4e monsters on 5e rules set

[L32]

I would like to try and run 5e dnd core rules but with some 4e monsters.

Reason is that I really liked the minion, bloodied effects and general simplicity of 4e monsters.

I found that others, like Matthew Colville, share a similar feeling to it.
Currently i'm manually writing monsters and I wondered if there is an easier way to do this?

[Talyn]

No, not only do the two rulesets share different data under the hood in FG, just within the systems themselves things are drastically different. As Matt Colville himself recently said, don't try to "convert to 5E" just adapt the spirit of the monster to 5E. Minions have the abilities but only 1 HP so they go down fast. Done.

[Maasq]

Hiya

People have asked me to put converters for 4E, 3.5E, Pathfinder & older editions into NPC Engineer, but I have refused so far. It's not my place to decide how the monster converts. Having said that, there's probably mileage in using NPC Engineer to transfer your stuff. If there's anything I can do to help you beyond what I said in line 1, then don't hesitate to ask!

Maasq

[Uraence]

Use this link to do some base conversion then put that info and the rest into NPC Engineeer.

I only fill out AC, CR & HD. The 3e section saves will adjust over for stats, but you usually have those already so I don't worry about it.

The rest of the info just get's passed over to the stat block so no need to fill it in when you can just copy/paste or enter it manually into NPC Engineer.

https://brentnewhall.com/games/1e5e.html

[epithet]

I found that once you become somewhat familiar with the 4e terminology (like 'close burst') it is simple simple simple to convert 4e npcs to 5e. Everything maps neatly to the 5e action, reaction, multiattack, and legendary format... almost like it was designed by the same people.

[jrh18]

Has anyone applied the idea of minions to FG and run it successfully? I ran into the problem of way too many NPCs to manage in the combar tracker.

[LordEntrails]

Has anyone applied the idea of minions to FG and run it successfully? I ran into the problem of way too many NPCs to manage in the combar tracker.
Depends on what you mean by minions. 1 hp, or just cannon fodder.

I use cannon fodder regularly. Basically just lesser creatures. I've often run upwards of 50 creatures on the CT. Hasn't been a problem for me. I let FG sort it for me and I just use the next creature on the CT and use map targeting. No need to jump around the CT to find N/PCs.

[Tabarkus]

As I mentioned in a similar thread, I like to bundle my “minions” into “swarms” to reduce the individual number of NPCs on the combat tracker. “Swarms” of 2, 5, 10 or whatever number still create the feel of a mass of minions without the combat tracker clutter. I plan to treat armies in the same way but call them “units” instead of swarms.

[jrh18]

Do they then get a larger token on the map, similar to a dragon or other large or Huge monster?

[Tabarkus]

Yes, if necessary you can certainly do that depending on the number. The swarms mentioned in the Monster Manual are all small/tiny creatures so it makes sense to adjust token size for swarms of larger creatures. Since it is a custom creature you set everything yourself so just do what makes sense. Ten men certainly take up more physical space. 4-5 medium creatures easily fill a Large 10x10 space and you can adjust accordingly. You can consider whether they are formation fighters and such as well. I don't worry as much about getting size considerations perfect I just throw out what works as it is more of a speed of combat and combat tracker management technique than anything else.

EDIT: Also, I've found it is best to edit the damage output of these types of swarms/units and not just multiply one creatures damage output by 5 or 10. I use the Handling Mobs rules in the DMG to adjust damage output downward, otherwise you're just creating a larger/higher CR creature.