social encounter

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 7, 2023

QUASIT & Making Familiars and Other NPCs Interesting

Before we get into uses for this monster as an enemy, I’m going to start with how to use the quasit as an ally. Specifically, how it can be used when it’s playing the role of a warlock’s familiar. Continue reading

guardian (CR 0-4), minion

battlemap, Combat rating 1, Combat rating 2, Combat rating 3, difficulty 1, difficulty 2, difficulty 3, puzzle, social encounter
December 5, 2023

NALFSHNEE: Talking Fancy and Fighting Dirty

How to Use: Roleplaying a Discussion with a Demon 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… 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
November 22, 2023

A Deadly Friend: How to Play Corruption in DnD

This was originally part of the glabrezu article, and part 1: Deception appears there. As this seems like something that I’m going to need for more monsters, I decided to publish it separately as its own article. This way I can refer other monsters to here, and people won’t need to skim through the… Continue reading

independent

social encounter
November 20, 2023

GLABREZU: Deadly as a Friend, Lethal as a Foe

The glabrezu is an extremely powerful demon, powerful enough that I have no idea why its CR is only 9. Continue reading

guardian (CR 8-10), minion

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 13, Combat rating 16, Combat rating 18, demons, difficulty 11, difficulty 12, difficulty 13, difficulty 15, social encounter
September 28, 2023

CRAWLING CLAW: Using These CR 0’s as Flavor and as Foes

The crawling claw’s most obvious use is to showcase the fact that a specific NPC is a necromancer. With that said, unlike in a television show, where the hand can be doing different things in the background and Continue reading

guardian (CR 0-4), minion

battlemap, difficulty 2, difficulty 3, difficulty 4, social encounter, theater of mind, traps
August 17, 2023

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

guardian (CR 0-4), minion

battlemap, Combat rating 3, Combat rating 4, Combat rating 5, difficulty 4, social encounter
August 3, 2023

CAMBION & How to Run Mysteries in DnD

The cambion comes in two different forms. One is a cambion that is living in the human world, (very possibly in disguise through use of alter self,) the other is the cambion who is openly working with the minions of the hells. I am going to spend most of this article on the cambion living… Continue reading

guardian (CR 5-7), leader

Combat rating 11, Combat rating 7, Combat rating 8, Combat rating 9, difficulty 6, social encounter
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
April 29, 2023

AARAKOCRA & Making Allies, Dissuading Allies, Using Allies Properly

How to Use: Good Alignment Monsters and Social Encounters The Aarakocra are one of D&D’s good monster types. The purpose of their existence revolves around fighting evil. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to be friendly to the PC’s. Perhaps They don’t trust the PC’s, and would rather they stay away from… Continue reading

ally (CR 0-4), minion

Combat rating 1, Combat rating 1/2, Combat rating 2, difficulty 2, difficulty 3, puzzle, social encounter, theater of mind

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.

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