Category: Beasts

D&D Homebrew Monster of the Week: Bagworm Builder

Bagwurm builder – BugWorld by Thiago Lehmann

CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY!

Do not feed, pet, or otherwise distract the Bagworm Builders from their work. 150gp fine for first offense.

– Sign posted by a local guild handling construction of a new building.

Back again with another big ol’ beastie: The Bagworm Builders! These are massive insects that reside in forested regions, creating tough shells by weaving fallen trees and logs together on to it’s back. These “shells” often also act as nurseries for the Bagworm Builder’s young. While I do love these from a lore and worldbuilding standpoint, to call their statblocks perfect would be sadly incorrect.

Bagworm Builders: The Overview

Large almost caterpillar like beetles, Bagworm Builders use their massive and razor sharp mandibles to easily cut through logs and trees before webbing them to the complex shells they carry on their back. Again while I love this idea, their actual statblock does nothing to actively lean into this idea so a hefty amount of revisions are needed. I imagine these creatures to travel in large herds, carving paths through forests and leaving rows of tree stumps in their wake. Relying more on their resilient shells rather than the wooden fortresses upon their backs, Bagworm Builders are slow but powerful lumbering beasts, though still often timid and docile compared to many other creatures within D&D, being used as beasts-of-burden by local farmers and villages on the outskirts of forests.

Stats and Abilities

Bagworm Builders are bulky beasts of burden who use their large frames and powerful jaws to split trees before webbing them to their exterior carapaces to serve as additional “shells”. Sadly, the stat-spread only somewhat leans into this. The Bagworm Builders depend heavily on STR and CON as they should but that’s as far as it goes. In all honesty, I feel as though their DEX needs to be lowered slightly to showcase the lumbering nature of these beasts and a WIS of 13 means their craftier then they should be. I think 8 DEX, 8 WIS, and 5 CHA would be a better fit as while their CHA already isn’t great and they live in groups, 5 CHA puts them around the same level as Cows which feels in line. Additionally this doesn’t feel like a CR 4, especially after the last post with the Aberrant Hound being the same difficulty and having a lot more of a kit to back it up. This feels more in line with a CR 2 to be perfectly honest.

  • Stats and Skills: Boasting a really solid STR and CON for this early of a level, Bagworm Builders are simple beasts, using their overwhelming size and strength to push back predators and attackers. Because they aren’t especially mobile (especially after adding several trees worth of logs to their shells), these creatures would likely fight to the death before fleeing as they don’t have the fattest run speed and would be outran by almost everything else. Granted, 25ft. isn’t a bad movement speed, but I will likely adjust it to around 20ft. to help reflect their more lumbering nature. Boasting no additional Saving Throws or Proficiencies, this is a simple creature with a simple mind and simple needs.
  • Resistances, Immunities, and Senses: With only a measly resistance to Poison damage, the Bagworm Builder relies on it’s AC and hit points above anything else. This could be likely tweaked after leaning more into the shell of trees Bagworm Builders would build as that could temporarily allow for resistance to nonmagical weapon attacks while now being vulnerable to Fire damage due to the wood and webs being flammable. Otherwise, a 60ft. Darkvision doesn’t really change too much for this creature. Relying on its size and numbers, that doesn’t really change whether it’s night or day and the Bagworm Builder isn’t an ambush predator seeking out to get the jump on unsuspecting prey.

Passive Abilities and Actions:

Beasts of Labor. The Bagworm Builder can carry up to 1,500 pounds of logs or other materials on its back. It can still climb and move at full speed with this weight.

In all honesty, while it’s nice that this ability spells out what exactly how much weight and strength a Bagworm Builder is boasting, this first is shooting way underneath what a beats of this size should be able to pull (full grown ox can pull upwards of 2x this amount) and secondly it doesn’t add much importance to the actual statblock. It’s a good reference to keep in mind what the Bagworm Builder should be able to move, but I doubt players are going to dive headfirst and argue that a tree or rock might be too large for this to move if it seems feesible.

Sticky Silk. The Bagworm Builder can use its sticky silk to create structures or webbing that can support up to 2,000 pounds of weight. The silk can be destroyed with fire as per the Web spell.

Similar to Beast of Burden, this feature doesn’t seem to bring too much to the table and is also just not framed correctly. A creature of this size could easily spin webs capable of holding up several tons as opposed to the meager 2,000lbs. Again, this is great for a frame of reference, but isn’t explicitly needed in the statblock. If a creature should be able to and/or need to pull several tons of logs for a shell, it should be able to in the realm of fantasy.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage.

A standard bite attack. Nothing about the Bagworm Builder screams venomous or any ability to withstand poisons so I will be revising this to deal only piercing damage. If I lower the CR down to 2, the damage will likely remain as is, maybe increasing slightly to help compensate for the lack of poison damage. This is the creatures only offensive measure and so it should have some oomph behind it, especially since this creature can feel trees.

Web Shot. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20ft./80ft., one target. Hit The target is restrained (Escape DC 13).

I’m usually pretty good about explaining more intricate abilities in greater detail so I am unsure why this one was so… lackluster. I think a better description would be as follow:

Web (Recharge 5–6). Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one creature. Hit: The creature is restrained by webbing. As an action, the restrained creature can make a DC 13 Strength check, escaping from the webbing on a success. The effect also ends if the webbing is destroyed. The webbing has AC 10, 5 hp, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage.

Revisions:

This… needs a lot of work to be honest and I’m not happy with where it is. I’ve been struggling to put this post out because at the end of the day this almost doesn’t feel like a creature that necessarily needs a statblock, instead it’s just something that exists and does it’s thing. Regardless, here are the changes that I feel would make this statblock a lot better all around:

  • Lower the CR to 2 and adjust damage, health, stats, and AC respectively. These are not dangerous creatures for the average adventurer and should not be as high as CR 4.
  • Combine Beast of Burden and Sticky Silk into one feature laying out the groundwork for the Bagworm Builder’s strength and carry capacity. D&D already has a guideline for a creature’s carrying capacity as well as their ability to push or pull objects so I will base my revisions off that templet and adjust accordingly.
  • Revise Web Shot. See above as a possible idea of simply expanding on the feature. This is a tool mainly used by the Bagworm Builder to help fasten their shells, not a trap to be used against others.
  • Add a shell feature. Bagworm Builders are often carrying massive log huts on their backs to add as extra defenses, lean into that. Possible ideas include a damage threshold or reduction effect until the “shell” is broken or destroyed. This feature should be a once per combat ability as a Bagworm Builder would not have the ability to quickly swap between these shells or build a new one. While the shell is in use, possibly create a withdraw feature that allows the Bagworm Builder to add on top of their AC.

Thank you for reading this week’s post! I’m sorry for the hit and miss schedule. Due to the holidays and recent transfer within my work, my schedule has been all over the place and hasn’t quite fully been nailed down and cemented yet. I’m hoping to resume regular postings from here on out, but am also working on other projects as well for this blog and the associated YouTube channel Nerds N’ News. This is a big project that I’ve been working on for a few months now and am still grabbing footage for everything and getting everything written out, but stay tuned! I’m hoping to have this next big video out before the end of the month!

D&D Homebrew Monster of the Week: Axopin

Blue and Fishy Cat-type Wooper Looper with a Rugged Shell by Gomma Lee

“I didn’t even want a pet at first. My kids had been begging for weeks to get them something, and they kept promising they’d clean after it, feed it, play with it, love it, and everything. I reluctantly agreed, but once we arrive at the shop, we couldn’t get enough of them. Their playful little coos and tiny little smiles. I remember thinking as we were leaving, ‘How could I only grab one?’”

– Survey recording how much recent pet adoptions effected new owners.

Axopins: The Overview

First member of the Beast Compendium is the Axopin, a cutesy and friendly creature often found in pristine ponds and rivers. A somewhat chimeric mix of turtles, axolotls, and fish taking features of all three to differentiate from the more “normal” wildlife within the realms. These are not creatures to fight as much as they are flavor for the world and options for the Wildshape or Polymorph features/spells, which is largely the only reason they have a statblock to begin with at all. A large section of the Beast Compendium consists of these types of creatures as, at least to me, the Beast category in D&D is meant for believable creatures and ones that either exist or could feasibly exist within our own world. These creatures lack a lot of magical abilities and deeper mechanics aside from “hit hard, take a hit well” in the upper challenge ratings when compared to the other creature categories in D&D.

Axopins use their sturdy shells to help protect themselves from predators both by withdrawing into it when threatened, but also using the reflective scales lining the shell to help blend into the clear waters of their home. Axopins lack a lot of the raw strength needed to survive in harsh environments of the realm, so they often nest within calm waters in secluded ponds and rivers with plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in. Using their fish-like tails, Axopins can quickly swim through the water or bat away possible attackers, though such methods are more difficult to deter larger creatures.

Stats and Abilities:

Axopins rely on defense rather than offense, using the environment around them to slip away and hide rather than stand and fight. If pushed into conflict, Axpoins must rely on their defensive shell rather than any bites or slaps of the tail due to its minimal offensive prowess.

When compared to last week’s Abductor statblock, the Axopin leaves a lot to be desired across the board. Lower stats, no dangerous gimmicks, no real offensive capabilities or defensive bulk to speak of. That is the level of difference I wanted across all my compendiums, I wanted creatures who could level towns with a single breath but also creatures who could only survive when in a pack or in a group. I do not think I would ever run a combat encounter with a party fighting a school of Axopins, but having the stats of the Axopin on hand for niche situations like Polymorph or Wildshape or if the party adopts one and bites someone’s hand is the main reason for this work. I don’t typically statblock frivolous creatures, but the will be most common here in the Beast Compendium.

  • Stats and Skills: The Axopin focuses more on evasion and escape rather than combat prowess as seen by its lower STR score compared to its decent DEX score and with its only proficient skill being the Stealth skill. While looking at mental scores, Beasts tend to be weighted weirdly in D&D as sentience and human-level cognitive function is usually associated with around a 7 INT score. That’s why creatures such as Orcas have an intelligence of around 3 despite being an incredibly smart animal. All this to say, while an intelligence of 1, the lowest you can go without literal loss of function in D&D, might seem harsh, it is what 70% of Beasts in D&D are labeled with. WIS is more of a survival and instinct stat so typically Beasts will have a much higher WIS score than INT as they are more in tune with their instincts than cognitive thoughts. Lastly with CHA being the social skill, its important for creatures of this kind to communicate with one another, but typically this is undesirable by other creatures. So having a moderately low CHA score is appropriate for these social animals as they effortlessly communicate with others of their kind but are incredibly hard to discern what each sound is from an outside perspective.

Passive Abilities and Actions

The meat and bones of this statblock will be much less juicy than that of the Abductors, but the Axpoin does still have a couple tricks up its sleeve:

Amphibious. The axopin can breathe air and water.

Just like many semi-aquatic creatures, Axopins can breathe both on land and in the water, allowing for them to be encountered in multiple areas and allowing them to hide from terrestrial or avian predators.

Keen Smell. The axopin has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Like many animals, Axopins have a heightened sense of smell to help navigate their surroundings and help avoid the scents of known predators.

Refractive Shell. While underwater, the axopin has advantage on stealth checks.

Axopins use their naturally reflective shells to help hide their presence by blending into the shimmering waters. In murkier habitats like swamps and marshes, this can often be detrimental as it draws unnecessary attraction, leading Axopins to stay in cleaner waters.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.

One of the Axopins basic attacks. A simple bite that in all honesty, feels misplaced despite most every other feral creature in D&D having a Bite attack. The Axopin just doesn’t scream “strong bite force”, especially at the damage this can do (for reference, a Commoner who is considered the average non-adventuring person has 4 hit points).

Tail Slap. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

This should be the Axopin’s main offensive means as it’s the Axpoin’s most prominent feature aside from its shell. That said, this should not be the Axopin should not be relying on physical prowess over evasion and defense.

Withdraw. When the axopin is targeted for an attack, it can withdraw into its shell, increasing its AC by +2 for that attack.

The first Reaction skill talked about in this series this ability allows the Axopin to avoid an otherwise successful hit by hiding into its sturdy shell. Reactions are a special kind of ability a creature can take in response to an action occurring around them. For example, the Shield spell can only be casted when the individual is targeted by an attack roll and will offer a +5 bonus to the caster’s AC until the start of their next turn. Certain features can also allow creatures to either make additional attacks or move across the board suddenly using a Reaction.

Revisions:

While I am quite happy with this statblock for what it is, it is not without issue. For starters, as a CR 1/4 creature it is the same equivalent difficulty as a goblin which seems wrong. While I’m not opposed to having beastial and feral creatures be enemies for a party of players, the Axopin leaves a lot to be desired as an enemy in combat. As such, I believe the best course of action is to lower its CR to 0 and remove its Bite attack. The tail of the Axopin is the strongest offensive part of its body and should not be outclassed by a bite force that shouldn’t even be there to begin with. Additionally, many CR 0s, especially of the Tiny size category only deal 1 damage on their attacks, so that would replace the Axopin’s current average damage of 5, making it much more realistic in its combat prowess. The Axopin should be little more than a pet for the party or an option for the Wildshape class feature or Polymorph spell and as such, it should not have too much of a combat presence. A reason players might choose to use this to disguise as over a regular fish would be because of the defense offered in the Reflective Shell and Withdraw abilities.

Giant Slaughterfish – The Elder Scrolls Legends by Graft Studio

The first of many cutesy critters to debut from the Beast Compendium so stay tuned with more being unveiled. If you have any comments/revisions of your own feel free to reach out and lend a hand! Until next time, hope to see all of you again next week!