Toadstool Workshop

Someone_Evil

00:31

@BenHess Especially when responding to a message much later, it is useful to ping the user using the @ and then their username. if you see it come up for autocomplete, they will get a notification so they'll see it. Otherwise you will be relying on them happening upon the chat again for it to be seen.

Pyrotechnical

12:10

@NautArch tagging you here to draw you to this room.

@BenHess i'm not sure sporebombs deal with ranged effectively enough, as Theik indicated in their answer, a ranger could easily kite this to death with a longbow

Given that you've set the CR24, you've more or less thrown down a gauntlet to make a truely insane monster

Something you might want to consider is that the Sporecap is the size of a tree; you could make a statement similar to that of the gelatinous cube and say that that they take up the entire space. You would need to write it in a manner that permits the Toadstool to gain the benefits of total cover using this.

You may also want to apply some sort of substantial healing effect from the Sporecaps, but tie that into the Buff abilities' description.

Maybe something to the effect that the Toadstool heals 20 hit points per round per Sporecap within 30 feet of it.

I don't know if that's necessarily balanced, but it creates this creature that is incredibly durable and the need to kill the minions is extremely important if there's to be any hope of success.

As for the ranged issue, go big or go home on that. This is CR24, we're not dealing with kobolds here.

Give it tremorsense out to 300 feet. Sporebomb doesn't target a creature within 20 feet of it, it can fire those things out 300 feet and target any creature within 300 feet. Creatures can only avoid being targeted if they are behind total cover both from the front and above.

This reinforces the notion that if you don't kill the Sporecaps so you can get a shot at the Toadstool you won't manage to kill this thing.

For save proficiencies I would give it Str, Con, and Wis. I would also give it 3x Legendary Resistances.

The damage type of Poison is also a problem, but not an insurmountable one. You don't want to diminish player features that grant resistance/immunity to poison, but consider mixing in some Bludgeoning damage.

For example, Boomshroom doesn't deal 2d12 poison damage, instead it deals 1d12 bludgeoning and 1d12 bludgeoning.

NautArch

12:46

@Pyrotechnical o/

Not super available for a few hours, tho

Ben Hess

15:34

@Pyrotechnical Ok, thanks for the advice. I should also increase the range for the spore bombs.

NautArch

18:59

@Pyrotechnical Interesting, so in some ways, do the sporecaps act like a tempHP for the toadstoll (given that it's behind total cover?)

Ben Hess

19:16

@NautArch given that what's behind total cover?

NautArch

@BenHess If the Toadstool is behind the total cover the sporecaps, then it can't really be a target

Ben Hess

@na

whoops

@NautArch The sporecaps aren't wide enough.

NautArch

@BenHess ah, okay. and good :)

was thinking they would not be a good call for it.

Ben Hess

@NautArch is 1/4 cover a thing?

NautArch

@BenHess starts at 1/2...so no RAW

Ben Hess

19:22

so, yeah, the sporecaps provide no cover

NautArch

But you could say that if X sporecaps are there, it's AC is boosted by 1.

or something like that. but you also need to be careful about how much you've got to manage.

There are so many monster abilities I've forgotten to use during an encounter while trying to managing the table.

Ben Hess

did you look at the source material for the creature?

NautArch

@BenHess i have not yet. I know the game, but haven't played it (turns out I don't like survival games.)

Ben Hess

dontstarve.fandom.com/wiki/Toadstool

NautArch

well, that's not what i imagined it looking like :)

Ben Hess

19:25

what did you picture?

NautArch

but now i get it. Toad-stool.

more pure plant

Ben Hess

ah

making stat blocks for video game creatures is hard

NautArch

what level are you players again?

I would have expected the toadstool from the game to be more mobile (I think that's why I envisioned it as more stool than toad.)

Ben Hess

I'm not necessarily planning on using this against them any time soon, or ever for that matter, but they're 5th level. I'm mostly creating this because I love the game the creature originated from.

NautArch

oh geez, you are so far away from being able to use this :)

Ben Hess

19:30

yeah.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the cloud from the spore bomb spoils any food within it.

goodbye rations!

NautArch

@BenHess Do you track rations and/or ammo?

I'm guessing your love of Don't Starve suggests you like surivval mechanics like inventory tracking.

Ben Hess

Does any DM track rations?

NautArch

@BenHess We do (at a table where i'm a player.) But it seems silly.

we don't track water, though.

so.../shrug

Ben Hess

@NautArch what kind of damage should the ground pound do?

NautArch

@BenHess I'm kind of envisioning like the legendary action wing attack of dragons

The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 25 Dexterity saving throw or take 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.

Ben Hess

19:45

So, bludgeoning damage and prone.

NautArch

that's what i'm thinking.

Ben Hess

The Misery Toadstool would basically be chalenge 30.

@Pyrotechnical What did you mean by, "1d12 bludgeoning and 1d12 bludgeoning?" Isn't that just 2d12 bludgeoning?

How's this:

Boomshroom. The toadstool releases 4 (1d8) Boomshrooms. Boomshrooms are small mushrooms that grow and explode, and any creature within 5 feet of the it takes 6(1d12) poison damage and 6(1d12) necrotic damage.

@NautArch What do you think of this description for it: Deep in the Underdark, one may find a large purple mushroom. Upon trying to cut it down, a huge, three-eyed, toad-like creature covered in mushrooms will emerge from the ground. This creature, known as a Toadstool, is a feared creature in the Underdark.

This creature comes from hideous experiments being conducted on a froghemoth, fungal spores being injected into its body, causing it to mutate into this toad-mushroom hybrid.

NautArch

@BenHess i think they meant 1d12 bludgeoning and 1d12 poisoning.

@BenHess what if you don't try to cut it down?

Ben Hess

The Sporecaps?

NautArch

20:00

@BenHess Your description says that when you try to cut the toadstool down, it emerges as the toad-likec reature.

so can't you just walk on by?

Ben Hess

Then they walk past it.

NautArch

why would they try to cut it down?

Ben Hess

Might need to tweak it a bit

NautArch

unless that's the mission

surprise!

Ben Hess

perhaps it seems like there's something within it that could be useful.

Or, I could just make it so if they even TOUCH it the toadstool emerges.

NautArch

20:03

you've got time to figure that one out :) or heck, all of this.

Ben Hess

I thought that the Froghemoth thing was creative and makes sense.

JohnP

Toadstools? Mind if I sit in?

::snerk::

Ben Hess

@JohnP was that a pun?

JohnP

Well, yeah. That's all I have today.

NautArch

@BenHess This seems like potentially a huge amount of damage. Beyond CR 24.

Ben Hess

20:07

what seems like a potentially huge amount of damage?

NautArch

The boomshrooms. Up to 8 with 12d12 damage each

as a limited area effect

Ben Hess

Do you think it should be less random?

just a fixed number of boomshrooms?

bye john

NautArch

@BenHess probably fixed number and less damage. and maybe a recharge. but you've already got a recharge.

it's just a no-brainer to always use that as your extra action

Ben Hess

so, like, 5?

NautArch

may be better for that to be it's own thing.

and same with the other recharge

like it can make 3 attacks OR use one of it's actions.

boomshrooms/sporecaps

Ben Hess

20:12

did ya mean sporecaps?

Or, it could just bite & boomshroom, making only two attacks, and it could use its whole action to summon sporecaps. The ground pound could be an alternate for the bite of boomshrooms.

@NautArch would that be better?

@NautArch You there?

NautArch

up to you, but I think the balance of normal attacks and the option to replace the attacks with big area effects would be better.

Ben Hess

20:41

@NautArch at how many sporecaps should I take into account when calculating CR?

NautArch

@BenHess Whatever the average is if it's random.

Ben Hess

it's 5.

it's no longer random.

Wait, I got that confused with boomsrooms nvm

@NautArch @Pyrotechnical How's This: dndbeyond.com/monsters/717722-toadstool

NautArch

21:01

@BenHess Basedo n the latest answer to the meta, I"m wondering if it's better to change your question focus to asking if this still fits a CR 24?

You're focusing on the build you've got and making sure it's hitting the CR value. You can highlight that you're unsure about the buffing and see if that helps with answers.

Ben Hess

I used a CR calculator

Ben Hess

21:20

Is that not good enough?

Someone_Evil

21:56

@BenHess When you say CR calculator do you mean the guidelines in the DMG, some implementation of those, or a different algorithm?

Someone_Evil

23:01

Btw, I starred the link you posted so it'll be easier to keep track of/find again, should it be relevant

Ben Hess

@Someone_Evil i used the 5e tools website.

Someone_Evil

Ok, that looks like its an implementation of the DMG rules. I'd recommend reading the DMG guidelines on creating your own monster (they start at page 273) if you haven't already

Ben Hess

ok

Someone_Evil

Also, as a warning regarding that site and ours, as they host non-srd stuff we don't accept links to it (and try to minimise references). We don't support piracy

You might also have an interest in our 5e questions on CR calculation, which you can find here (we have some useful search options if one knows how to use them)

Ben Hess

23:17

oh.

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