fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons

Fantastic Lairs on Sale Now!

Uncategorized / Boss Monsters, Bosses, D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, DnDBlog, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fantastic Lairs, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Mike Shea, Scott Gray / 0 comments

February 3, 2021

Have you ever thought, “I could really use a book of 23 boss battles and short dungeons to drop into my D&D games?” Well if you have, I’ve got good news for you! Fantastic Lairs is now available on DriveThruRPG in PDF, hardcover, and softcover. Here’s the description of the product I cowrote with Mike Shea of Sly Flourish and Scott Fitzgerald Gray:

The best 5e fantasy roleplaying games are often the most unpredictable. When the plans of the Gamemaster meet the actions of the characters, the incredible creative energy that results can spin encounters off in different directions, creating a largely spontaneous campaign story that keeps the GM and the players alike on the edge of their seats. But when it comes to the climactic boss battle encounters that cap off single adventures or entire campaigns, it’s often much harder for GMs to work things out on the fly.

That’s where this book comes in.

Scott Gray, James Introcaso, and Mike Shea have teamed up to lighten the load of shaping and developing your game’s climactic encounters. Fantastic Lairs is a book of capstone lair encounters for your 5e fantasy RPG, designed to inspire and fit into your own campaign. Each fantastic lair includes evocative artwork, a beautiful full-color map, and a well-designed and playtested boss encounter for characters of various levels.

Your purchase includes all of the maps for these lairs formatted for your virtual tabletop of choice.

Fantastic Lairs is the joint brainchild of all three members of the design team, each of whom brings a wealth of creative skill and experience to the project. From over fifty initial concepts, the team narrowed down a selection of twenty ultimate boss lairs for development in this book.

Thanks to our backers on Kickstarter, this book includes 23 lairs covering levels from 1st to 20th. Thse lairs include:

Caves of the Cockatrice (1st level). A shadow-infused cockatrice keeps a stone garden in a lair built around an ancient and corrupted fey gateway.

Temple of the Centipede Cult (2nd level). A band of centipede-worshipping cultists feed living sacrifices to their pets in a fallen temple of Asmodeus.

Lair of Lord Wiskers (3rd level). A band of wererats led by the megalomaniacal Lord Whiskers gathers up all the city’s silver to be destroyed in their trap-infested sewer lair.

Last Call at Nevermind (3rd level). The Dead Roses, a band of cutthroats led by the murderous bandit captain Adilia Rose, hide out between jobs in a seedy tavern built from a titan’s skull.

Nature’s Rage (4th level). A blood-drenched druid and a horde of beasts plot revenge against the despoilers of nature in the ruined zoo of a murdered noble.

Ashsnarl’s Secrets (5th level). The half-dragon Tharandra Everflame and her kobold minions steer a machine of war and fire through defenseless villages.

Sticky Toffee (5th level). The confections at Auntie Bea’s Sweet Treats are more than they seem — as is the shop’s night hag proprietor.

Bumpy Ride (6th level). A mage uses his airship and an array of deadly incendiary devices to terrorize other wizards into subservience, and the characters must put an end to it.

The Lamia Job (6th level). The characters must infiltrate a mysterious bank vault to reveal the murderous plots and corrupting illusions of a lamia mastermind.

Ithrix Blackbile (7th level). A young black dragon uses his acidic breath to keep a band of trolls under his sway in an ancient cyclopean ruin.

Those Who Are About to Die (7th level). The characters face waves of brutal combatants and devastating hazards in this arena of blood, death, and fire.

Zengran’s Game (7th level). From a lair in an extradimensional emporium of games, puzzles, and other wondrous entertainments, a rakshasa seeks out a group of adventurers destined for greatness.

Curse of Black Ice (8th level). Hunting in the icy wastes for decades, the frost giant werewolf’s hunting ground has expanded into more civilized lands. Now the adventurers hunt the monstrous frost giant to his lair of frozen ice and face his new bloodthirsty followers.

The Blood Palace (8th level). In a lost ziggurat of blood, a sinister spirit naga and its enthralled gnolls need the adventurers’ help — to feed their hidden hydra.

Korrington Academy (9th level). An oni poses as the kindly headmaster of an academy for young sorcerers, where he uses a dark ritual to sacrifice faculty members and increase his power.

The Remembered God (10th level). Calathorr, a mighty aboleth who was once worshipped as a god, rebuilds their humanoid cult thanks to clever planning and a stroke of luck. If all goes well, Calathorr will enslave an army of followers even grander than their previous band.

Dragon Mummy’s Rage (12th level). In the desert tomb of an ancient dragon queen, a dragonborn mummy lord guards a magical jewel that might destroy the world.

The World Eater (14th level). In an astral sanctum that defies natural physics, the characters battle an ancient lich responsible for the deaths of nine worlds.

Valentyne’s Legacy (14th level). A cloud giant vampire moves across the sky in a red cloud castle defended by monstrous thralls and vampire spawn, drawing blood from the land and rising zombies in its wake.

The Forge of Sizzle Death (16th level). A murderous blue dragon forces fire giant captives to forge magic items in a hidden desert cave.

Blade Queen’s Throne (17th level). The characters must retrieve a secret word required to save the world — but that word is protected by a powerful marilith for its demon lord master.

Hells’ Heart (20th level). In a shattered celestial temple, an ancient gold dragon is possessed by a demon prince encased in a spike buried in the dragon’s chest, and threatens the mystical pillar that holds the multiverse together.

Put the Monster Back (20th level). The tarrasque breaks free of a secure facility designed to hold the worst monsters of creation, and will tear through the walls of reality, devouring entire worlds unless the characters stop it.
From the Fantastic Lairs DriveThruRPG product page

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The cover image for My Dad's Monster Manual

My Dad’s Monster Manual is Here!

General / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, DMs Guild, DMs Guild Adepts, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual / 0 comments

December 17, 2020

My Dad’s Monster Manual is number 1! Seriously, at the moment of publishing this post, it is the top seller on DMs Guild, and you can get it now in PDF and print! Plus you can view the first 20 pages of the book for free on the product’s page. Here’s the description:

“This book needed a lot more of me in it. Instead, they completely rewrote my part and turned me into a giggling, tentacled grapefruit.”

—B. Holder, Aberrations Quarterly

“This book did not taste like a dad at all, and I have eaten a lot of fathers in my time.”

—Al Bare, Monster Report

“Thank goodness. This will get your father out of the house for a little while.”

—Camille Introcaso

Behold the power of my dad’s mind! Hey, my name is James Introcaso, and my father is pretty great. From the time I was a kid, my father created original stories using my toys. Now as an adult and professional game designer, I asked my dad to look at just the art of the Monster Manual. For every picture, I asked him how he thought this creature behaved, its history, and its name. Then I took this information and rewrote the Monster Manual according to my dad’s lore.

This book contains 80 new stat blocks and lore for original D&D creatures inspired by the art of the Monster Manual and Lucian’s imagination. Get ready to read My Dad’s Monster Manual.

This is a DMs Guild Adepts product. The DMs Guild Adept Program was started and is managed by Wizards of the Coast. It brings together talented creators to produce quality content for the DMs Guild. DMs Guild Adepts products are identified by the gold ampersand logo.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already purchased a copy, shouted out the previews on this blog, and shared your joy. If you’ve got a copy and can leave a review on the product page, it would mean a lot! If you haven’t picked it up yet, check it out!

My father is thrilled that our book is selling so well! Huge thanks to the team: Hannah Rose, Rich Lescouflair, Daniel Kwan, Leona Maple, and many, many playtesters.

On a personal note, this is my final product as a DMs Guild Adept, since in 2021 I’ll be joining the folks at MCDM full-time as a line developer. Thank you to everyone for the huge support of all my DMs Guild products, and to all the amazing people who made awesome stuff with me.

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Puzzle Master: Volume 1

General / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, DMs Guild, DMs Guild Adepts, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, DnDBlog, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, pdf, Puzzles / 0 comments

November 18, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

I am super excited to announce that Puzzle Master: Volume 1 is currently available on the DMs Guild! I contributed to this DMs Guild Adepts product that was led by Celeste Conowitch and featured the work of Stacey Allan, M.T. Black, and Hannah Rose. Here’s the description of the product from the DMs Guild:

Greetings traveler, you are invited to the grand opening of Aenigma’s premiere puzzle dungeon! Congratulations on receiving this illustrious invitation! You’d best be on your way. Dragons don’t like to be kept waiting.

Challenge and delight your players with the premiere issue of Puzzle Master! Inside this supplement, you will find ten puzzles suitable for every level of play, accompanied by beautifully rendered handouts.

Puzzle Master also includes a unique dungeon that utilizes the puzzles to craft an escape room-style experience.

This title includes:

-10 puzzles suitable to use in any adventure.

-20 hand-crafted puzzle handouts for you to print or digitally share with your players.

-A unique puzzle dungeon play experience.

-Difficulty ratings for each puzzle, and suggestions on how to adapt them.

-A series of hints to help your players solve each puzzle.

-Suggestions on how to run each puzzle in person or digitally.

So if you want puzzles to drop into your games, check out Puzzle Master: Volume 1.

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The cover for the D&D Adventure Slime Cave of Norwal

Free D&D Adventure: Slime Cave of Norwal

General / Adventure, adventures, D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, D&DBlog, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, DnDBlog, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, pdf, PDFs / 1 comment

September 17, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

Want a free D&D adventure I wrote? Get Slime Cave of Norwal on DriveThruRPG:

The farm village Norwal attracts a few tourists annually with the ruins of Orthive’s tower and the famous Slime Cave. The ruins are just the foundation of the semi-famous conjurer’s tower that blew up in a mysterious accident. The river that cuts through Slime Cave flows with glowing sludge that gives the caverns an eerie glow.

Anthla Tremal leads the Cult of Slugidor, the ancient deity of oozes. She brought the cult to the caves five days ago after learning Orthive’s tower was destroyed when the now-deceased wizard tried to summon Slugidor. The cult found the basement of Orthive’s tower connected to the caves and captured and questioned Orthive’s ghost. According to Orthive, the cult needs a “worthy sacrifice” to offer the demon lord. Anthla sends the minor oozes created in the slime to terrorize the people of Norwal, hoping heroes track the monsters back to Slime Cave.

This short adventure is designed for five 4th-level characters and features social interaction, exploration, and combat. Scaling options are provided for parties of levels 1, 2, 3, and 5. The adventure is written using the 5E basic rules, but also includes suggestions on how to use Kobold Press’s Creature Codex.

Slime Cave of Norwal is just one of fifteen awesome quests appearing in the collection Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold from Jeff Stevens Games. Sign up now to get a notice of when the Kickstarter goes live!

If you like what you’re reading please consider supporting me on Patreon, supporting me on Ko-fi, follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Displacer Beast

Collaboration, Inspiration / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual / 1 comment

September 10, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

The work on My Dad’s Monster Manual continues. You can check out all the previews on this blog here. There are also a few on my Patreon!

Let’s see what my father thinks of the displacer beast.

Marona (Displacer Beast)

Ooooh! Is that six legs?
Lucian J. Introcaso

The monstrous, six-legged marona is a muscle-rippled, 800-pound, infernal panther with two tentacles that end in mouths coming out of its shoulders.

Infernal Pets. Greater devils create maronas from the souls of evil awakened animals. The giant cats live in packs among the fiendish soldiers of the Blood War. Their stealth and speed make maronas ideal ambushers and scouts. The extra mouths at the ends of their tentacles make them expert trackers, able to follow the scent of any creature on the same plane.

Hunters of Mortals. When a mortal breaks a contract with a greater devil, the devil sends one or more maronas to the Material Plane to hunt the mortal. Though the great cats are often sent to kill their victims, they have the ability to grab another creature with their tentacles and drag it back to the Nine Hells alive.

Contracted Fiends. Greater devils often offer the services of a pack of maronas as a way to tempt mortals into deals. Humanoids willing to sell their soul or service to a devil could get the faithful service of a pack to act as assassins, guardians, hunters, or soldiers bolstering an army.

Marona

Large fiend, lawful evil

Armor Class 13

Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18)

Speed 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5

Damage Resistances fire

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages understands Infernal but can’t speak

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Camouflage. The marona has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in areas of dim light or darkness.

Keen Smell. The marona has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Pounce. If the marona moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with its claws on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the marona can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Track Creature. If the marona gets the scent of a creature, it knows the direction to the creature’s location, as long as that creature is on the same plane as the marona. If the creature is moving, the marona knows the direction of its movement.

Actions

Multiattack. The marona makes two tentacle attacks.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) slashing damage.

Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13) if it is a Medium or smaller creature. Until the grapple ends, the marona can’t use this tentacle on another target. The marona has two tentacles.

Infernal Portal (1/Day). The marona opens a 10-foot-square gate to its home in the Nine Hells within an unoccupied space within 30 feet of it that last for 1 minute. The marona must concentrate on the gate as if concentrating on a spell.

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Great news! More than 80 stat blocks inspired by my dad’s version of D&D creatures should be hitting the DMs Guild sometime this Summer. If you sign up for my mailing list, I’ll email you when the book goes live and you can get a coupon for 20% off the PDF version of the book!

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Fire Snake

Collaboration, Inspiration / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

August 27, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

The work on My Dad’s Monster Manual continues. You can check out all the previews on this blog here. There are also a few on my Patreon!

Let’s see what my father thinks of the fire snake.

Turkgon (Fire Snake)

This is a class of chicken dragon.
Lucian J. Introcaso

Turkgons are red and orange dragons that grow to be more than thirty feet long. They have no limbs, but their serpentine bodies end in a plumed head with a massive, toothed beak. Despite their lack of wings, turkgons are able to fly.

Lesser Red Dragons. An adult turkgon can breathe fire hot enough to melt stone and enjoys areas of extreme heat, leading many to speculate that it is somehow related to the red dragon. It does not seem to share the red dragon’s innate greed or cruelty, nor does a turkgon live as long as a true dragon. Turkgons reach adulthood at about twenty years of age and die around one hundred.

Imprinted Loyalty. Turkgons imprint upon whatever creature they see first when they hatch from their golden eggs. The turkgon treats this creature as its unquestionable master, doing whatever is asked of it. As the turkgon grows older, it gains a distinct personality and learns to reason and think for itself, though some instinct has it remain loyal to its master. A turkgon’s master can appoint a secondary master for the dragon. In the event of the master’s death or disappearance, the turkgon turns to the secondary.

In very rare cases a turkgon has broken free of the sway of a particularly abusive master.

Controlled Eggs. Because they make powerful soldiers, turkgon eggs are extremely valuable, made even more so by their scarcity. The few eggs known to exist are protected and controlled by powerful nobles, tyrants, and rulers.

Turkgon

Gargantuan dragon, lawful neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 201 (13d20 + 65)

Speed 50 ft., fly 80 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
28 (+8)	10 (+0)	20 (+5)	13 (+1)	10 (+0)	17 (+3)

Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +9, Wis +4

Skills Perception +4

Damage Immunities Fire

Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages Common, Draconic

Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Magic Weapons. The turkgon’s weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack. The turkgon makes two attacks: one with its bite and one constrict attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (3d10 + 8) piercing damage, and 3 (1d6) fire damage.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the turkgon can’t constrict another target.

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6). The turkgon exhales fire in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Reactions

Guard. When a creature within 10 feet of the turkgon is hit with an attack, the turkgon is hit with the attack instead.

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Roper

Collaboration, Inspiration / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D5e, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

August 20, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

The work on My Dad’s Monster Manual continues. You can check out all the previews on this blog here. There are also a few on my Patreon!

Let’s see what my father thinks of the roper.

Potentling (Roper)

It swaps knowledge for knowledge.
Lucian J. Introcaso

A potentling is a 15-foot-tall, stone-skinned creature that looks like a massive stalagmite. It has one great eye near the top of its body, a massive mouth, and six long tentacles. These aberrations have lived on the Material Plane for eons. They are rare, dangerous, and have a vast knowledge of history.

Protected in Mountain Fortress. Each potentling lives in a citadel atop tall mountains. From these high seats, they watch the world around them, taking in the rise and fall of surrounding civilizations and memorizing every detail. While the potentlings observe their surroundings, their creations, the ever-faithful scorpdillos, maintain and guard their fortresses.

Knowledge for Knowledge. For those brave enough to journey to their lairs, potentlings are willing to trade in information. Though they’re nearly immobile, they are intimately familiar with all that happens within hundreds of miles of their fortresses, and happy to share all they know with a creature that offers new stories or experiences to the aberration. However, if the creature offers things the potentling already knows or has experienced, the aberration tries to eat the offender. After all, tasting this being’s flesh is a new experience.

Potentling

Huge aberration, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 20 (natural armor)

Hit Points 230 (20d12 + 100)

Speed 5 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
24 (+7)	8 (-1)	20 (+5)	22 (+6)	23 (+6)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +4, Int +11, Wis +11, Cha 11

Skills History +11, Perception +11

Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 21

Languages all

Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)

Far Senses. The potentling can see and hear over a distance of 500 miles.

Lair Teleportation. While inside its lair, the potentling can teleport to an unoccupied space it can see within 50 feet of it as a bonus action.

Magic Resistance. The potentling has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Magic Weapons. The potentling’s weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack. The potentling makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its tentacles.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (2d12 + 7) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the potentling can’t bite another target.

Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 90 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 17). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the potentling can’t use the same tentacle on another target. The potentling has six tentacles.

Swallow. The potentling makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is also swallowed, and the grapple ends. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the potentling, and it takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the potentling’s turns.

If the potentling takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the potentling must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the potentling. If the potentling dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone.

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Myconid

Collaboration / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D5e, DnD 5e, DnD5e, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, My Dad's Monster Manual, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

July 23, 2020

Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!

The work on My Dad’s Monster Manual continues. You can check out all the previews on this blog here. There are also a few on my Patreon!

Let’s see what my father thinks of the myconid.

Schroom (Myconid)

They look a little drug-addled.
Lucian J. Introcaso

Schrooms are fungi people with a humanoid shape and bulbous mushroom heads. They are all combinations of colors and can be anywhere from four to seven feet tall.

Wanderers and Philosophers. Colonies of schrooms wander giant forests, eating all types of fungi and looking for the warmest spots to debate philosophy. They never stay in one place for long, always chasing the warmest weather within their woods.

Most schrooms enjoy debating philosophical questions like, “Do good and evil truly exist?” and, “What purpose do dragons serve?” These debates can last hours as each schroom calmly presents arguments, often for multiple sides of the debate. The schroooms call to passersby and ask them to weigh in, contemplating and curiously questioning outside viewpoints.

Despite the lengthy debates, the schrooms seem content to never come to a definitive answer. Instead when they feel they have examined the viewpoint from all angles, they switch topics or engage in one of their other favorite activities: dancing.

Dancing While the Woods Burn. While their legendary percussionists laydown a fast tempo, each schroom gets up and dances. There are no cultural schroom dances. It is schroom custom to “just feel the music” and allow it to move their bodies in the moment. It is high praise when a schroom asks another creature to dance, and rejection ends in the plant taking great offense.

Schrooms enjoy dancing most in warmth and nothing in their habitat is warmer than a forest fire. While only evil schrooms start such blazes, all schrooms enjoy dancing at the edge of a wildfire and become violent if another creature tries to snuff the flames.

Schroom

Medium plant, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 18 (4d8 + 4)

Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)

Skills Performance +3

Damage Immunities fire, poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Common, Sylvan

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Fire Energized. Whenever the schroom is subjected to fire damage, it takes no damage and instead regains a number of hit points equal to the fire damage dealt and gains advantage on all attack rolls until the end of its next turn.

Actions

Multiattack. The schroom makes two fist attacks.

Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

Mosh Schroom (1/Day). The schroom dances wildly, limbs flailing. As it does this, the schroom can move its speed without provoking opportunity attacks. The schroom makes one fist attack against each enemy within its reach during this movement.

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Fantastic Lairs Launched with Two Free Dungeons!

General / Bosses, D&D 5e, D&D5e, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, monsters, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

June 4, 2020

Before I get into the meat of this week’s blog post, let me say this: Black lives matter. If you have cash to spare, instead of backing our already-funded Kickstarter, consider giving a donation to one or more of the following charities that is doing important work to end police brutality. Many also have information on protests you can join, petitions you can sign, legislation you can call your local, state, and federal representatives about, and other ways to get involved:

Black Lives Matter
Campaign Zero
Police Use of Force Project
The Bail Project
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Communities United Against Police Brutality

Fantastic Lairs and Two Free Dungeons

On Monday, I launched a Kickstarter for a new book with Mike Shea and Scott Fitzgerald Gray called Fantastic Lairs. It’s a book of drop-in boss battles and climactic encounters for your D&D games. We’ve already funded and are starting to hit some stretch goals. Thank you so, so much for that! More information about the book is below, and you can check out the Kickstarter here, which includes two free dungeons with VTT-ready maps and advice on creating your own boss battles!

Help build an awesome book of twenty boss battles and climactic encounters for your D&D games.

The best 5e fantasy roleplaying games are often the most unpredictable. When the plans of the Gamemaster meet the actions of the characters, the incredible creative energy that results can spin encounters off in different directions, creating a largely spontaneous campaign story that keeps the GM and the players alike on the edge of their seats. But when it comes to the climactic boss battle encounters that cap off single adventures or entire campaigns, it’s often much harder for GMs to work things out on the fly.

That’s where this book comes in.

Check out the free sample, which includes two fantastic lairs you can use right now! We’re also releasing virtual tabletop-ready maps for these two lairs so you can run them easily online.

The initial campaign goal for this book includes lairs for 1st- through 10th-level characters, each of which includes instructions for scaling it for different levels of play. As this Kickstarter goes forward, we’ll add lairs for 11th- through 20th-level play. Our ultimate goal is to produce twenty lairs for all four tiers of play.

Fantastic Lairs is the joint brainchild of all three members of the design team, each of whom brings a wealth of creative skill and experience to the project. From over fifty initial concepts, the team narrowed down a selection of twenty ultimate boss lairs for development in this book.

Your support for this project will fund the design, development, editing, artwork, and cartography that will make this book a reality. The more support we receive, the better the book will be.
From the Kickstarter page for Fantastic Lairs

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Otyugh

Collaboration / D&D, D&D5e, D&DBlog, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, dungeons and dragons, Fifth Edition D&D, fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, Monster, monster creation, monster design, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

May 14, 2020

My latest DMs Guild product, The Iron Titan, is now available!

The work on My Dad’s Monster Manual continues. You can check out all the previews on this blog here. There are also a few on my Patreon!

Today I wanted to show off my father’s version of the otyugh, which he calls the skunkline! Let’s meet the friendly fey.

Skunkline (Otyugh)

It has the ability to create aromas.
Lucian J. Introcaso

The forest-dwelling skunkline is a happy, bulbous creature with three legs. Its eyes and nose are set in a stalk that emerges from the top of its body, and it has two tentacles that end in spikes. Adult skunklines stand about three feet tall with tentacles twice as long.

Quest Lovers. Skunklines wander the forest, eating plants and looking for sapient creatures to converse with. They enjoy telling and learning stories of heroic deeds and saviors who defeat evil. The only thing a skunkline enjoys more than sharing an epic tale is becoming a character in one. When a skunkline meets adventurers, the fey creature begs to be a part of the next quest the heroes take on. After the quest is complete, the skunkline heads back to the forest to share the story with its friends.

Olfactory and Sound Illusionists. A skunkline has obvious formidable defenses in its teeth and tentacles, but less conspicuous are its innate magical talents. All skunklines can create illusionary sounds and smells, which they use to distract and overwhelm their foes.

Skunkline

Medium fey, neutral good

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 55 (10d8 + 10)

Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	14 (+2)	13 (+1)	11 (+0)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)

Skills History +2, Perception +3

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages Common, Sylvan

Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Sickening Aura. Any creature the skunkline chooses that can smell the skunkline and starts its turn within 10 feet of the skunkline must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of the creature’s next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the skunkline’s Sickening Aura for 1 hour.

Actions

Multiattack. The skunkline makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its tentacles.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 13) and restrained until the grapple ends. The skunkline has two tentacles, each of which can grapple one target.

Illusion of Sound and Smell. The skunkline picks a nonmagical object within 120 feet of it. The object emanates the illusion of a sound and of a smell that is experienced by creatures within 60 feet of it. The sound and smell seem real, though a creature that interacts with the object and succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check knows the smell and sound are illusory. The skunkline must concentrate on the illusion as if it were concentrating on a spell. If the skunkline moves more than 120 feet away from the object, the illusion immediately ends.

Coming Soon to DMs Guild

Great news! More than 80 stat blocks inspired by my dad’s version of D&D creatures should be hitting the DMs Guild sometime this Summer. In the meantime, keep checking back here for previews of My Dad’s Monster Manual!

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