D&D 5E New Creature Critique - Dagonspawn

[LordEntrails]

It's mostly an artifact of giving the tentacles a mini stat block. The wording makes it unclear as to what can effect the tentacles. Though I do think that you should be able to shove a tentacle off of someone. Another thing to clear up, what are the saving throws of the tentacles?

Even with lower cost regen it's way to powerful. A player can basically shut this thing down with one action, by accident.

I can't think of another creature that has anything like tentacles I can look at. Can you?

I think by removing the hardened shell trait, the tentacles then have the same stat block and saves as the base right? I don't see anything that prevents the grapple being broken by any of the normal means, or to otherwise push the tentacles around. Just that with them being immune to prone etc, means you can push them around. I don't mind adding info on the tentacles that they could be restrained or such, but would that just be getting too detailed and picky?

Well yes, normal group wouldn't think to attack them more than once, especially after they grow back, but presumably someone could use a knowledge check or ask a sage about it. While they don't have the exact numbers, knowing that attacking the tentacles will cause the core to bleed out will drastically change the encounter. The less tentacles it has, the less attacks it can make, and the tentacles are significantly more vulnerable than the core itself.

I think to leave some of this up to the DM. I can put descriptive text in about it. But I don't want to get caught up in specifying everything. For instance, we can look at other creatures, and their is always room to interpret.

I changed the blindsight to 60', that's all it needs in darkness. Guess it probably doesn't matter, 60 or 90, just felt 90 was too much.

Here's the abyssal drain as I have them now;
Abyssal Drain
While being grappled by a tentacle a creature suffers 2 necrotic damage at the start of the dagonspawn's turn. The dagonspawn regains hit points equal to, and increases its maximum hit point total by, the amount of necrotic damage dealt in this way. If the creature is at zero hit points when they suffer this effect, they take no necrotic damage and once per day they gain one level of exhaustion and the dagonspawn gains 2 hit points. Creatures that die from an abyssal drain cannot be resurrected or raised from the dead. A creature can suffer no more than one abyssal drain per turn.

And I've replaced Thunderwave with a trait;
Abyssal Wave (1/day)
A wave of force sweeps out from the dagonspawn. Each creature in a 10 foot radius must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d8 necrotic damage and is pushed 10 feet away from the dagonspawn.

 

[Leatherhead]

That looks good to me, and I agree you shouldn't have too many rules on the tentacles.

 

[LordEntrails]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm much happier now after making these changes.