D&D 5E Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
Charles Rampant
Explorer
One complaint that you might hear from your Cleric players is that there are not enough Celestials for them to summon. The Ki-Rin is sadly way too powerful to really help in that regard, but it is an interesting addition to the game anyway.
The art in Volo’s for the Ki-Rin is pretty odd. It’s very eye-catching, and dominates the page that it is on (thanks to lots of white space and the shiny colours) but it doesn’t impress all that much. It’s okay, don’t get me wrong, but just not my favourite by a long shot.
The Ki-Rin gets one of the longest entries in the book, at two pages, and it fills a lot of that space with a description of how they fit into the world. I know that other things in the game - Kenku, Oni, etc - are Asian themed monsters, but the Ki-Rin feels the least well integrated of any of them. Perhaps because the name is the most obviously foreign of the three? Either way, I’m not that big a fan of it. They operate as something like a cross between a Unicorn (horned horse protector of a place with magical powers) and an Angel (flying messenger spirit of a god). I’m a big fan of the Unicorn, having used them from time to time and found them a really useful NPC to be able to draw up, and the Ki-Rin being a bigger flying version isn’t really justifying itself to me. I suppose that you could have some fun stuff with the players interacting with the ‘forces of heaven’ in their plane, so Unicorns, Angels and Ki-Rin, and then probably it will stand out nicely from the other two, but when needing a symbol of Good's involvement in the fight, I think that I’d find myself reaching for a Deva every time.
They have a tendency to gather followers and use their lairs as shrines and monastic retreats. That is probably a nice place for a Hermit to have discovered his Secret, or for an Acolyte to have learned his religion, letting you use this as an in-built NPC that the players can seek out at their own pace.
This is one of the things that you’re not really meant to fight. Regardless, it has a boss profile, with Legendary Resistance, 18th-level Cleric spellcasting that focuses on healing not harming, three attacks a turn for decent if underwhelming damage, and Legendary Actions. I think that this profile is designed to fight alongside the players, healing them and not overshadowing them in the damage department. If you wanted to hurt players, then having it just fly overhead and cast Sacred Flame from maximum range is probably about as good as it’ll get.
The art in Volo’s for the Ki-Rin is pretty odd. It’s very eye-catching, and dominates the page that it is on (thanks to lots of white space and the shiny colours) but it doesn’t impress all that much. It’s okay, don’t get me wrong, but just not my favourite by a long shot.
The Ki-Rin gets one of the longest entries in the book, at two pages, and it fills a lot of that space with a description of how they fit into the world. I know that other things in the game - Kenku, Oni, etc - are Asian themed monsters, but the Ki-Rin feels the least well integrated of any of them. Perhaps because the name is the most obviously foreign of the three? Either way, I’m not that big a fan of it. They operate as something like a cross between a Unicorn (horned horse protector of a place with magical powers) and an Angel (flying messenger spirit of a god). I’m a big fan of the Unicorn, having used them from time to time and found them a really useful NPC to be able to draw up, and the Ki-Rin being a bigger flying version isn’t really justifying itself to me. I suppose that you could have some fun stuff with the players interacting with the ‘forces of heaven’ in their plane, so Unicorns, Angels and Ki-Rin, and then probably it will stand out nicely from the other two, but when needing a symbol of Good's involvement in the fight, I think that I’d find myself reaching for a Deva every time.
They have a tendency to gather followers and use their lairs as shrines and monastic retreats. That is probably a nice place for a Hermit to have discovered his Secret, or for an Acolyte to have learned his religion, letting you use this as an in-built NPC that the players can seek out at their own pace.
This is one of the things that you’re not really meant to fight. Regardless, it has a boss profile, with Legendary Resistance, 18th-level Cleric spellcasting that focuses on healing not harming, three attacks a turn for decent if underwhelming damage, and Legendary Actions. I think that this profile is designed to fight alongside the players, healing them and not overshadowing them in the damage department. If you wanted to hurt players, then having it just fly overhead and cast Sacred Flame from maximum range is probably about as good as it’ll get.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
The ki-rin is a rather underwhelming opponent, especially considering some of them are actually supposed to fight evil while worshiping Torm. The most devastating thing it can do is plane shift an attacker away to somewhere else in the multiverse. As a plot healer though, they can do anything you would need a healer to do. Except re-attach an arm, for some reason you have to be dead before they can fix that. Good enough to quest for, if some heavy duty clerical assistance is needed by the PC's.
If you have an evil group that needs to dispose of such a creature, keep in mind it should be guarded, typically by monks, and a few other celestial creatures. You could also consider swapping some spells out, but most of the good cleric spells involve things like summoning someone else to fight for you. Consider instead, pilfering from the Paladin's or Druid's spell list. Spiritual Weapon and Bless are also good options.
Realistically though, the ki-rin is a force multiplier in combat. The main tactic of the beast is to keep it's minions buffed and healed, while the PC's try desperately to kill it before they end up defeated themselves. The ki-rin has very formidable defensive options for this style of encounter, including Sanctuary if need be. And swapping into spells like Mass Heal and Revivify will cause the PC's to pull their hair out. Although it will be an extremely frustrating war of attrition for the PC's, it will be a memorable boss fight for sure.
If you have an evil group that needs to dispose of such a creature, keep in mind it should be guarded, typically by monks, and a few other celestial creatures. You could also consider swapping some spells out, but most of the good cleric spells involve things like summoning someone else to fight for you. Consider instead, pilfering from the Paladin's or Druid's spell list. Spiritual Weapon and Bless are also good options.
Realistically though, the ki-rin is a force multiplier in combat. The main tactic of the beast is to keep it's minions buffed and healed, while the PC's try desperately to kill it before they end up defeated themselves. The ki-rin has very formidable defensive options for this style of encounter, including Sanctuary if need be. And swapping into spells like Mass Heal and Revivify will cause the PC's to pull their hair out. Although it will be an extremely frustrating war of attrition for the PC's, it will be a memorable boss fight for sure.
MechaTarrasque
Hero
I think it is the curse of the odd number editions that, outside of the Solar and maybe the Planetar, celestials are better support than combat. Conjure celestial is consistent with this: you aren't getting a really tough critter for a 7th level spell (and in theory you are pretty far behind, combatwise, using a 9th level spell for a CR 5 critter, although since we don't have any CR 9 elementals or fey (and not much in the way of CR 9 beasts), it is hard to compare to conjure elemental or conjure fey as a 9th level spell). Of course the celestials you get are chock full of utility/support so CC is still a really good spell. Likewise, I think they are trying to keep DM's from unintentionally making things too easy with planar ally...... I am not a big fan of conjure monster I-IX giving you 8 monsters per level (all good until you get MMII and "I wish I could summon one of them" kicks in), but at least it gave us some formidable celestials.
The long and the short of that is that the ki-rin is consistent with celestials in 5e, and that is probably how things will be until we get a Planescape AP (and maybe even then). The murderhoboes wandering around the Upper Planes are pretty safe until they run into a monstrosity (like a sphinx or naga), a good dragon, or worse yet said monstrosity/dragon hanging out with a celestial that can support them (somebody zap the unicorn before he heals the sphinx again).
{For the record, 2e had tougher celestials because they needed something to fill in Planescape, and in 4e, the angels were trying to kill you right along with the devils and demons.}
The long and the short of that is that the ki-rin is consistent with celestials in 5e, and that is probably how things will be until we get a Planescape AP (and maybe even then). The murderhoboes wandering around the Upper Planes are pretty safe until they run into a monstrosity (like a sphinx or naga), a good dragon, or worse yet said monstrosity/dragon hanging out with a celestial that can support them (somebody zap the unicorn before he heals the sphinx again).
{For the record, 2e had tougher celestials because they needed something to fill in Planescape, and in 4e, the angels were trying to kill you right along with the devils and demons.}
Chaosmancer
Legend
I'll agree Ki-Rin aren't big combat creatures, unless you start swapping spells. Essentially though, they are an 18th level cleric, so any cleric spell tricks you can think of this thing can pull off. It just needs to know what's coming.
One cool way to use them would be to deal with a terrible disease. Something magical and nearly impossible to cure. Let's say the Queen has been inflicted with a deadly disease that will kill her, and the only cure is to eat the fruit of a fairy tree that grows by a moonlit waterfall in the mountains. The journey would take too long, and the disease will claim her, but Curses and Diseases are suppressed within a Ki-Rin's lair. If you can get her there, she can be maintained until the cure is found.
On a combat level, that ability is amazing as well, I just realized. Any evil party trying to track and kill a Ki-Rin has all their curses, disease spells, and poison spells neutralized. Which could be bad news for certain types of parties.
One cool way to use them would be to deal with a terrible disease. Something magical and nearly impossible to cure. Let's say the Queen has been inflicted with a deadly disease that will kill her, and the only cure is to eat the fruit of a fairy tree that grows by a moonlit waterfall in the mountains. The journey would take too long, and the disease will claim her, but Curses and Diseases are suppressed within a Ki-Rin's lair. If you can get her there, she can be maintained until the cure is found.
On a combat level, that ability is amazing as well, I just realized. Any evil party trying to track and kill a Ki-Rin has all their curses, disease spells, and poison spells neutralized. Which could be bad news for certain types of parties.
Demetrios1453
Hero
I do believe that the CR for the ki-rin is a bit low at CR 12; the 3e version was CR 18. As a powerful paragon for the forces of good, I think it should have been at least CR 15 or so. Granted, I'm not so annoyed by this as by two other lower-than-expected CRs that will come later in the book...
Going back to the hobgoblins a bit, I do love what 5e has done by giving us a good amount variants for the common low-level humanoids (other than the poor goblins, who seem a bit left out on this subject). It definitely makes planning encounters/campaigns revolving around such creatures both fun and interesting. My only quibble with hobgoblins is that the flavor text in both the MM and VGtM makes me wonder where all the great hobgoblin military dictatorships are at. We do have a few scattered around various settings (in Eberron, and along the Slave Coast in Greyhawk to a point), but one would expect there to be a lot more threatening civilized lands in many settings given how they are portrayed. I know that I've come up with some really interesting homebrew ideas concerning hobgoblin lands...
Going back to the hobgoblins a bit, I do love what 5e has done by giving us a good amount variants for the common low-level humanoids (other than the poor goblins, who seem a bit left out on this subject). It definitely makes planning encounters/campaigns revolving around such creatures both fun and interesting. My only quibble with hobgoblins is that the flavor text in both the MM and VGtM makes me wonder where all the great hobgoblin military dictatorships are at. We do have a few scattered around various settings (in Eberron, and along the Slave Coast in Greyhawk to a point), but one would expect there to be a lot more threatening civilized lands in many settings given how they are portrayed. I know that I've come up with some really interesting homebrew ideas concerning hobgoblin lands...
Charles Rampant
Explorer
The Kobolds are a bit of a weird race to me - the game seems to alternate wildly between treating them as comedy fodder and wanting you to respect them as dangerous low-level foes. Volo’s gives some space in chapter one to them, which focuses on explaining how their society functions, and how they view outsiders and Dragons, but which also has mainly humorous images, which I think shows this schizophrenic view at work. This is on top of text that tries to make you feel sorry for them, while not really explaining their Evil status. Meanwhile, we get three new profiles here, the first of which is the Kobold Dragonshield.
Standing in front of a dragon egg, and furiously gesturing with its spear, the art in the book is good. The stance seems oddly splayed, but otherwise I like it, especially with the no-frills quality of the Kobold’s equipment, which combines simple leather armour with a shield made from a Dragon’s scale.
So the Dragonshield is normally a Kobold that is promoted - and given magical power - by a Dragon to guard its eggs. However, sometimes they are born with the abilities from birth, meaning that you can use them just as upgrades to the Kobolds. These guys, like all Kobolds, are cowards deep down, and they combine that with a sensation that they don’t deserve their elevated position in the tribe. From this potent mix, the Dragonshields can summon the courage to die a good death, helping the tribe survive.
The Dragonshield has a great statblock. With a good amount of HP and two attacks a turn, they’ll represent as viable members of the combat, on top of typical Kobold Sunlight Sensitivity and Pack Tactics. On top of this, they get resistance to a relevant Draconic damage type, and the highlight of their profile, Heart of the Dragon. This ability allows the Dragonshield to roll against fear or paralysis on itself at the start of its turn, and if successful then it can strip that condition from all nearby Kobolds and let them attack with advantage. That is a really fun ability, the sort of thing that combines the flavour text with some simple but effective rules to be a memorable addition to the combat. I don’t know how often it’ll come up, but when it does then you’ll probably have a guy that provokes respect in the players.
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Standing in front of a dragon egg, and furiously gesturing with its spear, the art in the book is good. The stance seems oddly splayed, but otherwise I like it, especially with the no-frills quality of the Kobold’s equipment, which combines simple leather armour with a shield made from a Dragon’s scale.
So the Dragonshield is normally a Kobold that is promoted - and given magical power - by a Dragon to guard its eggs. However, sometimes they are born with the abilities from birth, meaning that you can use them just as upgrades to the Kobolds. These guys, like all Kobolds, are cowards deep down, and they combine that with a sensation that they don’t deserve their elevated position in the tribe. From this potent mix, the Dragonshields can summon the courage to die a good death, helping the tribe survive.
The Dragonshield has a great statblock. With a good amount of HP and two attacks a turn, they’ll represent as viable members of the combat, on top of typical Kobold Sunlight Sensitivity and Pack Tactics. On top of this, they get resistance to a relevant Draconic damage type, and the highlight of their profile, Heart of the Dragon. This ability allows the Dragonshield to roll against fear or paralysis on itself at the start of its turn, and if successful then it can strip that condition from all nearby Kobolds and let them attack with advantage. That is a really fun ability, the sort of thing that combines the flavour text with some simple but effective rules to be a memorable addition to the combat. I don’t know how often it’ll come up, but when it does then you’ll probably have a guy that provokes respect in the players.
Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app
Mecheon
Sacabambaspis
I've always been a bit disappointed in Celestials for D&D. They've always not really lived up to their potential. Now, if we got something like good ol' 82 White Chain Born in Emptiness Returns to Subdue Evil or 6 Juggernaut Star Scours the Universe from Kill Six Billion Demons, I'd probably be more happy with them
But, well, Juggernaut Star is an angel who rides a skeletal motorbike with wheels that are worryingly similar to Biblical depictions of angels, and basically incredibly amazingly metal
The Kirin is a thing, the problem is, well, its original myth was that it would never step on the ground, or that it could stand upon a single blade of grass which doesn't really work in terms of being a D&D critter too much. Honestly I would have played up the wind and flight parts rather than the celestial parts, but, well, that's D&D
Aren't kobolds a bit more doggish in this version, art-wise? Its interesting to see them mix a bit between the dominant 3e and 4e lizard types, and the older 1e and 2e dog ones.
But, well, Juggernaut Star is an angel who rides a skeletal motorbike with wheels that are worryingly similar to Biblical depictions of angels, and basically incredibly amazingly metal
The Kirin is a thing, the problem is, well, its original myth was that it would never step on the ground, or that it could stand upon a single blade of grass which doesn't really work in terms of being a D&D critter too much. Honestly I would have played up the wind and flight parts rather than the celestial parts, but, well, that's D&D
Aren't kobolds a bit more doggish in this version, art-wise? Its interesting to see them mix a bit between the dominant 3e and 4e lizard types, and the older 1e and 2e dog ones.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
The evil of the Kobold is that of selfish and petty revenge. They live by a bully or be bullied "might makes me the boss" set of rules, and because they are so weak this philosophy often puts them at the bottom of their hierarchies. While they are at the bottom, they like the drag as many things down with them, which isn't much mind you, but misery loves company. It might seem very minor, but remember, kobolds are one of the few monsters that are actually weaker than a human. Something that puts them in a rather unique design space when most monsters, animals, and humanoids can outpace a human easily.
As for the Kobold Dragonshield: One of these guys riding a Guard Drake would make for a memorable boss fight for starting characters. The two monsters by themselves are just barely interesting, but the two of them combined into one unit gives the both of them lots of options. If they share a resistance, they can exploit it by flooding the encounter area with the energy type. The Guard Drakes's advanced mobility options combined with the ranged attacks of the Dragonshield allow the duo to pepper the party from a vast array of angles in order to often them up. Then they can move in for the kill against the softer back line targets, where both of the creatures attacks (and the Dragonshield's pack tactics) can be brought to bear. Which should be enough to take out anyone who isn't a raging barbarian. And don't forget to add in a bunch of lesser kobolds scampering about, throwing in their attacks while the PC's are distracted, then running away when they are confronted.
Alternatively, this guy can be used as a vanguard in a fight, distracting the PC's for a round or two while the rest of the kobolds use ranged attacks with advantage against the party. It's a suicide mission, but it will dramatically up the threat of the rest of the tribe for those few seconds it stays up.
As for the Kobold Dragonshield: One of these guys riding a Guard Drake would make for a memorable boss fight for starting characters. The two monsters by themselves are just barely interesting, but the two of them combined into one unit gives the both of them lots of options. If they share a resistance, they can exploit it by flooding the encounter area with the energy type. The Guard Drakes's advanced mobility options combined with the ranged attacks of the Dragonshield allow the duo to pepper the party from a vast array of angles in order to often them up. Then they can move in for the kill against the softer back line targets, where both of the creatures attacks (and the Dragonshield's pack tactics) can be brought to bear. Which should be enough to take out anyone who isn't a raging barbarian. And don't forget to add in a bunch of lesser kobolds scampering about, throwing in their attacks while the PC's are distracted, then running away when they are confronted.
Alternatively, this guy can be used as a vanguard in a fight, distracting the PC's for a round or two while the rest of the kobolds use ranged attacks with advantage against the party. It's a suicide mission, but it will dramatically up the threat of the rest of the tribe for those few seconds it stays up.
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