D&D 5E 5e Updates: Monstrous Compendium

[dave2008]

But why not stay closer to 3e, 4e and 5e CRs, and then let the number of mythic stages be the upscaling factor, like you considered in an earlier post?

That is a definite possibility, the CR's are not set.

However, I am not going to be slave to tradition. It is not like these things are consistent anyways. I mean Demogorgon had 3 different CRs in 3e/3.5e! BoVD = CR 30; Fiendish Codex 1 = CR 23; Dragon 357 = CR 33. That is a 10 point spread! By that token I could make a CR 37 version of Demogorgon for 5e.

Anyway, I've got to do what I find interesting, fun, and just feels right to me, or it just will not happen. That, to me, is more important than an adherence to an arbitrary history.

Edit: myself I'm thinking a base CR of the 4e CR minus 5 (except Gods) . So Demogorgon CR29, Tiamat CR30,Orcus CR28, Ancient Red Dragon CR25, Lolth CR34 and so on (minor adjustment for some monsters like the Tarrasque).

Why subject 5? 4e Demogorgon at lvl 34 is pretty close to the only really epic Demogorgon in 3.5e at CR 33. And this are "epic" updates? I actually based my original epic update CR off the 4e lvls. Regardless I will revisit all of this when I get back to it in a month or so.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Why subject 5?

The thought was, it makes it close to official 5e CRs and this is the edition they're designed for after all.

I actually based my original epic update CR off the 4e lvls.

That also imo feels like a nice spot. Maybe aim for around that?

Regardless I will revisit all of this when I get back to it in a month or so.

Looking forward to it.

 

[dave2008]

Troll by Chrissante

Troll, Cave
Medium Giant, chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 68 (8d8+32; bloodied 34)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)	7 (-2)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)

Savings Throws Dex +6, Con +6, Wis +3
Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3, Stealth +8
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive perception 13
Languages Giant
Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Ambusher: In the first round of a Combat, the troll has advantage on Attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.

Cave Skulker. The troll can use a bonus action to hide in dim light or darkness if it is in a cave or rocky terrain.

Keen Senses. The troll has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and/or sound.

Hunter's Reflexes (1/short rest). Until the end of its next turn the troll’s speed is doubled, it gains a +2 bonus to its AC, it has advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and it can make an addition claw attack with its multiattack action.

Regeneration. The troll regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the troll takes acid or fire damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the troll’s next turn. The troll dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

Spider Climb. The troll can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the troll has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The troll makes two claw attacks and one bite attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target grappled by the troll or restrained or incapacitated. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. If the troll hits the target with two claw attacks on the same turn, the target is also grappled.

 

[dave2008]

New Order by Spectrum Shift

Yuan-ti Anathema Sovereign
Champion Huge monstrosity (shapechanger, yuan-ti), neutral evil

Armor Class 18 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 288 (18d12 + 72; bloodied 144)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
23 (+6)	13 (+1)	19 (+4)	19 (+4)	17 (+3)	20 (+5)

Saving Throes Dex +5, Con +9, Int +9, Wis +8
Skills Acrobatics +5, History +8, Intimidation +9, Perception +7, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning
Damage Immunities Poison
Condition Immunities Poisoned
Senses Blindsight 30 ft., Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 17
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic
Challenge 12 (12,600 champion XP) Proficiency Bonus +4

Magic Resistance. The anathema has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects and any creature that makes a spell attack against the colossus has disadvantage on the attack roll.

Ophidiophobia Aura. Any creature of the anathema’s choice, other than a snake or a yuan-ti, that starts its turn within 30 feet of the anathema and can see or hear it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of snakes and yuan-ti. A frightenedtarget can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this aura for the next 24 hours.

Shapechanger. The anathema can use its action to polymorph into a Huge giant constrictor snake, or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed.

Shed Skin (Champion Trait, recharges after a short or long rest). If the anathema is bloodied, it can remove one condition or effect it is suffering, and it can use its champion actions.

Six Heads. The anathema has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, or knocked unconscious.

ACTIONS
Multiattack (Anathema Form Only). The anathema makes two claw attacks and one Flurry of Bites attack.

Claw (Anathema Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) slashing damage.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage at the start of each of its turns, and the anathema can’t constrict another target.

Flurry of Bites. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 27 (6d6 + 6) piercing damage plus 21 (6d6) poison damage and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned.

Acid Splash. The anathema magically hurls a bubble of acid at one creature, or two creatures that are within 5 feet of each other, within 60 feet of it that it can see. The target must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) acid damage.

Innate Spellcasting (Anathema Form Only). The anathema’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: acid splash (refer to actions), animal friendship (snakes only), charm person, message
3/day each: charm monster, darkness, entangle, fear, haste, suggestion, polymorph
1/day: divine word, mass suggestion

CHAMPION ACTIONS
Once the anathema's champion trait is activated, on its initiative count +10 it can take one of the following actions.

Slither. The anathema can move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Spellcasting (Recharge 5-6). The anathema can cast an at will spell.

 

[imeannoharm]

Absolutely, I am always interested in the daemon/yugoloth lords. Personally I prefer the "General of Gehenna" to be mirage created either by the Oinodaemon or the hags (can't remember what they are called) to create confusion, stress, fear, etc. There is no "General of Gehenna," it is just the Oinodaemon by another name, at least that is my thought.

PS I am a big believer in Anthraxus

That is a good idea! I was thinking he was more of an avatar of Oino. After all Greyhawk says he is a demigod. That also gives me a chance to piece together my lore! IMO General is actually a Horseman that created the demons and baatorians (the devils that came before devils).
-Gigabite

 

[imeannoharm]

I'm all about bigger numbers man! And there will be more powerful versions of Demogorgon and Tiamat to come. I will keep these puny versions up though.

Personally, when it comes to gods and archfiends, I'm not to worried about making things for groups at 20th lvl + a few boons. I want those beast to be over-the-top. However, the great thing with the mythic stages and you can stop at any stage and tailor the difficulty of the encounter. To use your example, you can fight Annam as:

Legendary Annam: 1,230 HP
Mythic Annam: 2,230 HP
Mythic Annam, Stage 2: 3,330 HP
Mythic Annam, Stage 3: 4,330 HP

This way you get 4 different levels of threat. He can discorporate (need to clarify that in the traits) at any stage of the process. It can work for people who want to just use a 20th level + a few boons or someone who is using a epic lvl 30 or even 40 pc. And it accommodates different size groups that way as well. Of course it is not just bigger numbers. Most stages bring new options to the table as well. I hope to emphasize this more as I get better at them.

Hard to believe Monster Manual monsters of CR 20 are supposed to be an even match for 20th level characters!

 

[dave2008]

Hard to believe Monster Manual monsters of CR 20 are supposed to be an even match for 20th level characters!

Not really, that is a common misconception. If you dig into the numbers in the DMG (and I mean dig, it is not just in the encounter difficulty table) a single CR 20 monster should be a hard challenge for three (3) lvl 20 PCs. Now a hard challenge only offers "...a slim chance that one or more characters might die." IMO, that is not a "match" for the party as you put it. I don't even think a deadly encounter which "...could be lethal for one or more player characters," qualifies as a match. But that is closer.

So for a group of three lvl 20 PCs you need at least a CR 22 monster and probably higher to get close to a match. Now, of course most groups are more than three PCs, so you need to go even higher for most groups. On top of all of that, the MM appear to be generally balanced around the idea that you don't use magic items, feats, or multiclassing (all optional in 5e). So what is lacking in the DMG, IMO, is advice on how to make monsters tougher or adjust the encounter challenge budget for groups that use and/or optimize.

 

[dave2008]

Air elemental by Artem Dasaev

Elder Air Elemental
Huge elemental, neutral

Armor Class 16
Hit Points 152 (16d12 + 48; bloodied 76)
Speed 0 ft., fly 100 ft. (hover)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	22 (+6)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	9 (+)0

Savings Throws Dex +10, Con +7, Wis +5
Skills Acrobatics +10, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing that is nonmagical.
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Auran
Challenge 10 (11,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4

Air Form. The elemental can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. The elemental can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing if air can pass through the space.

Limited Magic Resistance. The elemental has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects of 3rd level or lower and any creature that makes a 3rd level or lower spell attack against the elemental has disadvantage on the attack roll.

Untethered. The elemental has advantage on effects that would inflict the incapacitated condition.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The elemental makes three attacks, any combination of slam and wind lance attacks.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage,

Wind Lance. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6+6) piercing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet.

Whirlwind (Recharge 4-6). The elemental creates a storm filled with swirling wind and debris within a 15-foot radius of itself. Any creature in the area must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw taking 16 (3d8 +3) bludgeoning and 4 (1d8) piercing damage and is flung up 30 feet away from the elemental in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.

If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn't flung away or knocked prone.

Innate Spellcasting. The elemental’s spell casting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with attack spells). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:

At will: gust of wind, shocking grasp (5th level)
2/day each: lightning bolt, thunder wave (3rd level)
1/day each: storm sphere

Summon Elementals (1/day). The elemental summons 1d6 air elementals to unoccupied spaces within 80 feet of the elemental.

BONUS ACTIONS
Quick Casting (1/short rest). The elemental can cast an at-will spell.

REACTIONS
Windy Escape. When the elemental is hit by an attack it can use a reaction to move up to half its speed. Creatures have disadvantage on opportunity attacks to hit the elemental during this movement

 

[dave2008]

Elder Earth Elemental
Huge elemental, neutral

Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 200 (16d12 + 96; bloodied 100)
Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
23 (+6)	9 (+0)	23 (+6)	9 (+0)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Savings Throws Str +10, Con +10, Wis +5
Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +8
Damage Resistances cold, fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing that is nonmagical
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 80 ft., tremorsense 80 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Terran
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4

Earth Glide. The elemental can burrow through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. While doing so, the elemental doesn’t disturb the material it moves through.

Limited Magic Resistance. The elemental has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects of 3rd level or lower and any creature that makes a 3rd level or lower spell attack against the colossus has disadvantage on the attack roll.

Siege Monster. The elemental deals double damage to objects and structures.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The elemental makes two slam attacks.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage and the target must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone or pushed 10 feet, the elemental’s choice.

Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, range 90/ 180 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (4d10 +6) bludgeoning damage and the target must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If there are no rocks in the area the elemental can use a piece of its body, taking 7 (2d6) damage.

Rampage (Recharge 4-6). The elemental moves up to it speed and can enter the space of Medium or smaller creatures. The first time it enters a creature’s space, or comes within reach of a creature during the move, it can make a slam attack against the target.

Innate Spellcasting. The elemental’s spell casting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with attack spells). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:

At will: earth tremor, mold earth
3/day each: earthbind, earthen grasp
1/day each: erupting earth, move earth

Summon Elementals (1/day). The elemental summons 1d8 earth elementals, 1d4 elder earth elementals to unoccupied spaces within 120 feet of the primal elemental.

BONUS ACTIONS
Quick Casting (1/short rest). The elemental can cast an at-will spell.

 

[dave2008]

Elder Fire Elemental
Huge elemental, neutral

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 168 (16d12 + 64; bloodied 84)
Speed 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)	8 (-1)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)

Savings Throws Dex +8, Wis +5, Cha +5
Skills Intimidation +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing that is nonmagical.
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Ignan
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4

Consume. If the elemental is hit by an attack or effect that does fire damage, the elemental takes no damage and instead gains hit points equal to the amount of fire damage. This trait does not apply to attacks and effects created by the elemental.

Fire Form. The elemental can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the elemental or hits it with a melee attack while within 10 feet of it takes 11 (2d10) fire damage. In addition, the elemental can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. The first time it enters a creature's space on a turn, that creature takes 11 (2d10) fire damage and catches fire; until someone takes an action to douse the fire, the creature takes 11 (2d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. Additionally, the elemental sheds bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light in an additional 60 feet.

Limited Magic Resistance. The elemental has advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects of 3rd level or lower and any creature that makes a 3rd level or lower spell attack against the colossus has disadvantage on the attack roll.

Untethered. The elemental has advantage on effects that would inflict the incapacitated condition.

Water Susceptibility. For every 10 feet the elemental moves in water, or for every two gallons of water splashed on it, it takes 1 cold damage.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The elemental makes two burning touch or flame spear attacks.

Burning Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) fire damage. If the target is a creature or a flammable object, it ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 11 (2d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. If the target is hit with two burning touch attacks on the same turn, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or lose any resistance to fire damage for the next 12 hours,

Flame Spear. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 +4) fire damage.

Inferno (Recharge 6). The elemental makes a flame spear attack on all targets within 120 feet of it.

Innate Spellcasting. The elemental’s spell casting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with attack spells). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: control flames, fire bolt (5th level), produce flame
3/day each: burning hands (2nd level)
2/day each: fireball
1/day each: wall of fire

Summon Elementals (1/day). The elemental summons 1d6 fire elementals to unoccupied spaces within 80 feet of the elemental.

BONUS ACTIONS
Quick Casting (1/short rest). The elemental can cast an at-will spell.