MonsterEnvy
Legend
I should note that a character that can't breathe will drop to 0 HP in their con mod in rounds (Min 1). They only get minutes equal to 1 + Constitution modifier if they hold their breath in advance.
D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
FitzTheRuke
Legend
Yeah, I often hear about how "long" characters can hold their breath when being choked or drowning in 5e. That's only when they take a deep breath and hold it! It's much shorter when it's a "surprise".
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
It seems like the idea of PCs having to manually breathe would be quite the can of worms to open.
What kind of action would you rule as needed for a gulping enough air to hold it? Personally, I could see it either as a "Non Action" (meaning you can only control it on your turn) or as a Reaction.
What kind of action would you rule as needed for a gulping enough air to hold it? Personally, I could see it either as a "Non Action" (meaning you can only control it on your turn) or as a Reaction.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
I don't think I would allow you to hold your breath in response to being choked. That kind of innately squeezes the air out of you. Here are the exact rules.
Parmandur
Book-Friend
My impression from the Orc PC section is that Gruumsh was heading for a shift to Chaotic Neutral, meaning you could ha e True Neutral Druidic Orc societies or Chaotic Good Orc Socities that still honored Gruumsh, not just Evil McEvil stuff.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Trolls (MToF)
Trolls are giant kin that are famed for their supernatural ability to quickly regenerate damage. And not at all similar to the kind you will find on the internet (except perhaps the smell). The Trolls presented in this book are all mutations of sorts from the standard Troll in the MM. These mutations can be the result of rituals, exposure and survival to certain elements, or just a dietary change.
The book also mentions Vaprak the Destroyer, one of the Giant gods who lords over the Trolls (and sometimes other giants) but doesn’t go into too much detail about him.
It is worth mentioning, other than the traditional weaknesses of Fire and Acid, Trolls do have one noticeable deficiency in combat. Despite being Giants with functional arms and hands (even more so in the case of the Dire Troll) they lack the iconic Rock attack, making them susceptible to ranged tactics.
Dire Troll
Dire trolls are Trolls that have mutated by eating other Trolls. This act of cannibalism has gifted the Dire Troll with a huge size, great strength, multiple appendages, and a superior form of regeneration that isn’t totally shut down when exposed to acid or fire. Sporting multiple heads and arms, the Dire Troll hunts other Trolls (and anything they can get their claws on), in order to feed their ever-growing hunger.
The implications of the Dire Troll would lead one to believe there is a possible “Dire-Dire Troll”. With bigger stats, size, and hunger. But those stats aren’t official and best left to the machinations of a DM.
In combat, the CR 13 Dire Troll is a moderately quick melee creature, with a PBAoE attack and a multiattack to tear into foes. Their most interesting mutation is their super Regeneration. Not only does it partially function if exposed to their weakness, the Dire Troll can only be killed by a blow with a sufficient amount of either damage. Just pressing a torch against their body isn’t going to be enough. Honestly, it’s a better take on the traditional Fire or Acid based weakness of Trollkind.
In the changeover, the Dire Troll had their Keen Senses power folded into their Perception score.
Rot Troll
Rot Trolls are Trolls that are somehow bonded to necrotic energy. As a result of this wicked union, they lost their power to regenerate in favor of an aura of rotting energy. They also look like (an unconsumed) Deadpool, for what that is worth.
Given the undead’s natural propensity for necrotic energies, it is easy to imagine such a Troll in the company of them. But other than that, the Rot Troll is a monster that is lore first, aesthetics second, and interesting mechanics third at best.
In combat, the Rot Troll is a CR 9 melee unit with average speed. Their only stand-out gimmick is their aura of Necrotic damage, which can be shut down by either Fire or Acid Damage. While they can grapple, none of their standard attacks have grappling as a rider (favoring more necrotic damage instead).
In the changeover, Rot Trolls gained some damage on their melee attacks.
Spirit Troll
Spirit Trolls are trolls that survived psychic damage, and their body adapted to that by becoming Incorporeal beings. Hands-down the most radical mutation in the book, it also has the most interesting mechanical changes.
In fact, here is your Warning: Spirit Trolls are actually significantly more dangerous than their CR would imply.
In combat the Spirit Troll has a stunning attack, advanced movement that allows them to phase through objects and creatures, and psychic damage on all of the attacks (something that is rarely resisted). That’s just for offense, on the defensive side they boast a modified Trollish Regeneration that is only shut down by force and psychic damage, and resistance to the most common damage types (other than magical weapons)! Making them ideal for hit-and-run tactics.
In this reprinting, the Spirit Troll lost their immunity to non-magic weapons in favor of having more HP and resistances to non-magic weapons instead. Which is a good trade-off for a CR 11 creature, given that most PCs will have magic weapons around that time.
Venom Troll
Venom Trolls are Trolls that survived being poisoned. And I already know this creature is going to make the biology nerds bug out, as well as the people who are sensitive to self harm.
Venom Trolls have poison flowing throughout their body, coming out of their bite, their claws, and even their wounds. This poison is potent to the point where they can weaponize their injuries, making combat with one more grotesque than normal.
In combat, the CR 7 Venom Trolls have the standard Trollish kit: Regeneration, average speed, multiattack (albeit one with poison damage and condition riders). What makes them particularly stand out are the Poison Splash (which causes poison damage to nearby opponents when hurt) and Venom Spray (where the Troll cuts themselves open to cause a massive gushing geyser of poison blood to spew all over their enemies). The latter is notable for being one of the few attacks that explicitly causes damage to the creature using it.
In accordance with the new formatting, the Venom Troll had their Keen Senses folded into the Perception score.
FitzTheRuke
Legend
I would call it a non-action. You can choose to hold your breath (without any kind of action, say, before diving into water or running through a cloud of smoke) but you can't do it in response to suddenly finding yourself without air.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Ulitharid (VGtM)
Ulitharids are the most dangerous kind of Mind Flayer, not only due to their potency, but also their potential to go off and turn themselves into a new Elder Brain*.
*: Earlier in this book.
When not going off into the world to find a suitable place for splitting open their own skulls in a ritual designed to create a new colony, Ulitharids can serve as a proxy for an existing Elder Brain. Allowing the Elder Brain to forge a Psionic Link to any creature in range of the Ulitharid.
Ulitharids have a few interesting plot hooks. Firstly, they can be played against the Elder Brain, inciting a rebellion in a Colony. Secondly, their ritual staff is an item with quite a bit of potential. Not only can it be stolen or recovered by a band of adventurers (who are perhaps in the employ of some Gith) it raises the question: What happens when a non-Ulitharid affixes the staff to their own skull? What kind of psionic monster would be born of such a corrupted ritual?
Before the combat even starts, the Ulitharid should be aware of any intelligent creatures approaching them due to their Creature Sense, making it incredibly hard to ambush them. Both Scrying and Project Image can be used to counter any such attempts, though only one can be used at a time due to concentration.
In combat, the Ulitharid is a controller with lots of options. Firstly, their Signature Mind Blast is the traditional AoE damage+stun with an INT save, making it very effective against most groups of PCs. Mass Suggestion is another excellent opening move, “Run away back home, lest you be killed” is a totally reasonable suggestion, that can send some of the PCs packing, and even end the encounter as soon as it starts. Do not overlook the Tentacles, while it may seem a bit backwards to keep a controller in melee range, any creature caught up in such a grasp runs the risk of being stunned till they die (or get pulled free). Their other control options are more situational, Feeblemind should be kept in reserve unless necessary (As it makes the brain less tasty). Levitate is cumbersome, but useful against people protected against Charm (or to just toss heavy rocks around). And Dominate Monster can be useful, if nothing else is using their Concentration. Finally, if the combat goes sour, they can use Plane Shift to escape.
If your Ulitharid is psionically linked to an Elder Brain, don’t forget that the Elder Brain can use their Bonus Action to help out from anywhere on the same plane of existence. It’s not much, but digging into the target’s mind can provide a tactical advantage, which can then be broadcast back to the Ulitharid.
In this reprinting, the Ulitharid lost their Confusion and Eyebite spells. Unfortunately, they did not gain the new multiattack, let alone one that allows for spell swapping.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Vampiric Mist (MToF)
Vampiric Mists are one of those creatures that is far more interesting in their lore applications than they are to fight. To best explain what a Vampiric Mist is, we need to take a look at the Misty Escape Power of Vampires:
MM said:
The Vampiric Mist takes that second paragraph and just tosses it out of the window. Instead of being destroyed, the Vampire becomes a Vampiric Mist. A sort of Undead-Undead, if you will. The Mist spends its time avoiding daylight and sucking the blood out of sleeping creatures in a vain attempt to slake its never-ending thirst, much like it did before its transformation.
There are two easy potential hooks for a Vampiric Mist right off the bat. The first and most obvious is to use this creature on as an added challenge to the typical Vampire Boss fight, as a twist ending. The second use is to have the Vampires henchmen or cultists seek to restore their master via rebuilding their resting place, and use the Mist as a warning against the second coming of the Vampire. Having a campaign focused around preventing the “resurrection” of the Vampire starting with this hook, could be a good way to get the players involved with vampires at a lower level than normal.
In Combat, the Vampiric Mist is a CR 3 lurker type monster. Their best tactic is to sneak into a camp at night, and suck the blood out of anyone they can like a giant mosquito. When pressed into combat, the mist does have a lot of resistances and immunities to fall back upon, and the ability to heal itself when it sucks the blood out of someone, but it is not that great at actually dishing out the DPR . Should their initial attack not work out, it would be a good idea for the Mist to simply fly away and try again later or on some other prey.
In the changeover, the Vampiric Mist gained the Unusual Nature trait.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Vargouille (VGtM)
The Vargouille is yet another entry to the list of highly dangerous monsters, but there is a twist on that warning: Instead of being able to kill the target quickly in combat, the Vargouille is able to curse a target to die by draining their Charisma over the course of a day or so.
Vargouilles are fiends of Abyss, but not Demons. True Demons (even the lowly Manes) consider them pests, but they are highly dangerous to humanoids, to whom they can pass on their curse. Vargouilles are always looking for a way to escape the Abyss, and one of the most interesting things they can do is “piggy-back” their way into the Material World by latching themselves onto a Demon like a Tick. While most demonologists take great precautions to bind the Demons they summon, Vargouilles are not Demons, and are able to easily break or escape such bindings. A sudden Vargouille attack in the middle of an infernal ritual can not only lead to a flock of Vargouilles being born, it can often let the Demon escape their confinement. Allowing the ride-sharers to spread more chaos and destruction.
Vargouilles are an agile CR 1 flying melee unit, with a bit of control. Their Stunning Shriek sets up the Frightened and Stunned conditions, but more importantly the Incapacitated condition, which is needed to inflict their Abyssal Curse. The Abyssal Curse will not win a fight for the Vargouille, but it will ensure that the target dies, eventually. Any humanoid that has been inflicted with this curse should not be the target for further Vargouille attacks (unless they are hell-bent on destroying the Vargouille of course). If a creature manages to somehow avoid the curse long enough to shake off the stun, or never gets stunned in the first place, the Vargouille will simply bite them to death.
Vargouilles should also ambush sleeping people whenever possible. Having them ambush your lower level PCs in the middle of the night can lead to a dramatic mini-arc where they have until nightfall to find the nearest town priest who can remove their curse. Sunlight will ward off the changes, but is it better to travel or to rest in the mid-day? Individual fights might not be that time intensive, but taking long rests after them will be a difficult choice.
In this reprinting, the Vargouille had their Stunning Shriek changed into a 5-6 recharge, and had their Kiss renamed Abyssal Curse.
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