Similartomypreviousconversiondocument(Nextto5E),Icreatedthebelowguidelinesby
comparingthe5Eversionsofmonstersfromthe MonsterManual withtheir3.5counterparts.
Andlikemypreviousdocument,Ihavetoincludetwowarnings:
1. Ifyoutesttheseguidelinesonthe3.5versionsofthemonstersyourself,the5Eversions
willlikelybeslightlyoff.ThisispartlybecauseWizardschangedsomemonstersinother
ways(liketheDoppelganger)andpartlybecauseIwasgoingforanapproximation,soit
wouldbeeasytouse.
2. Iamfallible,andImayhavemadesomemistakes.Ifyoufindanyglaringerrors,please
letmeknow.
Attheendofthisdocument,Ihavealsoincludedguidelinesforadjustingthebelowguidelinesto
workfor3.5smajorcousins,3EandPathfinder.
Youwillneedaccesstoatleastthe
D&DBasicRules MonsterManual
andthe tomakefulluse
ofthis.The DungeonMastersGuide, whilenotstrictlyrequired,ishighlyrecommendedforits
monstercreationguidelines(pages273283).
Thankstothepeoplein
thisENWorldthread forgeneralhelp,andCarsonMcNattandGreg
LeceafortheirinputonLanguages.
ChallengeRating
Beforeyougetstarted,youshouldchooseaninitialChallengeRatingforthecreature.Thisisan
estimateofthemonstersCR,whichyoucanusetoguidetherestofyourconversion.Thereare
twowaystodothis:
UsetheCRofasimilar5Ecreature.
UsetheCREstimatorinAppendix1toconvertitsD&D3.5CR.
Whenyouarefinishedconvertingyourmonsterto5E,youmaywishtoadjustthisinitialCRfor
abetterfit.ThebestwaytodothisistousetherulesfordeterminingCRintheDMG,butif
yourepressedfortime,youcanjustcompareittosimilar5Ecreaturesonceagain.
Size
Therearesixcreaturesizesin5E: Tiny ,
Small
,
Medium ,
Large ,
Huge ,and
Gargantuan .
Anycreaturessmallerthan Tiny(i.e.FineorDiminutive)shouldbetreatedasTiny
creatures,
andanylargerthanGargantuan (i.e.Colossal)shouldbetreatedasGargantuancreatures.
Whetheryouactuallywanttorescalethemtothosesizesisuptoyou.
Type
5Ekeepsmostofthe3.5creaturetypes.Theexceptionsarethefollowing:
Animal and
Vermin werefoldedinto Beast.
MagicalBeast and
MonstrousHumanoid werefoldedinto Monstrosity.
Outsider hasbeensplitup.
Elementalplanes:Probably Elemental .
Predominantlychaoticplanes:Probably Aberration .
Predominantlylawfulplanes:Probably Construct .
Goodplanes: Celestial .
Evilplanes: Fiend.
Furtherdetailson5EscreaturetypesaredetailedintheBasicRulesPDF.
Specialrulesforcreaturetypes(suchassensesorimmunities)aredescribedinthe5Estat
block,ratherthanbeingsomethingyoureexpectedtomemorizesoifyouwanttokeepthose
qualities,makesureyouincludenotesonsuchtraitsalongwithyourconversion,forreference.
(Ahandyguidetothe3.5typescanbefound here.)
Note,however,thatnocreatureappearstobeimmuneto criticalhits or
sneakattacks ,and
manyoftheotherdefaultspecialqualitiesseemtobeabsentin5E.Checksimilarmonstersin
5Ebeforeyouaddtoomanyofthe3.5rules.
Tags
Thesehavereplacedthe3.5creaturesubtypes,butunlikesubtypes,tagsonlyappeartobe
descriptive.(Therearealsofewerofthem.)Aswithcreaturetypes,anygamerulesassociated
witha3.5subtypeshouldbeexplainedinthe5Estatblock.
Shapechangers donotappeartohavethefixedrulesseenin3.5,andappeartochange
dependingonthespecificcreaturelookattheDoppelganger,Imp,Quasit,Vampire,and
YuanTiMalisonforseveralexamples.Wealsohavenewrulesfor incorporeal(seeWraith),
whichisnolongerasubtypeortagatall.Itislikelynewruleswillbeestablishedforotherformer
subtypesaswell,butwedonthavethemyet.
Alignment
Generally,keepthisthesame.However,creaturesin5Emayalsobe unaligned
,meaningthey
operateoninstinct,soyoumaywanttochange neutral
tounalignedforsomecreatures.
ArmorClass
ItseasiesttorecalculateACfromscratch,basedontheirDexteritybonusandanyarmorworn.
(MakesuretochecktherulesfordeterminingACintheBasicRulesPDF.)
Ifacreaturehadnaturalarmorbefore,givethema+2bonustotheirnewAC.OthertypesofAC
adjustmentsfrom3.5,mostnotablysizeadjustments,nolongerappeartobeafactor.
Dragons definitelyappeartohavestrongernaturalarmor,butwithonlyoneexample,Icant
giveyouagoodmethod.Shavingafewpointsoffoftheir3.5naturalarmor,thenaddingitto
theirnewAC,wouldprobablywork.
HitDice
In5E,thetypeofhitdieisdeterminedbyacreaturessize. Tiny
creaturesused4hitdice.
Small creaturesused6hitdice.
Medium creaturesused8hitdice.Large creaturesused10hit
dice.Huge creaturesused12hitdice.
Gargantuan creaturesused20hitdice.
Tiny creaturesshouldkeepthesamenumberofhitdiceastheyhadin3.5.
Small or
Medium creaturesshouldaddone hitdie.Forexample,1d6shouldbecome2d6.
Averagehitpointsforcreaturesshouldberecalculatedasfollows:
Xd4MultiplyXby2.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd6MultiplyXby3.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd8MultiplyXby4.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd10MultiplyXby5.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd12MultiplyXby6.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd20MultiplyXby10.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Example:Amonsterhas3d8HDandaConstitutionof14(+2bonus).Sotheiraveragehit
pointsare4.5times3,roundeddown:13.ThenyoumultiplytheirConbonusbytheirHD,fora
totalof+6.13+6=19.
Twoexceptions:
Oozes shouldprobablykeeptheircurrenthitdice.
Dragons changedalotbetween3.5and5E,andsimplytreatingthemliketheothermonsters
willcreateaweakerdragonthanitshouldbe.Butuntilwehavemoreexamples,Icanonly
advisetreatingthemlikeothercreaturesoftheirsize.
Speed
AbilityScores
Thesecanbeusedasis.Most5Emonstershaveatleastminorabilityadjustmentsfromtheir
3.5counterparts,butthedifferencesareprettysmall,soyoushouldntsweatit.
Notethat5Edoesnotallowcreaturestohavenonexistentabilityscores.Myrecommendations
forreplacingamissingscore:
Strength shouldprobablybebelow10forcreatureswithoutit.Thesingleexamplewe
haveofsuch,thewraith,hasaStrengthof6.
Constitution neverseemstobelowerthan10.Youcanprobablygetawaywitha
Constitutionscoreanywherefrom10to15or16,basedonyourguessastohowtough
thecreatureshouldbe.
Intelligence shouldalsobebelow10forcreatureswithoutit.Creaturesworkingon
instinctusuallyhaveatleast2Intelligence.
IhavenoguidelinestoofferonDexterity ,
Wisdom ,or
Charisma .Iwouldprobablyaimforat
leastascoreof2insuchcases.
SavingThrows
Youcanignorethe3.5savebonuses,as5Eusessavesassociatedwitheachofthesixability
scores.Soassumemostcreaturesjustusetheirabilitybonusforsaves.
Inmostcases,though,youshouldprobablypassongivingyourcreatureproficiency,asits
mucheasierwithoutit.
Skills
Formanycreatures,particularlymoreinstinctdrivenones,youwontneedtogivethemany
skills.Ifacreaturedoeshaveskills,itwillusuallyhaveproficiencywithonlyafew,generallythe
equivalentsoftheonestheyhadhigherranksinduring3.5.
Ifyouwanttotranslateacreaturesmorenotableskillsorfeatsintoequivalent5Eskill
proficiencies,theycanbetranslatedasfollows:
Knowledge(history,local, History(Intelligence)
nobilityandroyalty)
Knowledge(geography, Nature(Intelligence)
nature)
Knowledge(religion) Religion(Intelligence)
Perform Performance(Charisma)
Ifacreaturehasproficiencyinaskill,theirbonuswiththatskillisequaltotherelevantability
bonus,plustheir
proficiencybonus .
Example:AmonsterhasaDexterityof15(+2bonus)andproficiencyinStealth.Thismeans
thattheyshouldhavea+4bonuswithStealth(Dexterity)checks.Iftheyareamorepowerful
creature,theymayhavea+5bonusinstead.
Somecreaturesseemtohaveahigherproficiencyinoneskillthantheothers,typicallydouble
theirnormalproficiencybonus(+4or+6).Forexample,doppelgangershavea+4onDeception
(Charisma)checks.Youmaywishtodothesamewithacreaturessignatureskill.
Vulnerabilities,Resistances,Immunities
Vulnerabilities,resistances(suchasdamagereduction),andimmunitiesaresomethingyou
eitherhaveornotin5E.Sowhenyouimportthesefrom3.5,yousimplylistthemunderthe
appropriatecategory: DamageVulnerabilities ,
DamageResistances ,or
Damage
Immunities .
Inthecaseof3.5damagereductionthatcanbebypassedbycertaintypesofweapon(suchas
DR5/silver),theyareusuallydescribedasfollowsunderResistances:
bludgeoning,piercing,andslashingfrom(magicalornonmagicalor[blank])weapons(that
arentsilveredoradamantineoretc.or[blank])
Youshouldalsomakesuretolistanyvulnerabilities,resistances,orimmunitiesthatwereinnate
toacreaturetypein3.5intheappropriatesections,withthefollowingexceptions.
DamageImmunities:poison
ConditionImmunities:poisoned
Onlyaddotherimmunitiestoanundeadcreatureiftheyareseparatefromitsundeadnature.
Incorporeal
creaturesshouldprobablyhavethefollowingresistancesandimmunities:
DamageResistances:acid,cold,fire,lightning,thunderbludgeoning,piercing,andslashing
fromnonmagicalweapons
DamageImmunities:poison
ConditionImmunities:grappled,paralyzed,petrified,poisoned,prone,restrained
Magicresistance (
spellresistance )hasbeensimplified,andisnowlistedasatraitseethe
flameskullforanexample.
Senses
Thereareonlyfoursensesestablishedin5Eatthispoint: blindsight ,
darkvision
,
tremorsense ,andtruesight
.3.5s
lowlightvision appearstohavebeenfoldedinto
darkvision.Anyothersensesshouldbeusedasis.
Also,allcreatureshaveapassivePerceptionscore.Thisisequalto10plustheirtotalbonusto
Perception(Wisdom)checks.
Languages
Generally,thesestaythesame.Therewereafewchanges,however:
Dwarven isnowcalledDwarvish .Likewise,
Elven
isnowElvish,and
Gnome isnow
Gnomish .
Mindflayersandbeholdersnowspeak DeepSpeech youmaydecideothermonsters
shouldspeakitaswell.
Traits
Mostofthe3.5SpecialQualities notdescribedearlierinthestatblockshouldbedescribed
here,alongwithspecialcreaturetyperules(like
Shapechanger ).Whenpossible,youshould
replaceany3.5traitswiththeir5Eequivalents,asdescribedinthe MonsterManual.Whenthis
Manual
isnotpossible,trytousethe screaturesasexamplestofollow,orsimplyusethe3.5
rulesasis.
AlistoftheknownTraitsin5Ecanbefound
here
.
Afewfurthernotes:
Fasthealing doesnotappeartobepartofthe5Erules.
Spellcasting ismorecomplicatedtoconvertthantheothers.Inadditiontobeingusedfor3.5
monsterswithspellcastingclasslevels,listsof spelllikeabilities
from3.5alsotendtobe
translatedasaSpellcastingtrait.(Theexceptionisanyspelllikeabilitiesthatseemtobe
signaturepowers,inwhichcasetheyreusuallylistedas InnateSpellcasting orbrokenoutas
theirowntrait,action,orreaction.)
ThecasterlevelforSpellcastingshouldprobablystaythesame(unlessitsabove20,inwhich
casegowith20).However,keepinmindthatyouwillneedtofollowtherulesforspellcastingin
5E,whichdifferfromtheonesin3.5refertotheBasicRulesformoredetails.(ForInnate
Spellcasting,thespellcastingabilityistypicallyWisdomorCharisma.)
ActionswithanAttackRoll
Theseareconvertedfrom3.5 Attacksor
SpecialAttacks .Youneedtoconvertthreethingsto
maketheseinto5Eactionsthetohitbonus,thedamageinflictedbyelementsoftheattack,
andanysavingthrowsrequired.
AlistoftheknownActionsin5Ecanbefound
here
.
ToHit
LikeAC,thisshouldprobablyberecalculatedfromscratch.Ingeneral,thetohitforanaction
isbasedontheproficiencybonus .Thisiscombinedwiththerelevantabilitybonus(usually
StrengthorDexterity).
Notethatmostnaturalattacks(claw,bite,etc.)appeartobefinesseattacks,meaningtheycan
useeitherStrengthorDexteritywithattackrolls.Unlessyouthinkyourcreatureshouldbea
weakmeleecombatant,youshouldchoosethehighestofeitherStrengthorDexterityfortohit
withnaturalattacks.
UnusualattackslikethewraithsLifeDrainappeartoeitherhaveahigherbonus,orareusing
somethingotherthanStrengthorDexterity.Idonthaveanyspecificrecommendationsforthis
rightnow,butfeelfreetoexperimentwithotherabilityscores(likeConstitutionorCharisma)if
thatseemsappropriate.Youreprobablysaferavoidingthat,however.
Damage
Someespeciallyhugecreatures,and gargantuancreatures,mayincreasethedamagedieby
three
(i.e.1d6becomes4d6),butyoumaybesaferstickingwithaddingtwo.
Fornaturalattacksby tiny
or
smallcreatures,youshouldprobablyleavethedamagedice
alone.However,theminimumdamagedieappearstobe1d4,soanyweakerattacksshould
probablyupgradetothat.(Thesamegoesfordamagedicebelow1d4forothercreatures.)
3.5DamageDice 5EDamageDice
1d4 1d6(or2d4)
1d6 1d8(or2d6)
1d8 1d10(or2d8)
1d10 1d12(or2d10)
1d12 2d8(or2d12)
Ifanattackinflictsmorethanonedieofdamage,increasethe5Edamagediebythatnumber.
Forexample,2d4shouldbecome2d6(or3d4).
Somecreaturesstrongestnaturalattacksseemtoaddbothonedieofdamageandincrease
thedietypebyoneforexample,1d6becoming2d8.Thisshouldbeusedcarefully,however,
andshouldntbeusedonmorethanoneattack.
DontforgettoaddthemonstersStrengthbonustomeleedamageandDexteritybonusto
rangeddamage.Youcancalculateaveragedamagethroughthemethodaboveunder HitDice
.
Somecreaturesinflictadditionaldamageonahit,suchasacidorpoisonconvertthisthesame
astheabove.
Othertypesofdamagingattacks(liketheflameskullsfireray)seemtobetreatedmuchlikethe
strongestnaturalattacksabove,buttherearentmanyexamplesyet.Still,thatguidelinemay
workfornow.Dragon breathweaponsareupgradedmuchmorethanthat,butuntilwehave
moredragons,Imreluctanttorecommendanyguidelinesthere.
SavingThrowsforActions
Ingeneral,
Fortitudesavesshouldbeconvertedto Constitutionsaves,
Reflexsavesshould
beconvertedto Dexteritysaves,and Will
savesshouldbeconvertedto Wisdom saves.
TheDMGalsoincludestypicalDCsforcreaturesofagivenCRyoumayusethisinstead.
Also,actionsthatdrainedConstitutionin3.5appeartoinflicthitpointdamageinstead.The
numberofConpointsdrainedshouldbeturnedintothesamenumberofhitpointsofdamage
(i.e.1d4Conbecomes1d4damage),thenconvertedusingtheguidelinesunder Actionswith
anAttackRoll above.IfanattackinflictedbothhitpointandConstitutiondamage,combine
thosetogetherasbestyoucanbeforeconvertingthetotaldamage.
Recharge
Rechargeseemstobelimitedtostrongeffectsthat,in3.5,couldonlybeusedalimitednumber
oftimesperday,orrequiredanumberofroundsbetweenuses.
MyrecommendationistouseRecharge56formostlimiteduseactions,andkeepXperday
forespeciallystrongattacksthatshouldonlybeusedonceinabattle.
ActionswithoutanAttackRoll
Many5Ecreaturessuchasthedoppelganger,flameskull,grick,nothic,owlbear,andyoung
greendragonhave Multiattack ,allowingthemtotakemorethanoneactionperturn.Ifyour
3.5monstercouldattackmorethanonce,youshouldconsidergivingthemMultiattackin5E.
Notethatmostcreaturescanonlymaketwoattackstheonlyexceptionistheyounggreen
dragon,whichcanmakethree.
Therearealsoafewcreaturesthatcantakeactionsnotrequiringanattackrollorsavingthrow.
Ifyourmonstercoulddothisin3.5,youcanprobablyusethemverbatimin5E.
Reactions
Anyspecialqualityorattackin3.5thatrequiredsomesortoftriggershouldbeaReaction.
Otherwise,treatitjustthesameasanyotherAction.
AlistoftheknownReactionsin5Ecanbefound
here
.
FinalNotes
Everythingnotmentionedaboveshouldprobablybedroppedin5E.Ofcourse,ifyoufeelits
veryimportanttothecreaturesconcept,feelfreetoportitoveranyway.
Also,ingeneral,5Emonstersseemtohaveslightlyfewerattackchoicesthanmanyoftheir3.5
counterparts,soyoushouldfeelfreetodropanymonsterabilitiesthatdontseemessentialto
itsconcept.(Thiswillalsospeedyourconversionup,ofcourse.)
Appendix1:CREstimator
ThebelowconversionfollowsaverybroadcomparisonoftheChallengeRatingsforthesame
creaturesin3.5and5E.Itsnotperfect,butitworksasaroughstartingpoint.
5ECR 3.5CR
0 orless
or
1 2
2 3
3 4
+1 +1
Basically,yousubtractonefromthe3.5CR.Foramountslessthan1,rounditdowntothe
nearest5ECR,thenreduceitbyonestep.(Forexample,(3.5)reducesto(5E),andthen
dropsoneCRdown(0).)
Appendix2:3E
Converting3Ecreatureswillgenerallybethesameas3.5.Thereareonlytwonotable
differences:
3Ehastwocreaturetypesdroppedin3.5: Beastand
Shapechanger .Creaturesofthe
formertypeshouldbecome Beasts in5E,ofcourse,whileanyShapechangershould
probablybecomea Monstrosity (unlessyoudecidetheybetterfitunderanothertype).
Damagereductionin3Ewasbrokendownbyweaponbonus(+1,+2,etc.).Thisshould
allbefoldedintoaresistancetononmagicalweaponsin5E.
Also,3Ehassomenotableskillsthatweredroppedormergedin3.5:
3ESkill 5ESkillProficiency
PickPocket SleightofHand(Dexterity)
ReadLips Perception(Wisdom)
IntuitDirection,WildernessLore Survival(Wisdom)
Innuendo Deception(Charisma)
Alchemy,AnimalEmpathy,Scry No5Eskillequivalent.Manyofthesearenow
genericabilitychecks,exclusiveclass
features,orbackgroundelements.
Ifyouwantmoredetailsonthedifferencesbetween3Eand3.5,checkouttheofficialguidelines
fromWizardsoftheCoasthere:http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a
Appendix3:Pathfinder
ConvertingfromPathfinderwillgenerallybethesameasconvertingfrom3.5,evenmoreso
than3E.Mostadjustmentsareminor,anddonotchangeanyoftheguidelinesusedfor3.5.
PathfinderdidrestoreflatXPawardsformonsters,butitalsoretained3.5sChallengeRating
system,sothatconversionshouldbethesame.
Lastly,Pathfinderdidconsolidatesomeof3.5sskills,whichcanbeconvertedasfollows:
PathfinderSkill 5ESkillProficiency
Acrobatics Acrobatics(Dexterity)
Stealth Stealth(Dexterity)
Perception Perception(Wisdom)
Linguistics No5Eskillequivalent.Thisisusuallya
backgroundelement.
Ifyouwantmoredetailsonthechangesbetween3.5andPathfinder,youcanfindtheofficial
conversionguidelineshere:
http://paizo.com/products/btpy89m6?PathfinderRoleplayingGameConversionGuide