A look and review of the Adversaries & Allies package of NPCs for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition.
Pros
- Nice assortment of pre-created stats for Dungeon Masters to use for characters
- Consistent since it sticks quite close player creation rules
- 38 pages long
- Free (well, pay what you want)!
Cons
- Challenge ratings are often a bit off in my opinion
- Nothing exotic is included since it only contains player like characters
Introduction
I'm always on the lookout for things that make my job as the Dungeon
master easier. As such, if I'm quickly drawn to new monsters I can
unleash on my players as well as new characters. Adversaries & Allies
caught my eye for that reason. It was also free (well, pay what you want), which meant I
couldn't resist grabbing it.
What's Inside
It's a really nice collection in general. It's 38 pages of stat block
after stat block. It's free (well, pay what you want) so I wasn't expecting any art, and that's
just what I got. Although a Dungeon Master could make many of these
stat blocks themselves by consulting the rules and making
appropriately leveled characters (same rules players use to make
theirs), having them already done is a nice time save. I find that many of the characters in a campaign tend to be more normal anyway and more like the players than an ancient evil lich. This makes the adversaries and allies provided quite useful. The author of
this collection doesn't always adhere strictly to the player rules,
adding further variety than if you just strictly used them. You still
can do so but mixing the two together could make things more
interesting as well as giving the Dungeon Master options. For me,
it's also nice since some of the ones I created are a couple of
levels off in either direction. Already made stat blocks like this
also serve as an easy way to create more variations by trimming back
levels (apply creation rules in reverse) and spell lists (spell list
construction often takes me longer than any other part). The stat
blocks also cover a nice variety of roles.
There are also some stat blocks, like the expert, that are made
without using the player creation rules. Though these are probably
the minority, they are extremely useful and far less likely to be
come up independently. I personally like seeing these kinds of
creatures and characters that Dungeon Masters come up with. They are
also a great to use as is, as inspiration, or just to see how another
Dungeon Master's mind ticks.
Issues
The main issue I have with this collection is the challenge ratings.
As an example, let's look at the cleric. It's a challenge rating 2
while being a level 8 spellcaster, while the priest in the basic
rules (also all other rules) is a level 5 spellcaster while also
being a challenge rating 2. This also means that the experience for
the combat encounter is not what it should be. Some of them I think
are perfectly reasonable. Others, I think are might be slightly off
but not by much (or might be made more powerful with a slight tweak
to their spell list). In general I think they are solid. I also don't
think challenge rating is a great representation of challenge, but it
represents a starting point and translates to the amount of
experience given. Experience is often also used to construct
encounter according to the tables in the rules. If you are a new
Dungeon Master, be aware that some of the stat blocks may not have
the right amount of experience. Be ready to change the challenge
rating and award experience accordingly. It's these kinds of things that tables like in Unearthed Arcana could help prevent. Since they are based around normal characters, some people may also find them a bit boring (in this case you can add a twist) and lacking in the exotic.
Note to New
Dungeon Masters: Remember that
like any other stat block, you are free to modify and not use them
however you see fit. If you want to use the noble stats instead of
ruler (provided in these rules) for a king, go ahead and do so. Not every ruler needs to be as
tough as the stats provided here. Not all rulers need to be as weak
as the noble. Some might be better with some form of mage stats.
Conclusion
I'd say grab the free PDF and use it as a resource (if you like it, throw some money at the author). It's really a
nice collection that can easily be consulted along with the current
Monster Manual. Just be aware that some of the challenge ratings are
a bit off so be careful and adjust as you see fit. It's not
consistent throughout so it needs to be looked at on a case by case
basis (we might disagree on what a good challenge rating is anyway and challenge ratings are often not useful anyway).