What Villain Actions did YOU create?! 💜 Become a Patron: www.patreon.com/thedungeoncoach 🔴 Become a UA-cam Member: ua-cam.com/channels/z8xkTADYdRQR7GP-f2PjOA.htmljoin ▶️ Dungeon Coach Homebrew Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLMzshUEANAtOovJb_pr27pwLOTR3nn19g.html
I gave vampires a bonus action dash that doesn't provoke as that "preternatural speed" you always hear about vampires having. A Blade style blur of motion too fast for you to react to. Your Misty version of it: very very cool.
Universal tip to determine save DC of monster abilities: DC = 8 + used stat + proficiency bonus (based on CR). This is how the Monster Manual does it and we see it with player classes too. So if a Cloud Giant uses its Fling ability the DC would be 20 (+8 str, +4 prof) but if it uses an innate spell the DC is 15 (+3 cha, +4 prof)
This is a solid method to apply to enemies like Young Dragons that appear at the end of some entry modules. Those fights against a well prepared party can be pretty underwhelming. These are some great seeds to spice it up!
I'm a new dm but after watching your vids I took a lot of Inspiration from your homebrew rules and am finding by sticking to just worrying about my story and how the flow of an encounter would end up happening rather than rely on cr ratings and stuff I can build a better fight for my players than trying to do totally by the books. I had a sand worm creature as my players first but encounter starting out the campaign. As they tracked a group of people through a desert my players got ambushed by it. It gave it a low health pool and low ac as it was a really giant worm and they were level 1. I made it Interesting by giving it a reaction ability to burrow on a players turn giving disadvantage to 1 attack as it tries to disappear. If the player was still successful in hitting it I imposed a disadv to its borrowing speed so the players could more accurately predict where it would come out the ground next. My groups rogue used this to their benefit when he landed an attack as it fled and followed it down the tunnel to land the killing blow. Made one of the early on fights fun and interesting and dynamic. I have you to thank for all the great ideas Dungeon Coach!
Haha like I said I'm actually really new to dming but watching your homebrew rules on encounter building helps me cuz I dont have to stick so rigidly to cr and can plan more exciting encounters. I'm also using your spell dueling house rule and I cant wait to see how it works out as things progress. I'm implementing a new form of utilizing ki for any non monks as I'm doing it in kara tur and I have no monks in my group. Based on your wisdom mod(minimum of 1) you can use your ki to not only cancel a spell with the duel but possibly overpower it and hit the enemy with your attack instead of just stopping it. I feel your channel doesnt get enough credit as you give amazing advice and I wish you luck on your 10k subs, believe me I'm a subscriber for sure!!!
Ohhhh this might be my favorite of your videos! More actions for villains is a must! I too love the Colville action oriented and I love how you expanded it. I am also extremely excited about the charts on suggested action types. Thats one thing I struggle with. Sure, I want to give them more actions, but what? Those charts are going to be a life saver. And I can't wait for that spellcaster video, too. Keep up the amazing work and thank you for making my games way more interesting, both for me and my players!
Awesome Dylan! Thank you for that! It was definitely a struggle of mine too and I’ve tried out MANY things and found some solid stuff through trial and error 😆 Gonna get to work on that now!
I am the DM for a D&D livestream/podcast show called Dungeon Hunters and I just found your videos and my god take my patreon money. $10 tier is perfect for now, but your content is absolutely incredible and has inspired me to begin making more content/videos!
Great timing! Got a coliseum type tournament coming! Sounds even more fun What I used to do was essentially ‘stack’ the creatures to make boss monsters. Two pools of health and the creature takes two turns each turn (they are essentially fighting two monsters) When one pool reached zero, the creature loses one if its turns, weakening it and I suppose signs of exhaustion. Love the pre determined villain actions: can help balance that encounter if they’re being trounced!
I've binged a lot of your videos due to me possibly returning to the mantle of DM after years of vacancy. With the speed of your growth and quality of each video, and the amount of inspiration in each video, I hope you find the success you obviously deserve.
I tried this on my group last night, based on your prior videos, and Colville’s. Worked great. Party of 9 x 7th level vs Glabrezu. With fighters action surge and monk flurry, there are a ton of PC actions in round 1. Neither of you talk about how to introduce this new mechanic to your players. Here’s what I did: I didn’t tell the players until afterward. They figured out quickly that it had a special reaction (5hp flame damage erupts from a wound), and they adapted tactically to move in after it had used its reaction or to stay cautious. They wondered why it seemed able to do so much extra stuff, but went with it. AFTER the session ended I explained I had borrowed legendary action and lair action concepts from MM to keep action economy balance while preserving story. They liked it and agreed it made sense. Details: Villain action (on init 1): 1) summon 2 hezrous, 2) breathe fire like red wyrmling, 3) bellow fear 30ft rad. It never got to try #3 cuz the monk had stunned it and then it was killed. Lair action (on init 20) was Dex save DC 12 chance to fall into water through shifting shipwreck island. The dwarven cleric went swimming. Other buffs I gave it was resistance to all damage, like Barbarian Bear Totem. Also made it size huge, which prevented some PC grapple effects. Overall the few extra actions really balanced the encounter while allowing the ONE main baddie. The players agreed it was an epic battle and all the additional actions spiced up the slog of 9 players going in a row before anything new happened to them.
@@upsidely yeah one of the fighters seems to manage 100 DPR every session! But the 5 hp fire was enough to add some spice. It’s like playing paintball; it’s not gonna kill you but you still hate getting hit! For some reason even though the 5hp was small they got extra cautious because of the autohit no save! Also felt more “real” compared to just describing flavor text of fire jetting from wounds. As for DC12, that’s one good thing about having 9 players is even with an easy DC, odds are at least one PC will fail it! ;)
D&D 4E mastered a lot of boss design for things like At-Wills/Powers, and the Minions mechanic is definitely one of my favorites for boss fights. And it's very fast for a "minion turn". I roll two dice to attack everyone within range. If someone is within range of one minion, I use the lower one. If within range of more than one, I use the higher. If surrounded or around many, I use both dice. And just keep in mind a flat amount of damage they dish out. It's fast, feels badass on both sides, can all use the same initiative. And makes the boss less sad and lonely without making them have a crazy high action count. I also like having environments or weaknesses for bosses that require option skill challenges to set up advantages or change the field in favor. Combine these ideas with bosses calling or summoning allies and being able to stop the incoming hoards with teamwork or environmental context is just satisfying. Beating one big guy is fun, but knowing you just beat away at thirty feels AWESOME.
Thanks for always bringing the good stuff. I've been watching you for a good while now and it amazes me how every video always feels inspired and like something you really are fascinated to talk about. Never had a video that fills like a "filler" video and your energy and enthusiasm always keep me coming back
Just joined your Patreon! Out of all the DM help channels I've watched I enjoy yours and get the most help out of your channel. Looking forward to all the content going forward!
I've been running stuff like this after watching Colville's take on it, but you've added even more ideas to the mix. This came out right before a big boss battle I was planning and gave some inspiration. Thanks!
While I was watching i thought about the idea of Legendary reactions, essentially give it 2 extra reactions, though I'd be cautious about letting them use it twice during the same turn, especially for something with counterspell
Awesome video, gave me lots of ideas for how to handle my encounters! ^^ Speaking of Mat, you should try and get a colab with him! Both of you have been inspiring for my DMing that I want to see what you can cook up together! XD
Heck yes! Another excellent video!~ Really like your ideas for the Remorhaz, and it inspired a... multi-headed encounter for my own group. I'd love to see the casters video, maybe you can show us how the new counterspell homebrew of yours fits into a combat example. That would be awesome.
Fantastic Video. I was mixing villain actions and legendary actions for boss monsters. Loved the kobolds example. I really would love to see how you handle casters as they are more difficult to run.
I like GiffyGlyph's Monster Maker personally. It has a monster level system, where monster levels are 1:1 with an individual pc. (A lv1 standard monster should be a fair challenge to a single lv1 pc.) It has a monster role system (striker, lurker, scout, defender, controller, supporter, and sniper) that was borrowed from 4th edition, along with monster difficulty tiers. (Minion, Standard, Elite, Solo) As for the video topic, Elite and Solo get their own version of legendary actions. (Elite gets 1, Solo gets # of players - 1). Solo monsters also gain phases; for a 3 phase Solo fight, when the solo loses its first 33% hp, all effects on the solo ends and the solo may have their stats altered per phase. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to use it in my session 0.
Awesome stuff! I struggle challenging my players with standard or even 3rd party monsters. HPs are kind of a joke after about 3rd or 4th level. I consistently underestimate my PCs. Gimme a break it's only been like 6 or 7 years! Glad to hear 3 rounds is about the norm though. I don't feel so bad. I have seen the M Colville vid but had let it slip from my mind and repertoire. Thanks for your video and work on this angle and for the Colville reminder. I have a mini-boss arc ending scene coming up in the foreseeable future. This is timely and very well done (as always). Thanks again! Now, on to Villain Actions for my Shark Man Demon thingy bad guy.
Coming back to this video for inspiration, I do want to point out how clever it is to give a monster more legendary actions. The standard three legendary actions is probably because a standard party is four. So having the rule be that legendary actions is based on party size is simple and effective. Also I might have to steal those kobolds.
I do lots of different things with my monsters now. I like the topic, great video. I think your Homebrew stuff is what people come for, but good ideas are not always going to get a large turnout. Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
I would honestly do exactly something like I did with the kobold vampire spawns but just dial it back. Give the ENTIRE group one legendary action and then choose on the fly which enemy gets to do it 👍🏼
Randal the quick. Solo antagonist to a party of Level 1s. His gimmick is that whenever someone attacks him with a melee attack he takes a reaction to strike them first. the player then makes a DC 14 con save, on a failure they take 2 damage and there attack is canceled as Randal the quick slaps there hand away with the flat of his blade. He can do this four times a round. His aim isn't to seriously hurt the party, just antagonise them and play around, either for fun or to show the people around him what loose canons the players are and that there to dangerous to be allowed to stay here. He comes off as a pompous prick dressed in fine duelling leathers with a rapier of mithril, thinner then most rapiers it has no edge only a deadly point. he is the suaw prick he presents himself as, some noble son with an ego and arrogance problem. But he has a heart of gold that the people in the village/Town know he tries to hide and pretend not to have and they love him dearly. He goes out of his way to help the people around him and if the place is attacked hell rally his houses guards and protect it to the last, standing at the front protecting what he can. Now the players have no real idea about this (unless they ask around) so players being players will likely just assume he's a noble bastard and needs to go, or be ignored. When fighting the players hell never do anything but bludgeoning damage as he slaps them with his rapier (obviously in a more fine sounding fencers way) only doing a d4 of damage. If the players force him to get serious he switches to piercing damage and actually using his 22 dex modifier. (All other stats are in the range of 10-14) His aim is never to hurt the party, either just play around or protect his people by showing how dangerous they are. Huh went OK a tangent. Whoops
I really like your Kobold Vampires. They seem like a great fight to run. I think I might use a modified version their mechanics. Maybe I'll modified them into imps since my players are in Avernus. Change the mist into shadows. The bite and disease into a poison sting, that adds a stackable debuff.
I personally am very interested in the icewindale stuff but one of my players said they wanted to give a shot at dming that adventure when we finish descent into avernus so sadly i cant watch them 😢
I'd like a video about magic using villains. I feel like there's not a lot of tutorials about that and I'm dming through the Lost Mines of Phandelver and (spoilers) the magic users in that campaign the first one is all by itself so its not even a challenge and the last one is supposed to be the boss but all it has is 4 spiders to protect it and a couple of spells
Helló! I need an advice: my player's are all mele 2 fighter, paladin, monk. -if i go a monster in ground the monk perma cc and fighter with buffs action surge kill it. (killed my Elder oblex with perma cc, and kill my dire troll (cr13) on lvl 5) so what do i do? Add legendary resistenc to monsters? I know if monsters fly cant hit but the monster will be invincible if fly. Or many cr 2-3 enemy? We have a fighter on 22ac+ parry+buffs. 😅 Help me
One of the dangers here is making an encounter so complicated that it becomes extremely difficulty to run. I can definitely see that kobold encounter being very difficult to keep everything straight. What do you think could be a good way to make encounters memorable, interesting, but not too complicated?
I tried this method once so far, with great success. Having the scripted villain action isn’t too complicated, cuz you don’t have to think/decide about it during play! You already know: at the end of round 1, A happens; at the end of round 2, B happens. But yeah some of the other action types could get complicated. I think this is best suited for a solo bad guy for that reason, but could work in the kobold group example with some practice. I’ve found this approach helps also when prepping spellcaster encounters: a scripted playbook. Pre-determine what spells will be cast each round. Then stick with it unless the encounter goes very sideways. And even then you might just swap the order on the fly. Way easier than making a fresh decision every round. Many great NFL coaches run a scripted first quarter playbook!
I keep it outlines on my paper and have two categories, one for what they can do on their turn, and one for what they do off their turn. And it’s all pre made what happens on each round, so it’s all good Actions and bonus go out on the monsters turn, then keep an eye on legendary And I usually have the villain action go off at the top of the round (keeps it simple) 👍🏼
Yeah bottom of round or top of round is the same thing after round 1. :) I guess just matters how you want that combat to start with surprise or not and villain action right at beginning or not.
@@TheDungeonCoach This is a pretty smart idea. When you're only running one monster, it is nice to see what it can do. I've got a Remorhaz encounter coming up in my game, and I'll use your ideas as a base and see how it goes!
the pdfs are no longer available through provided links. either update or remove them from the description. Or at least let us download through patron? (been a patron since September)
I’m going to be doing a fallout new Vegas type dnd campaign that takes place in a homebrew version of the forgotten realms Anyone got any ideas for monsters throw at the players? I already plan on using an umber hulk but I need to figure out how to spice it up
Wow he basically ripped Matt coleville’s video word for word even his “different” style of villain actions was the same exact thing Matt said. I highly suggest anyone watch Matt coleville’s video instead
just so you know: i will never ever sub to someone who does the "x% of you are not subscribed to me yet!" shit. I will subscribe to a channel when i feel like it, and not when you poor youtuber tell me "uh 60% aren't subscribed"
What Villain Actions did YOU create?!
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I gave vampires a bonus action dash that doesn't provoke as that "preternatural speed" you always hear about vampires having. A Blade style blur of motion too fast for you to react to. Your Misty version of it: very very cool.
Universal tip to determine save DC of monster abilities: DC = 8 + used stat + proficiency bonus (based on CR).
This is how the Monster Manual does it and we see it with player classes too. So if a Cloud Giant uses its Fling ability the DC would be 20 (+8 str, +4 prof) but if it uses an innate spell the DC is 15 (+3 cha, +4 prof)
Yup, that’s 100% what I use to get a rough estimate of where to start from
Your knowledge of the RAW is honestly impressive bro! 💪🏼👍🏼
@@TheDungeonCoach haha thx! I needed to double check it too, still
This is a solid method to apply to enemies like Young Dragons that appear at the end of some entry modules. Those fights against a well prepared party can be pretty underwhelming. These are some great seeds to spice it up!
YES, especially if your players are full health with all their abilities! Agreed!
I would love to see the casters video.
Video would have been too long if I crammed it in here 😆 but we’ll see how well the video does!
Yes PLEASE!
@@TheDungeonCoach did you ever do it?
@@ArvelDreth he did! About 3 months ago
I'm a new dm but after watching your vids I took a lot of Inspiration from your homebrew rules and am finding by sticking to just worrying about my story and how the flow of an encounter would end up happening rather than rely on cr ratings and stuff I can build a better fight for my players than trying to do totally by the books. I had a sand worm creature as my players first but encounter starting out the campaign. As they tracked a group of people through a desert my players got ambushed by it. It gave it a low health pool and low ac as it was a really giant worm and they were level 1. I made it Interesting by giving it a reaction ability to burrow on a players turn giving disadvantage to 1 attack as it tries to disappear. If the player was still successful in hitting it I imposed a disadv to its borrowing speed so the players could more accurately predict where it would come out the ground next. My groups rogue used this to their benefit when he landed an attack as it fled and followed it down the tunnel to land the killing blow. Made one of the early on fights fun and interesting and dynamic. I have you to thank for all the great ideas Dungeon Coach!
DUDE you sound like a PRO!! That’s awesome! You got what it takes man! Way to think outside the box!
Haha like I said I'm actually really new to dming but watching your homebrew rules on encounter building helps me cuz I dont have to stick so rigidly to cr and can plan more exciting encounters. I'm also using your spell dueling house rule and I cant wait to see how it works out as things progress. I'm implementing a new form of utilizing ki for any non monks as I'm doing it in kara tur and I have no monks in my group. Based on your wisdom mod(minimum of 1) you can use your ki to not only cancel a spell with the duel but possibly overpower it and hit the enemy with your attack instead of just stopping it. I feel your channel doesnt get enough credit as you give amazing advice and I wish you luck on your 10k subs, believe me I'm a subscriber for sure!!!
We’ll said, I agree with your points. It’s rare to have such a well explained and tempered viewpoint these days.
Ive really fallen in love with passive abilities recently! Auras were amazing and i want them back!
I stole em from 4th edition! So good! Like the tail attack if you end your turn behind a dragon near its tail!
Ohhhh this might be my favorite of your videos! More actions for villains is a must! I too love the Colville action oriented and I love how you expanded it. I am also extremely excited about the charts on suggested action types. Thats one thing I struggle with. Sure, I want to give them more actions, but what? Those charts are going to be a life saver. And I can't wait for that spellcaster video, too. Keep up the amazing work and thank you for making my games way more interesting, both for me and my players!
Awesome Dylan! Thank you for that! It was definitely a struggle of mine too and I’ve tried out MANY things and found some solid stuff through trial and error 😆
Gonna get to work on that now!
I am the DM for a D&D livestream/podcast show called Dungeon Hunters and I just found your videos and my god take my patreon money. $10 tier is perfect for now, but your content is absolutely incredible and has inspired me to begin making more content/videos!
Great timing!
Got a coliseum type tournament coming!
Sounds even more fun
What I used to do was essentially ‘stack’ the creatures to make boss monsters.
Two pools of health and the creature takes two turns each turn (they are essentially fighting two monsters)
When one pool reached zero, the creature loses one if its turns, weakening it and I suppose signs of exhaustion.
Love the pre determined villain actions: can help balance that encounter if they’re being trounced!
Another solid resource. So thankful you are a leader in this community
Wow that’s so motivating! Thank you! I’ll do my best! 🙏🏼
I've binged a lot of your videos due to me possibly returning to the mantle of DM after years of vacancy.
With the speed of your growth and quality of each video, and the amount of inspiration in each video, I hope you find the success you obviously deserve.
Wow thanks man! Awesome about taking back on the mantle! DO IT! lol
And for real, thanks for the kind words 💜
Watching this video 1 year later and seeing 30k+ subscribers feels awesome. Good for you man.
Currently binging all your vids- so glad I stumbled across this!
Thanks for that! Welcome to the crew!!
@@TheDungeonCoach so glad to be here
Perfect timing for my next session! Thanks, coach!!!
Great stuff! Love collecting ideas for more "Action oriented " monsters!
I tried this on my group last night, based on your prior videos, and Colville’s. Worked great. Party of 9 x 7th level vs Glabrezu. With fighters action surge and monk flurry, there are a ton of PC actions in round 1.
Neither of you talk about how to introduce this new mechanic to your players. Here’s what I did: I didn’t tell the players until afterward. They figured out quickly that it had a special reaction (5hp flame damage erupts from a wound), and they adapted tactically to move in after it had used its reaction or to stay cautious. They wondered why it seemed able to do so much extra stuff, but went with it. AFTER the session ended I explained I had borrowed legendary action and lair action concepts from MM to keep action economy balance while preserving story. They liked it and agreed it made sense.
Details:
Villain action (on init 1): 1) summon 2 hezrous, 2) breathe fire like red wyrmling, 3) bellow fear 30ft rad. It never got to try #3 cuz the monk had stunned it and then it was killed.
Lair action (on init 20) was Dex save DC 12 chance to fall into water through shifting shipwreck island. The dwarven cleric went swimming.
Other buffs I gave it was resistance to all damage, like Barbarian Bear Totem. Also made it size huge, which prevented some PC grapple effects.
Overall the few extra actions really balanced the encounter while allowing the ONE main baddie. The players agreed it was an epic battle and all the additional actions spiced up the slog of 9 players going in a row before anything new happened to them.
DUDE YES! That’s literally perfect! Wow that’s so cool!
100% I want to do a video on the puzzle style reveals of monster abilities! So fun!
9 lvl 7 pc's had trouble with dc12 saves and 5 damage reactions...I play with 2 lvl 7 players and nothing hits for under 12-20 damage XD
@@upsidely yeah one of the fighters seems to manage 100 DPR every session! But the 5 hp fire was enough to add some spice. It’s like playing paintball; it’s not gonna kill you but you still hate getting hit! For some reason even though the 5hp was small they got extra cautious because of the autohit no save! Also felt more “real” compared to just describing flavor text of fire jetting from wounds. As for DC12, that’s one good thing about having 9 players is even with an easy DC, odds are at least one PC will fail it! ;)
D&D 4E mastered a lot of boss design for things like At-Wills/Powers, and the Minions mechanic is definitely one of my favorites for boss fights.
And it's very fast for a "minion turn".
I roll two dice to attack everyone within range. If someone is within range of one minion, I use the lower one. If within range of more than one, I use the higher. If surrounded or around many, I use both dice. And just keep in mind a flat amount of damage they dish out.
It's fast, feels badass on both sides, can all use the same initiative. And makes the boss less sad and lonely without making them have a crazy high action count.
I also like having environments or weaknesses for bosses that require option skill challenges to set up advantages or change the field in favor.
Combine these ideas with bosses calling or summoning allies and being able to stop the incoming hoards with teamwork or environmental context is just satisfying.
Beating one big guy is fun, but knowing you just beat away at thirty feels AWESOME.
That spell caster video is something that I would love. I always struggle to run spellcasters. It just feels so overwhelming
A spell caster action oriented video would be awesome. I'm bad at using spells as a DM, but I'm getting better now that I'm a bard PC in a new game.
Your videos are really underrated!
I appreciate that! I’ll just keep doing my thing, and I’ll get a lucky break one of these days 👌🏼
Thanks for always bringing the good stuff. I've been watching you for a good while now and it amazes me how every video always feels inspired and like something you really are fascinated to talk about. Never had a video that fills like a "filler" video and your energy and enthusiasm always keep me coming back
Just joined your Patreon! Out of all the DM help channels I've watched I enjoy yours and get the most help out of your channel. Looking forward to all the content going forward!
Id love to see that caster video! And thanks again for the advice for the displacer beast on discord!
Man everyone wants to see that caster thing, haven’t seen a big outcry for something like this! IM ON IT!’ 👌🏼
Please make the magic casters video. That is by far my biggest weakness as a DM. I really need the DC to lower the DC!
YES! Well... this video has been doing great so far lol, so I’ll have to get started on that it looks like!!
I've been running stuff like this after watching Colville's take on it, but you've added even more ideas to the mix. This came out right before a big boss battle I was planning and gave some inspiration. Thanks!
While I was watching i thought about the idea of Legendary reactions, essentially give it 2 extra reactions, though I'd be cautious about letting them use it twice during the same turn, especially for something with counterspell
Awesome video, gave me lots of ideas for how to handle my encounters! ^^
Speaking of Mat, you should try and get a colab with him! Both of you have been inspiring for my DMing that I want to see what you can cook up together! XD
Ooooo now THAT would be a dream!
These are really cool ideas and i loved the fast paced kobold group encounter
The swarm!! Would be next for sure, ran something very simmalr and went very well!
Thats the coach! Excellent brews for fun challenging encounters
I love when people call them brews! And thanks bro!!
Thanks for helping me with fine-tuning my monster game.
Just subbed, you got this!
Dude... HELL YEA! Thanks for that! Your one comment just got me so hyped!! LETS GOOOOO
Hope you can make the 10k goal. Absolutely fantastic video coach can't wait to start using it at my own games
Loved this video! Keep em' coming!!!
Great video - as always!
Thanks! I love your icon btw! Haha good stuff
@@TheDungeonCoach thanks Coach!
Outstanding
Definitely using these to spice up my encounters!
Heck yea! I just glance over them for inspiration all the time 👍🏼👍🏼
I've been waiting for this one!
One of my favorites for sure as well!
Heck yes! Another excellent video!~
Really like your ideas for the Remorhaz, and it inspired a... multi-headed encounter for my own group.
I'd love to see the casters video, maybe you can show us how the new counterspell homebrew of yours fits into a combat example. That would be awesome.
Fantastic Video. I was mixing villain actions and legendary actions for boss monsters. Loved the kobolds example. I really would love to see how you handle casters as they are more difficult to run.
I like GiffyGlyph's Monster Maker personally.
It has a monster level system, where monster levels are 1:1 with an individual pc. (A lv1 standard monster should be a fair challenge to a single lv1 pc.)
It has a monster role system (striker, lurker, scout, defender, controller, supporter, and sniper) that was borrowed from 4th edition, along with monster difficulty tiers. (Minion, Standard, Elite, Solo)
As for the video topic, Elite and Solo get their own version of legendary actions. (Elite gets 1, Solo gets # of players - 1). Solo monsters also gain phases; for a 3 phase Solo fight, when the solo loses its first 33% hp, all effects on the solo ends and the solo may have their stats altered per phase.
I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to use it in my session 0.
Ok... the vampire kobold actions were amazing. I'm definitely using those!
Awesome stuff! I struggle challenging my players with standard or even 3rd party monsters. HPs are kind of a joke after about 3rd or 4th level. I consistently underestimate my PCs. Gimme a break it's only been like 6 or 7 years! Glad to hear 3 rounds is about the norm though. I don't feel so bad. I have seen the M Colville vid but had let it slip from my mind and repertoire. Thanks for your video and work on this angle and for the Colville reminder. I have a mini-boss arc ending scene coming up in the foreseeable future. This is timely and very well done (as always). Thanks again! Now, on to Villain Actions for my Shark Man Demon thingy bad guy.
Hahaha it’s my 6th sense! “Viewers Need for D&D topic sense”
But yea use this and they’ll be scrambling!!!
Coming back to this video for inspiration, I do want to point out how clever it is to give a monster more legendary actions.
The standard three legendary actions is probably because a standard party is four. So having the rule be that legendary actions is based on party size is simple and effective.
Also I might have to steal those kobolds.
Yeah we need to see your take on this with spell castors. Rookie question coach
Hahaha I love the term Rookie... might need to make a video on Rookie DM MOVES VS Varsity moves lol
@@TheDungeonCoach I’m always here for the good ideas coach. *okay hands in everyone*
Algorithm boost along with my obligatory good morning coach
Lol obligatory response: thanks dude!
The algorithm thanks you! 💜
I do lots of different things with my monsters now. I like the topic, great video. I think your Homebrew stuff is what people come for, but good ideas are not always going to get a large turnout. Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
Really cool stuff! I am curious about any tips trying to do this for non-specialized creatures like bandits or wolves?
I would honestly do exactly something like I did with the kobold vampire spawns but just dial it back. Give the ENTIRE group one legendary action and then choose on the fly which enemy gets to do it 👍🏼
Thank you. I now have some ideas for a large low level party encounter with a Flail Snail. :) +1
Yeah. Love this!
One of my favorite topics of n all of DnD right here!
it would be amazing for the casters vid!
Oh boy, I'm going to make some weird stuff!
Hahahaha I love that that is your reaction lol
Let’s get weird then!!
Watching how at the beginning of every cut DC's eyes are closed, is HAHlarious!
Commenting for channel support
Thank you for that! I feel the support!!
Randal the quick.
Solo antagonist to a party of Level 1s.
His gimmick is that whenever someone attacks him with a melee attack he takes a reaction to strike them first. the player then makes a DC 14 con save, on a failure they take 2 damage and there attack is canceled as Randal the quick slaps there hand away with the flat of his blade.
He can do this four times a round.
His aim isn't to seriously hurt the party, just antagonise them and play around, either for fun or to show the people around him what loose canons the players are and that there to dangerous to be allowed to stay here.
He comes off as a pompous prick dressed in fine duelling leathers with a rapier of mithril, thinner then most rapiers it has no edge only a deadly point.
he is the suaw prick he presents himself as, some noble son with an ego and arrogance problem.
But he has a heart of gold that the people in the village/Town know he tries to hide and pretend not to have and they love him dearly.
He goes out of his way to help the people around him and if the place is attacked hell rally his houses guards and protect it to the last, standing at the front protecting what he can.
Now the players have no real idea about this (unless they ask around) so players being players will likely just assume he's a noble bastard and needs to go, or be ignored.
When fighting the players hell never do anything but bludgeoning damage as he slaps them with his rapier (obviously in a more fine sounding fencers way) only doing a d4 of damage.
If the players force him to get serious he switches to piercing damage and actually using his 22 dex modifier. (All other stats are in the range of 10-14)
His aim is never to hurt the party, either just play around or protect his people by showing how dangerous they are.
Huh went OK a tangent. Whoops
*sees a new video about improving monster action economy*
Me: nice
*sees that it includes two monsters from the module I'm about to run*
Me: NICE
Subbed, notifications (on), liked, and comment.
I really like your Kobold Vampires. They seem like a great fight to run. I think I might use a modified version their mechanics. Maybe I'll modified them into imps since my players are in Avernus. Change the mist into shadows. The bite and disease into a poison sting, that adds a stackable debuff.
Useful video, thanks!
Are the villan action’s lists somewhere in his pdf?
Awesome!
They are super fun to use and leave every battle feeling memorable after! 👍🏼
I would love to see your take on spell casters
I personally am very interested in the icewindale stuff but one of my players said they wanted to give a shot at dming that adventure when we finish descent into avernus so sadly i cant watch them 😢
I'd like a video about magic using villains. I feel like there's not a lot of tutorials about that and I'm dming through the Lost Mines of Phandelver and (spoilers) the magic users in that campaign the first one is all by itself so its not even a challenge and the last one is supposed to be the boss but all it has is 4 spiders to protect it and a couple of spells
Helló! I need an advice: my player's are all mele 2 fighter, paladin, monk.
-if i go a monster in ground the monk perma cc and fighter with buffs action surge kill it. (killed my Elder oblex with perma cc, and kill my dire troll (cr13) on lvl 5) so what do i do?
Add legendary resistenc to monsters? I know if monsters fly cant hit but the monster will be invincible if fly. Or many cr 2-3 enemy? We have a fighter on 22ac+ parry+buffs. 😅 Help me
One of the dangers here is making an encounter so complicated that it becomes extremely difficulty to run. I can definitely see that kobold encounter being very difficult to keep everything straight. What do you think could be a good way to make encounters memorable, interesting, but not too complicated?
I tried this method once so far, with great success. Having the scripted villain action isn’t too complicated, cuz you don’t have to think/decide about it during play! You already know: at the end of round 1, A happens; at the end of round 2, B happens. But yeah some of the other action types could get complicated. I think this is best suited for a solo bad guy for that reason, but could work in the kobold group example with some practice.
I’ve found this approach helps also when prepping spellcaster encounters: a scripted playbook. Pre-determine what spells will be cast each round. Then stick with it unless the encounter goes very sideways. And even then you might just swap the order on the fly. Way easier than making a fresh decision every round. Many great NFL coaches run a scripted first quarter playbook!
@@jasonp9508 totally agree here! Well said!
I keep it outlines on my paper and have two categories, one for what they can do on their turn, and one for what they do off their turn. And it’s all pre made what happens on each round, so it’s all good
Actions and bonus go out on the monsters turn, then keep an eye on legendary
And I usually have the villain action go off at the top of the round (keeps it simple) 👍🏼
Yeah bottom of round or top of round is the same thing after round 1. :) I guess just matters how you want that combat to start with surprise or not and villain action right at beginning or not.
@@TheDungeonCoach This is a pretty smart idea. When you're only running one monster, it is nice to see what it can do. I've got a Remorhaz encounter coming up in my game, and I'll use your ideas as a base and see how it goes!
For the powerful bosses i give then 2 turn of iniciative or a 2 phase with that
Yooo i love this dude
You also should give monsters weaknesses
Something about the Villian action of them all swarming one target with a Misty Step doesn't feel right and I'm struggling to convey why.
How can u use willian action?
the pdfs are no longer available through provided links. either update or remove them from the description. Or at least let us download through patron? (been a patron since September)
I removed it from the DMs guild and have a rework in the works right now, its just not finished yet, I will remove the link though, you are right!
Message me on Patreon and I got you covered!
Obligatory thank you (it really does help)
Crushing it
I’m going to be doing a fallout new Vegas type dnd campaign that takes place in a homebrew version of the forgotten realms
Anyone got any ideas for monsters throw at the players?
I already plan on using an umber hulk but I need to figure out how to spice it up
Watching these after the release of Flee, Mortals! is funny xd
Still waiting on that Caster video
Wait, isn't the term "action oriented" originated from mcdm?
Hahaha I’ll tell Mr. Gorithm thank you! 👍🏼👍🏼
Greetings
Greetings
Hey turtle!! Greetings 💜
Yes please give us the caster rules
For the algorithm
So many people are chiming in like this to help! That’s awesome! 👍🏼👍🏼 thank you
Wow he basically ripped Matt coleville’s video word for word even his “different” style of villain actions was the same exact thing Matt said. I highly suggest anyone watch Matt coleville’s video instead
just so you know: i will never ever sub to someone who does the
"x% of you are not subscribed to me yet!" shit.
I will subscribe to a channel when i feel like it, and not when you poor youtuber tell me "uh 60% aren't subscribed"
K
Boiling saliva?
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