Homebrew A Leveled Up Bestiary

[Faolyn]

Another great little creature.
I always find it amusing that so many myths have creatures who spend their time doing “wicked” things, but who then step-in behind conventional morality to either “punish adulterers” or punish naughty children.

I have to imagine that most of the time, someone was telling a story to children, mostly to entertain but partially to scare them into obedience, saw that Bob The Jerk was listening in and decided to modify the story a little bit, just to see Bob The Jerk squirm a bit. Then the kids grew up and didn't realize that modifications weren't real, and the story continued.

 

[GuyBoy]

My great grandmother (who was born in the East End of London in 1879) used to tell me as a child that if I was naughty, Jack the Ripper would get me!!!
This was both terrifying for me, highly questionable by her, but also reflecting that she was a little girl when the actual events were occurring.

 

[Faolyn]

Ed Greenwood strikes again! Here he’s producing a bunch of “Forgotten Realms only” monsters. You know, when I first got into D&D as a kid and was buying up every loose-leaf Monstrous Compendium Appendix they put out, it never once occurred to me that you were supposed to only use a setting’s monster in that setting. I always figured they could be used anywhere they felt right in.

The first monster is one of those “gotcha” creatures, designed specifically to mess with adventurers: the lock lurker. Clearly this is a monster created by mad wizard, even if the text doesn’t say, as they clearly couldn’t evolve and the only D&D god of locks I know of is in Greyhawk. And this is a Realms-only monster, so that’s out. But it’s a great assassin’s tool and is can be more interesting than merely using poison in the wine in your intrigue-based games.

The original article mentions how the lock lurker can use its sting 40+ times per day (which is reiterated in their 2e appearance in MCA#1), which once again makes me wonder how long Ed thought combats would last. Or maybe he had a player at his table who said, “ackchully, a scorpion can only produce up to two milligrams of venom at a time, so there’s no way that a lock lurker could sting everyone in the entire party; it shouldn’t be able to paralyze me at all coz it already stung the thief and the fighter,” and Ed had to say they could sting 40 times a day, and they stored that extra venom on the Ethereal Plane (no, seriously), or else throw a tarrasque at the player (not the PC; the player).

(Fun fact: scorpion venom costs $39 million dollars per gallon.)

As a warning, lock lurkers guys hit way above their CR—not in terms of damage but in terms of long-lasting effects. I actually wonder if they might work better as a trap done in Encounter Challenge style than as a monster.

Art by Tony DiTerlizzi, from Monstrous Compendium Annual #1

Lock Lurker
The Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Ed Greenwood

Most of the time, a lock lurker resembles a small copper, brass, or gold coin, complete with “engravings” on them. These magical creatures actually have a dozen pairs of multi-jointed legs that end in clinging setae, a tiny mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth, and a very long, scorpion-like tail. But for most of the time, these body parts are kept in the Ethereal Plane, hidden from nearly everyone’s eyes.

Assassin’s Tools. Lock lurkers are very sedentary creatures; they rarely need to eat and feel little need to explore, and only move to catch prey (large insects and small rodents, for the most part). But they are also easily riled up and will attack if disturbed. As a result, they are often used both by trap-makers and assassins. A lock lurker can be placed in a lock, in a desk drawer, next to an inkwell, or any other commonly accessed place, and the target will usually ignore it (or possibly be intrigued by it), since it’s nothing more than a coin. And when the target reaches too closely, the lock lurker strikes, bringing its tail back from the Ethereal in a lightning-fast burst of movement. While the lock lurker’s stinger is rarely enough to kill the target, the paralyzing venom it carries is usually more than enough to make them easy prey for someone else.

Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Nature check, the characters can learn the following:

DC 10. Lock lurkers are strange creatures that look like coins. They are surprisingly intelligent and are often trained to be living traps.

DC 15. Existing partially out-of-phase, lock lurkers usually keep their legs and long, barbed tail in the Ethereal Plane, only bringing them to the Material when they attack. Their venom causes long-term paralysis.

DC 20. Although lock lurkers care nothing for treasure, they are often used to guard treasure, and thus will be frequently found near piles of gold and gems. They are in high demand by alchemists, as they can be used in the making of items that confer slowness and etherealness.

Lock Lurker Encounters
CR 0 Lock lurker

Signs
1-2. A paralyzed victim.
3. With a DC 15 Investigation or Perception check, a lock lurker stuffed into a keyhole or other crevice.
4. An unusual coin. A creature with a passive Investigation of 15 or higher will realize that the markings on the coin are not proper engravings.

Lock Lurker
Tiny aberration
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
AC 15 (natural armor)
HP 5 (1d4+3; bloodied 2)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 1 (-5) DEX 15 (+2) CON 16 (+3)
INT 2 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (-2)

Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC 12
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Senses tremorsense 30 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages —
Ethereal Sight. The lock lurker can see into both the Material Plane and Ethereal Plane.
False Appearance. When the lock lurker isn’t moving, it is indistinguishable from a normal coin.
Lightning Speed. The lock lurker has advantage on initiative checks.
Silent. The lock lurker makes no noise when it moves or attacks.

Actions
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage, and the target is poisoned and slowed until the end of its next turn. At that point, it must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw against poison. On a success, it is poisoned and slowed for 1 minute, and may make a new save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. On a failure, it is poisoned for 1d6 hours, and paralyzed while it is poisoned.

Combat
Lock lurkers strike, then scuttle away to safety.

 

[Faolyn]

OK, forgive me but I’m once again combining two monsters. See, Ed Greenwood created two different magical felines for this article, each with a single magical power. The first was the lybbarde, a large, panther-like cat that could whack people with its magical whip-like tail and cause them to be slowed. The second was the thylacine, a large, panther-like cat that could cover themselves in an illusory disguise of a human (well, 20% of them could) but, despite the name, wasn’t a marsupial. Both are intelligent, long-lived, mostly solitary cats with camouflaged coats, basically the same number of Hit Dice (5 HD versus 4+4 HD), and immunity to mental control and influence. Their only real differences were incredibly minor: one was basically immune to fear; the other couldn’t have its mind read.

I have no idea why he made them into two different creatures instead of a single one, beyond needing just one more monster for the article. Or maybe he used them in two different adventures. Dunno. But I’m combining them. Enter the lybbarde, a magical panther.

I’m going to take a moment to engage in a brief rant here: for a long time, in the section on the magazine’s production staff, Dragon would include a list of contributing interior artists. In issue #127, they suddenly stopped and only the cover artist was credited, and the interior art often didn’t even have a signature. I’ve been able to guess at some of the artists—like, I’m about 90% sure the fang dragon was drawn by Jim Holloway—but it really annoys me that that I don’t know for sure who the artist was. The artist for this article seems to named Barrett, but beyond that, I can’t tell.

Art by Barrett

Lybbard
The Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #138
Created by Ed Greenwood

Lybbardes are great cat-like creatures, easily seven feet long and with equally-long prehensile tails. Their coats are smudgy, smoky-gray and brown that lets them blend into their environment, and their tails end in a light tan puff. Their eyes glow green and they have two man teeth in their jaws. They primarily dwell in rocky, forested areas. Although they are solitary hunters, they frequently live in pairs, usually consisting of siblings. Lybbardes don’t make lairs; they sleep in trees, on rocky ledges, or any other safe place within their territory, although they will stash potentially interesting treasure somewhere, in case they need it later.

Fearless Hunters. Lybbardes are a predator feared for both their great cunning, courage, and unwavering devotion to the hunt. They are utterly methodical in the way they attack, never giving in to emotion or recklessness. They avoid large groups of dangerous prey, focusing on the weaker and smaller—they will eat humanoids, but prefer to only attack those that are not well-armed and armored. Once a lybbarde starts to hunt, it doesn’t stop until the prey is slain, and if driven off, it will return, over and over again. Lybbardes hunt cleverly, sometimes using treasure as bait, and will even strike deals with other creatures in order to best hunt or chase off dangerous prey.

Arcanophobes. Lybbardes hate magic and magic-users, but do not fear them. Rather, they recognize the danger that magic represents. They try to destroy any magic items they can and will deliberately attack spellcasters. Even minor, useful magic items, such as potions of healing, are destroyed, lest the wrong hands get ahold of it. For although they recognize that magic is not (usually) inherently evil, they know that it is too easily used against them or to greater harm.

Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Nature check, the characters can learn the following:

DC 10. Renowned for their fearlessness, lybbardes are cat-like creatures with fur that allows them to blend in with their environment.

DC 15. Lybbardes are long-lived and intelligent, having their own language. They have magical abilities—they can appear as humanoids and a strike by their tail inflicts magical slowness on a target.

Lybbarde Encounters
Terrain: badlands, forests, grasslands, hills, mountains

CR 2-3 1 lybbarde; 1 lybbarde and 1-2 young (use panther stats)
Treasure: 150 sp, bronze gauntlet that is studded with polished aventurine (50 gp), pewter cup with dragon-shaped stem (25 gp), gilt-covered map case with local map (25 gp)

Signs
1. The carcass of a dead wizard cached in a tree.
2. With a DC 17 Perception check: feline pawprints.
3. A human running in the distance, then vanishing.
4. Snapped wands and shredded spell scrolls.

Behavior
1-2. Hunting.
3. Stalking the party’s weakest member.
4. Sleeping in the sun.
5. Devouring a deer.
6. Working out an alliance with another creature to take down a greater foe.

Lybbarde
Large monstrosity
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
AC 12
HP 42 (5d10+15; bloodied 21)
Speed 50 ft.

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3)
INT 8 (-1) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 10 (+0)

Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC +2
Saving Throws Dex +4, Wis +3
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4 (+1d4)
Condition Immunities charmed, confused, fatigue, frightened, slowed, strife
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Lybbarde
Camouflage. The lybbarde has advantage on Stealth checks made in wooded or rocky terrain.
Illusory Visage (Recharge After Short or Long Rest). The lybbarde places an illusion on itself that makes it resemble a Medium humanoid for 1 minute. The illusory disguise does not hold up to physical inspection.
Inscrutable. The lybbarde is immune to divination and to any effect that would sense its emotions or read its thoughts. Insight checks made to determine the lybbarde’s intentions are made with disadvantage.
Long Jump. The lybbarde can long jump up to 30 feet.
Keen Hearing Smell. The lybbarde has advantage on Perception checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Smell Magic. The lybbarde can detect the presence of magic items within 30 feet.

Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage. If the lybbarde moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, the target makes a DC 13 Strength saving throw, falling prone on a failure.
Tail. The lybbarde strikes a creature within 5 feet of it with its tail. That creature must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be slowed until the end of its next turn.

Bonus Actions
Opportune Bite. The lybbarde makes a bite attack against a prone or slowed creature.

Combat
Lybbardes attack from hiding, using its Tail on a creature, then biting when that creature is slowed. It will then back up at least twenty feet and charge, in order to knock the creature over on its next turn. It will target obvious magic-users first.

 

[Faolyn]

Another bizarre Greenwood monster. Anyhoo. the metalmaster is not a Marvel Comics super, but actually a really big, magical slug that can mimic voices and control metal. Why? Because why not.

So many of Ed’s monsters feel like they’d be right at home in a B-grade science-fantasy movie. This is not a criticism.

It’s also a creature where I much prefer the original artwork to Tony DiTerlizzi’s art (when the metalmaster was reprinted in Monstrous Compendium Annual #1). TD’s lovely art was just a slug, but the original artwork gave this thing heck yeah! teeth.

Art by Barrett

Metalmaster
The Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #139
Created by Ed Greenwood

Metalmasters, sometimes called sword-slugs, are tremendous gastropods that have the ability to control metal. They have gaping maws filled with large, saw-like teeth powerful enough to bite through metal. They are also capable of parroting sounds they’ve heard frequently.

Magnetic. Metalmasters generate and control powerful magnetic fields and can pull metal objects towards them or push them away. These magnetic fields are magical in nature and effect any sort of metal, not just ferromagnetic metals—gold, mithral, and even metals mined from the Outer Planes are just as affected as iron and steel are. They have full control over this field; a metal object pulled towards the slug doesn’t touch them, but instead circles wildly about their head.

Hungry Carnivores. Unlike regular slugs, which are scavengers, sword-slugs are primarily carnivores and prefer warm-blooded prey. They aren’t picky—a luckless humanoid or cow are equally attractive to them. They are, however, usually hungry, and will eat anyone and anything they come across.

Metal-Filled Lairs. Metalmasters lair near metal if they can, whether its old battle-sites or forgotten treasure hoards. They care nothing for wealth (and don’t even care about metal) but recognize that other creatures like metal objects. This provides both a lure for new prey and convenient objects with which they can attack.

Legends and Lore
With a Nature check, the characters can learn the following:

DC 10. These gigantic magical slugs can attract or repulse metal objects, as if they were living magnets. They have teeth powerful enough to bite through steel.

DC 15. The metalmaster’s magic affects all types of metal, even non-ferrous, magical, and extra-planar metals.

Monster Encounters
Terrain: caverns, swamp

CR 3-4 1 metalmaster
Treasure: 350 gp, 210 sp, bronze belt buckle in the shape of a dragon with a gemstone eye (75 gp), slightly dented masterwork mithral longsword.

CR 5-10 2 metalmasters
Treasure: 75 pp, 550 gp, silver flask (75 gp), gold earrings (250 gp), +1 shortsword, 10 +1 arrows

Signs
1-2. Metal objects thrown about carelessly, even embedded in walls.
3. A breastplate with a huge bite taken out of it.
4. A compass’s needle starts going haywire.
5. A really big trail of slug-slime.
6. Strange sounds from the distance—a combination of animal noises, cries for help, and phrases such as “hey, over here!”

Behavior
1-2. Devouring a dead animal or humanoid; will attack if approached.
3. Hungry; will attack on sight.
4. Making random noises, apparently for its own amusement.

Metalmaster
Huge monstrosity
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
AC 14 (natural armor)
HP 63 (6d12+24; bloodied 31)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 16 (+3) DEX 10 (+0) CON 19 (+4)
INT 4 (-3) WIS 9 (-1) CHA 6 (-2)

Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC 13
Skills Deception +2
Damage Resistances damage from nonmagical metal weapons
Senses blindsight 10 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages —
Boneless. The metalmaster can move through a space small enough for a Medium creature without squeezing.
Magnetic Field. Weapon attacks made against the metalmaster using metal weapons (including metal-tipped arrows and bolts) are made at disadvantage. If an attacker wielding a melee weapon misses its attack while within 5 feet of another creature, that creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against the attacker’s maneuver save DC or be hit by the weapon, even if the attack roll wasn’t high enough to hit the creature’s AC.
Additionally, the area in a 30 feet radius around the metalmaster is difficult terrain for any creature wearing Medium or Heavy armor made of metal.
Mimicry. The metalmaster can imitate sounds it hears frequently, such as a simple phrase or an animal noise. Recognizing the sounds as imitation requires a DC 10 Insight check.

Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10+3) piercing damage, and if the target is wearing armor, it must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or the armor is damaged. If the armor is already damaged, it becomes broken.
Attract or Repulse Metal (Recharge 4-6). The metalmaster chooses to attract or repel metal objects that weigh 15 pounds or less that are within 60 feet of it. Unsecured metal or mostly-metal objects are pulled 30 feet towards or away from the metalmaster. A creature holding a metal or mostly-metal object must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. If the creature is holding the item with both hands, or the object has the Hand-Mounted property, the creature gains a d4 expertise die on this saving throw. On a success, the creature maintains its hold on the object but is pulled or pushed 5 feet towards or away from the metalmaster. On a failure, the creature drops the object and the object is pulled or pushed 30 feet towards or away from the metalmaster.
Larger unattended metal objects that weigh up to 50 pounds can only be pulled or pushed 5 feet. Objects heavier than 50 pounds aren’t affected.

Bonus Actions
Metal Blast. The metalmaster causes unattended metal objects or metal objects that are circling it to shoot off in all directions. Each creature within 15 feet of the metalmaster must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 13 (3d8) piercing damage on a failure.

Combat
Metalmasters start out combat using Attract Metal to disarm foes and to gather metals for use in its Metal Blast. It then relies on its Bites and Metal Blasts.

 

[Faolyn]

Same Ed Greenwood, different issue. This article is a continuation of last issue’s article, with more “Realms-only” monsters, and the monster I’m converting is a doozy and suggests that Ed was having trouble with the magic-users at his table. It’s the magebane, a tiny, invisible batlike creature that eats spells.

For this adaptation, I wrote that it can detect and drain magic from bards, sorcerers, and wizards, as I would consider them all to be arcane casters, using the same energy in different ways. My personal feelings on warlocks is that they are basically priests of things that aren’t gods, and thus aren’t arcane casters (nor are they divine). If you prefer the idea that warlocks are arcane casters, then stick them on the list of casters that magebanes can eat. Heck, the 1e write-up merely says that they prefer magic-users, implying that other casters are fair game. So if you like the idea of magebane being able to target clerics, heralds, warlocks, or even artificers, go ahead.

This is another creature that is useful above its CR. With its natural stealth in addition to its invisibility, it can stay hidden from

Art by Barrett

Magebane
The Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #140
Created by Ed Greenwood

Magebanes are small, black, amorphous creatures, their only visible features being a pair of cold blue eyes. They have batlike wings and ten long claw-like legs emerging from their undersides, and their body tapers into a needle-like tail. However, this form is almost never seen, as they are invisible, and not even magic can dispel their invisibility. Spellcasters loathe these creatures, who fortunately are mostly solitary.

Hungers For Spells. Magebanes consume spell energy, which they siphon directly from spellcasters at the moment they cast spells. This often causes the spell to fail to cast or to have minimal or poor effects. Magebanes target arcane spellcasters—bards, sorcerers, and warlocks—to the exclusion of others. Once they find a spellcaster they like, they stay with that caster, even protecting it from other attackers. A magebane may decide to move to a different caster, if they find a more powerful one or one who casts spells more freely, but this is a very rare occurrence.

Legends and Lore
With an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:

DC 15. Magebane are invisible creatures who consume the energy from arcane spells while they are cast. By consuming this energy, they cause spells to be miscast.

DC 20. Magebanes will remain with a spellcaster for as long as they can, and will protect that spellcaster from other forms of harm. They can’t be driven off; the only way to free the spellcaster from the magebane’s feedings is to kill the magebane.

Signs
1-2. The caster’s spells start acting oddly or not working.
3-4. A creature attacking the caster is suddenly zapped by magical energy.

Magebane Encounters
Terrain: cavern, ruins, tombs

CR 0-1 1 magebane

Magebane
Tiny aberration
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
AC 14
HP 5 (2d4; bloodied 2)
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

STR 2 (-4) DEX 19 (+4) CON 11 (+0)
INT 3 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (-2)

Proficiency +2
Maneuver DC 14
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6 (+1d4)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages —
Explosive Death. When the magebane dies, it explodes in a burst of magical energy. Each creature within 10 feet of it must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) force damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.
Limited Invisibility. The magebane is invisible to all creatures except for the chosen spellcaster.
Limited Magic Immunity. The magebane is immune to any spell of 6th-level or lower cast by chosen spellcaster, and has advantage on saving throws against other spells and magical effects.
Sense Magic-User. The magebane can detect the presence of creatures within 150 feet that can cast spells from the bard, sorcerer, or wizard spell list. When it is within 30 feet of the spellcaster, it can make that caster into its chosen spellcaster.

Actions
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) force damage.

Bonus Actions
Nimble Escape. The magebane takes the Disengage or Hide action.

Reactions
Siphon Magic. When the chosen spellcaster casts a cantrip or spell of 6th level or lower and the magebane is within 60 feet of the spellcaster, roll a d4:
1. The spell works normally.
2. The spell fails to work. There is a 50% chance that spell slot is expended.
3. The target(s) of the spell have advantage on saving throws against the spell. If the target is willing, then the spell’s duration is halved.
4. The spell works, but is flawed: it inflicts minimum damage, produces an obvious illusion instead of a realistic one, the target gains a d4 expertise die instead of gaining advantage, the spell provides partial or incorrect information, the spell’s duration or area are halved, etc.

Each time the chosen spellcaster casts a spell, whether it is cast correctly or not, the magebane gains temporary hit points equal to twice the spell slot level used.

Combat
Magebanes only attack to protect their chosen caster. They attack anything that harms their caster, relying on their invisibility and stealth to give them advantage on attacks.

 

[Faolyn]

A short one today. This issue was all about humanoids, and The Dragon’s Bestiary included a bunch of new ones. Most of them, though, don’t really work as Level Up monsters—new heritages or cultures, perhaps, but that’s a bit beyond the purview of this series. However, it does include a new type of troll, which works well as a new variant. Enter the demon troll. (Standing next to it is a jor, or swamp orc--because orcs that live in swamps needed a brand-new statblock, of course.)

Art by Terry Dykstra

Troll Variant: Demon Troll
The Dragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #141
Created by Michael J. Szarmach

A troll that consumes the flesh of fiends, or that has been brought to the Abyss and bathed in that plane’s evil energies, may become a demon troll. Their hide turns a dusty coal-black, their eyes glow green, a pair of twisted red horns grow from their brows, and their faces and bodies seem far more human-like than a normal troll’s. The evil that permeates all fiends twists them as well; while normal trolls kill indiscriminately to fill their ever-hungry bellies, demon trolls feed on fear and pain as much as actual flesh. Worse, they are as well-spoken as they are cruel.

A demon troll is CR 6 (2,300 XP) and its type changes to giant (fiend). It has AC 18, Intelligence 12 (+1), and Charisma 16 (+3), and can speak Abyssal, Common, Giant, and one other language. It is resistant to cold, lightning, poison damage, and damage from nonmagical weapons, and is immune to the poisoned condition. Its Regeneration trait has been altered and it gains the following new traits:

Innate Spellcasting. The demon troll’s spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks.) It can cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
3/day each: chain lightning, darkness, dispel magic, dimension door, infernal weapon
Magic Resistance. The demon troll has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The demon troll regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the troll takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function on its next turn. The troll dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I would love to see a heritage/culture for the people in that article who were invaders from another dimension. I remember them being pretty cool.

 

[Faolyn]

I would love to see a heritage/culture for the people in that article who were invaders from another dimension. I remember them being pretty cool.

The dirge. They were pretty cool. There's actually a ton of different races in Dragon mag, and monsters that would work as races, and most of 'em could be converted to heritages, heritage gifts, or cultures. I may do that later on.

Edit: For everyone else who doesn't remember or isn't aware of the dirge: they looked human-like with solid red eyes, gray skin, white or red hair, and they lived in a "nightmarishly twisted mirror of the Prime Material plane called Darkrealm." So, basically the Shadowfell. they had dead-white eyes, needed +1 or better weapons to hit, had regeneration and psionic abilities (taken from a small list of options), took triple damage from "energy from the Positive Plane," could be turned like undead and had most undead immunities, and had a touch attack that drained 5,000 XP(!) from the target. But they weren't undead.

Not much of their culture was listed, other than to say that they serve the lords of Darkrealm, are sadistically evil but mostly towards outsiders--they worked together well-and are divided into commoner (6th-level fighters) and commander (9th-level magic-users) castes. Not even commoner and military castes. Commoner and commander.

They'd have to be toned down significantly to be made playable, but the culture could be interesting. Maybe take the commoner/commander divide seriously and say their society is divided into slave/serf/grunts and officer/noble/spellcasters, with almost nothing in between.

 

[Faolyn]

Just got back from getting my covid booster!

Remember how, way back when I did the phase dragon as a variant of the faerie dragon? Well, here’s some more faerie dragon variants for you. They’re called drakes in this article, but I’ve renamed them as dragons, to keep the theme going. We have the crystal dragon (renamed to jewel dragon), demon drake (renamed to hellion dragon), faerie drake (renamed to mimic dragon), and the shadow drake (renamed to gloom dragon).

This article also comes with a new spell!

Also, I’m taking a day or three off, because the next monsters are a whole bunch of dragons and you know how long those take.

Faerie Dragon Variants
Dragons are Wizards’ Best Friends, Dragon Magazine #146
Created by David E. Cates; art by Jennell Jaquays

Gloom Dragon
These faerie dragon variants often occur where the Feywild and Shadowfell are close. They are a bit snakier in build. Their scales are ash-gray when they first hatch, but become darker and smokier as they age. Gloom dragons are quiet, introspective creatures who prefer peace and quiet instead of confrontation. They typically have standoffish personalities and often live on the outskirts of faerie dragon communities, away from all the noise. Gloom dragons have a fondness for darkly-colored gems, which they collect, and honey and sweet fruits, which they eat in large amounts.

Gloom dragons are resistant to cold and necrotic damage, and innately know different spells than faerie dragons do:

5 years old, at will: guidance, mage hand, minor illusion
10 years old, 1/day: darkness
30 years old, 1/day: blur
50 years old, 1/day: rope trick

Gloom dragons lose the Prismatic Light action and instead gain the following traits:

Darksight. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the dragon’s vision.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the dragon can take the Hide action as a bonus action. If the dragon makes a successful attack while hiding, it doesn’t reveal its position.

Additionally, their breath weapon has been altered:

Dark Mask (Recharge 5-6). The dragon spits darkness at one creature within 10 feet of it. The target must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or its head is surrounded is a cloud of magical darkness for 1 minute, and the target is blinded. The target may use its action to fan away the cloud, ending the effect.

*

Hellion Dragon
Often hatched in places where the walls between the Feywild and the lower planes are at the thinnest, hellion dragons are petty-minded and mean-spirited and love to play nasty pranks. Fortunately for most, they prefer to play these pranks on creatures who are also petty and mean, rather than on nicer creatures—they like seeing people get what they deserve. Hellion dragons have horns rather like a red dragon’s, but their coloration ranges from reds to purples to oranges, flecked with black. As they age, the black flecks get larger and the other colors get more intense.

Hellion dragons are immune to fire damage, and innately know different spells than faerie dragons do:

5 years old, at will: produce flame, thaumaturgy, vicious mockery
10 years old, 1/day: silent image (note: if you have access to the Manual of Adventurous Resources volume 1, replace with bestow minor curse)
30 years old, 1/day: pretty-oops! (see below)
50 years old, 1/day: fear

Hellion dragons lose the Prismatic Light action and instead gain the following trait:

Boom! (3/Day). The dragon targets a Tiny nonmagical object that is not being worn or held that is within 60 feet of it, and chooses one of the following effects:
• The object explodes with a brilliant flash of light and sends shrapnel in all directions. Each creature within 10 feet of the object must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
• The object explodes harmlessly but releases a noxious cloud of sulfurous gas that fills a 10-foot cube. It lingers for 1 minute or until dispersed by a moderate wind. The area is heavily obscured, and a creature that starts its turn in its area must make a DC 12 Constitution against poison saving throw or use its action to retch and reel.

Additionally, their breath weapon has been altered:

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon spits fire at one creature within 10 feet of it. The target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2 (1d4) fire damage. The damage increases by 1d4 for each age category above 5 years old.

Pretty—Oops! (Rare Spell)
1st-level (illusion; animal, obscurement, shadow, transformation)
Classes: bard, wizard
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Touch
Target: One beast or object
Components: V, S, M (a downy feather)
Duration: 8 hours
Saving Throw: Constitution negates (special)

This spell may be cast on a Tiny creature that has an Intelligence score of 4 or less, or on an inanimate object. If cast on a creature, it may make a saving throw to resist. On a failure, it is unconscious and paralyzed for 8 hours, and may make a new save at the end of each hour, ending the effect on itself on a success.

With this spell, you turn a Tiny creature or object into a Tiny object that looks however you wish it to but is the same approximate size and shape as the original. If the illusory object is held (not just touched), it reverts back to its normal form. If it is a creature, it is no longer paralyzed or unconscious, but it is enraged, and it has advantage on the first attack roll it makes against the creature that is holding it.

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Jewel Dragon
Jewel dragons sometimes hatch from faerie dragon eggs when the parents consume magical gemstones, live too close to places that are connected to the Plane of Earth, or are exposed to a great deal of prismatic magic—although this mutation also sometimes occurs for no reason whatsoever. When first hatched, their scales look like pale white quartz. Jewel dragons particularly enjoy eating gemstones, and their scales take on the colors of the gems they eat. The older a jewel dragon becomes, the more colors appear on their hides, until they are a scintillating rainbow of color. A jewel dragon that doesn’t eat gemstones eventually reverts back to a quartz-white color.

Jewel dragons are resistant to acid and radiant damage, immune to the blinded condition, and innately know different spells than faerie dragons do:

5 years old, at will: dancing lights, guidance, resistance
10 years old, 1/day: invisibility
30 years old, 1/day: mindshield
50 years old, 1/day: daylight

Jewel dragons lose the Prismatic Light action and instead gain the following trait:

Crystal Reflection. A creature making a spell attack against the dragon with a spell from the force, illusion, lightning, prismatic, or radiant schools has disadvantage on the attack roll. If the dragon succeeds on its saving throw against such a spell or the spell attack misses it, roll a d6. On a 1-5, the dragon is unaffected. On a 6, the dragon is unaffected and the effect is reflected back at the caster as though it originated from the dragon, turning the caster into the target.

Additionally, their breath weapon has been altered:

Acid Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon spits acid at one creature within 10 feet of it. The target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2 (1d4) acid damage. The damage increases by 1d4 for each age category above 5 years old.

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Mimic Dragon
The mimic dragon appears to be a random mutation of the normal faerie dragon. These dragons look exactly like a miniature version of regular dragon of any type but essence dragon—chromatic, gemstone, metallic—but with stripes and splotches on their wings and tails; these markings are light-colored in female mimic dragons and dark-colored in males. On any given day, a mimic dragon may suddenly shift in appearance, looki like a different sort of dragon. The environment and weather seems to play a part in it: for instance, during cold weather, a mimic dragon is more likely to appear as a white or silver dragon than as a blue dragon, and a mimic dragon in a swamp is more likely to change to look like a black dragon. But it's not a guarantee and the dragon itself doesn’t seem to have control over it. Their mentality even shifts a tiny bit to match their new form. A mimic dragon that appears like a green dragon may act more devious than normal, and one that appears like an amethyst may act unusually diplomatic.

Mimic dragons are resistant to whatever energy type the dragon they appear like is resistant or immune to, have a swim speed of 30 feet, and innately know different spells than faerie dragons do:

5 years old, at will: mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation
10 years old, 1/day: mirror image
30 years old, 1/day: one spell that a young spellcasting dragon of its apparent type can cast
50 years old, 1/day: one spell that an adult spellcasting dragon of its apparent type can cast

Mimic dragons lose the Prismatic Light action and instead gain the following traits:

Hold Breath. The mimic dragon can hold its breath for 30 minutes.
Keen Smell. The mimic dragon has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.

Additionally, its bite attack and breath weapon have been altered:

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage plus 1 damage of the same type its breath weapon inflicts.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). The dragon breathes energy at one creature within 10 feet of it. The target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2 (1d4) damage of the type the dragon it appears like can breathe. The damage increases by 1d4 for each age category above 5 years old.