Monster Classes

TOMAGOMB Monster classes are simplified versions of regular classes, created to streamline the monster creation process. These adaptable, basic classes can have any number of extra variant rules tagged on without the baggage and complexity of some of the player classes. That being said, don't shy away from building a foe who uses levels of player classes if that's the right call for a given situation. Just consider these as a faster alternative when building challenges. For your convenience:

The Soldier

Example: Light Acrinolian Infantry

This class is tailored to any creature that is "good" at combat and casts no spells. Giving special powers to a soldier-class monster is fine (fire elementals throwing bolts of fire, for example), but full-on spells should be left to other classes. This class could be generally described as a fighter-minus, or barbarian-minus, or paladin-minus, or shadowknight-minus, or ranger-minus. It's a step behind any true fighting class, but it is not weak by necessity.

Stats - Str, Dex, Fort, M.A., and sometimes M.D., though M.D. is not necessary. d10 hit die, +1 attack / 12 levels, +1% dodge / 3 levels, assume at least a 1d6 attack if the monster doesn't wield weapons. Modified for dodge: lower hit die to d8, up the dodge to +1% / level (this is considerably more effective at higher levels, but more annoying so use sparingly).

The Caster

Example: Coming Soon

Many monster encounters work just fine using one of the standard casting classes. Why branch out? Because of complexity and spell restriction. Player classes may come stocked with more spell choices than you need for a monster mage, and they sometimes have access to spells that would not be an appropriate challenge to fight against ( : "CALL TO JUDGEMENT!" "Wait, what?"). For the most part, assume any spell marked with an asterisk (*) is probably fair play for a monster's available spell list, and at your discretion a few others can slip into their spell list as appropriate. If this doesn't suit your needs, feel free to use one of the player classes instead.

Stats - Str, Dex, Fort, M.A., and either Piety or L.S. as appropriate (never both). d6 hit die, +1 attack / 20 levels, +1% dodge / 4 levels, assume at least a 1d6 attack if the monster doesn't wield weapons.

Spells - The caster gets 5 spells starting off, and assume 1 extra spell per 10 ranks of challenge after that. This number should be much more manageable than what the player classes are capable of when throwing a spell list together for an encounter. Also, a caster's spellcasting level is not always equal to their total level. See the section on Good and Bad Monster Setup for more detail regarding this, but you may want to pull back their caster level to 4/5ths, 3/4ths, or even 1/2 of what it would usually be depending on what you need for the players to face. To test the waters, pretend a test-nuke in your head of the player with the most HP and see how they fare against your spellcaster, then compare notes on how many HP the other players have vs. average nuke damage, taking into account that the caster can throw 2 spells per round.

The Chump

Example: Weak Zombie

Some monsters are born to be lackies and cannon fodder (so are Acrinolians, but that's beside the point). When you need to spec up something less than incredible, the chump class will fit your needs. Most chump class monsters will be found on the low end of the game, as chumps seldom attain high levels of power (politicians being an exception). In fact, sometimes to simplify chumps they will have drawbacks like "Can't dodge" which speeds up the combat round considerably, not that the same can't be done for other classes.

Stats - Str, Dex, Fort, M.A. d8 hit die, +1 attack / 15 levels, +1% dodge / 4 levels, assume at least a 1d6 attack if the monster doesn't wield weapons.