Talk:Dual Duelist (5e Creature)
CR calculation[edit]
Basically, both duelists are the same creature. 2 attacks + 1 reaction attack each creature, 3/ea for a total of 6 attacks. 6*9 = 54, damage is expected CR 9.
Attack bonus is +8. However, Flanking Tactics is basically Pack Tactics for these guys, so +9. This bumps offensive CR to 9.
HP is 9d8 + 18, around 40 + 18 = 58. I'll say that Twinning allows it to survive for much longer so a tentative *3 HP. This bumps HP to 174, placing it firmly in CR 7. AC is 17. CR 7 AC is 15, so bump to CR 8.
Offensive CR: 9 Defensive CR: 8
Total CR: 9
Considerations[edit]
Twinning needs to be evaluated. Depending on how much the players know about these creatures, it's either gonna be overwhelming and turn the fight into a slog, or they'll cast one Hold Person and make the fight a joke. If your players are fighting with little success, you might want to drop some hints or inform them about the knowledge checks. (I usually don't do those, probably should, but they may be necessary if your players aren't adroit researchers.)
Rolling initiative for each new double may not be the best way of going about it. I'll playtest it a bit and see how bad it actually is, but if it proves to slow the fight down then you may just want to use the old clone's initiative.
Writing Opportune Flurry was a bit odd, since I couldn't figure out how to word it best. It's still kind of awkward, but better than it was originally.