joshuaandClaude Opus 5.5
57fba68a48
Seven steps in one commit, 1.15.0 to 1.21.0. They change the same files and were not saved apart, so they go in together. - The battle at a glance (1.15). A strip across the top of an encounter lists everyone in turn order and stays in view; a click goes to that card. On a wide screen the stat block of whoever is on turn stays beside the cards, and Pin keeps anyone else's there. Saving throws, every skill and passive Perception, Investigation and Insight are on encounter cards and in the character panel, which "Sheet" on a card and a button on the party overview open. For the DM, N is Next Turn and S opens the sheet of whoever is on turn. The party overview shows passive scores and spell save DC. - Subclasses (1.16). Three per class, picked in the level-up checklist at level 2 (cleric, druid, wizard) or 3, shown beside the class everywhere, and changed by the DM from the sheet: the old one's lines come out of Special Abilities and the new one's go in. Characters already at that level keep the path they were on. - Character state (1.17). Inspiration, exhaustion and conditions on the sheet and in the panel, and counters for what a class does a set number of times (Rage, Ki, Channel Divinity...), which the player spends and a rest gives back. A long rest takes a level of exhaustion off. A character's conditions are their own now: they stay from one encounter to the next. - Faster battles (1.18). Up to 20 of a monster added at once, numbered. One button rolls initiative for the monsters and NPCs. A condition can be given a number of rounds and then comes off by itself. Hovering over a condition shows its rule, and damaging someone who is Concentrating shows the save to call for. - Rolls from the sheet (1.19). A number with a dotted underline rolls when clicked, with its bonus: skills, saves, ability checks, attacks, damage, spell dice, and a monster's attack, damage and abilities. The dice roller has advantage and disadvantage. "Call for a roll" rolls one check or save for the whole party. Rolls stay in the browser. - XP and difficulty (1.20). An encounter shows the DM how hard it is, Trivial to Deadly, from the monsters' challenge ratings against the characters in it, and what it is worth in XP; one button shares that out, once. The sheet and the party overview show XP and when a level is due. Levelling up stays the DM's decision. - Subclasses are optional per campaign (1.21). With "Characters choose a subclass" unticked in the campaign's Settings nobody is asked, each class follows its first subclass, and none is named. - Conditions, exhaustion, counters and subclass features are reminders for the table: none of them changes a number on the sheet. - The docs cover all of it, with generated tables of what each subclass adds. - New migrations: a character's subclass; inspiration, exhaustion, conditions and spent counters on a character; the rounds left on a combatant's conditions; the XP awarded for an encounter; the campaign's subclass setting. - All packages at version 1.21.0. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
12 KiB
12 KiB
Monsters
How monsters work in this app: the campaign's monster list, the built-in bestiary, and how monsters behave in an encounter.
This describes the code as it stands. The built-in list is
backend/src/game/data/monstersLibrary.js. Related:
ENCOUNTERS.md, NPCS.md.
Contents
- The basics
- What a monster holds
- Managing monsters
- The built-in bestiary
- Monsters in encounters
- What players see
- Permissions
- What is not modelled
1. The basics
- Every campaign has its own monster list. Only the DM can see or change it.
- A monster in the list is a template. Each time it is added to an encounter it becomes a separate combatant with its own hit points.
- Stat blocks are the DM's. Players see a monster only as a name and a health bar in an encounter.
2. What a monster holds
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Name | Up to 80 characters |
| AC | Armor Class |
| Max HP | Hit points each copy starts an encounter with |
| Speed | Walking speed in feet. 30 unless set otherwise. Other speeds (fly, swim, climb) go in Notes |
| Ability scores | STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA. 10 unless set otherwise |
| Attack bonus | Added to the monster's attack roll |
| Damage | Dice for its main attack, e.g. 1d6+2, with the damage type if you like: 1d6+2 necrotic |
| Challenge rating | A rough danger rating, e.g. 1/4, 2. It sets what the monster is worth in XP and how hard an encounter is (ENCOUNTERS.md, section 9); a monster with none, or with text that is not a rating, is left out of both |
| Special trait | A short note such as "Pack Tactics" |
| Notes | Anything else: what it attacks with, how it behaves |
Apart from the challenge rating, none of these are used in formulas. They are reference numbers shown to the DM during a fight. A monster's ability modifiers are worked out from its scores for display, for its initiative bonus (Dexterity) and for the rolls a click makes (section 5).
3. Managing monsters
The list is the "Monsters" part of the campaign page (DM only). Each monster is a short row: its name, challenge rating, AC, HP and attack. The list has a search box, shows ten to a page, and clicking a row opens the monster's pop-out with its whole stat block.
- Adding by hand: "+ Add Monster" opens a pop-out with the whole stat block: name, challenge rating, AC, HP, speed, attack bonus, damage, the six ability scores, special trait and notes. Only name, AC and HP must be typed; speed starts at 30, attack bonus at 0 and each ability score at 10.
- Once added by hand, the monster's own pop-out opens. "+ Add another monster" at its top goes straight back to an empty form.
- Adding from the bestiary: "📚 From Library" opens the bestiary in a pop-out, and "+ Add" copies a complete stat block. Each monster can be added once: one the campaign already has by that name is left out of the list, and comes back if the campaign's monster is renamed or deleted.
- Changing: "Edit stat block" in a monster's pop-out opens the same form filled in. Saving changes the template, and copies already in encounters show the new stat block straight away; their current HP is left alone.
- The pop-out shows the full stat block: the numbers, the six ability scores, the trait and the notes.
- Removing: "Remove from campaign" at the foot of the pop-out, after a confirmation. Copies already in encounters stay there with their name and HP, but lose their stat block.
4. The built-in bestiary
38 monsters, from harmless to dangerous, every one with a complete stat block. Each library row shows challenge rating, AC, HP, speed, attack, damage and the six ability scores, plus its trait and notes, before you add it. Adding copies the monster into your campaign; the copy is yours, and later changes to the library do not affect it.
The full bestiary, weakest first. "Attack" is the bonus added to the monster's attack roll.
This list is written from the app's own data by npm run docs:lists (in /backend). Re-run it after changing the data; do not edit the list by hand.
| Monster | CR | AC | HP | Speed | Attack | Damage | STR / DEX / CON / INT / WIS / CHA | Trait | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commoner | 0 | 10 | 4 | 30 | +2 | 1d4 | 10 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 10 | — | An ordinary villager, armed with a club. |
| Giant Rat | 1/8 | 12 | 7 | 30 | +4 | 1d4+2 | 7 / 15 / 11 / 2 / 10 / 4 | Pack Tactics | Bite, piercing damage. |
| Kobold | 1/8 | 12 | 5 | 30 | +4 | 1d4+2 | 7 / 15 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 8 | Pack Tactics, Sunlight Sensitivity | Dagger, piercing damage. |
| Bandit | 1/8 | 12 | 11 | 30 | +3 | 1d6+1 | 11 / 12 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 10 | — | Scimitar, slashing damage. |
| Cultist | 1/8 | 12 | 9 | 30 | +3 | 1d6+1 | 11 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 11 / 10 | Dark Devotion | Scimitar, slashing damage. |
| Stirge | 1/8 | 12 | 2 | 10 | +5 | 1d4 | 4 / 16 / 11 / 2 / 8 / 6 | Blood Drain | Proboscis; attaches and drains hp on a hit. |
| Goblin | 1/4 | 15 | 7 | 30 | +4 | 1d6+2 | 8 / 14 / 10 / 10 / 8 / 8 | Nimble Escape | Scimitar, slashing damage. |
| Skeleton | 1/4 | 13 | 13 | 30 | +4 | 1d6+2 | 10 / 14 / 15 / 6 / 8 / 5 | Undead — vulnerable to bludgeoning | Shortsword, piercing damage. |
| Zombie | 1/4 | 8 | 22 | 20 | +3 | 1d6+1 | 13 / 6 / 16 / 3 / 6 / 5 | Undead Fortitude | Slam, bludgeoning damage. |
| Wolf | 1/4 | 13 | 11 | 40 | +4 | 2d4+2 | 12 / 15 / 12 / 3 / 12 / 6 | Pack Tactics | Bite; can knock prone on a hit. |
| Giant Wolf Spider | 1/4 | 13 | 11 | 40 | +3 | 1d6+1 | 12 / 16 / 13 / 3 / 12 / 4 | Poison bite | Spider climb; bite deals poison damage. |
| Scout | 1/2 | 13 | 16 | 30 | +4 | 1d6+2 | 11 / 14 / 12 / 11 / 13 / 11 | Keen Hearing and Sight | Shortsword or longbow. |
| Orc | 1/2 | 13 | 15 | 30 | +5 | 1d12+3 | 16 / 12 / 16 / 7 / 11 / 10 | Aggressive | Greataxe, slashing damage. |
| Hobgoblin | 1/2 | 18 | 11 | 30 | +3 | 1d8+1 | 13 / 12 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 9 | Martial Advantage | Longsword, slashing damage. |
| Thug | 1/2 | 11 | 32 | 30 | +4 | 1d6+2 | 15 / 11 / 14 / 10 / 10 / 11 | Pack Tactics | Mace, bludgeoning damage. |
| Gnoll | 1/2 | 15 | 22 | 30 | +3 | 1d8+1 | 14 / 12 / 11 / 6 / 10 / 7 | Rampage | Spear, piercing damage. |
| Lizardfolk | 1/2 | 15 | 22 | 30 | +3 | 1d6+1 | 15 / 10 / 13 / 7 / 12 / 7 | Hold Breath | Club or spear, piercing damage. |
| Black Bear | 1/2 | 11 | 19 | 40 | +3 | 1d6+2 | 15 / 10 / 14 / 2 / 12 / 7 | Keen Smell | Bite and claw attacks. |
| Giant Spider | 1 | 14 | 26 | 30 | +5 | 1d8+3 | 14 / 16 / 12 / 2 / 11 / 4 | Web, poison bite | Bite deals piercing plus poison damage. |
| Ghoul | 1 | 12 | 22 | 30 | +2 | 2d6+2 | 13 / 15 / 10 / 7 / 10 / 6 | Claws paralyze on a hit | Undead. |
| Dire Wolf | 1 | 14 | 37 | 50 | +5 | 2d6+3 | 17 / 15 / 15 / 3 / 12 / 7 | Pack Tactics | Bite; can knock prone on a hit. |
| Brown Bear | 1 | 11 | 34 | 40 | +5 | 1d8+5 | 19 / 10 / 16 / 2 / 13 / 7 | Keen Smell | Multiattack: bite and claws. |
| Harpy | 1 | 11 | 38 | 20 | +4 | 2d4+2 | 12 / 13 / 12 / 7 / 10 / 13 | Luring Song | Flying speed 40 ft; claws deal slashing damage. |
| Ochre Jelly | 2 | 8 | 45 | 10 | +5 | 2d6+3 | 15 / 6 / 14 / 2 / 6 / 1 | Amorphous, splits when damaged by slashing | Pseudopod, bludgeoning plus acid damage. |
| Ogre | 2 | 11 | 59 | 40 | +6 | 2d8+4 | 19 / 8 / 16 / 5 / 7 / 7 | — | Greatclub, bludgeoning damage. |
| Griffon | 2 | 12 | 59 | 30 | +6 | 2d6+4 | 18 / 15 / 16 / 2 / 13 / 8 | Keen Sight | Flying speed 80 ft; multiattack beak and claws. |
| Ankheg | 2 | 14 | 39 | 30 | +6 | 2d6+4 | 17 / 11 / 13 / 1 / 13 / 6 | Burrow speed 10 ft; can spit acid | Bite, piercing plus acid damage. |
| Manticore | 3 | 14 | 68 | 30 | +5 | 1d8+3 | 17 / 16 / 17 / 7 / 12 / 8 | Tail spikes (ranged) | Flying speed 50 ft; multiattack claws or tail spikes. |
| Basilisk | 3 | 15 | 52 | 20 | +5 | 2d6+3 | 16 / 8 / 15 / 2 / 8 / 7 | Petrifying Gaze | Bite, piercing damage. |
| Owlbear | 3 | 13 | 59 | 40 | +7 | 1d10+5 | 20 / 12 / 17 / 3 / 12 / 7 | Keen Sight and Smell | Multiattack: beak and claws. |
| Wight | 3 | 14 | 45 | 30 | +4 | 1d8+2 | 15 / 14 / 16 / 10 / 13 / 15 | Life Drain, Sunlight Sensitivity | Longsword or life-draining touch. |
| Werewolf | 3 | 12 | 58 | 30 | +4 | 1d8+2 | 15 / 13 / 14 / 10 / 11 / 10 | Shapechanger, regeneration | Bite (hybrid/wolf form) or multiattack claws + bite. |
| Doppelganger | 3 | 14 | 52 | 30 | +4 | 2d4+2 | 11 / 18 / 14 / 11 / 12 / 14 | Shapechanger, Ambusher | Multiattack slam. |
| Displacer Beast | 3 | 13 | 85 | 40 | +7 | 2d6+4 | 18 / 15 / 16 / 6 / 12 / 8 | Displacement (attacks vs. it have disadvantage) | Multiattack: two tentacles. |
| Ettin | 4 | 12 | 85 | 40 | +7 | 2d8+4 | 21 / 8 / 17 / 6 / 10 / 8 | Two heads — advantage on Perception, can’t be surprised easily | Multiattack: battleaxe and morningstar. |
| Hill Giant | 5 | 13 | 105 | 40 | +8 | 3d8+5 | 21 / 8 / 19 / 5 / 9 / 6 | — | Greatclub, bludgeoning damage. |
| Troll | 5 | 15 | 84 | 30 | +7 | 2d6+4 | 18 / 13 / 20 / 7 / 9 / 7 | Regeneration (vulnerable to fire/acid) | Multiattack: bite and two claws. |
| Wraith | 5 | 13 | 67 | 0 | +6 | 4d8+4 | 6 / 16 / 16 / 12 / 14 / 15 | Incorporeal, life drain, flying 60 ft | Undead; life drain touch attack. |
5. Monsters in encounters
On an encounter page, the DM chooses "Monster" in the "Add to the scene" panel, picks one, says how many, and types its initiative or leaves it to be rolled ("🎲 Roll initiative for N monsters and NPCs" rolls a d20 plus the Dexterity modifier for each that has no roll).
- The same monster can be added any number of times, up to 20 in one go. Each copy has its own HP and conditions. Copies added together are numbered ("Goblin 1" to "Goblin 4"); one added on its own has the monster's name. The screen has no way to rename one (the API allows it).
- A copy starts at the monster's max HP. Its HP stays between 0 and its max.
- At 0 HP a copy is marked Down and dimmed, but keeps its place in the initiative order until the DM removes it.
- HP belongs to the encounter: a monster starts fresh in the next one.
The DM's card for a monster shows AC, speed, attack bonus and damage at a glance, and under "details" its six ability scores with modifiers, its trait and its notes. Attack, Damage and each ability score roll when clicked: a d20 plus the attack bonus, the damage dice, or a d20 plus the ability's modifier. Of damage written with more after the dice ("2d8+3 fire") the dice are rolled; damage that does not start with dice is shown but does not roll.
6. What players see
| Players see | Players never see |
|---|---|
| The monster's name | AC, speed, attack bonus, damage |
| Its health bar and current/max HP | Ability scores, challenge rating |
| Its conditions | Trait and notes |
| Its place in the initiative order | The campaign's monster list |
This is enforced by the server: stat blocks are never sent to a player's browser.
Players see a monster's exact HP numbers unless the campaign setting "Players see the exact hit points of monsters and NPCs in encounters" is unticked. Then they get the health bar only.
7. Permissions
| Action | DM | Players |
|---|---|---|
| See the monster list and stat blocks | Yes | No |
| Browse the built-in bestiary | Yes | Yes (it is standard reference material) |
| Add or remove monsters | Yes | No |
| Add a monster to an encounter | Yes | No |
| Change a monster's HP, initiative or conditions | Yes | No |
| See a monster in an encounter | Everything | Name, HP, conditions |
8. What is not modelled
- Multiple attacks, spells, legendary actions and resistances (use Notes)
- Trade: monsters do not sell things or change money (NPCs do)
- Saving throw proficiencies and skills (on an encounter card a click on an ability score rolls a d20 with its modifier, for a check or a save)
- XP typed in for a monster: it always comes from the challenge rating
- Monster hit dice, and rolling HP rather than using the fixed value