Optimal Process - Monsters
 

When creating monsters...

Is it better to bootstrap weapons to monsters within the Editor and force them to be equipped

or

Is it better to leave the weapons off the Monster within the Editor and apply them to the monster in the stock file

?

I'm inclined to say the second - that's the way I've always handled equipment of any sort. If you don't want a creature to have certain equipment, you can't take it away when it's bootstrapped.

Depends on the game and the exact type of weapon. As a reminder, you asked this question in the "General" forum, and didn't specify a game. And without more detail about the weapons you're talking about, I don't know what answer to give - are you talking about weapons like a spear and shield being carried by a goblin? Or Claws on a tiger, or something in-between, like an integrated laser gun on a robot?

It's 5e but I figured this was more of a generic principal question.

I'm talking about martial weapons so spears, swords, bows etc.

The situation was a bit more complex because of the "humanoid form only" criteria that's added to the name.

Examples:
Rapier (humanoid form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Longbow (humanoid form only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

In these cases I figured it would be more suitable to bootstrap the weapons and modify the names to represent the text as published. In this specific product I often find the weapon damage calculations are incorrect according to RAW so I need to apply a number of modifications.

I could do this all with adjustments but it feels a bit 'hacked together' that way.

In the case of normal weapons where the calcs are right and the name is unmodified I've been using the second method.

In the case of a normal weapon like a rapier or longbow being wielded by something humanoid, I'd add them as gear, because if you bootstrap them, if the PCs disarm him, and then he flees without being able to retrieve the weapon, you wouldn't be able to delete it.


I forget exactly how we have polymorphing set up in 5e. I know in Pathfinder, polymorphing into a non-humanoid form controls what equipment you're allowed to equip, and handles the rules for merging the equipment into your polymorphed form, but I don't remember if 5e has that same handling. So I'd add the weapons and then test what happens after the polymorph.

You can polymorph?!

I apologize, I should not have been talking about the details of 5e, since that's not one of the game systems I'm very familiar with. It does not look like that game has gotten polymorphing implemented yet.