Mike Mearls Games
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CR is Dead!
🕑 Added 2025-02-18 15:00:13 +0000 UTCI've hated CR since the earliest days of 5e development. It was pretty awkward back in 3e. I loved the 4e rules for monster design. As it happens, Odyssey uses a similar approach to building encounters. Since Odyssey is based on 5e, it was simple to take that system design and point it at the 5e engine.
Attached to this post is a PDF that adapts the Odyssey monster rules to 5e, then provides baseline values for minions, troopers, elites, and solos. I'm using different terminology for 5e and Odyssey categories to keep them straight in my work.
The document also includes some design notes and guidance on how to make creatures. I'm going to build a spreadsheet for using these guidelines to create 5e monsters later this week.
Obviously this is all unplaytested. I'd love to hear how it goes in your game if you use it.
Comments
Alan Wilkinson
Mike: Have you considered renaming Solo's ("It’s usually better to augment solos with numerous, weaker creatures" doesn't sound very Solo)? 'Boss', perhaps?
Merric Blackman
The 4E monster categories were awesome (except for minions, due to design constraints that they create that weren't followed. As it turns out, 1 hit point each causes a LOT of issues). But I'm also a DM who enjoys not knowing exactly what will happen - which goes against a lot of modern adventure design where the thought of *failing* at a encounter derails everything... I don't like monsters being too locked down.
