Hexmage-EN
Legend
Hmm. I know it makes their damage output more consistent, but the original version of the merregon where they needed a sufficiently strong devil around for the extra attack made encounters with them a bit more interesting.
D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
GMforPowergamers
Legend
this is like the big divide in the D&D fan community.
This is SO flavorful and gives a great synergy that adds to the story... BUT
either the math works out for them to be under damaging or over damaging depending on encounter... BUT
you could have both with a more complicated (not a lot but a bit) of having "they are CR X in this case but CR Y in this other and CR Z with this...
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Moloch (MToF)
Way back in February, I mentioned my copy of MotM had a printing error on the Moloch page.
Quite annoying I must say.
Anyway, Moloch is a deposed Archdevil, who was kicked out of the 9 Hells, for the crime of trying to overthrow Asmodeus. Every time he enters the plane, he is demoted to an imp, and cannot regain his powers until he leaves. As such, he spends most of his time elsewhere (notably in Sigil). Plotting and bargaining with what little scraps of information and power he has left in the hopes to amass another army and take back “his” realm of Malbolge, which is currently under the control of Glasya. While he still has cultists and minions, they are few and far between.
Meaning, if you ever need a desperate Archdevil to make a pact or bargain that is theoretically less beneficial for the Archdevil than a normal contract, Moloch has you covered.
In combat, Moloch is a legendary CR 21, meaning he can still pose some threat to your party. His multiattack has a selection of different elemental damage types to get around resistances, his Many-Tailed Whip can pull targets closer from a short distance (handy for traps, or even just doing a quick drag and drop). Breath of Despair is a short range AoE that inflicts a strong, long-lasting, fear. Moloch has a fair selection of control spells. Wall of Fire and Stinking Cloud, in particular, pair well with the dragging ability of his whip. But it is worth noting that ALL of his spells require concentration, so only one of them can be up at a time. He also has the ability to teleport 120’ as an action, should the need arise. And combined with his natural regeneration, getting away for a few rounds might just be the thing he needs for a second wind.
Moloch’s legendary actions pull from his pool of actions, either an attack, a spell (be mindful of the aforementioned concentration), or his teleport. Moloch has no lair to speak of anymore, so no lair actions.
In the Changeover, Moloch had elemental damage types appended to his attacks (due to the loss of the Magical Weapons ability). He also lost all of his not-castable-in-combat spells, along with his AoE fire spells, which were not replaced by an attack, surprisingly. A shame to be sure, as some ranged attacks would have covered the gaps in his combat prowess.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Molydues (MToF)
Standing 12’ tall, with the head of a wolf and with the head of a snake, a Molydues is the mouthpiece of their Demon Lord. Literally. A Demon Lord can see and speak through this demon’s snake head, enabling the Molydues to serve as the ultimate proxy. They are often employed to kill targets, subjugate troops, and guard treasure.
If you think that isn’t a lot of build up, you are right. Due to the unique nature of having their boss living rent free in one of their heads for eternity, they don’t have much in the way of free will. Just copy-paste the modus operandi of their Demon Lord for them, keeping in mind the limitations of this form.
At a legendary CR 21, they are tempting to use as a lesser boss when you don’t want to run a full strength Demon Lord, but quite frankly that is a mistake, I would rather fight the Demon Lord, these things are significantly more deadly.
Molydei wield a “vorpal” weapon, meaning their weapon decapitates a target on any natural 20 rolled. That’s right, it’s an instant death-with-no-save attack. Needless to say, those are extremely rare in 5e. They can use this weapon as part of their standard Multiattack and as a legendary action, all the swings make a crit more likely to happen as the battle drags on. Their Snake head attack is also worth mentioning, as it can reduce the target's Maximum HP, even through buffs like Temporary HP and alternate forms, providing another alternative way to kill a target. As a bonus, if they manage to kill a target by reducing the HP to 0, the target becomes a Manes.
Molydei also have a great selection of spells to pick from (especially Polymorph) and the ability to cast spells as a legendary action. Even Lighting Bolt, their weakest spell, is nice for the ranged combat coverage it provides.
In the changeover, Molydei lost their magical weapons power in favor of using elemental damage, and the damage on all of their attacks was bumped up a bit. They also ditched the Imprisonment spell, but they weren’t going to use that in the middle of combat anyway.
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MonsterEnvy
Legend
They also got actual art. If I ran a Molydeus (Molydei is the plural of it) I would probably change them to just do the extra damage on a crit rather than the instant kill. (Unless the party can easily undo death)
Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
At the level they're fighting a CR 21, they likely can. Probably why WotC figured it was safe to give them that power in the first place.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Morkoth (VGtM)
Morkoths are squid-like creatures with a level of greed that would put Scrooge McDuck to shame. Born from the flesh of a dead god, each Morthoth has their own personal island that drifts about the multiverse, from which they collect everything they can get their tentacles on. Treasure from bygone civilizations, knowledge, even people (who may be stuck living on the island for generations).
This provides nearly limitless opportunities to use one in your game. Does your Party need something? Or someone? A relatively safe way to travel between planes or into inhospitable environments? The Morkoth has those, and might be willing to bargain for them, if the price is right. Alternatively, the PCs could be trapped on such an island, looking for a way off. You could even start a campaign on the island, slowly building up the Morkoth as a sort of local deity.
The Morkoth have quite a degree of control over their island. They can change all the water as they see fit. Know whenever someone or something comes to the island, even pick your pocket from anywhere on the island. In the heart of the island, submerged underwater, is the Mortoth’s lair. Inside they can cast a decent selection of spells (including dispel magic), or even hypnotize as a lair action. Given the rules for drowning in 5e, the Morkoth might be one of the few monsters where that is a distinct possibility during a fight, so try to play up that angle. Changing the water opaque, then using their blindsight to fight is also a great tactic.
Do keep in mind, a Morkoth is not a legendary creature, so that’s about as tough as it will get. For the rest of its combat prowess, it has a multiattack that features multiple bites, but only one grappling tentacles attack (that seems backwards for sure). The aforementioned hypnosis ability, that charms targets and makes them come close to the Morkoth. And the ability to cast spells as an action, but not part of their multiattack (Fortunately, the lair actions pick up that slack a bit), notably they have Lighting Bolt as a ranged coverage spell. They also have an interesting reaction, where they can redirect a spell that targets them to anyone else they want, if the Morkoth saves VS the spell, or the spell attack misses. The ability is quite handy, as it can also be used to get around “Save for Half Damage” type effects that would have otherwise compromised the Morkoth.
In the Changeover, the Morkoth was changed from medium sized to large sized, gaining quite a bit of HP in the process. Like most spellcasters in this book, they lost a slew of spells, including powerhouses of Shield and Evard’s Black Tentacles.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Mouth of Grolantor (VGtM)
Hill Giants like to live a simple life of sleeping and eating. Their constitution enables them to eat even rotten or spoiled foodstuffs, and their stature offers significant advantages when raiding humanoid settlements, allowing most of them ample opportunities to feed. So it naturally comes as quite the shock to an entire Hill Giant community when one of their own stops being able to hold down their food. To the point where it is seen as a divine omen.
Less a proper character, and more like a walking natural disaster, a Mouth of Grolantor’s hunger would put even Gnolls to shame. If not restrained, they will inevitably attack and try to eat everyone they see, even would-be allies. No food store or storage is safe from their gluttony. This single-minded ravoness consumption is both their strength and their weakness. It should be trivially easy to distract a Mouth with a simple cart filled with fragrant foodstuffs. Or perhaps some potent ale kegs could cause one to fall into a slumber quicker. Allowing even level 1 PCs a chance to best the giant.
In combat, a Mouth is quicker than a traditional Hill Giant, and more dangerous in melee range (most of the time). They will spend every round trying to get into melee range and then attack and/or eat someone. Being a gimmick monster, the Mouth has its actions randomly decided with a d10 roll per round. If there is a target in melee range, there are no problems. If there isn’t, well (about) half the time they get advantage for the next round, and the rest of the time they suffer a setback.
Normally, I would be all for a typical combat routine, but this leaves much to be desired. Personally, I would have gone with a series of bonus actions. If some food is in range, eat it (and regain hp), if the giant can perceive some nearby food, dash towards it. If the giant can’t find any nearby food, bite a nearby creature instead. This would naturally be on top of the standard multiattack.
It is also worth noting, that as of the time of this post, there are quite a few discrepancies between the book version of this monster, and the
D&D beyond version of this monster. And I do not believe the later to be errata.
In the changeover, the Mouth of Grolantor had their magic immunity amended. No longer does it read “immune to confusion spells and similar magic”. Instead it just reads “ is immune to the confusion spell.”
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Nabassu (MToF)
Nabassu are truly Demons amongst Demons. They seek to kill and devour the souls of every creature they can, including other Demons. An act that is considered so deprived that even other Demons shun them. While there isn’t much you can do with a Demon, given their natures, the book does provide an interesting plot hook: Gangs of Nabassu sometimes gather to hunt down the amulets of a Demon Lord. Providing a fickle potential ally in the quest to permanently destroy such a creature.
Nabassu have a ritual that enables them to eat the soul of something they just killed, giving them a small power boost in return. Affording the DM an easy way to up their threat level by increments, and also a penalty for leaving the dead behind. They are also permanently in an area of dim light, but that hardly matters at the point in a game where CR 15 enemies are common.
In combat, the Nabassu has a decent fly speed, and multiattack with claw, bite, and gaze. The Gaze is the only truly interesting attack out of the three, a CHA save that drops the target’s maximum HP and heals the Nabassu for the damage dealt. An interesting tactic would be to find someone with low CHA, and keep eyeballing them to keep the demon’s HP regenerating while attacking other targets. As an added bonus, any target killed by having 0hp becomes a ghoul, giving the Nabassu a source for their only “natural” allies.
In the Changeover, the Nabassu lost their magical weapons ability in favor of necrotic and force damage on their attacks, while also upping the damage on those attacks. Additionally, they lost their necrotic resistance, gaining lighting resistance in it’s place.
Once again, I saw some typos on the D&D beyond page, I can't help but wonder if there is some sort of ARG going on here.
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