Characteristics #

Every enemy’s characteristics are put in a block like such:

Name
Xth Level (Role), (Initiative Band)
(Strength Indicator)
(Self-Preservation Behavior, Targeting Behavior)

Action Name (Range/Type, Provokes, Action Type, +X vs Defense, Number of Attacks or Targets)

Hit, Miss, Natural X, Special

Secondary/Passive Qualities

X Threat: (Threat Quality/Action)

Characteristic Descriptions #

Role: A role indicating the enemy’s role. There can be some crossover but this indicates the primary intent.

• Troop: The default enemy type, designed primarily to make attacks against AC and deal and sustain damage in melee range.
• Blocker: Designed to protect allies through direct means (like limiting movement or interception).
• Leader: Designed to protect or support its allies through indirect means (like buffs).
• Mook: A special type to indicate more minor enemies (see Mooks below).
• Spoiler: Designed to add conditions in addition to or instead of adding damage to disrupt its enemies.
• Wrecker: Designed to deal damage through more effective and unconventional means, such as ongoing damage, ranged damage, or damage-focused attacks against PD/MD.

Initiative: The enemy’s Initiative band.

Strength Indicator: This is used to indicate a Double Strength or Triple Strength enemy. If omitted, this a Single-Strength enemy or a Mook (see Mooks below).

Self-Preservation Behavior: Determines how often this enemy will provoke Opportunity Attacks (see Behavior below).

Targeting Behavior: Determines who this enemy prioritizes (see Behavior below).

AC, PD, MD, HP: Defenses and HP.

X Mooks: The number of mooks in a typical group.

Type/Range: Melee, Ranged, Spell. Range is Engaged for Melee or Nearby for all others unless specified.

Provokes: If present, this ability provokes Opportunity Attacks.

Action Type: Standard, Move, Quick, or Free. This is Standard if omitted.

Number of Attacks or Targets: Number of the following attacks made, or number of targets. If this is Attacks instead of Targets, this action can attack the same target multiple times.

X Threat: (Threat Quality/Action): See Threat below.

Mooks #

Mooks are a kind of enemy who are a threat en masse, but attack and are attacked as a group. Some exceptional mook rules are as follows:

Health and Damage: Each mook has a fraction of the health of a normal enemy, but attack damage that kills one mook carries on to the next, and so on. For example, if a group of mooks with 5 HP takes 23 damage, 4 mooks will die and 3 damage is dealt to the fifth.

Conditions: Any condition that occurs only applies to one mook.

Targeting: A group of mooks can be targeted multiple times by one ability as if it were multiple targets (because it is). Most abilities that target an indiscriminate number of targets have handling for mook groups as a result: in this case, every 3, 4, 5, or 6 mooks (one enemy equivalent depending on level) counts as a “group”.

Behavior #

Each enemy has two kinds of Behavior listed. These are suggestions for how the enemy in question would normally act depending on the circumstances, but shouldn’t be considered restrictive - make sure enemies do things that makes sense for who or what they are.

Self-Preservation Behavior #

Self-Preservation Behaviors represent the enemy’s relationship with Opportunity Attacks and Disengagement.

• Brave: Avoids Opportunity Attacks for moving and provoking actions when staggered.
• Volatile: Avoids Opportunity Attacks for moving and provoking actions when unstaggered.
• Reckless: Never avoids Opportunity Attacks for moving and provoking actions.
• Cautious: Always avoids Opportunity Attacks for moving and provoking actions.

Targeting Behavior #

Targeting Behaviors represent who the enemy prioritizes in combat.

• Most Recent: Will prioritize whoever they attacked most recently.
• Most Threatening: Will prioritize the most offensive-oriented target.
• Least Threatening: Will prioritize the least offensive-oriented target.
• Defender: Will prioritize engaging threats and/or remaining free to intercept.

Common Qualities #

Escalator: Roll 1d6 at the start of every round. If the result is less than or equal to Escalation, the enemy gains escalation to attacks like a PC until the end of that round.
Threat equal to Strength: Use this before rolling the Escalator die for this enemy. Instead of rolling, treat it as if the enemy had rolled a 1 this round.

Large X+: Any PC who pops off of this enemy has to roll an X+ save. On a failure, it fails to pop off.

Fear Aura: While the enemy isn’t staggered, any PC who starts their turn engaged with this enemy and staggered is Shaken until the start of their next turn. If the target is 2 or more levels higher than the PC’s level (or the same level if triple strength), the PC doesn’t need to be staggered to be Shaken when they start their turn engaged. This ability is apparent to all PCs from the start of the encounter.

Weak to X: Attacks that deal X type of damage crit on a Natural 16+. If the enemy is already Vulnerable, increase the threat range by 1 more when attacked by type X (crit on a Natural 15).

Threat #

Threat is a resource that the GM has for any given encounter. The GM has 3 Threat per encounter for an Adventurer Tier party, 4 for a Champion Tier party, and 5 for an Epic Tier party.

A GM can always spend 1 Threat to:

• Once per turn, give 1 Advantage or Disadvantage to an attack before the attack is rolled.
• Once per turn, increase or decrease the non-ongoing damage of an attack by the attacking/attacked enemy’s level.
• Once per encounter, add a Twist to an encounter.

Some enemies have X Threat: (Threat quality/action) listed in their entry. This indicates something that can be activated by spending X Threat. Sometimes this gives the enemy an extra quality or triggered event (such as something that happens when staggered or dropped) or lets them use a special action.

The amount of Threat left in an encounter should be known to the players.