Change attack modifier calculation in 5e

[Gilafron]

Hello,

I've been investigating changing the attack and damage modifier calculations in 5e. For instance, I'm thinking of halving attack ability modifiers (i.e. similar to 1e where strength was +3 hit +6 damage) and/or making finesse weapons use half strength/half dexterity ability adjustments. I found the section for the PC character sheet that handles this and it looks pretty straight forward and doable.

My question in this thread is, is there anything I can do for NPCs? My initial investigation leads me to believe that every attack and damage modifier is manually calculated within the npc from the Monster Manual or other sources. As a result, does that mean I would have to manually edit every npc?

If that is the case, any suggestions how to go about doing this? I don't think I can edit the source material of the Monster Manual. So, is my thinking that I have to copy every NPC and then modify it? I do have scripting skills such as Perl and have always wanted to learn Python.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated.

[Zacchaeus]

You could probably do this with effects (DMG: +/-x, ATK: +/- x). You'd have to apply it to all PCs and NPCs. Otherwise you would either need to write an extension to override the normal attack and damage bonuses or as you say edit every NPC.

[damned]

If scaling all the PCs down/up then results in you having to scale all the NPCs down/up then it sounds like a zero sum game...