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:D
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Thank you for keeping up with posting these.
To me, it feels a bit odd that a 15 HD being is a 24-level caster.
I love in 5e where you don't have to "build" monsters as carefully as in 3e, but one thing I do use is HD (as opposed to CR) as shorthand for 'level'. (Ofc, a creature can have taken levels in other things — multiclass.)
The same goes for proficiency. Aku has proficiency +7, a level 15 being should have proficiency +4.
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Proficiency bonus for typical beings is (HD+7)/4. But you did (CR+7)/4.
I tried to calculate Aku's CR using the table on DMG 274. Should be around 18, normally, except there's time stop and other instawin spells going on.
It's very rare that a monster's CR coincides with its level.
Looking at Samurai Jack, he has some of the same issues. His proficiency bonus should be +6 but looking at his attack bonus and saves, it seems like something else is going on. Looking at his hit points, AC, damage output he looks to be at about CR 12.
Aku is half-NPC and half-monster, but reviewing all his damage output, AC, hit points, spellcasting, monster control--I feel comfortable with where he was at. I also don't think there is any kind of metric for what a creature should be as their spellcasting level but I figured: Aku is the most badass evil sorcerer mage in existence (in that world, anyway). If anyone should get 4 extra levels of spellcasting, it is him (that also helps rationalize his big spell slot count).
Samurai Jack is built as a 20th-level paladin with the samurai oath (from Mists of Akuma) but as a redditor and you pointed out in another thread, I have been messing up my challenge ratings! Jack should definitely be lower, but given his ability to up AC, all the smiting he can do, his crazy good saves (his final Wisdom save is +22), lay on hands, and most importantly I think the honor challenge feature that maybe 17 fits better (definitely not the 20 I had before!)
Anyway--updated! Thank you for commenting! :D
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Yeah, I took a look at the proficiency of the monsters in the MM and they follow neither my "HD = level" guideline nor a "CR = level" guideline
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Yeah, I took a look at the proficiency of the monsters in the MM and they follow neither my "HD = level" guideline nor a "CR = level" guideline
Yeah that CR table is dubious and the monster/NPC creation rules in general are a joke compared to Pathfinder's rubrics. Paizo really spoiled us :p
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Aren't the Proficiency Bonus by CR charts in the MM pretty solid? I don't think there is a monster that deviates from this.
Also, giving a monster spellcasting really makes CR calculations difficult, since you are doing so much (giving it crowd control, suck or die, and high damage output) that a spellcasting monster will map as way lower. Sadly, that is the one difficult to gauge CR calculation that there is no real math for (or just lots of it that doesn't make sense to do the work for).
So I can definitely see why Aku is built the way he is. However, I would still probably give him more hit points if nothing else, unless his bag of tricks and spell list gives him lots of defensive options.
Lorathorn: It's just so weird that it's based on CR and CR is based on it. I wanted it to be based on HD.
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Aren't the Proficiency Bonus by CR charts in the MM pretty solid? I don't think there is a monster that deviates from this.
Also, giving a monster spellcasting really makes CR calculations difficult, since you are doing so much (giving it crowd control, suck or die, and high damage output) that a spellcasting monster will map as way lower. Sadly, that is the one difficult to gauge CR calculation that there is no real math for (or just lots of it that doesn't make sense to do the work for).
So I can definitely see why Aku is built the way he is. However, I would still probably give him more hit points if nothing else, unless his bag of tricks and spell list gives him lots of defensive options.
The proficiency bonus column of that chart is the only solid thing on it, but you are supposed to ignore that column when making an NPC with class levels (just throw out calculating their proficiency into CR entirely).
The only way to hurt Aku is through divine magic/weapons, he can spend a reaction to regain like 30 hit points (1/8th of his total), and I did not explicitly say that the eye beams can't be used to heal himself (instead of other targets) so there's another way to pop him back a few hit points.
Lorathorn: It's just so weird that it's based on CR and CR is based on it. I wanted it to be based on HD.
They literally threw hit dice directly out the window when making 5e.
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Good to have some free 5e peekings into the Samurai Jack verse out there. ;)
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I don't think you are technically ever supposed to build an NPC with class levels. At least not in the way that Pathfinder or 4e did.
As for eye beams, that is rather interesting...
Although he isn't immune to non-divine weapon attacks. A fighter with a magical weapon is still doing normal damage to him.
On the OTHER hand he is a spell caster and even those guys are meant to be squishy. So I think it parses out.
This is a really neat writeup.
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The casters spell levels all seem to follow HD though.
I don't think you are technically ever supposed to build an NPC with class levels. At least not in the way that Pathfinder or 4e did.
As for eye beams, that is rather interesting...
Although he isn't immune to non-divine weapon attacks. A fighter with a magical weapon is still doing normal damage to him.
On the OTHER hand he is a spell caster and even those guys are meant to be squishy. So I think it parses out.
This is a really neat writeup.
You can, you just ignore proficiency bonus when calculating CR; it is nowhere near as tight and together as the Pathfinder monster/NPC creation rules though.
He's got vulnerability to divine magical weapons, resistance to non-divine magical weapons, and immunity to nonmagical weapons -- so a fighter with a divine magic weapon would be doing extra damage (and one with an arcane magic weapon will deal half damage). The Scotts and several other divinely-powered warriors could damage Aku right?
Thanks! Definitely a worthy BBEG I say! :D
The casters spell levels all seem to follow HD though.
Did I sequence it right? I think I was just like "this feels good, shouldn't run out". Cool! :D
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Didn't mean to mislead you, I was referring to the ones in the MM