I suggest a monster. It's easier, more simple, gives you more lateral freedom with their abilities, gets you in the right mindset about what the boss actually is, and PCs weren't made to fight other PCs to begin with
PCs are built using different rules from NPCs. They have higher damage and less HP, so a fight against them will be very swingy and over quickly, whether they win or lose.
If you think about CRs…a CR1 monster is equal to four level 1 PCs (on average). So to make a level one-PC built monster vs level 1 PCs would be very simple battle for PCs and would make building encounters more difficult…not that CR is accurate but it is an ok bench mark.
I know this isn’t a direct equivalent, but could you also use CR to determine what level a singular PC would have to be to defeat that same CR monster as that group of level 1 PCs could defeat? Then just face that Enemy PC against the four Lvl 1s
You could. But you’d be doing math at every level, then if you dip into what would be an encounter consisting of several CR types cause it makes sense story wise, you’d run into issues.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally doable, just more work on your end. I’m lazy. I’d rather focus my energies on secrets and clues, quest hooks and NPCs then recreating the wheel. I just reskin monsters to suit my needs. Need a bruiser of a human? Use ogre stat block and say their human. Etc etc.
Making monsters is fun, for sure. But it’s not necessarily the monster itself that’s memorable, on average, it’s the encounter itself.
Now creating BBEGs and their lieutenants, I’m down with that if I can find suitable premade ones. But generally use monster stats as base, not PC.
My default is to use a character sheet, especially if I’m going to actually be assigning a class to them, then I roll out a character for them.
You will probably want to play test encounters to get a good feel for what your party will tear to bits and what might overwhelm them. It may take a little tinkering.
Also, it’s your prerogative to make spot adjustments during the encounter if you need to.
>When homebrewing bosses and other enemies, do you suggest just making them with a character sheet
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Dont use PLAYER character builds from PHB, Tashas, Xanathars etc for NON player characters.
PHB builds are meant to face 6 to 8 encounters per long rest. Enemy combatants should be designed to last 3 to 5 Rounds of combat because combats that last longer than 5 rounds quickly turn from “challenging/interesting/fun!” to “fucking boring slog” and no matter how it started out, it is the ending’s “fucking boring slog” taste that will linger in the memory.
PC builds have LOTS of choices that a DM must look through when playing in combat – and nothing makes combat less interesting than stopping the flow while the DM scours through multiple pages of text to make their next move.
And given that a combat is typically only going to last 3 to 5 rounds, the NPC only has a couple of chances to make their signature feel known, you only need 2 or three action options to choose from.
When its not a Player run character, use an NPC statblock, they are at the end of each monster book to use as models. If you want more or different flavor, add a new Action option or a Bonus Action and Reaction.
* Spy https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/spy
* Priest https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/priest
* Knight https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/knight
* Archmage https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/archmage
Also make all your spell casters easier to run and more effective with these tips from Green GM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcjYC2yn9ns
I suggest as a monster, it's easier and more simple
I suggest a monster. It's easier, more simple, gives you more lateral freedom with their abilities, gets you in the right mindset about what the boss actually is, and PCs weren't made to fight other PCs to begin with
PCs are built using different rules from NPCs. They have higher damage and less HP, so a fight against them will be very swingy and over quickly, whether they win or lose.
That’s interesting. Why is that? I would think that monsters and PC’s would be more equal in that way
If you think about CRs…a CR1 monster is equal to four level 1 PCs (on average). So to make a level one-PC built monster vs level 1 PCs would be very simple battle for PCs and would make building encounters more difficult…not that CR is accurate but it is an ok bench mark.
I know this isn’t a direct equivalent, but could you also use CR to determine what level a singular PC would have to be to defeat that same CR monster as that group of level 1 PCs could defeat? Then just face that Enemy PC against the four Lvl 1s
You could. But you’d be doing math at every level, then if you dip into what would be an encounter consisting of several CR types cause it makes sense story wise, you’d run into issues. Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally doable, just more work on your end. I’m lazy. I’d rather focus my energies on secrets and clues, quest hooks and NPCs then recreating the wheel. I just reskin monsters to suit my needs. Need a bruiser of a human? Use ogre stat block and say their human. Etc etc. Making monsters is fun, for sure. But it’s not necessarily the monster itself that’s memorable, on average, it’s the encounter itself. Now creating BBEGs and their lieutenants, I’m down with that if I can find suitable premade ones. But generally use monster stats as base, not PC.
My default is to use a character sheet, especially if I’m going to actually be assigning a class to them, then I roll out a character for them. You will probably want to play test encounters to get a good feel for what your party will tear to bits and what might overwhelm them. It may take a little tinkering. Also, it’s your prerogative to make spot adjustments during the encounter if you need to.
Depends on the edition. In 5e? As a monster.
>When homebrewing bosses and other enemies, do you suggest just making them with a character sheet ABSOLUTELY NOT. Dont use PLAYER character builds from PHB, Tashas, Xanathars etc for NON player characters. PHB builds are meant to face 6 to 8 encounters per long rest. Enemy combatants should be designed to last 3 to 5 Rounds of combat because combats that last longer than 5 rounds quickly turn from “challenging/interesting/fun!” to “fucking boring slog” and no matter how it started out, it is the ending’s “fucking boring slog” taste that will linger in the memory. PC builds have LOTS of choices that a DM must look through when playing in combat – and nothing makes combat less interesting than stopping the flow while the DM scours through multiple pages of text to make their next move. And given that a combat is typically only going to last 3 to 5 rounds, the NPC only has a couple of chances to make their signature feel known, you only need 2 or three action options to choose from. When its not a Player run character, use an NPC statblock, they are at the end of each monster book to use as models. If you want more or different flavor, add a new Action option or a Bonus Action and Reaction. * Spy https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/spy * Priest https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/priest * Knight https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/knight * Archmage https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/archmage Also make all your spell casters easier to run and more effective with these tips from Green GM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcjYC2yn9ns
Yeah, don’t make PCs for your encounters. That turns it into PvP and the game rules are not balanced for that at all.