Weeks ago, I told you to f$&% CR and build monsters and encounters the better way. And I confused a lot of people and even made a few people angry. So, here’s a quick and dirty example of how to build a simple monster – two different ways – that should dispel the confusion. But it won’t make the angry people less angry. Not that I care. F$&% ’em.
I’m feeling reflective. Let’s reflect on some design elements from D&D 4E that definitely shouldn’t have been left out of 5E that can definitely make you a better monster builder.
If you’re going to build your own monsters – or even if you you’re just going to run a game – you have to understand what challenge is and how it infuses every game experience. And you also have to understand how it got built into monster design systems. I THOUGHT I’d already covered this, but apparently, we need to really unpack it. So settle in.
Last week, i dissected the hell out of the D&D Monster Manual and Dungeon Masters Guide to tell you everything you’d ever need to know about how monsters work. This week, we’re going to assemble our own creations! And we’re going to populate the temple of a mad monkey god too. Because why not?
This is a supplement to the Monster Building 202 course. Go read that first. Then come back here. It’s a chat between The Angry GM and Twitter frienenmy @Maialideth about how to create a hobgoblin warcaster.
It’s like they always say, you have to cut up a lot of bunnies before you learn enough to make a bunny of your own. So welcome to the D&D Monster Dissection Lab. We’re going to cut up a lot of creatures and see how they work. And that’s going to help us make our own creatures.
Custom monster building is one of the most useful and versatile tools in the D&D and Pathfinder GM’s toolbox. And notice that I didn’t say “reskinning” or “reflavoring.” Real custom monster building takes effort. And it’s totally worth it. But if you can’t make the effort, don’t f$%&ing bother.
Once upon a time, I promised I’d show you a cool way to build an adventure by casting a Tarot Spread. And here I am to do just that.
And now, it’s time to build your player’s next adventure. And then, it’ll be time to build their next next adventure. And so on. Forever.
Now that you’ve started your Simple Homebrew Campaign and you’ve got your players distracted with an adventure, it’s time to start building the world around them. First step: make a town. Or rather, make Town.
Time to dip into the ole mailbag and answer some more reader questions. This time, I’m talking about dynamic chases, money systems, and spellcasting monsters.
I’ve been dared to do the impossible: write a simple, adventure-building checklist AND keep it short. Can I pull it off? Do bears s$&% on the Pope?
Weeks ago, I showed you how to f$&% CR and build monsters with my way better and way more awesome system. And then I promised I’d also show you how to put those monsters together into encounters. Well, I’m finally back to make good on that promise.
A well-build mythology can drive stories and create a fantastic world. Unfortunately, D&D doesn’t provide such a mythology. But you can make your own if you understand thematic conflict.
Encapsulation: the art of designing around nonexistent systems and filling in the blanks later. It’s an important skill, but there comes a time when you have to fill in the blanks. Say, by designing a random encounter system for your megadungeon.
Once again, Angry opens the mailbag and answers some reader questions.
All it took was one word from one image from one hastily scribbled list in last week’s article to find out that you’ve all learned nothing from me in the last twelve years. That word was quicksand.
This month’s Ask Angry column is all about one thing and just one thing: called shot systems. But it’s also about building a game around fighting giant colossus monsters. Oh, and it’s also about the real secret of getting players to play creatively. But aside from those two other things, it’s just about one thing.
Once upon a time, D&D allowed players to lead fellowships, attract merry men, and even just hire some temps from the Henchman’s Local #246. I miss those days and I’ve brought them back.
Yes, you read the title right. I’m actually going to be positive for once and talk about some of the good design choices in D&D 5E. This is what happens when you get really drunk on the day your next article is due.
Whenever I even hint at the idea that there’s some specific pile of setting lore that governs everything I do in my home games, I get lots of people demanding I share it all. And publish a campaign setting book about it immediately. Well, that ain’t going to happen. But if I ever did, this is what the part about Undead would look like.
I wish people would stop asking me how “the Angry RPG” is going to handle ability scores or feats or initiative or whatever. Not because I don’t want to tell people about “the Angry RPG,” but because those words don’t mean anything.
I have a rule against ranting about my players on my site. But that doesn’t mean I can’t use them as an example when they do the same thing that literally everyone else in the world does and I want to rant about everyone. At least I hope that’s how it works. At least, I hope my players don’t read this.
You know what? I’m sick of dealing with all the overly complicated, overly precise mathematics of encounter and custom monster design in D&D 5E. So I’m going to design an easier way to handle all of this. Unfortunately, I have to rewrite the whole Monster Manual to do it.
You know what? I’m sick of dealing with all the overly complicated, overly precise mathematics of encounter and custom monster design in D&D 5E. So I’m going to design an easier way to handle all of this. I just hope I don’t have to rewrite the whole Monster Manual to do it.
It’s been a long time since I answered some reader questions. So, let’s see how many of these I can get through without losing my freaking mind.
This month’s BS article focuses on… nothing. It’s an unfocused mess in which I ramble about three completely unrelated issues in modern game that are probably only a problem to me. Enjoy.
Want to learn how to twist, bend, break, and rebuild the rules of your game to your liking? Want to see a bunch of new rules and systems created by The Angry GM? Start here on the path to becoming a hack like The Angry GM himself. Hacking Rules Looking for examples of how…
It’s time for a quick run through the ole Ask Angry e-mail pile. Oh, hey, look, I have dozens and dozens of questions. Let me answer a couple. Heck, I’ll answer a few! Because I’m just that great a guy.
Hacking is bad for your game. That’s an undeniable fact. So, if you’re going to hack your game, be prepared to fight for it. Even if you’re only fighting yourself.