How to Customize Creatures! (GM Tips w/ Matt Mercer)

Critical Role's Dungeonmaster Matt Mercer is here with another installment of GM Tips!
Customizing the creatures and characters in your campaign can add a nice flavor to the experience. How you customize is dependent on many factors: party size, mobility, recovery ability, story relevency, and more.
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[@LuxLuciferVT]

His first suggestion is literally a bandit shouting POCKET SAND.

[@gabriellawrence109]

STEALTH

[@kanati1133]

*gets king of the hill flashbacks*

[@amphibamine]

rest in peace dale

[@LadyLunarSatine]

A surprise encounter for low-level PCs: a necromancer animates some skeletons whose rib cages happen to be the anchor point for a wasp's nest. Once the skeletons are animate, they gain what amounts to a non-magical damage "aura" at close ranges that only worsens as the PCs strike the skeletons. Or scale it up by pairing the necromancer with a despoiler/blighter (other name for an anti-druid) who hijacks the stinging vermin after the initial shock of irregular skeletons wears off. Also, the "albino red dragon" is only funny once. I had a DM go the extra mile and place it in an ice cavern.

[@henco8716]

Calm down Satan xD

[@The_King_of_Chefs]

That's evil

[@theramendutchman]

Albino Red Dragon in an ice cavern? So an invisible fire breather while everyone is surrounded in ice? ... Yeah Imma steal that

[@TheMikesc15]

holy fucking shit. I never thought about albino dragons! Stealing that (laughs as I construct encounter)

[@splinte111]

I personally really wants to be a GM and this series really helps me to prepare and remove some of the anxiety i have leading up to the first session. Keep up the good work.

[@LeojPies]

Don't forget to check out Matthew Colville's series. He makes references to Critical Role and even gave Liam that neat Meteorite die. He gives you very basic rules and even gives you a mock set up if you want to try out some things.

[@aarongalloway9750]

Being a GM is pretty fun. I started out my D&D experience as a GM, and I can say the bit of advice I can give is don't over extend, know you're not going to always be right, and don't let it get crazy with homebrew. With my first point, by don't over extend I mean you should aim for a party size of 4 or possibly 5. Matt makes running a game for 7 people look easy, trust me- it's really REALLY not. Oh boy did that second point kick my ass in the beginning. Try and stick to the books and other WOTC material, and if you do allow homebrew content keep an eye on well made content. Also make sure to take the time to completely read over the content. My DM currently, for example, allowed someone to play a class which essentially let them be the Hulk. Doesn't sound bad on paper until he convinced the party wizard to make him grow every combat and he also had stolen a minotaur's axe- so all and all he became very powerful very early. With that last point, however, you are GM and if you are adamant about something the players disagree with just settle it in a civil manner. "Look, this is happening and after the session should you all wanna talk further about this we can- but for now we are moving on."

[@RichardNixon1969]

I really like Matt Mercer as a DM, he is so amazing at preparation and story telling, just everything! He only has so many videos with DM tips I can't wait until he makes more. However there's also "How to be a Great GM" that can also help too. Tons of videos and advice there to help you become a more knowledgeable DM. I think Matt is a fantastic example but don't be afraid to look around a bit for more advice as well!

[@LeojPies]

I think an important comment from one of Matthew Colville's videos is "don't compare yourself to Mercer, he's an expert who has honed his craft over the years". It's more of a 'i'd like to do that' rather than 'i can never be that good' kind of deal

[@djpeterson7479]

Yeah, I use Mercer as an example, myself. I'm totally new to DMing and fortunately, the team I'm playing with is mostly novices so little mistakes are overlooked (and sometimes swept under the board). It was a bit scary trying to GM at first especially using Mercer as an example. I soon realized that there is one thing Mercer does innately that is the first rule of all good GMs - no matter what happens, just make sure everyone is having fun. When that hit me, I quickly found out that our play sessions were great because my first goal was to analyze everyone and see if they were enjoying themselves. If suspected someone was getting bored, I'd focus on their character and change the situation in some way that the bored player's character would be a perfect fit for success, or would otherwise ingrain their character into the situation to give them a risk/reward scenario they could get into. And if at any point I or someone else messed up on a rule, we'd consult the book, correct it, and then move on to the next fun scenario. As long as everyone is having fun and everyone can agree on how to fix mistakes or incorporate new ideas into the game, you're succeeding!

[@NBvagabond]

did... did matt just recommend pocket sand as an attack?

[@MrBoomanu]

If players have been doing this forever, why wouldn't a random guy in the bar be doing it?

[@Never_heart]

I built an encounter around a guy who uses various kinds of pocket sand both alchemical and magical to fight

[@veng3r663]

My Dream Weaver's Level 11 Summon Night Knight minion uses a Sleeping Sand ranged attack... :)

[@shadowkat678]

In real life it would be a good tactic, especially for a rogue type. Good distraction and really painful if it gets in the eye. About as effective as pepper spray.

[@nadhifbhagawantahadiprayit975]

You haven't tasted what pocket sand can do until you sucker punched a fallen deity with it.

[@TheLaughingReaper525]

Love all the faces Matt makes when he gives suggestions

[@veng3r663]

The scary part was at the frequency that he KEPT saying "TPK"... (is VERY afraid for the next episode) O_O

[@crystalthunderheart8895]

I can still see old man Matt doing them

[@Landis963]

I love the "cutaways" where Matt just shows how evil a GM can get.

[@valritz1489]

Another tip for if you want to have a flavorful enemy that isn't immediately identifiable, or if you need to come up with a unique foe on the fly as the result of... Fun: It's always an option to just take the stat block of an existing monster and "re-skin" its abilities into the flavor you want them to be. So, for instance, if you want dragons to be these colossal engines of destruction, existing for millennia without challenge, you can take a red dragon wyrmling and rehash it as a fire-breathing velociraptor instead of a true dragon. For a high-tech war machine from a bygone civilization, lost and buried until the villain found it and reactivated it, you can use a beholder's stats and abilities, with each eye beam being a different weapon in its arsenal. Some of the beams might need to be retooled to make sense in the new context, but that's just a storytelling problem.

[@Lopez.Victor]

And a DM's plans go sideways in record time lol

[@maticauthon]

DM plans mean nothing, I've been running a campaign for a year now and I write half a page for a month of play. My PC's make their own fun and take their sweet time doing things. We are hopeful going to finish our Halloween even soon. Yes they are still doing it. They spent two hours messing with a lich bard and his orchestra.

[@maticauthon]

Lucky! We are roughly 20+ hours in, but we have clocked about 150+ hours getting there. I honestly don't mind it; in fact it is quite funny watching them try and open a door that requires a key (think fire door from LOZ or Resident Evil) by saying fire in every known language, writing on it with blood and ink, pouring water on it, kicking it, arguing about how to open it only to find that the Ranger/Rogue has gone off and found the keys and killed everything while the other 4 messed with a door. They don't get subtle hints... like the door has a massive keyhole in the center of it.

[@djpeterson7479]

Yep, I made a campaign set in a completely customized world with completely customized foes. All my creatures take homage between Lovecraftian lore and H.R. Gieger weirdness just to make them terrifying. Of course, my first attempt was to role stats from the ground up and that went.... okay. Someone in the group recommended to use stats from DnD monsters (as you mentioned), tweak a stat or two and reskin them with my own ideas. So far that has worked pretty well, so I'd agree that anyone wanting to create their own monster should start there. The Monster Manual has a ton of great starting points!

[@evannibbe9375]

Alternatively, just put in more low level enemies to help the boss escape, or give the boss a couple of PC levels (side note: a Lich’s stats are really weird (rules as written) in making it less powerful than it ought to be by (1) only giving it 3 Cantrips instead of 5 (what an 18th level wizard is supposed to have), (2) and not giving it the 18th level wizard ability to cast 1 level 1 spell at will and one level 2 spell at will, (3) and also that Liches ought to have the 14th level necromancy wizard ability to control an undead creature with an intelligence less than 12 forever (such as a ghost), (4) that liches ought to have the 6th level necromancy wizard ability to have their own proficiency bonus added to the damage rolls of undead creatures the lich makes (as well as have the max hp of its undead creatures needing to be increased by 18 (the level of the lich)), that the lich must be immune to having its hp maximum reduced, and a lich really ought to also have a Simulacrum and Familiar (from Find Familiar) allies if they are going to be a real wizard).

[@Dreadtle]

Absolutely loving this series so far! :D

[@ebonstone2980]

Love those Literally Sinister shots of your left, when you evil-chuckle!

[@Nerdarchy]

0:45 I always like to consider my party make-up to be *faaabulous*! 😂 -Nerdarchist Ryan

[@shmatts5269]

When I get that feeling I want Clarota healing Clarota healing, oh baby Makes you feel so fine Please don't flay my mind Clarota healing, baby, is good for you Clarota healing is something that's good for you

[@shmatts5269]

Scanlan sung it in an episode of Critical Role to Clarota, it's gold.

[@Altoriss]

it's a critical role reference :P

[@Altoriss]

TheLastWiller then you have a good reason to rewatch :P

[@DragonKnightJin]

When creating or customizing things for your game.. Treat it like cooking! You can always ADD things, but it's very hard to REMOVE things once they're in there. This goes for enemies, but also for items you want to reward your players with. Err on the side of caution. It's easier to buff something that turns out to be less powerful than you intended, than it is to take away damage or abilities the players have already come to love. And probably abuse.

[@dante6582]

One of the final bosses of my most recent campaign was a Mutated Remorhaz. A tribe of various Merfolk and Triton were working together to create more aquatic creatures that they could use to defend themselves from a Dragon Turtle that threatened their peaceful life. They created a Remorhaz that could see, breathe and fight underwater, but it was in immense pain since it's skin still wasn't made for the pressure of the depths. It was enraged because of the pain and ran from the Merfolk, who couldn't stop it. I tried to keep it as similar to a normal Remorhaz in battle as possible, but the whole thing went down underwater, it made for a very interesting encounter.

[@feliciasteele2665]

ive been GM'ing for little over a year now, and thoroughly enjoying it; just started watching these clips, and its helped me so much with how I GM to people. It's helped me to change my style of GM'ing to match the tone, and has made a lot of it more relaxing and fun-filled, so thank you Matt!

[@Lyr00]

2:52 that little squishing noise xD

[@paddy_black]

I am not good at these types of games and don't really like to play myself, but I find it absolutely fascinating how creative people can be and love watching others play idk it's just so amazing to me how people really dive into these adventures it's so cool!

[@deltablaze77]

I really appreciate this series, thank you all for your hard work & time!!

[@tmcdon]

Hey Matt, I'm a new viewer of your show and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the content that you produce for DMs and for the content made by you and the entire cast of players! Thank you!

[@PrincessPixieBell]

I don't know anything about dungeons and dragons but it seems so awesome. I'd be willing to learn.

[@0qualifications193]

Pixie-Chan try it out! it's great

[@PrincessPixieBell]

I'm gonna try to learn

[@0qualifications193]

Pixie-Chan here are some resources to help you: www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/5c5isq/my_favorite_videos_for_dms/

[@PrincessPixieBell]

thank you so much!

[@Graehaus]

If you have a local comic /game shop, they sometimes have a LFG ads there. I know a few around me do, also maybe through FB,G=. I have been RPGing since '79 with the original D&D.

[@JadeyCatgirl99]

A fun creature I made once was a coal dust mephit. It mostly has the same stats has a regular dust mephit. It had a weakness to fire damage. but it could light itself on fire damaging a player character, and itself. I also let it choke people on its dust making them have to pass a constitution saving throw, or lose a turn.

[@GrimBrotherIV]

Praise be upon Lord Mercer

[@allluckyseven]

Praise the S..! No, wait, that's from something else.

[@stupidhead_2812]

lol

[@agno8357]

GrimBrotherIV I called him Mercer-Sama (Sama in japanese means "Lord"

[@soulkutu]

I always add some sort of item that can help massively in boss fights because I trust in the players' bad luck. Unless it's d&d 3.5, there I am confident because I have a 7 page long banlist.

[@marti5420]

soulkutu In my custom world there are no gods only genies, for this sort of situation usually PCs will have a wish spare that they gain from doing cool stuff. they say the wish 'I wish this dragon was covered in flamable oil', i roll fudge dice to see how the genies will react or just choose myself if they abuse wishes. then usually the the thing happens. I find its a fun way to help along struggling parties or get an advantage after some unlucky rolls during bosses. plus it means I can kill off a charater or two, they'll jump at the chance to bring a PC back from the dead with a wish.

[@dobbsy9410]

Wish i had friends to play D&D with

[@xylem5404]

roll20.net is the answer friend

[@upsetti6404]

I went from having one friend who liked it and now im DM for a 9 player party.

[@deathknightcrusader8515]

I do gaming from skype

[@aidendowns6136]

Google adventures league

[@sillygooseenergy]

mRPG is what I'm using during this quarantine. I call it "D&D, corona style."

[@IntheFloor]

Matt talks about "less is more" approach and then the suggestion pops up "no survivors" hahaha

[@larred3338]

a favorite of mine for fun creatures was a deep one that when it was hit and didn't die it vanished into the mist of the planet and reappeared behind pc's when another died or appeared later in the turn, made for a careful and slow fight with lots of tension.

[@PrimeHylian]

I was just looking into this stuff, and BAM the wise Matt Mercer answers my prayers. ...yuss

[@lordofgrixis9925]

One thing I've found that's useful for a small or low-level party is putting an obstacle between them and what they're fighting. Putting the Dire Wolves on the other side of the river and making them swim over gives your party a chance to put a few shots in before they close. Or making the Troll climb up the side of the cliff before it can reach the party. Bolt holes and fall back positions are good too if the party is smart enough to use them. It's let me put some more interesting monsters into my games earlier than I would otherwise be able to.

[@hollyshirras2783]

dem sound effects. But seriously, I'm loving this series and am finding it really helpful.

[@takeoparill]

Matt pleeease make a video on making voices for characters! I just find it so immersive and fun.

[@criyofreeze]

Excellent! These ideas are great, I have a large party and needed some way to provide a better challenge. He was exactly right, increasing hit points only drags it out.

[@Gredran]

@Geek & Sundry please get Matthew Mercer to do an episode on building buildings or taverns or other things specifically. Thank you the videos are awesome!

[@RJeremyHoward]

This series is helping transform my whole GM style. I hope my party aren't offput by the change, because I effing love your dynamics. D&Diesel really sold me.

[@AtotheWESOME]

I once ran a campaign where the Zulkir of transmutation in Thay had disappeared and was now leading a cult of wizards who performed magical alterrations on all sorts of creatures. this really gave me a chance to customize monsters adding some new abilities, but also utilizing some of the abilities which are rarely seen. Not only this but it gave me a chance to use some of the monsters which are very circumstancial. A clearly remember the look on their faces when a giant earth-based octopus dropped from a cavern ceeling... priceless... :D

[@Theonlydump]

One of my best received adjustments to a creature was adding some weirdness to Formians for an adventure in Mechanus. First was a pheremone marker. If struck by a Formian's bite, the character would make a save roll (poison for our 2nd edition game, but it could easily be updated to a fort.) Failing that save would see them marked by a pheremone that would draw aggro. Second was a single location modification, the Cordycepts template. Think Formian fungus zombies that spore out upon death and infect more Formians. The last trick I baked up after their frankly pretty ingenious method for eradicating the problem hive by destroying all the drones. I gave the queen parthenogenesis.

[@voidtouchedrecords6193]

Matt you shouldnt have said something about pocket sand now im gonna use it lol

[@mikegould6590]

Matthew Q Mercer....Conditions as damage... pure genius. I have Encounters to write up, and you've inspired at least three. Thank you.

[@veng3r663]

The ironic part is that a truly devastating spell attack dies not always have TO BE about damage dealt. Case in point at Level 18 my Earth Render's can turn an opponent to Stone, my Sages can totally wipe their minds clean, and my Magicians can 'lock' someone away frozen in Time....

[@mikegould6590]

Veng3r Poisoned is as likely to kill anyone as damage. When you roll everything at Disadvantage... The Paralyzed condition is basically death. Every attack on you is at Advantage, and every hit is a Crit. A simple effect like Frightened can channel foes into hampering or dangerous terrain, as they will not willingingly come close to you. It can be brutal

[@veng3r663]

The Advantage & Disadvantage dynamic is a fairly recent 'crutch' addition that is way WAY overused IMHO...

[@kathyl9429]

These videos are really helpful! Thanks Matt and Geek & Sundry

[@twistednwarped314]

I like to add a weakness to strong enemies to help balance with a newer party. For instance I'm currently running curse of Strahd. The vampire spawn are very strong against level 3 players so I decided to give them radiant vulnerability, allowing the paladin to make up for the lack of dmg with divine smite. In order to rebalance it later I made it so Strahd would give his spawn magic accessories to help them overcome this, but only once per accessory. It worked pretty well, creating a bit more tension in these otherwise too easy fights while also allowing a bit of strategy since the accessories had limited use.

[@Introbulus]

Sometimes you don't even need to modify the stat block to make the encounter more interesting. You know the first encounter in Lost Mines of Phandelver, with the goblins? I like to run it such that the goblins, who have arrows and therefore an advantage at range, attack from atop a tree branch. I've done this twice, and it's a good way to make the players think of different ways to approach an encounter.

[@etymologynerd.]

my favorite custom creature is Quackthulu

[@matthewwilkinson4781]

I love these videos. My family has started playing DnD just the other day. These videos are helpful I haven't DM'd for years.

[@derekc.6155]

currently DMing a Dark Souls styled campaign, and these tips have really helped plan out encounters

[@Nixitur]

For making bosses easier, you can also often just adjust the terrain. In our Pathfinder campaign, we were surprised by a linnorm in the morning. The spellcasters didn't have all their spells, our archer was missing and melee characters were entirely ineffective. It was easily able to fly outside of effective range and almost entirely destroyed us. An NPC's interference saved us as we fled. The next time we fought it, we were prepared. We had laid an ambush and were inside a small cave where it could not fly. As it entered, we blew up the entrance to the cave, so it could not escape, either. We killed it in a few rounds with none of us even close to death.

[@sarahware8071]

I've been trying to create a spell casting goblin to spice up an encounter and this should certainly help. We have a very powerful Half-Orc barbarian in the party and even though he's level 1 he can deal an insane amount of damage that will take out a goblin in a single strike. It has been an interesting challenge to figure out how to counter his close combat abilities.

[@EdwardHowton]

A really easy way to do it is to look for a different monster that can cast spells in the books and then call it a goblin spellcaster. Something more or less the same level as a goblin but with a few tricks up its sleeves. I mean, customizing is great and all, but it's worth a look first so you don't just end up duplicating effort. From that potential near-match you can then tweak further and get the ideal kind of enemy for a fight. It helps to think of the enemies in books less as discrete monsters and more as "pre-balanced stat block templates".

[@sarahware8071]

Thanks. I have ended up combining a base goblin stat line with a scaled down version of a mage. A fellow player has had a look at it and he reckons it should work well. I have also added a cliff element to the cavern the fight will take place in. If it playtests well it I will use it again.

[@skullrevolver3848]

You could try giving it class levels if you want to give it a boost without going too in depth, maybe a level in barbarian to give it a rage and ac boost and a couple of levels of a spellcaster class.

[@Razzrazz90]

I've never DM'ed a game that had a party bigger than 2 players at a time. This was immensely helpful =)

[@epyjacek]

You're awesome Mercer. Thank you for the tips.

[@ravenclawfairy3648]

Thank you, Matt ❤️

[@Sophaurus]

if you want to add flavors to creatures add some notes on conditional behaviours: " will run if leader is dead", " will attack fleeing enemies at the cost of his life for the glory of his dark god" "will only use potion if it's clear he's going to die"

[@ethanprice6590]

I recently started my first home brew campaign and the first real fight the party hit was a sea monster that started as a heavily buffed pseudodragon but dies quickly to reveal that the thing they just killed was only the lure for a giant angler fish type thing with tentacles everywhere

[@valbourne1797]

keep with the cheesy cuts. the cheesy cuts make my day.

[@Skull_Corn]

He gets so into this and that makes watch much more fun

[@kminrzymski]

I've learned that it's good to use the same NPC's as enemies during one session and make it interesting by changing the environment of battle. If players invade heretic lair make them fight the same heretics in every encounter, but change starting conditions of a fight: let the heretics surprise players or let them surprise heretics, give the heretics advantagous position on the wall or make them numerous assaulting the wall on which players are defending. Make one group strong in numbers, but with very low morale and fleeing at first opportunity. Make the other one honorable and caring for they compatriots - healing them and carrying them out of the battle as a priority. Besides having the same stats doesn't require you to give them the same personality. And all you need for it is only one NPC sheet and set of rules. You can check out the tactics that the NPC can utilize and make the most of'em - even plan the typical behaviour for an NPC for an encounter, it's "AI". Funny thing, almost all of the rulebooks state contrary - that you should include many different NPC's in one session.

[@SpaceTrump]

Thanks for the good tips Matt, long live Matts.

[@CallyMayz]

I was working on a custom creature for a campaign I'll be running in a few days, went to check my subscriptions quickly and saw this. The timing is impeccable. I wonder if any wonderful people in comments have experience and could help me out...

[@afterpasthours7504]

Cally I suppose it goes both ways, you don't want to use a creature that can TPK the party, but then you don't want them to be easy by brute force, it usually should be a creature is easier to defeat by strategic smarts and perception. So you can use super tough enemies, but you lead your characters to figure out what it's weakness is and how they'll attack it

[@CallyMayz]

I'll just copy paste what I said to someone else over message, it'll be easier to get advice if people know what I've got so far. :D The creature is designed as an area boss, the route of all the problems. A Great Wyrm Silver Dragon that protected the area aeons ago, at some point it was slashed by a large poisoned weapon permanently poisoning the dragon.(I've stated it like the CR 8 Very Young Silver Dragon then given it some fancy Great Wyrm abilities, and some poison abilities which are equalised by the fact that it's crippled and blind so it is completely immobile.) It's body secretes deadly toxins and gases, going near it or worse touching it can be fatal. It's sitting in a large pool which has been entirely contaminated by the creature, (Probably knee deep water you have to wade through, but it shares a slightly weaker form of the Dragon's contact poison.). The creature's body and mind are warped and ill, when first seeing it it still appears to be a Great Wyrm Silver Dragon sitting upon a pool of ice. It'll use all of it's spells to try and discourage the party without killing them, basically scare them into thinking they can't handle the fight. But it's simply an illusion, the entire illusion is shattered when the Dragon get's to 2/3rds health and enters phase 2. They can get hints that what they see isn't real by attacking the dragon or stepping on the ice(Which isn't real and they just step right into the water.). A normal Silver Dragon Great Wyrm is covered in thick silvery scales, but the disease has caused the scales of this one to fall off as it's flesh rots. It has a thick hide still, but no large armoured scales to protect it(So when attacking arrows will go through the scales visably, swords will cut through to the hide and spells won't bounce off.) Phases will make the fight more interesting since it might take them a while to plink off all the health, phase 1 the dragon keeps up it's illusion and tries to convince the party to leave it alone, it'll only use spells and will avoid lethal force(If it brings a character below 0 it will heal them back up and target the others.). When it reaches phase 2 it drops the illusion, stops using it's spells and lashes out blindly with it's claws, tail and jaw. The desired effect of this phase change is to show the old and the new, show them what this creature used to be without telling them then show them what has happened to it. From caring resplendent Dragon to frightened dying animal. Once it goes below 0 it stops fighting, it still swings with one claw, but weakly and if it hits does very minor damage. It just lays there, holding on weakly to it's final bit of life before it's killed. Now the party is only level 1, but if they muck about in the area for a while, do some side quests they'll be a bit higher level when I assume they'll go into the fight. I want the fight to be harder for the dumb, easier for the smart. So I thought I'd give the creature one big exploitable weakness if the party thinks for a few seconds. The gash in it's belly. This is the biggest bit I'm not sure on, the effects of aiming for this weakspot. The two things I thought of would be, the gash is easier to hit does normal damage. The gash is harder to hit but does a crit automatically. I think the second one makes more sense, the dragon would be protecting this weakspot however it can making it hard to hit.(If you hit below gash AC but above Dragon AC you hit the rest of the dragon, it moves slightly or blocks the attack with a limb.) And attacking at this deep gaping wound would probably do more damage than just giving it a slight cut on a few parts of it's body.

[@lunargamer5261]

Wow, that sounds like a really cool idea and really thought through, from a general design aspect. My immediate question is the level of your party. Why would level 1 characters (or even 3 or 4, if they manage to take up the side objectives) even consider fighting that big a dragon? Are they the kind of group that believes they have to kill anything they come across or do you have an understanding that you wouldn't put them up against something they can't handle? The hardest thing about this fight will be the amount of HP your PCs have. I don't know exactly how weak you want it to truly be, but if they can't take even 1 hit from the dragon without going below 0, they may be smart enough to run away, before they even learn the true nature of the situation. CR8 is pretty tough even for a level 4 party, unless they are experienced power players and you want to weaken it in some ways and strengthen it in others. You need to really take care that they figure out that something is off to make sure they actually engage in the fight. Depending on their personalities, they may be offended if you have to tell them they're missing something. An NPC who tells a legend of this dragon protector and its wound or its unexplained absence or knowledge that the area used to be icy, but is now corrupted with poison, might be enough. If they aren't used to paying attention to details like that, you may need to throw more clues at them. Of your two thoughts for a weakness, I would probably go with the easier to hit version. Unless you theme it that the gash exposes internal organs, that are more precise targets, the PCs are basically still cutting into the dragon's hide and outer muscle. Then again, I don't think I would have it crit, but you could let them add d6 damage to reward them a little more. Also, if everyone starts targeting that spot, you can have the dragon actually defend it to raise the AC and get them to attack a different part of its body. One of the worst things that can happen in a fight is to have people take their whole turn by rolling 1 die and saying, "Next." Forcing them to move around let's them make choices to accomplish things. With the extra damage, they would have the choice you originally thought you'd make, yourself: higher difficulty for higher damage or lower difficulty for more reliable damage. Your decision should be based somewhat on the party's capabilities. How long do you want the fight to last? It sounds like you want to emphasize the story of the dragon. They'll need a few rounds in each stage to see how it is using the remainder of its life and weakening, as they fight it. If they can do enough damage with one round of attacks to push it though a stage, you and they lose the impact of the narrative you've worked to build. Sometimes they get lucky and roll multiple crits, but that's something you just have to live with. It's actually more important that they don't feel like they are punching a brick wall and taking forever to have an effect. Do you know what happens, if they try to talk to the dragon? If they realize it's trying to not hurt them and they try to talk to it, how does it react? Will they be able to kill such a pitiable creature that isn't trying to hurt anyone and is there an alternative?

[@lunargamer5261]

Okay, you sound like you know what you're doing. I couldn't pick up much about your experience from the opening comment. I hope I didn't come off as patronizing. I'm a lot better at conceptualizing than I am at actually implementing things in game, so I was going through that whole thought process as much for myself as for you. My group has a severe habit of finding the one option the GM didn't plan for in any major event, so I need the practice. The agreement you have about the way the world works leaves the decision to fight it in their hands, so you probably don't have to worry about whether it is too powerful for them, but you have to worry that much more that they understand this isn't a CR21 endgame badass, since that is something they could come across and would have to run from. I will stand by the idea of the wound being slightly easier to hit (bypassing the scales it has left) and causing a little extra damage, but not critting. If it's always a crit, it would be a lot harder for them to leave that spot, even if the dragon starts defending it to make it harder to hit. If they hit half as often and do twice the damage, there is no statistical benefit. If the increased defense goes from a 50% chance to hit down to a 30% chance to hit, they should stay on that spot, rather than go to another part of the dragon that gives them a 40-45% to hit. That's why I think a +d6 or +d8 damage on that spot is a better idea. When it starts defending, your fighter heads to a different spot to get the dragon's attention, eventually removing the defense to give the others free shots again. You can keep the fight dynamic, that way, and control the length of the fight by keeping the damage in a more predictable window. If you know they would like to hit a bunch of crits, you could easily justify doing it the other way, but that's my opinion.

[@CallyMayz]

It's perfectly fine, I understand I didn't state much of my experience or what I really needed help with. But explaining all my plans to someone else has really given me a good grip on them mentally, so I have a better idea of everything. And that idea of drawing the dragon's attention away so it won't defend that spot is a very good one, I wouldn't have thought of that.

[@Traxicus]

Can we get a DM tips episode on storyboarding? I've been really impressed with how Critical Role's arcs transition from one to the next, but have trouble settling on a clear path for my own campaign. What strategies can I use to take the pieces of the world I've built and tie a story through them?

[@xotmatrix]

I'm consistently amazed by Matt's ability to create challenging encounters that take Vox Machina to the brink of TPK where they often only save themselves with clever clutch play. I always think they are in way over their head yet somehow they keep going.

[@Neutral_Tired]

This was really helpful, I am fairly new DM and I am trying my hand at creating monsters, the one I'm most excited for is the Nuckelavee. I intend to use the centaur as a base, but I will be making many changes and, while that's not exactly what this video is about it will definitely be helpful.

[@simonsmasher1771]

Love these tips! So helpful!!! (and entertaining :P)

[@Xingmey]

thx matt, your tips are really helpful :) i use them a lot in shadowrun 5 keep it up

[@alexandersvideopicks8735]

Good advise, thanks for posting!

[@peinoftheakatsukiXx]

my favorite thing about this video is the noises they added when Matt wiggiles his fingers

[@kgeo2686]

I would be eternally grateful to get the entire playlist of music that Matt uses! There is a playing here on KZbin that has most of it and it's great but not all of it. Im looking for the song in Crit Role ep 22 49:00 among others. I'm going to DM for the first time soon and I'm going all out and the music you use is so perfect.

[@user-cx9un9fs7q]

Also making a monster to cast the simple spell of greater invisibility can be a very easy way to cause problems, as they may still attack whilst being invisible, forcing your players to need need to think of were the monsters current location is, perhaps get forced to use a area damage spell such as fireball to find there enemies location.

[@stagecoachprepper]

fantastic series!

[@johnbiggscr]

My party had started to take mobs for granted so I gave them the task of clearing out a kobold nest in an abandoned tower. I played the kobolds as creatures that had home advantage, knew they were weaker than other creatures and had planned and set traps accordingly. They knew when to run, and when to ambush, etc. Took the party the entire session just to clear out the tower and they learned to never judge mobs as ‘easy’ again. I remember it so well that 30 years later I called my clan in an online game ‘The Underestimated Kobolds’.

[@NathanielNow]

I like playing around with the terrain to make the enemy have an advantage. Archers could be on a hill or small cliff, warriors could have a tree behind them to prevent flanking, there's a river in the middle of the fight that the enemy could push you into. A large tree falls down mid fight and blocks the mage's line of sight. Rocks fall, everyone dies.

[@Gremlin4498]

ooooh that spider scuttling audio clip when he wriggled his fingers in excitement.

[@ThoraxetheImp]

Love these! Keep em coming!

[@MrBlooDeck]

With 5e, read up on legendary actions. They're perfect for making your boss monster more terrifying (essentially it gives them more actions). And for other systems, give powerful foes multiple initiative slots. It works wonders for upping their damage and threat.

[@CCartman69]

As an addendum to that last idea, perhaps have the multiple initiative slots tied to different forms of attacks. Say you are fighting a two-headed Ogre, each head has their own initiative-one will focus on melee attacks and moving the body, while the other is an accomplish sorcerer, casting spells around the battlefield. Alternatively, maybe they are fighting a Giant Dragon, with three initiative slots. One represents it's claws, how it snatches and digs into those in it's range. The second represents it's head, where it can either bite or use it's breath attack. The final one is it's wings, which it might not use for the first few rounds, but when it's sufficiently injured, suddenly it has a new slot, allowing it greater mobility around the battlefield-or just a new buffet of wind attack. This helps the players plan around the enemy's turns, but also encourages the GM to be creative. They can't just keep double moving, or punch a player twice a turn. They need to work all aspects of their monster.

[@MrBlooDeck]

Definitely, if your creature allows for it of course. For a master swordsman I'd have them attack a different person each turn - to highlight how they can take on four/five skilled opponents at once and not be put on the defensive. Also your idea of 'unlocking' new turns is really neat. I might steal that the next time I run FATE.

[@Allan0112]

really love thise videos so clean and professional

[@jameswilson4328]

Hi there, First off, Big fan of these guide and tips. Could you do a video on Diplomacy in RP? Would love some tips on writing for encounters that are best handled with diplomacy, dealing with Diplomacy checks by PC's versus NPC's you've written for. I'm just starting a campaign in D&D 3.5 format (its what I know best) and I really like the ideas I've gotten from the series thus far. Thank you!

[@gyratinggeese501]

These are so helpful, love them alot

[@drew535]

at 1:20 when he says "target" you can hear a bit of Gangplank poke through

[@RikkuTakanashi]

A good idea for a gm if one is experimenting, especially with a new gm and new players is... Have a magical save spot journal. Each night, a player writes down the day's events and if a tpk happens the magic of the book will reverse time back to that save spot. Basically a time travel item that could create alot of hilarity if the party keeps getting stuck against something. Also make it so once the book runs out of pages, the first pages will start going blank so you'd lose save spots. Just like how memory cards often had a limited number of spots. This way, players and the gm could figure things out as they go in the same campaign without risking having the campaign blow up in their faces.

[@dukeironfist01]

Thanks again Matt, this series of tips Rocks! Also, love Critical Role. My son turned me on to the channel.

[@jordentaylor2455]

Would love to see Matt GM a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. Think he could do great with it.

[@fernandomeneghetti]

These are really great! Keep it up.

[@Eshajori]

Dat Thordak cameo. Get hyped!

[@joshyboy1983]

I think Thordak's been in it since they changed the setup.

[@EmileVinesh]

Very useful tips that I can use for my own campaign! :D I'm also curious what Matt has planned for Thordak the Cinderking in the CR campaign. He already tweaked K'varn and that stitch monstrosity in the Underdark.

[@Normal_is_boring25]

The teleport ability literally gave me flashbacks of trying to catch an Abra in the first few pokemon gens, only have it constantly freaking teleport away.

[@floridamancode_e2673]

for anyone playing pathfinder a quick tip. if you don't have a wizard alchemist or other AOE caster try to avoid swarm monsters. a spider swarm can kill an unprepared party by alot. if you do put one in maybe put some alchemist fires near by or acid flasks or maybe even coat the floor in oil or something

[@veng3r663]

All my Level 2 Alchemists can make Vermin Repellent to deal with those pesky biting low-Level creature swarms... >:)

[@floridamancode_e2673]

Veng3r your an alchemist. you can drop a bomb on them and that will kill most swarms right away

[@veng3r663]

Actually my Alchemists can't make Explosion Potions until Level 6... :(

[@floridamancode_e2673]

Veng3r no i mean your bomb class ability. or did you take an archetype to get rid of it?

[@vivishii_]

This series is amazing!! Just wish there were less camera angle switching

[@jeanguide3474]

Always wonderful information for a DM.

[@Soenel7]

I wonder if Matt will do a one shot of open legend considering he helped make the standard setting for it? I bet it would be fun to watch.

[@swolegolisopod7340]

So I helped my friend build this Hydra for one of his campaigns that was meant to be way too strong on purpose, but wasn't very fast and had a hate for magic and an extreme lack of focus as many heads tried to hit different targets making it a very easy escape if it didn't catch you in its jaws. It also got even slower in extreme heat like the volcanoes in the area near its first domain, giving them an even easier route of escape. The party decided to fight a Hydra that was 15 times the size of the half orc in their party. The wizard cast fireball into the cluster of heads. 12 pairs of eyes snapped straight to the wizard. The wizard proceeded to become the lunch of a massive multiheaded lizard as each head fought for scraps of the human, tearing him to shreds. Needless to say the rest of the party ran and escaped from the giant scaled death machine and eventually killed it later in revenge, but the moment the wizard decided to shoot fire at it and panicked as soon as it focused him was hilarious.

[@agno8357]

Long live mercer-sama!

[@Shannahar]

I think my most memorable creature I made was a boa constrictor that could use greater invisibility and then attack with a poison that would cause the delusion that they were being constricted by it which made the other players try to hack the "snake" off the player... so much fun.

[@FuerstHardos]

This Sunday is my first DM-ing session. I shall pray to my god to whom I shall be as best a champion I can be, the god of GM/DM-ing and Roleplaying Matt Mercer! Fellow DMs, GMs and other brothers and sisters of the Roleplaying kind! Heed my words! I will teach my players to roleplay, as much as I learn it myself, I shall bring them fun and grant them the best DnD experience I can! (someone pray for me too, I'm scared)

[@vullum666]

i personally tend to mix and match monster abilities, like giving pack tactics or echo location to feral vampires.

[@greenhoodyman95]

I feel like there are some pretty funny bloopers on these eps... I DEMAND A BLOOPER REEL AT ONCE!

[@logans.1349]

his tips are awesome

[@vazak11]

Good advice!

[@WillMcc_WriterGoblin]

love your content!

[@brandongonzales2448]

I once had a dream about a dragon that had beholders as its eyes instead of regular eyes, that was several years ago......will never forget

[@StormSage13]

There are great. Can you give a few tips for players? Like how to pick classes, back stories, and such. I'm mostly curious as to your thoughts and tip for new players.

[@ciaranmcguinness8900]

Yeah I didn't know that Trolls were quite high CR for a level 3 party to encounter and as such I made 2 of them attack the party, it was a terrible stealth roll that caused it, 3 Nat 1s for the party stealth and a Nat 20 for the trolls perception, no one died apart from the trolls but it took up the full session fighting them, I learned from my mistake though and made it a bit easier for them progressing

[@madmanwithaplan1826]

3:00 a three headed hydra that gets three turns only one of which it gets a movement roll

[@gigacooler]

a session of mine almost began with a TPK when 3 Orcs led by an Orog ambushed my party... a druid fell with one attack and a wizard almost died... good times...

[@ThatsMrSomeGuyToYou]

Even better if it's the beginning of the campaign.

[@gigacooler]

yea... let them know shit's happening and that they aren't invincible!

[@ThatsMrSomeGuyToYou]

***** On his way to chop down a tree my sasquatch (battle) lumberjack lost a leg first thing in the morning to a bunch of small tree demons due to a few critical failures... It was a traumatising experience for poor Bjorn.

[@OhNoTheFace]

@@gigacooler You are a shit GM got it. This is when I change one letter in my characters name and go again

[@ianbailey6592]

My friend always comes up with these cool creatures. One time we had to fight a demonic invasion, and the final boss was a Lich Mindflayer that could only be defeated by harvesting the soul of a god into a hammer.

[@leshpar]

dire wolf goes awoo.