It’s not last call today on Epic Monsters but we are doing the Last Judgment. Grab your sword and board, strap on your armor, and get ready for some ultra violence: it’s time for War!
With the conditions for slaughter set by the first herald (Strife) this horseman rolls in to make sure the mayhem is in full effect. There’s no doubt that the initial harbinger will cause bloodshed but whatever has been spilt before its arrival is a paltry puddle compared to the sanguine ocean unleashed by War. The armies arrayed against one another might see it fight on behalf of all sides—it battles only for whichever outcome will result in the maximum number of lives lost.
Design Notes: Considering the tricksy bent for Strife it seemed like of the remaining Four Horsemen that War should be the most outright powerful so it's strong as all get out, fast, tough, and hits like a truck. On top of that it's well-equipped for handling spellcasters with endless counterspells and several reactions each round plus legendary actions (one of which will probably be soaked up with dragging a fleeing adversary back for a hit likely with some finality about it). Let’s do the numbers! Largely because of its low armor class the DMG cruises in at 21.75 while the much more sober rubric on the Blog of Holding lands at 25.16. We’ll take the average of 23.45 and put War’s CR at 23.
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 315 (30d8+180)
Speed 60 ft.
Skills Athletics +24, Intimidation +18, Perception +20, Survival +20
Damage Resistances cold, fire, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, disease, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 30
Languages all
Challenge 23 (50,000 XP)
Ageless. War cannot suffer from frailty of old age, die from old age, or be aged magically.
Innate Spellcasting. War's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 22). War can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If War fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. War has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. War’s weapon attacks are magical.
Regeneration. War regains 60 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
Shapechanger. War can use a bonus action to polymorph into a Small, Medium, or Large humanoid it has seen, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size and the ability to breathe water, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Siege Monster. War deals double damage to objects and structures.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. War uses its Frightful Presence and attacks four times.
Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (4d8+10) slashing damage.
Personified Fury. Ranged Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, range 200/800 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6+10) force damage and the target makes a DC 25 Strength saving throw or is knocked prone.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of War’s choice that is within 120 feet of it and aware of it must succeed on a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to War’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
REACTIONS
Fast Reactions. War can take 3 reactions each round, but never more than one reaction against the same creature.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
War 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. War regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come." And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from Earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
—Revelation 6:3–4
With the conditions for slaughter set by the first herald (Strife) this horseman rolls in to make sure the mayhem is in full effect. There’s no doubt that the initial harbinger will cause bloodshed but whatever has been spilt before its arrival is a paltry puddle compared to the sanguine ocean unleashed by War. The armies arrayed against one another might see it fight on behalf of all sides—it battles only for whichever outcome will result in the maximum number of lives lost.
Design Notes: Considering the tricksy bent for Strife it seemed like of the remaining Four Horsemen that War should be the most outright powerful so it's strong as all get out, fast, tough, and hits like a truck. On top of that it's well-equipped for handling spellcasters with endless counterspells and several reactions each round plus legendary actions (one of which will probably be soaked up with dragging a fleeing adversary back for a hit likely with some finality about it). Let’s do the numbers! Largely because of its low armor class the DMG cruises in at 21.75 while the much more sober rubric on the Blog of Holding lands at 25.16. We’ll take the average of 23.45 and put War’s CR at 23.
War
Medium monstrosity, neutral evilArmor Class 17
Hit Points 315 (30d8+180)
Speed 60 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
30 (+10) | 24 (+7) | 22 (+6) | 25 (+7) | 23 (+6) | 19 (+4) |
Damage Resistances cold, fire, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, disease, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 30
Languages all
Challenge 23 (50,000 XP)
Ageless. War cannot suffer from frailty of old age, die from old age, or be aged magically.
Innate Spellcasting. War's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 22). War can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: counterspell, fly, phantom steed
3/day each: antimagic field, detect thoughts, earthquake, plane shift
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If War fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. War has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. War’s weapon attacks are magical.
Regeneration. War regains 60 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
Shapechanger. War can use a bonus action to polymorph into a Small, Medium, or Large humanoid it has seen, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size and the ability to breathe water, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Siege Monster. War deals double damage to objects and structures.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. War uses its Frightful Presence and attacks four times.
Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (4d8+10) slashing damage.
Personified Fury. Ranged Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, range 200/800 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6+10) force damage and the target makes a DC 25 Strength saving throw or is knocked prone.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of War’s choice that is within 120 feet of it and aware of it must succeed on a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to War’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
REACTIONS
Fast Reactions. War can take 3 reactions each round, but never more than one reaction against the same creature.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
War 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. War regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Attack. War makes a melee weapon attack.
- Return Straggler (Costs 2 Actions). War chooses a creature it can see that has moved any distance away from it since the beginning of its last turn. The creature makes a DC 25 Strength saving throw or is pulled 30 feet closer to War. A creature that ends this movement adjacent to War provokes an opportunity attack.
- Sunder (Costs 3 Actions). War makes a melee weapon attack against a weapon or shield wielded by a creature within its reach. On a hit, the wielding creature makes a DC 25 Strength saving throw or the object is destroyed. A magic weapon or shield grants advantage to the saving throw, and on a successful save is not destroyed but instead transformed into a mundane object for 1 minute.
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