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5E: Converting Monsters from White Dwarf Magazine for Fifth Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 8640466" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p>Okay, moving on to the <strong><a href="https://enworld.org/index.php?posts/8550078" target="_blank"><s>Gurgotch Juggernaut</s> Gurgohemoth</a></strong> then!</p><p></p><p>Hold on a moment, there's no such thing as Colossal size in 5E, the sizes cap at Gargantuan. I'm too used to designing 3E monsters. Better change it back to Gargantuan!</p><p></p><p>I've updated the size and CR to "new and improved" figures in your latest version (i.e. the deadlier one!), so I guess we'll just go through the rest of the statblock in order like we normally do.</p><p></p><p>OK, the AC 20 and 580 hp are both a bit higher than the Challenge 18 average, but I think that's reasonable as I think we're aiming for a creature that's really tough to take down but has a relatively low damage output for its CR. That gives under-CR'd parties more opportunity to retreat* before they get squashed!</p><p></p><p>*I guess we could give it some version of <strong><em>Frightful Presence</em></strong> to encourage them to run away?</p><p></p><p>On that note, the PCs won't be able to run away in terror if they're unable to move their legs! That bolsters my inclination to change the regular Gurgotch's paralyzing breath to a more conventional damage causing area-of-effect attack such as a cone of fire and/or acid, a cloud of disease-inflicting poison, a violent windstorm that bludgeons and blows victims away, et cetera.</p><p></p><p>We can leave the <strong><em>Breath Weapon</em></strong> for later, we've got <strong>Abilities</strong> to consider next.</p><p></p><p>The current draft still has an older version of the regular sized version's stats, namely:</p><p></p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><th><p style="text-align: center">STR</p> </th><th><p style="text-align: center">DEX</p> </th><th><p style="text-align: center">CON</p> </th><th><p style="text-align: center">INT</p> </th><th><p style="text-align: center">WIS</p> </th><th><p style="text-align: center">CHA</p> </th></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">25 (+7)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">10 (+0)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">19 (+4)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">10 (+0)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">12 (+1)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">12 (+1)</p> </td></tr></table><p></p><p>That's a bit weaksauce. It's no stronger than a <strong><a href="https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/animal-mammoth/" target="_blank">Mammoth</a></strong> (STR 25, CON 21) which is considerably smaller and has a higher CON too boot.</p><p></p><p>There don't appear to be any CR 18 monsters in the <em>Monster Manual</em>, but that's between the CR 17 Adult Red Dragon (STR 27, CON 25) and the CR 19 Balor (STR 26, CON 22). Thought about using the Dragon Turtle (STR 25, CON 20) as a comparison, but Strength 25 is strangely weedy for a Gargantuan dragon considering an adult red is a size smaller and has a STR two points higher.</p><p></p><p>The Balor and Red Dragon are both Huge and our baby is <s>COLOSSAL</s> Gargantuan, so I'd give it a Strength from 27 to 29, depending on whether you prefer a +8 or +9 for the ability modifier. I don't want to make it <em>quite</em> as strong as the top of the goliath monsters such as a Tarrasque (STR 30, CON 30) or Ancient Red Dragon (STR 30, CON 29) but I'd like it to be semi-competitive with them.</p><p></p><p>Which brings us onto Constitution, which also needs a boost. I think CON 23 (+6) would be enough. That said, I'd be open to making it ridiculously tough with, say CON 30 (+10).</p><p></p><p>We'd better reduce the number of Hit Dice if we're keeping it at around Challenge 18.</p><p></p><p>How about one of the following:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><strong>Hit Points</strong> 495 (30d20 + 180) [CON 23]</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><strong>Hit Points</strong> 525 (30d20 + 240) [CON 27]</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><strong>Hit Points</strong> 512 (25d20 + 250) [CON 30]</p><p></p><p>I think DEX 10 is fine.</p><p></p><p>Will leave discussing Mental Ability scores for later.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 8640466, member: 57383"] Okay, moving on to the [B][URL='https://enworld.org/index.php?posts/8550078'][S]Gurgotch Juggernaut[/S] Gurgohemoth[/URL][/B] then! Hold on a moment, there's no such thing as Colossal size in 5E, the sizes cap at Gargantuan. I'm too used to designing 3E monsters. Better change it back to Gargantuan! I've updated the size and CR to "new and improved" figures in your latest version (i.e. the deadlier one!), so I guess we'll just go through the rest of the statblock in order like we normally do. OK, the AC 20 and 580 hp are both a bit higher than the Challenge 18 average, but I think that's reasonable as I think we're aiming for a creature that's really tough to take down but has a relatively low damage output for its CR. That gives under-CR'd parties more opportunity to retreat* before they get squashed! *I guess we could give it some version of [B][I]Frightful Presence[/I][/B] to encourage them to run away? On that note, the PCs won't be able to run away in terror if they're unable to move their legs! That bolsters my inclination to change the regular Gurgotch's paralyzing breath to a more conventional damage causing area-of-effect attack such as a cone of fire and/or acid, a cloud of disease-inflicting poison, a violent windstorm that bludgeons and blows victims away, et cetera. We can leave the [B][I]Breath Weapon[/I][/B] for later, we've got [B]Abilities[/B] to consider next. The current draft still has an older version of the regular sized version's stats, namely: [TABLE] [TR] [TH][CENTER]STR[/CENTER][/TH] [TH][CENTER]DEX[/CENTER][/TH] [TH][CENTER]CON[/CENTER][/TH] [TH][CENTER]INT[/CENTER][/TH] [TH][CENTER]WIS[/CENTER][/TH] [TH][CENTER]CHA[/CENTER][/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]25 (+7)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]10 (+0)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]19 (+4)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]10 (+0)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]12 (+1)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]12 (+1)[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] That's a bit weaksauce. It's no stronger than a [B][URL='https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/animal-mammoth/']Mammoth[/URL][/B] (STR 25, CON 21) which is considerably smaller and has a higher CON too boot. There don't appear to be any CR 18 monsters in the [I]Monster Manual[/I], but that's between the CR 17 Adult Red Dragon (STR 27, CON 25) and the CR 19 Balor (STR 26, CON 22). Thought about using the Dragon Turtle (STR 25, CON 20) as a comparison, but Strength 25 is strangely weedy for a Gargantuan dragon considering an adult red is a size smaller and has a STR two points higher. The Balor and Red Dragon are both Huge and our baby is [S]COLOSSAL[/S] Gargantuan, so I'd give it a Strength from 27 to 29, depending on whether you prefer a +8 or +9 for the ability modifier. I don't want to make it [I]quite[/I] as strong as the top of the goliath monsters such as a Tarrasque (STR 30, CON 30) or Ancient Red Dragon (STR 30, CON 29) but I'd like it to be semi-competitive with them. Which brings us onto Constitution, which also needs a boost. I think CON 23 (+6) would be enough. That said, I'd be open to making it ridiculously tough with, say CON 30 (+10). We'd better reduce the number of Hit Dice if we're keeping it at around Challenge 18. How about one of the following: [INDENT][B]Hit Points[/B] 495 (30d20 + 180) [CON 23] [B]Hit Points[/B] 525 (30d20 + 240) [CON 27] [B]Hit Points[/B] 512 (25d20 + 250) [CON 30][/INDENT] I think DEX 10 is fine. Will leave discussing Mental Ability scores for later. [/QUOTE]
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