Combat rating 5
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RED DRAGON WYRMLING: Protect the Treasure, and the House
The wyrmling has a single attack, the ability to fly, and a lot of movement. While with every other red dragon, I suggested that it would wade into their midst and start bashing, Continue reading
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GREEN DRAGON WYRMLING: Fighting While Caught in a Trap
If you are going to use a wyrmling, I would give them one heck of an advantage. In the case of green dragons, this feels like it can be done through traps. I’ll suggest some ideas. Continue reading
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BLACK DRAGON WYRMLING: Using Darkness and Fog as Weapons
My first piece of advice regarding wyrmlings would be not to use them. Dragons are the most epic, the most awesome, of all fantasy monsters, and a dragon encounter should be a hard one, with the players struggling to survive. (Especially the first time you use a dragon.) Wyrmlings shatter this concept. I have seen… Continue reading
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PLESIOSAURUS: Trapped on the Dinosaur’s Back
The plesiosaurus is the dinosaur with the long neck, which D&D has translated into a 10-foot reach. This is understating it, though. Continue reading
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ALLOSAURUS: Hunted by a pack of dinosaurs
Of all the monsters in the Monster Manual, dinosaurs are the ones that really don’t fit. Continue reading
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SPINED DEVIL: Messenger, Sentry, and Quick-Moving Attacker
Before I begin, let me say that there is no reason that the spined devil would ever make a melee attack. Continue reading
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SHADOW DEMON & How to Use Hiding
The shadow demon has the ability to hide when it’s in partial or complete darkness. As hiding in D&D doesn’t seem to have exact rules, except for the fact that anybody spending an action has a chance to detect someone hidden*, I would Continue reading
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COUTAL: The Hidden Advisor
The coutal is good aligned monster that is clearly designed to be a quest giver. It only exists because in order to fulfill a mission given by a long-forgotten deity, it stays in hiding when it doesn’t have a pressing need to act… How else can it possibly be used? Continue reading
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CHUUL: Crazy Collecters, and a Ruined House
A brief look at the chuul’s picture tells us that this monster isn’t going to have trouble navigating difficult terrain. Between the extra legs for balance, and the pincer like grips that it clearly has at the end of each leg, it’s not going to slip, let alone fall, very often. Continue reading
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CENTAUR: Tactics of Horse Archers
The Monster Manual doesn’t talk much about what centaurs are like. In almost every book I can think of, though, their personalities range from proud to arrogant jerks. They are certain of themselves and they look down on other creatures. 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.