🜁 THE FORGING OF BEASTS

A GM’s Guide to Creating DoomBlade Stat Blocks

🜂 INTRODUCTION

In DoomBlade, every creature — from the lowliest cave rat to the world‑eating titans — is built using the same core principles that shape the heroes themselves.
This keeps the world coherent, deadly, and gloriously brutal.

There are two types of Stat Block - a Mini Stat Block for minons, mooks and quick encounters. Then there is a Full Stat Block suitable for elite enemies, boss monsters and BBEGs (Big Bad Evil Guys).

A Game Master must learn to forge monsters with the same care a blacksmith tempers steel.
This page teaches you how.

🜃 THE SIX FOUNDATIONS OF A DOOMBLADE CREATURE

Every DoomBlade creature is built from six pillars:

1. Rank — determines power level

2. Speed — how fast it moves

3. Health — based on Endurance

4. Offense — Usually based on Might + weapon size

5. Defense — armor, hide, wards

6. The 16 Skills — the heart of the system

Once you understand these, you can create anything.

Other options include any special attacks or defences and or a d6 random loot table.

🜄 1. CHOOSING A RANK

Rank determines the creature’s skill ranges, threat level, and complexity.

Novice: 0–2 Eg. Critters, fodder, swarms

Skilled: 3–4 Eg. Dangerous animals, trained foes

Elite: 5–7 Eg. Tough monsters, mini bosses

Veteran: 8–10 Eg. Major monsters, bosses

Legendary: 11–12 Eg. Region‑threatening beasts

Mythic: 13+ No upper limit; World‑shaking terrors

Pick the rank first — everything else flows from it.

🜅 2. SPEED

Speed in general is calcualted as the beasts Agility score +5 and represented as a number

Examples:

• Speed 8 — humanoid stride

• Speed 13 — fast predator

• Speed 6 — lumbering brute

• Fly 8, Burrow 6, Swim 10 — add as needed

Speed defines the creature’s manouverablity and initiative on the battlefield.

🜆 3. HEALTH POINTS (HP)

The most important rule for new GMs

HP = (Endurance Skill)d6 + Endurance Skill 

Examples:

• Basic (2) Endurance = 2d6+2 (8)

• Fair (5) Endurance = 5d6+5 (22)

• Incredible (10) Endurance = 10d6+10 (45)

This makes Endurance the king of survivability. I like to put the average roll in brackets () This is handy if the GM does not have time to roll.

🜇 4. OFFENSE (DAMAGE)

Usually based on Might + weapon size and resulting in a single number

Natural weapons follow similar rules to hero weapons:

• Small bite/claw → Might+1

• Medium bite/claw → Might+2

• Large bite/claw → Might+3

• Huge/Titanic → Might+4 or +5

• Mythic natural weapons → Might+6+

Damage dice for other special attacks must always be:

• d3, d6, d6+X, or Xd6

No other dice exist in DoomBlade.

🜈 5. DEFENSE

Defense represents:

• Armor

• Hide

• Scales

• Magical wards

• Toughness

Typical ranges:

• 0–1 Novice - Lightly Armoured

• 1–3 Skilled/Elite - Moderately Armoured

• 3–6 Veteran - Heaviy Armoured

• 6–10 Legendary/Mythic - Very Heaviy Armoured

🜉 6. THE 16 SKILLS

Every creature uses the same 16 skills as heroes:

• Awareness

• Agility

• Might

• Endurance

• Charm

• Roguery

• Wilderness Lore

• Folk Lore

• Brawl

• Sword‑Play

• Marksmanship

• Craftsmanship

• Dark Sight

• Healing

• Magic

• Magic Resistance

Assign values based on Rank.
This is the creature’s soul.

I recommend grouping the skills together via Ranks from highest to lowest. Eg.

Excellent (7) Might, Agility, Endurance
Fair (5) Brawl, Sword-Play, Roguery
Humble (3) Magic Resistance, Dark Sight
Useless (0) All other Skills

🜂 HOW TO MAKE A STAT BLOCK

A Mini Stat Block includes:

• Name

• Rank, Level & Role

• Speed

• HP, Offense, Defense

• 3–5 key skill ranks only

• 1 attack

• 0–2 traits or special attack, ability or defense

• Simple loot, rolled on d6

Stat Blocks are fast, deadly, and easy to run.

🜃 THE GOLDEN RULE OF DOOMBLADE MONSTER DESIGN

If a creature is important, like the boss monster for the adventure or a major NPC, give it a Full Stat Block.
If it is not, give it a Mini Stat Block.

This keeps the game fast, brutal, and cinematic.

🜄 FINAL ADVICE FOR NEW GMs

• Start simple

• Think and use the 16 Skills when designing a monster. Any skill that is not used: use the "Useless (0) All other Skills" format.

• Let the environment matter

• Use darkness, sound, and fear

• Always reward players with loot — even strange loot

And above all: Monsters in DoomBlade should feel dangerous, ancient, and hungry.

To create a Mini Stat Block the GM just needs to assign the creature a Rank and a Level based off the following. 

Rank determines the creature’s skill ranges, threat level, and complexity.

Novice: 0–2 Eg. Critters, fodder, swarms

Skilled: 3–4 Eg. Dangerous animals, trained foes

Elite: 5–7 Eg. Major monsters, bosses

Veteran: 8–10 Eg. Region‑threatening beasts

Legendary: 11–12 World‑shaking terrors

Mythic: 13+ No upper limit; godlike

Pick the rank first — everything else flows from it.

Here is how its is calculated:

The Rank and Level of the creatue is very important, as most calculations are performed with it, as follows.

Name: Type of monster
Rank & Role: Novice through to verteran, Its Level from 0 through to 13+ and its Role: Eg. Scavenger, Undead, Wild Animal, Brute
Speed: Equals 5+ Level
Health Points (HP): = d6+1 x Level or  as flat number 3.5 x Level (Rounding Down)
Offense: This is damage inflicted from a monsters attack - Calculate as 2 x Level for beasts or  as  weapon damage using the creatures Level as Might
Defense: Equal to the creatures Level in general
Skills:  Most Skills will be equal to the cretures Level. For example for Level 1 creatue, list its skills like: All Skills Poor (1). Unless the creatue is a spellcaster or has magical abilities set the creatures Magic Skill to Useless (0).
(Optional) Special Ability: Plague Bearer - On a Mighty Blow the defender may become infected. Make an Easy (8+) Endurance Reaction Roll or Lose 1 Endurance for d6 days.
Loot: Create a thematic d6 loot list, with 1 being the worst and 6 being the best. Eg. 1-3 Nothing, 4 Rat guts, 5 Rat Tooth, 6 Rat Skull

For example a Novice Level 1 Monster Mini Stat Block looks like the following:

Name: Rat
Rank & Role: Novice Level 1 Vermin
Speed: 6
HP: d6+1 (4)
Offense: 2 (Sharp Teeth)
Defense:1 (Matted Fur)
Skills: All  Poor (1) Except Magic Useless (0)
Special Ability: Plague Bearer - On a Mighty Blow the defender may become infected. Make an Easy (8+) Endurance Reaction Roll or Lose 1 Endurance for d6 days.
Simple loot: 1-3 Nothing, 4 Rat guts, 5 Rat Tooth, 6 Rat Skull

🜁 HOW TO CREATE A FULL STAT BLOCK

Example: Venomous Spider Swarm (Novice Rank)

🜂 STEP 1 — Choose Rank & Role

Rank: Novice (0–2 skill range)
Role: Swarm (many tiny creatures acting as one)

🜃 STEP 2 — Assign Speed

Spiders are quick:

Speed: 8 (scuttling movement)

🜄 STEP 3 — Assign Endurance → HP

Choose Endurance within Novice range:

Endurance: 2
HP: 2d6+2 (9)

🜅 STEP 4 — Assign Might → Offense

Small venomous bites count as Small natural weapons:

Offense: Might+1
Damage: 1d6 (swarm bite mass)

🜆 STEP 5 — Assign Defense

Small creatures, fragile bodies:

Defense: 0

🜇 STEP 6 — Choose 3–5 Key Skills

Pick only the skills that matter:

• Awareness 2

• Agility 3

• Dark Sight 3

• Brawl 1

• All other Skills Useless (0)

🜈 STEP 7 — Give 1 Attack & 1–2 Traits

Attack

Swarm Bite: Offense = 6 Poison

Traits

• Swarm Body: Immune to knockdown; area attacks deal extra 1d6 damage to swarm
• Venomous: First hit each round deals +1 poison

🜉 STEP 8 — Add Simple Loot

1–3 nothing
4–5 venom sac
6 rare toxin gland

🜁 FINAL STAT BLOCK — VENOMOUS SPIDER SWARM

VENOMOUS SPIDER SWARM

Rank: Novice • Role: Swarm • Speed: 8

HP: 2d6+2

Offense: 6 (swarm bites)

Defense: 0

Key Skills:

• Awareness 2

• Agility 3

• Dark Sight 3

• Brawl 1

ATTACK:

Swarm Bite — Offense 6

TRAITS:

• Swarm Body — immune to knockdown; area attacks +1d6.

• Venomous — first hit each round deals +1 poison.

LOOT (d6): 1–3 nothing, 4–5 venom sac, 6 rare toxin gland

🜁 THE OWLBEAR

(Converted from D&D → DoomBlade)

This walkthrough teaches the GM how to think, not just how to copy numbers.

🜂 STEP 1 — Identify the creature’s role & threat level

In D&D, an Owlbear is:

• CR 3–4

• Brutal melee predator

• Tough, fast, aggressive

In DoomBlade terms, this makes it:

Rank: Skilled → Elite (depending on how deadly you want it)
For this example, we’ll choose:

Rank: Elite
Role: Brute / Skirmisher hybrid

🜃 STEP 2 — Translate physical traits into DoomBlade stats

Speed

Owlbears are fast and charge hard:

Speed: 9

Endurance → HP

Pick an Endurance in the Elite range (5–7):

Endurance: 6
HP: 6d6+6 (27)

Might → Offense

Large claws & beak = Large natural weapons: Offense: 13

Defense

Thick hide: Defense: 3

🜄 STEP 3 — Assign the 16 Skills (Elite range: 5–7)

We match the Owlbear’s nature:

• Strong

• Tough

• Fast

• Low intelligence

• Animal instincts

• No magic

THE 16 SKILLS

• Awareness 5

• Agility 6

• Might 7

• Endurance 6

• Charm 0

• Roguery 1

• Wilderness Lore 4

• Folk Lore 0

• Brawl 7

• Sword‑Play 0

• Marksmanship 0

• Craftsmanship 0

• Dark Sight 3

• Healing 1

• Magic 0

• Magic Resistance 3

🜅 STEP 4 — Create DoomBlade‑style abilities

We reinterpret D&D abilities into DoomBlade mechanics.

1. Rending Claws (Action)

Offense = 13
If both attacks hit the same target this round → +1d6 bonus damage.

2. Bear Charge (Action)

Move 3 paces in a straight line.
Offense = 13
Target Endrance (12+) or knocked Prone.

3. Keen Senses (Passive)

+2 Awareness tests involving smell or hearing.

4. Furious Screech (Action, 1/encounter)

Endrance (12+) or Frightened for 1d3 rounds.

🜆 STEP 5 — Add behaviour, lore, and loot

Behaviour

Aggressive, territorial, hunts anything that enters its domain.

Lore

Owlbears are the apex predators of deep forests and caverns, feared for their relentless charges and bone‑splintering claws.

Loot

1–2: Fur scraps, 3–4: Owlbear claw, 5: Thick hide (armor component), 6: Heartblood (rare reagent)

🜇 FINAL DOOMBLADE CONVERSION — OWLBEAR (ELITE)

(Full Stat Block)

OWLBEAR

A savage fusion of bear and giant owl, feared for its relentless fury.

Rank: Elite • Role: Brute / Skirmisher • Speed: 7

Size: Large

HP: 6d6+6

Offense: Might+3 (large claws & beak)

Defense: 3 (Feathers and Thick Fur)

THE 16 SKILLS

Awareness 5, Agility 5, Might 7, Endurance 6,

Charm 0, Roguery 1, Wilderness Lore 4, Folk Lore 0,

Brawl 7, Sword-Play 0, Marksmanship 0, Craftsmanship 0,

Dark Sight 3, Healing 1, Magic 0, Magic Resistance 3

TRAITS & ABILITIES

• Rending Claws — Offense = 13 if both attacks hit same target this round, +1d6.

• Bear Charge — Move 3; Offense = 13; Difficult (12+) Might Reaction Roll or Prone.

• Keen Senses — +2 Awareness tests involving smell or hearing.

• Furious Screech — Difficult (12+) Endurance Reaction Roll or Frightened 1d3 rounds.

ATTACKS

Primary — Claw Swipe: Offense = 13

Secondary — Beak Strike: Offense = 13

BEHAVIOUR & INSTINCTS

Territorial, aggressive, charges the nearest threat.

HABITAT & LORE

Found in deep forests and caverns; feared by hunters and adventurers alike.

LOOT (d6) 1–2 fur scraps, 3–4 owlbear claw, 5 thick hide,  6 heartblood (rare reagent)

Any suggestions, spelling errors or ideas - email doombladerpg@gmail.com