Combat rating 1
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PTERANODON: Watch Your Balance
When using monsters whose skillset leads to them being hard to pin down on a battlefield, [in this case flyby,] I tend to recommend that the goal of the encounter not be taking out the monsters Continue reading
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DRETCH: Must be Killed Before it Gets Close
The dretch is the rare monster that can be used against far higher-level parties than its 1/4 CR would suggest. While its fighting skills are limited, its fetid cloud can really mess up your players. Continue reading
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COCKATRICE: Laying Traps With Cockatrices
When using a cockatrice, the enemies have to have a way to use it without it attacking them. (Of course, you can say that they successfully tamed it, but the monster manual doesn’t mention that this is possible, and these ideas are more interesting.) Continue reading
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BULLYWUG: Making Crossing Rivers Difficult
Bullywugs are ambushers. When running ambushers, especially at low levels, it is sometimes worth having a routine ambush first so that the players know what to expect. This prevents the more elaborate ambushes from overwhelming them. Continue reading
About Me
I’ve been a DM since I was about 10 years old. (Not of D&D, admittedly, but still.) After growing bored of fights that were all the same, dungeons heavily populated by one monster type, and a general shortage of ideas, I figured I’d embark on my own trip through the Monster Manual, one monster at a time. Feel free to join the quest.