I like to find awesome pictures on the internet and just assign it to a monster type. Most the time players get stumped that way also. Adding a few tweeks to abilities helps too. Great video guys!
I used the re-skin method to create a unique Familiar. My 3rd level Eldritch Knight was a Sage with Far Realm as a specialty. I could have one spell that wasn't an evocation or abjuration, so I picked Find Familiar. I wanted a famililar to reflect the "Far Realm" theme. Page 240 of the PHB says that "Octopus" is a choice for familiars, but was obviously intended for underwater casters. I simply reskinned the Octopus (tiny beast) on p 333 of the MM, swapped "Swim" for "Fly", and changed "Ink Cloud" to "Smoke Cloud" and removed the waterbreathing. I gave it three big green reptilian eyes and lots of tiny little horns. Boom. Instant familiar that wasn't the typical fey/fiend/celestial and reflected the theme of the Far Realm Eldritch Knight Sage.
Nerdarchy I think you mean "Elder God Stuff". ;) And yes, that's my selling point to the DM. It doesn't add anything that doesn't already exist. I am simply swapping mechanics to turn an aquatic beast into a flying one. It also fits the theme I am trying to portray for the Eldritch Knight, so it adds a roleplaying boost where even a "special" familiar like and Imp or Quasit would not.
Mike Gould Now, imagine everyone's surprise when your character dies and your DM decides that it buries itself into your brain and your body begins to morph into a Mind Flayer: It was an llithid tadpole!!!! Not that I'm wishing your character's death, I'm just saying... it would be epic!
***** Or when he dies the familiar opens a portal below the dead character and the massive tentacles of Hadar The Ever Hungry rise up and drag him below to be consumed. Annnd... Initiate combat with the party with the tentacles to not be dragged themselves. Save vs. Hadar!
Another great video guys! Your discussion of "lazy DMing" where you neglect describing the monsters the PCs face really struck home with me. This is something I've recently realized I'm guilty of. I'm also guilty of lazy DMing when I forget to describe the setting very well. Unfortunately, it's usually not until after the session is over that I realize I forgot to describe certain monsters, NPCs and environments. One way I've tried to fight this is to write out descriptions of each scene and monster/NPC before the session, and then read or paraphrase that during the sesion. However, I often don't have time to do it (it takes a lot of time!). I try to remind myself to do descriptions during game, but it's disheartening how often I forget. It doesn't help that often when I do remember to describe, the players will interrupt me with things they want to do. I think this would be a great topic to address on a video, if you have any tips or things you do to remember to give vivid descriptions during your games. I know that when I do remember to do it, it really adds a lot to the experience of everyone at the table. This could also dovetail into giving better descriptions of actions in combat, whether it's you as the DM describing what the NPCs are doing, or encouraging the players to do the same with their characters.
It is a good idea for a video we'll have to come up with those cues. I'd like to say we are immune to this illness, but alas we are not. our last game I broke Ted's balls for just naming the monstrous humanoids instead of describing them. It's a bad habit to be in and an even harder one to break. I'm going to personally work on it myself and try to lead by example. -Nerdarchist Dave
I have attempted a re-skin of skeletons, making them into humanoid automatons that are programmed to guard an area. They resided in Gnomish cities, and had a movement to be treated like sentient beings.
I love doing this with spell casting. Having a goblin cast even a low level spell, confuses a lot of players. Witchdoctors and Shamans. You can always adjust a monsters HD by 4 up or down and damage by 2 dice to account for variations in size. Also love doing with magic items. A rock that cast fireballs, a small pouch with webs in it, a broom with the clean cantrip, most fun was with a ring of caterpillar control. Wizard made for his wife who loved to garden and used it to control pests. Watching the PC for the next 6 sessions trying to find something larger to control with that ring was so funny. Everything he came across he would run up to and try out "his ring", everyone had fun.
Not a drastic flavor change but I've been using heavily nerfed dopplegangers as a way to add some intrigue and surprise story twists in our low level noob campaign. I just used stats from a much lower challenge rating monster and dropped some of their harder hitting combat powers.
Oh yes. that's why at our table we try to rotate between a few different systems and DMs. it keeps people from knowing everything, what they do, and what they look like. It really helps with people like me, who'll know anything in the beastiary for the first few levels in pathfinder. but then I started throwing in varients, and someone else start making morphing creatures. When you face dragons that actually turned out to be plants and that little pixie takes damage from healing and heals from damage due to time magic, you throw prior knowledge out the window because presumptions can kill you.
As it should be. The game is so much more fun when everyone gets to learn stuff for the first time at the table. So mixing up things is crucial in my opinion. -Nerdarchist Dave
Great video. I re-skinned Zombie. I gave them pack tactics from the mm, 1hp/minute regeneration, and made their primary attack be grapple and kept undead fortitude. I also gave them contagion: save vs. con= infected. If the pc dies while infected , the pc rises as the undead. So they looked like zombies but fought differently, and if not cremated would rise again. the only damage they did was 1d4bite.
Just like creating more interesting adventures, re-skinning monsters is (IMO) all about creating a story element. So as a DM what I would do is use a standard monster in one random encounter, then the next time have them encountered a re-skinned version of the original random encounter. The 're-skinning' could provide the characters clues as to what is up ahead. For example maybe they encounter an owl bear as a random encounter. Later they encounter another owl bear but DUN-DUN-DUN this one is an undead zombie owlbear. This could serve as a clue that the dungeon ahead is filled with zombies desperate for brains so they've started hunting monsters and creating undead monsters.
Then later the fact that they encountered undead might be a clue that the final monster will be a lich...a lich that is the undead ancestor of the very lord who hired you to do this mission. So that whole plot could be teased by simply re-skinning a random monster as an undead.
I have just started playing D&D but I have already started reskinning/editing stuff. I started running Hoard of the Dragon Queen and from the get go I felt like I could do stuff differently. In Ep02 when the characters were supposed to fight the stragglers that broke off after the raid on Greenest I added something to really mess with my players. Right before they were supposed to attack I had the raiders pass out and what looked like a half-elf noble just pop up from behind a rock. He then proceeded to mess with the characters since he was basically a Rakshasa with upped mental prowess who was acting as a messenger to the warlock with a pact with an Archfiend.
the re-skin has always been the save of the same old same old, especially with 3rd editions magic item slots. already have a monk's belt ok instead of a belt of strength here's a ring of it etc. my players once found a puppy (yea they were kids) but it's stats were a hell hound. they learned just because it is cute doesn't mean it is nice or a good idea to keep lol
New players. I myself am a new player, and I purposely avoid reading through the Monster Manual on anything that isn't related to something for a magic item of a class, so I don't pick up any bad habits for fighting things. Try to mitigate any metagaming as much as possible where I can. Why have the Monster Manual then? Because sometimes you want to see what kind of critter or familiar would fit your character best.
In an upcoming adventure I'm working on the players will travel to a pyramid: the tomb of a Tiefling Mummy lord. Inside they'll fight lesser mummies, which are really just skeletons that look like this: cinema.theiapolis.com/movie-0OBK/the-mummy/gallery/the-mummy-1091375~1.html Then, the mummy lord will cast them into the astral plane where they'll be overpowered by Githyanki and taken as slaves, only to later have to fight along side them against an astral behemoth! Something that looks like this: fc01.deviantart.net/fs14/i/2007/061/d/6/Cosmic_Dragon_by_silverdarkhawk.jpg Really though, it's just a re-skinned dragon!!!
at about nine minutes he's right DM's really do get lazy overtime bc of it. though I also do find that some players don't even know what monsters look like bc of that fact, just describe them without naming them.
This is weird to me because the ONLY game I have gotten to play, I had NO idea what I was doing, and I called out the name of the monster causing the DM to get pretty mad at me.
Jeromy Hunt It's considered meta gaming when use player knowledge that the character may not have knowledge of. If you didn't know it's not your fault. Now you do know so you know how to proceed and you also know the expectations of the group. Nerdarchist Dave
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I like to find awesome pictures on the internet and just assign it to a monster type. Most the time players get stumped that way also. Adding a few tweeks to abilities helps too. Great video guys!
Absolutely. That's a great way to keep them guessing.
- Nerdarchist Dave
I used the re-skin method to create a unique Familiar. My 3rd level Eldritch Knight was a Sage with Far Realm as a specialty. I could have one spell that wasn't an evocation or abjuration, so I picked Find Familiar. I wanted a famililar to reflect the "Far Realm" theme. Page 240 of the PHB says that "Octopus" is a choice for familiars, but was obviously intended for underwater casters. I simply reskinned the Octopus (tiny beast) on p 333 of the MM, swapped "Swim" for "Fly", and changed "Ink Cloud" to "Smoke Cloud" and removed the waterbreathing. I gave it three big green reptilian eyes and lots of tiny little horns. Boom. Instant familiar that wasn't the typical fey/fiend/celestial and reflected the theme of the Far Realm Eldritch Knight Sage.
Nice creepy little guy. Why not there is no real mechanical advantage just adds a lot of flavor to the game. God stuff.
-Nerdarchist Dave
Nerdarchy I think you mean "Elder God Stuff". ;) And yes, that's my selling point to the DM. It doesn't add anything that doesn't already exist. I am simply swapping mechanics to turn an aquatic beast into a flying one. It also fits the theme I am trying to portray for the Eldritch Knight, so it adds a roleplaying boost where even a "special" familiar like and Imp or Quasit would not.
Mike Gould Now, imagine everyone's surprise when your character dies and your DM decides that it buries itself into your brain and your body begins to morph into a Mind Flayer: It was an llithid tadpole!!!!
Not that I'm wishing your character's death, I'm just saying... it would be epic!
***** Or when he dies the familiar opens a portal below the dead character and the massive tentacles of Hadar The Ever Hungry rise up and drag him below to be consumed. Annnd... Initiate combat with the party with the tentacles to not be dragged themselves. Save vs. Hadar!
Mike Gould "Save vs Hadar!!!" I like it, almost sounds like a praise.
Another great video guys!
Your discussion of "lazy DMing" where you neglect describing the monsters the PCs face really struck home with me. This is something I've recently realized I'm guilty of. I'm also guilty of lazy DMing when I forget to describe the setting very well. Unfortunately, it's usually not until after the session is over that I realize I forgot to describe certain monsters, NPCs and environments.
One way I've tried to fight this is to write out descriptions of each scene and monster/NPC before the session, and then read or paraphrase that during the sesion. However, I often don't have time to do it (it takes a lot of time!). I try to remind myself to do descriptions during game, but it's disheartening how often I forget.
It doesn't help that often when I do remember to describe, the players will interrupt me with things they want to do.
I think this would be a great topic to address on a video, if you have any tips or things you do to remember to give vivid descriptions during your games. I know that when I do remember to do it, it really adds a lot to the experience of everyone at the table. This could also dovetail into giving better descriptions of actions in combat, whether it's you as the DM describing what the NPCs are doing, or encouraging the players to do the same with their characters.
It is a good idea for a video we'll have to come up with those cues. I'd like to say we are immune to this illness, but alas we are not. our last game I broke Ted's balls for just naming the monstrous humanoids instead of describing them. It's a bad habit to be in and an even harder one to break. I'm going to personally work on it myself and try to lead by example.
-Nerdarchist Dave
I hear you Dave. I'm trying to do the same thing. :D
Grant Hall or maybe they get pickpocketed and have to borrow from the other PCs.
I have attempted a re-skin of skeletons, making them into humanoid automatons that are programmed to guard an area. They resided in Gnomish cities, and had a movement to be treated like sentient beings.
I love doing this with spell casting. Having a goblin cast even a low level spell, confuses a lot of players. Witchdoctors and Shamans. You can always adjust a monsters HD by 4 up or down and damage by 2 dice to account for variations in size. Also love doing with magic items. A rock that cast fireballs, a small pouch with webs in it, a broom with the clean cantrip, most fun was with a ring of caterpillar control. Wizard made for his wife who loved to garden and used it to control pests. Watching the PC for the next 6 sessions trying to find something larger to control with that ring was so funny. Everything he came across he would run up to and try out "his ring", everyone had fun.
Wesley Hobbs then you face a purple wurm and "check it out! It works!"
Not a drastic flavor change but I've been using heavily nerfed dopplegangers as a way to add some intrigue and surprise story twists in our low level noob campaign. I just used stats from a much lower challenge rating monster and dropped some of their harder hitting combat powers.
It's a great tactic. Plus with new players you don't have to worry about the meta gaming.
-Nerdarchist Dave
Oh yes. that's why at our table we try to rotate between a few different systems and DMs. it keeps people from knowing everything, what they do, and what they look like. It really helps with people like me, who'll know anything in the beastiary for the first few levels in pathfinder. but then I started throwing in varients, and someone else start making morphing creatures. When you face dragons that actually turned out to be plants and that little pixie takes damage from healing and heals from damage due to time magic, you throw prior knowledge out the window because presumptions can kill you.
As it should be. The game is so much more fun when everyone gets to learn stuff for the first time at the table. So mixing up things is crucial in my opinion.
-Nerdarchist Dave
Great video. I re-skinned Zombie. I gave them pack tactics from the mm, 1hp/minute regeneration, and made their primary attack be grapple and kept undead fortitude. I also gave them contagion: save vs. con= infected. If the pc dies while infected , the pc rises as the undead. So they looked like zombies but fought differently, and if not cremated would rise again. the only damage they did was 1d4bite.
Obviously I'm a big fan of the re-skin. Just makes the job of a DM so much easier.
-Nerdarchist Dave
This seems to me like a good zombie for an apocalypse.
Just like creating more interesting adventures, re-skinning monsters is (IMO) all about creating a story element. So as a DM what I would do is use a standard monster in one random encounter, then the next time have them encountered a re-skinned version of the original random encounter. The 're-skinning' could provide the characters clues as to what is up ahead. For example maybe they encounter an owl bear as a random encounter. Later they encounter another owl bear but DUN-DUN-DUN this one is an undead zombie owlbear. This could serve as a clue that the dungeon ahead is filled with zombies desperate for brains so they've started hunting monsters and creating undead monsters.
Then later the fact that they encountered undead might be a clue that the final monster will be a lich...a lich that is the undead ancestor of the very lord who hired you to do this mission. So that whole plot could be teased by simply re-skinning a random monster as an undead.
Nice Brainiac reference near the end there by the Nerdarchist on the far left :)
I have just started playing D&D but I have already started reskinning/editing stuff. I started running Hoard of the Dragon Queen and from the get go I felt like I could do stuff differently.
In Ep02 when the characters were supposed to fight the stragglers that broke off after the raid on Greenest I added something to really mess with my players. Right before they were supposed to attack I had the raiders pass out and what looked like a half-elf noble just pop up from behind a rock. He then proceeded to mess with the characters since he was basically a Rakshasa with upped mental prowess who was acting as a messenger to the warlock with a pact with an Archfiend.
the re-skin has always been the save of the same old same old, especially with 3rd editions magic item slots. already have a monk's belt ok instead of a belt of strength here's a ring of it etc. my players once found a puppy (yea they were kids) but it's stats were a hell hound. they learned just because it is cute doesn't mean it is nice or a good idea to keep lol
+Fiend Tildawn Gotta watch them strays.
-Nerdarchist Dave
Then there's the tiefling in the group who sees a hellhound and screams "PUPPY!"
the link for the newsletter is not found :(
I love reskinning monsters to fit what I need
It is so much easier than building them from scratch.
-Nerdarchist Dave
New players. I myself am a new player, and I purposely avoid reading through the Monster Manual on anything that isn't related to something for a magic item of a class, so I don't pick up any bad habits for fighting things. Try to mitigate any metagaming as much as possible where I can.
Why have the Monster Manual then? Because sometimes you want to see what kind of critter or familiar would fit your character best.
In an upcoming adventure I'm working on the players will travel to a pyramid: the tomb of a Tiefling Mummy lord. Inside they'll fight lesser mummies, which are really just skeletons that look like this: cinema.theiapolis.com/movie-0OBK/the-mummy/gallery/the-mummy-1091375~1.html
Then, the mummy lord will cast them into the astral plane where they'll be overpowered by Githyanki and taken as slaves, only to later have to fight along side them against an astral behemoth! Something that looks like this: fc01.deviantart.net/fs14/i/2007/061/d/6/Cosmic_Dragon_by_silverdarkhawk.jpg
Really though, it's just a re-skinned dragon!!!
Nice good stuff. We gotta keep those players are their toes.
-Nerdarchist Dave
I've always heard this called "filing off the serial numbers"
That works as well.
-Nerdarchist Dave
at about nine minutes he's right DM's really do get lazy overtime bc of it. though I also do find that some players don't even know what monsters look like bc of that fact, just describe them without naming them.
This is weird to me because the ONLY game I have gotten to play, I had NO idea what I was doing, and I called out the name of the monster causing the DM to get pretty mad at me.
Jeromy Hunt It's considered meta gaming when use player knowledge that the character may not have knowledge of.
If you didn't know it's not your fault. Now you do know so you know how to proceed and you also know the expectations of the group.
Nerdarchist Dave
There is movie called'"Prophecy" from 1979 about a mutated bear, which was basically an inside out bear. No shit, look it up.
Ryan, if that was the point of the game (to be better than other people), we'd still have Thac0 and use percentile (d10s) more often. ; )
So i made a homebrew chimera with a cockatrice, Basilisk, and gorgon
Im scared of it