Monsters that punch above their CR

[Older Beholder]

>Ghouls will always be what comes to mind - a few unlucky saves, and the party will be seriously hurting, if not ghoulfood.

The various dragon cultists (Dragonwing, Dragonsoul, etc.) from Tyranny of Dragons<<

Yeah, Ghouls make good mobs at higher levels in the company of other undead, it certainly added to the challenge with the Revenant I mentioned originally, the other party members had their hands full dealing with that allowing the Revenant to get one on one with his target.

i started playing ToDs but it fell apart after a couple of sessions unfortunately

 

[Sacrosanct]

kobolds and goblins. Not because of their statblock, but how they are played. Super low CR, but their guerrilla tactics and traps everywhere, they are devastating. Especially since most PCs encounter them at level 1 or 2. If you're playing a kobold or goblin in a straight up face to face battle akin to an arena style, you aren't doing it right I remember when LMoP came out, and we had a TPK right out of the gate in the goblin caves. Their ability to basically shoot and disappear wrecked havoc on the party.

There is a monster in the ToB, starts with an M I think, that is way overpowered for it's CR. I remember playtesting it, but apparently they didn't listen to our feedback lol. At will magic missiles and a bunch of other abilities and powers was crazy.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

There is a monster in the ToB, starts with an M I think, that is way overpowered for it's CR. I remember playtesting it, but apparently they didn't listen to our feedback lol. At will magic missiles and a bunch of other abilities and powers was crazy.

I think you are talking about the Malphas (Storm Crow).

CR 6
at will magic missile
1/day haste
multiattack with three longsword attacks (+7 to hit, 1d8+4)
1/round bonus action to cast magic missile on a creature after making a successful melee attack on that creature
reaction to cast magic missile if struck by a ranged attack
oh yeah, and they can fly

yikes!

 

[Older Beholder]

>>Banshee (MM, CR 4) - Wail - once/day; one bad Saving Throw and the PC is dropped to 0 HP.<<

I thought this one would come up, I've never used Banshees other than in roles of NPC's that probably shouldn't be messed with.

this reminds me, in some ways a Sea Hag can be a bigger threat than a Green Hag, sure the Green has HPs and AC, but that death glare, sure, low DC save, but 0 HPs is still gunna slow ya down on a fail.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think you are talking about the Malphas (Storm Crow).

CR 6
at will magic missile
1/day haste
multiattack with three longsword attacks (+7 to hit, 1d8+4)
1/round bonus action to cast magic missile on a creature after making a successful melee attack on that creature
reaction to cast magic missile if struck by a ranged attack
oh yeah, and they can fly

yikes!

OH, they listened a little then. They were CR5 in the playtest

 

[GlassJaw]

I almost killed a party with a group of flaming skulls.

The one in LMoP had my party running after a well-placed fireball!

 

[GlassJaw]

Bugbears

Only CR 1 but decent AC 16 and enough hit points to survive a couple of attacks. The real kicker is their 2d8+4 damage. I've had novice and experienced players alike get completely taken off guard by how hard they hit.

 

[Stalker0]

I almost killed a party with a group of flaming skulls.

Yeah if I was going to pick one it would be a flaming skull. A fireball to start the party against 4th level members is no joke. Combined with a fast flying speed that lets them evade danger they can be tough to take down.

 

[Henry]

There's a creature in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes called the Venom Troll that is a CR7 critter that can be DEVASTATING to even higher-level parties if a particular party is very melee-heavy and not ranged-attack-heavy. Every time the thing is hit with damage, acidic pustules pop and damage all creatures within 5 feet of it with poison damage. A party in melee with it is potentially damaging themselves every time they hit it...

 

[77IM]

Giant Octopus