Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• Collection of monsters from previously published adventures. Not interested in the adventures but want more monsters? You can find it all in one place.

• Also includes some player options from previously released books.

Could Go Either Way

• There’s art, but it’s mostly recycled art from previous books.

Cons

• The style of NPCs when dealing with spell casting is different. Instead of complete spell lists being provided along with spell caster levels, now we just get a small list of limited spells and more damaging cantrips. I don’t like this for many reasons, but I think a solution that allowed both a simple stat block and the classic complex stat block would’ve been ideal. That way Dungeon Masters could choose which style they prefer, or even mix and match.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Introduction

We’ve had many books so far in this edition of D&D. They’ve come with new races, class features, and monsters. One of the upsides of the approach taken so far is that we’ve only needed the core rules (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual) to run an adventure so far. We didn’t need a Monster Manual II. However, the downside of this approach is that new monsters are often split among many adventures. This book aims to address one of these problems by pooling together monsters and player options from different sources into one place. However, it also made changes to simplify the monsters. This is a part I had an issue with, and I’ll go into a long explanation of why I don’t like it.

I’ve already covered the adventures these monsters are from too. So I’ll instead make this in a quicker format specifically focusing on the changes they went through from the original adventures they were in. If not for the changes, I’d say it was a book that wasn’t necessary if you had the adventures. But if you didn’t, you could treat it as a Monster Manual II. With these changes though... it gets more complicated. I’m not a fan of this book.

The Book Itself

The book is made up of previously released content. In that way, it’s a collection of existing material. Part of it is new player options. Sub-classes, races, that sort of thing. The main part is a collection of monsters from previously published adventures. They are not exactly as previously presented though. They have been changed in ways to make them simpler and easier to run, particularly where magic is concerned. The major change here is that spellcasters were greatly changed. Which is where my problems come from. There’s also some added damage on some attacks.

The Monsters, The Changes, and Why I Don’t Like It

There is a big effort here to take some of the previous monsters, particularly spell casters, and simplify them. In the past the stat blocks for monsters and creatures had a section with their known spells, their slots, and their spell casting level. This was useful for multiple reasons. If the enemy was killed and their spell book fell into the hands of the party, you know which spells they would see. There are also many spells which have utility function, and are useful for defending their lair, but not in direct combat. These sorts of spells can really help with story telling, and with setting up interesting encounters outside of direct confrontation. We also knew what level of spell caster they were. So we could swap spells and further customize the encounter.

The new spell list is heavily reduced. The monsters are also limited to 3 casting of a single spell, 2 times, or a single casting. Compared to the number of spells that they could use previously, this is a massive reduction. There is an attempt here to increase the basic attacks to compensate. However, I’d say compared to real spells they are lacking in potency and additional effects. Spells can target multiple people, change the environment by catching the environment on fire, and more.

As a result of this reduction, the spell casters have fewer options to choose from. I think that was part of the point. To make them simpler and easier to run. However, these run out and often have a daily recharge time. Which means if multiple encounters are going to occur, either I ignore that limitation and treat it as an encounter, I have to try extremely hard to prevent the party from falling back, or I run it as written with the spell caster being defanged. In general, I don’t mind my party falling back if it looks like the best option. Though I want them to work for it. And sometimes it’ll be harder than others.

To make things worse, they no longer tell us the spell caster level of the monster. So it’s not even easy to recreate the stat block in the old style. By old style, I mean the style of the Monster Manual. I tried using one such stat block and it didn’t seem to add up. The spells they had didn’t correspond to the challenge rating. I’d say this is the bare minimum I’d expect. Tell me the level on the monster like it used to be done so I can recreate my own spell list.

This adds an additional problem. My players have long enjoyed wizard duels, or fights against wizards. Trying to counter spell to reduce the damage, dispel effects ongoing in the environment, that sort of thing. While this is still possible, for higher levels the spells the creature uses are often so low level that a counter spell is basically guaranteed to work as soon as players realize what spells are used. For example, the highest level offensive spell for a Drow Consort, a challenge rating 18, is fireball.

Also, the Monster Manual still uses the old style of monster. I very much don’t like that the two styles are mixed together without my input. As a general rule, I don’t mind being able to make the decision myself. Maybe I’ll have an encounter with a mage and his two apprentices. To make it easy to run, I’ll use the simplified mage stats for the apprentices, but the full archmage. However, I don’t like being forced into which style to use merely based on the creature chosen. I guess there’s the option of finding the old stat blocks from older adventures. But I know that at least two adventures already use these new stat blocks, with no option of the old.

Lastly...these blocks even with so few options force us to go and refer to the spells themselves. In a virtual environment, it’s actually my preference. You mouse or click, or whatever other operation on the spell and you see its effect. This can also be done if you use your laptop in person as an aid when playing. I personally do, and recommend this approach often. However, if you’re only using the books you’ll still need to flip to the spells and do your preparation work. I imagine they couldn’t shoved them into the stat block at the cost of additional pages and space. There’s few enough spells in the block. But I also agree there's be repetition if this was done. Regardless, the new style still doesn’t help you avoid preparation of going to the spell list in the Player’s Handbook. Though admittedly, it’s a bit easier because there’s fewer spells. In the past though, we could easily pick a spell per slot level, instead of all of them. Or even just reverse to at-will attacks after a certain point even if we had slots left.

What I’d Like To See

In general, I’m not totally against a simplified version of monsters. They’d be easier for new players to run, and would help experienced Dungeon Masters manage complexity by being able to mix them. However, we should absolutely have a spell caster level on the block always. This is the bare minimum, as it easily allows Dungeon Masters like myself to prepare my own spell list. Ideally, the stat block would have remained as before. At the end of the block, or off to the side there’d be a simplified section that could be used instead. So the Dungeon Master would have the option to use a simplified version. I think monster at-will, cantrips, etc. should be viable and effective anyway. Being able to rely on decent ones for spell casters greatly helps in preparation if something unexpected happens, if they run out of spell slots, or whatever else. Basically the fall through option when nothing else is possible.

The Art and Book Build Quality

The art and build quality is what we’ve come to expect. My copy is pretty good this time. The pages are good, the art looks good, the binding is good. However, with some of my previous issues I’ll continue to recommend looking through the book and looking for defects if you are able. Flip through the pages and look at the binding, especially around the middle of the book. You don’t want to see the threads. Also look at the pages themselves for bleed through or even stuck pages. I’ve also experienced pages that were not properly cut, so the paper was actually stuck together. Obviously this isn’t possible when ordering online.

Free Stuff

Nothing to see here.

Summary

I’ve generally enjoyed the books in this edition. This is the one book so far that I really don’t like, and makes me very confused. The stat blocks as before were fine, allowing complexity and detail. If simplicity was needed, it’s easy for experienced Dungeon Masters to take away from what’s there. So in general, I don’t like these changes. If they had simply compiled the monsters together from the multiple adventures they’re currently spread across, it would be an unexciting book that could be useful to people who are not interested in published adventures. But now it also changes them in very significant ways. That’s the short version. Look above to see what I’d prefer instead in detail. Yeah....I really don’t like this one. I may prefer the colouring book. At the very least there should’ve been some thought given to the experienced Dungeon Masters who want to continue to use the old style. Some sort of backwards compatibility, or to present both options. But that’s not what we got.

Dungeons & Dragons: Fizban's Treasury of Dragons Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• Lots of full colour art. It’s really really good.

• Lair maps are included for each type of dragon. They’re quite impressively big, each one being big enough for a mini-adventure.

• Very entertaining read on dragons, as well as many interesting details. Life spans, activities, hoard composition, how new dragons occur, and much more. It really is interesting and generally useful stuff. I had a blast reading it, reminding me of going through some of the old books one of my friends had.

• Dragons are one of the iconic classic creatures. So as far as types of creatures to write a book about, this is a good choice.

• 124 (give or take a couple if I miscounted) new stat blocks of creatures and NPCs (most of which are humanoids) with those not mentioned in the first chapter being treated the same way as monsters in the Monster Manual

Could Go Either Way

• There is a Forgotten Realms focus, but there is time spent for other settings as well.

• New races that are fun...but they are also much better than previous ones. They are variation of dragonborn, and they are better than the old version found in the Player’s Handbook. Humans needs a lot of help now.

• There aren’t that many insights from Fizban here. Some previous books had little notes from the character that was mentioned on the cover. If you didn’t like it, then great. You’ll like this one.

Cons

• At 224 pages, it's a bit short. Again, I’d like more. 250-300 is a reasonable page count I think, and we’ve seen it before in this edition.

• Feel like they missed a chance to do some cool undead creatures based on dragons here. I’d have liked more monsters and again split throughout the level range.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Introduction

It’s even in the name of the system, and technically in the ampersand too. Dragons hold a very important part in Dungeons & Dragons. They are very iconic challenges in medieval fantasy, and naturally that translates to tabletop role-playing games. We got dragons before in the Monster Manual, but only a page or less was really offered describing their majesty, and place in the world. Now we have an entire book to add more detail, more options, and more dragons themselves. What do I think of this book? It was an enjoyable read, but let’s jump into the specifics.

The Internals

First and foremost, this book is focused on monsters. Adventures until now have contained a bit of everything. There were a few new monsters for the adventure, quite a bit of effort on the setting, the adventure itself and sometimes a player option or two (spells, etc.). This book is kind of like that but there is no adventure. Instead we get about 124 new stat blocks and a lot of lore and description of the monsters. Some groups are described more than others (chapter 1 is the majority of the lore and it covers 9 types of creatures).

The Monsters

As would be expected from such a named book, there are dragons here. Every creature is some sort of dragon creature. One big addition is gem dragons, which are the neutral aligned dragons. Perhaps my favourite is the dragon hydra. A multi-headed dragon that regrows heads. I think the emphasis directly on dragons is also one of the weaknesses of this book. I’d have loved to see some more dragon minions, encounters for a dragon riding wizard, that sort of thing. Another missed opportunity is to do a whole bunch of dragon themed undead. My dragon zombie mini is begging for it. Oh fine, I’ll do it myself. We did get a few undead included, but I want even more!

The total number of creatures with stats in this book is 70, taking up 64 pages. It’s a fairly decent number, but I really wish there would’ve been more. The nice part is that there’s quite a few different mechanics, breath weapons, and creatures that are interesting for story reasons. Dragons naturally are a bit more interesting than humanoids as they have breath weapons, flying, and even lair actions. This continues here, though there are some standouts. Some of my motivation for wanting some more undead is that they can provide some very cool encounters for lower level parties. Dragons are often very high Challenge Rating creatures, and the same is true here. It does fall a bit short of being a Monster Manual. There is an attempt to give a bit of everything. Some fluff, some monsters, some maps. And as a result expect quite a few monsters, but it being decidedly less than a majority of the book.

I do wish more was given for the tactics of the creatures included. I don’t mean just attack actions. I mean a rough guideline of how they’d act. Of course, I don’t have to follow them. But an idea or two per monster could go a long way to help inspiring Dungeon Masters when making encounters. If they wanted, they could also go as far as making some encounter groups too. Some variants per dragon would also be nice to see. In particular, these variants would affect combat actions. This way, each dragon has more personality. Of course I can do this myself, but I think it’s useful for new people. But also, it’s good for inspiring me to come up with my own new variants.

New Races

There are 3 new races. One for each kind of dragon here. And these...are quite a bit stronger than the previous dragon born found in the core book. In fact, one is just like that one, but with an extra ability after level 5 to become immune to a particular type of damage. The other main difference is that they can choose one ability to increase by +2, and another to increase by +1...which is better than the feat version of human. So really, humans are not good at all anymore and don’t even provide versatility. We can probably give them an extra feat or something, or +1 to everything or something. But really, I hope something is done to give us a better option for humans.

The other big change here is that they all have a line for their breath weapon. Previously, depending on the type of dragon it could be a line or a cone. I’ll miss this part of it. It was a nice difference. Though, this is also pretty easy to house rule back to the same breath weapons as in the Player’s Handbook.

The Writing

First thing’s first. We’ve had a few different books now with a character's name in the title. In the past these characters would have a few lines of comments in these yellow sheets of papers drawn on the page. Did you like it? I hope not, because it’s not here. This is both a positive and a negative, as I know many people considered this unused space. I did like the personality it added though, especially given the title character. Perhaps it could’ve been done in the introduction to keep the personality, while not wasting too much space? Regardless, it’s something to be aware of.

In terms of content and layout, this book is more in line with Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkeinen’s Tome of Foes. There’s a bit of everything. A small amount of content for players, and a small amount of new monsters. These parts make it part Player’s Handbook, and part Monster Manual. There’s also a fairly big amount of new rules like hoard magic items, Dungeon Master advice, maps for dragon lairs, dragon life cycles, mythology, and the like. This all feels very similar to a Dungeon Master’s Guide, but focused on dragons. So all in all, it tries to have a bit for everyone, but really most largely focused on Dungeon Master.

The writing itself is easy to read, and really enjoyable. I really had a good time just reading it end to end. It flowed well and easily, and the subject matter was interesting. I’ve said before that I like it when some Dungeon Master facing books give options, or make it clear that what’s written isn’t necessarily the way it is 100% of the time. This is especially useful for new Dungeon Masters who have a tendency to try to run things exactly as the books say. Partially due to a lack of confidence, and partially not being familiar enough with the mechanics and math. So I appreciate such things. Dragon life cycle, hoards, relations, and even customizing dragons are mentioned here. Oh, and dragon names. All very handy, and very fun reading.

I think the writing really is the highlight and emphasis in this book. The core meat of this book is the writing about dragons themselves. Their living habits, lairs, and other aspects of their lives. Also, there is an effort to provide tools for coming up for dragon personalities, which differ based on the type of dragon. Think of the personality trait, bond, flaw stuff we’ve seen before. Though there’s a bit given for adventure hooks, and connections too. Also a bit of how they affect the environment around them. Those sorts of flavour and world building questions, and the options that need to be thought of when making an adventure revolving around dragons are what’s being presented here. There is a bit of everything for most people, but I think the writing and world building is the majority of the focus. And of course, it’s dragon focused.

The Art and Book Build Quality

The style of the books hasn’t changed. The binding is the same, the materials are the same. It fits wonderfully together. I will say though, the cover for this one is exquisite. The appearance of the dragons, the posing, I love it all. It’s my favourite cover in a very long time. And that includes the standard edition cover too, which is truly gorgeous.

Defects

Unfortunately, one of my book had some defects. It only appeared in the standard edition though. I’m inclined to think that’s not the cause. Two pages had tears in them, which resulted in them being stuck together. Also, one page had ink that was either misprinted, transferred from another page when closed, or soaked through the page. Whatever the cause, the result is ink discoloration. I could still luckily read the page, but it’s still disappointing to see. If you can, flip through the book before buying. In this current climate though, you may not have the option as you’ll only be able to buy online.

Price

It’s the same price as we’ve come to expect, and your local store may have a deal as well. Besides the MSRP of 49.95 USD. I can’t really say what it is at the time you read this. But of course, better prices are possible with sales as always.

What I felt was Missing

I really would’ve liked to see more minions. Groups of enemies that can be just tossed into a game, small tactic outlines, a few small maps, that sort of thing.

In a similar way, give us some encounters we can just plop in our game involving the dragons. Complete with tactics. In a similar way, more scenarios involving dragons in our campaigns that aren’t combat related. A polymorphed dragon runs a shop, specifically listening for activity about other dragons in town. Those sorts of things.

Also, I’d loved to see just more creatures in general. More dragon themed undead. Constructs shaped like dragons. That sort of thing.

I’m very happy we got maps for the lairs of these majestic beasts. But I’d also like to have some pre-made encounters for them, and even an additional lair per dragon. The additional lair is probably unfeasible. The encounters for the lairs I think would’ve been easier to do, and adding about a page or so per lair wouldn’t be that much to ask.

Summary

Dungeons & Dragons, now with more dragons. Like with previous books it tries to give a bit of everything. New creatures to fight, new races for players (in this case they are also redone races), new magic items, and advice for Dungeon Masters. A new type of dragon is first presented, filling out the neutral alignments. Of all of these elements, the focus is given to the Dungeon Master side of the screen. And a great deal of this is in the form of world building and helping Dungeon Masters fit dragons into their own world. Relations, the way they affect the world, and so on. All of this made for a very enjoyable read. It took me back to my days of reading a D&D book for the first time, and reading of the possible inhabitants I may encounter as a player. The down side of all this is that it’s quite light on things Dungeon Masters could directly. I’d like to have seen more combat encounters, combat groups, tactics, and even more monsters. These sorts of things can inspire new encounters easily through minor changes, but also make it easy for new and old Dungeon Masters alike to drop parts into their campaigns. Overall though, I really liked this one.

Black Scroll Games: Minotaur Miniature

I think it’s no surprise at this point that I like 3D printing and I generally like the work Black Scroll Games does. They generally do good sculpts that don’t require supports, and great looking 3D styled maps. Recently they released a Minotaur miniature, and I hope to give my thoughts on it.

Be afraid. Absolutely adore the axe and how it's also used as a support.

Print Settings

I printed the model at 50 microns, 60 degree Celsius print bed and 195 degree Celsius extruder. I’m sure it would look great at 100 as well, but I typically print miniatures at 50. Some printers are different than others but the temperature settings are the standard ones I use for almost everything. You may need to play around with your printer a bit, but it's probably a good starting point.

Sculpt

The sculpt looks great when placed on the table. The weapon details, the horns, the texture on the back, it's a great miniature. Black Scroll Games did a great job with this one. The texture of the base is great too. I mentioned it before, but I’ve always appreciated how they design their sculpts to incorporate supports so they blend into the design. However, it had a few artifacts, which I didn’t see on their werewolf model. These artifacts were on the underside legs of the model and hard to see, especially when placed on the table. It could be my printer and print settings, since it is printed on pretty cheap printer, but be aware regardless. 

Uses

Minotaurs are a classic baddie to throw at low level parties. A group of low level players fighting against a massive beast that leaves characters bleeding out in one hit is a frightening thing to behold. You could also throw parties of Minotaurs at players, but I think such setups are less common. There are exceptions of course. I've played in a campaign where hunting groups of minotaurs were not uncommon as elite units of a marauding army. However, I think this miniatures will most likely be used in a climatic final fight, whether at the end of an arc or a campaign. This makes the miniature not as reusable as a set of skeletons, which are extremely common, but it looks good enough to be worthy of ending a session or campaign. 

Halloween Inspired Creatures & Traits

Happy almost Halloween everyone! I don't typically do special holiday themed posts but thought I'd make an exception this time. With my love of undead themed campaigns, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that I try to run a horror/undead inspired one-shot around Halloween. As such, I have a bit of material that I can share that should fit in nicely with Halloween inspired tabletop RPG sessions. Hopefully someone gets some use of these. They are intended for use with D&D 5e, though I hope it will help regardless. Also feel free to change the names I used. In fact you probably want to. I often let my players name the new creatures they come across.

Crawling Half

Crawling claws, you heard of them? Well, there are other forms of crawling undead too. Most of them smell.

Crawling Half

Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil

Armor Class 8

Hit points 6 (1d6 + 3)

Speed 15 ft. (Or half the creature's normal zombie speed)

Ability	Score
Strength	13
Dexterity	6
Constitution	16
Intelligence	3
Wisdom	6
Charisma	5

Challenge 1/8 (25XP)

Actions
Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.

Hit: 1d6 + 1 (4)

The creature makes grappling checks with disadvantage and creatures trying to shove the Crawling Half have advantage.

Variant 1: The Crawling Half has the zombie's Undead Fortitude feature.

Variant 2: The first time a zombie hits 0 hit points and succeeds on its constitution saving throw, it is instead cut in half. The top half becomes a crawling half with 1 hit point and the Zombies Undead Fortitude feature. Recommended for casual implementation only/when large damage is done but the zombie still makes its save.

The above assumes a human. For more general use, cut the speed of the creature in half, add disadvantage for grappling and advantage for creatures trying to shove the crawling half.

Shadow Touched

Shades and shadows are but one possible result of touching shadow realms and/or playing with magic. Living creatures can be touched as well. From manipulating shadows to becoming one with them, the potential results are many and varied. What they have in common is that they are terrifying to be sure.

Some can move like shadows, or like sand. They cannot be caught as they move past you in this way. Just try keeping your eyes on them. It's impossible. It seems like one moment they are there and the next they are beside you. Some can even turn your own shadow against you.

Shadow Walk 

The creature can use its bonus action to move from one area of dim or darker light to another. The areas cannot be further apart than the normal speed of the creature.

Variant 1: You must spend 5 speed for every square between the two shadows. This variant does not cost a bonus action.

Shadow Glide

The creature does not provoke opportunity attacks as it moves.

Variant 1: Opportunity attacks against the creature have disadvantage.

Shadow Slip 

The creature can spend 10 ft. of movement to escape a grapple.

Variant: Change the amount of movement however you wish. It may depend on the type of creature.

Variant 1: Instead of costing movement, it costs a bonus action.

Shadow Influence – Grab

As an action the creature forces a target within line of sight to be grappled by its own shadow. It uses the target's Strength(Athletics) for the check.

Variant 1: Pick a DC based on the creatures control of shadows. Use this as the Strength(Athletics) for the grapple check.

Monster Ideas (Less Serious)

Head Thrower

Use the zombie stats and description with the following modification(s):

• The zombie caries its own head.
• The zombie will make a range 20/40 ft. attack by throwing its own head at a target at the first opportunity. Hit: 1d6 piercing damage and roll a grapple check. On a success, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage at the end of the turn.
• Once its head is thrown, the zombie can only see what its head can see. If in doubt, roll 1d4 and use it like a compass (1 – N, 2 – E, 3 – S, 4 – W).
• If the zombie can't see anything through its eyes, it tries it's best to regain its head. Add the blinded condition until something comes into view. The zombie will probably have a general idea of where its head is and try to fumble towards it. It may have trouble telling friend from foe, walk off cliffs, or have similar confusion while fumbling in this manner.

Though dumb, they are smart enough to realize they see through the eyes in their head. I've seen these things peek over hedges by grabbing their head by the hair and lifting it as high as they could. The crafty wizard can use these guys in very interesting ways as well. A friend of mine would order one to throw its head around a corner and then use the zombies reaction as an alarm. If you wish to imitate this, I'd suggest making sure you don't stand in front of the zombie before giving the order.

Vampire Cultist

For whatever reason, vampires are popular. Every now and then you run across a humanoid who pretends to be a vampire or does its best to live like a vampire in hopes that it will somehow inspire the “blessing” of vampirism. No action is too far to become a vampire for these people.

Old Work

I'll also link to my previous Shadow Hand creature. Hopefully someone out there finds it useful.

Adversaries & Allies Review

A look and review of the Adversaries & Allies package of NPCs for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. 

 

Pros

• Nice assortment of pre-created stats for Dungeon Masters to use for characters
• Consistent since it sticks quite close player creation rules
• 38 pages long
• Free (well, pay what you want)!

Cons

• Challenge ratings are often a bit off in my opinion
• Nothing exotic is included since it only contains player like characters

Introduction

I'm always on the lookout for things that make my job as the Dungeon master easier. As such, if I'm quickly drawn to new monsters I can unleash on my players as well as new characters. Adversaries & Allies caught my eye for that reason. It was also free (well, pay what you want), which meant I couldn't resist grabbing it.

What's Inside

It's a really nice collection in general. It's 38 pages of stat block after stat block. It's free (well, pay what you want) so I wasn't expecting any art, and that's just what I got. Although a Dungeon Master could make many of these stat blocks themselves by consulting the rules and making appropriately leveled characters (same rules players use to make theirs), having them already done is a nice time save. I find that many of the characters in a campaign tend to be more normal anyway and more like the players than an ancient evil lich. This makes the adversaries and allies provided quite useful. The author of this collection doesn't always adhere strictly to the player rules, adding further variety than if you just strictly used them. You still can do so but mixing the two together could make things more interesting as well as giving the Dungeon Master options. For me, it's also nice since some of the ones I created are a couple of levels off in either direction. Already made stat blocks like this also serve as an easy way to create more variations by trimming back levels (apply creation rules in reverse) and spell lists (spell list construction often takes me longer than any other part). The stat blocks also cover a nice variety of roles.

There are also some stat blocks, like the expert, that are made without using the player creation rules. Though these are probably the minority, they are extremely useful and far less likely to be come up independently. I personally like seeing these kinds of creatures and characters that Dungeon Masters come up with. They are also a great to use as is, as inspiration, or just to see how another Dungeon Master's mind ticks.

Issues

The main issue I have with this collection is the challenge ratings. As an example, let's look at the cleric. It's a challenge rating 2 while being a level 8 spellcaster, while the priest in the basic rules (also all other rules) is a level 5 spellcaster while also being a challenge rating 2. This also means that the experience for the combat encounter is not what it should be. Some of them I think are perfectly reasonable. Others, I think are might be slightly off but not by much (or might be made more powerful with a slight tweak to their spell list). In general I think they are solid. I also don't think challenge rating is a great representation of challenge, but it represents a starting point and translates to the amount of experience given. Experience is often also used to construct encounter according to the tables in the rules. If you are a new Dungeon Master, be aware that some of the stat blocks may not have the right amount of experience. Be ready to change the challenge rating and award experience accordingly. It's these kinds of things that tables like in Unearthed Arcana could help prevent. Since they are based around normal characters, some people may also find them a bit boring (in this case you can add a twist) and lacking in the exotic.

Note to New Dungeon Masters: Remember that like any other stat block, you are free to modify and not use them however you see fit. If you want to use the noble stats instead of ruler (provided in these rules) for a king, go ahead and do so. Not every ruler needs to be as tough as the stats provided here. Not all rulers need to be as weak as the noble. Some might be better with some form of mage stats.

Conclusion

I'd say grab the free PDF and use it as a resource (if you like it, throw some money at the author). It's really a nice collection that can easily be consulted along with the current Monster Manual. Just be aware that some of the challenge ratings are a bit off so be careful and adjust as you see fit. It's not consistent throughout so it needs to be looked at on a case by case basis (we might disagree on what a good challenge rating is anyway and challenge ratings are often not useful anyway).

Dungeon Master: Scroll Wizard

I mentioned previously some ways that scrolls can be used to make things more varied. It inspired me a bit to create a wizard that mostly used scrolls in order to present a threat to the players (stats wise, they are quite poor). This way, a threat can be provided but there is still a lot of room for randomness and spell failure. If defeated quickly, the players become in possession of spells above their level.

Stats

Level 2 Wizard

Ability	Score
Strength	10
Dexterity	10
Constitution	12
Intelligence	7
Wisdom	10
Charisma	10

Hit points: 12 (using averages)
Skills: Arcana, Insight, History, Persuasion

Proficiency Bonus: +2

Armor Class: 10 without mage armor, 13 with mage armor

This wizard doesn't know much magic beyond cantrips. The main way they use magic is through spell scrolls (their spell save DC is low with their own spell) since their spellbook was lost or destroyed (or never had one?). To succeed the wizard must meet or exceed 10 + the spell's level.

Pick a few scroll such as:

Magic Missile (1^st level)

Comprehend Languages

Protection from Good and Evil

Thunder Wave (1^st level) DC 13

Acid Arrow (2^nd level) DC 13 *

Scorching Ray (2^nd level) DC 13

Shatter (2^nd level) DC 13 *

* These spells are particularly dangerous to a 1^st level party. Scorching ray is less so since it can be split up between 3 targets to prevent one shot kills.

Note: Above all found in SRD.

Playing Them

Having so many spells to choose from due to the spell scrolls, there is no shortage of the kinds of character that can be played. They can be cowardly. They can be cocky. The level can also be adjusted in order to make them last longer in combat (lacking a spell book, there's not much else). High level spells have high DCs to beat in order to cast the spells, so there is a bit of a risk/reward system. I find that spells in the middle, especially at low level, are the ones to watch out for. A level 1 wizard has a high enough chance to cast a fireball or shatter that it really heavily threatens a level 1 party (fireball does a lot of damage for that level) unless an appropriately low intelligence score is also used (it's why I used 7 for which gives a -2 that is balanced out against a +2 proficiency for a net of +0). Disintegrate, while devastating if cast, has a far lower chance of succeeding.

Scrolls like this also allow a lower level wizard to challenge a high level party if needed. In this case, the DCs won't be a problem. I'd recommend not treating these wizards like a regular NPC for experience purposes. The use of these scrolls like this makes them more of a challenge than their CR will imply. Be careful since using scrolls in this way (to make a weaker character stronger instead of an asymmetrical character) since it may make them feel weak if used to often. It is still an easy way to put scrolls in the hands of the party spellcasters.

Something I find is important, however, is describing the effects of a failed spell well. I remember very clearly how in one case, the Dungeon Master decided to describe the fireball flying towards the feet of our party but when it hit the ground, it didn't explode like it should have. Instead, it went out. While this should not be used every time, used sparingly it can create a real sense of suspense as they wait to see the damage that results and are instead greeted with no damage at all.

A multiclass NPC or martial class with limited magic use can also be used instead and provide for more opportunity (Eldritch Knights benefit extremely greatly from scrolls like this while also having better AC and health).

Conclusion

Having played against these kinds of wizards, the tension that can result from the possibility of failing to cast a spell is something I greatly enjoyed, especially since I knew the devastating effect it could have if it worked. Hopefully this wizard provides some fun in your games too.  

Dungeon Master: Defense Wizard

A while ago I wrote a sample villain (you can read the old article here). However, Dungeons & Dragons 5^th edition allows for multiple different kinds of wizards through arcane traditions. As an example, I will modify the stats and character of Sator Ivertillion to be in line with the School of Abjuration.

Stats

Level 5 Wizard

Ability	Score
Strength	10
Dexterity	10
Constitution	9
Intelligence	11
Wisdom	10
Charisma	18

Hit points: 17 (using averages)

Skills: Arcana, Insight, Deception, Persuasion

Proficiency Bonus: +3

Armor Class: 10 without mage armor, 13 with mage armor

The above ensure though he is a level 5, the spell save DC for his spells is 11. This gives even a level 2 player a chance to survive a spell, though it is still an incredibly deadly situation to be in for the level 2 party. His low health also makes it possible to kill for a low level party, especially when surprise is gained as well.

To make the difference even more pronounced, the School of Abjuration perks from the Player's Handbook can be applied up to level 5 (other schools can be used for different kinds of wizards). In fact, I'd argue that those kinds of differences make it far more unique for the characters. It also acts as a way to show the feasibility of certain class builds if for some reason your players are avoiding them, though this should never be the main reason. Instead, I find that the novelty of the character and combat encounter should be the main reason (we don't want combat to be too static).

Playing Them

In this case, playing the character as a coward is the most straight forward way and also the potentially most memorable if your players are used to aggressive combat encounters. Similar to previously, this character will avoid combat if they can by using their deception and persuasion skills. However, in this case they should be more likely to lie in order to avoid combat. At the same time, this character should be far less willing to die for their goal.

When running combat with this character, spells should be used when possible to boost the character's allies and help prevent damage. They should still have one offensive spell just in case but it should be quite significantly weak. The first spell should be something defensive that benefits the caster such as mage armor, and the first move should be used moving into a place that will give them cover if it is possible.

Of particular importance to have this character's combat style mirror their personality is the use of reactions. Since they are meant to be a coward, a dispel magic or shield spell should be cast regardless of how much damage may be done. It also gives the players a way to lock down the character, though they will need a magic and martial character to work together or two magic characters (to use up the reaction).

At the same time, this character should be very willing to flee if things are not going their way. If they get too hurt during the combat, they should also try to flee (the low hit points and AC means that the players still have a fairly good chance of dropping them and the low other scores mean that the players have a good chance of catching up in a chase).

The character can still be played as brave. In this case their main role would be to help their allies and to limit the effectiveness of other magic users.

Conclusion

There we have another wizard to drop into games as a villain. The other schools can be employed in much the same way but the tactics of the wizard will need to change to incorporate the school. As always, feel free to bring up any questions.  

Dungeon Master: Binding Creatures to Terrain

There are many different ways of going about creating new monsters for players to encounter. We can, of course, create monsters from scratch. This method has the benefit of allowing the creation of brand new, completely original monsters. Sometimes, however, what we want instead is to create a slightly different monster than what is currently in the monster manual. The difference can't be too minor in this case (wow, one extra charisma. I'm so scared), but have the potential to completely change the way the monster works. Today I hope to discuss how to do so by linking monsters to the terrain.

Why Bother?

Over the course of mythology and D&D, there have been many monsters that are bound to certain terrain. Obvious examples are water monsters such as a kraken (though a kraken that can walk onto shore gives me an idea...). Typically there are many stories of undead ghosts in particular being linked to a certain building, area, date, time of day or object. By closely relating a monster to some kind of terrain or other factor (items can be used as well), it allows and creates a bunch of new ways to approach the monster. Usually at least one of these ways allows the total avoidance of the monster if the players are clever enough to figure it out. Personally, I consider this a plus since I don't want every encounter between monsters and players ending in fighting to the death and I have been lucky enough to have a group that feels the same way.

There are a few logistical reasons as well. If we already have a bunch of monsters, we can easily create more variants of a monster by creating a link to the terrain. It can be as simple as applying a template to link a monster to the terrain. However, I would suggest a little more care to be taken to make it a truly unique experience for the players. It is still less work to do it this way than to make a creature from scratch and the creatures that result are already balanced by the monster manual.

Example: Smoke Spirits

When you have to kill something, killing it with fire is usually a good way to go. However, like any kind of killing, you run the risk of having your enemies come back for round 2 as an undead husk out for revenge. It's just something that happens as an adventurer (though it may happen more often with the some Dungeon Masters). In this way, fire is no different.

When a creature or person is killed by fire, it is possible for the spirit of the being to remain and seek revenge on the living. In some cases, they may also seek the possession of a new body to regain what they have lost. These beings, however, are firmly trapped in the smoke close to the place where they died. Usually, a fire spontaneously starts and the creatures attack from the smoke that is created. To protect themselves, adventurers need only to avoid the smoke (any spell that moves the air, such as thunderwave, can also move the smoke away and even put out the fire that caused the smoke).

The source of the smoke (the fire) can also return after the creatures in the smoke have been slain, bringing back the creatures that lurk in the smoke. In such a case the being is usually a more powerful spirit and blessing the grounds or another event may be required to permanently stop this phenomenon.

Easy Examples: Shadow (simply restrict to the smoke in the area)

Variant 1: Add 1d6 damage from choking on the smoke on a hit.

Creature: Javelin Soldier

Often times I find myself looking for more challenges to throw towards my players. Sometimes, this challenge comes in the form of combat. Maybe it's the fact that I never got over that Roman era campaign I was a part of, but I often find myself making use of javelin wielding fighters with heavy armor. Below I give an example of one such fighter for Dungeons & Dragons 5^th edition.

Tactics

This type of fighter typically holds their javelins in the same hand as their shield, allowing easy access to their weapons. When met in close quarters, unless out of javelins, they will prefer to continue fighting with the javelin as if it was a spear (this allows them to throw it as a range weapon if necessary). Only when they are completely out of javelins will they draw their swords for combat. Due to their range ability and high Armor Class, they can be very deadly for a 1^st level party.

Appearance

The most obvious example of the type of fighter created here is of the heavily armored roman soldier with their multiple javelins. Because of the wide use of javelins across history, they are far from the only ones that fit this archetype. This kind of fighter is easily used in just about any situation and can make sense in just about any appearance. The type of armor and side arm can also be changed quite easily (changing the side arm to a higher damage one handed weapon will give a reason for this kind of troop to draw that weapon in close combat instead of a javelin, though a javelin still gives a range option without losing actions to change weapons), but changing the armor type will also change the difficulty they pose to the player characters.

5^th Edition Stats

Hit points 12

Armor Class 18 (Chain mail & Shield)

STR 16  (+3)

CON 15 (+2)

DEX 14 (+2)

INT 10 (+0)

WIS 10 (+0)

CHA 10 (+0)

Attacks

• +5 Javelin (30/120) x4
• +5 Short sword (melee)

Proficiency (+2)

• Athletics
• Perception
• Survival
• Insight/Animal Handling (pick one)

Fighting Style: Defense (+1 to Armor Class), Protection or Dueling from the fighter class (see basic rules).

Variant 1: The rules above assume human was used. 1 feat can be added to add further challenge (recommended).

Variant 2: Change race from human to any other by removing 1 from two abilities (STR & CON or STR & DEX recommended). Then apply new race as listed in the rules.

Variant 3: You can use the basic rules to level these fighters to a higher level. This is usually done for officers or more highly skilled members.

Variant 4: Changing the armor type will change the Armor Class and make the situation easier or harder for the player party.

Creature: Shadow Hand

There exists many an adventurer who claims to have encountered beasts of different sorts. Sorting fact from fiction in these cases is quite a difficult task and made even more so by the innovations in magic research. Animated statues in particular have given me trouble in the past. However, with that said, it does appear that I have observed something that I cannot explain away so easily.

I have come across quite a few different forms of shadow creatures I have called “Shadow Hands”. As the name suggests, they are hands formed of shadow. The first time I came across one was in an underground cavern. At the time it caused nothing but a minor inconvenience since all it did was grab and hold my leg. It did however hold on tightly enough to prevent my movement. I was quickly able to disperse it with a simple spell and continue on.

It seems that there are multiple different types as I had a nastier experience later on. The area I found this particular specimen was in what appeared to be the crypts of an old temple. Based upon my research the temple itself must have been destroyed about 300 years before my arrival. While I was exploring the relatively small area I once again I failed to notice the Shadow Hand until it got hold of my foot. Once again I dispersed it but this time I noticed a sensation in my foot after taking a step. After examining my foot I noticed a dark hand print and felt considerably worse than when I entered. It took me about a day or so to recover afterwards.

After my two experiences I tried to do more research and was able to deduce that there is a great amount of diversity within these creatures. Some forms will disperse after getting sunlight cast upon them. Others will still retain their form but become considerably fainter and weaker. I also feel that I was quite lucky in my first two encounters as it is far more common to come across these things in groups. I will be recording all of my notes below. What concerns me most is why are they trying to grab someone? Are they trying to drag me down or are they trying to pull themselves up?

Example provided for 5^th edition D&D based on the “Shadow” creature. For stats, refer to the Monster Manual entry (preferred) or the Princes of the Apocalypse supplement as only differences are noted here.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Stats

Shadow Hand

Small Undead, Chaotic Evil

Challenge 0 (10XP)

Hit points 1 (1d6 – 3)

Armor Class 12

Differences from Shadow

• Replace attack with a grapple action using regular grapple rules.
• In sunlight, the Shadow Hand dissipates and dies.
• The Shadow Hand can try to hide in the shadow cast by a creature by entering its square and attempting the “Hide” action.

Variant 1a: Attack does 1d6 + 2 necrotic damage and reduced strength as described under “Shadow”.

Variant 1b: Attack is the same as “Shadow”.

Variant 2a: Use the rules presented for “Shadow” to determine result of being in sunlight.

Variant 3: If the Shadow Hand is able to kill a living creature it can use the life force it drained to pull itself into this world (optionally, roll a D20 with 11 or above meaning the shadow will pull itself into the world). Replace the Shadow Hand with a Shadow.

Variant 4: Increase hit points to 1d6 (3).

Dungeon Master: Villain Sator Ivertillion

I thought it was time I'd revisit the material I wrote for creating villains. In this case, I am going to outline one particular example in the hopes that someone somewhere will find it useful. Feel free to change any part as needed. The below rules will assume Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, though it should be reasonably easy to convert it over to any other system. 

Stats

Level 5 Wizard

Ability	Score
Strength	10
Dexterity	10
Constitution	9
Intelligence	11
Wisdom	10
Charisma	18

Hit points: 17 (using averages)

Skills: Arcana, Insight, Deception, Persuasion

Proficiency Bonus: +3

Armor Class: 10 without mage armor, 13 with mage armor

The above ensure though he is a level 5, the spell save DC for his spells is 11. This gives even a level 2 player a chance to survive a spell, though it is still an incredibly deadly situation to be in for the level 2 party. His low health also makes it possible to kill for a low level party, especially when surprise is gained as well.

In general he should be run as a diplomatic and scheming character.

Appearance

He is a handsome man of average height. Due to his background, he tends to wear high quality clothes. He is young with no gray in his hair. When tired he cannot hide it from his appearance.

Background

Unremarkable in basically every way except his appearance and silver tongue, the best way to describe Sator's abilities is average. Coming from money, magic was taught to him from a young. While he was able to learn a great deal to the hard work and time he put into learning magic, he was never considered talented. In general, he is not a perfectionist and prefers to complete what he started or achieve what he is after instead. This philosophy runs through all his actions from his study of magic (even as a young student, he preferred to learn a spell and move onto another one instead of mastering it) to his personal endeavors.

As a child he was frequently sick. Even though he grew stronger with age, he still gets sick more often than the average person and doesn't have the same physical endurance. He is painfully aware of this fact and has learned how to cover up this weakness.

Despite being born to a rich family, he is fairly good with money. This is mostly attributed to his ability to talk his way into more advantageous situations that others could not. He also understands failure is an option and is quite used to his plans failing, though when aggregating his endeavors he comes out ahead. When things aren't going his way or his plan is failing, he is not against making changes or abandoning the plan altogether.

Why Is He a Villain?

This kind of villain should be hostile to the players' intentions simply due to circumstance. For this reason I have left out some parts of his personality in order to allow the Dungeon Master to pick the opposite of the player characters (if the players are lawful, he can be chaotic in order to act against them). This also means he can be made into a potential ally if the players find a way that can benefit both parties.

Playing Him

When used against a lower level party, this kind of villain can still pose a major when played straight and predictable. Due to his resources and skills he will outmatch the players. He should also be played as charming and adaptive to the situation if needed. He should be able to cause serious grief to the players in the diplomatic arena with his ability to win the approval of those he speaks to (players included). Sator does not lie often though he is very good at it and prefers the half-truth method of lying.

His average intelligence and wisdom can be played one of major two ways. At times he can be painfully predictable but at the same time his ideas will not be a bad one (though it won't be genius either). He is also capable of extremes where he can have completely flawed ideas and other times where he can have genius ideas. His ability to consistently have the full range of quality ideas (even though there will be more painfully average ideas than genius ones) should help him be less predictable.

He does not like combat and tries to avoid conflict by using his speaking skills. However, he will defend himself if needed while looking for ways to preserve his own life and his goal. Deciding whether he values his own life or his goal more should be made on a case by case basis by the Dungeon Master.

Conclusion

There he is. Feel free to change him in any way to make him better fit into your game. If there is anything that needs clarification, feel free to leave a comment. As always, I hope this helps.