5E: Fifth Edition Monster Variants Inspired by Fourth Edition Sources

[Cleon]

[EDIT]There's also a reply on Post #300 that will probably appear on your browser's previous page.[/EDIT]

Here's a bit of feedback to get us started:

First off, does it need to be Large?

The AD&D Crimson Death (AC 0, HD 13, Dam 3d10) is a lot more powerful than a Vampiric Mist (AC 4, HD 3, Dam 1d8) but both are M in side.

Secondly, having both Hungry Mist do damage seems redundant since it has Siphoning Presence too. The original Vampiric Mist also couldn't pass through solid objects, so it doesn't need that bit about taking force damage if it ends up inside something.

Why not just give it Misty Form like the official Vampiric Mist rather than reinventing the wheel?

Misty Form. The mist can occupy another creature's space and vice versa. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can pass through it without squeezing. Each foot of movement in water costs it 2 extra feet, rather than 1 extra foot. The mist can't manipulate objects in any way that requires fingers or manual dexterity.​

Incidentally, the Crimson Death could also carry objects despite its vaporous form:

The crimson death is able to carry loads by levitating anything surrounded by its vaporous mass. Despite its vaporous nature, the crimson death possesses strength equal to a normal human. It is able to carry a passive weight equal to an adult human. If it attempts to pick up a struggling victim, it must make a successful attack roll for each round it carries the person. Failure means the person drops to the ground (suffering damage appropriate to the height of the fall).​

I'd wonder about giving the "Death" version the ability to manipulate objects and leave the "can't manipulate" bit in the Misty Form of the weaker "Vampire" version:

Misty Form #2. The [crimson death/blood mist/vaporous meanie/etc] can occupy another creature's space and vice versa. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can pass through it without squeezing. Each foot of movement in water costs it 2 extra feet, rather than 1 extra foot. The [NAME] can partially solidify to touch objects within its body but its vaporous tendrils have no strength or substance outside its space. It can manipulate objects within its space in ways that would require fingers or manual dexterity.​

 

[Casimir Liber]

I just stuck up "blood mist" as a placeholder name for the time being. "Crimson mist exists for the srd version. I guess "Scarlet Mist" or "Crimson death" or "red mist"? The canon version I was just leaving as the name. I was just imagining this as a larger and more malevolent version of the smaller one, associated with it but not necessarily its "master"

Lore might be just the more it consumes, the larger and more powerful it grows...?

 

[Cleon]

I just stuck up "blood mist" as a placeholder name for the time being. "Crimson mist exists for the srd version. I guess "Scarlet Mist" or "Crimson death" or "red mist"? The canon version I was just leaving as the name. I was just imagining this as a larger and more malevolent version of the smaller one, associated with it but not necessarily its "master"

Lore might be just the more it consumes, the larger and more powerful it grows...?

Scarlet Death?

The Crimson Mist is from a third-party source, Open Design's Creature Codex, so it has a similar SRD status to anything we come up with.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Scarlet Death I like

(I mean...we could also go with "Red death" as in "Masque of...")

(For background, in my homebrew campaign, Lilith as an embodiment of emptiness/desolation/loneliness is the progenitor of Ravenloft. Lilith later brought Cain, the first Vampire, into being. Cain the Hungry grew to monstrous proportions as a gigantic blood-titan - he is anger/hunger, while lilith is sadness/hunger. Cain eventually killed in ancient times - his blood falling on the earth where remnants are found as the Red Dust or Cinnabryl, and forged into red steel. So incorporating blood mists with various blood vampires etc.)

 

[Casimir Liber]

Yes, I like the idea that its greater power means that it can coaleasce its blood-mist into pseudopods to manipulate objects. Do we need to define a limit? Like a mage hand level strength or something?

I guess what I am aiming for is a boss-level monster that has the capability of combatting more than one opponent (which was why I was thinking of an ability to inflict damage as it passes through others) - happy to consider various alternatives on this though.

I have switched to Medium sized given all others are - I made it 12d8+36 for 90hp for the time being

 

[Cleon]

Before we get too carried away, I'd better post a couple of blank entries as placeholders for the Enworld versions of these conversions.

Yes, I like the idea that its greater power means that it can coaleasce its blood-mist into pseudopods to manipulate objects. Do we need to define a limit? Like a mage hand level strength or something?

No need to do that. It can just manipulate stuff normally according to whatever STR and DEX scores it has, provided it's manipulating items within its space.

I guess what I am aiming for is a boss-level monster that has the capability of combatting more than one opponent (which was why I was thinking of an ability to inflict damage as it passes through others) - happy to consider various alternatives on this though.

The simplest alternative is to have it accompanied by an entourage of the lower-CR Vampire Mists.

If they're all Medium sized they can keep on swapping position and passing through each other, which'll make it hard for an opponent to target the boss.

Guess you could give the Scarlet Death some leadership-style abilities, like being able to heal or empower a Vampire Mist by infusing some of its blood power into them.

I have switched to Medium sized given all others are - I made it 12d8+36 for 90hp for the time being

Those Hit Points might be a little low depending on how boss you want this boss monster. They can always be tweaked upwards latter though.

 

[Cleon]

Scarlet Mist
Medium undead, neutral evil
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 37 (5d8 + 15)
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
7 (–2)​	17 (+3)​	16 (+3)​	5 (–3)​	15 (+2)​	7 (–2)​

Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages —
Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Aura of Life Siphoning. Whenever a creature that is not an undead or construct ends its turn within 5 feet of the scarlet mist, the creature must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. If it fails, the target takes 6 (1d12) necrotic damage and the mist gains temporary hit points equal to the damage its aura caused.

Earthbound Flight. The scarlet mist can only fly within 10 feet of the ground. If it goes any higher, the mist descends to the ground without taking any falling damage.
OR
Tethered Flight. The scarlet mist can only fly within 10 feet of a surface able to support the weight of a Medium sized creature. It can spread its weight over a 10 foot wide area, allowing it to float across water or quicksand and fly next to the branches of a tree or across the top of a wheat field, but this counts as difficult terrain. If it flies any higher than 10 feet, the scarlet mist descends to the ground without taking any falling damage.
​

Mist Form. The mist can occupy another creature's space and vice versa. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can pass through it without squeezing. Each foot of movement in water costs it 2 extra feet, rather than 1 extra foot. The mist can't manipulate objects in any way that requires fingers or manual dexterity..

Sensitivity to Light & Flame. If a scarlet mist takes any amount of fire damage or radiant damage, it loses all its damage resistances until the start of its next turn.

Actions

Life Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Wave of Lethargy (Recharge 5-6). Every creature within 10 feet of the scarlet mist must succeed at a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) necrotic damage plus 7 (2d6) psychic damage and be slowed until the end of the mist's next turn.

Bonus Actions

Misty Movement. The scarlet mist moves up to 30 feet; this movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.


Description

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 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

Note: The original AD&D Vampiric Mist was a living vapor not a misty undead; it debuted as the Vampire Mist in I6 – Baltron's Beacon (1985) by Philip Meyers. See the "Blood Mist" entry for a conversion of that creature.

(This version is modelled after the Vampiric Mist from the 4E D&D adventure "Vainglorious" by Daniel Helmick in Dungeon Magazine #221 (December 2013).)

 

[Cleon]

Scarlet Death
Medium undead, neutral evil
Armor Class ## (type)
Hit Points ## (#d# + ##)
Speed ## ft., climb/fly/swim ## ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
## (+–#)​	## (+–#)​	## (+–#)​	## (+–#)​	## (+–#)​	## (+–#)​

Saving Throws Stat +#
Skills Skill +#, Skill +#
Damage Vulnerabilities type, type
Damage Resistances type, type
Damage Immunities type, type
Condition Immunities type, type
Senses ???vision/sense/sight ## ft., passive Perception ##
Languages ### —
Challenge # (### XP) Proficiency Bonus +#

Special Trait. ???.

Actions

Multiattack. The [NAME] makes ## attacks: ## with its ??? and ## with its ???.
Multiattack. The [NAME] makes ## ??? attacks or uses its ??? ###.
Multiattack. The [NAME] makes ## ??? attacks or ## ??? attacks. It can use its ??? in place of one ??? attack.

Attack. Melee Weapon Attack: +# to hit, reach # ft., one target. Hit: # (#d# + #) ??? damage.

Attack. Ranged Weapon Attack: +# to hit, range ##/## ft., one target. Hit: # (#d# + #) ??? damage.

Action (#/day). ???.
 ???.

Action (Recharge #-6 | Recharges After a Short/Long Rest). ???.
 ???.

Bonus Actions

Bonus. ???.
 ???.

Reactions

Reaction. ???.
 ???.

Legendary Actions

The [NAME] can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The [NAME] regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Action (Costs # Actions). ???.
 ???.


Description

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 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

(Originally appeared in Monster Manual II (1983) by Gary Gygax.)

 

[Casimir Liber]

ok - looking up Crimson Death..it's quite a distinct critter - a marsh-dwelling blood sucking critter that may or may not be undead and seems otherwise unrelated to vampires (?).

Buffed it to 16d8+48 (120hp)

Maybe it can "transfuse" hit points to the lesser vampiric mists if adjacent...?

 

[Cleon]

ok - looking up Crimson Death..it's quite a distinct critter - a marsh-dwelling blood sucking critter that may or may not be undead and seems otherwise unrelated to vampires (?).

The nature of a Crimson Death has changed over editions. The original was a weird living vapour of some sort, but it became an undead in Third Edition.

The Vampire Mist went through the same transformation from living vapour to misty undead. The original 1E AD&D version was specifically called out as being related to the crimson death and "suspected to be the immature form of that horror" but it became a similar-seeming living monster "deliberately created by a powerful vampire wizard" in 2E AD&D according to its MC5 Greyhawk Monstrous Compendium entry. It doesn't have any official 3E stats, but the 4E version that inspired this conversion was undead.

There's also a tiny relative in Faerûn, the Scarlet Dancer, which hunts in clouds of 10 to 100 dancers and is "similar to a crimson death mist" according to its 2E Monstrous Compendium writeups. It's origins are unknown, but the MC entry says some believe it's another product of a evil wizardry - in this case Zhentarim.

I'm assuming the Scarlet Death we're doing will be Undead, since we're basing the Vampiric Mist on the undead Dungeon #221 version.