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NPC Stat Blocks for Spellcasters? (ttrpg.network)
submitted 2 days ago by juergen_hubert@ttrpg.network to c/dndnext@ttrpg.network
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I will soon be starting a new #DnD 5E campaign. I've done that in the past, and for the most part the system has worked for me - except for one thing:

NPC stat blocks for spellcasters.

For everything else, NPC and monster stat blocks include all the information you need to run them in combat. Not so with spellcasters - for with them, you have to look up each and every spell they might use in a fight, and that takes me away from the game.

So I am wondering: How are others handling this issue? Have you found any ways of simplifying spellcaster stat blocks so that everything you need to run them is on a single page?

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[-] juergen_hubert@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 days ago

An addendum: I just discovered the SRD for Level Up: Advanced 5E by EN Publishing. And the document for NPCs does have simplified stat blocks which include spell descriptions for many NPCs!

[-] GoldSeal@ttrpg.network 1 points 2 days ago

I took a page from Flee Mortals and use actions instead of spells for NPC combatants.

https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/collections/flee-mortals-the-mcdm-monster-book

[-] eerongal@ttrpg.network 1 points 2 days ago

for what its worth, the new (2024/2025) monster manual supposedly has spellcasting monsters with more "magical" actions built in. While they do still have a list of spells, they have more built in tailored "magic action" type things they would be using instead of spell casting in most scenarios, like having a "magic bolt" type attack for a mage or something. We don't exactly know how extensive this is yet, since we've only seen previews so far, but it could make running spellcasting creatures a bit easier.

this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
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