Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 pukunui Aug 14, 2015 15:36:09	Hi folks,   I'm wondering if anyone's tried reverse engineering some of the unofficially templated monsters in the MM. I'm thinking of things like zombies and skeletons.   Skeletons seem fairly straightforward: Ability Scores: Con 15, Int ≤ 6 (?), Wis 8, Cha 5 Gain Damage Vulnerability: Bludgeoning Gain Damage Immunity: Poison Gain Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Poisoned Remove some traits (The skeletal warhorse loses its Trampling Charge trait, while the skeletal minotaur loses is Labyrinthine Recall and Reckless traits but not its Charge trait)     Zombies, on the other hand, are a bit more variable: Ability Scores: Int 3, Con ≥ 16 (?), Wis ≤ 8 (?), Cha 5 Gain Undead Fortitude Adjust Hit Dice (?): The ogre zombie gains some hit dice, while beholder zombie loses some. Traits: Not clear if a zombie loses any traits. The beholder zombie still has its eye rays, while ogres don't have any special traits to lose in the first place, and who knows with the human zombie ...   What about a fiendish template? There aren't really any examples of such a thing in the MM, unless you count something like the cambion.   Anyone got any ideas?
#2 WorBlade Aug 14, 2015 16:48:36	It might be somewhat misleading to think of those as "templates" for monsters. The CR rules for balancing monsters takes many factors into account like average damage outpout. To build a critter of a specefic CR (which the Monster Manual needed a range of CRs covered) means setting the damage and then picking the weapon and making STR or DEX be the right bonus to get the desired average damage.      Your fiend "template" would be a set of features and weakness you think they should have. Use the DMG rules to see if these would affect the offensive or defensive CR. Then set your HP/AC/To Hit/etc based on the CR you want to hit.
#3 pukunui Aug 14, 2015 17:29:35	You're aware that there are already some templates in the Monster Manual, right? Take a look at the dracolich, shadow dragon, half-dragon, and lycanthropes.   In previous editions, things like lich, vampire, skeleton, and zombie have been presented as templates as well. I'm just trying to make it easier for myself (and others) to turn things besides humans, ogres, minotaurs, beholders, and warhorses into either skeletons or zombies by establishing what these types of creatures have in common.   For instance, it seems like all skeletons have immunity to poison/poisoned and exhaustion. All zombies have Undead Fortitude. And so on.     And yes, I'm aware that I'll have to recalculate the CR of any templated creature. I already have to do that even with the pre-existing templates.
#4 Catodon Aug 15, 2015 19:55:00	Like the idea watching with interest