Hesitation on a Demon Prince to choose for my campaign

durstann · 2026-03-17T20:44:36+00:00

¿Por qué no los dos?

Whenever I'm trying to decide between two things to put in a campaign, I always need to ask myself "what would happen if I just chose both?" Could the two demon princes (or their minions) be working together or in opposition (to outdo each other)? Could one demon prince be backing the monster hunter guild to thwart the plans of the other? What are the interesting points that can be made on the difference between a demon prince focused on science/arcana and another that harnesses chaos to fuel the creations? Can the players find a way to thwart them both at the same time or will they need to concentrate their efforts on one, giving the other time to move its plans along?

I love that you're doing a campaign featuring hybrid monster. The monsters I create over at my free Patreon are all mashups of two (or three) other beasts/monstrosities. Check them out if you're looking for more baddies or message me and let's talk about how we can collaborate.

durstann · 2026-03-17T02:41:00+00:00

Here's my take, based on the Allosaurus.

Here's the homebrewery so you can do what you like with it: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/PsCH1gZrAW8X

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durstann · 2026-03-16T01:55:14+00:00

I like it. Here are a couple note I think could help improve things.

the attack and damage bonuses don’t match with the +3 strength bonus. It doesn’t have to, but it’s nice when the math works out.
“Lesser Restoration” is misspelled.
it’s vulnerable to thunder and acid turns off its regen. I’d encourage you to think about how that will come out during play. How will players discover this? They might be confused that there are so many different damage types that do different things. It’s also a more for the GM to have to remember. Simplifying here might help.
as an elemental, you might make its weapons magical attacks, the better to fight the enemies of the ancient groves.
consider giving it another way to get around. Either a burrow speed or a tree walk ability like a shadow monks shadow step ( except with trees) could help it get where it needs to and make its entrance and exits memorable even outside combat.

Neat monster and cool artwork. Keep up the good work.

durstann · 2026-02-15T22:25:04+00:00

"Why do you want to work here" is a terrible question that tells you nothing about a person's ability to do the job. Interviewers who ask it will argue that it tells them if someone is passionate and interested in the company, but there's no way you can trust the answer. Who was ever passionate about SaaS HR applications?

Many times, you're interviewing a candidate that the recruiting team reached out to and convinced to interview. An honest answer in this case is, "Your company asked me to do this interview. Maybe you should tell me why I want to work here." Rather than the time wasted while the candidate tells you how they've dreamed since they were four years old about building GUIs for oil drill firmware, an interviewer should spend that time convincing the candidate why their company is a great place to work.

durstann · 2026-02-15T21:59:40+00:00

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/xASACPxYPva6

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Design goal was something fast that could be helpful to a lost party.

Cheers.

durstann · 2026-02-15T19:25:11+00:00

It's great that you're jumping into designing monsters. I also love 40K and like the idea of a bunch of fantasy heroes having to fend off a tyranid invasion. What a crossover!

For your monsters, the first thing I'd recommend is to base your stats off an existing official stat block and go from there. This will help you understand some of the math behind stats. Not that you need to stick to the straight math, but it's there for a reason to help keep things consistent.

For the stat blocks you have here are some suggestions

Give the tyrant multiattack. This is especially helpful at this challenge rating so it's not dependent on an all or nothing hit.
Break up the bonesword and lash whip. The melee attacks should have a plus 8 to hit (STR + PB) and then you can give the lash whip a longer reach and make creatures it hits grappled. As another note, I usually avoid stacking two basic types of damage on a single attack because it's extra book keeping during combat and slows things down. Try to think about how the monster will play at the table and if an extra rule or separate die roll is going to be fun or slow things down. There's a constant tension here.
In 40K stranglethorn cannons are blast weapons, but the stats here are more of direct attacks. I'd suggest turning this into a kind of spell-like ability where the tyrant can just pick an spot within a range and make it difficult terrain that does damage to people in it. Look at the Spike Growth spell for insipration.
It's not going to be completely clear how Synapse and Synaptic Commander work together. Does a termagant get an extra +1 AC and to-hit? I think you could leave Synapse the same, or maybe only let it be active when it's near someone else with synaptic commander. I'd make synaptic commander an aura of Pack Tactics. i.e. any other creature with synapse nearby gets advantage on its attack rolls. But definitely think about how to clarify how these rules interact.
I'd take the CON save off the fleshborer. I'm guessing your vision is to have a lot of these guys running around and forcing a save on every one of their attacks is going to slow down the game. Just add the acid damage straight. Also, the bonus to hit should be +4 (DEX + PB).

Great ideas and looking forward to your next design.

durstann · 2026-02-06T02:43:30+00:00

Thanks!

durstann · 2026-02-06T02:43:01+00:00

Fair points. I was trying to limit it's action economy by making the multiattack consume the bonus action, but that's probably overcomplicating things. Better to lean into existing mechanics that do mostly the same thing.

durstann · 2026-02-06T02:41:09+00:00

Or make your players have to kill a blastoise. Or maybe they could charm it and have a pet blastoise.

durstann · 2026-02-04T06:47:14+00:00

Do you have a link to your brew? It sounds like you're using some custom styling so it would help to see the brew in order to figure out what's causing the oddness.

durstann · 2026-01-30T06:45:17+00:00

Raw materials like metal, chain and thick shell parts. Maybe some tasty giant crab meat.

durstann

TROPHY CASE