LHTRPG Enemy Data

This document contains support materials to help developers create their own enemies. The numbers are calculated roughly from the existing enemies in LHZ. They may require final adjustments from the users, but should help them get started. This document is intended for developers. It is not necessary for players or GMs who only wish to use pre-existing scenarios to read it. In addition, there may currently be parts that lack sufficient explanation. It is our support priority to fix this. As a result, this document may be updated without notice. However, this document will always be less well supported than the core rulebook. Remember that the objective and role of an LHZ developer is to themselves have fun while enriching others' LHZ experience. As enemies are characters that exist to oppose the PC, the short-sighted view is to believe them to be in a contest of strength. But the true purpose of enemies is to present interesting challenges to the players and liven up the game session. Well-designed enemies will provide a challenge to PCs of equivalent CR that forces them to take advantage of their unique abilities. Although it would be easy to simply design enemies that negate the PCs' unique abilities, that does not make them worthy foes.

Name

 * The name of the enemy. There must be a name of some kind.

Character Rank

 * The rank of the enemy (since enemies are characters.)
 * An enemy's CR has a significant effect on their abilities; it is recommended to pit PCs against enemies of the same rank as their characters.

Category

 * All enemies are classified amongst one of eight categories. They possess a tag specifying their category.
 * These categories are: Human, Humanoid, Nature, Fairy, Mythic, Undead, Construct, and Gimmick.
 * A brief description of each category is below.

Humans
Members of the "Eight Good Races" that PCs can choose to play. They typically also have either the tag [Adventurer] or [People of the Land]. When encountered as enemies, these are often bandits or player killers.

Humanoid
Demi-humans such as kobolds, goblins, sahuagin, and giants. They frequently make incursions into civilized lands as marauders.

Nature
Wild animals that inhabit the world of Theldesia. This category also includes sentient plant life.

Fairy
Creatures made of pure energy who inhabit undisturbed areas. As well as fairies, this category includes elementals.

Mythic
Legendary monsters considered by some to be no more then fable. Some examples are kitsune, chimera, nue, and dragons.

Undead
Creatures that have died and been reanimated. However, the [Incapacitated] and [Dead] statuses affect them the same way as everything else. Undead generally do not rely upon sight and should have the [Night Vision] tag.

Construct
Artificial beings created by lost technology from Theldesia's ancient past. Many of these were crafted by the Alv using the forgotten art of "Clockwork."

Gimmick
Traps or mechanical devices that are represented using the enemy rules. They should have 50% of the HP indicated below, as well as a Disarm Difficulty and the skill listed below.

(A Mere Machine) / Constant / This enemy does not produce Hate Damage, and Hate Under defense bonuses do not apply to its attacks. If this enemy is targeted with Prop Disable and [Disable Difficulty: n] is successfully beaten, it becomes [Incapacitated]. This enemy cannot make Move Actions.

Infamy

 * A internal number that describes how recognizable the enemy is.
 * To determine the enemy's Detection Difficulty, add [(CR-1)÷3+1] (rounding down) to their Infamy.
 * Take caution; at CR3 or higher, not knowing the capabilities of enemies significantly affects the difficulty of combat.
 * Use the Infamy levels 'Obscure' and 'Arcane' sparingly.

Enemy Type

 * The internal type of the enemy. Has a significant impact on their abilities.
 * There are nine types: Armorer, Fencer, Grappler, Supporter, Healer, Spear, Archer, Shooter and Bomber.
 * Below are abstract descriptions of these enemy types.

Armorer
These enemies have low Initiative, but high Maximum HP and Physical Defense. In terms of classes, they are similar to Guardians. They should be given skills to impede the PCs' movements and protect their allies. While difficult to defeat, these enemies rarely pose a threat to the PCs. Including too many Armorers in a combat can cause it to stagnate. They are unsuitable to be solo Bosses. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Hobgoblin.

Fencer
Although not to the same degree as Armorers, these enemies have low Initiative, but high Maximum HP and Physical Defense. In terms of classes, they are similar to Samurai. They should be given skills to protect their allies as well as strike back against the PCs. Put these enemies in a combat if you want the PCs to have to focus on them first. They make relatively good solo Bosses. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Vampire.

Grappler
These enemies have high Maximum HP and Evasion/Resistance, but low Defense. In terms of classes, they resemble Monks, but as enemies do not gain Hate they are different in practice. Consider them to be hindrances rather than defenders. They should be given skills that allow them to counterattack. Including too many Grapplers in a combat can cause it to stagnate. They are unsuitable to be solo Bosses. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Ghouleh.

Supporter
These enemies have high Initiative and Resistance, but low Physical Defense. In terms of classes, they are similar to Bards and Enchanters. They should be given special skills to interfere with the PCs and support their allies. At CR3 and higher, they may also have the ability to control the area and inflict powerful Bad Statuses. Enemies of this type are pose little threat to PCs on their own. They are most appropriate in boss fights containing several enemies. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Briar Weasel.

Healer
These enemies have high Resistance and decent Defense, but cannot take many hits. In terms of classes, they are similar to Clerics, Druids and Kannagi. They should be given skills to protect and heal their allies. Enemies of this type are pose little threat to PCs on their own. Healers can cause combat to stagnate; consider placing a limit on how much healing they can do. They are most appropriate in boss fights containing several enemies. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Unicorn.

Spear
These enemies have high Evasion and Physical Damage. In terms of classes, they are similar to Assassins and Swashbucklers. They should be given skills to enhance their mobility, inflict Bad Statuses, or inflict additional damage. Enemies of this type are a clear threat to the PCs. They can be easily used as the primary enemy attackers at any CR. They are suitable both as solo bosses and additions to a boss fight. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is Mascarvin of the Blade.

Archer
These enemies have physical ranged attacks with a range of 3-4 Sq. They have decent magic defense, but are weak in melee. In terms of classes, they are similar to ranged Assassins. They should be given skills that enhance their damage or force the PCs to move. Enemies of this type are most effective when supported by other enemies to defend them. They are somewhat similar to the Spear type of enemy without the need for mobility, so take care not to add an excess of both. They are suitable both as solo bosses and additions to a boss fight. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Clockwork Dragonfly.

Shooter
These enemies have high Accuracy and Initiative, but low HP and Defense. They focus on magic attacks against single targets. In terms of classes, they are similar to Sorcerers and Summoners, as well as the Archer enemy type. They should be given skills that enhance their damage or inflict Bad Statuses. Enemies of this type are most effective when supported by other enemies to defend them. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is the Kobold Caster.

Bomber
Much like Shooters, these enemies have high Accuracy and Initiative, but low HP and Defense. They focus on magic attacks against multiple targets. In terms of classes, they are similar to Sorcerers. They should be given skills that allow them to perform a variety of Area (P) magic attacks. Enemies of this type can be very deadly, so they should be given abundant weaknesses. An example enemy of this type in the core rulebook is Heiglot the White Princess.

Race

 * The specific race or faction of the enemy.
 * For example, "Kobold," "Dragon" or "Zombie."
 * In some cases, multiple species that share characteristics may be grouped into one, such as "Slime."

Enemy Rank

 * The internal rank of the enemy. Distinct from their Character Rank.
 * This can be Normal, Mob, Boss, or Raid.
 * Gimmicks always have the 'Normal' Rank.

Normal
These enemies should generally have strength appropriate to fight a PC of the same Character Rank. This does not mean that they must be numerically identical, just that they should present some kind of threat or hindrance.

Mob
These enemies should be roughly half as powerful as a normal enemy of the same CR. However, this isn't always as simple as dividing their HP by two.

Boss
These enemies possess four times as much HP as normal enemies, as well as powerful skills. They are intended to be fought by 3-4 PCs at once.

Raid
Since the raid rules are scheduled to come out in the future, no information on raid enemies is considered necessary at this point.

Step 1: Decide Basic Data
The first step is to decide upon and record the basic data of your enemy.


 * Name: A name is necessary.
 * CR: Should be the same as the scenario rank or the rank of the PC intended to fight the enemy.
 * Category: Pick one of Human, Humanoid, Nature, Fairy, Mythic, Undead, Construct, and Gimmick.
 * Infamy: Excepting special circumstances, this should generally be one of Common, Uncommon or Rare.
 * Enemy Type: Pick one of Armorer, Fencer, Grappler, Supporter, Healer, Spear, Archer, Shooter and Bomber. You should consider mixing multiple Enemy Types in every combat to increase the challenge, but it is not necessary to have an equal number of each type. Grapplers, Supporters, Healers, and Bombers can be difficult to deal with for PCs of CR2 and below.
 * Enemy Rank: Pick one of Mob, Normal or Boss.

Step 2: Copy the Basic Enemy Attributes

 * Using your chosen CR and Enemy Type, copy a set of attributes from the Enemy Data sheets, linked below.
 * Be sure to add the enemy name, their category tag, and their calculated identification difficulty.

Step 3: Select Skills

 * Pick some skills for the enemy. A normal or mob enemy should have 2-3 skills, at least one of which should be a Major Action attack.
 * If you want to design your own skills, refer to the description of Enemy Types and the core rulebook.
 * If the enemy has no Minor Actions, consider adding a [Minor] conditional to one of the Major Action skills; this is because otherwise Bad Statuses which require only a Minor Action to clear, such as [Rigor] and [Afflicted], will be relatively ineffective against them.

Step 4: Balance Mobs

 * When creating a Mob enemy, cut their HP in half, and replace every die roll (such as Accuracy, Evasion, etc.) with a fixed value. Each die roll should add 3 to the fixed value, so for instance, 2D+2 would become a fixed value of 3+3+2 = 8.
 * Be sure to add the Mob tag to the enemy.
 * Note that if any of the Mob's skills have a conditional of [Result n], this should be removed.

Step 5: Balance Bosses

 * Boss enemies have greatly increased HP and more skills than a normal enemy, as well as about 3-6 Fate Points. However, in general, they should not do any more damage than a normal monster would.
 * Boss encounters can be divided into two types: solo and group.


 * Solo bosses fight the PCs entirely on their own, and have four times the normal enemy HP.
 * These bosses can be shut down easily by Bad Statuses, so give them a way to remove BSes during the Setup or Cleanup phase. At CR4 and above, they may need to be able to clear multiple BSes at once, as well as resist forced movement.


 * Group bosses fight the PCs along with 2-4 of their minions, and have twice the normal enemy HP.
 * These minions do not drop items when defeated.
 * A group boss often has skills that allow them to buff, protect and otherwise synergize with their minions.


 * As bosses get far fewer actions than PCs, consider giving them the enemy skill [Renew Action.]
 * Bosses can often increase the power of their attacks with Fate Points to enhance the impact of each action.
 * One of the simplest ways is to allow a Fate Point to change the target of an attack to Area (P).
 * In addition, since they can boost their Hit Checks with Fate Points, [Result n] conditionals are also more likely to succeed.
 * (Translator's note: It doesn't look like they mention Hate Multipliers, but all Boss enemies in the book have higher hate multipliers than these base stats indicate. CR1-2 bosses have x4, CR3-4 have x5, CR5-7 have x6, CR8-9 x7, CR10 x8, and CR12 x9. Adjust your bosses appropriately!)

Step 6: Select Drop Items

 * Now create a drop table that can be rolled on with 1D.
 * You may wish to refer to the 'Expected Drop Value' in the basic enemy attributes.
 * [Valuable] items should have values that are a multiple of 5 or 10.
 * In addition, if the drop is a general item other than a Consumable, remember that it can only be sold for 1/10 of its base value.
 * Mob enemies drop a fixed item of half the normal value.
 * Boss enemies drop items worth four times as much as normal. One of the drop items should be a magic catalyst with a rank equal to the boss's CR + 1. In addition, you may want to add a fixed drop of a Core Material with a rank equal to the boss's CR.

Step 7: Fluff
Now write a description of the enemy. It should allow you and the players to clearly envision the enemy, as well as describe the areas in which they appear and their typical behavior and notable characteristics, especially within combat. This description does not need to be lengthy, but will be particularly useful to GMs who run your scenario or developers who use your enemy in their own scenarios.

Enemy Type Data

 * Armorer Enemy Data
 * Fencer Enemy Data
 * Grappler Enemy Data
 * Supporter Enemy Data
 * Healer Enemy Data
 * Spear Enemy Data
 * Archer Enemy Data
 * Shooter Enemy Data
 * Bomber Enemy Data