D&D (2024) Monster Manual 2025 Monstrosities Video

[DarkCrisis]

Male Harpies. I'll team them up with the male Hags.

 

[Mistwell]

Notably, it seems like PC Goblins, Kobolds, Kenku, and others may be getting a secret buff in that they’ll be immune to Charm Person.

I think Charm Person and Hold Person got big stealth nerfs. The pool of targets for these spells shrank by a meaningful amount.

Which I am fine with. But it's the kind of thing a player might not realize when choosing those fairly classic spells. I expect there will be a lot of wasted turns on "I cast Charm Person on the Kenku. Huh. Didn't work. I guess they made their save?"

 

[Mistwell]

We need Spiderhorse back!

 

[Reynard]

I think Charm Person and Hold Person got big stealth nerfs. The pool of targets for these spells shrank by a meaningful amount.

Which I am fine with. But it's the kind of thing a player might not realize when choosing those fairly classic spells. I expect there will be a lot of wasted turns on "I cast Charm Person on the Kenku. Huh. Didn't work. I guess they made their save?"

This is off topic but is an interesting question: if a player casts a spell on a subject that is immune to or simply can't be affected by the spell, do you tell them that?

I tend to roll saves in the open (or let Fantasy Grounds show the results if playing online) so "pretending they made the save" is not really an option.

 

[Mistwell]

This is off topic but is an interesting question: if a player casts a spell on a subject that is immune to or simply can't be affected by the spell, do you tell them that?

I tend to roll saves in the open (or let Fantasy Grounds show the results if playing online) so "pretending they made the save" is not really an option.

When I DM I try to give a hint. It's up to the player to pay enough attention to pick up on the hint, but if they are paying attention they will get it, regardless of their hint-detecting natural skills. Like, "Your arcane senses feel like something odd happened with your spell. Like the spell couldn't see the Kenku, found no being to latch onto within it, and passed harmlessly into the air as if you'd tried to cast charm person on a rock."

This has the potential of misleading the player into thinking the Kenku is an illusion though, and if that assumption is made I'd modify my description to correct for that unintentional misleading description.

 

[MGibster]

I'll be honest with you guys, I've always felt creature categories were a bit arbitrary. I can live with it, but how do you define a creature as "unnatural" in a fantasy world?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Kenku

Should be abominations.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

To be clear, that was not the owlbear, but the primeval owlbear. A larger and more magical / fey touched version of the creature.

I think their point was, such a slow fly speed feels kinda jokey.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Funny thing: they are joking about someone should do a study that things which are closer to human are more scary/discomforting...
... which already studies exist about (although often related to robots).

The effect is called: uncanny valley.

Was a factor in why the movie Polar Express failed to meet expectations.

Nowadays figures in animated movies are often intentionally less human looking.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

In Monsters of the Multiverse while NPC Hobgoblins were Fey, PC Hobgoblins, Goblins and Bugbears were Humanoids of the Goblinoid subtype with the Fey Ancestry Trait which was Advantage on saves vs the Charmed condition.

Monsters of the Multiverse was written when they were considering the changes in the Monster Manual.

The Spelljammer PC races, BTW, are interesting in that you can be a construct (autognome), monstrosity (thri-kreen), or ooze (plasmoid). The poor giff in my party has been the target of hold person by default several times.