Combat rating 8
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DROW ELITE WARRIOR & Homebrewing D&D Races
Introduction to Homebrewing Races The 2024 Monster Manual chose the remove humanoid races like the drow, the orcs, and the duergar. In their place, they suggest using various NPC stat blocks. In the case of the drow elite warrior, they chose the gladiator, which is an extremely bad choice. The gladiator is a STR based… Continue reading
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EARTH ELEMENTAL: Four Unique Ways to Use the Wall Walker
How to Use: The Enemy Inside the Walls The earth elemental’s primary abilities are earth glide and siege monster. As these don’t work very well defensively, the earth elemental is going to have to be used as an attacker/invader. (Technically, it would also make a fantastic sentry. Undetectable until it attacks, and then hitting… Continue reading
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AIR ELEMENTAL: Four Ways to Disrupt the Party with Whirlwind
How to Use: Whirlwind Looking at the air elemental’s stat block, its most potent attack is probably supposed to be whirlwind attack, judging by the fact that it’s on a recharge. However, the whirlwind attack doesn’t seem worth it unless the air elemental can capture at least two PCs in its affect, preferably more, and… Continue reading
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DRIDER: How to Use Darkness and Range in Combat
Three Ways of Running DnD’s Drider: The Temporary Parley Trap, Tactics of the Darkness Spell, and the Drider’s devastating sniper range tactic. How to Use – DnD’s Drider Parley Tactic Advantage of Knowledge of the Drow The drider is the ideal monster with which to set up a drow campaign. As a being who was… Continue reading
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YOUNG COPPER DRAGON: The Comedian and the Crumbling Cliff
How to Use Personality of the Copper Dragon While the copper dragon is officially classified as good, I fail to see it in the flavor text description. Based on that description, I’d classify the dragon as neutral. This is not a dragon that will help vanquish evil, unless it is in its most direct self-interest… Continue reading
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YOUNG BRASS DRAGON: Battles of Lies and Fire
How to Use – Avoiding an Overpowered Ally And so, after twenty-seven articles, we come to the good dragons. As is my typical style for good-alignment monsters, we’ll start with the reasons why the PCs are the ones getting sent on the quest, and why the much more powerful good monster isn’t doing it for… Continue reading
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YOUNG WHITE DRAGON: Attacks of the Master Hunter
How to Use: Combat Encounters for the White Dragon (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 is a master hunter, especially in its already deadly terrain. Here’s how to use that terrain to the nastiest advantage.… Continue reading
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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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YOUNG BLACK DRAGON: The Swamp Dragon
(Yes, I am going to write a separate article for every single dragon in the Monster Manual. Fun dragon encounters can be done, and more than once for all the dragons at once. The trick is seeing how each dragon’s different, and using it. For the young black, that’s cowardice and swamp waters.) For the… Continue reading
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TRICERATOPS: Charge of the Triceratops
Have the players enter a clearing, ringed about by dead thorns, possibly as high as their waists, possibly higher than their heads. 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.