New Goodman Stat Block (1st draft)

[Blackdirge]

Hey guys,

Here's my first run at a Goodman-style stat block for 4E. It's based on the Kobold Skirmisher that has been released from DDE.

Kobold Skirmisher: XP 100; Level 1 Skirmisher; Small natural humanoid; HP 27; Bloodied 13; Initiative +5; Senses Perception +0, darkvision; Speed 6; AC 15, Fort 11, Ref 14, Will 13; Melee spear (standard, at will) +6 vs. AC (1d8 damage); Special mob attack, shifty, trap sense; AL Evil; Languages Draconic; Skills Acrobatics +8, Stealth +10, Thievery +10; Str 8 (-1), Dex 16 (+3), Wis 10 (+0), Con 11 (+0), Int 6 (-2), Cha 15 (+2); Equipment: hide armor, light shield, spear.

Combat Advantage: The kobold skirmisher deals an extra 1d6 damage on melee and ranged attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.

Mob Attack: The kobold skirmisher gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls per kobold ally adjacent to the target.

Shifty (minor, at will): The kobold shifts 1 square as a minor action.

Trap Sense: The kobold gains a +2 bonus on all defenses against traps.

Okay, I tried to incorporate elements of the current stat block as much as I could. Obviously, I'm still not sure what info will absolutely need to be shown. I think the Combat Advantage entry is one that will likely change with each type of monster or NPC, so we might have to keep that. As for the others, we'll just have to wait and see.

This is, of course, just a very rough draft, but I wanted to start getting an idea of what a 4E stat block is going to look like. The thing I find a bit disappointing is that if we are forced to use a stat block like the one above, we're not really saving any space or word count versus 3.5. A 3.5 kobold warrior would actually have a much smaller stat block.

Let me know what you guys think; there are many, many, many more refinements to come, I have no doubt.

[Jengenritz]

Well, we can probably cut Languages and the parenthetical ability score notes.

Other than that, we can look at word economy...cutting the word "damage" from the spear's entry and how we describe special abilities ("Deals +1d6 damage on melee..."; "Gains +1 to attack rolls...").

If we want to go crazy we can start abbreviating the monster roles (Skm, Sld, Art, Lrk, Brt, Ctl), maybe throwing in M, E, or S for minion, elite, and solo if we feel like it (Ctl/S 3 or Lrk-M 1)...or something like that...changes Level 1 Skirmisher to Skm 1.

Just my first few thoughts.

[Blackdirge]

Well, we can probably cut Languages and the parenthetical ability score notes.

I agree with the parenthetical modifiers, but, personally, I think the language entry could be useful, depending on how 4E deals with langauges.

Other than that, we can look at word economy...cutting the word "damage" from the spear's entry and how we describe special abilities ("Deals +1d6 damage on melee..."; "Gains +1 to attack rolls...").

Absolutely.

If we want to go crazy we can start abbreviating the monster roles (Skm, Sld, Art, Lrk, Brt, Ctl), maybe throwing in M, E, or S for minion, elite, and solo if we feel like it (Ctl/S 3 or Lrk-M 1)...or something like that...changes Level 1 Skirmisher to Skm 1.

I'm a little wary of too many abbreviations, simply because our customers are not going to be familiar with the terms we are abbreviating right away.

Just my first few thoughts.

Thanks. The thing that worries me is that all classes have powers, which can be complex. Will we need to list all those out, like we do with special attacks and qualities now?

BD

[Jengenritz]

I'm a little wary of too many abbreviations

Cool either way...all we have to do is drop the word "Level" to make it "Lurker 1" or "Lurker 1 (Elite)" and we use about the same word count with only a few characters more space, and maintaining clarity.

The thing that worries me is that all classes have powers, which can be complex.

To quote the Kool-Aid drinkers, "PCs are PCs, and monsters are monsters." The bad guys shouldn't have class features.

That being said, they almost certainly will.
Given that Murphy's Law, I propose something like:

At-Will: pick nose, whistle
Encounter: fart in your general direction
Daily: bake pie

We only need go into detail on non-core abilities (from the Complete Guide to At-Will Powers, for example), thusly:

Pick Nose: A/W (Implement, Necrotic): Pick your nose. It grosses out everyone in a 10-foot burst; they take 1d4+1 damage.

My first impression, anyway.

[Jengenritz]

I found a meatier stat block for us to chew on from the Dungeon Delve at D&DXP...

ENCOUNTER 5 STAT BLOCKS
Young Black Dragon Level 4 Solo Lurker
Large natural magical beast (aquatic, dragon) XP 875
Initiative +11 Senses Perception +9; darkvision
HP 280; Bloodied 140; see also bloodied breath
AC 24; Fortitude 19; Reflex 21; Will 18
Resist 15 acid
Saving Throws +5
Speed 7, fly 7 (clumsy), overland flight 10, swim 7
Action Points 2
M Bite (standard; at-will) – Acid
Reach 2; +10 vs AC; 1d6 + 3 damage, and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends).
M Claw (standard; at-will)
Reach 2; +10 vs Ac; 1d4 + 3 damage.
M Double Attack (standard; at-will)
The dragon makes two claw attacks.
M Tail Slash (immediate reaction, when a melee attack misses the dragon; at-will)
The dragon uses its tail to attack the enemy that missed it; reach 2; +8 vs AC; 1d6 + 4 damage, and the target is pushed back 1 square.
C Breath Weapon (standard; recharge 5 6) – Acid
Close blast; +7 vs Reflex; 1d12 + 3 acid damage, and the target takes ongoing 5 acid damage and take a -4 penalty to AC (save ends both).
C Bloodied Breath (immediate reaction, when first bloodied; encounter) – Acid
The dragon’s breath weapon recharges automatically, and the dragon uses it immediately.
C Cloud of Darkness (standard; sustain minor; recharge 3 4 5 6) – Zone
Close burst 2; this power creates a zone of darkness that remains in place until the end of the dragon’s next turn. The zone blocks line of sight for all creatures except the dragon. Any creature entirely within the area (except the dragon) is blinded.
C Frightful Presence (standard; encounter) – Fear
Close burst 5; targets enemies; +5 vs Will; the target is stunned until the end of the dragon’s next turn. Aftereffect: The target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends).
Alignment Evil Languages Draconic
Skills Nature +9, Stealth +17
Str 16 (+5) Dex 20 (+7) Wis 15 (+4)
Con 16 (+5) Int 12 (+3) Cha 10 (+2)

Check out the the bonuses next to the ability scores.
I think those are racial bonuses...that breaks the ability scores down to 11, 13, 11, 11, 9, 8.
Harley snapped some pics of a few display sheets they had out for us...I'm betting we'll get a similar spread.

[Jengenritz]

More stat boxes to chew on...

Grick Level 7 Brute
Medium aberrant beast XP 300
Initiative +4 Senses Perception +10; darkvision
HP 96; Bloodied 48
AC 19; Fortitude 19, Reflex 14, Will 15
Resist 10 against effects that target AC
Speed 6, climb 4
m Tentacle Rake (standard; at-will)
+10 vs AC; 2d6 +4 damage, and ongoing 5 damage (save ends)
Expert Flanker
The grick gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against an enemy it is
flanking.
Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Endurance +13, Stealth +9
Str 18 (+7) Dex 13 (+4) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 16 (+6) Int 2 (-3) Cha 7 (+1)

Grick Alpha Level 9 Brute (Leader)
Large aberrant beast XP 400
Initiative +5 Senses Perception +11; darkvision
HP 116; Bloodied 58
AC 23; Fortitude 22, Reflex 17, Will 18
Resist 10 against effects that target AC
Speed 7, climb 4
m Tentacle Rake (standard; at-will)
Reach 2; +13 vs AC; 2d6 + 5 damage and the target is grabbed
(until escape) and takes ongoing 5 damage (save ends).
M Vicious Bite (standard; at-will)
Grabbed target only; automatic hit; 1d8 + 5 damage.
Expert Flanker
The grick alpha gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against an enemy
it is flanking.
Pinning Grip
The grick alpha's allies gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls against an
enemy grabbed by this creature.
Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Endurance +12, Stealth +10
Str 20 (+9) Dex 13 (+5) Wis 15 (+6)
Con 16 (+7) Int 2 (+0) Cha 7 (+2)

Note the "resist 10 vs stuff that targets AC"...can you say damage resistance?

Also, the grick alpha ability scores come to 11, 8, 9, 11, 2, 5
The normal grick ability scores come to 11, 9, 9, 10, 5, 6
Obviously my theory needs some work...

...maybe the points sunk into ability scores affect its level? Speculation on my part, but it could be part of the "advancing a monster" mechanic.

The long and short of it is: if it's reference material, we don't need it in our GG stat blocks, but if it refers to something in combat, we need it.

[Jengenritz]

Aeryn, now that Keep on the Shadowfell is out, do we have an updated official Goodman Games paragraph-style stat block?