Crafting with Monster Parts in Dungeons & Dragons

[@theDMLair]

Reimagining the Bounty of the Land the-dm-lair.myshopify.com/products/reimagining-the-bounty-of-the-land Big Ruleset Bundle the-dm-lair.myshopify.com/products/the-big-ruleset-bundle

[@PerfectionHunter]

This was excellently cut! Promotions was at the end of the video, and not spread out in side it 👌 I could follow everything you said from start to finish while upgrading the paint scheme on my WarLock Tiles (best use of a vacation, right?). Thank you for this change ❤

[@justinmargerum2559]

So basically, an abridged version of the systems found in Loot Tavern's "Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting" or Roll For Combat's "Battlezoo Bestiary." As suspiciously similar as this is to several online homebrews, I think that parallel discovery can be fairly argued; these are all logical extrapolations from the outlines for hunting, gathering, and crafting found in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

[@mansongrtales6930]

He didn't cover eating the monster parts/plants you find, like Heliana did.

[@silvertheelf]

I love when people say “can I harvest the monster?” Because it allows me to do super creative stuff. Like making darkmantles have a magic pearl which when squeezed created the 15ft sphere of darkness that the darkmantle can do.

[@EliSkylander]

I'm stealing this.

[@TheSasquatchjones]

My daughter harvested the wings and stinger of the last manticore she killed and is now walking around the world in an outfit comprised of manticore wings and a stinger.

[@michaelstowe2167]

Interesting rules. A lot more in depth than I would have thought. Personally, I've just been telling my players to make a Survival check to see if they can harvest monster parts, then determine what they get based on how well they roll. Then if they want to make something with it, they need to have the appropriate tool proficiency and succeed a tool check. It's quick and simple.

[@Lersa25]

My DM did the same. Worked perfect. The rules in the video may be complicated, but I would not call them deep. Too many logical flaws and inconvenience that does not add to the fun. I mean, if players just killed a dragon, did they not deserve some reasonably happy looting instead of incredibly long skillchecks?

[@michaelanderson9947]

im not only a fan of that same system but have also both used it as a player and dm. its simple, its straightforward and it still covers all the grounds you need covered. most importantly though, it doesnt change how the players might fight a tough monster like the rules in this video. if players know that they get the easiest dc by doing x, that will not only prolong combat, but could potentially place the party in a damning situation for the sake of overcomplicating the system.

[@Johan-od4op]

Just gonna say I really needed this as a new DM and my players started harvesting monster in session 3 (on session 10 now). They already have a Studded Leather Armor of Magic Allergy made from Gremishka hides waiting for them.

[@volosguidetomonsters3440]

Harvesting a dragon: The warlock made two +1 daggers, the sorcerer made a +1 quarterstaff, the fighter made wings of flying etc, etc

[@terrorofdeath3280]

Oh my players can now totally collect Thunder Bacon (Bacon of Quickness?) from Gorthok the Thunder Boar. Also, wereboars. Dragon bacon? But from, like, a super thicc, phatty dragon. Just, a big ol' chonker.

[@laughingpanda4395]

I allow my players to craft weapons, armors and even practical gear from monster parts. If it makes sense and my player is proficient in that kind of crafting then, sure. Go for it. I usually set a reasonable dc and then have them make a check for how viable the item is. I dig the rules set idea though instead of just winging it. Maybe I'll check it out.

[@PhthaloGreenskin]

I Already do this! Hamund's handbook on dm's guild. My artificer has a death ray after he harvested a beholder's eye rays.

[@aqacefan]

Dael Kingsmill has written a similar guide for plants; check out her channel for the relevant video and link to the PDF.

[@tabletoptinkerer]

I have a player operating as a simic hybrid, scimic scientist in my theros/ravnica mashup campaign. This has been a constant theme throughout. We took it a step further for hin and he xan now, with effort and restrictions, learn spells by studying the inate magic that is woven into all existing things that informa evolution and biologixal traits inherent to different species. Its saved me a lot of tiem of scrambling for random book names!

[@BRDoriginal]

If your players havent tried to harvest a monster, you havent been DMing long enough. That hit me. I have literally created a math equation for calculating the cost of monster loot.

[@solarflarestudios719]

My dm gave my character a third eye for failing a con save after eating “mind flayer sushi”

[@aymentucker1680]

I am starting my first campaign as a DM in a few weeks and I will use this. Thank you.

[@jacobhope6164]

Pigs have snouts. Old School Orcs have snouts. Pigs = bacon, Old School Orcs = bacon. There, I finally used the transitive property.

[@kenvanroy8302]

Nice overview, I was surprised how much I already did of these in my games. I usually use a medicine or survival check (depending on what they want to harvest) though for the actual harvest. Higher rolls give higher quality. Nice vid!

[@trueyinyang7941]

harvesting and crafting has always been my favorite part since i started playing D&D in 1988

[@Jediknight404]

I've been wanting a system like this for quite some time. As usual you and your team did wonderful work

[@neocores]

perfect timing, i have a character that grew up in the wilds with a hag that will work so well for this kind of thing

[@UrbanVerse69]

This is a great idea! I can finally create that gritty survival campaign based off the 2013 Tomb Raider game and use these rules to craft guns out of animal parts! I meN, that makes sense, right? I do plan on working in a bacon source on my next campaign, which is exploration and survival themed. Something like...hogloths or something, basically demon-tainted wild hogs that can be eaten...if you're brave enough

[@bleddynwolf8463]

i often make creature parts a prerequisite for magic item crafting, e.g., Harpy skin for spell scrolls, a hill giants heart for an amulet of health, fiend remains purified by a cleric or paladin for an amulet of the devout, etc

[@GameChinchila]

This is some amazing tips Luke! Thanks for sharing it with us!

[@davidanddragons5339]

Dang, that thumbnail art looks so good

[@heathbayhi6275]

Great Video. Wearboars can give bacon during a full moon.

[@princesskanuta3870]

very good and helpful information, thank you Luke!

[@Jake-ky4yj]

For harvesting monster parts, you should implement proficiency with artisan tools. such as leatherworking for something with skin or scales or guts. woodworking for some kinda plant. alchemy or poisoners kit for some kind of liquid such as blood or venom. most of those proficiencies involve knowledge of how to acquire the materials as well.

[@squirrelking5203]

Can't help but point out that you haven't accounted for if the players try to harvest the organs while the creature is still alive. Given that it could happen you know it will at some point.

[@mikeb.1705]

While the crafting rules sound pretty useful, I tend to wing it on the usefulness of various monster bits, and come up with recipes and uses on the fly and / or correlate the bits with existing magic items (i.e. dragon brain is required for a potion of dragon control, displacer beast hide can be used for crafting a cloak of displacement). Still, a great - and useful - video!

[@davidcolligan1368]

Bacon is delicious!!! And thanks for the video, my rogue has been wanting to learn this stuff!!!

[@vortraz2054]

Says light rules, rules for the first step for the players to take is already too lengthy to memorize for a single step

[@jordanw2741]

In my seafaring campaign, squid bacon was one of the finest delicacies. So when we killed a kraken... We were set for life.

[@Jtime42]

Thanks for showing Rangers love

[@martinnussbaum3435]

Usually you round to the benefit of the player, it is only coincidence that it is usually down.

[@simonrogers6830]

Looking for bacon... find the elusive plant, the Ham-bush. Keep up the good stuff.

[@LightPink]

Isn't there a battlezoo book for this?

[@nukerwolf7788]

I wish my players would harvest monsters more they usually go for the basic teeth and claws and nothing else

[@DragonKingZero]

Lizardfolk: *squeaks and bobs head with excitement*

[@justinblocker730]

Dragons have the best Bacon or so my character has heard!

[@93lozfan]

I once took a grell tentacle and whipped a kobold with it and it had the poison with the grell DC

[@TheDisquietingNight]

Well, there is a Homebrewer named Amellwind who wrote rules to play Capcom's Monster Hunter game in 5e, which includes its own Monster Manual.

[@JacopoSkydweller]

I played several sessions where the DM was running that (travel contract in Hawaii) It was AWESOME. The monsters felt epic, we never quite knew what we were dealing with so a lot of tension was added, and the crafting was pretty wild.

[@demonic_myst4503]

The hombrew world i use , usses a boubty susten that requires cutting ears or taking heads of the target monster so this stuff is a fun adition to think anout

[@toranas1500]

Bulette bacon! Nice and fatty. They have to stay warm when burrowing in the cold earth. Just gotta get through that hard shell to get it.

[@ginger-ham4800]

Interesting. Dungeon Meshi gets announced and this video comes out.

[@torva360]

Wish I had had this when my players killed a couple wyverns and asked if they could salvage the bodies haha I'm excited about this one

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Another source of bacon is the cow. You use the same cut of meat, and the same smoking/salting process to gain beef bacon.

[@Hedron-Design]

This is seriously tempting me to hit that patreon. I will be sharing this video with my players. Currently we are running an episodic game and players have more than one character. Each adventure they will be taking one character. Down time is a thing in this game so this is perfect. Thank you sir for this video.

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@mixsys4045]

My question is why would anyone use Favored Terrain / Enemy over the Tasha update?

[@tigon8224]

Please look at roll for combat monster parts system for a very flushed out system

[@myrtislockett7792]

How exactly are gauntlets of ogre power and/or girdles of giant strength made. I've never really researched this just always took advantage of them when they were found.

[@aqacefan]

I’d hazard a guess they come from Ogre and Giant leather, respectively. And potions would come from glands like the adrenals.

[@myrtislockett7792]

@@aqacefan I don't want to the pc's to make them. Just find them on an adventure. I have to assume that the girdles would have to come from giant's belly but then what ? That question has always been at the back of my mind.

[@aqacefan]

@@myrtislockett7792 Ah, I see the distinction now, thanks for the clarification. "Where do the treasures that PCs find come from?" is a great question. It presupposes that there was once a civilization where such items were plentiful, and that the cycle of history has passed that civilization by. Think of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and all of the technology that was rediscovered in the ruins of Roman cities. Or the tombs of the Pharaohs, Mesoamerican ziggurats, or the ruins of Angkor Wat. Matt Colville's Running The Game series might be an excellent resource for you to consider for worldbuilding tips; it certainly got me over a hurdle that cropped up when I converted an Adventure from 1st Edition Runequest! to my current 5e campaign in that I was able to explain why there was strange coinage on some skeletons; there was once an Empire, 500 years before the start of my campaign, that used those coins. Working with your players to discover What Has Gone Before will make your world all the more dynamic, and provide continuity that you can reference in future campaigns. Have fun!

[@myrtislockett7792]

@@aqacefan that was a deep dive. I always thought magic items were just made by old mad magicians. Usually they become Liches. Thanks for the tip. I'm not currently playing or DMing but I still like to study the game. Talking here is next to that. Thanx.

[@Frederic_S]

Algorithm, hear me out … Luke does not suck!

[@bakuiel1901]

You can get Boar Bacon, Gnome Bacon, or Troll Bacon

[@danielwalters5896]

Dino and Dragon Bacon gives me Flintstone vibes. .... Yes I would like the Dragon BLT with a side of taters please.

[@theberndog]

I have a druid player who wants to gather items for healing potions. But they argue that it doesn't make sense to pay gold if they can gather in the forest the right material. Should I go along with that? What justifies the gold cost of materials?

[@WisdomThumbs]

Gold has analgesic properties. Gold is consumed by writing spells into spellbooks. Some spells rely on GP cost (like Resurrection). Dragons love gold for a reason, because it’s highly magical and is even produced by some of the most powerful DnD gods (good and evil). But gathering all the ingredients themselves should allow someone to make healing potions. At the very least give them a discount, especially if they find magic ingredients.

[@nonya9120]

Geezer here.... Direboar Bacon. Gaming on.

[@halsdoang8189]

Great bacon question, in my world the tastiest bacon will come from minotaurs

[@robo1544]

Best source for bacon is from a Nalfeshnee of course.

[@evensfan0522]

I stole two wolf heads and put them on my shoulder armor and my DM gave me +1 intimidation

[@lanefunai4714]

I think a bulette would have bacon. Wandering critter that eats anything. Sound familiar?

[@lochlanroberts5423]

My party takes a trophy from every beast they slay and then they bring the trophies into town and have a craftsmen mount it on their wagon. The wagon, after months of this campaign, is now littered with multitudes of beastly hides, appendages, heads, genitalia and so much more. It’s become a whole spectacle every time they roll up somewhere and npc’s just have no idea wtf they are seeing just roll on up in the town. Looks like the mindflayer monster from Stranger Things lmao

[@nonya9120]

Geezer here.... Best was the Kinder, who insisted on spending 2 days butchering the dragon. He was looking for the flame thrower. Gaming on.

[@cautionary95]

Owlbear bacon has to be pretty good right?

[@Jaundyce]

I've heard Rift Swine make some tasty planar bacon

[@RyanSmitherson]

If ever, there is a time to wonder and consider where to find bacon in D&D, it's now; A video about scavenging from slain beasties.

[@JaredManninen]

I'm a new DM running a campaign with a player who wants to use their Herbalist kit, so I've been looking for resources that cover this topic of finding, harvesting, and crafting plants. I haven't gotten to the creature harvesting stuff yet, but I suspect that'll show up in one of my games soon enough! Anyway, thanks for putting this video (and pdf) together. That said, do you know if there any definitive/comprehensive plant and subsequent potion formula lists for D&D (5e or otherwise)? You have the 10 sample plants in the "Reimagining..." document, and I've found in other herbalism-related resources short lists of plants to use. However, I can't find one accepted plant list used by everyone. At this point I suspect there isn't one, and that the plants and potion recipes are completely up to the DM to create. And this is fine because I'd rather just create a list using plants from my home area as I know them well (making in-game improve easier), many of them have fun names, and if I ever decide to create some imagery of each plant I have plenty of reference photos. Anyway, I'm sure I just answered my own question but thought I'd ask you just the same. Thanks for all of the great content!

[@peetamontrose7954]

"Harvesting every single organ from every single monster encountered that sounds like..." ...my one player in my first [as a dm] dnd campain 😒 Ps: i love her 😅 [for that, and for her lack of fear compared to my other players, and you know - since she always loot the bodies I am not affraid they will just not find something i want them to find... Althou she didn't started harvesting organs yet (it's her first dnd campain) - so for now i only need to look at the monster picture, decide - oh he has nice claws, as for the skin you can only harvest from this and this part, he has xDx feathers - you know, only the outside parts xD And meat. Right now they are eating Vrocks... 😳 And here i'm knowing what that feathery, flying creature is, or rather was, while they don't 😳 OF COURSE I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS AGAINST THEM SOON!!! 😂 A-actually i can't... Cause they have a freaking paladyn that puryfied the *&$@# out of this... Ffffff..... Well, the satysfaction that they are eating a chewy gummy flesh from Vrock's breast or his big tight has to be enough...]

[@Argumedies]

I hear that chromatic dragons make great Bacon

[@FullSen21]

I don't know about bacon, but I'm sure we can get some good tenders from a Cockatrice.

[@modtyrant1784]

Got a question for anybody that reads this ( i'm a long time DM ). Is it even possible to get obstinate players to not argue about DM rulings, specifically custom encounters/basic stat blocks for monsters ( essentially not using the Monster Manuel ). I had a player who would get irate, yell and had called me stupid because i said not all "red dragons" would breathe fire. I also had another player that kept saying/thought i should just give players auto-successes on natural 20 ( trying to intimidate a fearless monster for example etc ) .

[@andrewhalverson6974]

I'm being honest, while I like these rules at a casual glance, it's a little rule heavy for me. Also for plants I feel it's a herbology check. I would argue that you could use medicine at disadvantage, and even get advantage of you were proficient in both. That said, I'm very capable of improv, and I know not everyone is. Also, I get a 24 to harvest pork belly from the wild boar and a 17 on cooking told to make bacon.

[@DungeonsAndDrams]

Owlbear bacon... Owlbearcon

[@sonofphil78]

Other sources of bacon... Canadian pigs... and Hormel's Relics of Bits

[@coinslot321]

Purple Worm bacon is spicy

[@stapledspine]

This is my second month as $15 patron and I've used both the tamed companions AND the crafting supplements in my game! Love this stuff!

[@jonathanschmitt5762]

8:40 Probably the biggest, I say Tarrasque.

[@priestesslucy]

We can't forget all the ingredients for spell components and potions from mundane creatures and people that witches have been using for pretty much the history of fiction 😋

[@nappahughes8496]

old school Orcs are a source of bacon

[@shinybugg9156]

My party has totally made wolf bacon.

[@richardgiannelli134]

Said ranger but had a picture of a phantom rogue 👍. No bacon.

[@sleepinggiant4062]

Very well thought out. I like it!

[@LordWiseWolf]

I've been told beef bacon is delicious.

[@will6671]

free concept of pointless item here. I would like to harvest a tooth, tendon, and a length of wing bone from a red dragon. (wing bone because it should be the most flexible bone in the dragon) I would like to pull the strands from the tendon, treat them, and braid them back together to make a strong yet flexible strand, carve a hook from the tooth, and shave down the bone to a thin long pole so that it is light but still thick enough to be extremely strong (being dragon bone and all that). then i would like to combine these items into the world most lavish and expensive fishing pole that will likely scare away fish due to the sent of a dragon hitting the water. and maybe just maybe, if a fish bites the fiery spirit of the dragon will immediately cook the fish. hmm, maybe i should make it from a blue dragon instead, use ye olde crank telephone method to dial up some fish.

[@mstack-kk9it]

Delicious Displacer Beast bacon! Taste the otherworldyness! 🤤

[@Sceadusawol]

Bulette bacon. That's a thing, right?

[@empresschristi]

awesome

[@senseikitsune-sama4598]

I had a awakened dog try to steal someone's arm I really didn't know how to react to it he has an arm now it's still wet

[@JohnKay79]

goblins and orcs probably carry stolen bacon rations...

[@soMeRandoM670]

Awesome

[@chasingbadger3340]

A member of my party always harvests from his victims haha

[@DavidB-tm5et]

I wonder what Tarrasque bacon would taste like…

[@DerdnikTheHero]

If you ask them nicely an ork will give you Bacon. And it's candied 🤤

[@williamhalvorson8336]

ORC's = BACON! (Anime Orcs always look like Pigs lol)

[@BleydTorvall]

I imagine you could use similar rules for gathering mineral materials, such as ores or gems from a quarry or mine. Would no doubt take more time and effort to do so though. As for crafting, something interesting I've considered if you've invested some resources in developing the skills necessary is the ability to produce higher quality results. For example, if you are attempting to craft a longsword using smith's tools, if your bonus with that skill is sufficiently high, maybe +8, then upon successful completion of the project, you role 1d20, and if you get a natural 20, the result becomes a longsword+1. If you reach a higher threshold, say, +11, then you can roll 2d20, scoring a longsword+2 if both come up as a 20. If you add expertise to your smith's tools, you get to roll an additional d20 to upgrade your result further, potentially crafting a longsword+3 if all 3 dice come up 20s. With that, if you had a +11 to smith's tools with expertise, you'd have roughly a 14% chance to craft a longsword+1, which seems reasonable for an expert smith, but only a .0125% of getting a longsword+3, so highly unlikely to get something overly powerful.

[@rebekahoberson1447]

Is there a page on the dragon organ that makes them able to use breath weapons?

[@evilboy4fr]

Dragon bacon?

[@mrthor8273]

Orcs have porcine snouts. Maybe they have bacon? Very weird eating a humanoid, but I'm not going to try it.

[@russelminer9888]

other sources of bacon... ORCS!

[@dannyboy2525]

Dragon bacon!!!

[@golfer_weezy8549]

Yo we just killed a young red dragon and skinned the dragon and am currently crafting studded leather armor

[@jacobw1647]

Bacon from all Humanoids

[@Pookey802]

Orc bacon