Combat rating 8
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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
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BARBED DEVIL: Why Devils Need to Pay for Souls
Before going into the meat of the article, I wanted to write a little about devil contracts. There seems to be a gaping plot hole in the entire idea. Continue reading
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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
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.