D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.

[Leatherhead]

I mean, the Sorcerer tag at least lets ya know that said NPC/Monster can utilize Meta Magic Abilities while the Warlock tag lets ya know the NPC/Monster can use Eldritch Blast+Agonizing Blast Invocation.

That's not actually true. Basically, none of the Sorcerers in this book have Metamagic-like abilities, Unless you count swapping in a spell as part of a Multiattack, or ignoring spell components all the time, both of which any type of caster including the innate casters can do now.

Conversely, not all of the Warlock NPCs have an Eldritch Blast equivalent attack, most of them use other cantrips as their base. Which is a change I approve of seeing as how it greatly improves the ties between warlocks and their presumed pacts (Fiendlocks shooting hellfire, Feylocks shooting psychic damage, etc.). While a few of the Monsters that have an Eldritch Bolt lack the Warlock tag for arbitrary reasons (as we will see with the Star Spawn).

 

[Weiley31]

none of the Sorcerers in this book have Metamagic-like abilities,

I mean, yeah that's what happens if the DM doesn't add em on there.

 

[J-H]

What's with all the Shadowfell stuff? Is the Shadowfell super important in a bunch of the published campaigns? It seems to get a lot more attention than any of the other planes (aside from the angelic and fiendish ones).

 

[Leatherhead]

What's with all the Shadowfell stuff? Is the Shadowfell super important in a bunch of the published campaigns? It seems to get a lot more attention than any of the other planes (aside from the angelic and fiendish ones).

The Shadowfell is the equal and opposite of the Feywild: An echo of the Prime that is "closer" to either the Negative or Positive Energy Plane respectively. The Shadowfell is also the 5e take on the Plane of Shadow (which may be important if they ever focus on quasi-real things again)

I have a feeling that the Feywild is going to play an important part of the Multiverse going forward (given the focus on goblinoids as Fey), so it would seem that the Shadowfell is a natural balance to that.

 

[Parmandur]

What's with all the Shadowfell stuff? Is the Shadowfell super important in a bunch of the published campaigns? It seems to get a lot more attention than any of the other planes (aside from the angelic and fiendish ones).

The Shadowfell amd Feywild were a bit of a theme in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, and this reprints those.

 

[Leatherhead]

Spawn of Kyuss (VGtM)​

The Spawn of Kyuss are yet another extremely deadly monster presented in this book, though they are a bit more forgiving than most of their contemporaries (in that anyone can spend an action to stop their deadly attack before it is set up), unless you have the right tools (an effect that cures disease or removes a curse), one of their attacks has a 100% lethality rate once it gets going. This means using multiple Spawn of Kyuss is way more dangerous than just using one.

Spawn of Kyuss are “Zombie Apocalypse” type zombies that exist to spread themselves by killing all the humanoids. You know, the kind of zombies that were popular to the point of extreme oversaturation back in the early 2010’s. Though to be fair, the Spawn of Kyuss were originally made for the 1st Edition Fiend Folio, back when Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead was still a relatively fresh take in the minds of Pop Culture.

At any rate, Kyuss (AKA the Worm that Walks) is yet another lieutenant of Orcus, one who joins the ranks of Vecna and Doresain as former mortals who attained some form of divinity thanks to the influence of the Demon Lord of Undeath. Though in the case of Kyuss, they became more like a Great Old One than a god. Like his name would imply, his spawn are zombies that are infested with worms, making them far more deadly than a traditional zombie. These worms are weaponized parasites that burrow into their victims, eating them from the inside, in order to make them a new zombie host. This worm is an undead creature with a stat outline, and can presumably be captured and transported to be used as a biological weapon against any town. Perhaps placed in some poor soul’s food or on in their bead, triggering an undead outbreak scenario in a place that would have otherwise been well protected.

In combat, the Spawn are stronger and faster than a normal zombie, which makes them much more usable. They also have a regeneration ability that is disabled by quite a few damage types, and even sunlight or running water. Which I think is more fun than the normal zombie’s Undead Fortitude*. They also have a multiattack that lets them fling one of their worms up to 10’ away. Should one of these worms find purchase on a humanoid, they will burrow into the skin after one round, at which point they will deal continuous necrotic damage to the target until they are cured with an effect that cures disease or removes a curse. If the worm is scraped off, the Spawn can use their worm fling attack to cause any worm it sees to jump up to 10’ onto a target, so killing them is the only way to be safe. These worms can even stack with each other, causing the damage to multiply (not that such a thing is necessary to simply kill a target).

*I have a bad reaction to Undead Fortitude due to the ability causing an encounter to drag on far longer than it should have. We had “solved” an encounter with a bunch of zombies by trapping them, but the things simply would not die, despite how much ammunition we rained on their heads thanks to dice rolls. In the end we simply sealed them off and walked away. An incredibly frustrating experience.

The Spawn of Kyuss gained the Unusual Nature trait in this reprinting.

 

[Leatherhead]

Star Spawn (MToF)​

Star Spawn are the Aberrant equivalent of a Demon or Devil: Otherworldly invaders from a different Multiverse (often collectively referred to as The Far Realm), that serve at the beck and call of beings known as Elder Evils (or sometimes, Great Old Ones). Like the Fiends, these Elder Evils have organized cults on the Prime, where Warlocks and Priests do their bidding in return for unfathomable powers. The book goes into different boons that may be offered to such cultists and even the Star Spawn to spice them up a bit. Which is a nice touch for customizing monsters, reminding me of the themed templates from 4e (which is also where most of the Star Spawn lore originates from). In fact, you can clearly see some 4e-isims in the designs of the Star Spawn.

Personally, I have a theory that the story about Mind Flayers wanting to kill the Sun is related to these Star-Beings (implying that they are far more horrible than even the Illithids). But really that’s just me taking the lore bits and hooking them up with a red string on a corkboard.



Grue

It is dark, you are likely to be eaten by a Grue. Grue are the least of the Star Spawn, and are designed to serve as a distraction for their betters. A task which they are quite good at.

Simply being around a Grue is an annoying experience, to the point where non-aberrant creatures will be inflicted with disadvantage on saving throws and attacks for just standing near them. A disadvantage that can only be overcome by attacking the Grue. At CR ¼ they are meant to take just a hit or two to down (much like a 4e minion), but that is still the better part of an action for most characters. Their offensive potential is also more dangerous than their own DPR would account for, as their attacks give other attackers advantage against their target, giving further incentive to mow them down.

In the changeover, the Grue’s Aura of Madness was renamed into Aura of Shrieks.

Hulk

A Star Spawn Hulk is a total meatshield of a creature, often serving as the muscle to the more important Star Spawn.

At CR 10, they have quite a bit of meat to throw around. Their attacks can either Stun one creature or knock any creature within a short PBAoE prone, giving them some nice control options. But their most interesting feature is their Psychic Mirror ability, which allows any psionic damage aimed at them to be redirected into all nearby foes. While you would think this might just be a one time trick against the PCs, forcing them into using a different damage type, you would be wrong. Hulks are often found in the employ of Star Spawn Seers*, who will fire off their psionic attacks into a Hulk, triggering this explosion multiple times per round. It is also worth noting that this ability allows no attack rolls or saving throws for the targets caught in the blast, meaning they can’t just Shield (or similar) out of an attack. For even more fun, consider that all other Star Spawn are immune to psionic damage, giving these blasts an inherent IFF feature.

*later in this very entry.

The Hulk was not significantly changed for this book.

Larva Mage

So remember Kyuss? This is what happens to a lot of his cultists: They end up as Oogie Boogie Warlocks. While they lack the Warlock tag, they are clearly modeled off of them (unlike those Skull Lords who are supposed to be Sorcerers), with an Eldritch Bolt primary attack and a handful of spells. I have to say it again, if there is a definitive Win for the new spellcaster mechanics, it is how they handle Warlock style monsters and NPCs.

Larva Mages are otherwise legendary CR 16 creatures, without any Legendary Resistances (unfortunately). though they have multiple ways of generating THP, and immunity to quite a number of status conditions to help with their longevity. Speaking of status conditions, the Larva Mage can bellow forth a blast of worms to inflict them on any enemies nearby, then use a legendary action to suck the health out of those stuck in the pile of creepy crawlies. Or they can simply opt to use Dominate Monster, which is also quite handy for control.

Should a Larva Mage be defeated, they turn into a swarm of insects, in an attempt to escape and rejuvenate their body in a day.

The Larva Mage lost the Circle of Death spell, and Eldritch Blast (gaining the Eldritch Bolt attack and Message in return). Also, they had their Slam Legendary Action reduced to one Action from 2 in this update.


Mangler

The Star Spawn Mangler is what 4e would have called a Lurker, a monster designed to ambush the party while fighting them.

To this end it has the ability to hide in shadows as a bonus action, a faster than normal climb speed, and an intimidating flurry of claws attack which will scare any player that is the target of it. Especially once the Mangler darts back into the shadows to hide after they are finished with the attacks. They also have extra damage on any attack that is made with advantage (a rare occurrence now). Something that can be accomplished on their own, or with the help of some nearby Grues.

The Mangler was not significantly changed for this reprinting.

Seer

The Star Spawn Seers are most often found as cult leaders for the Elder Evils. And commonly found in with a Hulk companion for the aforementioned synergies.

But that is far from the only trick they have up their sleeves. Seers are masters of mobility, they can walk though other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain (damaging the other creature in the process), and swap themselves with another Star Spawn as a reaction to being hit by an attack (which makes the attack hit the other Star Spawn instead). They also have an offensive teleport power that can be used on enemy creatures (or allies if the need arises) which can set off a psychic explosion at the point where the target was teleported from. And though they lack any kind of spells, they do have a melee attack which can incapacitate a target, should the need arise.

Seers had the one-handed damage option from their staves removed for this printing.

 

[Leatherhead]

Steeders (MToF)​

Sorry for the shortness of this entry, I've got a game to get to tonight.

Steeders are giant hunting spiders that are found in the underdark and often used by the various creatures that live there (like the Duegar*) as mounts and draft animals. Female Steeders are bigger than the Males, and are the ones typically serving as mounts.

*earlier in this book. Duergar Kavalrachni in particular.

Other than the Females having a larger size and bigger statistics, they function largely the same in combat. They have a climbing speed, a significant bonus to their jumping ability (Better read up on your movement rules, and remember that mounts can dash even if controlled), a bite attack, and a Sticky Leg attack that can be used to grapple. They are undoubtedly best used as mounts in combat, especially in the Underdark (or other cave systems) where their movement options will really shine.

Neither the Female nor Male Steeder was significantly changed for this book.

 

[Leatherhead]

Steel Predator (MToF)​

Steel Predators are construct assassins in the shape of a Xenomorph hunting Dog. Constructed by a Rogue Modron located in the hub city Sigil, they single-mindedly hunt a single target across the multiverse. I dare say the story of their construction is more interesting than the monster itself. Going to an exotic locale to buy an illicit hit is the stuff of pulp, and maybe even worthy of an adventure itself. If you aren’t interested in the intrigue angle, the book offers an alternative use: The Predator was damaged during their hit, and is just kind of killing targets at seemingly random.


In combat, the Predator will totally ignore anything that isn’t their target, or getting in the way of their target, making for a somewhat novel combat encounter. The Predator will open combat with a Stunning Roar to pin down their target and maybe anyone nearby that might want to help, then tear into their mark with their Bites and Claws. The steel construct is relatively mobile, with a 40’ movement speed and the ability to use Dimension Door to close the distance if needed. After it kills their target, they Plane Shift away back home to Sigil, where they are broken down and used for scrap.

At CR 16, a plausible way to “defeat” a Steel Predator is to let it kill the target and Plane Shift away, then Resurrect the target. It's not like that Predator is ever coming back after they are finished. Though another could be constructed, and hunting down the person ordering these hits is an adventure hook in itself.

In the Changeover, the Steel Predator had its weapon attacks changed into Lighting Damage. And the Damage of their Roar and Bite was boosted a bit.

 

[Leatherhead]

Stone Cursed (MToF)​

Friendly DM warning: This monster can Petrify (one of the status conditions that can end a fight before DPR kicks in). Though this form of Petrification is temporary, a Stone Cursed is likely to have allies that can exploit this condition. Mostly by either smashing the statue or imprisoning it somehow.

Petrification is a condition you would think should happen far more often than it does in D&D. It is an iconic “death alternative” that even the Mighty Minsc and Boo have had to endure. But the fact of the matter is, there are an order of magnitude more creatures that are immune to the condition than can induce it. A less than desirable state of things, given that the Stone Cursed are a cool concept to go along with the iconic status ailment.

Stone Cursed are constructs formed out of the remains of petrified humanoids, and used as guardians for whomever (or whatever) animated them. The book attributes this animation to an alchemical ritual, even going so far as to provide ingredients. But part of me thinks there should be an alternative, one that allows for the less intelligent monstrosities to command their petrified victims. Either way though, these cursed statues make for a spooky way to spice up the marble garden of your local Medusa or Mage.

As an interesting note, turning someone into a Stone Cursed kills them, which clashes with the otherwise reversible nature of petrification. At least they leave behind an obsidian skull, which can be used to distribute plot as necessary, in leu of actually being alive to do so themselves.

Unfortunately, despite the idea being cool, the Stone Cursed are rather lacking in combat. With a 10’ movement speed and only a melee attack, they aren’t going to get much done unless they get the drop on someone. Granted, if you walk into a Medusa’s lair, the last thing you would expect is for all the statues to take a swipe at you, and the Stone Cursed can make OA’s with advantage, for what that is worth. The Stone Cursed can also petrify someone with their attack, as mentioned above, for up to 24 hours. Which is one heck of a control, if it sticks. It is also worth mentioning that Stone Cursed are Vulnerable to Bludgeoning Damage, mostly because vulnerabilities to damage are extremely rare.

In the changeover, the Stone Cursed had their damage normalized, and gained the Unusual Nature trait.