D&D 5E Better Beasts?

[Paul Farquhar]

Made you one. The Giant Spitting Cockroach is based on the fire beetle with the cockroach's reputation for indestructibility turned into ridiculous con saves and radiation resistance. Added an acid spit to make it more of a threat to low level adventurers.

 

[dave2008]

Let's build some better beasties for our 5e games!

The beasts, especially the basic ones in the phb, are just...really, dreadfully, bland.

SO, what simple traits would you add, and what simple changes would you make, to make using beasts more interesting?

Love the idea, I have often had a similar thought. I will post some ideas. Maybe a list for easy access:

Better Beasties:
Cat Variants by @Paul Farquhar
Carnivorous Ape by @Volund
Cheetah by @dave2008
Crocodile by @dave2008
Furious Ape by @Paul Farquhar
Giant Crocodile by @dave2008
Giant Shark by @dave2008
Giant Spitting Coachroach by @Paul Farquhar
Giant Thrumming Cockroach b7 @Paul Farquhar
Gorilla by @dave2008
Tiger by @dave2008
Thieving Varmint by @Paul Farquhar
Tyrannosaurus by @dave2008
War Elephant by @dave2008

 

[Paul Farquhar]

A variant: Giant Thrumming Cockroach.

 

[dave2008]

Possessed by FleetingEmber

Tiger	Challenge 2
Large beast, unaligned	450 XP

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18; bloodied 25)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +5
Skills Athletics +6, Perception +5, Stealth +5
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 13
Languages --
Proficiency Bonus +2 Maneuver DC 14

Feline Speed (2/ Short Rest). When the tiger takes the Dash action it can move at 4 times its speed (160 ft.) during this movement.

Keen Senses. The tiger has advantage on Wisdom (Perception).

Pounce. If the tiger moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the tiger can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The tiger makes two claw attacks.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target that is grappled by the tiger or incapacitated. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. Additionally, if the tiger hits the same target with two claw attacks on the same turn, the target is also grappled.

BONUS ACTION
Feline Agility. The tiger can take the Dash or Disengage action.

Ferocious Bite. The tiger can make a bite attack against a prone or incapacitated creature or a creature it has grappled.


REACTIONS
Throat Bite. If a creature is grappled by the tiger at the end of the creature's turn, the tiger makes a bite attack against it with advantage.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The Thieving Varmint is meant to represent and tiny mammal, such as a ferret, trained rat, squirrel or trash panda raccoon that has developed significant rogue skills.

 

[dave2008]

AC Origins - Water Life by Sandra

Crocodile	Challenge 1
Large beast, unaligned	200 XP

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 42 (5d10 + 15; bloodied 21)
Speed 20 ft., swim 80 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	10 (+0)	16 (+3)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	5 (-3)

Saving Throws Str +4, Con +4
Skills Athletics +5, Stealth +2
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages --
Proficiency Bonus +2 Maneuver DC 13

Aquatic. The crocodile has advantage on attacks against creatures in water that do not have a swim speed.

Hold Breath. The crocodile can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

ACTIONS
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target not grappled by the crocodile. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

REACTIONS
Death Roll. If a creature starts its turn in water and is grappled by the crocodile, the crocodile spins and makes a bite attack. On a hit, the creature must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on all attacks, checks, and saving throws until the end of its next turn.

 

[dave2008]

Deinosuchus-ARK Mod by Davesrightmind

Giant Crocodile	Challenge 6
Huge beast, unaligned	2,300 XP

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 85 (9d12 + 27; bloodied 42)
Speed 20 ft., swim 100 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
21 (+5)	9 (-1)	17 (+3)	2 (-4)	10 (+0)	7 (-2)

Saving Throws Str +8, Con +6
Skills Athletics +8, Stealth +5
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages --
Proficiency Bonus +3 Maneuver DC 16

Aquatic. The crocodile has advantage on attacks against creatures in water that do not have a swim speed.

Hold Breath. The crocodile can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The crocodile makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its tail. It cannot attack the same creature with both attacks.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target not grappled by the crocodile. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

REACTIONS
Death Roll. If a creature starts its turn in water and is grappled by the crocodile, the crocodile spins and makes a bite attack. On a hit, the creature must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on all attacks, checks, and saving throws until the end of its next turn.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

An angry alpha male chimpanzee is far more powerful than any human, and has huge teeth. Behold the furious ape.

 

[dave2008]

An angry alpha male chimpanzee is far more powerful than any human, and has huge teeth. Behold the furious ape.

Actually, a male chimp is not stronger than the strongest people. It is about 2-2.5 x the strength of the average person. If you look at the strongmen competitions, those guys exceed that metric.

Example: Average man can deadlift between 150-300lbs. The "Mountain" can deadlift over a 1,000 lbs.

PS - thank you contributing!

 

[Weiley31]

You might try giving some beasts barbarian class levels.

I don't know why but for some reason, I like that idea A LOT!