Welcome back to Stat Anything, a series where I take requests from folks on Instagram on things to convert to Dungeons & Dragons stats.
Now I know I was supposed to do the Cave of Wonders this week, but as it turns out, that’s going to take a little more time than I originally expected. The good news is, though, I’ve already done the map. Now it’s just a matter of stocking it!
In the meantime, I thought I might create a Fifth Edition “monster” that would help compliment some of the other monsters I’ve been making lately.
For example, I just recreated Second Editions’ mezzikim for 5e. If you’re not familiar with the mezzikim, it’s pretty much Pazuzu from the Exorcist. They possess you, make you sick, make you projectile vomit, levitate, etc.
Now, sure, we can possess commoners until we’re blue in the face, but honestly… we all want to see a Linda Blair-type get possessed. I’m talking about devil-possessed-kids!
Therefore, it’s time to tackle children for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. This request comes from @kahlontheod.
By the way, if there’s anything on this blog I’ll go to hell for creating, it’ll probably be this entry right here!
How to create children for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
Honestly, this one is pretty simple. All I have to do is take a commoner and drop a majority of its abilities. Of course, how do we know which abilities to drop, and by how much?
Fortunately, I worked my way through (most of) the abilities to determine how strong, fast, hearty, and intelligent creatures are (Wisdom and Charisma are on the way, but I think I have the general principles down).
Strength
If I create children that are Reagan’s age during the Exorcist, that’s 12-years-old. Kobold’s are roughly the size of children at 7 Strength, so that’s probably where we should put them.
Dexterity
Children are quicker than adults but don’t have fantastic hand-eye coordination. I think keeping their Dex around 10 or 11 probably works.
Constitution
As I pointed out in my article on Constitution, Constitution scales with Challenge Rating more than anything. I think a 10 is fine for children.
Intelligence
Intelligence is kinda touchy here, but a lot of Intelligence’s skills involve knowing things rather than understanding things. So I think a 9 is probably a safe bet.
Wisdom
During my research with Wisdom, I discovered that Wisdom is less about “being wise” and more about Perception. Kids are fairly perceptive (my son can often point out airplanes that I can’t even see), but not on the higher scale. So again, a 10-11 here works.
Charisma
Finally, Charisma is another ability that I discovered “isn’t what they say it is.” It’s more about self-awareness and presence than it is about attractiveness or cuteness. I think kids have a reasonable sense of self, so 10 is probably best here.
Note: combat-wise, children probably fight like commoners. You can read more about how commoners fight on Keith Ammann’s blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing.
Child
Small humanoid (any race), any alignment
Armor Class 10
Hit Points 3 (1d6)
Speed 30 ft.
Abilities Str 7 (-2), Dex 11 (+0), Con 10 (+0), Int 9 (-1), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 10 (+0)
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages any one language (usually Common)
Challenge 0 (0 XP)
Actions
Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage.
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I’ve actually got to use this stat block in my next session (when a kid gets possessed and the cleric has to deal with it), but this should be pretty cut and dry.
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See you next time when I (finally) create the Cave of Wonders for Aladdin.
This is great! Exactly the stats I need for a project. Should there be a difference in the binary gender? Higher strength for boy, higher wisdom for a girl? Girls do mature faster after all.
I think you gave the child too low stats. 3 HP? Since a cat has 2 HP, and a commoner has 10, saying that a child is half as strong as a fully-grown creature, I would give them 5 hit points, and keep in mind that children are actually higher in Intelligence than Wisdom(mattering at what age. At an age of about 3-5, a child would have about 7 Intelligence but 8 Wisdom. At 6-8, I’d say 9 Wisdom and 8 Intelligence. At 9-12, I’d say 9 Wisdom and 9 Intelligence. At 13-15, 9 Wisdom and 10 Intelligence. At 15-16, I would say about 11 Intelligence and 11 Wisdom. Finally, at 17, maybe 12 Intelligence and 12 Wisdom. Of course, the race and what child it is is a significant factor as well.) 12 Dexterity and 8 Strength is better. Charisma and Constitution are about on point, though. And Kick is good. Maybe also a Punch move that does 1 damage and a Whiny Attack that does 2 damage but, whenever the child uses it, it has disadvantage on checks to do anything social, such as a Charisma or Persuasion check or saving throw.
I amend my original statement, commoners actually have 4 hit points, so 3 fits, and the whole thing gradually scales up to 10. I actually built rules for people aged under 14, and established that people aged 14 or older still use normal Commoner stats. Their scores gradually scale up to 10(except their Wisdom, which is 10 the whole time) over a course of 6 age increases starting at age 2.