By Kobold Staff Nov 4, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
A barefoot woman with long hair and almost transparent skin sits upon a willow branch. Her hair and clothing are wet, as if she has just returned from a swim. Her smile seems friendly enough. When a woman drowns, her dripping body may rise again as a rusalka. Some claim the drowning must be a suicide. Others say that the water itself must be tainted with murder or some great evil spirit. Near Water. Rusalkas dwell in the water where they died,...
By Kobold Staff Oct 14, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
A curious bunny, an abandoned infant, or a delicate songbird can spell slow and agonizing death for the unprepared. Beneath any of these facades may lurk a treacle waiting to feed on a gullible victim, mewling and cooing all the while. Whether by natural selection or arcane tampering, these compact oozes prey on kindness. Diet of Blood. Treacles feed on blood but lack the natural weapons or acid of larger slimes. To survive, prey must welcome...
By Kobold Staff Sep 16, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
These winged snakes are coastal beasts and sometimes confused with true dragons or wyverns. They are neither, but quite deadly in their own right. Searing Acid. Drakon fangs do not deliver venom; volatile acid constantly burbles up from a drakon’s stomach and enhances its attacks. A caustic drool clings to creatures they bite, and drakons can also belch clouds of searing vapor. Their lairs reek with acidic vapors and droplets of searing...
By Kobold Staff Aug 19, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
This strong and handsome warrior has a snarling hyena’s face at the back of its head. Dark Appetites. Kishi are two-faced male demons perpetually driven by their voracious appetites, carnal or otherwise, with a predilection for female humanoids. Kishi frequently behead, scalp, or skin their conquests and decorate their shields with their trophies. Hats and Veils. Kishi demons typically masquerade as muscular warriors or glib storytellers,...
By Kobold Staff Jul 22, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
These aggressive, blue-black freshwater crabs inhabit rivers and streams, scuttling along the muddy terrain in search of prey. Strangling Claws. Garroter crabs are named for their abnormal right claws, which have evolved over time to strangle prey like a barbed whip. Clacking Hordes. Their long whip-claw is lined with powerful muscles and joints at the beginning, middle, and end that give it great flexibility. During mating season, thousands of...
By Kobold Staff Jul 8, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
The air crackles and lights flicker in the ruins. In a whirl of colorful robes, the drifter materializes from the unfathomable maelstroms of time. His eyes scan the hall in panic, anticipating the terrible revelations of yet another era. Adrift in Time. Not much is known about the time traveling eonic drifters other than that they left a dying civilization to look for help not available in their own age. To their misfortune, returning to their...
By Robert Fairbanks and Ben McFarland Apr 5, 2019 | Articles, Monsters |
Among the dust-goblin tribes of the Wasted West, there exist some with traditions calling for certain tribal elders, spirit callers, and witch doctors to carry out enigmatic rituals among the wraith-haunted vales of the Flensing Gulch. Those who return, return changed—somehow less than alive, altered by deranged sacraments and the abhorrent, necrotic magicks of the wraiths and other deathless horrors still haunting Flensing Gulch. These warped...
By Robert Fairbanks Oct 16, 2017 | Articles, Monsters |
The elder witch of the winds and winters leans on a twisted, bird-headed staff. A monstrous, emaciated fey, it wanders mountain heights and craggy highland moors, reveling in the appetites and agonies of frost and famine. The Blue Hag’s gaunt yet towering frame is draped in rough, woolen shawls and tattered plaids. Its frostbitten skin is the frozen blue of drowned men under the ice, and its single, milky eye glares balefully through a tangle...
By Kobold Staff Oct 10, 2016 | Announcements, Articles, Front Page, Monsters |
“Weird, ear-bending harmonies on alien pipes.” Why am I not surprised that Azathoth’s pipers are fey? This monster hates you! Or rather, it loves to bring you pain. (We’re not ready to be a tribute yet!) The selang was designed for mana-blasted wastelands, deep, whispering groves, and stony deserts haunted by ghosts. Ghosts that hate you. And the selang and their pipes are back, as the Tome of Beasts is BACK IN PRINT at...
By Kobold Staff Aug 18, 2016 | Announcements, Articles, Front Page, Monsters |
There’s a reason why kobold mine entrances are so small. I mean, who wants to get stepped on in their own mine? Is that an ogre? Or an elephant? Yup. Meet the loxoda. They trample, stomp, and maul, and they’re huge. And they come in herds. Huge trampling herds! This was designed by Ryan Shatford with art by Bryan Syme for the Tome of Beasts. Ryan Shatford says, “The loxoda fill a niche for savage, physically powerful yet...
By Kobold Staff Aug 7, 2016 | Announcements, Articles, Front Page, Monsters |
Do you know what it’s like to clean up “ice and rotting flesh” from the mines? And nothing ever really gets that smell out. I mean, it just gets in your nose, and you just keep smelling it everywhere you go. Bleccch! As far as guard dogs go, you really can’t beat massive elementals that fling ice and death. And even rime worm grubs are nasty! This burrowing beastie was updated to 5E for the Tome of Beasts...
By Kobold Staff Jul 14, 2016 | Announcements, Articles, Front Page, Monsters |
As we kobolds are fond of joking: “Dragon!!!” But seriously, mithral? Where’s the candy floss dragon? Like staying alive isn’t hard enough already. The mithral dragon spits metal shards. That’s how badass [and completely metal \m/] they are. This shiny partykiller was originally designed by Mike McArtor and updated to 5E for the Tome of Beasts by Chris Harris with art by Guido Kuip. Chris Harris says,...
By Kobold Staff Jul 7, 2016 | Announcements, Articles, Front Page, Monsters |
We kobolds have a saying: “When a giant’s in the mines, workday’s over.” The flab giant is not someone you want to stop and ask directions from. It only wants you for one out of a handful of possible reasons… and none of them are good. This walking mountain was originally designed by Ryan Costello, Jr. and updated to 5E for the Tome of Beasts by Chris Harris with art by Bryan Syme. Chris Harris says, “The...
By Steve Winter Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Front Page, Howling Tower, Monsters |
This installment, you get a break from graphs and formulas—though not entirely. In honor of Thanksgiving, I had to include some pie charts. Instead of plotting trends, however, this time we count how often certain concepts occur throughout the Monster Manual, to help you get a handle on whether they’re common, uncommon, or rare. Before diving in, understand that the Monster Manual contains 312 monster stat blocks in the main section, 96 animal...
