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

[Remathilis]

Whereas I welcome the greater out of combat flexibility this brings NPCs and how much easier it makes it to run the game.

Within reason. You could add that the acolyte NPC in the MM can cast True Resurrection at will and it wouldn't change his combat stats one bit, but people would probably still want to know why a character who can cast 9th level spells at will suddenly doesn't have a combat ability above 2nd level spells. I liked having a caster level for NPCs to peg what kinds of effects are reasonable for the npc to have.

(Extreme example used for hyperbolic effect).

 

[Weiley31]

And further to this end, do you really need a stat block for a friendly NPC unless they are getting into a fight?

This Bard stat block is for enemy or NPC Bards during battle. It doesn’t reflect what Bards are doing outside of battle. Why do you need a stat block for a Bard outside of battle if it’s not fighting? Just write down a list of abilities it might have as a Bard. If it’s a classed character, choose some spells it might cast and some skills it might use. If it’s going to help the party, build a DM-PC or an NPC-classed character. If it’s just going to show up, write up the NPC data with some basic skills it knows or knowledge it has or spells or abilities it might be able to use (song of rest, bardic inspiration, etc), and it doesn’t need a stat block unless you get it involved in battle.

If you’re fighting it, maybe then look up a relevant stat block (such as Bard), and as DM ALWAYS feel free to add spells to a spellcasting monster if you want. If it’s going to be helping you out on your quest and not just talking to you in town, you really should be using a DM-PC full write-up with a lineage and class and background, or else use the NPC class rules in Tasha’s.

Well, the Sidekick classes require either a PC or an NPC stat block.

 

[Sulicius]

-snipped-

The Barghest is one of the creatures that was dramatically nerfed for their reprinting. Losing ⅓ of their hp, their resistance to fire, and even Keen Smell for some reason.

Spoiler warning!

If you could Ctrl+F the book on keen smell, you would find 0 hits. Instead, all of these monsters have proficiency in perception. Bit of a loss in flavor, but I guess it saves space?

 

[Weiley31]

Spoiler warning!

If you could Ctrl+F the book on keen smell, you would find 0 hits. Instead, all of these monsters have proficiency in perception. Bit of a loss in flavor, but I guess it saves space?

So, it pretty much means that Keen Senses could have suffered the same fate that befell Magic Weapons: instead of typing the whole trait out, they just retroactively apply it by giving those monsters proficiency in Perception.

 

[Faolyn]

This is where that expertise die and skill specialization from Level Up would come in handy. Proficiencies: Perception (+1d4 scent).

 

[Neonchameleon]

Within reason. You could add that the acolyte NPC in the MM can cast True Resurrection at will and it wouldn't change his combat stats one bit, but people would probably still want to know why a character who can cast 9th level spells at will suddenly doesn't have a combat ability above 2nd level spells. I liked having a caster level for NPCs to peg what kinds of effects are reasonable for the npc to have.

(Extreme example used for hyperbolic effect).

Honestly? I prefer a more magical world where the big divine spells are normally gifts of the gods who bestow them as they will rather than handed out in a cookie cutter regimented fashion. If anyone can cast True Resurrection (which is unlikely) it's likely to be this one living saint who got it as their great gift and who doesn't look quite like more normal representatives of their church. The Church Millitant might have standardised training metrics and all be able to cast the same spells, but the powerful oddball stuff goes to the oddballs the gods have personally found worthy.

I have a habit of doing this in worldbuilding for wizards as well. Average wizards look fairly normal - but genuine expert wizards in a field of magic frequently have about ten hit points and the physical fitness of elderly academics while being hyperspecialised into a field they can't truly talk about with more than half a dozen people on the planet. Or they might have the age and temperament of a caffeine addicted grad student.

This to me is not only more interesting worldbuilding than everyone having the same cookie cutter rafts of spells adventurers do, and not only easier to run, it leads to plothooks. Why do the PCs need to protect the Archmage of Portals? Because he's seen no combat more deadly than an academic symposium and only knows a little abjuration magic to protect himself. And the archmage of divination? Discovered early on that they'd die in combat at some point and isn't a fighter - which is why he wants the PCs to protect them. Which is a big part of what the PCs are providing these guys; they might have some eighth level spells that are extremely useful and necessary but they aren't adventuring wizards with a rack of combat spells. They're loremasters and researchers.

 

[Leatherhead]

Berbalang (MToF)​

Today’s entry is kind of a special one. This is the first creature in the book that isn’t likely to do any kind of fighting at all. Previous entries might have been hunters who had no reason to stick around and die, but the Berbalang actually has no reason to attack a PC. In fact, the Berbalang will probably just ignore a group of adventurers, unless they start harassing it or taking it’s stuff. Which in retrospect is actually highly likely, so it’s good that they have some means to defend themselves.

The Berbalang is a necromancer in the traditional sense. It spends it’s days poking around dead bodies (they are particularly fond of the dead gods that are dumped in the Astral Plane) and casting Speak With Dead on them to hear their stories and juicy secrets. Sometimes other people want to hear these secrets, which is where you are likely to include the Berbalang in one of your campaigns. The non-violent way to get a Berbalang to listen to you is to give it a good secret or the bones of an interesting creature (which presumably has a secret).

The violent way to get a Berbalang to listen to you is going to be more difficult than their CR 2 stat block would first imply. Firstly, if you aren’t facing the Berbalang in it’s lair, you aren’t actually facing the Berbalang. Their Spectral Duplicate ability allows them to create a secondary disposable body, which they use to safely traverse the multiverse and learn secrets. Secondly, if you do manage to find one in it’s lair, they can cast Plane Shift as an action to escape. And realistically speaking, if a group of people tracked down your home on the Astral Plane and started a fight with you, they are probably punching far above what a CR 2 monster can handle. Should the stars align for a perfect ambush situation (or perhaps the party just casts Counterspell) the Berbalang will be forced to use it’s multiattack and make a break for it by flying.

In the reprinting, the Berbalang gained a hefty chunk of HP, and lost a snarky comment in it’s language listings about how it rarely speaks.

 

[Marandahir]

Well, the Sidekick classes require either a PC or an NPC stat block.

Right - But the Bard stat block doesn’t qualify for Sidekick classes as it’s CR 2. It’s designed for a different purpose.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Right - But the Bard stat block doesn’t qualify for Sidekick classes as it’s CR 2. It’s designed for a different purpose.

The sidekick can turn any low CR critter into a bard though. Personally, I would make them experts, I'm not a fan of spellcasting bards, I think they should be exceptional, not the norm.

 

[Sulicius]

The Berbalang is such a wonderful creature, but it’s a shame it looks like a plain imp or devil.