rules for creating NPC's go here

Creature Level

What does a creature level mean? In simplest terms, it is equivalent to a player level. A level 1 player should be able to reasonably handle a level 1 monster...Generally. In practice that is not always the case and I will go into greater detail how this system works and why it's not changed to something else.

At it's core, a creature level is a measure of the power of that creature. It dictates roughly the creatures Life and skill ranks and roughly dictates the stats and abilities of the creature. The combined level of the group should roughly be the same as the combined level of the creatures that the group is facing. So if you have a group  of 4 level 1 adventurers, then you can have them face off against 4 level 1 monsters, 2 level 2 monsters, or 1 level 4 monster, or any other combination in between. Now not all creatures are created equal, and you will notice that certain monsters are larger and have more life or are smaller and have less life. Because of this, and to make this system simpler to use, for each step above or below medium sized, you can add or subtract .5 levels for each creature of that size from the creature level total. So 2 large level 2 monsters would have a combined creature level of 5, not 4. Also, because numbers matter, for every 2 creatures more or less than your group total, add or subtract .5 from the creature level total. So a group of 4 level 1 adventurers against 2 large level 2 monsters, the combined total of the monsters would end of being 4 (2 for each creature, +1 for the large size of both of the creatures, then -.5 for there being 2 creatures less than the group size, for a total of 4.5, rounded down to 4). If the group is well equipped, especially with magical items, consider adding .5 ~ 2 to the groups effective level, and either -1 or +1 depending on how well the group coordinates together (This is an arbitarty number based on how the Narrator evaluates the group's general performance. If in doubt, don't bother with this). Also, for every 10 effective levels of the group, consider adding an additional level to the enemy total as higher levels of players and creatures are much more unpredictable.

This doesn't mean that it will be a fair fight. Your group might be decked out in magical items, or have talents that make them more powerful, or one player is just unnaturally lucky (or unlucky) with dice rolls. So all the careful planning and setup might mean that your group deals with the threat more easily or less easily than you intended. Be sure to check the creatures that you are using and plan accordingly with your group in mind to make the combat section of the game fun for everyone, and more often than not, error on the side of slightly higher combined monster levels, as one good hit from one or more players can quickly turn the tides of combat, and if your creatures do the same to a player, it is much easier to give your players room to breathe by adjusting the aggression of the creatures than to quickly add monsters on your side to re-balance the fight.

One way to adjust to players using smarter tactics, or getting lucky rolls is to modify a creatures stats and equipment mid combat. It is quite noticeable when you pull another goblin out of the woods, but giving a creature more life by increasing their endurance, strength, or agility after one hit will almost always go unseen. The same for creature armor, the creature suddenly taking less damage will all but be ignored by players as their focus is on how much damage they deal rather than how much damage a creature takes. I would also suggest doing this on a per monster basis if possible as it will create more variation to the creatures your group faces and will generally make the combat more interesting as your group will not know the exact numbers they need for each enemy. You can even take this as an opportunity to show variation in the creatures the group is facing as one creature might be larger and bulkier, more lithe and nimble, more keenly aware of their surroundings, or you can describe the better equipment that it has over it's allies. If you want to have our party face off a group of enemies with varied equipment increase the level of the enemy group by .5 in either per 2 enemies changed this way. So for 2 goblins with better equipment or stats, add .5 and for each 2 goblins with worse equipment or stats, subtract .5.

variants: adding a few minor features to make variants, or slightly changing the stat block. I don't want to create a huge list, so I need to make a template that I can add. For example creating a domesticated work version of a creature would be just adding 1 to STR.

Work variant - increase Body by 1 each and decrease Mobility by 1 each

Some creatures will feel less powerful and you can add abilities or other features to help give the creature more power. Adding too much can increase the power of the creature too much at times but much of this comes down to testing, trial, and error. What is presented here is a guideline and a baseline for you to start with. For example, for humanoid creatures, you can easily swap out equipment and armor to make any given creature more or less powerful.

When designing a combat encounter for players you generally want the total level of the creatures you are fighting to equal the players. For every 2 levels below the players, the creature is less of a threat so lower the value of the encounter by .5, and for every 2 creatures more than double the party, increase the value of the encounter by .5 as the encounter becomes more threatening.

Beasts: