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I Want To Make A Monster That Combines Multiple Stat Blocks For BIG Fights

January 11 (1 month ago)

I'm thinking of building on this idea where the BBEG is actually three different stat blocks.  Let's say, for example, I want a monster that has stats of a Frost Giant, a Wight, and a Beholder (I don't, but let's pretend I do).  The beast would have a large pool of hit points, and each piece would have its own initiative.  I will probably treat each piece as a separate thing, so when a piece is killed, the BBGE cannot act on that initiative anymore, and none of that piece's abilities can be used.

I'm looking for suggestions about how one would go about making a token/tokens for this, how to best manage the initiative and hit points, and anything else I might need to know to make this work in Roll20 or abandon it altogether :D


January 11 (1 month ago)

Edited January 11 (1 month ago)
Gauss
Forum Champion

Hi Eponymous, 

I would just swap the tokens at the desired point and use separate character sheets. 

Just for simplicity. 

However, if you want to go this route, what I would do is use an API SCript to switch which sheet the token is connected to.
Alternately I could use ChatSetAttr to set the character sheet's values to the second statblock. 
And I'd set all the token's images in a Rollable Token. 

Alternately, something like a Wild Shape script might be able to do this. 

January 11 (1 month ago)

I think as far as a token or tokens, it will really depend on what the creature ends up being.  Is it a single entity with multiple parts that can't come apart? Then I would use a multi-sided token with a combination of images for if a piece or part is 'killed'.

As far as the initiative, I would just use three separate character sheets and have a hidden token for each one that gets its own initiative roll.

January 12 (1 month ago)
Thanks, guys.

To clarify a bit:

  • It's one creature, so just one token on the VTT
  • The different pieces/stablocks are meant to m.ake the monster more than just a bag of hit points with multiattack.
  • I think I want each piece/statblock to have its own hit points, so PCs could conceivably whittle down the bad guy by killing one or more of the pieces.  This adds an extra layer of complexity, but I think Jarren's got that figured out with multiple character sheets on the GM layer.
  • I have one enemy I am thinking about trying this with to see if it works.  That enemy is currently an Ultroloth, who already has innate spellcasting, hypnotic gaze, and multiattack (I say 'currently' because I may just change the whole idea of him if this works better for my scenario).
I'm just playing with ideas at the moment, but I'm thinking he'd have three positions in the initiative order. 

  • On any turn he can move and take the attack action, or move and cast a spell. 
  • I've moved his teleport ability to a reaction. 
  • Only one of the pieces can use this reaction (cementing the idea that he is one creature) per turn.
  • If the PCs kill one piece/statblock, he no longer takes a turn at this initiative.
  • Narratively, he’s weakend by the damage he’s taken. You’ve got him on the ropes.
  • If the dead piece/statblock had unique abilities or attacks, those are no longer available to our bad guy.
  • If this were an enormous creature, like a kraken or something, I think I'd treat the individual pieces/statblocks as tentacles, but this guy is a medium humanoid. 
January 12 (1 month ago)

In the Reddit post you linked to, there’s a link further down to The Angry GM’s blog from about 10 years ago where he talks specifically about his methods for doing this (though not for online VTT play). I recommend checking that out, and read through both of his posts. 

https://theangrygm.com/return-of-the-son-of-the-dd-boss-fight-now-in-5e/

https://theangrygm.com/elemental-boogaloo/