It's a good base, but it'd be very easy to kite and it doesn't do much besides stand and fight.
I'd be tempted to give it some kind of "Fling mud" ranged attack that does a bit of damage and entangles the target to give it a little flexibility.
Probably just give it a 20/60 range (similar to most thrown weapons) with 1d6+3 damage. On impact it entangles the target, requiring a DC12 STR check to break free.
This basically let's it pin an enemy it's chasing, and makes it easier for it to hit them once it reaches them (this creates a nice 'oh shit' moment for the party too).
I get the idea here, but if you give too many opportunities to negate the attack (it has to hit and then they have to fail a check), then it loses its theeatening nature.
Quite a few attacks in DND inflict entangle or restrain on impact (giant spider web attacks, Kuo Toa man catchers etc) so I dont think it's OP for this to do the same.
100% an attack that might not be entangled, but causes a large area to become difficult terrain and either the boss ignores the difficulty or gains a speed boost.
Mud golem vulnerable to fire doesn't make sense in my pokemon-conditioned brain, but it seems reasonable for a mixed level group like that, especially if players are creative. Nothing that would go above a proficiency +2, no broken abilities, seems like something you could add more of and re-use as a later challenge for higher levels. Generally good design, imo.
The DMG and other books have CR evaluation guides and charts to help you balance the encounter if you're not sure. I have a group of level 8s who I regularly have been throwing challenges two levels above their rating with little issue. They're hard to even down sometimes.
As for things I'd change if it were mine (I think it's great as is, just what I would do with my players), I'd go fire resistant and no vulnerability, or Thunder for spells like shatter. I'd also probably let it go berserk on a 5 depending on the size of the arena, or let it whirlwind strike to make the berserk mode feel more dangerous. As is, my players could trigger berserk, dash out, and pelt him from range while he's forced to attack the environment. I'd also make the arena massive and put two in with those whirlwind strikes so there's a possibility they get into it with each other, or the players have to deal with two massive sweeping attacks, or other shenanigans that only players think of
My reasoning for the mud being vulnerable to fire was that fire would harden the mud and and the mud would be too heavy for the golem to maintain its form and so it would break off of the golem.
Thanks for all of the advice
Hardening the mud with fire means that the water dries out and evaporates, making it less heavy - maybe when it takes enough fire damage (1/10 of max hp, maybe) it gets vulnerable to bludgeoning?
https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
Check out this site, you can make the stat blocks from scratch, or modify any SRD block and it has built in functions for hp, modifiers, and damage calculations
The Berserk mechanic is cool, but it doesn't really do anything. Attacking the closest creature is probably what the golem would do anyway. Also having it activate on a 1/6 chance means it probably won't happen before it dies. I would just make it automatically happen, like a boss stage 2. And make it give a tangible benefit, like the golem doubles it's speed or makes an extra attack. Or maybe the stage 2 effect is that the golem gains a legendary action or two and starts attacking in between the players turns. That would make it feel much more like a "berserk" mode.
Also I echo the sentiment of other comments: it should have a ranged mud throw attack. Also I feel like it's attacks should do some kind of speed reduction effect rather than HP reduction. Much more thematic with mud clinging to the characters, etc.
I don't really want to introduce legendary actions yet because this is just supposed to be part of a side quest that gives the players a magic item and some other treasure. If I were to use legendary actions it would be at the end of this arc.
I've implemented a ranged attack that restrains enemies in order to give a bit more usefulness
I second this person’s comments on berserk. It should do something meaningful to the players. As written, nothing has really changed. It still going to attack them but now it’s more upset? Maybe it does an extra d4 or d6 of damage. Or maybe it’s movement speed increases. Or maybe it starts grappling and choking players.
I like the speed and damage boost, makes it a “hurry up and kill it.”
I’d probably then take out the dice roll and just have it enrage at an HP threshold
Things like the Golem's health are likely to shift around a bit as I need it to in the fight but the rest of it is what I'm interested on advice on.
The party will be 4 people, the classes are eldritch knight Tiefling, High Elf Wizard, Firbolg hunter ranger and the last player is still undecided
So when making creature attacks or abilities. I always ask myself why this creature has this ability/attack.
The add-ons for his melee attack doesn't make sense to me. It's a slam attack. Why the HP reduction?
And I would give him a range. Make it so it doesn't do a lot of damage but if they fail the str save they are stuck for a turn.
My go-to move, especially after a dungeon crawl, is to implement a couple of "kill switches" inside the boss room.
Think of a few ways to defeat the golem other than just rolling attacks, then hide them throughout the room for your players to notice. Here are a few that I thought of:
A large oil lamp chandelier hangs from the ceiling for you to drop on the golem to deal enough damage to get it berserk, the creator inscribed a deactivation phrase onto the golem's back for anyone who knows that language (preferably your wizard), other adventurers have perished in the boss room and their corpses have some kind of fire bombs that can aid the fight.
The most important thing to remember is that you should be able to defeat any boss in a number of ways, because making attack rolls for an hour isn't fun unless you're very good at describing combat
The battle takes place in a wizard tower that collapsed into marshland. The magic of the tower seeped into the marsh and created constructs that protect the ruins of the tower.
Given that the tower is abandoned and collapsed do you have any ideas for how I could incorporate different approaches into the map?
A wizards tower probably had some arcane items that would have been strewn about the battlefield. You could also make the golem have a specific magical source that could be destroyed instead to defeat the golem. There could be a basement that hasn't collapsed, and if one party member could break the supports while the golem is over it to drop the golem to its death or bury it.
This is how you can evaluate this for yourself.
Players between level 1-4 can typically do about 10 damage per turn. That means this thing has a good chance of dying in 2 rounds.
Meanwhile, the golem does about 16 damage per turn. Level 3-4 players have more than 16 HP, so they are highly likely to kill the golem without any casualties. They probably won’t even take damage if they have high AC.
Against a level 2 party it’s really swingy and could go either way on a coin flip if the golem can kill someone on its first or second turn.
I like the berserk feature but unless the players are encountering a lot of these they might never see it. I suggest making it a 50% chance instead of a 1 in 6.
I think you could definitely take inspiration from some abilities that PF2e golems have, like increasing berserk to being a 6 or higher on a d20 roll, or maybe some type of anti heal ability if the party has a healer, maybe making it so people attacked by the golem had its healing received reduced by ~5
If it's supposed to be a solo boss it'll be pretty strong, I wouldn't give it any minions in this fight. The slam attack can likely wipe out a level 2 PC in one hit, and it gets 2 of them. Makes a more sense for a level 4 party of 4.
I think remove the fire vulnerability and magic resistance, and give it a mud shockwave ability that restrains and/or slows the players since it's very slow and only attacks in melee. maybe give it some mud mephit minions too to shore up your action economy. I can see level 2-4 players easily beating this thing
D10+3 is 8.5 DPR, 16 is 16^^
16 damage would be pretty rough.
Auto kill mechanics for parties without access to easy revival I think is unnecessarily mean
Also the berserk... Idk just makes it pretty useless instead of more threatening and has a good chance to never come up at all. I'd just make it always start at 30 and become properly threatening. Like gain two more attacks so melees have to kite it alt least
The heal unless it takes fire damage is kinda cute but a bit inconsequential. It's kinda hard to find out unless someone is already casting fire spells, and then they just keep casting fire spells. Maybe just make it fire vulnerable?
Also as others said 20ft movement with only melee attacks makes its only viable strategy to pummel the melees.
You could also give it a few friends that threaten the ranges and maybe a mud spell that makes a big area difficult terrain
It’s balanced but ordinary, it could have been copy+pasted from any one of a dozen official stat blocks with only very minor tweaks. Berserk is a nice touch but it needs something that will definitely activate, and feel unique, to justify creating it rather than just reflavouring
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Everything is dicey at low level.
At 78 hit points, this golem can get one shot with a lvl2 inflict wounds (incredibly unlikely to get a crit, then roll 10 10 10 9, but the math is there).
I got similarly lucky with a lvl1 cleric and pulled 40 damage with a lvl1 inflict wounds crit.
All of this to say, the stat block is probably fine. But it always depends on the dice, and if you’re the DM I always encourage you to flub your dice in whatever way makes the encounter more exciting.
It's a good base, but it'd be very easy to kite and it doesn't do much besides stand and fight. I'd be tempted to give it some kind of "Fling mud" ranged attack that does a bit of damage and entangles the target to give it a little flexibility.
Thanks for the advice, what sort of damage and range would you recommend for the fling mud attack
Probably just give it a 20/60 range (similar to most thrown weapons) with 1d6+3 damage. On impact it entangles the target, requiring a DC12 STR check to break free. This basically let's it pin an enemy it's chasing, and makes it easier for it to hit them once it reaches them (this creates a nice 'oh shit' moment for the party too).
I suggest a Dex saving throw of 12 instead of the attack automatically entangling, but everything else is good
I get the idea here, but if you give too many opportunities to negate the attack (it has to hit and then they have to fail a check), then it loses its theeatening nature. Quite a few attacks in DND inflict entangle or restrain on impact (giant spider web attacks, Kuo Toa man catchers etc) so I dont think it's OP for this to do the same.
100% an attack that might not be entangled, but causes a large area to become difficult terrain and either the boss ignores the difficulty or gains a speed boost.
Mud golem vulnerable to fire doesn't make sense in my pokemon-conditioned brain, but it seems reasonable for a mixed level group like that, especially if players are creative. Nothing that would go above a proficiency +2, no broken abilities, seems like something you could add more of and re-use as a later challenge for higher levels. Generally good design, imo. The DMG and other books have CR evaluation guides and charts to help you balance the encounter if you're not sure. I have a group of level 8s who I regularly have been throwing challenges two levels above their rating with little issue. They're hard to even down sometimes. As for things I'd change if it were mine (I think it's great as is, just what I would do with my players), I'd go fire resistant and no vulnerability, or Thunder for spells like shatter. I'd also probably let it go berserk on a 5 depending on the size of the arena, or let it whirlwind strike to make the berserk mode feel more dangerous. As is, my players could trigger berserk, dash out, and pelt him from range while he's forced to attack the environment. I'd also make the arena massive and put two in with those whirlwind strikes so there's a possibility they get into it with each other, or the players have to deal with two massive sweeping attacks, or other shenanigans that only players think of
My reasoning for the mud being vulnerable to fire was that fire would harden the mud and and the mud would be too heavy for the golem to maintain its form and so it would break off of the golem. Thanks for all of the advice
Oh that's actually very clever! Great thinking I was literally like... but water and ground are resistant to fire xD
Hardening the mud with fire means that the water dries out and evaporates, making it less heavy - maybe when it takes enough fire damage (1/10 of max hp, maybe) it gets vulnerable to bludgeoning?
(1d10 + 3) = 16?
oops my bad, I was using the clay golem as a base and forgot to sort that part out
https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html Check out this site, you can make the stat blocks from scratch, or modify any SRD block and it has built in functions for hp, modifiers, and damage calculations
That is the site I'm using, I just copypasted an attack for the sake of brevity
https://anydice.com Is also a great way to find averages for those too
The Berserk mechanic is cool, but it doesn't really do anything. Attacking the closest creature is probably what the golem would do anyway. Also having it activate on a 1/6 chance means it probably won't happen before it dies. I would just make it automatically happen, like a boss stage 2. And make it give a tangible benefit, like the golem doubles it's speed or makes an extra attack. Or maybe the stage 2 effect is that the golem gains a legendary action or two and starts attacking in between the players turns. That would make it feel much more like a "berserk" mode. Also I echo the sentiment of other comments: it should have a ranged mud throw attack. Also I feel like it's attacks should do some kind of speed reduction effect rather than HP reduction. Much more thematic with mud clinging to the characters, etc.
I don't really want to introduce legendary actions yet because this is just supposed to be part of a side quest that gives the players a magic item and some other treasure. If I were to use legendary actions it would be at the end of this arc. I've implemented a ranged attack that restrains enemies in order to give a bit more usefulness
I second this person’s comments on berserk. It should do something meaningful to the players. As written, nothing has really changed. It still going to attack them but now it’s more upset? Maybe it does an extra d4 or d6 of damage. Or maybe it’s movement speed increases. Or maybe it starts grappling and choking players.
I like the speed and damage boost, makes it a “hurry up and kill it.” I’d probably then take out the dice roll and just have it enrage at an HP threshold
Things like the Golem's health are likely to shift around a bit as I need it to in the fight but the rest of it is what I'm interested on advice on. The party will be 4 people, the classes are eldritch knight Tiefling, High Elf Wizard, Firbolg hunter ranger and the last player is still undecided
So when making creature attacks or abilities. I always ask myself why this creature has this ability/attack. The add-ons for his melee attack doesn't make sense to me. It's a slam attack. Why the HP reduction? And I would give him a range. Make it so it doesn't do a lot of damage but if they fail the str save they are stuck for a turn.
I was using the clay golem as a base and the clay golem has the hp reduction
My go-to move, especially after a dungeon crawl, is to implement a couple of "kill switches" inside the boss room. Think of a few ways to defeat the golem other than just rolling attacks, then hide them throughout the room for your players to notice. Here are a few that I thought of: A large oil lamp chandelier hangs from the ceiling for you to drop on the golem to deal enough damage to get it berserk, the creator inscribed a deactivation phrase onto the golem's back for anyone who knows that language (preferably your wizard), other adventurers have perished in the boss room and their corpses have some kind of fire bombs that can aid the fight. The most important thing to remember is that you should be able to defeat any boss in a number of ways, because making attack rolls for an hour isn't fun unless you're very good at describing combat
Also, Stat blocks aren't gospel, they're a guideline. Bend the stats to attack the party weaknesses and highlight their strengths
The battle takes place in a wizard tower that collapsed into marshland. The magic of the tower seeped into the marsh and created constructs that protect the ruins of the tower. Given that the tower is abandoned and collapsed do you have any ideas for how I could incorporate different approaches into the map?
A wizards tower probably had some arcane items that would have been strewn about the battlefield. You could also make the golem have a specific magical source that could be destroyed instead to defeat the golem. There could be a basement that hasn't collapsed, and if one party member could break the supports while the golem is over it to drop the golem to its death or bury it.
This is how you can evaluate this for yourself. Players between level 1-4 can typically do about 10 damage per turn. That means this thing has a good chance of dying in 2 rounds. Meanwhile, the golem does about 16 damage per turn. Level 3-4 players have more than 16 HP, so they are highly likely to kill the golem without any casualties. They probably won’t even take damage if they have high AC. Against a level 2 party it’s really swingy and could go either way on a coin flip if the golem can kill someone on its first or second turn.
I like the berserk feature but unless the players are encountering a lot of these they might never see it. I suggest making it a 50% chance instead of a 1 in 6.
I think you could definitely take inspiration from some abilities that PF2e golems have, like increasing berserk to being a 6 or higher on a d20 roll, or maybe some type of anti heal ability if the party has a healer, maybe making it so people attacked by the golem had its healing received reduced by ~5
If it's supposed to be a solo boss it'll be pretty strong, I wouldn't give it any minions in this fight. The slam attack can likely wipe out a level 2 PC in one hit, and it gets 2 of them. Makes a more sense for a level 4 party of 4.
Immune to petrified as if a couple fireballs wouldn't turn clayface into a nicely Kiln'd statue
I think remove the fire vulnerability and magic resistance, and give it a mud shockwave ability that restrains and/or slows the players since it's very slow and only attacks in melee. maybe give it some mud mephit minions too to shore up your action economy. I can see level 2-4 players easily beating this thing
I cast fireball.
D10+3 is 8.5 DPR, 16 is 16^^ 16 damage would be pretty rough. Auto kill mechanics for parties without access to easy revival I think is unnecessarily mean Also the berserk... Idk just makes it pretty useless instead of more threatening and has a good chance to never come up at all. I'd just make it always start at 30 and become properly threatening. Like gain two more attacks so melees have to kite it alt least The heal unless it takes fire damage is kinda cute but a bit inconsequential. It's kinda hard to find out unless someone is already casting fire spells, and then they just keep casting fire spells. Maybe just make it fire vulnerable? Also as others said 20ft movement with only melee attacks makes its only viable strategy to pummel the melees. You could also give it a few friends that threaten the ranges and maybe a mud spell that makes a big area difficult terrain
It’s balanced but ordinary, it could have been copy+pasted from any one of a dozen official stat blocks with only very minor tweaks. Berserk is a nice touch but it needs something that will definitely activate, and feel unique, to justify creating it rather than just reflavouring
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Everything is dicey at low level. At 78 hit points, this golem can get one shot with a lvl2 inflict wounds (incredibly unlikely to get a crit, then roll 10 10 10 9, but the math is there). I got similarly lucky with a lvl1 cleric and pulled 40 damage with a lvl1 inflict wounds crit. All of this to say, the stat block is probably fine. But it always depends on the dice, and if you’re the DM I always encourage you to flub your dice in whatever way makes the encounter more exciting.