Dev Diary #3
Discover new ogre and merrow statblocks, custom monster powers, and a sneak peek at Foe Foundry’s upcoming monster generator. Read the latest dev diary and help shape what comes next!
Dev Diary #3
Welcome to the third Dev Diary for Foe Foundry! Normally, I share these updates every two weeks, but I'll be relaxing with the family for Father's Day so I thought I'd get this out a bit earlier.
New Ogre Statblocks
Ogres won on Patron Prioritization Poll #2.
I had a lot of fun working on Ogres. The Monster Manual ogres are exactly what inspired me to create Foe Foundry. They're just completely bland.
Here's an example Foe Foundry Ogre Wallsmasha with its signature Wallsmasha power.
Merrow Statblocks
I did a collab with u/MShades, who has a nice new blog called Encounter Every Enemy, focused on making the humble Merrow exciting and deadly. If you want a fresh take on monster lore, encounters, and tactics, check out their series!
I decided to take the plunge and make Merrow exciting:
- 4 unique Statblocks (Merrow, Merrow Blood-Blessed, Merrow Storm-Blessed, Merrow Abyssal Lord) with dozens of variants each
- Lore for Thalassant, the Lord of Sacrifice, a legendary lord
- Unique Merrow Powers to give these monsters some fun mechanical differentiation
- Flavorful and table-ready Merrow Encounter Ideas and Merrow Adventure Ideas that play to the themes highlighted in Encounter Every Enemy
What's Next? Vote in Prioritization Poll 4
Patrons can vote on the new Patron Prioritization Poll #4 - Monstrosities for this week. Should I be adding Basilisks, Gorgons, Medusa, or the much-feared Dire Bunny?
Homepage Updates
I'm also working on a redesigned homepage that will focus on showcasing all the cool monsters and powers on Foe Foundry. It's still WIP, but here's a mockup that I'm working towards.
Generator Updates
I'm hard at work on the Generator that will allow you to edit monsters by adding powers, removing powers, and smashing two monsters together. Want to create a weird aberrant mind-flayer infested Ogre? When the generator is done, you'll be able to with a couple of clicks
This feature will mark the transition from Alpha to Beta. I wanted to share an update on what the generator will look like.
Last time I shared a mockup of the Monster Cards feature, which will allow you to edit monsters via an intuitive card UI. Before I can implement this UI, I need to migrate all the existing monsters to the new generation framework. I'm about 60% done migrating monsters, and the generator UI will be up next.
I can’t wait to see what you build with Foe Foundry — and I’d love your feedback as the project grows.
Thanks for reading, and have fun running games for your friends, family, and loed ones!
– Cordialgerm