6. Damage
What is the monster's typical form of attack? Write it down, along with the monster's damage rating and appropriate tags. To determine them, answer the following:
| How does it hunt or fight? (pick 1) | damage |
|---|---|
| In large groups (6 or more, horde) | d6 |
| In small groups (2-5, group) | d8 |
| By itself (solitary) | d10 |
| What is the nature of its attack? (pick all that apply) | add |
|---|---|
| Useful up close and personal | hand |
| Works well at sword's reach | close |
| Can keep foes at bay | reach |
| Useful at range | near or far |
| Can hurt many foes at once | area |
| Small and weak | -1 die size |
| Vicious and obvious | +2 damage |
| Relentless or overwhelming | advantage |
| Latches on, pins, grapples | grabby |
| Can slice through thick hide | 1 piercing, messy |
| Can tear metal apart | 3 piercing, messy |
| Bypasses armor entirely | ignores armor |
| Prone to breakage | crude |
| How big is it? (pick 1) | add |
|---|---|
| Cat-sized or smaller (tiny) | -2 damage, reduce range |
| Like a human child (small) | reduce range |
| Adult human-sized | — |
| Like a horse, cart, etc. (large) | +1 damage, add a range |
| Like an elephant, or bigger (huge) | +3 damage, add a range |
| What else applies? (pick all that do) | add |
|---|---|
| It's impressively strong | +2 damage, forceful |
| It strikes deftly and precisely | +1 piercing |
| Physical injury is not the worst danger it poses | -1 die size |
| It is ancient and noteworthy | +1 die size |
| It abhors violence | disadvantage |
Advantage means you roll damage twice and use the higher result; disadvantage means roll twice and use the lower result. Reduce range means the attack's range tag(s) are one step lower (e.g. from close to hand), while add a range means the attack gets an additional range tag (e.g. if already close, it's now also hand or reach).
If the monster has multiple, distinct modes of attack, write each down with its own damage rating and tags.
The Almtakers are loathe to fight, but when they do, they smash foes with their trunklike forelimbs, or plant those limbs and kick out with their legs. I write down "Powerful blows" as their primary form of attack.
They fight as a pair (group tag), so they start with d8 damage. Their limbs are particularly long for their size, so I give them the close range (rather than hand). And while their limbs are big and long, I don't think they're "vicious and obvious."
The Almtakers are large*, giving them +1 damage and an extra range. I add* reach instead of hand*. I think they'd be better at keeping foes at bay than at infighting.*
I picture them with an implacable strength (like tree roots!), so I give them +2 damage and forceful*. Their primary danger, though, comes from their abilities to curse oathbreakers and to mess with time and space. That reduces their die size from a d8 to a d6. They're quite ancient (from the time of the Green Lords) but not particularly noteworthy, so I leave their die size there. And because they loathe violence, they'll roll damage with disadvantage.*
I write their damage entry as:
Powerful blows: d6+3 damage w/disadvantage (close, reach, forceful).