5e Creature Design Guide
Introduction
Monsters and NPCs are easy to make once you understand what they're made of. The down side is that having a solid grasp of what makes a creature requires a lot of reading, followed by a fair amount of experimentation and play testing. Please be sure you are familiar with the Help:Precedent for this content in fifth edition. This precedent is set by the monster appendix in the PHB, the entire Monster Manual, and the monster design and encounter building sections of the DMG on p.273-279.
If the creature is also an NPC, you should read all of the sections relevant to creating a player character in the PHB, and all of the sections on creating NPCs in the DMG, on p.279-283.
This content is subject to The Three Pillars of Adventure (5e Guideline) in the sense that creatures are used to interfere with or support the PCs. Understanding how a creature can be used in a variety of situations is important.
This content is subject to Understanding Bounded Accuracy (5e Guideline).
When designing a creature, the very first thing you should do is start with a concept. Everything in the game is supposed to represent something as though it were a real thing. The game rules and creature traits are simply a means to that end. Once you know what you want to represent, the next thing you should do is hit the Monster Manual or the 5e Monsters Reimagined page. Browse through and look for similar creatures. Don't just look for creatures which are conceptually similar either, look also for creatures with mechanical properties which sound like something your creature would do. You might find a creature which is almost exactly what you're trying to do mechanically! If your creature would ultimately be best represented by a reimagining of a creature, or just a slight tweak to a creature's mechanics, there's no reason to upload it here as a whole new page. However, if you find that your creation will require a great deal of invention, or will involve the patchwork-combining of different creature's statblocks, then by all means, add it to the wiki! We just don't need a million reskins of the wolf (for example) floating around.
Some good guides exist for creating creatures on the internet.
- If you want a good perspective other than the DMG's for creating a creature, the Blog of Holding has posted a monster manual on a business card.
Creature Name
When coming up with a creature's name, try to think of something snappy or that relates to the concept of the creature. The name should be capitalised, but only in the title, nowhere else.
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, Armor Class This is the AC of your creature. (If your creature wears armor or uses a shield, list so here. Natural armor should be called "natural armor" and not "natural". The base AC granted by a creature's Dexterity modifier isn't natural armor.)
Saving Throws If a creature has a bonus to certain saving throws, list them here. If a creature doesn't have any bonuses, leave this space blank. The name of the ability score should be in capital letters, but only the first three letters of the score need to be used (i.e. Cha, not CHA or Charisma). Special traits and features that the monster shows are listed here. Common traits include Spellcasting, Innate Spellcasting, and Keen Senses. Feature Name. Feature description Spellcasting. If a creature has the Spellcasting or Innate Spellcasting feature (or both), it can cast spells. Spell names shouldn't be capitalised but should be in italics. Try and insert a link for convenience (if the spell is homebrew or in the SRD). Swarm. If your creature is a swarm, it should have the following trait. ACTIONSAction Name. Melee Weapon Attack: +X to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: X (1dX + X) damtype damage. Action Name. (Recharge 5-6) Certain creatures have special "big" abilities (such as a dragon's breath weapon) that, once used, require a d6 roll made at the start of the creature's turn to recharge and be used again. No creature has more than one ability that recharges on a die roll; some dragons have multiple breath weapons, but the recharge is for a use of one of those breath weapons chosen when the dragon takes that action. REACTIONSIf the creature can use its reaction for something special (standard uses for reactions — like the opportunity attack (not attack of opportunity, which is a 3.5ism) — don't need to be listed here. It is assumed the creature can do those anyway), list them here. A common example is Parry. Parry. The X adds its proficiency modifier to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the X must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon. LEGENDARY ACTIONSThe can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. |
Description. This is the description of the creature. Important things to consider include what the creature looks/sounds/smells/feels/tastes (if applicable) like, some typical behaviors, some lore or culture (if applicable, a race of forest-dwelling fey would obviously have more culture than a type of construct, for example) and some battle tactics that the usual specimen might follow (such as if it prefers to charge into the melee or whether it prefers to cast spells from a distance). Does it keep other creatures as mounts or companions? Does it usually form groups, or is it solitary? What is its preferred diet (if it does eat)? What is its usual habitat (temperate forests, deserts etc.)? What does the creature make/wear? What is it known for doing? |
Adding Ability Scores to your Monster
When making a monster, you should start with a general idea of what it is, and from that, you should be able to polish the idea of roughly how its ability scores would look like, but after that it's tougher to gauge exactly what stats to give it, the table to the right provides ample example of different ability scores, and how they translate into monsters, there's also other lessons that can be gained about providing ability scores to your monster, by looking at the graph:
- Age equals potency, in official publications, the monsters with the lowest ability scores are those who generally live for a very limited period of time, as those made by spells or abnormal natural phenomena, above that are short lived creatures like snakes and goblins, and above those are normal lived creatures like humans and orcs, and then above those are many fantasy creatures that surpass human lifespans, like mummies and hags, and at the top of the list are creatures like ancient dragons or giants, the lives of which span into the hundreds and even thousands of years, and ancient creatures like the tarrasque or various gods. So generally, if you want a species to be better than a human, it's a good idea to make them live more than one, and vice-versa.
- Size equals potency, generally, the bigger a monster will be, the bigger its ability scores are going to be, this is not just true for Strength and Constitution, but even Wisdom and Charisma are dominated by large and giant monsters in the upper echelons, it's very unusual by official standards to have an incredibly powerful creature that is smaller than medium.
General
- Hit points should always be listed as such, and never be called "HP" or "health".
- "Attack of opportunity" is a 3.5ism. They should be called "opportunity attacks".
- Feet should always be listed as ft. (in movement, range of telepathy and special senses, and the reach or range of attacks), or foot or feet (where appropriate) everywhere else. Don't use an apostrophe at the end of the number!
- All references to ability scores should have the score's name listed in full (except for saving throw bonuses, as detailed in the section above). Only the first letter should be capitalised (i.e. Intelligence, not INT). References to ability scores should also be linked using Template:5a.
- Nothing has "an advantage" or "a disadvantage". It has "advantage" or "disadvantage". Similarly, nothing has "a vulnerability", "a resistance", or "an immunity". It has "vulnerability", "resistance", or "immunity".
- DC should always be listed in capitals, not "dc". The DC of a saving throw should come before the relative ability score, and not in brackets (except when detailing the escape DC for a grapple). For example, DC X {ability} saving throw/check, not {ability} saving throw/check (DC X). Similarly, AC should also always be in capitals, never "ac".
- Don't remove parts of the preload unless you know what you're doing! Removing bits of the preload makes the resultant page look messy.
- A creature can be immune to conditions, but it can't resist them. Instead, give it a trait that grants it advantage on saving throws against that condition. Sometimes, it might be more appropriate to grant advantage on certain saving throws against that condition, such as the Sure-Footed trait of the goat.
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