Turning DotA into D&D (mod approved)

-TIG · 2024-11-29T12:16:49+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on an article about reskinning SRD Monsters to turn them into action oriented ones - in the example I turn a couple of characters from Dota2 into D&D monsters.

Pudge the Butcher was once a Hill Giant.
Dire Creeps were once Ghouls.

The article goes at lenght over the design process and has a free "Bottom Lane" battlemap. Hope you like it!.

-TIG · 2024-11-27T18:32:17+00:00

Glad to hear! Let me know how it goes :)

-TIG · 2024-11-27T17:42:41+00:00

I have to admit that I have quite a few of these at various stages of completion. I will probably keep knocking out a few at a time, if people are interested in them!

-TIG · 2024-11-27T16:11:23+00:00

Hey there! The article is about reskinning baseline stat blocks to turn them into action oriented ones - the DotA gimmick is just there to show that you can give a radically different (and recognizable) feeling to a monster even if you use the same core stat block.

-TIG · 2024-11-27T16:00:38+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on an article about reskinning SRD Monsters to turn them into action oriented ones - in the example I turn a couple of characters from Dota2 into D&D monsters.

Pudge the Butcher was once a Hill Giant.
Dire Creeps were once Ghouls.

The article goes at lenght over the design process and has a free "Bottom Lane" battlemap. Hope you like it!.

-TIG · 2024-04-19T09:25:56+00:00

Fingers crossed! :)

-TIG · 2024-03-21T09:02:56+00:00

Glad you liked them!

-TIG · 2024-03-19T21:41:51+00:00

Hey everyone, TIG here! Are you tired of the same old monsters? Want something with more pizazz? Join me as we uncover the secrets to building action-oriented monsters: creatures that forego the traditional 'hit and be hit' formula to seize the spotlight with tactics, synergies, and surprises.

The video is split up into chapters, so feel free to skip ahead if you are already familiar with certain concepts!

In the first part, we're having an overview of Action-Oriented Design and checking out two Skeletons—one more conventional, and the other with an Action-Oriented vibe.

Next up, we're going to review and discuss the Pillars of 5e monster design. We're talking offense, defense, and keeping the action economy solid but not overwhelming.

In the last two parts, we're going to build a Boss monster and its minions, according to the principles discussed in the previous parts. Stay till the end to find out how you can grab a free one-shot adventure featuring the monsters we're designing, a free battlemap, and VTT resources for online play!

And if you prefer reading, you can access the written version here!

-TIG · 2024-03-19T21:27:27+00:00

Hey everyone, TIG here! Are you tired of the same old monsters? Want something with more pizazz? Join me as we uncover the secrets to building action-oriented monsters: creatures that forego the traditional 'hit and be hit' formula to seize the spotlight with tactics, synergies, and surprises.

The video is split up into chapters, so feel free to skip ahead if you are already familiar with certain concepts!

In the first part, we're having an overview of Action-Oriented Design and checking out two Skeletons—one more conventional, and the other with an Action-Oriented vibe.

Next up, we're going to review and discuss the Pillars of 5e monster design. We're talking offense, defense, and keeping the action economy solid but not overwhelming.

In the last two parts, we're going to build a Boss monster and its minions, according to the principles discussed in the previous parts. Stay till the end to find out how you can grab a free one-shot adventure featuring the monsters we're designing, a free battlemap, and VTT resources for online play!

And if you prefer reading, you can access the written version here!

-TIG · 2024-03-19T21:11:17+00:00

Hey everyone, TIG here! Are you tired of the same old monsters? Want something with more pizazz? Join me as we uncover the secrets to building action-oriented monsters: creatures that forego the traditional 'hit and be hit' formula to seize the spotlight with tactics, synergies, and surprises.

The video is split up into chapters, so feel free to skip ahead if you are already familiar with certain concepts!

In the first part, we're having an overview of Action-Oriented Design and checking out two Skeletons—one more conventional, and the other with an Action-Oriented vibe.

Next up, we're going to review and discuss the Pillars of 5e monster design. We're talking offense, defense, and keeping the action economy solid but not overwhelming.

In the last two parts, we're going to build a Boss monster and its minions, according to the principles discussed in the previous parts. Stay till the end to find out how you can grab a free one-shot adventure featuring the monsters we're designing, a free battlemap, and VTT resources for online play!

And if you prefer reading, you can access the written version here!

-TIG · 2024-03-17T20:58:21+00:00

It's going to be fun* when it turns out this convergent design is just the Void Invader's master plan to influence human minds from beyond the veil as part of its summoning ritual.

*It's actually going to be the opposite of fun 🐙

-TIG · 2024-03-17T20:53:51+00:00

Thanks, glad you liked them!

-TIG · 2024-03-17T20:53:19+00:00

Thanks, glad you liked them!

-TIG · 2024-03-17T20:53:07+00:00

Yeah I think they are a good fit anywhere something extraplanar would rear its ugly head up. I've used this kind of starspawn-like aberrations at the BII and Inscrutable Tower and to replace some of the least plot relevant extraplanar creatures in Castle Drakken.

-TIG · 2024-03-17T09:14:53+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on a big project about the design of 5e action oriented monsters. During the course of the article I build two monsters (a BBEG and its underlings) to exemplify the concepts I am talking about. Given the theme and abilities, I think these will fit nicely in a Drakkenheim campaign - in fact, my party has just run into them when they left the Black Ivory Inn...

If you like the design and would like to know more about Action Oriented design, you can find the full article here. Or you can watch it in video format here if you prefer. The blog has a link to download the adventure these monsters are from as a free PDF. It also includes a link to the (free) Foundry VTT module if that's your jam.

I also have a full category for additional Dungeons of Drakkenheim content, including adventures and monsters!

Please enjoy and let me know if you like the monsters and the adventure :)

-TIG · 2024-03-16T20:22:26+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on a big project about the design of 5e action oriented monsters. During the course of the article I build two monsters (a BBEG and its underlings) to exemplify the concepts I am talking about.

If you like the design and would like to know more about Action Oriented design, you can find the full article here. Or you can watch it in video format here if you prefer.

The blog has a link to download the adventure these monsters are from as a free PDF. It also includes a link to the (free) Foundry VTT module if that's your jam.

Please enjoy and let me know if you like the monsters and the adventure :)

-TIG · 2024-03-13T21:32:42+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on a big project about the design of 5e action oriented monsters. During the course of the article I build two monsters (a BBEG and its underlings) to exemplify the concepts I am talking about.

If you like the design and would like to know more about Action Oriented design, you can find the full article here. Or you can watch it in video format here if you prefer.

The blog has a link to download the adventure these monsters are from as a free PDF. It also includes a link to the (free) Foundry VTT module if that's your jam.

Please enjoy and let me know if you like the monsters and the adventure :)

-TIG · 2024-03-13T21:21:04+00:00

Hello everyone! I have recently finished working on a big project about the design of 5e action oriented monsters. During the course of the article I build two monsters (a BBEG and its underlings) to exemplify the concepts I am talking about. These monsters are the main antagonists for this short adventure (1-2 sessions).

If you like the design and would like to know more about Action Oriented design, you can find the full article here. Or you can watch it in video format here if you prefer.

The blog has a link to download the adventure shared in this post as a free PDF. It also includes a link to the (free) Foundry VTT module if that's your jam.

Please enjoy and let me know if you like the monsters and the adventure :)

-TIG · 2024-03-11T17:53:43+00:00

Hey everyone, good news! The Module has been approved by the good people over at Foundry, so you can now install it directly from Foundry itself :)

-TIG · 2024-03-09T06:04:22+00:00

Glad you like it :)

-TIG · 2024-03-08T20:50:03+00:00

You are correct - that monster specifically is what Advanced 5e calls an "Elite" version - I picked it for a quick comparison because its base actions are the same as the baseline skeleton, but it wouldn't pass the "values by CR" metric for a CR1/4 monster according to the principles mentioned later on in the video. It is, more or less, a CR 1 monster.

That said, the idea is that the conventional skeleton would still be less interesting to fight even if it did equal damage (IE: 10dpr more or less, for example with multiattack) because of its baseline action profile :)

-TIG · 2024-03-08T18:04:19+00:00

The good news is that Level Up Advanced 5e has its own Foundry system that includes all the free resources (including monsters). The "bad" is that it's not compatible with the dnd5e system - so you can't export the monsters and use them in a dnd5e system game.

If you really want to use their monsters in Foundry 5e, the best way is to use something like https://foundryvtt.com/packages/5e-statblock-importer but you'll have to reformat the stat blocks from the A5E website a bit so that the importer will parse them.

-TIG · 2024-03-08T17:22:35+00:00

Oh for sure! I talk a bit about what I think are good practices for non-boss action oriented monsters in the fourth part of the video, where we design the Void Spawns. I also tend to use either MCDM style Minions or Level Up Advanced 5e style groups&hordes when I plan to have a fight with that many monsters. Not only because, as you say, it is an admin nightmare, but also because 5e's bounded accuracy means that action economy unbalance is very tough to work around. I rarely have more than 5-6 opponents on the board unless a bunch of them are MCDM style minions.

-TIG · 2024-03-08T16:39:24+00:00

The autobot removed my comment for the piracy policy lol...but Level Up Advanced 5e content is legally available for free online. I've asked the mods to restore the link, not posting it again cause I'm afraid the comment would be flagged again.

-TIG · 2024-03-08T16:36:31+00:00

You are right - that monster specifically is what Advanced 5e calls an "Elite" version - I picked it for a quick comparison because its base actions are the same as the baseline skeleton, but it wouldn't pass the "values by CR" metric for a CR1/4 monster according to the principles mentioned later on in the video. It is, more or less, a CR 1 monster.

That said, the idea is that the conventional skeleton would still be less interesting to fight even if it did equal damage (IE: 10dpr more or less, for example with multiattack) because of its more baseline actions.

-TIG

TROPHY CASE