D&D 5E Full List of Monsters in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

dave2008 · Jan 14, 2022

Li Shenron said:
Which changes?

The no-OA movement is an interesting addition, but the removal of 2 out of 3 spells is simplifying a monster in an edition which since the start has been criticized for having too simple monsters.

There is also the general reorganization of the stat block, which has been known for a while but the OP may have been unaware. They are also getting rid of large spell list and just providing magic abilities like 4e did and only including a limited, mostly utility, spell list.

Li Shenron · Jan 14, 2022

MonsterEnvy said:
It does not really need Counterspell and Misty Step. The Extra Movement between attacks is interesting. It makes the monster more dynamic.

Nobody needs anything, it's more a matter of a monster using what it has. The more options, the better value for the DM.

Too many options can be counterproductive but this is hardly the case with this one.

dave2008 · Jan 14, 2022

MonsterEnvy said:
It does not really need Counterspell and Misty Step. The Extra Movement between attacks is interesting. It makes the monster more dynamic.

It certainly does. Making it a part of the multiattack action is interesting. I would have expected it to be a trait. This is a more streamlined approach.

MonsterEnvy · Jan 14, 2022

Li Shenron said:
Nobody needs anything, it's more a matter of a monster using what it has. The more options, the better value for the DM.

Too many options can be counterproductive but this is hardly the case with this one.

Well to be exact the they were removed cause those types of spells are going to be part of the stat block from now on. Reactions and Bonus Actions are their own part in the statblock now. So keeping them would have made it much larger.

dave2008 · Jan 14, 2022

Li Shenron said:
Nobody needs anything, it's more a matter of a monster using what it has. The more options, the better value for the DM.

Too many options can be counterproductive but this is hardly the case with this one.

To be fair, the new movement makes misty step particularly unneeded. It basically gets misty step as part of its standard action. Counterspell - well that is a different story a a bit of a nerf IMO.

Li Shenron · Jan 14, 2022

MonsterEnvy said:
Well to be exact the they were removed cause those types of spells are going to be part of the stat block from now on. Reactions and Bonus Actions are their own part in the statblock now. So keeping them would have made it much larger.

Aha! So reactions were not in the picture then? Then this is ok, and actually separating the action types is a very useful idea.

dave2008 · Jan 15, 2022

Li Shenron said:
Aha! So reactions were not in the picture then? Then this is ok, and actually separating the action types is a very useful idea.

I don't thinks so. I believe @MonsterEnvy is just pointing out that if it did include a reaction it would be in its own part of the statblock - increasing the size. However, the only change to the new statblocks is to give Bonus Actions (which used to be in the "traits" section) their own section as Reactions always had their own part of the stat block (see the Marilith below). It was just that not a lot of monsters had specific reactions listed.

MonsterEnvy · Jan 15, 2022

dave2008 said:
I don't thinks so. I believe @MonsterEnvy is just pointing out that if it did include a reaction it would be in its own part of the statblock - increasing the size. However, the only change to the new statblocks is to give Bonus Actions (which used to be in the "traits" section) their own section as Reactions always had their own part of the stat block (see the Marilith below). It was just that not a lot of monsters had specific reactions listed.

View attachment 149957

This is correct.

Creature Evolutions | Sage Advice | Dungeons & Dragons

This Sage Advice focuses on Creature Evolutions in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

dnd.wizards.com

Since 2014, spellcasting creatures have tended to have the Spellcasting trait, the Innate Spellcasting Trait, or both. Starting in 2021, we have merged those two traits into an action called Spellcasting. That action now appears in the “Actions” section of a stat block, and it has a few important qualities:

The Spellcasting action doesn’t use spell slots. A creature can cast the action’s spells a certain number of times per day.

The only spells that appear in the Spellcasting action are ones that take an action to cast. If a spell requires a bonus action, a reaction, or a minute or more to cast, that spell must appear elsewhere in the stat block. This change ensures that bonus actions and reactions—such as misty step and shield—aren’t hiding out in a list of spells.

We’re more selective about which spells appear in a stat block, focusing on spells that have noncombat utility. A magic-using monster’s most potent firepower is now usually represented by a special magical action, rather than relying on spells.