Monster Stat Blocks

How to Balance Readability, Referenceability, Conciseness

I’ve been thinking recently about the best way to format stat blocks. The standard shorthand used in ACKS II is very concise, but I find the order slightly unintuitive, and I think a slightly more expansive version could add a lot of useful detail (notably creature type, size, saves, BR, special senses, descriptions of unusual special abilities). In speaking with Martin,

Harrowed

, and others on the ACKS Discord, I’ve gotten some good feedback and refined this model a bit further, and now I’m sharing it more broadly in the hope of gaining some further input on what is necessary and what can be cut. Please let me know what you think!

My general thinking is to start with the broad descriptive statistics (name, size, type, alignment, HD), then proceed to defensive stats (HD, hp, AC, saves) that get used when it’s not that creature’s turn, then to active stats (initiative bonus if any, movement speeds by type, attack routines) that are used during its initiative, and then finally the general notes (ML, XP, BR). If there are any special senses or special abilities, they follow that.

OldSchoolJelly’s orc art for the monster manual is very unassumingly well done. The attention to detail, getting the armor right, making the face bestial but not to the level of an Egyptian statue, I quite like it.

Example Stat Blocks

To start with a simple example:

3x Orc (Beastman), MS Humanoid Beastman, AL C, HD 1 (hp 4, 8, 6), AC 3, SV F1 (13+), SPD 40’/120’, 1 Spear or Short Sword 10+ 1d6 {P}, ML +0, XP 10, BR 0.010; LV 30’

• Equipment: belt pouches with 4sp each, leader also has a 10gp quartz

I think includes basically all relevant information, compressed down. “MS” is “Man-Sized”, the size category; “Humanoid Beastman” could possibly be abbreviated but I’m not yet persuaded doing so would be worth it. “{P}” succinctly indicates the damage type (“Piercing”) using the format from the drafting of ACKS II, and the listed saving throw is vs Paralysis (all that’s really necessary for fighter saves, given that each column right is just at -1 relative to that prior). BR isn’t normally included with monster stats, but I find it useful whenever there’s a chance something will be engaged in mass combat. “LV” at the end is “Lightless Vision”; if the orc also had Night Vision, I’d append “NV” for that as well, but any other special senses are rare enough to be written out in full.

I don’t list standard equipment (mundane weapons, armor) that can be trivially inferred from the statblock, to avoid unnecessary clutter. Separating Equipment out under a bolded subheader makes it easy to reference and sum up loot.

Trying a slightly more complicated monster:

20x Pixie (Faerie), Sm Enchanted Humanoid, AL N, HD 1**, AC 6, SV E1 (12/14/15/16/16+), SPD 30’/90’, FLY 60’/180’, 1 Tiny Sword 10+ 1d4 {P!} or Tiny Bow 10+ 1d4 {P!} (75/150/300’), ML -1, XP 16, BR 0.122; LV 60’; Precise Shooting, invisible, weak wings (rest 1 turn after 3 turns flight)

If the pixies had a number of proficiencies, I might favor:

class powers (Precise Shooting, Performance, Sensing Power)

But generally I find the format of bolding the name of each special ability makes them easy to remember and reference, especially if special rules for the nonstandard powers can be included as parenthetical notes. Standard powers (proficiencies, features that reference a standard class, invisibility or the like that just work as explained at the start of the MM) don’t need explanation in my opinion; the Judge should be familiar with those.

Findura the Lamia, Lg Monstrosity (sapient), AL C, HD 9*** (hp 45+10/3 duplicates), AC 13, SV F9 (8+), SPD 80’/240’, 1 Tail 2+ 1d6 {B!} + 1 WIL or Bow 0+ 1d6+2 {P!} + poison (120/240/360’), ML +1, XP 2500, BR 3.250; LV 60’, NV; enslave (anyone drained to WIL 3), SLAs (at will: word of command, spectral figment, perpetual figment; 1/day: bewitch humanoid, illusory duplicates used), poison (demonic attercop: save or after 1 round paralyzed 1d4 turns + 5d6 {Po!})

• Equipment: bow of curved dragon horn (Composite Bow +2, apparent 750gp), 2x quiver, empty vial (already drunk Potion of Necromantic Potence), vial of demonic attercop poison (1000gp), fitted bronze muscle plate (MW Plate Barding +1, apparent 1250gp), belt pouch (35gp and a 500gp topaz)

• Mass Combat: LA 5, SA +3, MM +0

• Description: Upper body of a woman with midnight-black hair atop the body of a lion with a serpent’s tail. Cunning, evasive, subtle. Aims to catch characters alone, enslave them, and then act through pawns. Speaks Auran, Ancient Zaharan, Elvish, Orc, Gnoll, and Ogre.

Lamias are among my favorite monsters, very versatile opponents and interesting to run and to oppose. Because this one is expected to have already drunk a Potion of Necromantic Potence and cast illusory duplicates when it is encountered, I included the temporary hp (“+10”) and number of duplicates for reference in it’s hp entry so that they’re not forgotten in the heat of play.

For magic and masterwork items, I prefer to list the description, with the actual item name bolded in the parenthetical along with its apparent value. This is a good habit and prevents players identifying which items are magical just based on what lacks description, and doing it in advance helps me to remember to tie it into the regional history, give weapons names, etc.

The Mass Combat section at present just abbreviates its command abilities (respectively: Leadership Ability, Strategic Ability, Morale Modifier), but if one might be playing out a battles scenario this would also be the fitting place for unit statistics.

The “Description” section here is very much optional, but useful for a powerful and intelligent creature that is likely to recur, knows a specific set of languages, etc.

One last example, to demonstrate how I’d set up a proper spellcaster:

Hag, MS Enchanted Monstrosity (sapient), AL C, HD 9***, AC 8, SV C9+1 (8/5/8/11/10+), init +2, SPD 30’/90’, 2 Claws 2+ 1d4+4 {S!}, ML +2, XP 2500, BR 3.206; LV 60’; immune (all mundane), SLAs (1/day: adjust self, bestow curse; 1/week: bestow curse)

• Chthonic Witch 9: DEX 16, WIL 14; Bedazzling Glamor, Seduction, Subtle Beguilement; Loremastery 10+, Quiet Magic, Mastery of Enchantments and Illusions, Alchemy III, Naturalism

• Spellcasting (Witch 9): 1st (5): allure, cure light injury, discern evil, discern magic, word of command; 2nd (5): beguile humanoid, dominate beasts, magic lock, necromantic potence; 3rd (5): bewitch humanoid, deflect ordinary missiles, dispel magic, phantasmal figment, rune of warding; 4th (3): invisibility, skinchange, restore disfigurement and disability; 5th (2): curse of the swine, dominate monster

• Equipment: crooked ash staff

• Mass Combat: LA 5, SA +3, MM +0

I assume the Judge knows the rules for Enchanted creatures and doesn’t need the standard features of each monster type defined in statblocks. Initiative is noted here because it’s not +0. The save listed as “C9+1” is intended as shorthand for the saves of a 9th level crusader with a +1 bonus (from it’s WIL 14). Since it doesn’t follow fighter saves, and thus it’s a little trickier to infer the other throws from just the throw to save vs Paralysis, I list the full set.

Given that the hag has nonstandard attributes and a full set of class powers, breaking that out into its own bullet is worthwhile, while avoiding cluttering up the combat statistics overmuch.

The type of spellcasting is listed for reference and caster level, and then each level of spells is listed along with its number of slots and repertoire at that level, bolded for easy scanning.

On the whole, I’m pretty happy with this format, but I do think it’s still an open question whether the full monster type needs to be listed, whether BR should be a standard inclusion or only when mass combat is likely, whether supply cost should be added, whether armor type should be listed in a parenthetical after AC (useful principally if the popular armor penetration of large monsters optional rule is in use), etc. Please let me know your thoughts!