Blog (A5E) Level Up Monster Preview: Green Dragon

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition's Monstrous Menagerie contains more in-depth treatments of the O5E monsters you already know and love. We include interesting, varied actions which will surprise your players, and a range of new tools to enhance monster encounters — signs, behaviors, lairs, encounters, treasure, names, and more.

If you follow us on Twitter you may have seen the Bugbear preview we shared a few days ago. Below, there’s a bigger monster. A green dragon.

Monster Preview: Green Dragon — Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

If you follow us on Twitter you may have seen the Bugbear preview we shared a few days ago. Below, there’s a bigger monster. A green dragon.

www.levelup5e.com

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It’s not a new game. I can’t reiterate this enough. It’s not a new game. This is 5E. It’s so important to us that we’re not making a new game. If you know how to play 5E, you can play this.

Yes, that is the start of my counter-argument! (But some of my players will look doubtful at new books that are not just 100% adventures for me to run for them.)

...And demoing it at the store is to show off how awesome it is and get people to buy it!

 

[dalisprime]

Question: when you say you're advancing 5e monsters, you mean the ogl crew, right? Or will you rename (and re-image? Not sure how limiting copyright is in that regard) mind flayers etc to be able to rework them in your book?

 

[RangerWickett]

We were actually talking about what could fill the same niche as mind flayers, since those are withheld as Wizards of the Coast intellectual property.

Let me ask: how do you feel about humanoid parasitic wasps?

 

[dave2008]

We were actually talking about what could fill the same niche as mind flayers, since those are withheld as Wizards of the Coast intellectual property.

Let me ask: how do you feel about humanoid parasitic wasps?

I'm personally not a fan, but don't let that stop you!

 

[Morrus]

Question: when you say you're advancing 5e monsters, you mean the ogl crew, right? Or will you rename (and re-image? Not sure how limiting copyright is in that regard) mind flayers etc to be able to rework them in your book?

You'll have to use WotC's versions of those monsters. There's a small handful of critters we can't touch. But the O5E versions will still work just fine in an A5E game!

 

[tetrasodium]

We were actually talking about what could fill the same niche as mind flayers, since those are withheld as Wizards of the Coast intellectual property.

Let me ask: how do you feel about humanoid parasitic wasps?

They were enough to make Darwin write this

Spoiler

With respect to the theological view of the question: This is always painful to me. I am bewildered. I had no intention to write atheistically, but I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars …

If they could make him doubt the existence of God they are probably a good template for a scary monster.

Spoiler: anecdotally though

I put those together for one encounter.. once.. in 2017... with one group... they were so traumatized by reading the infectious touch/parasitic passenger section of the statblock I printed out that despite never using them since those players are still occasionally looking at me in horror any time a fight seems to take longer than expected saying "Check. The. Ears." so they are definitely a terrifying model

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Let me ask: how do you feel about humanoid parasitic wasps?

Perfect. I can see a creature almost zombified, the innards filled with hive like matter. Communicating through antennas bursting from the mouth of their victims.

A victim slowly morphing in a Queen (maybe inspired by the Dragon Age Broodmothers), being fed mind-controlling royal jelly to start spawning Drones at larvae state.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

We were actually talking about what could fill the same niche as mind flayers, since those are withheld as Wizards of the Coast intellectual property.

Let me ask: how do you feel about humanoid parasitic wasps?

The Zeikune from the Menace Manual is OGC.

 

[embee]

My only "quibble" is that there doesn't seem to be a need for a more advanced level version of something like a green dragon because, as written, the MM green dragon is an extremely deadly foe. The trick is to not run it as a moron. Green dragons are the most conniving and duplicitous of the chromatics and, sadly, are not often run as such.

My favorite trick to do with a green dragon is to have it take full advantage of its environment and, well, basic chemistry. Green dragons dwell in forests. So there will likely be some kind of water in the general area - either a lake or a pond or a river. The MM even states that they are amphibious. So they can breathe just fine underwater. So, take the chlorine gas that the dragon breathes, mix it with water, and you can (if you house rule/DM fiat it) have an acid breath attack.

Now, given that the green dragon breath weapon needs about 5-6 rounds to recharge, having a second breath weapon attack is not likely. But, if the combat lasts that long and the dragon hasn't already bugged out due to falling below its HP threshold to retreat, it's a good trick to have up the sleeve.

Overall, I like this. I'm just not sure of the practicability given that the original green dragon is too often not played to the hilt.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

My only "quibble"....

I don't think they mean "tougher" per se when they say "advanced". I think they mean "more mechanically interesting, with some expanded crunchiness, along with a few features that engage with the expanded crunchiness of the likewise-advanced PCs".

I don't think it's meant as an indictment of the O5E version.