New answers tagged monsters
1
Monsters technically need hands to provide components
Let's start by cutting off some categories: Magic items and (most) Psionics don't need somatic components at all:
Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item. The spell [...] requires no components, unless the item's description says otherwise.
— Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 141
A ...
3
This is slightly vague but its useful to note this general aspect written in the descriptions of each of the various Modron types:
Their own minds are networked in a hierarchal pyramid, in which each
modron receives commands from superiors and delegates orders to
underlings. A modron carries out commands with total obedience, utmost
efficiency, and an ...
5
The Pit Fiend’s fear aura ability reads:
If a creature's saving throw is successful, the creature is immune to the pit fiend's Fear Aura for the next 24 hours.
You would only be immune to the particular pit fiend’s ability. An ability explicitly states if saving against it immunizes you against the same ability from all creatures of that type. For example, ...
9
It's up to the DM, but there are two examples of monsters with hypnosis abilities we can draw guidance from.
The Kelpie (From White Plume Mountain in Tales from the Yawning Portal) has an ability called Drowning Hypnosis:
The kelpie chooses one humanoid it can see within 150 feet of it. If the target can see the kelpie, the target must succeed on a DC 11 ...
2
They betrayed Asmodeus when it suited their needs.
The Forgotten Realms novel Ashes of the Tyrant (2015) suggests that, just as the succubi betrayed the Abyss and defected to Asmodeus to become devils in the 4e era, many once again turned traitor and abandoned their loyalty to Asmodeus when it suited their purpose:
"But given the rebellion of the ...
1
Turn the Faithless does not state that it affects creatures on the Ethereal Plane, so it doesn't
Generally, class features only do what they say they do, in the same way that spells only do what they say they do. This Channel Divinity option does not state how it interacts with creatures on other planes, so the default assumption is that it doesn't interact ...
3
Turn the faithless has two conditions: “within 30 feet” and “can hear you”.
While it is likely that the hag can hear you, the hag is on a different plane, so the hag is not within 30 feet. The Dungeon Master's Guide explains:
The Ethereal Plane is a misty, fog-bound dimension. Its “shores,” called the Border Ethereal, overlap the Material Plane and the ...
2
They're in a different cosmology.
Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters, p.66-67 and 73, establishes the behind-the-scenes reasoning: among many lore changes introduced in 4e, designers redefined demons as monstrous and devils as humanoid, which required succubi to become devils. Chris Perkins writes:
The succubus succubus, for example, is the D&D game'...
12
These tags by themselves don't mean anything in mechanical terms
From the basic rules about monsters:
Tags
A monster might have one or more tags appended to its type, in parentheses. For example, an orc has the humanoid (orc) type. The parenthetical tags provide additional categorization for certain creatures. The tags have no rules of their own, but ...
2
The total effective enhancement bonus cannot exceed +4.
The effective enhancement bonus, or modified enhancement bonus, on a magic weapon includes numeric enhancement bonuses to attacks and damage (such as +1, +2, etc) plus any special ability with an enhancement bonus equivalent.
Some magic weapons have special abilities [...] A single weapon cannot have a ...
-4
Perhaps the authors of the previous editions in-universe texts were Clueless.
You could just write off previous material as being the result of scholars from the Prime Material plane who didn't know how the Outer Planes really worked. In Planescape, the term for individuals from the Prime Material was Clueless, and I believe that this may have been in part ...
4
Sadly, there is no in-universe explanation for the recategorization. There's a story presented in Dragon Magazine 417 but it's purely retcon. The real world reason is that it was a result of "demon" and "devil" being more clearly defined.
Demons are creatures corrupted by the Abyss that thrive on raw chaos and destruction. Devils are ...
1
A Varag from MM4 p.168 is a 3HD/LA+2 humanoid creature with 60 ft. base land speed.
Afterwards you can add features to increase move speed and make it undead under whatever constraints you need. For example the Shadow Creature template applies a 1.5x modifier on move speed for +2 LA. Dark creature is +1 LA and grants flat +10 to all movement moves. These can ...
2
I am not a lawyer, and I am not your lawyer. This answer is intended as legal education, not legal advice: I am trying to explain the situation as well as I can based on my own (untrained) understanding. If you have any questions, doubts, or concerns about how your planned actions square with any of this, you need to get your own lawyer to answer them.
How ...
14
Illithid tadpole is used when it may not be clear from context that mind flayer young are being described.
"Tadpole" seems to be the consistently used term.
From the AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual (pg. 251):
Mind flayers live about 125 years. They are warm-blooded amphibians, and spend the first 10 years of life as tadpoles, swimming in the ...
49
The problem is in trying to apply Body Thief to the Simulacrum in the first place. The RAW does not support that.
The Body Thief Action for intellect devourer says:
The intellect devourer initiates an Intelligence contest with an incapacitated humanoid...
So if the Simulacrum spell creates a creature of type humanoid, it could be targeted by this action. ...
4
No, because blindsight is part of the "stat block," not the "traits" of the monster description
While the intellect devourer retains its traits, blindsight is not a trait in the terminology of 5e, per se. This is how we know:
The "stat block" is introduced on p. 6 of the MM and its elements detailed on pp. 6-9. Note that the last element of the &...
1
For creatures wearing mundane armor, I would convert their equipment armor bonus using the 5E Equipment Guide or as a quick estimate Multiply the Pathfinder value by 0.8 rounded down. (AC +10 platemail becomes AC +8 platemail, AC +2 Leather becomes AC +1 Leather )
Dexterity Bonuses should probably be about the same in both game systems. I quickly skimmed ...
2
Kind of.
The psionics rules state the only effect, besides "being psionic", is that components aren't required (but I do no tknow of any monsters that do not say that anyway)
There may be some effects that only trigger off "being psionically" (though I can't think of any that are relevant)
A spell cast psionically may not be considered ...
33
... if the Earth Elemental is burrowed, weapon attacks have no way to attack it
Correct.
... because of the Earth Glide move, it makes sense that the PCs would lose track of the Earth Elemental
Incorrect. Unless the Earth Elemental takes the hide action, its location is known. The fact that it can move through the earth without disturbing it doesn't mean ...
28
I don't see any reason for it to not work, on the other hand, I don't see how it is broken either.
First off: yes, fighting an Earth Elemental in a completely earthy terrain with no worked structures gives it a good advantage. So does fighting a Water elemental (or even better example: a Water Weird) underwater. And yes, some creatures are a pain to defeat ...
26
The Githyanki and Githzerai are both Gith
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes details that the Githyanki and Githzerai are simply two factions of being a Gith:
But after they won their freedom, two factions among the gith disagreed on what kind of civilization they would forge.
The factions are mechanically described as sub-races of Gith, not as separate races. ...
16
The Githyanki and Githzerai are warring factions of the same species, Gith.
From MToF:
But after they won their freedom, two factions among the gith disagreed on what kind of civilization they would forge.
These factions are later described as the Githyanki and the Githzerai.
Further, MToF lists the two as subraces of Gith. No matter which you choose to ...
10
The spined devil would know the characters are within 120ft but not their specific location
First, I have to say that hiding an entire party behind a minor illusion is slightly unlikely since this can only create an object no larger than a 5ft cube. That would likely be quite a squeeze!
Nevertheless...
The Telepathy ability is listed as a special "...
12
Telepathy doesn’t tell you much about where the person you are communicating with is
The rules for Telepathy, at least as far as it applies to communications available to monsters, are laid out in the Monster Manual (under Languages, page 9 in my version).
The important bits here are (paraphrased):
The creature target with Telepathy needs to be in range
If ...
10
There probably is no in-universe answer
Your question is asked from the perspective of a blacksmith in (a non-specific) world of D&D. It's easy to forget from our lofty perspective of meta-knowledge, but for the characters in the game, this information is basically impossible to know.
Remember that the creatures our exceptional adventurers might ...
1
Give it magic/psychics powers!
One way to increase a monster CR is to give it spellcasting abilities, because it make your monster more polyvalent. As the DMG read:
Innate spellcasting and spellcasting. The impact of the spellcasting and innate spellcasting special traits on the monster's CR depends on the spells the monster has.
When determining the final ...
10
What have I done wrong?
You haven't made a sufficient threat to level 17 characters.
What would I need to do to make this creature a CR 22 creature, but still keeping the same relative strengths and weaknesses that the RAW aboleth has compared to the DMG table so that it still "feels" like an aboleth?
Generally, it needs to be tougher, more ...
-1
It doesn't really matter what edition you are looking at - the perspective should be that it is a "force of nature" that is almost completely indestructible. Only the very strongest party would have any (actually very little chance of beating it) and most likely - some, if not most of the party would still end up dead in attempting to fight it.
It ...
1
Sentinel can stop Engulf, but not if the PC with Sentinel is the one being Engulfed (usually)
BBeast's answer is correct, but leaves out that a Cube using Engulf doesn't leave the target's reach, and therefore doesn't typically provoke an opportunity attack. However, the third benefit of Sentinel could let you stop it after it Engulfed someone else while in ...
-2
The vampire's Misty Escape section in the stat block links up with the Chained to the Grave feature
Chained to the Grave states:
Chained to the Grave. Every vampire remains bound to its coffin, crypt, or grave site, where it must rest by day. If a vampire didn’t receive a formal burial, it must lie beneath a foot of earth at the place of its transition to ...
8
Yes, Sentinel can stop Engulf
Sentinel stops a creature from moving when you hit it with an opportunity attack. Specifically, "its speed drops to 0" and "this stops any movement they may have been taking."
Engulf uses movement and speed. It says "the cube moves up to its speed." This is quite clearly movement. This provokes an ...
4
A tiny animated object with wheels has 80 feet of land speed.
The Corrupted Creature template can make it an aberation.
The Corpse Creature template can then turn it into an undead.
I'd love a simpler solution than this, if it's relatively on par.
8
Note: There are bound to be ties. I have picked one creature from each speed category.
The Shrieker is an example of a creature with a move speed of zero.
If you are looking for non-zero move speeds, the toad has a 5 ft. move speed.
If you are looking for non-zero move speeds where the creature is large enough to be ridden, it is still 5 ft. One example is ...
12
There are several published creatures with non-Intelligence-based psionics
By a quick search on D&D Beyond for mentions of "psionics" or "psionic", there are several creatures who associate psionic spellcasting or abilities with ability scores other than Intelligence, including:
Thri-keen (psionics variant), Wisdom-based
Quaggoth ...
9
In previous editions, many different ability scores were used for psionic PCs.
This answer focuses primarily on PC options from previous editions - an answer looking at NPCs and monsters in 5th Edition would be better suited to the details of the question, but I'm more familiar with player-facing mechanics.
2nd Edition's Complete Psionics Handbook restricted ...
-1
I was going to suggest a quickling . . . But I can't find it anywhere for 3.x in official WOTC content. It is in the Tome of Horrors by Necromancer Games, but i don't have that book. Back in AD&D 2nd ed., they had a movement of i believe 240. They are a cursed subrace of brownie, if memory serves.
5
True dragons frequently have a 60 ft land speed. They can be commanded by a character with the appropriate domain on account of their having elemental subtypes (I.e. Water, fire, earth, air). Some Very Young dragons and all Wyrmlings have 8 or less HD. I mention these because 60' is very fast-- besides the option presented below, I think there isn't ...
1
It is true, on pg 272 of the 5e Monster Manual, it states:
They can't read, speak, emote, or communicate in any way except to nod, shake their heads, or point.
... and D&D Beyond - Skeleton entry states ...
Understands all languages it knew in life but can't speak
... but both of these interpretations seem to be relatively 'new' 5e expansions to d&...
25
One of the designers offered this commentary on the issue. While not an official ruling, it offers some clarity and is in the Sage Advice Compendium by WoTC.
It's a ghoul/ghast thing. They're exceptionally bad at biting. Monsters sometimes have stat quirks like that.
This gives a good idea of the thinking behind the idea.
So, in terms of lore, it's because ...
1
From a in-world point of view, proficiency would be defined as what you are proficient with. Do ghouls readily practice attacking foes with their mouths? The limbs are what humanoids usually attack with.
Evolutionary, creatures that perform bite attacks usually have no other option. As a result they tend to be evolved towards doing so. For example, by ...
1
The short answer is: the longest range of your currently equipped weapon. Or unarmed attack.
In your example, 90 ft is within light crossbow range, so they are 'in range' and should be included in the random creature pool.
However, the interpretation is ultimately up to the DM. The description is short and leaves much open to interpretation. The intent of ...
4
As you said, there is no limit listed. In 5e, range encompasses both normal and long range. That means you should select from all targets within normal range and long range.
In your example, a light crossbow has a range of 320 feet, so the Spectator who is only 90ft away can be targeted.
4
The description of spectators on page 112 of Monster Manual II for AD&D 1st edition says:
Spectators are summoned from Nirvana [...]
The description references the spectator returning to Nirvana several more times in the text (e.g. if it is not commanded to guard a treasure, can no longer fulfill this duty, or is released from service).
Nirvana is ...
11
Probably yes...
The rules for the monsters tell how they work in combat. Do they work in the same way outside of combat? This is up to the game master; it might be that this is a defense mechanism of the lair and beyond the direct control of the lich, and such is not active except when the lich is under direct attack, but it is at least equally plausible ...
13
Technically, souls can be captured only using Nightmare Haunting
This answer is a result of a literal reading of the description of the soul bag:
When an evil humanoid dies as a result of a night hag's Nightmare
Haunting...
If anything else was intended, it would say so, but it doesn't.
On the other hand, a DM can always adjust details as necessary. And ...
15
RAW No (under a very strict reading)
The Lich's legendary actions have the following description:
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the lich can take a lair action
Out of combat there is no "initiative count 20" so from a very strict reading of the rules the Lich cannot use lair actions.
It should be allowed for consistency's sake
...
24
Lair actions use the magic of the lair
Creatures use lair actions to "harness the ambient magic in [their] lair." There isn't any reason to believe that they can only do this while fighting.
Actions only exist when acting in initiative order
Actions codify things that can be done when characters are acting in initiative order. You can't take an ...
34
Spell slots recover on a long rest
The rules have a parenthetical supporting this
The spellcasting rule for monsters states the following (Monster Manual, p. 10; emphasis mine):
[...] A monster with the Spellcasting class feature has a spellcaster level and spell slots, which it uses to cast its spells of 1st level and higher (as explained in the Player's ...
15
Possibly immediately, but at the very least he will figure it out sooner or later, how sooner or later is up to the DM.
The Monster Manual entry for liches says:
A lich must periodically feed souls to its phylactery to sustain the magic preserving its body and consciousness. [...] A lich that fails or forgets to maintain its body with sacrificed souls ...
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