DC20 Monster Guide

DC20 Alpha Monster Guide Hello there! This is designed to be an “Alpha Monster Creation Advice Helper” and further explanations, tools, systems, rules, etc will be available in the future. I just wanted to give a little guide on how I have had success at making monsters from scratch. It is SO much easier and simpler to do that than in other game systems I have played, and the 4 Action Point system makes it very easy to add features and abilities too. In this little guide I will go over the TWO pillars of making a Monster (Base Stats and Features), then give some general GM Tips for running monsters. I just didn't want to leave y’all hanging when you wanted to create monsters for your campaigns and one shots! Here ya go!

This is average number you can expect a PC to have in each of the following stats: Health: 8 (see above for more on HP) Physical Defense: 12 Mental Defense: 10 Damage Reduction: 0 (or 1 at most) Attack & Spell Check: +4 Base Damage: 2-3 (but each will usually have a Class Feature or other mechanic to give them an additional +1) Speed: 4

Monster Base Stats

Action Points: 4

These are the basic numbers that make up the creature's baseline stats (health, plus to hit, defense, etc). These numbers are not flashy or exciting, but they still get across the power of a monster and how unique they are. A monster with a high SPEED will FEEL fast as it moves around the battlefield, so try and think of how to best represent your monster with their Base Stats so they work how you want them to.

Monster vs PC The FIRST thing to understand when making a “balanced” monster for DC20 is what the Base Stats of the PCs are.

PC Health

This helps me as a GM know how much health my PCs have, so I can establish a “baseline” for what would be a normal amount of HP for monsters to have in comparison. Health Point Formula = 4 + (2 x PC Level) + Might + Agility + (Possible Class or Ancestry Bonus HP) DC Tip: In general you would want to have the HP of a “normal” monster be slightly lower than the PCs, unless it is a boss or mini boss.

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PC Base Stats

Low

Middle

High

Level 1

5

10

15

Level 2

7

12

18

Level 3

9

14

20

Monster Stat Table This table shows numbers for what would be considered above average (high), below average (low), or standard (middle) for a monster at levels 1 and 2. When you make a monster you can decide to give it low scores in one category, but high in another. Mix and match these stat ranges to fit the type of creature you want to make to make them more unique. Example: You can make more standard Monster Types of an assassin with high Base Damage and low Health, a brute with high Physical Defense but low Mental Defense. Or you could make a huge monster that has high Base Damage, and + Attack Check, but it has low Speed, Action Points, and Physical Defense.

The low values are lower than any PC could be and the high values are higher than any PC could achieve also. This just gives you a range to play within, and then branch out from there. DC Tip: If you were to make a monster with ALL “high” stats… it would be VERY strong and I would love to hear a group defeat such a monster, but just be careful and aware that you need to “even it out” between high and low if you truly want the monster to be balanced. Low

Middle

High

Health

2-5

8-10

20-30

Physical Defense

8

11-13

17 15

Mental Defense

6

9-10

Damage Reduction

0

0

1

Attack & Spell Check

+2

+4

+5

Base Damage

1

2

3

Speed

3

4

6

Action Points

2

4

4

Legendary Reaction Points

0

1

3

DC20 ALPHA MONSTER GUIDE | THE DUNGEON COACH Unpublished Draft - Codename: DC20 TTRPG Copyright @ 2021-2023 The Dungeon Coach, LLC. - All Rights Reserved.

Stat Explanations

The Middle stat on the table above also can represent an “Average PC” stat line. So when making a monster you can easily balance it around that average. Health: I really like to give smaller creatures like goblins 4 or 5 HP, this makes it to where one BIG hit from a PC can kill them, or 2 small hits. Anything lower than 4 HP can easily die in 1 hit. Keep in mind a creature's Defense and Damage Reduction also count towards how long it survives. Be careful giving a creature the “high” value for ALL of those stats. Defense: Be careful to give too high of a Defense, but also remember, in DC20 you can get Help Actions, grant yourself ADV and much more to increase your Checks to get higher than usual. Damage Reduction: This is very strong and should be used sparingly. Attack / Spell Check: I usually just default to +4 since that's what the PCs have, but you can shift up and down accordingly. But remember, in DC20 your + to your Attack Check also can translate into more DAMAGE, because you could get Heavy Hits +. Base Damage: Be careful if you try to give a monster higher base damage than 3. I have done a monster with 4 base damage, but I gave it lower speed and Action Points etc to balance it out. Action Points: I usually have the monsters have 4 AP, but see the Action Point Section below for more tips on how to run and track AP for multiple monsters.

Monster Feature Options Here are a few options for adding cool and unique Features to your monsters. I have found it FAR easier to create cool things that monsters can do with the 4 Action Point system in DC20. There are so many things to customize and tweak that are also balanced around their action economy. Here are some options for inspiration for you to take and run with!

PC Class Features —> Monster Features

You can 100% look to the Classes in DC20 for inspiration for your monsters. That is literally the easiest thing you could do (and very balanced). This works great when you choose Class Features from Classes that are NOT represented by the other PCs to show something unique, but it can also be pretty fun to have an opposing enemy with the same Class Feature as a PC. Example: You could describe the following. The large hulking orc jumps down and lets out a loud angry scream… and enters a Rage (then you look to your Barbarian PC). This is fun to do and also depends on if you openly say some of these things out loud when you run games as a GM. DC Tip: I like to use Class Features for monsters because it lets me play (and playtest) features from classes that I am excited to play myself as a GM… and this gives us GMs a way to play with the Class Features we’d want if we were a PC.

Monster Cheat Sheet

Legendary Reaction Points: These are a unique resource for Legendary Monsters (see Legendary Monsters below for more info).

This is a chart that I used forever in 5e and I have converted some of it here for DC20. They are listed off into categories and you could even glance at this list on the fly and add 1 or 2 onto a monster.

Monster Features

Alpha Note: More features like this will be released in future Kickstarters and on Patreon

These are the unique mechanics that monsters have to make them unique and dangerous in combat. My general rule of thumb is to give AT LEAST 1 Monster Feature to everything you use, otherwise they just turn into a sack of HP that hits stuff. DC Tip: The only exception to this is if I use a Monster for some sort of tactical purpose, like capturing a PC, or running away to alert others. Even those monsters can have some sort of additional feature (like ADV on Grappling or increased Speed).

How many Features?

I recommend giving Monsters a number of Features equal to the level of the PCs. Think of it like this; PCs have Base Stats and then they gain features from their class to make them stronger, they get those features every level (usually multiple at each level). So your monsters have Base Stats (see above) and you can give them Features the same way. DC Tip: Be careful about giving too many features, this can be complicated to keep track of for less experienced Game Masters and could also make monsters VERY powerful depending on what you give them.

Offense • Cleave: Apply 1 Attack Check per turn to 2 adjacent targets within range. • Rampage: Each Round the monster increases its Base Damage by +1 (make sure not to start off too high already). • Enrage: Once you become Bloodied (1/2 HP or lower) you gain +1 damage on all Attack Checks. Defense • Regeneration: You heal for 2 HP at the start of each of your turns. • Resistance: You have Resistance to X damage type. • Shielded: You can spend 1 AP to give yourself 2 Temp HP (this cannot stack). Utility • Shot Caller: When you give the Help Action to another creature, their next Attack Check deals +1 damage. • Inspire: Once per turn you can give a Help Die to any allied creature for free. • Walls: You can spend 1 AP to create a 4 Space long wall that is 1 Space wide and 1 Space high. (choose a material that makes sense for the monster).

DC20 ALPHA MONSTER GUIDE | THE DUNGEON COACH Unpublished Draft - Codename: DC20 TTRPG Copyright @ 2021-2023 The Dungeon Coach, LLC. - All Rights Reserved.

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Other Ideas • Damage Type: Change the damage type the monster deals (or part of it) to another damage type. • Reach: Give the creature a 2 or even 3 Space Melee Attack range. • Death’s Door: Give this monster the ability to use the Death's Door mechanic that the PCs have.

Monster Maneuvers

If you are familiar with Martial Maneuvers (see the Core DC20 Rules for more), these work the same way. You can give ANY monster you want FULL access to Martial Attack, Defense, and Grapple Maneuvers. Below is a compiled list of extra effects that you can add to the Attacks of your monsters. You can also choose to put these type of effects on Spell Checks as well (especially single target Spell Attacks) DC Tip: These effects are based on Martial Maneuvers and Conditions combined together and can be expanded even farther.

Attack Check Enhancements: These modify your Attack Check in some way and each cost 1 AP • Grant yourself ADV • +1 Space Attack Range (or +5 for ranged) • +1 Damage (possibly of another type) Physical Save Effects: These force the target to also make a Save against one of the following effects and each cost 1 AP. These work like Dynamic Attack Saves (see Dynamic Attack Save rules for more) and work exactly like Martial Maneuvers too. Listed below are the conditions that you can attempt to inflict on your target. DC Tip: You can even combine multiple of these together if it makes sense for the monster, just remember that the target would only make a single Physical Save.

• Shove (pushed 1 Space + 1 for every 5 it fails its Save by) • Slowed 1 (Every 1 Space you move costs an extra 1 Space of movement) • Exposed (ADV on the next Attack Check against the target) • Hinder (target has DisADV on its next Attack Check • Impaired (target has DisADV on Physical Checks) • Dazed (target has DisADV on Mental Checks) • Prone • Grappled • Bleeding • Burning • Vicious: If you use any of the Physical Save Maneuvers, you can give the target DisADV on that Save as part of the same Attack Check. • Other Powerful Effects (these should cost 2 AP since they are so strong) • Poisoned • Restrained • Exhausted • Weakened (Dis ADV on ALL Checks)

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Swallow Grapple Maneuver: (1 AP) If you have a creature grappled you can initiate another Grapple Check. Success: Swallow the creature and it takes 1 Acid damage at the start of each turn while swallowed. If you take over 4 damage from a single hit, make a DC 15 Might Save. Failure: Spit out the creature inside you.

Monster Passive Effects

These are extra little passives that you can give monsters that work just like how Martial Weapon Passives work. If a target has a certain Condition (or other triggering effect) then you deal an extra +1 damage. Example: This can be any condition (such as bleeding, prone, poisoned, exposed, etc.) or any sort of other mechanic (such as being flanked, using a Help Die, moving at least 2 Spaces before the Attack, etc.)

Game Master Tips

These are just tips on running Combat in DC20, there is SO much I have on this, but I just wanted to get these out to y'all here!

Monster Action Point Tips A big concern that some of my team had when developing DC20 was the GM tracking Action Points (AP) for multiple monsters. So here are some tips on how I handle it, and after a TON of playtesting, I feel it is very simple to do and each GM just needs to find what methods work best for them. Overall I do NOT use any of these methods, because I can usually remember if a monster has taken any Reactions or not. BUT if you do have a Combat Encounter with a lot of monsters or lots of things going on, then I do use some of these methods to help me keep track of things. DC Tip: My biggest tip here is to limit how many REACTIONS you give your monsters. If a monster doesn't have any reactions… then they are SUPER easy to run. So as you get more practice you can start to add more and more Reactions to your monsters.

Tally Marks

This is my preferred method. Next to the monster's name on my Initiative Tracker (a piece of paper I write down the Initiative Order on), I will simply put a tally mark next to a monster that has spent AP as a Reaction. Then once the monster's turn comes, I can see how many tally marks it used, erase them, and reduce the amount of AP they have by that amount. Example: If a Goblin spends 2 AP as part of Reactions then I would have 2 tally marks next to its name. Once it’s turn comes, I would look at its name and see 2 tally marks. I would subtract the number of tally marks (2) from the AP of the Goblin (4) and now I know he only has 2 left.

Most of the time you do NOT have monsters taking Reactions all the time, so you normally don't have to even use tally marks.

DC20 ALPHA MONSTER GUIDE | THE DUNGEON COACH Unpublished Draft - Codename: DC20 TTRPG Copyright @ 2021-2023 The Dungeon Coach, LLC. - All Rights Reserved.

Use Dice

I have used a d4 or a d6 and placed them behind my GM Screen next to the monster's name on the Initiative Order (where I write it down on a piece of paper). I put the d6 next to their name and leave it with the 4 facing up. Once a monster uses a Reaction of some kind, I turn it to a 3 and place it back down on the paper initiative tracker next to the monster's name. Once that monster's turn comes, I see there is a dice with a 3 next to it, so I remember that way. You could also use these dice and put them out on the battlefield next to the monster, but I find that to be too cluttering on the map. If you use VTTs you can track it easily on the monsters that way too.

Glass Beads / Gems / Tokens

If you like having tangible things to play with, then behind your screen you can have a number of little tokens to represent the AP of each monster. This makes it VERY easy to track, but it can get messy behind your screen. So I personally only do this for Legendary Monsters (and their Legendary Reaction Points). The only time you can get overwhelmed as a GM is if your monsters have a TON of things that they can do as a Reaction.

Monster Combos

If you pre-plan monsters to have a “signature move” or just a combo of how they spend their AP, then it can make running the monster SO much easier. You can also have this tactical plan in place with multiple monsters that work together. Example: One Combat I had a pair of Mercenary brothers, one had a whip and the other had huge boulder gauntlets. The whip brother would constantly use Maneuvers to try and make the target fall Prone, while the other brother would always pour ALL of his AP into ONE really big hit. This playstyle of the monsters played into their personality and Roleplay too.

Alternative Monster Action Economy

I personally have not had to do this (because I feel like it is simple enough) BUT if you want to have monsters feel a bit more familiar to other systems, you can try this. Instead of your monsters having a default of 4 AP, you make it to where they have 3 AP and 1 Reaction. This might be more familiar to keep track of “one reaction” and then have less AP to mess with during a turn.

Legendary Monsters

If you want to add some of these features onto a normal monster, you can make them feel even scarier! You can still give these Features to a simple Goblin Chief or other smaller creatures. I don't want you to reserve the concept of “LEGENDARY” with only final bosses, dragons, or other powerful creatures. Sprinkle these in on ANY monster!

Legendary Action Points (LAP)

Legendary Action Points work similar to how you have used them in other systems, and they actually fit into DC20 very smoothly. You can spend LAP in between the PCs turns. This lets these monsters act more often and in more dynamic ways. Turn Limit: You cannot spend Legendary Action Points during your turn in the Initiative Order. Number of Points: You can give a monster any number of these (usually between 1-3) Recharge: They recharge at the beginning of each Round of Combat Interrupt Initiative Order: You can spend Legendary Action Points In between any PCs turn. After a PCs turn in Combat, you can spend 1 Legendary Action Point take any Action that costs 1 AP (unless otherwise stated). Enhancements & Maneuvers: You can spend AP or LAP to enhance maneuvers and spells, just make sure you keep track of which one you are spending. Example Scenarios • If a Legendary Monster wants to take an Opportunity Attack, Spell Duel, or any other normal Reaction, they can spend Legendary Action Points instead of their normal Action Points. This lets them keep their (usually 4) Action Points to use on their turn to still have a “full” turn. • If a Legendary Monster makes an Opportunity Attack and they want to enhance it by spending more on it, they can use either their Action Points OR their Legendary Action Points to boost it. • Some Legendary Monsters might have a unique Reaction that lets them do something cool… when they take that Reaction, they can spend EITHER AP or LAP on it.

Boss Points

Alpha Note: This is an Alpha Concept (and an Alpha name… it could definitely use a better name lol). Basically these are similar to the concept of “Legendary Resistance”. These are points that Legendary Monsters can have that lets them do unique things, but only a limited number of times. Creatures can have any number of Boss Points (usually between 1-3) and they can spend them on some things listed below. Additionally creatures can have unique effects that spend Boss Points that the GM can choose to use them on as well. This gives the GM a LIMITED resource that they can choose to spend in a variety of ways (offensive, defensive, utility, etc). Boss Points Reset on a Long Rest, so these points are very limited. Boss Point Default Uses • Choose to Succeed on a Save that you just failed • Reduce the damage that you just took by half • (possibly more to come) Boss Point Specific Creature Example Uses • When hit with Fire damage, you take no damage, absorb it and heal for the same amount. Additionally you now can increase the damage of your next Attack Check by an amount equal to the damage absorbed. • When Bloodied, you can spend 1 Boss Point for free at the start of your turn for 0 AP. You heal for an amount equal to your Level or Prime Modifier (whichever is higher). • Recharge your Breath Weapon (or other large ability with a “recharge” component).

DC20 ALPHA MONSTER GUIDE | THE DUNGEON COACH Unpublished Draft - Codename: DC20 TTRPG Copyright @ 2021-2023 The Dungeon Coach, LLC. - All Rights Reserved.

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