If you’re creating a monster with a specific campaign in mind, you’ll want to figure out the appropriate Challenge Rating (CR) of the monster that you’d want to make. It wouldn’t make sense for a creature to be native to the Underdark but it cannot see in the Dark and has no Blindsight or Truesight or anything of that nature. The creature’s environment will shape some of the features of the creature as it would have to have adapted to the said environment to survive there. I have my intention of what I want the creature to do and where it lives. While that’s a super basic description, I think it conveys the message I’m trying to get across for this part of my design process. A lot of the creatures in the Underdark are extremely hostile and are predatory so this creature will probably try to hunt down the party perhaps in a pack or a small group of other creatures. The monster I want to create for this campaign would most likely be native to the Underdark which means it would have some sort of Darkvision or Blindsight to effectively navigate its terrain. One of the campaigns that I’m currently running takes place in the Underdark. Let’s do a quick example to show what I’m talking about here. What does the creature look like and where would you find it? These are the two big questions that will help you flesh out the rest of your ideas. This is a big one for creating a creature that you intend to use in a current or future campaign. There are other reasons you may want to create a unique monster, but these are a few of the more common purposes that I use to begin my work on a new creature. This is generally more of a tweaking/re-balancing project, but it could still be considered homebrew if you change a lot or add a few abilities.ĭo I just have a great idea for something unique and want to spend some time trying to make it work? Homebrewing for the fun of creating your monsters is a perfectly good reason to do this as well! Generally when I do this sort of homebrewing it’s more of a “Back Burner” project where I won’t make it a priority but go and add to it when I have a good idea. Maybe the Kobold Chieftain has some magical powers or additional abilities that a regular Kobold would not have. Say the party is doing a quick quest in a Kobold Den. Is it a monster that is intended to be a boss? I use this one a lot when I’m homebrewing a monster. This would fall under this sort of purpose, but it is a bit easier to get a solid start on since you have a reference for what you want the monster to do. A lot of people will also take monsters that were in earlier additions or different tabletop games and convert them to the game that they are currently playing. Is it an idea that you have that isn’t replicated anywhere in the monster manual? This is probably the most common purpose one will have when creating a new monster. Here are a few examples of the purposes I usually have for creating a new monster. Homebrew monsters should each serve a specific purpose. Every time you create something you should have a goal in mind for it. This step is by far the most important part of the design process. I made a post a while ago about the software I use to make homebrew monsters if you’re interested in that sort of thing. I like to break a big project like this into smaller, more specific tasks. So, let’s go through the design process I use when I’m making a monster. Do note that there is a HUGE difference between challenging or difficult and overpowered. The last thing that you or your players want to deal with in a game is an overpowered monster. The most challenging part about homebrewing anything is ensuring that it is properly balanced. Most of the time I will use this to create boss monsters, but you can homebrew just about any sort of monster you can imagine. One of my favorite things about 5e is how simple it is to create your homebrew monsters.
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