[D&D-5e] Monster Hunter: Expedition to the New World

[Salvation]

Game Description No longer receiving interest Thank you for reading The original intent was to use a homebrew rule supplement that combined the 2014 version of D&D with the Monster Hunter franchise. As I started to build the game board I realized it was a bit more impractical for play by post than I had hoped for and decided to reconsider the format. I then picked up the 2024 books out of curiosity and after some consideration I feel like this style of game would be a great springboard to try out the new ruleset. I want to start the characters at 5th level because that is a significant power jump for most classes. Most notably, spellcasters have access to lvl 3 spells and martial classes gain an extra attack. I want to direct a nonlinear approach to this game while keeping it challenging. It's about exploration and survival primarily. The theme is an undiscovered and very primitive setting with prehistoric ecosystems. Massive predators dominate many different types of biomes. There are no taverns or inns or roads even. Your characters are the trailblazers whose decisions will impact where towns are built, how trade between those towns develop, how interactions with native species resolve. The game map is drawn but you will uncover it a piece at a time. Encounters are prepared for many sections of the map but will be presented in various ways depending on choices made. A big part of why I am excited to use 2024 rules is because of some things I'm seeing in the previews of the DMG, namely Bastions. This is exactly the sort of thing I was going for when I started designing the game. In any case I have preordered the DMG and want to give myself another week following reception to dive in and get a stronger feel of how I want to setup the game board. That said, game start will be: [/SIZE][/CENTER][/COLOR]

Game Intro Calling All Explorers Join the expedition to the New World For centuries, it was believed that lands existed across the vast ocean but no ship had ever been able to cross the distance. Attempts were made and ships never returned, lost to the deep expanse or whatever mysteries laid in wait beyond. The persistence of ingenuity could not be defeated however and with that came the innovation of the airships. The discovery of leystone crystals, mined from deep within the volcanic mountains had changed everything. When carefully treated with alchemical methods and embedded into the hulls of ships, these crystals provided the phenomenon of floating. Combined with advances in etheric propulsion which harnesses magical energy in harmony with natural wind patterns, airships could now travel farther and faster than any sea vessel ever could. What was once impossible has now been made possible. Across the kingdoms and guild halls, the word has spread like wildfire - an expedition to a new land, rich with resources and teeming with unknown creatures is under way. Dubbed the "New World", the rumors of incredible opportunity have reached far and wide. The Explorer's Guild has issued a call to all those brave enough to join the First Expedition and help carve out a foothold in this uncharted territory. For those willing to take the risk, the rewards are unimaginable: untold riches and the honor of being among the first to explore a new frontier. Of course it isn't just the Explorer's Guild staking interest in this bold endeavor. Craft and merchant guilds scramble to sponsor representatives of their own. Scholars, arcanists and researchers from all types of circles, orders and academies have been submitted as representatives of varied pursuits. Even the wealthy and powerful members of noble houses, ever hungry to spread their influence or increase their wealth, arrange for delegations to participate in the event. Those with less noble intentions are drawn to find a way to be involved as well, more discreetly, of course. After months of preparations, the expedition is finally ready to disembark from their cliffside port high in the mountain perch of Valora's Reach. You stand aboard the flagship, Skylance, one of the few adventurers among the many that flocked to answer the call and actually made it on board. Two other airships, the Cloudbreaker and the Albatross, are still boarding. From your vantage point you can see the entire port bustling with activity. Workers rush to get the last of the supplies across the ramps as a surging crowd presses against the line of port militia holding them back. There was envy in their cries, those that didn't make it. A shout in the air draws your attention to the helm of the ship. The sails unfurl at the Captain's call and within seconds the ship lurches forward. Your journey to the New World has begun.

Characters Please no filled out character sheets for now. I'm just looking for concept. You may use the following guidelines: Fiat: Not using the backwards compatible rules for this. Species: All core 2024 PHB species. Classes: Only core 2024 PHB classes and subclasses.

Request to Join Character Name: Species: Class: Background: Description: History: Some things to consider You are an accomplished adventurer at lvl 5. What is your biggest accomplishment? How did you come to be a part of the expedition? There are many vested interests in this expedition. Do you represent one of them? Arcane theoretics, paleontological studies, trophy hunters, noblity and wealth power dynamics/hierarchies, martial prowess, guild influence, etc. You have open license to be a driving force in a larger dynamic of your choosing.

[silveroak]

A note: Warforged are not in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
This looks interesting but I will need to look further into the game material.

[Greyling]

Posting interest. Though I'll have to go through the linked material to come with a character concept.

 

Name: Immeral Garin Alaeren
Species: Wood Elf
Class: Ranger (hunter archetype)
Faction: Hunter's Guild
Background: Hunter Initiate

Traits	I constantly scan my surroundings and stay alert.
	I value the wildlife and natural world and believe the balance must be maintained.
Ideal	Life. Preserving life and nature is always a worthwhile endeavor. (Good)
Bond(s)	My fellow hunters are my family.
	My weapon is made from the first monster I ever hunted.
Flaw	My pride leads me to believe I'm able to bring down beasts beyond my measure.

Weapon of Choice: Bow (made with Velocidrome Claw
You can use a bonus action to speak this weapon's command word, and transform your weapon into a walking cane or back to its original form.Velocidrome Claw or Velocidrome Shard
As an action you can make this weapon shed bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light in another 15 feet. You can use another action to make the weapon stop shedding light.Velocidrome Shard, if DM permitting)

Description:

History: Born in a small village named Kototo Village...

 

Kokoto Village
Small Village • Population: 210 (35% Human,
35% Elf, 15% Half-elf, 10% Halfling, 5% Dragonborn)
Deep within the Arcolis Region sits the Kokoto Village, where
traveling merchants constantly pass through on trips between
Minegarde and Dundorma. It is the home of the Kokoto
Chief, a retired Wyverian hunter who achieved legendary
status for slaying a Monoblos with the Hero's Blade, hunting
a Lao-Shan Lung alone, and slaying another Lao-Shan Lung
with 3 other hunters after it killed his fiancée. He is also
known as the "Hero of Kokoto". Among the village's residents,
there is a man who allegedly was once called a "Legendary
Gunner". He has been recovering in the village due to an
injury.

Verdant Hills
Found in the Arcolis Region, the Verdant Hills, also known as
the Forest and Hills, consists of deep forests, high hills, and
vast grasslands, possessing an overall temperate climate.
The herbivores Aptonoth and Kelbi roam the hills, as the
location has an abundance of foliage, along with packs of
Velociprey. While this zone may seem perfect for novice
hunters, it is not entirely danger-free; Rathalos and Rathian
are commonly seen nesting on the highest cliffs, whilst Yian
Kut-Ku, Yian Garuga, and even the Elder Dragons are known
to inhabit this location as well.

The temperate climate of the Verdant Hills
makes it a popular home for large numbers of
herbivores such as the Aptonoth and Mosswine.
However, the monsters who prey on herbivores,
such as the Velociprey, are also present, giving this
hunting ground a tinge of danger. These monsters
tend to move in packs, so be careful not to get
surrounded.
This area also has an abundance of plant
vegetation. For instance, Herbs and Blue
Mushrooms. Not to mention items important to
gunners like Huskberry, and Needleberry. All of
these can be obtained easily in this area.
You can also search for Honey in the Verdant
Hills. Honey is an incredibly beneficial item for
hunters. It can be obtained from honeycombs
found in the field.
The main point of concern with the Verdant Hills
is without question the presence of a wyvern called
Rathalos. Known as the King of the Skies, it is
fiercely territorial and rewards any encroachment in
kind. One must be especially careful when it is
entering or exiting its cave dwelling.
We have also confirmed that recent years have
brought the appearance of a masked tribe called
Shakalakas. Compared to other native tribes, they
are particularly ferocious. Often mistaken for
mushrooms in the field, the Shakalakas are
incredibly dangerous to hunters.

[Salvation]

Originally Posted by silveroak

A note: Warforged are not in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
This looks interesting but I will need to look further into the game material.

Yes my mistake there, thank you for pointing it out. Corrected now.

Posting interest. Though I'll have to go through the linked material to come with a character concept.

Absolutely. It's an atypical concept with quite a bit of material so I fully understand needing to chew on it for a bit. There is no rush. I'm not even certain how approvals go for this sort of thing.

[Howling Winds of]

As others have said, very interesting! But, I will need to look through the materials you linked.

[Iron Signet]

I'm not sure if I'm going to apply yet, it depends on how some other games I'm in work out, but I'm very interested.

[Tempestfury]

Can't say I like the fact that all of the weapon information is buried at the bottom of the document, rather than saying 'Hey, these are what all the weapons do' when they talk about how you can only use x amounts of weapons... and I'm also concerned that the Bombs and Barrels don't seem that strong either. The DC of them are so very low.

Am I wrong for thinking that Hunters use stuff like Bombs and Traps against the big dangerous monsters as well in game?

And if that's not enough, you have stuff like 'Cryo Ammo. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw again your ammo save DC or be afflicted with waterblight for 1 minute.' and does the document explain anywhere what the hell Waterblight is anywhere? Nope! You better know what it already does and how it would work in a D&D game, otherwise, you're screwed!

Concept-wise, a game of Monster Hunter in D&D sounds fun... but a lot of the stuff just feels like spinning your wheels. We have all these weapons with all these abilities and after reading though them I'm like '... I think I prefer the Sword and Shield', even though I have no idea how to even use its 'use object' to my advantage? Everything else seems like it is a lot of effort for very little benefit. Though I guess if we are hunting, we're likely going to rest a lot between hunts, right?

[Salvation]

@Tempestfury
I will come out and say that honestly, I do not know how well all of this plays out mechanically. I am not the creator of those documents. It was something that I came across and thought would be fun to try out. The creator of the material has been streaming his games for a few years and a lot of it was playtesting to tweak the rules.

What I can say is that I have no problem doing my own tweaks or making adjustments as needed over the course of play. That said, I realize not everyone is going to want to be a part of a game like that. This might not even get enough interest to get rolling and I'll try and think of something different to offer next time.

As for the waterblight effect, those are listed in the homebrew monster manual. I don't know why they are listed in a separate document though.

[Tempestfury]

Okay, hearing that you are willing to make changes and tweaks to the game yourself helps me stay interested for sure. I think I'll play a Paladin using a Sword and Shield. Seems fitting, and the 'Rend' bonus of the Sword and Shield seems like it'll work well with a Paladin's Smites.

Not sure what the 'use action' can be used for still, but its something at least.

[Greyling]

I'm interested in opinions. I'm currently planning an archer type, but wondering Hunter ranger OR Arcane Archer fighter. Pros/Cons?

[silveroak]

I'm considering a gnome artificer, not sure yet whether to be in the Wycademy or independant. The rules are really wonky though- creating an empty phial (real world requirement is sand) requires small bonehusk and whetfish (requiring spending time fishing and going into a lair for materials) but there are no rules for actually making weapon or armor beyond ammunition...
honestly this reads more like a video game (Zelda?) than a tabletop RPG.

[Salvation]

@silveroak
It does indeed read like a video game. I cannot disagree there, but my intent is assuredly not to run it that way. I suppose this may be a failure in my presentation but to add clarity - This is intended to run as a narrative D&D campaign. I have scripted an overall plot with a fairly intense opening scenario (hence why everyone will push from 2 to 3 quickly) and from there it will largely be driven by player choices with the plot molding around that.

These homebrew rules are meant to be supplemental to that and just add some interesting ideas to play around with. I'm not expecting anyone to build out their characters right now and for at least the opening sequence of the game you don't have to worry about crafting anything. That will all come later and collecting those materials will be self manageable. Using the empty phial that you mention as an example - although I'm not sure what you mean by the real world requirement being sand - you would just need access to a glass blowing kit and then choose to spend a block of time in a downtime event fishing for the whetfish and a block of time searching for lairs and scavenging for small bonehusks.

The way I currently envision it is we finish with a real time narrative plot sequence, like a hunt or NPC interaction or something that requires real time activity... and then either I or the players choose to have a downtime event. There will be a separate thread that lists the current location's resource DCs and amount of time requirement that everyone can post what they want to do with the downtime. If the location is a thick jungle area and it's decided the downtime event can be 6 hours you might see:

Activity	Hours	Resource DC	Tests
Fishing	4	16	Investigation (INT) to locate spot, Atheletics (STR) or Sleight of Hand (DEX) to catch
Bonepiles	2	14	Investigation (INT) to search for animal lairs, Nature (WIS) or History (INT) to find bones

Of course it will probably list more but just for this example if you have a 6 hour downtime you can do both of those without penalty. You know the DCs and what you need to roll with so you can roleplay your event and immediately see the results to move on to crafting or helping others with crafting. If the downtime is only 4 you can still fit in both but there will be a penalty if you spend less time than what is required.

This all plays out pretty well in my head but of course there is no way of knowing without trying. That said, at it's core this is just D&D so if anything isn't working it gets (I don't know what that emote actually means but it seems to fit). Basically I'm optimistic that this won't be as crazy or overwhelming as it seems when trying to make sense of everything in that extra material as a whole.

[Salvation]

Originally Posted by Greyling

I'm interested in opinions. I'm currently planning an archer type, but wondering Hunter ranger OR Arcane Archer fighter. Pros/Cons?

Oh man, I'm not great at theorycrafting this stuff as I usually just go with my gut on character option choices. If we are just talking mechanics the Ranger/Hunter is the perfect skillset for this game type and will be pretty well equipped against the larger monster types. The arcane archer has great burst damage and a lot of combat utility but not as much skill utility. Are all of those the most important things? Meh...

Where does the arcane archer come from, what are their goals and motivations, what do they most want to get out of the hunt, who do they trust or don't trust more?

Same questions but replace arcane archer with hunter. Which one of those have easier answers for you? That's more or less where I put importance.

[AximusLokar]

Arcane Archer (limited use specialty arrows) vs Hunter Conclave (consistent extra damage) are both great options for archetypes so if one doesn't immediately stick out to you over the other I would default to comparing the base classes, Fighter vs Ranger.

Fighter will (eventually) get more attacks (and Action Surge) and more feats or ability score increases. It's in the distance, but a Lvl11 Fighter getting to lob 6 arrows down the field can be an amazing way to start a fight.

Ranger gets better skill access, spells, and some mobility bonuses. Hunter's Mark can make up a bit of the damage from having less attacks per round, and the spell selection is fantastic for non-combat utility.

There's also saves. Fighter is proficient in Str/Con, Ranger in Str/Dex. As an archer you will obviously have a good dex, so do you have average saves in three scores (Str/Dex/Con for Fighter) or average in one and great at evasion (Ranger)?

@Salvation: Question on a piece of equipment. Wire Knuckles seems like the option for unarmed fighters due to Empowered Strike (if your Unarmed Strike does at least 1d4 damage or more, this weapon deals that damage +2 instead). Does that also apply for natural weapons? I was looking at a claw user. Alternatively, if one has to use the 'unarmed item' option (pg79), does that gain the +1/2/3 for being upgraded to rare/very rare/legendary like other weapons do?

Also, are we able to use the optional rule from Tasha's to change what ability score increases we get from Race?

[silveroak]

What I mean by the real world resource being sand is that a real life glass blower only needs sand and a furnace (obviously including fuel, likely coal or charcoal), to make a glass container. Other ingredients will affect the color and maybe the quality, but having to go fishing for four hours is just adding work for the same of adding work or possibly trying to find something to make glassblowing more like the other crafts. I really don't know the intention, but what I keep coming up against is that every time I try to create a character for this game those rules just break my brain and I can't continue. Simply trying to weigh out which skills my character would develop becomes an impossibility. I'm afraid that while the game sounds interesting in principal I won't be able to make a character using those rules.