#D&d 5e monster mod#

This is basically what got me thinking about the problem in the first place. Figure out how much that differs from the original defensive CR, and adjust the monsterвЂ™s CR by half the difference (because youвЂ™re averaging the offensive CR).

To adjust the HP, figure out what CR the new HP total would put it at, then step up or down if the monsterвЂ™s AC is not in line. Basically, if youвЂ™re looking at a monster before adjusting its HP, and its defensive CR comes out higher or lower than its listed CR, it may have more or less offense to compensate. Some monsters are glass cannons (high offense, but low defensive CR) and others are tanks (the opposite), so have their offensive CR and defensive CR averaged. Special abilities might also increase this: if it has a lot of resistances/immunities or special defensive actions, it might bump up another couple. Since itвЂ™s 2 AC higher, its defensive CR is effectively 4. For example, if the monster has 110 HP and 15 AC, that puts it at CR 3, which has target AC 13. If the monsterвЂ™s AC is different, move the CR up or down by 1 for every 2 points of AC. Then consult the target AC for that line. But this is the official guideline for how monsters are supposed to be assigned a CR, and itвЂ™s at least in the right ballpark most of the time.Д®ssentially, to figure out a monsterвЂ™s defensive CR, look up its HP on the table to get the basic CR. Note that most of the published monsters are close to this system, but not exact, as they were likely tweaked in playtesting. The relevant table is on page 274 of the DMG, but the important parts are to the right. And maxing out a monsterвЂ™s HP could functionally double it, which could push it multiple CRs higher in some cases. Even a monster with extremely low HP might obliterate a lower-level party if it wins initiative (especially if it also has a high AC), since damage scales so high. This means, if you try to adjust the monsterвЂ™s HP, your intuition might be wrong for how much that lowers or raises the difficulty.

#D&d 5e monster mod#

The designer was trying to hit a certain HP total, and adjusted the number of HD until the average value of those dice plus Con mod got into the right range. The hit dice for a monster in 5e are basically completely arbitrary. If youвЂ™ve come from previous editions where the total number of HD was equivalent to the monsterвЂ™s level, that is no longer the case. If you havenвЂ™t looked into the monster math for 5e (starting on page 273 of the DMG), your intuitions about altering HP might be wrong. Meanwhile, GMs often figure that if they just set a monster higher in its HP range (by default, they take the average dice rolls) thatвЂ™s still fair but might make the fight a little more challenging. One of the classic ways to put a higher-difficulty monster into a module for lower-level characters is to have it be already injured before they fight it, giving it fewer HP.