Questions tagged [monsters]
For questions relating to either monstrous antagonists specifically, or all enemies of the player characters generally, depending on the traditions of specific games. Use as appropriate for the game in question.
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How exactly is Volo's Guide to Monsters obsolete?
When you search for monsters from VGtM, you see that all monsters are marked as "Legacy". The relevant dndbeyond page doesn't say much about it:
we may revisit older content in order to ...
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Do Vampires have to make an attack roll in order to bite a willing target?
A Vampire's Bite action is described as:
Bite. (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, ...
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About Solar's simulacrum
The simulacrum has less HD than the original creature, but to what extent does it retain the original creature's abilities? For example, How many spells and spell-like abilities does Solar's ...
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Does a Protean Scourge's simulacrum retain the ability to split up and recombine?
The simulacrum has less HD than the original creature, but to what extent does it retain the original creature's abilities?
The Protean Scourge (Monster Manual III, p. 126) has the Split ability the ...
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Can fast healing or regeneration from the original creature repair a damaged simulacrum?
A damaged simulacrum must normally be repaired over 24 hours at a cost of 100 gp per hp. If the original creature had the ability for fast healing or regeneration, would it work?
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When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against a sibriex's corruption, does it ignore the aura's difficult terrain?
The (legacy) sibriex (Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes page 137) has the following trait:
Contamination. The sibriex emits an aura of corruption 30 feet in every direction. Plants that aren't creatures ...
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Can you stack swarms?
Swarm of Bats for example states:
Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny bat. The swarm can’t regain ...
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What is the range of a Flaming Skull's spitfire attack?
In pathfinder 2, a Flaming Skull has a ranged attack called spitfire:
Ranged [one-action] spitfire +10 [+6/+2] (agile, fire), Damage 1d12+2 fire
What is the range increment for this attack?
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Is this quest possible without being too easy?
I'm concocting a scenario for my players. In this scenario, in order to convince a ghost to hand over the keys to a valuable piece of property, they'll be given a quest:
"To redeem {a paladin ...
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In Dragonlance, what color is goblin blood?
In the Dragonlance setting of D&D, what color is goblin blood?
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What level should a party of 10 be in order to defeat a lich?
I'm running a homebrew campaign for a party of 10 players in DnD 5e (bard, druid, rogue x2, paladin x3, warlock, monk, cleric). I'm planning for a lich to be one of the major encounters before they ...
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How does negative energy interact with shadow dragons?
I'm going to be running a shadow dragon in a game soon and after reading this question,
Are negative levels necessarily energy drain?
I became confused about how negative levels and negative energy ...
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Does Turn the Unholy work on fallen Celestials?
The description for the Oath of Devotion Paladin feature Turn Unholy mentions fiends and undead, but what about corrupted celestials that still have the celestial type (such as the Radiant Idol in ...
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Would the Pain Shriek of a Corpse Orgy affect other Corpse Orgies?
The Corpse Orgy has an ability called Pain Shriek. If another Corpse Orgy is within range, does it take damage? They are smart enough to avoid damaging each other, so before I run the encounter, I ...
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What creatures/magic items have/can give resistance/immunity to nonmagical damage?
In 5e, I'd like to know the ways in which a creature can have immunity to all types of nonmagical damage, either through a stat block or a magic item. Specifically, I'm looking for a complete list ...
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Can a phoenix break up the movement it gets as part of its Swoop legendary action?
The Phoenix, found in Monsters of the Multiverse, gets a legendary action called Swoop, which reads:
The phoenix moves up to its speed and makes one Fiery Talons attack.
The phoenix's flying speed ...
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2
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Can someone use True Polymorph to breed real, rare or legendary monsters?
Question Type: Theory Crafting (with a comical twist)
The spell in question: True polymorph
Goal: Breed baby versions of "Real" legendary or Ultra Rare monsters with legendary and Lair ...
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How can you keep a devil from reforming in hell?
The lore in the monster entry for devils says:
If it dies outside the Nine Hells, a devil disappears in a cloud of sulfurous smoke or dissolves into a pool of ichor, instantly returning to its home ...
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What happens when you kill a devil but they can't reform in Hell?
Basically I'm looking for the devil version of a shadow demon. Should I just use the shadow demon statline?
I don't care about the mechanical aspect, I just want to know if I'm overlooking something ...
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Does the Devourer target itself with soul rend?
The Devourer monster from Monsters of the Multiverse has an ability called Soul Rend. The abilities does the following:
Soul Rend (Recharge 6). The devourer creates a vortex of life-draining energy ...
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AD&D 2e Creature immunities
So, unless I'm missing something, AD&D 2nd edition is not very informative about creature immunities... As a result, such things are up to individual Dungeon Master interpretations and campaign ...
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At what level does average incoming damage exceed 21?
I am looking towards concentration saves, and getting to +9 means automatic success on a low damage check, or a check up to 21 damage.
At some point I assume the average single hit may exceed 21, ...
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History of Tarrasque in RPGs
The tarrasque is one of the iconic monsters of Dungeons and Dragons, designed to be a creature that is nearly impossible for players to deal with - or at least challenging them to be creative.
But in ...
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What are some different predators I can add for my world building? [closed]
I'm currently building a fantasy world to use in a future campaign, and I need some ideas and descriptions of different apex predators, both rare and common, to add to my world.
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Monkey Demon Boss Design
LATTER DAYS CAMPAIGN PLAYERS SHOULD SKIP THIS POST
In my campaign, there is a demon trapped in an artifact and forced to grant wishes. Though generally I rule wishes by intent and not trickery, this ...
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Can you use True Polymorph and an Intellect Devourer to potentially learn Deep Speech and a secret?
I have been thinking of making a homebrewed campaign where, as part of a bigger plot, the party needs to learn Deep Speech and a secret that a particular Intellect Devourer learnt from consuming the ...
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Can an Intellect Devourer use Body Thief on body that already has an Intellect Devourer in its skull?
From looking at the mechanics of Body Thief I can't see why not, but I may be missing something.
The intellect devourer initiates an Intelligence contest with an
incapacitated humanoid [...] If it ...
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How long do Intellect Devourers live?
I can't see any information on the lifespan of an Intellect Devourer in the 5th edition of D&D monster manuals. Is there any information that says or hints in other sources/books, including past ...
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Can a Gnoll Pack Lord target itself for Incite Rampage?
Incite Rampage (Recharge 5–6).
One creature the gnoll can see within 30 feet of it can use its reaction to make a melee attack if it can hear the gnoll and has the Rampage trait.
A Gnoll pack lord ...
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Can a psion with Metamorphosis and Assume Supernatural Ability create an army of Scythers of Thoon under his command?
Metamorphosis yourself and your psicrystal into Madcrafters of Thoon.
Use Assume Supernatural Ability: Launch Spawn to create as many Scythers of Thoon you want. Use some form of infinite healing to ...
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How to create systemless stats for monsters?
I'm writing a monster compendium that focuses on the lore of creatures, such as their behavior, habitat, and mythology, rather than on game mechanics. However, I'd like to include basic stats for each ...
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Do players/characters know when a monster uses its Legendary Resistance?
Assuming that players are causing a monster with the Legendary Resistance ability to make enough saving throws that it will use them all up, should the players be aware when that point has come? (As a ...
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Are undead immune to exhaustion?
Simple question, are undead immune to exhaustion? My DM seemed to think so just based upon the fact they are undead. I said that unless their stat block specifically states they are immune to ...
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Obzedat Ghost summoning ability
Going to run some undead for a boss fight, and while I was looking through some potential bosses I found the Obzedat Ghost. They seemed pretty interesting, in particular this ability:
Convene the ...
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Can an Intellect Devourer in its new body continue to gain levels? (D&D 5e)
In D&D 5e, When an Intellect Devourer consumes the brain of a 3rd-level fighter, for instance, can it continue to gain fighter levels?
Or due to its monstrous nature, is it locked to that 3rd-...
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Can a tiny mimic turn into a magic sword?
In a manga I read recently, a nobleman had ruled his town diligently with the aid of a "Holy Sword" that was written so beautifully as a Blackrazer, having installed a bloodlust in their ...
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Does Halfling's Brave trait grant advantage on Bodak's Death Gaze?
The Halfling's Brave trait states:
You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
But in the statblock the Death Gaze trait does not impose the condition frightened, it refers only to ...
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Can a Devil variant of the Fiendish Spirit summoned by the Summon Fiend spell grapple a creature and also use its Hurl Flame action with multiattack?
Premise
Can a Devil variant of the Fiendish Spirit summoned by the Summon Fiend spell perform a Grapple as one of its attacks on its turn, and also use its Hurl Fire ranged spell attack?
Per the ...
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What is the origin of the Beholder?
The Beholder is one of the games most iconic monsters. It is on the title of the Fifth Edition Monster Manual. It has spawned a whole collection of creatures, including undead Death Tyrants, Gazers, ...
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What statistics are exactly eligible for polymorph?
This question came from trying to understand if you can polymorph someone into an armored sabre-tooth tiger, if that creature has no explicit printed stat block.
It's clear that an actual stat blocks, ...
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What was the big pillar-shaped Beholder in 3.5?
There was a specific type of Beholder that I used as a shapechange target in 3.5, but I can't remember exactly what it was called, or its specific abilities. What I remember is that it wasn't a ...
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How does an angel's Protective Aura affect its spells and allies' spells?
Angels in Pathfinder 1E all have the Protective Aura supernatural ability:
Protective Aura (Su) Against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures, this ability provides a +4 deflection bonus ...
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Are there magic items that allow a character to shapeshift?
I am trying to create a character that can temporarily change its form into that of a dragon, with wings, flight, breath weapon, claws and so on -- a real dragon, even if only a small one.
Are there ...
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Are all souls of equal value?
The Monster Manual's Devil entry describes how devils desire souls and enter into contracts with mortals to gain them.
To own a creature's soul is to have absolute control over that creature, and ...
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Can a vampire spawn turn someone else into a vampire spawn
I don’t know much about DND, but this question keeps chewing on my brain. I know a vampire can turn someone into a spawn and after that they can turn them into a true vampire. But can the spawn ...
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Can a warlock be transformed into a devil for breaking their pact?
Baldurs Gate 3 is oriented in 5th Edition. We can see in the game that a cambion transforms a human into a devil after he breaks a term of his pact. Is this possible in D&D 5th Edition? Normally ...
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Intercepting a grappled Bite Swallow attack in place of an ally with Vigilant Guardian: What happens?
Let's use a Giant Toad as an example:
Bite. The target is grappled, escape dc 13 Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the toad can't bite another target
Swallow. The toad makes one ...
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Does Change Shape alter a creature mechanically?
To better illustrate my doubt: a gray ooze has the false appearance ability:
False Appearance: While the ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an oily pool or wet rock.
Meanwhile, in ...
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Is there a RAW monster that can create large quantities of water without magic?
I've asked the google and can't find anything, and I feel as though I've looked pretty deeply into the monster manual, but I'm wondering if there's a monster that can naturally create large quantities ...
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Are an Onyx Dog’s attacks magical? [duplicate]
The figurine of wondrous power is a magic item, and therefore by the definition in the SAC, magical in a game-mechanical sense, i.e. activating it would not work in an antimagic field, detect magic ...