Monster Crafting - Part 2
Last time we talked about monster crafting, I provided a general overview of what I was imagining. I received a good bit of feedback, with many telling me they wanted more granularity, which is awesome. I’m always happy to get into the weeds and the innards of a dead dragon.
So this week, let’s talk a bit more about the system, how we can add granularity, and perhaps work on some rules.
Part 1 - Introduction to Monster Crafting
Monster Crafting Changes
So, we want to add a bit of granularity to our crafting system, like a slathering of potatoes on a shepherd’s pie made of tarrasque.
I’m going to add a bit of granularity in two ways to this system. First, by adding unique magic items to each creature category (Aberration, Draconic, Fey, Fiend, Humanoid, etc) and then by creating unique magic items for Legendary creatures (anything that has Legendary Actions). This does mean that legendary creatures are going to be harder for GMs to create their own in the future, but they can also just steal items we’ve already made.
Everything else is largely going to remain the same.
Example
So let’s jump into an example and how the party might break it down. We’re going to go with a Kobold in this example, but I’ll also talk about legendary monsters at the end of this example.
As a heads up, these rules will be written for 2024, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for 2014 tables (beyond Kobolds being Dragons and not Humanoid, along with goblins, bugbears, etc; might need to create a chart in the finished rules for people to reference in case they are 2014).
The kobold (specifically, kobold warrior) has a few parts that we have to break down. First, it has the Dragon type, so it can be used to create specific “Dragon” magic items (more on those later), its AC exceeds 10 + its Dex modifier (and it doesn’t have armor, so its scales are tough) so we could make something with its scales, it has Darkvision (so we can make something to do with Senses magic items), it has two traits (Pack Tactics and Sunlight Sensitivity) so we have two options we can make there, and it has no appropriate Actions for us to make out of magic items (like Rend or Bite attacks).
Because this incredible kobold has a +2 Proficiency Bonus, they can only get two things off of its corpse. Based off of what we went over above, they have at least five options to pick from (probably more, since we can make a family of magic items for Dragon creatures and alternate items to craft for big generic things like Darkvision). Lastly, with a +2 Proficiency Bonus, the Kobold can only be used to create Common items.
Had the kobold had a Rend attack, then it could’ve been used to make a different magic item, just as if it had Legendary Actions, it could have had unique magic items related to those Legendary Actions.
Let’s look at another example.
This is an Ancient Red Dragon. It is filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies you can craft from it. And since it has a +7 Proficiency Bonus, you can make up to 7 items from this immense creature. In the interest of brevity and legibility, I’m going to use bullet points for what we could make from it.
Dragon type; allows us to make magic items specific to the Dragon creature type
AC exceeds 10 + Dex (and no armor), so it has very tough scales so we can make something out of its scales
has a Climb and Fly speed, could potentially use that to help us make items (to be determined)
Has Ability Scores over 20, which means we could use those to make potions for those Ability Scores (like Giant Strength Potions, but also for other Ability Scores, like a Greater Intellect Potion)
Immunity to Fire, so we could make maybe Potions of Fire Resistance or something
Has Blindsight and Darkvision, so we could make something out of those
Has Legendary Resistance as a trait, so that will be a magic item we can make (all traits will have an available magic item or two that you can make)
Has a Rend attack, so we can use its teeth/claws for creating magical weapons
Has a Breath Weapon attack, so we can use that organ to make Flamesword or a Potion of Fire Breath
Has Spellcasting, so we can refine something in it into quintessence
Lastly, the dragon has Legendary Actions so it is a Legendary creature and that means it will have unique magic items that we can make from it
That’s a lot of stuff that you’ll be able to make out of this dragon, which is exciting (well, make up to 7 items, probably more for consumables, tbd). So many options. But also, I’d point out that the kobold also had a good bit of stuff that you could do with it for such a low level, so this is quite exciting. Our system is going to provide more than just one or two options for players per creature (regardless of CR) and they’ll have a ton of flexibility on what they want to make.
Monster Crafting Tools
Now, the other bit of feedback was about tools and Monster Crafting, specifically, what if I created a Monster Crafting Kit (Butcher’s Kit? Chirurgeon’s Supplies? Serial Killer’s Tools?). That is an idea, but I’d like everyone to be able to take part in Monster Crafting by using their tools to help pry out scales, teeth, magic, and more. I think it’ll require more thought, but it is something to consider.
In my head, I’d have players roll Leatherworker’s to remove the scales/hide of a creature (or have Advantage on Survival checks if they are proficient in Leatherworkers, that way they can still make that magic item even if they don’t have that tool). I’d have them roll Alchemists or Brewers if they wanted to remove the fire breath gland, depending on if they are brewing a potion or making a Dragon’s Porter with their Brewer’s Supplies.
Ultimately, what tool and ability is called for is going to come down to the item and not just a generic single type of item. (That said, keep an eye out as I have another new tool coming soon….)
Example Items
This brings us to the next part, what are some items you might make out of the creature? Well, taking our examples above, here are some ideas:
Dragon Type; you could make a Dragon’s Flight potion where you grow dragon wings. You then assign how long you can use those wings based on the rarity of the potion (this way, a stronger dragon creature gives you longer flight than something weak like a kobold, which might just be one or two rounds)
Dragon Type; resistance to an elemental damage type, if the creature had no elemental resistances/immunities, you can’t make it
Dragon Type; a potion of polymorph that allows you to become a dragon for a brief period, with a stronger ‘generic’ stat block (like the Conjure Animals spell) based on how strong the potion is
Dragon Type; make weaker versions of the Orb of Dragonkind until you can take down a powerful enough creature to make a legitimate orb.
AC; since the dragon has such a high AC, you could remove its hide/scales and make a suit of Dragon Armor (this could be something you could do multiple times, perhaps tie that number to the creature’s size - but still only limit 7 items from the dragon)
Ability Scores; anytime you kill a creature with an Ability Score greater than 20, you can turn a portion of them into a Potion of that ability score, like a Potion of Greater Intellect (Intelligence 23) or a Potion of Supreme Dexterity (Dexterity 27)
Rend/Bite; this allows you to harvest the teeth and claws; turning a large amount of them into a flux powder you use when making magic weapons with your Smith’s Tools
Spellcasting; you can channel the natural magic in the dragon into quintessence, which is a generic element that can be used to imbue magic onto non-magical items and make them magical, useful for arcane focuses or forgoing the cost of materials when making potions with Alchemist’s Supplies
Legendary Creature; since the red dragon is a legendary creature, it has a unique magic item; perhaps something that turns you into a Red Dragon, grants a permanent immunity to fire, or something else in line with dragons
And that’s where we are going to end it for this week. Next time, we’re actually going to start writing some rules and perhaps dissect a few creatures with their available magic items.
Like what we do?
Join our Patreon!
You’ll get early access to deep dives, the Homebrew Hoard
featuring 500+ monsters, ad-free articles, and more!
Follow us on Reddit to keep up to date on everything we talk about!
