Building a Better D&D Monster Stat Block

Enhancing Usability for Dungeon Masters

Dungeon Masters have a lot to keep track of during a session. This gets especially complicated when running an encounter. If there is more than one monster in play, things can quickly get unmanageable. Most monsters have a ton of cool features that they can use, but tracking those details in real time can be a challenge.

As I work on creating my first 4e module, I knew that the license would not allow me to use the monster stat block exactly as it is presented in the 4e monster manuals, but I also wanted to tweak a few items to make them easier to use.

Before I get into that, I want to take a look at the stat block that I am not crazy about. That would be the 5e stat block.

As with many things in 5e (2014), the stat block looks nice, and is not terrible, but it is not ideal for the DM. The ability scores (which are rarely used) take up too much space. The armor class and hit points do not stand out. The part that is likely used more than anything is the Bite action, which is the last thing listed in the stat block.

Most things within D&D 4e took the approach of function over form. The priority is to provide the information the DM needs.

Note how the features are clearly visible using alternating line colors and icons. The ability scores are at the bottom so that you have them if needed, but you do not need to scroll past them while looking for more frequently used details.

Monster Manual 3 took this a step further by grouping the actions to make it even easier to find what the monster could do on their turn.

Traits are clearly identified. The standard actions are also easy to find. The Dungeon Master can more easily run this monster without constantly hunting for the details.

The 4e monster stat blocks did not need much improvement, but I still found them to be a little hard to read and the information was not quite sorted in the right order. So I put together my own stat block that is inspired by the 4e block, but fixes some of my concerns.

My approach to the stat block was to imagine myself running an encounter with this monster. What information do I need and when do I need it?

Nearly every turn, I will need to know the defenses for the monster and when it is bloodied. As a result, those values are right in the top block with plenty of whitespace to make it easy to read.

The next thing I will need is any trait that affects how the monster interacts with the environment. The next block contains these special traits and the core traits such as speed, initiative, vision, perception, and skills.

Then, as with the Monster Manual 3 block, I break out the actions. I am using icons to indicate whether the attack is melee or ranged and whether it is considered a basic attack. I am still working on what these icons will be. I use line shading to make each attack easy to read.

Finally, I list all the other details. These are the things that might come in handy when building the encounter, but rarely come up while the encounter is being run. Those details are placed at the bottom so they do not get in the way of the meaningful stuff.

I’ve used this format in my recent games and found it much easier for me to run the monsters in real time.

---

This is still a work in progress, but I feel I am slowly zeroing in on a format that is easy to read and works well for the Dungeon Master.

I would love to get your feedback?

---

---

If you made it this far, then you truly are a hero. If you would like to support the newsletter and keep it free for everyone, please consider using these links when you make purchases from these places…

The above affiliate links help to support the channel at no additional cost to you.

---