Combat rating 12

July 25, 2024

YOUNG WHITE DRAGON: Attacks of the Master Hunter

How to Use – Combat Encounters (difficulty 8) As mentioned in the Monster Manual, what the white dragon lacks in size, strength, and intelligence, he makes up for in natural instincts. He also has the most beneficial terrain, as far as he’s concerned. You can use the following ideas separately, or you can thread several… Continue reading

animal, attacker (CR 5-7)

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, difficulty 8, dragons
June 23, 2024

YOUNG RED DRAGON: How to Use Brute Force Properly

The red dragon is of the worldview that strength (meaning might) is the only important attribute, and that clever approaches are the methods of weaklings. This means that any interesting encounters with them will require either the use of homebrew, or convenient terrain. Continue reading

attacker (CR 8-10), independent

Combat rating 12, Combat rating 14, Combat rating 17, Combat rating 20, difficulty 11, dragons, homebrew
March 21, 2024

YOUNG BLACK DRAGON: The Swamp Dragon

(Yes, I am going to write a separate article for every single dragon in the Monster Manual.) For the first time ever, I am letting myself change the order of the monsters in the Monster Manual slightly. I see the young dragon of each type as the dragon’s most basic, the adult with its extra… Continue reading

guardian (CR 5-7), independent

battlemap, Combat rating 10, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 14, Combat rating 8, difficulty 8
December 18, 2023

YOCHLOL: Dangers of the Yochlol’s Web

The yochlol comes with one of the strangest abilities in D&D. It has the ability to turn into a cloud of toxic mist, with will render anyone inside it poisoned, making it harder for them to attack and easier for them to be attacked. Continue reading

guardian (CR 8-10), minion

battlemap, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 14, Combat rating 17, Combat rating 20, demons, difficulty 11, social encounter, traps
December 14, 2023

VROCK: A Harrying Attacker and a Treasure Raider

Let’s start with basic strategy. The vrock will perch on a high peak, or other high point, and whenever its spores are available it will fly just low enough to use them before flying back up. Continue reading

guardian (CR 5-7), minion

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, demons, difficulty 6, difficulty 7, difficulty 8
November 13, 2023

CHASME & How to Run Pursuit by a Large Force

Aside from the plain usage of being an ordinary attacker, there are three ways I would go about using a chasme. Continue reading

attacker (CR 5-7), minion

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, demons, difficulty 6, difficulty 8
October 12, 2023

CYCLOPS: Using Poor Depth Perception to Make him Deadlier

The first thing I would like to note is that the one eye is a weakness. The original cyclops in The Odyssey was given one eye as a weakness for Ulysses to exploit, and its only significant function in the story is Ulysses taking advantage of it. ( Continue reading

attacker (CR 5-7), minion

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, difficulty 7, difficulty 8
August 24, 2023

CHIMERA: A Fight to the Death

First appearance: The chimera’s attack style is very straightforward. It will dive from the sky, roaring and breathing fire, choosing an angle that will allow everyone to see it. I would choose a forest clearing, personally, or to have it come from arou Continue reading

animal, attacker (CR 5-7)

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, difficulty 7
May 4, 2023

DEVA & How to Run Tests of Character In D&D

A look at possible reasons why the PCs are left to go on quests. Why the angels don’t defeat all the villains for them. (The monster manual tries to give a reason, but comes up short. All it says is that then the angels would take over completely. It doesn’t address why that would be… Continue reading

ally (CR 8-10), leader

angels, Combat rating 12, Combat rating 14, Combat rating 17, Combat rating 20, difficulty 11, social encounter
May 4, 2023

ABOLETH: Strategies for the Masters of Enslaving

Story. The players have heard of the aboleth’s presence, and they wish to meet with it. Perhaps they want information from it, perhaps they want to defeat it, or maybe it heard of them and wishes to meet [and own] them. Spin it as you wish Continue reading

boss battle (8-10), leader

Combat rating 12, Combat rating 14, Combat rating 17, Combat rating 20, difficulty 10, difficulty 11, difficulty 12, puzzle

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.

Dragon Encounters

Combat rating 12

YOUNG WHITE DRAGON: Attacks of the Master Hunter

YOUNG RED DRAGON: How to Use Brute Force Properly

YOUNG BLACK DRAGON: The Swamp Dragon

VROCK: A Harrying Attacker and a Treasure Raider

CHASME & How to Run Pursuit by a Large Force

CYCLOPS: Using Poor Depth Perception to Make him Deadlier

CHIMERA: A Fight to the Death

ABOLETH: Strategies for the Masters of Enslaving

About Me

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