D&D 5E 5e Updates: Monstrous Compendium

[dave2008]

Can't greater gods use 5 legendary actions?

The number of legendary actions is not related to divine rank anymore. It was not a useful distinction. A creature has as many legendary actions as it needs.

 

[dave2008]

As Stalker0 said you could miss only on a 3 or lower. And as you said it wouldn't last that long because the difficulty decreases as the Hezrou Horde's hp declines.
Putting that together mid-teen level characters shouldn't fear for their lives in this fight. But you said that to an extent, lesser God's weren't meant for 20th level + a few boons. CR 27 is like a lesser god. But even 22nd levels have no problem with this swarm. Would you consider bumping the A.C. to 19 to compensate?

Anything is possible, but I am not looking at swarms right now. However, this is not a lesser god type threat and if a group of 20th level PCs can take it down, I'm fine with that. In fact, that is how it should be IMO.

 

[dave2008]

Thank you for the review and comments.

sustained breath: I feel like your trying to force a flavor here, and complicating the mechanic to do that. A simple auto recharge covers 90% of the flavor of a dragon “sustaining” his breath over a few rounds, and it’s dirt simple. Yes it’s not exactly the same as a breath that you sweep around round to round...but it’s close.

I am basically fine with that (that is actually what I had several years ago actually); however, it needs to take the legendary actions for two rounds for the math to work. Just allowing it to recharge doesn't do that. I could simply state that it cost 6 legendary actions? Or include additional text about needing to use the legendary actions of both rounds. It is funky, either way, maybe:

Sustained Breath (Cost 3 Actions, 1/Short Rest). If the dragon used its breath weapon on its turn, the breath weapon recharges and the dragon can use it again on its next turn with an additional cost of three legendary actions.

That feels clunky too. I will think about it. I just don't think there is a 5e precedent for something like this, so we have to think outside the box a bit.

EDIT: I still think its simpler as a trait like I had it before. I can remove the additional limitation text as it is redundant an get this:

Sustained Breath (1/Short Rest). If the dragon's breath weapon is available, it can use its action and three legendary actions on two consecutive turns to use its breath weapon on both turns.

This seems pretty simple and clear to me, if not exactly 5e. But this trait/mechanic is never going to be typical 5e.

dragon fear: I’m on board with a simple 1 HD restriction on the general fear aura, and it’s auto fear until they are out of sensory range of the dragon. Perfect flavor, simple mechanics. I’m not sure why there needs to be special rules for familiars and trained pets and the like. Just like certain creatures are strong against magic, i think it’s fine that dragons are strong against “pet users”...let that be an interesting challenge for the players.

@Matrix Sorcica suggested it, but I am inclined to remove it as well. I will think about it.

dragon hide: you should definately add the dex notes to the ACs, else people will assume their is none.

Doesn't Medium Armor be definition mean that you get Dex modifier to a max of +2 to your armor class?

"Medium Armor offers more Protection than Light Armor, but it also impairs Movement more. If you wear Medium Armor, you add your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2, to the base number from your armor type to determine your Armor Class. "

I will add it if people feel it is needed, but it seems redundant to me.

overland flight: for the 2 round requirement, what is the motivation? Pure flavor, or is there a mechanical concern you are trying to address?

Flavor, it takes time to speed up.

wing buffet: why does the dragon need to land to use this ability? Is it so bad to just let them hover and maintain the ability but lose all the other attacks to do it?

No, but as written it is a movement, not an action (at least that is what I intended) and the dragon can still attack. However, it came from the 2e "stall" action which required it to land. I can see the thought process too. The dragon has stopped and can't just start flying again without pushing off the ground. Not saying this has to be the case, but it seems reasonable.

Technically I could see this happen in mid air too and then it would fall for a bit, but could continue flying. But perhaps that is over complicating things.

 

[Just Passing Through]

Hey Dave, I got a chance to look over these abilities and features and must say that these are all fantastic additions to a dragon's combat routine! Just a note on Crush, as written, only targets that dodge the attack and do not have a reaction are grappled, when I believe the intention was to make it so that those who were struck were grappled as well as knocked prone.

 

[dave2008]

Hey Dave, I got a chance to look over these abilities and features and must say that these are all fantastic additions to a dragon's combat routine! Just a note on Crush, as written, only targets that dodge the attack and do not have a reaction are grappled, when I believe the intention was to make it so that those who were struck were grappled as well as knocked prone.

Nice catch. I changed that one a few times and didn't get it all cleaned up. I've corrected it now. Thanks!

 

[Stalker0]

Technically I could see this happen in mid air too and then it would fall for a bit, but could continue flying. But perhaps that is over complicating things.

yeah 5e really really simplified flying rules, and all for the better. Those kind of complexities are just not needed in the system.

I think the idea that buffet is an attack that consumes movement is fine, but you don’t need to add in things like “move x feet” or “must land”, those types of flying motions were left behind in 5e.

on the sustained breath, for a vanilla dragon, on average the dragon will get 1.66 breaths in the first 3 rounds and still get all of its legendary actions (and there is a 9% chance it gets to breathe in all 3 rounds). So I think bumping it up to 2.33 breathes in 3 rounds should not break the bank, especially if we remove the risk of getting lots of breaths continuously and consume legendary actions. So how about this.

Sustained Breath (3 legendary actions, 1/rest): the dragons breath weapon is recharged. Once used, the dragon cannot recharge its breath weapon until it gets a short or long rest.

in theory the ideal way to use this is:

1) breathe
2) .33% chance to recharge.
3) use sustained breath and breathe

 

[Protonicmass]

Beholder Hive Mother
Huge aberration, lawful evil
View attachment 126224
Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points 287 (25d12 + 125)
Speed 0 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)
View attachment 126225

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	12 (+1)	21 (+5)	20 (+5)	17 (+3)	18 (+4)

View attachment 126226
Savings Throws Str +11, Con +11, Int +11, Wis +9, Cha +10
Skills Arcana +11, History +11, Intimidation +10, Perception +15
Damage Resistances force, psychic
Condition Immunities prone
Senses darkvision 240 ft., passive Perception 25
Languages Deep Speech, Undercommon
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)
View attachment 126227
Aberrant Resistance. If the beholder fails a saving throw, it can use a reaction and re-roll the saving throw.

Antimagic Cone. The beholder’s central eye creates an area of antimagic, as in the antimagic field spell, in a 300-foot cone. At the start of each of its turns, the beholder decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against the beholder’s own eye rays.

Hive Mother. The hive mother can cast, as a bonus action, dominate monster at-will against beholders and beholder-kin it can see within 180 feet of it. The hive mother does not need to concentrate to maintain control of dominated beholder kin and it can exert precise control as a bonus action. The hive mother can control a number of creatures whose total average hit points do not exceed 1000 and it has a telepathic link to the dominated creatures to a range of 10 miles. An unwilling beholder can resist a hive mothers control be succeeding on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw and other hive mothers are immune to this effect.

Limited Magic Immunity. Unless the beholder wishes to be affected, it is immune to cantrips, and it is has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects and any creature that makes a spell attack against it has disadvantage on the attack roll.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hive mother makes up to four attacks: one Bite attack and three Eye Ray attacks.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) piercing damage and the creature must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be grappled. A creature grappled in this way is also restrained.

Eye Rays. The beholder shoots a magical eye ray, choosing one target it can see within 180 ft. of it. Once it has selected an eye ray, it cannot use that ray again until the start of its next turn.

1. Charm Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the beholder for 2 hours, or until the beholder harms the creature.

2. Paralyzing Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 2 minutes. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success

3. Fear Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 2 minutes. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

4. Slowing Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target’s speed is halved for 2 minutes. In addition, the creature can’t take reactions, and it can take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

5. Enervation Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

6. Telekinetic Ray. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or the beholder moves it up to 30 ft. in any direction. It is restrained by the ray’s telekinetic grip until the start of the beholder’s next turn or until the beholder is incapacitated.

If the target is an object weighing 800 pounds or less that isn’t being worn or carried, it is moved up to 40 ft. in any direction. The beholder can also exert fine control on objects with this ray, such as manipulating a simple tool or opening a door or a container.

7. Sleep Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep and remain unconscious for 2 minutes. The target awakens if it takes damage or another creature takes an action to wake it. This ray has no effect on constructs and undead.

8. Petrification Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.

9. Disintegration Ray. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 54 (12d8) force damage. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, its body becomes a pile of fine gray dust.

If the target is a Large or smaller nonmagical object or creation of magical force, it is disintegrated without a saving throw. If the target is a Huge or larger object or creation of magical force, this ray disintegrates a 10-foot cube of it.

10. Death Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 66 (12d10) necrotic damage. The target dies if the ray reduces it to 0 hit points.

Spawn Beholder-kin (1/week). A piece of the hive mother drops off it and it suffers 75 hit points of damage. 3d8 gazers, 1d8 spectators, 1d6 gauths, or 1 beholder.

REACTIONS
Distant Dreams. When the beholder first drops below 110 hit points, it can teleport to an unoccupied space it can see within 120 feet of it.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The beholder can take 3 legendary actions, using the eye ray option below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Additionally, the beholder can use any unspent legendary actions at the end of the round and regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Bite: The hive mother makes a bite attack.
Eye Ray. The beholder uses an eye ray from the list of its available rays.
Move. The hive mother can move up to half its speed.
Regenerate. Gibbering hive mother regenerates 15 hit points
Swallow Whole (Costs 2 Actions). The hive mother makes a bite attack one a Large or smaller creature it has grappled. On a hit the creature is also swallowed. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the hive mother, and it takes 28 (8d6) acid damage at the start of each of its turns. If a creature is reduced to 0 hit points while swallowed, it dies and the hive mother regains 40 hit points.

If the hive mother dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone.

In case you wanted to know the Great Mother is the goddess of beholders, making her home in the 6th layer of the Abyss: "

• 6—the Realm of a Million Eyes: Home to the Great Mother, goddess of beholders. It is a network of tunnels dotted with living eyes. "

 

[dave2008]

In case you wanted to know the Great Mother is the goddess of beholders, making her home in the 6th layer of the Abyss: "

• 6—the Realm of a Million Eyes: Home to the Great Mother, goddess of beholders. It is a network of tunnels dotted with living eyes. "

As beholders are aberrations, they don't have deities (in the way I am defining them) in my view of things. However, the great mother is still a thing, she is just not a deity. Venerated, but not worshiped, by beholders.

 

[dave2008]

yeah 5e really really simplified flying rules, and all for the better. Those kind of complexities are just not needed in the system.

I think the idea that buffet is an attack that consumes movement is fine, but you don’t need to add in things like “move x feet” or “must land”, those types of flying motions were left behind in 5e.

on the sustained breath, for a vanilla dragon, on average the dragon will get 1.66 breaths in the first 3 rounds and still get all of its legendary actions (and there is a 9% chance it gets to breathe in all 3 rounds). So I think bumping it up to 2.33 breathes in 3 rounds should not break the bank, especially if we remove the risk of getting lots of breaths continuously and consume legendary actions. So how about this.

Sustained Breath (3 legendary actions, 1/rest): the dragons breath weapon is recharged. Once used, the dragon cannot recharge its breath weapon until it gets a short or long rest.

in theory the ideal way to use this is:

1) breathe
2) .33% chance to recharge.
3) use sustained breath and breathe

I will look at it, but I think I prefer my last revision. It is not a 5e norm, but I think I am ok with that. Unlike most of your suggestions, I just don't see yours as an improvement. My version may be non-standard, but it is clear, simple, follows the flavor and the math works. I am pretty sure your option fails on the math and it doesn't fit the flavor. I also don't like how the dragon can't use its breath weapon again until a Rest. Why would a dragon every do this?

 

[Protonicmass]

As beholders are aberrations, they don't have deities (in the way I am defining them) in my view of things. However, the great mother is still a thing, she is just not a deity. Venerated, but not worshiped, by beholders.

Essentially a Beholder goddess, but not a goddess of beholders.