Dev Diary #5
Welcome to the 5th Dev Diary for Foe Foundry the free 5E monster generator! I've been busy forging away at a couple new monsters complete with lore, encounters, and adventure hooks that are ready to drop right into your games.
- Martial NPCs (Warriors, Guards, Berserkers, Knights) have been added to the Forge
- Formidable Frost Giants are ready to Freeze your PCs
- New Prioritization Poll #7 - Constructs is open
- Alpha Updates: Monster Cards to power the Generator are coming together
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Martial NPCs: Guards, Warriors, Berserkers, & Knights
Patron Prioritization Poll #5 was a three-way tie between Guards, Warriors, and Berserkers. For fun, I added Knights as well!
| Statblock | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Berserkers | Battle-Frenzied Warriors of Blood and Glory | Berserker (CR 2), Berserker Veteran (CR 4), Berserker Legend (CR 12) |
| Guards | Watchful Sentries and Keepers of the Peace | Guard (CR 1/8), Sergeant of the Watch (CR 1), Guard Captain (CR 4), Lord of the Watch (CR 8) |
| Knights | Champions Bound by Armor and Oaths | Knight (CR 3), Knight of the Realm (CR 6), Questing Knight (CR 12), Paragon Knight (CR 16) |
| Warriors | Disciplined Soldiers of Steel and Strategy | Shock Infantry (CR 1/8), Line Infantry (CR 1/8), Shock Infantry Veteran (CR 3), Line Infantry Veteran (CR 3), Warrior Commander (CR 10), Legendary Warrior (CR 14) |
There's a whole article on No More Boring Martial NPCs with lots of details, but here's an example Knight of the Realm:
Knight of the Realm
Summoned with Foe FoundryMedium Humanoid (Knight)
AC 18 (Plate Armor) Initiative +4 (14)
HP 110 (17d8 + 34)
Speed 30 ft.
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Str | 18 | +4 | +7 |
| Dex | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| Con | 14 | +2 | +5 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Int | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| Wis | 17 | +3 | +6 |
| Cha | 15 | +2 | +5 |
Skills Athletics +7, Perception +6, Persuasion +5
Immunities Charmed, Frightened
Senses Passive Perception 16
Languages Common
CR 6 (2,300 XP; PB +3)
Actions
Multiattack. The knight makes three Blessed Blade attacks. It may replace two attacks with a use of its Stay in Formation or Spellcasting.
Blessed Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage and 3 (1d6) radiant damage. If the attack misses, the target still takes 4 slashing damage.
Stay in Formation (Recharge 5-6). The knight issues a command to all allied creatures within 30 feet. Creatures who can see or hear the knight can use their reaction to move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Spellcasting. The knight casts one of the following spells, using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14):
1/day each: Lesser Restoration, Command (3rd), Cure Wounds (3rd)
Bonus Actions
Divine Smite (1/day). Immediately after hitting a target, the knight forces the target to make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target is Burning [11 (2d10) radiant]. A burning creature suffers 11 (2d10) ongoing radiant damage at the end of each of its turns. A creature may use an action to end the condition.
Reactions
Interception. If a friendly creature within 15 ft becomes the target of an attack, the knight can move up to 15 ft and intercept the attack. The attack targets the knight instead of the original target.
Formidable Frost Giants
I've added Frost Giants, frozen reavers of blood and battle. There's also a dedicated article on the Forging Formidable Frost Giants with additional details. I'll leave you with these teasers:
Frost Giant Reaver
Summoned with Foe FoundryHuge Giant (Frost Giant)
AC 14 (Patchwork Armor) Initiative +2 (12)
HP 161 (14d12 + 70)
Speed 40 ft.
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Str | 23 | +6 | +9 |
| Dex | 9 | -1 | -1 |
| Con | 20 | +5 | +8 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Int | 9 | -1 | -1 |
| Wis | 10 | +0 | +3 |
| Cha | 14 | +2 | +5 |
Skills Athletics +9, Perception +3, Survival +3
Immunities Cold
Senses Passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Giant
CR 8 (3,900 XP; PB +3)
Traits
Arctic Chill. Any creature who starts their turn within 10 feet of the frost giant takes 7 (3d4) cold damage.
Actions
Multiattack. The frost giant makes two Biting Greataxe attacks.
Biting Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit 19 (2d12 + 6) slashing damage and 7 (2d6) cold damage. On a hit, the target is knocked Prone
Grab and Go (Recharge 5-6). The frost giant attempts to grab a creature within 5 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or take 31 (9d6) bludgeoning damage and be flung. The frost giant whirls the creature wildly as a club, forcing each other creature within 10 feet to make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking half the bludgeoning damage on a failure. A creature that fails either saving throw is also pushed 10 feet away and knocked Prone.
Bonus Actions
Cleaving Blows (1/day). Immediately after the the frost giant hits with a weapon attack, it may make the same attack against another target within its reach.
Patron Prioritization Poll #7: Constructs
The next Patron Prioritization Poll will focus on Constructs. Which magic-imbued creation do you want to see wrought to life next?
- Animated Armor
- Golems (Stone, Iron, Clay, and Flesh)
- Gorgons
- Shield Guardians
- Simulacrum
Alpha Plan Updates
Monster Cards
I'm happy to report that I've made significant progress on the Monster Generator. I've been able to create the Monster Cards that will be the basis of the editor UI. Here's a quick video showing the card in action. For each monster, you'll see the available powers listed as "loadouts" where you can select the powers from a dropdown, or randomize the whole monster (similar to rolling the dice on the site today). You'll also be able to customize the HP and damage output of the monster.
I still have another week or two of work to hook everything together and make the generator accessible to everyone, but I'm encouraged by the progress I've made of late.
Beta Plans
Once the generator is launched, I will move Foe Foundry from Alpha to Beta.
So far, I'm planning these enhancements during Beta (subject to change and feedback, of course). These features are designed to make homebrewing and managing monsters for your 5E games even easier:
- Search Improvements so you can easily find the monsters you need
- Markdown Export so you can drop any of the generated monsters into Notion, Obsidian, etc.
- PDF Export for folks who prefer a tried and true format
- Foe Foundry Accounts: a login and account system so you can save your monsters
- Encounter Building: automatically create challenge-appropriate and thematic encounters with a fun, swipeable UI
I can’t wait to see what you build with Foe Foundry — and I’d love your feedback as the project grows.
Thanks for reading, and have fun running games for your friends, family, and loved ones!
– Cordialgerm