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

[Leatherhead]

Bheur Hag (VGtM)​

The second Hag in this book is the Hag of Ice and Snow, and given that hags can now be guys, there is really only one way to introduce this monster now:

Spoiler: Dramatic pause

The Bheur Hag isn’t just about being cold, they are about doing selfish things while being cold, and inspiring others to do them too. Like hoarding food, or chopping down sacred groves for firewood. To help speed this process along, they can cast Control Weather, which has the power to turn even sun-baked desert into an arctic tundra in a few hours. Notably, this spell is granted as a power that isn’t part of their spellcasting stat block, presumably because they do not need their signature Greystaff Focus to cast it.

Their Greystaff is both a spellcasting focus, and a personal Broom of Flying for the Bheur hag. Allowing them to soar the snowy skies, and shoot deadly ice from above, making the Greystaff a prime target for thievery, disarming, and/or sundering. Speaking of spells, like all hags, the Bheur can join a coven to gain access to their shared spellcasting ability, however it is worth noting that this is the first casting statblock we have seen where most of the damaging spells are left intact.

In combat the Hag will go for the quickest kill possible. For an opening move, consider their Wall of Ice spell, using the option to make 10 wall segments, and having said segments plow through the party, dealing a hefty 10d6 AoE damage and setting up the good old divide-and-conquer. Follow up with a couple of Ice Shards to focus down one target while they can’t run away, or maybe even Ice Storm if they can hit three or more targets and possibly get a kill.

As a note to DMs looking for some tips regarding how to use these creatures (because the book unfortunately doesn’t offer much in that department) be prepared to horrify your players and be branded a “Killer DM” Because this next step is a doozy.

Once a creature is killed, the Bheur Hag can swoop down and take a bite out of them, using their Horrific Feast power as an AoE control. Note this power can be powered by freshly killed pets, henchmen, and even random fauna that just happens to be in the area of the fight when everything pops off. Using this power can create a snowball effect, because every creature that fails it saving throw will be stricken with fear and incapacitated for up to 60 seconds, which can easily spiral into a TPK. On the bright side for players, this is a good opportunity to actually attempt a disarm. Furthermore, eating the dead creature means the lower level resurrection spells may not even work on the recently deceased should the players win the fight.

Anyway, once Horrific Feast has been used, the only thing left for the Hag to use is their beefy basic attacks to finish out the rest of the combat. Maybe throwing in a Cone of Cold to satiate their sadistic tendencies and leave some ice sculptures around. If it looks like the Hag can’t win, they will fly away if possible, but without the added mobility of their Greystaff, they might be forced to fight to the death.

In the changeover, the Bheur Hag lost their Ray of Frost Cantrip, but gained a Multiattack. This Multiattck, when combined with a generous damage boost, nearly quintupled their at-will damage output. Maddening Feast was renamed Horrific Feast, and the rest of the statblock was cleaned up for formatting.

 

[Sulicius]

I’m really happy to see they gave the bheur hag more teeth. Good stuff, I hope they will do similar things to the OG hags, and make the coven rules less reliant on all hags being alive.

 

[Remathilis]

I had a shower epiphany the other day.

Monster stat blocks no longer have caster levels, as in "as an x level caster". Which is why NPCs no longer get spell slots and why monsters no longer get cantrips whose effects are tied to caster level (like attack ones). I'm not sure the reason why, but if anyone can find an example of a motm monster who specifies a caster level for a spell, I'll be surprised.

 

[Weiley31]

I'm not sure the reason why,

WoTC did it because they want to make it so that way monsters are easier to run by the DM. That was one of their major design goals when making Monsters of The Multiverse and Monster Stat blocks going forward.

 

[Remathilis]

WoTC did it because they want to make it so that way monsters are easier to run by the DM. That was one of their major design goals when making Monsters of The Multiverse and Monster Stat blocks going forward.

I'm not sure saying "use this ability as a 11th level caster" was complicated.

 

[Weiley31]

I'm not sure saying "use this ability as a 11th level caster" was complicated.

I agree. But WoTC is gonna WoTC.

 

[dave2008]

It bothers me that we're moving back to "stat blocks are for combat only" rather than "stat blocks are the character sheet of monsters".

Except maybe in 3e, stat blocks have never been the character sheet of monsters.

1e & 2e the actual stat block had way to little information.
4e had monsters specifically designed differently from PCs
5e provide a lot more information and was closer to PCs than 1e, 2e, & 4e, but still their own thing. These changes are just pushing them a little more toward being their own thing.

 

[dave2008]

I'm not sure saying "use this ability as a 11th level caster" was complicated.

Then I (DM) have to know what is the ability of an 11th level caster. I generally do not, nor do I want to, get into that much detail of a PCs class. I generally prefer to have what I need in the stat block.

 

[HammerMan]

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).

but even that... spells are not a ladder. Why do I need to learn how to throw lightning and teleport before I can learn to have forsight?

I realize you jumped to the farthest you could for a hyperbolic example, but imagine an NPC priest/acolyte what ever you want to call them that could raise dead or ressurect or true res at will, but had no cantrips and only 5HD. They can't heal a PC...unless someone kills them first.

Imagine an enemy spell caster that could call a cone of cold 2/day, but can't cast magic missle.

 

[Leatherhead]

Blackguard (VGtM)​

The Anti-Paladin Strikes back. Though nowadays Paladins can just be evil with the Oath of Conquest or something similar, the blackguard represents a paladin who broke their oath and went on to a life of evil. Or just a Paladin who broke their oath, because Blackguards can be not-evil now, which would make them an anti-hero instead. One minor nitpick, despite the artwork showing an iconic greatsword, the statblock uses a glave.

Finding a place for a Blackguard in your campaign can be quite the hassle. First you have to establish an order of Paladins with an oath, then you have to figure out why someone would abandon them. Such stories can be the basis for entire novels or games in themselves.

In combat, the Blackguard isn't quite as easy to use as they seem. They should always be mounted when possible, being able to cast Summon Steed gives them a Warhorse that they can deploy even when far away from a stable, and having a massive 60’ of movement speed shores up one of the blackguard’s greatest weaknesses, it’s relatively short effective range. While they can smite with their shortbow now, the shortbow only deals 1d6+2 damage, making it more of a last resort. Alternatively, the mount can just be used as an additional combatant.

Their routine is relatively simple, just keep attacking, and use Smite every turn. Given that their Smite has no recharge mechanic, they can just spam it all the time, eventually someone will fail their saving throw, allowing the Blackguard to blind them or knock them prone (the later is great for knocking annoying flyers out of the sky with their shortbow). When the Blackguard presses a target or two into a corner, they can then deploy their Dreadful Aspect to inflict an AoE fear for up to 60 seconds. For other spells they can use: Command, which is great for drama but a little light on what it can actually do. And Dispel Magic, which is handy for dealing with those ever-pesky casters.

In the changeover, the Blackguard lost it’s Smite Spells in favor of an unlimited Bonus Action smite power. It also lost the Protection from good and evil spell. In return, it gained a big helping of extra HP, and it’s Glave attack doubled it’s damage thanks to a necrotic rider.