Using Monster Defense

#1

How do you adjust a monster’s defense during a combat encounter?

For context, the warhammer on page 45 destroys 1 point of enemy defense when dealing 5-10 damage. If there was only 1 foe I’d lower the room DC but if my crew is fighting 5 trolls and the warrior strips 1 point of defense from 1 troll then that troll has a different target to hit then the others. I’m fine with this extra bit of book keeping but it feels slightly out of step with the design of ICRPG so I’m just curious what I’m missing and how other people handle abilities that change monster defense.

I found this thread for rolling monster defense but it’s not quite what I’m looking for.

Thanks!

#2

I always stat my homebrew creatures with a DEFENSE score based on their abilities and armor. This offers me or anyone else using the stat block a guide toward an appropriate target number for the encounter area where these creatures are faced. If a given creature is used in combination with others with a different DEFENSE, I have PCs roll on the respective DEFENSE scores, independent of the target number for the room.

Likewise, if a creature suffers some kind of defense erosion, I just put a D6 by the mini with the 1 facing up, and I increment that die by one for each additional applicable Warhammer hit, using the value shown to augment subsequent attack attempts on that specific creature.

HTH…

#3

If I am running a physical table and I am using the room Target Tents, found here, I will set out a separate Target Tent for that one monster. If the monster’s defense is lowered by 3 it becomes an Easy Target.

If half the monsters in play defenses are lowered by 1 the room target drops by 1.

#4

In the case of the warhammer damage it would be room target -1 for that particular target. I run all my games through Roll20 so it is easy to mark an individual token either with a TN or an indicator of some kind. I did run a game where I had defense numbers for each monster and it did not improve the gameplay (actually, I think it became unnecessarily complex). It’s much easier just to run the room target and make specific changes to defense if needed.

#5

The warhammer rules are definitely one of ICRPG’s biggest misses. There are a lot of hacks to make those rules actually line up with the system, and maybe that was the point, but broadly speaking, foes in ICRPG do not have defense scores.

#6

But they can. :sunglasses:

#7

I kinda feel that way about a lot of the weapons in ME. I like the options, but I’d rather see a list of weapon customization prompts.

For example:
Great weapon: Wield with 2 hands, 3 slots, ULTIMATE EFFORT.
Anti-Armor: Hits of 5+ damage render foes EASY to hit
Light: Attack with Dex, Basic Effort damage
Heavy: If you didn’t move this turn, roll Gun Effort
Sharp: Crit on 19-20

I feel like the Master Edition weapon choices are cool, but they seem to encourage “builds” that rely on specific weapons from the text. That kinda destroys the simplicity of every weapon using a d6.

And now that I’m thinking about it, I want to push it even further into two lists, one with upgrades and one with drawbacks, so that you can design your own weapons :laughing:

#8

I guess this might be a return to tags? But I feel like tags are more open ended, where I’m looking for a way to allow customization within a structured system (for people who like rules and crunch) while keeping normal weapon choices open.

If you want a two handed sword, you got it! No worries. If you want a weapon that deals ULTIMATE, here are some guidelines for how to build that.

#9

For the Warhammer, I’d honestly just scrap what’s offered and come up with something else. I think using a d8 for damage is cool, or saying hits of 5-10 cause a condition. Like, if you deal 5+ damage to a foe, they lose their movement next round. It’s less fussy with the Room Target, and it still seems like quite a nice little feature.

Otherwise, just have the Warhammer wielding player track which creatures they’ve hit. They can keep the team informed about which foes are weakened.

#10

This is what I did, warhammer et al. Alternative Alfheim Starting Gear

#11

Yeah that’s a great starting list. There were a lot of great descriptions and options on there.

My issue is that while I don’t like lists of options, I really do think some players need them to start understanding what’s possible.

It’s the whole thing of putting “improvised weapon master” on your character sheet. Once you do that, everyone else at the table feels like they can’t improvise a weapon.

#12

Maybe we just need different resources for different players. Like GMs could get “Weapon Generation” lists, players can get a set of “Weapon Options.” Players who want to keep it simple can just describe their weapon of choice and roll a d6. Players who want lots of options can comb through the GM resources and build their own custom weapon.

#13

I love the idea of having a list of weapon qualities, and have players and GMs discuss what a signature weapon for a PC might look like based on the qualities they select. It would be a very different way of thinking about kitting out your PC - build the equipment, rather than pick from a menu. Awesome!

#14

Your tags are great; I still use many of the tags proffered on Core 2.0 (plus some of my own), and I’d like to see them kept alive in ICRPG culture.

Also, sacrificing WEAPON effort for BASIC on specific DEX-based “finesse weapons” is one of the most palatable rules implementations I’ve seen for a DEX-based fighter (which I’m normally not too fond of, for reasons of STAT-stacking). Nicely done.

#15

Thanks! I came up with the idea for the Goblin in my profile pic, he’s a rogueish NPC and I wanted to Min-Max him without getting too cheesy.