection. Also, delete "x4 at first level" if this is a prestige monster class/template.

    [b]Proficiencies[/b]: The [Monstergains proficiency with...

    /////////////Specify armor, weapon, and shield proficiencies, or lack thereof. If your [Monster] gains a natural weapon, it is a good idea to mention that it becomes proficient with it. If making a prestige monster class/template, specify whether it retains the proficiencies of the base creature (it nearly always will).

    [b][MonsterBody:[/bThe [Monsterloses all other racial bonuses and becomes a [Monster Type] ([any Subtypes]). It gains [Monster Typetraitsgranting it (list vision typesany type-based immunities or resistances).  [Monster]s are initially [Starting Monster Size Heresized creatures with a base land speed of [Movement speed]', possessing [Natural Attacks] that deal [damage] + Str modifier [Or 1.5, 2x Str, depending] damage and Natural Armor equal to their Con modifier.  A [Monster] has [Language] as a starting language, with additional languages for a high Int score as normal.

    /////////////If the monster does not have natural armor or natural weapons, delete the appropriate text from the above. The current standard is that this ability should always be named [Monster] Body, where [Monster] is the actual, exact name of your monster, e.g. "Fire Elemental Body" rather than "Flaming Body" or "Body of Flame". For Outsiders, be sure to specify what plane they are native to in the standard D&D cosmology. Monsters from Eberron-specific sourcebooks may specify a plane from the Eberron planar cosmology instead. Monster type and subtype traits can be found at http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/typesSubtypes.htm 

    [b]Attribute Increase:[/b] The [Monster] gains +1 to [Stat] at levels [X, Y, Z], and +1 to [Stat] at levels [Q, R, S] for a total increase of [List the total stat bonuses gained] at [whatever the highest level of the class is] level.

    /////////////If your [Monster] gains less/no ability score increases, then edit/delete the above bit. Avoid using the word "bonus" in the above paragraph.

    [b]Class Feature:[/b] Starting at Xth level the [Monster] gains the ability to...

    [b]Class Feature:[/b] Upon reaching Xth level the [Monster] gains the access to…

    [b]Class Feature:[/b] At Xth level the [Monster] learns to…

    [b]Class Feature:[/b] Beginning at Xth level the [Monster] can use …

    /////////////And so on. Remember to add (Ex), (Su), and (Sp) tags to abilities where appropriate, and specify what level an ability is gained at in the first sentence or so of its description (preferably in the first few words).

    [/spoiler]

    [b]Comments[/b]
    [spoiler]
    //////////////Your comments on the class, the creation process, ideas that went into it and stuff like that goes here.
    [/spoiler]

    [b]Changelog[/b]
    [spoiler]
    /////////////List changes you make in response to feedback, in as much detail as possible here.  More details on writing a good changelog in the Changelog FAQ.
    [/spoiler] 
    Above data is a version of the work originally done by Chumplump, as modified by Hyudra, Psyborg, and others. Many thanks to Chumplump.

    Putting Together a Monster Class, Using the Above:
    • Before you start, check the Base Monster Classes, Prestige Monster Classes, Unfinished Monster Classes and the Called Monsters lists to be sure that someone hasn't already done the monster you're about to do, that they aren't halfway, and that nobody's called dibs (sorry, it's a first come, first claim basis, here).
    • Copy all the text in the above box into a new post.
      • Better yet, save yourself a lot of work in the long run by...
      • Copying it into notepad (word documents might cause you issues by trying to color the text or adding weird spaces), going to 'Edit', clicking on 'Replace...' ...
      • Put [Monster] in the 'find' box.
      • Put your monster's name in the 'replace with...' box.
      • Click 'replace all'.
      • Copy everything (Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+X)
      • Then paste it into your post field.
    • Preview often, replacing stuff in brackets that isn't formatting code (like [stat]) with the appropriate details.
    • Stuff starting with ////////////// is just notes for you. Read them, then delete them so your monster class is tidy.
    • Try not to post your monster before you're done. If you're only half done, consider copy-pasting your text from the reply window to a word document and saving that. Alternately, you could try sending yourself a private message on the site, which gives you the ability to preview it.
    • Try not to have any text on the post with the monster class aside from what's absolutely necessary. Even a "Ta da! Here's my Hypnotoad that I spent hours on..." at the beginning is distracting to someone who just wants the monster, and makes it look messy.
    • When you're done, don't post right away. Start by spellchecking, then preview and read carefully through it as many times as you need, to be reasonably confident you didn't make any silly errors.
    • But wait, one more thing: Try looking at a well done monster class (see the 'what your post should look like when you're done' bit, below). Is there something drastically different about the look of the two posts? Did you add a new section? Does your post not have an image, or is the image hidden in the spoiler? If there's a big difference between your posts, you may have done something iffy.
    • If all that's done, post away.

    Or:
    • Just quote another monster class, remove the quote tags, and strip it of everything relating to the monster it once was, everything you don't need, and then fill in the details. This is the preferred method of yours truly. Spell checking and comparing it to another monster class is probably a good idea.


    What Your Post Should Look Like When You're Done:

    Design Guidelines for Monsters, a FAQ
    Spoiler
    Show
    Give me the basics
    Monster classes, as designed by Wizards of the Coast, suck. They've got screwy HD, they've still got overpowered abilities, huge attribute bonuses and they're by and large pretty boring. Creatures with LA are little better.

    So we're aiming to make monster classes that work. That means no huge attribute bonuses, monster abilities that would break the game are tweaked. Overall, we want to take the monsters which were designed by WotC to be easy, intuitive and quick for a DM to throw into a combat and make them into classes - which are more complex, more involving, interesting to play and depend on long term interaction with both a group and a larger campaign world.

    Long and short of it, we're striving for:
    Originality - The monster class should be unique. It should stand out from the rest, as a class.
    Playability - The monster should allow for fluid, engaging, amusing and uninterrupted play at the table.
    Balance - The monster should be balanced enough that it's not going to hold the group back or dominate everything without even trying, both overall and at a given stage in its development.
    Elegance - The page which details the monster for the player should look good and be easy to understand.
    Flavor - Last but certainly not least, we want to preserve the flavor and the atmosphere of the monster the monster class is based off of.
    To these ends, there's a critiquing process where we'll go over your monster to find issues and help you work them out before we add the monster to the larger list.
    What are some good rules and rules of thumb to go by?
    Remember, monsters don't adhere to the type or the monster entry 100%. When designing the monster class, you should use the following standards and be able to justify anything different.

    Maximum level in the class is equal to the monster's CR.
    • So essentially, a CR 7 monster will be a class 7 levels long.
    • We've proven that we can do this with every class to date. It can take some work, but you can make it fit.
    • People keep asking, and we keep refusing: Stick to this as though it were a hard and fast rule.

    HD:
    • For those who are confused, HD for these monster classes is synonymous with ECL, or effective character level.
    • I'm stressing this because people don't listen: there is no need to match the size of the HD (d10, d8, d6, d4) to that of the base monster.
    • It shouldn't need to be said, but monsters get a HD advancement with every level in the class, unlike standard monster classes.

    Monster class BAB tends to fall into four general categories:
    • Full BAB (ie. as a Fighter) goes to monsters that are trained and experts at fighting. Monster that, even without class levels, are capable of parrying sword blows and going head to head with a swashbuckler and not looking like a dunce in the doing.
    • ¾ BAB (ie. as a Rogue) with Str bonuses for 'brute' monsters. The ones that aren't martially trained but still hit hard. The Str bonuses should be very consistent (+1 Str a level or +1 Str every ⅔ levels) to counterbalance the loss of innate BAB. They won't hit as often, but they'll hit hard.
    • ¾ BAB for other monsters that don't fall into the above category and that aren't explicitly 'casters' in role and design.
    • ½ BAB (ie. as a Wizard) for squishy monsters. These monsters typically have full casting or powers otherwise fitting to such.

    Saving throw progressions have two variants for each saving throw, good (like a Fighter's Fortitude save progression) and bad (like a wizard's Fortitude save progression).
    • As a general guideline, think of what class is closest to your monster in design. Is it more like a barbarian, monk, a rogue or a wizard? If so, try using the save progression of those classes as a starting point.
    • Balance saves against HD, BAB and skills/skill points. A creature with full BAB and 6+int skills per level probably doesn't need good progression for 2 different saving throw types, let alone three.

    Skill points per level and skills known generally stay within convention:
    • One thing many people get wrong is that they go for something unconventional with skill points, such as d3, d5, d7. This comes up more often than one might expect. Don't do it.
    • Skill points should, as with saves, reflect the role of the class. If the class is good at fighting on the front lines, it probably doesn't need to be a skill monkey too.
    • For skills known, try to keep it within a sane range of the skill points gained per level. A dumb brute with 2+int per level doesn't need 12 different skills for its skills known. Conversely, a more knowledgeable class with 8+int skills per level shouldn't have less than 10 skills on the list, lest it be forced to take cross class ranks.
    • In some cases, it bears noting, it may be justified to offer a monster talented in a particular field less skill points/skills known, but with racial bonuses or abilities that complement the skill. Convention for this is to offer a monster a bonus on uses of the skill equal to ½ its HD. One skill improved in this manner is enough, two is discouraged but allowed, three is too much.
    • Undead and constructs do not gain class skills. Plants should have relatively few.

    Natural armor is reflective of an inborn toughness. Convention is:
    • Natural armor equal to one's Constitution modifier for 75-90% of the creatures out there with natural armor.
    • Natural armor equal to one's Constitution modifier +1, with an added +1 every time they grow a size category, for monsters with the kind of toughness that makes people wonder if their blades will dull on the monster's scales or hide (such as Dragons and Bulettes).
    • Weaker monsters may justify natural armor equal to ½ one's Constitution modifier. This is also a good idea if there are concerns about armor proficiency being coupled with natural armor for too much toughness, on monsters it doesn't fit.
    • Monsters without Constitution are justified in using natural armor equal to their Strength modifier (common for constructs and undead) or their Charisma modifier (common for psionic entities and other less solid beings).
    • Template/Prestige Monster Classes should offer a bonus to natural armor as opposed to a natural armor bonus, with the difference being that the former stacks with the latter.
    • It's often worth stressing for templates that involve growing natural armor, that they either gain natural armor or enhance any existing natural armor, to allow for a range of monsters taking the template/prestige monster class).

    Ability score increases reflect increases in capability well above that of your average human:
    • A common mistake is to offer too much in the way of ability scores. Err on the side of caution.
    • Ability score increases should be one of the last things one adds to a monster class before submission. Get it done or nearly done, and then judge the overall efficacy of the monster and how well it reflects the capabilities of the base monster. Skill advances should generally shore up weaknesses and areas where the monster simply does not match up to the base creature.
    • Humanoids tend to get less (excepting those areas where the humanoid is a brute monster, as covered in BAB, above), while monsters without the ability to speak or perform fine manipulation tend to get a little bit more.
    • When distributing ability scores, try to have less/none at first level. This prevents a monster from becoming too good a dip - that is, it shouldn't be a class a player takes just one level in because the first level benefits are so good.
    • When in doubt, none at all. If that doesn't work, then try +1 per 3 levels.
    • Finally, where I've gone into depth on ability score bonuses, it bears stating that we try to avoid penalties wherever possible.

    Abilities offered should strike a balance between active & passive. See a few questions below on the FAQ here for more details on what that means. Further:
    • No dead levels! That means no levels where the monster doesn't get any abilities. Such is boring and needless. Levels where the monster gets abilities that aren't worth using, as well, can be counted as dead levels.
    • Some monsters don't have enough abilities to stretch out over their full array of levels. Don't be afraid to come up with original abilities to fill in the gaps.
    • Further, some abilities that are integral to the monster just won't work as is. In this case, scrap the abilities and rebuild it from scratch, in a way that lets it progress steadily as the monster advances.

    Movement modes are tricky because while they're common at mid-high levels, they can break the game at low levels.

    Flight:
    • Shouldn't be granted before 4th level. Flight trivializes low level encounters, since very few enemies will have a way of harming a flying PC. It lets PCs hang in the air and fire ranged weapons until the enemies are dead, or escape unhindered if things go south.
    • Grant flight at 4th level if the base monster uses flight as an integral part of its nature. A wyvern, imp, giant eagle and giant wasp would be instances of monsters who just aren't the same without flight.
    • Grant flight at 5th level for creatures who get it, but don't rely on it. Cases might include some celestials and some humanoid psionic creatures.
    • For creatures who just can't deal without some means of flight before 4th level, consider a placeholder ability. The Harpy, for example, gains the ability to make augmented Jumps and Climb checks, using her wings to bear her up. The Wyvern and Imp can fly at early levels, but have to land at the end of each turn of flight.
    • Finally, we should give a nod to those creatures who levitate and lack limbs to carry them about. Beholders, brain in a jar and the like all float. To keep them from taking to the sky, consider an ability that lets them float only a certain height above the ground. At 4th-5th level they might gain an ability that frees them from this restriction.

    Burrowing:
    • Same issues as flight. Though it's a little harder to attack from range while burrowed, burrowing creatures can go underground and pop up across the battlefield, pelt a foe and then duck back underground before the foe can close the distance. Also, like flying creatures, burrowing creatures can circumvent many dungeon features. Same general rules as flight.

    Size increases are both common and beneficial.
    • Large size shouldn't be available before 4th level/4HD. Some unavoidable exceptions (Ogre among them), but try to avoid it where possible.
    • Huge size shouldn't show up before 12 HD.
    • Gargantuan size shouldn't show up before 16 HD.
    • Colossal size shouldn't occur before 20th HD.

    Tiny size is problematic for other reasons:
    • Tiny size can't be avoided because it doesn't make sense for many tiny creatures (ie. a housecat) to start small and then shrink.
    • It tends to offer sizable bonuses, all things considered. The vast majority of tiny creatures get hide as a class skill, which makes for an easy +16 to hide at first level. With many getting dexterity bonuses, this can ramp up to +18 by second level. Most enemies will never beat that check.
    • It also offers a lot of penalties. To attack an enemy, one must move into their space. This severely limits one's options.
    • There's also the issue of sameness. Many/most tiny creatures play exactly the same, especially at low levels. Hide, move into an enemy's square, and dish out as much damage as you can.
    • The first fix for the above is to try to deviate from this formula in some fashion.
    • Having an active ability or movement mode that confers some benefit but prevents or hinders hiding/silent movement is one option; the Phase Wasp's flight is an example.
    • Alternately, consider the possibility of a small creature with slight build.

    Damage Reduction, Spell Resistance:
    • DR shouldn't occur before 3rd level. Standard is DR equal to ½ one's HD.
    • SR shouldn't occur before 3rd level. Standard is SR equal to 11 + the creature's HD.

    Full Casters:
    • Should be crafted very carefully to not overshadow the wizard, sorcerer or cleric.

    Special abilities, uses per day and action expenditure:
    • Abilities should scale with HD. See the question below for more details on scaling.
    • If an ability is too powerful for low levels, it is perfectly acceptable to offer a weaker version and scale it up over time.
    • Uses per day should scale with HD.
    • If a spell qualifies as a save or lose (or 'save or suck', or 'save or die') - an ability that forces a save lest it effectively take an enemy out of combat, it should not become anything less than a move action.
    What's this scaling thing people keep chanting at me?:
    Scaling refers to abilities that get consistently better as you level. Consider the following hypothetical skill:
    Smash that Doesn't Scale: You do 5 bonus damage.
    Smash that Scales: You do bonus damage equal to your Strength Mod.
    The former doesn't scale. You deal 5 damage, and while that might be perfectly good at level 1, when you're level 15, it's so useless you might as well not have it.

    The second ability, 'Smash that Scales' does scale. If you're a melee class, you'll have 4-5 strength at early levels, but as you gain levels, your strength score increases, and Smash gets consistently better. By level 15, it might do 8-10 bonus damage. Hopefully, this scales well enough to keep the ability useful, so that you don't feel like you wasted the level by taking a level in the monster class. It also helps you feel like you're growing more consistently powerful.

    So what are the ways I can make something scale?
    There's a few ways to make something scale. Consider the following:
    ...This ability allows a saving throw, with a DC of 10 + ½ HD + Cha Mod.
    This is how abilities and spells that demand saving throws scale 95% of the time. Generally speaking, it means that foes with bad saves & bad stats to apply to their saves will fail most of the time, foes with good stats and good stats to apply to their saves will pass most of the time. People in the middle ground have about a 50-50 chance. It's perfect.
    This attack deals 1d8+Str damage
    Simple enough, you do more damage as your strength gets higher. As a plus, for classes that grow, your natural attacks and most abilities that deal natural attack damage will also increase a step whenever you grow.
    Shoop da Woop: Deal 1d6 bonus damage, plus an additional 1d6 for every 3 HD you have.
    This makes for an ability that scales up in damage at a slow, steady, reliable rate.
    You may cast Spell Like Ability twice a day, with an additional usage for every 5HD you have.
    If you get an SLA or an ability with limited uses a day, chances are it's going to become a little less relevant as you gain levels. Getting more daily/hourly/weekly uses out of it is a good way to make it scale. If you feel you're getting too few uses at early levels and you can't figure out how to give more without having too many at high levels, consider something like, "You can use this a number of times a day equal to your HD or your Con mod, whichever is more." - it means you'll have between 2-4 uses at early levels, but you'll steadily get more later.
    Smash: You deals 999 damage. At 9HD, Smash also forces the enemy to make a fortitude save or die.
    Ignoring the ridiculousness of the example, note the 'at 9HD, Smash yadda yadda yadda.' - this is a case of upgrading an ability at a later HD. Whatever the case, try to emphasize scaling over HD rather than scaling with levels. The former ensures the ability stays relevant no matter how you multiclass. The latter (scaling by levels) tends to require you to dedicate yourself to taking levels in the class.

    There's more ways for abilities to scale. Try looking at monsters that have been recently added to the list and look at how their abilities improve over time.
    I'm being told to emphasize active abilities over passive ones. What does this mean?
    There's two broad types of abilities a monster gets. Active and passive. Compare the following:
    Netherbolt: The Shadowbat may, as a standard action, fire off a bolt of pure darkness, dealing 1d6 damage for every two HD the Shadowbat has.

    Shadow Cloak: The Shadowbat gains a bonus to Hide equal to half its HD.
    While both are fine skills and both scale in an appropriate way, the former ability is active. Netherbolt is a standard action, it requires the player to make a decision to use it, and it does something. The second ability is passive. It's always on. It's a set bonus that you don't need to think about. It does something all the time, with no decision making process involved.

    So why is this important? In general, someone needs to beat an average of 13.3 fair encounters before they gain a level. Let's say our hypothetical player Johnny is playing in his DM's campaign from levels 1-6 with a monster class. That means Johnny is probably going to run up against 66 and a half encounters, give or take. If Johnny is playing a tentacle demon monster class with no active abilities, he's going to spend 66.5 encounters doing nothing but declaring charges, attacking, full attacking and maybe using a combat maneuver like trip, bull rush or grapple. It's not terribly exciting, it's not a boatload of fun. Whatever the passive abilities are, Johnny's probably not making many meaningful decisions.

    On the other side of the coin, if Johnny is playing a monster class with active abilities, he's making the choice whether to use those abilities or to attack, whether to trip or to use his monster's tentacle love. There's choices made, and by making those choices, Johnny is getting more immersed in the game. Rather than just feeling like a beatstick that just happens to be dressed up like a tentacle demon, Johnny feels like a tentacle demon doing tentacle demon stuff. This is what we're going for.

    What's going on with these undead and Construct monster classes? Why don't they have skills?
    Undead and Constructs get a whole bunch of bonuses just for being undead/construct type. You're immune to poison, diseases, stunning, mind affecting stuff, morale effects, you get a bunch of HD, you can't be crit, you take no ability damage... the list goes on and on and on. It's a huge list of benefits!

    To prevent them from being too powerful as one-level dips (creating situations where everyone takes single a level in, say, skeleton, to ensure they can be undead and they get all those choice benefits), there's a rule that if you're undead or construct, you don't get class skills. So you're forced to put ranks in cross-class skills. We generally aim for undead and constructs to be a little less powerful, as well.

    Changelog FAQ:
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    What is a changelog
    A changelog is a spoilered box at the bottom of your post that you keep notes in after you've posted the monster. As you make changes to the monster based on feedback and your own second thoughts, you list those changes in the changelog, keeping track and letting others keep track with you.
    Why have a changelog?
    Three reasons:
    1. The first is for people critiquing the class. If they can read your changelog and know you've only changed abilities A, B and C, then they can focus their attention on those abilities and give you good feedback. If you don't have a good changelog, then they have to read your entire monster to find the changes. That's time consuming, and that means time not spent giving you good feedback.
    2. The second reason is for people playing the class. Let's say you create the Longcat monster class, and Jack decides to play a Longcat. He's midway through a campaign using your longcat when you go back and change how an ability works. Jack goes to level up his Longcat, and, wait a second, stuff is different! Using the Changelog helps Jack figure out what just happened and ideally, lets him get his Longcat working again.
    3. The third reason is YOU. Having a changelog helps you keep your head screwed on straight when you're making a lot of revisions. It keeps you on track and helps you remember what critiques you've responded to. As a side benefit, you can also copy-paste your changelog into a new post to let people know what you've done to fix up your monster.
    What makes for a good changelog?
    Example of a Good Changelog:
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    Feb 03, 2011:
    • Gnaw bite & bonus damage now penetrate DR.
    • Excision bonus to saves is halved.
    • Tumescent recovery is clarified. Added a table elaborating on the healing amount.

    Feb 06, 2011:
    • Gnaw (which was a singular bite attack that did bonus damage equal to the target's total HD, penetrating DR) replaced with Chomp, a single bite attack that can deal potentially massive damage, which was the intent anyways.
    • Clarified what Immobilization does, under Thrash.
    • Leaving Rend, Tumescent Recovery and Violent Onslaught alone until I decide what to do with them.

    Feb 10, 2011:
    • Rend now only has a 50% chance of working if you use Furor, so there's a choice to be made in declaring your use of Furor.
    • Tumescent Recovery no longer grants healing each time you take indirect damage (indirect damage was hard to calculate and the overall effect was complicated) but now lets you force rerolls on all damage taken for the duration.
    • Violent Onslaught now has a 'rage mode', where a troll brought to low health, or a troll that offs an enemy, can use the ability again, with a small bonus.

    Feb 11, 2011:
    • Changed Chomp (described above, in the changelog) back to Gnaw, but changed mechanics. It now lets the Troll bite, followed by making a Strength check against the foe. Each strength check you pass deals con damage and lets you make another strength check (with a penalty on the check and more con damage) until you fail.
    • Dates clearly defining what's been changed and when.
    • Changes are fairly detailed, giving the why, and cluing people into what used to be there before it was fixed or replaced.
    • Everything is ordered, organized and consistent.

    What Makes My Changelog Suck?
    A sample of the worst sort of changelog you can do:
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    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    Yes, that's right, no changelog at all is as bad as it gets.

    But you can get something like this, too:
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    First change - A few typos and wordings fixed. Bash and Smash now read "Smashybash X, with the following exceptions, to avoid redundancy. Whomp and its Least form now have broken stuff deal some damage, and Whallop effects may have been changed slightly partially because I accidentally deleted the ability before making changes to it or copying it for reference. Thump no longer "permanent". Whomp (or more accurately, it's Least form) clarifies what happens to items that reach the Basher. Burrow speed now leaves a usable tunnel. Crump now requires balance, anyone who doesn't put a few ranks into that deserves what they get. A bit of text under Basher Body added to allow some speech, or at least suggestions for it. Last change I make - Clarification on damage dealing in Least Whomp. Whomp changed to free action.
    It's chaotic and doesn't serve to clarify much for anyone hoping to use the changelog to check something.
    What if I don't have a changelog? I don't want to bother
    It's your call, really, but you'll get less critiques, and those critiquing are going to be a lot less focused when they're replying to your monster. In turn, this means it takes longer before your monster passes muster and gets added to the master list. Some (yours truly included, most days) will just skip the critique half the time, if there's no changelog to work with.

    Image FAQ
    Spoiler
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    Image? I'm a little confused.
    I'm referring to that picture that appears between the monster's name and the actual mechanical bits.
    What if I can't find a good image?
    Try searching on google images for the monster's name. It might also be worth checking out the monster's name in other languages like french, greek (especially for monsters borne of greek myth), latin, german, chinese or japanese (the latter two especially for oriental monsters).

    That doesn't work? Search on DeviantArt. It might help to, after searching, click the list on the left for 'digital art', as that's the kind of image we want, 90% of the time.

    That fails? Try asking in the thread for help.
    I found an image but it's too big. How do I fix that?
    Easy way: right click the image, and from the drop down list, click 'copy image location'.
    Go to http://tinypic.com/ and click the bubble that says url. Ctrl-V (paste) the link you got from 'copy image location' into the box there.
    Don't click 'upload now' yet! First click on the bar beside 'Resize:' and select Message Board (640x480). This is the size you want 90% of the time. Now click 'upload now' and fill in the Captcha (the 'I'm not an AI' verification thing) using the little refresh button as many times as needed if it's too hard to read. It'll take a second, and then you just copy-paste the link under 'Direct Link for Layouts' into your post.

    Harder: Use Paint, or your Photoshop/Paint Shop program of choice and resize manually.

    Last Resort: Ask in the thread. Hyudra is one person who can help out, but others might be available too. Just don't post the huge image and irritate everyone in the doing.


    End of partially-revised template. We now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

    I think that's better. Not going to say it's done till I have a chance to reread and double-check it all. And that's re-read complete. Let me know if I missed anything.

    Also, you know how long it's been since I read anything that actually bothered double-spacing between sentences? Roughly forever.

    FYI, I also plan on making up a set of tables (hopefully this weekend, more likely early next week) that can be used for advancing Sorcerer casting after leveling in a monster class that gets spells known, spells per day, and spell levels as Bard and "Virtual Sorcerer casting" when it multiclasses into Sorcerer. Players of such classes might find referring to them less intimidating and error-prone than calculating it all out themselves.
    Last edited by Psyborg; 2011-03-03 at 10:23 PM.
    delete Teemo.

  26. - Top - End - #1046
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Gorgondantess's Avatar

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyborg View Post
    *wonders if he should add "nazi jacket/hat/armband" to his OCD homunculus avatar request*
    Absolutely.
    While your work is certainly appreciated, it would likely be best if you made this:
    And I certainly don't expect you to do everything I recommend. If there's a point, ability, type of wording, or whatever, where I'm repeatedly recommending a change you don't like, let me know and I'll stop/modify the recommendations.
    more clear in your wording. You use a lot of commands and throw around words like "necessary". We've had people come in here acting like they know everything in terms of monster making and throwing around commands, and it's really annoying. At least for me, the phrasing you use pushes a lot of the wrong buttons.
    Y'know... it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
    Marceline Abadeer by Gnomish Wanderer

  27. - Top - End - #1047
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    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Apologies for irritating phrasing, and I'll do my utmost to avoid such in the future. Thanks in turn for all you've done for the project- a lot more than me, and it's appreciated.
    delete Teemo.

  28. - Top - End - #1048
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    Daemon

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyborg View Post
    *wonders if he should add "nazi jacket/hat/armband" to his OCD homunculus avatar request*
    Please don't. I don't want to be The Humorless Jerk, but I'm Jewish and I'd really rather not have to skim past a "hilarious" homunculus wearing a Nazi uniform every time I browse the thread.

  29. - Top - End - #1049
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    Gorgondantess's Avatar

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Benly View Post
    Please don't. I don't want to be The Humorless Jerk, but I'm Jewish and I'd really rather not have to skim past a "hilarious" homunculus wearing a Nazi uniform every time I browse the thread.
    Well, yeah, it's kindof against the forum rules. Which none of us would ever break. Nosiree. >.>

    Quote Originally Posted by Psyborg View Post
    Apologies for irritating phrasing, and I'll do my utmost to avoid such in the future. Thanks in turn for all you've done for the project- a lot more than me, and it's appreciated.
    Not a problem. But, y'know, it made my first impression of you... less than positive.
    Last edited by Gorgondantess; 2011-03-03 at 08:36 PM.
    Marceline Abadeer by Gnomish Wanderer

  30. - Top - End - #1050
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Daemon

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    Default Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI

    Quote Originally Posted by Gorgondantess View Post
    Well, yeah, it's kindof against the forum rules. Which none of us would ever break. Nosiree. >.>
    Sorry, just a little too used to internet forums where "hilarious" use of Nazi imagery is pretty common.

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