Combat rating 21

September 27, 2024

ADULT BRASS DRAGON & Uses for a Powerful Non-combatant

Reasons it Won’t Join the Quest I begin my article with reasons why the dragon doesn’t just do the quest instead of the players, this being one of the most common problems with good-alignment monsters. How to Use – Neutral friendly The brass dragon is a non-combatant when possible. There are numerous other ways to… Continue reading

ally (CR 11-16), independent

Combat rating 16, Combat rating 18, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, difficulty 16, dragons, social encounter
September 12, 2024

SHADOW DRAGON: Unleashing terror From Amidst the Darkness

In the last post, I mentioned that shadow dragons keep their presence hidden, and enjoy spreading a dark unknown fear instead of announcing their strength the way every other dragon does. Before going into the details of how it does that, I felt the need to discuss how to use horror in D&D. Now is… Continue reading

attacker (CR 11-16), independent

Combat rating 16, Combat rating 18, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, difficulty 10, difficulty 12, difficulty 14, difficulty 8
August 1, 2024

ADULT WHITE DRAGON: Defenses of the Frozen Lair

How to use The dragon’s lair (exploring the various obstacles of the dragon’s lair, and how to use them.) I’m going to split the lair into three parts. Reaching the lair, reaching the dragon, and fighting the dragon. Reaching the Lair The entrance to the dragon’s lair will be high up on a mountain. The… Continue reading

guardian (CR 11-16), independent

Combat rating 16, Combat rating 18, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, difficulty 16, dragons
May 2, 2024

ADULT BLUE DRAGON: Defenses Inside and Outside the Lair

How to Use – Combat encounters (difficulty 18) The blue dragon has quite a number of tactics he might employ against his enemies. Among them are: Glass boulders: Glass is made by sand melting under extreme amounts of heat. Being struck by lightning will do it. Whether the dragon knows how to shape the sand… Continue reading

boss battle (CR 11-16), leader

Combat rating 19, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 24, Combat rating 26, difficulty 18, dragons
January 18, 2024

ICE DEVIL: Making Proper Use of the Ice Wall

The best use for the ice devil is to have him cast his ice wall, and then defend it. Continue reading

guardian (CR 11-16), minion

Combat rating 17, Combat rating 19, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, devils, difficulty 15, difficulty 16, difficulty 17
December 5, 2023

NALFSHNEE: Talking Fancy and Fighting Dirty

How to Use – Combat Scenarios (difficulty 15) With the nalfshnee, I am going to give a couple of different strategies that it is likely to use. You can use them all, to set up one large boss fight, or you can use one or two of them to spice up an otherwise basic fight.… Continue reading

guardian (CR 11-16), leader

Combat rating 16, Combat rating 18, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 22, demons, difficulty 15, social encounter, traps
December 4, 2023

MARALITH: Pinning Down the PCs With Attacks of Opptunity

According to the Monster Manual, the maralith is placed the general of the demonic hordes. It’s meant to be used together with a large number of other demons. Continue reading

guardian (CR 11-16), leader

battlemap, Combat rating 19, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 22, Combat rating 24, demons, difficulty 17, difficulty 18, difficulty varies, homebrew, traps
November 23, 2023

GORISTRO: How to Use Mazes and Forced Movement

The intended tactics for the goristro are, I think, that he makes a head charge one turn, the next turn he multiattacks, hopefully tripping at least one PC prone. Continue reading

attacker (CR 17+), minion

battlemap, Combat rating 20, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, Combat rating 25, demons, difficulty 10, difficulty 16, difficulty 18, difficulty 20
November 5, 2023

BALOR: Using a Volcanic Eruption in DnD

The monster manual has quite a large number of demons. One thing I noticed, however, is that there doesn’t seem to be much connection between the different demons. Continue reading

boss battle (CR 17+), leader

Combat rating 21, Combat rating 22, Combat rating 24, Combat rating 26, demons, difficulty 20
October 26, 2023

DEATH KNIGHT 1: A Duel of Questionable Honor

This is the first of two death knight articles. This one uses him as a lesser boss, in the next one he’ll be the campaign’s big bad. Continue reading

boss battle (CR 17+), leader

Combat rating 20, Combat rating 21, Combat rating 23, Combat rating 25, difficulty 21, homebrew

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 21

SHADOW DRAGON: Unleashing terror From Amidst the Darkness

ADULT WHITE DRAGON: Defenses of the Frozen Lair

ADULT BLUE DRAGON: Defenses Inside and Outside the Lair

ICE DEVIL: Making Proper Use of the Ice Wall

MARALITH: Pinning Down the PCs With Attacks of Opptunity

GORISTRO: How to Use Mazes and Forced Movement

BALOR: Using a Volcanic Eruption in DnD

DEATH KNIGHT 1: A Duel of Questionable Honor

About Me

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