monster design

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.

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

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Last Chance to Get 20% Off My Dad’s Monster Manual

General / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, DMs Guild, DMs Guild Adepts, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual, pdf / 0 comments

December 10, 2020

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

If you’ve been following this blog at all this year, then you know that I’ve been working with my father, Hannah Rose, Rich Lescouflair, Daniel Kwan, and Leona Maple on My Dad’s Monster Manual. I’ve shown off many, many previews of the work. Well on Tuesday, December 15th, you can buy My Dad’s Monster Manual in softcover print and in PDF on DMs Guild!

If you want to get 20% off, sign up now for my mailing list. On December 15th, you’ll get a coupon for 20% off the PDF in your email!

And before we go… how about a preview of the final product!

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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!

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 – 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 – Nothic

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

August 13, 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 nothic.

Vizor (Nothic)

They can self-divide, but there can’t be too many of them.
Lucian J. Introcaso

Clawed, bipedal carnivores about three feet tall with one massive green eye, vizors prowl the desert in packs searching for fresh flesh.

Delicious Fear. Vizors prefer the taste of meat saturated with fear. They use their stealthy movement to sneak up on caravans and camps in the desert night, tearing only a few victims limb from limb with their claws and feasting as they scatter the survivors.

After devouring their initial victims, the vizors pursue the fleeing survivors, sometimes over the course of several days. The monstrosities keep their prey basting in fear, picking victims off one-by-one.

Split Reproduction. Every vizor is identical because they reproduce through a grotesque process of splitting in half and quickly regenerating. Luckily, vizors can only do such a thing when there are fewer than a dozen nearby, though the purpose for this limit is unclear.

Vizor

Small monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 44 (8d6 + 16)

Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	16 (+3)	14 (+2)	4 (-3)	13 (+1)	8 (-1)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5, Survival +3

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages –

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Keen Sight. The vizor has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Pack Tactics. The vizor has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the vizor’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Actions

Multiattack. The vizor attacks twice: once with its bite and once with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage.

Divide (1/Day). The vizor splits, becoming two vizors. The new vizor is unaffected by any conditions and has all of its hit points, but cannot use Divide until it completes a long rest.

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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Owlbear

Inspiration / D&D, D&D 5e, D&D5e, DnD, DnD 5e, DnD5e, DnDBlog, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual / 0 comments

July 30, 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 owlbear.

Bareowl (Owlbear)

I mean, this is clearly an owl-like creature…and like a bear.
Lucian J. Introcaso

A barowel is a solitary forest creature weighing about eight hundred pounds that resembles a cross between a bear and owl. They have mighty paws that end in talons and fur-and-feather covered bodies that end in an enormous owl’s head with a toothed beak.

Grumpy Fey. To say barowels enjoy living alone is a bit of an overstatement. It’s more that they hate other creatures. Barowels are capable of conversation, but most don’t enjoy it, preferring to live deep in the woods, surrounded by beauty and peace. They are territorial creatures, believing that other sapients upset the natural balance of their homes. The fey mark the borders of their lands with skeletons as a warning to others that they should come no further. Such a thing is easier said than done, since a single barowel can claim miles of forest as its home.

Favors and Fruits. Crafty adventurers know that barowels can be reasoned with, provided one is quick to offer a gift. The first gift barowels accept for passage through their territory is favors. Though strong, barowels cannot defeat every invader who settles on their lands. Adventurers passing through might be offered safe passage if they help the barowel defeat a superior threat.

The second gift: tropical fruit. Barowels cannot get enough, especially pineapples and coconuts, which when consumed temporarily empower the fey. These fruits do not grow in their preferred temperate climates, so offering a few dozen to a barowel often gets it to forgive trespassing.

Bareowl

Large fey, neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)

Hit Points 119 (14d8 + 42)

Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	12 (+1)	17 (+3)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)

Saving Throws Wis +5, Cha +3

Skills Athletics +9, Perception +5, Survival +5

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages Sylvan

Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Fruit Energized. If the bareowel consumes a coconut or pineapple as an action, it gains the benefits of the foresight spell for 1 hour.

Keen Sight and Smell. The barowel has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.

Actions

Multiattack. The barowel makes two attacks: one with its beak and one with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d12 + 5) slashing damage.

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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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My Dad’s Monster Manual – Purple Worm

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

May 28, 2020

Check out the Fantastic Lairs Kickstarter now and sign up for updates!

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 purple worm, which is far more than a monster. This giant creature is the doorway to another world!

Keylog (Purple Worm)

These artists do like spikey spiked teeth and stuff, don’t they?
Lucian J. Introcaso

Keylogs are enormous worms nearly fifty feet long with giant, gaping mouths and spiked hides that shift between all the colors of the rainbow.

Portal Gullets. Keylogs are native to the Astral Plane, though they sometimes pass through gateways into another world. Like their home plane, the inside of a keylog is filled with swirling, colorful portals. When the worm swallows another creature whole, that creature falls into one of the portals and is sent to another plane of existence. Daring adventurers seek out keylogs to travel the planes but must be aim carefully. Those who miss their desired portal are sure to fall into another.

Seeking Restless Souls. Restless souls in need of a change or a challenge draw keylogs like flames draw moths. Though they do not possess a vast intellect, the worms can innately sense such creatures and swallow them whole, shaking up their existence as the creatures travel to another plane.

Spine Missiles and Tail Slaps. The bite of a keylog does not hurt as much as one might think, but the creature can shoot the spines from its body and smack its tail with devastating effect.

Keylog

Gargantuan aberration, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)

Hit Points 217 (14d8 + 70)

Speed 50 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 120 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
26 (+8)	10 (+0)	20 (+5)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +9, Wis +4, Cha +3

Senses darkvision 120 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 11

Languages –

Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)

Banish Immune. The keylog is not affected by spells of 8th-level or lower that send creatures to other planes of existence, unless it wishes to be.

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

Actions

Multiattack. The keylog makes two attacks with its tail or uses Spike Hurl twice.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: The target is sent to a plane of existence on the Astral Color Pools table in chapter 2 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, roll randomly on the table to determine which plane the target goes to. On a success, allow the target to pick which plane it goes to.

Spike Hurl. Ranged Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d6 + 8) piercing damage.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (4d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage.

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!

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, check out my podcasts, 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 – Gelatinous Cube

Uncategorized / D&D 5e, D&D5e, DnD, DnD 5e, DnDBlog, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Monster, monster creation, monster design, Monster Manual, monsters, My Dad's Monster Manual, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

May 21, 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 gelantinous cube, which is more like a reverse gelantinous cube that puts dead creatures back together.

Entomblinizer (Gelatinous Cube)

They can regenerate you, but only if you die in a specific way.
Lucian J. Introcaso

An entomblinizer is a massive cube of ice, nearly ten feet on all sides, that propels itself slowly across the arctic tundra.

Cold Seekers. Colder than even their harsh surroundings, entomblinizers seek the coldest area they can, constantly moving and shifting with the climate and winds. The slow-moving ice blocks hate anything remotely warm, including the bodies of living creatures. When such a creature gets close, the entomblinizer hurls itself at the being, hoping to crush it to death and end the creature’s radiating heat.

Resurrection Machines. The elemental energy within an entomblinizer is powerful enough to bring a dead creature back to life. This magic can only works if the creature froze to death. Otherwise the entomblinizer has no interest in the creature’s remains. But if a creature freezes to death and its remains are presented to the entomblinizer, the elemental absorbs the remains and the magic within the cube brings the creature back to life. When the process is done, the entomblinizer expels the creature, leaving the warm body on the ground as it travels off in search of more cold to absorb.

The legendary dead-raising abilities of the entobmlinizer have led many adventurers to kill dying friends with ice magic then head to the tundra in hopes of bringing their loved one back to life.

Entomblinizer

Large elemental, unaligned

Armor Class 10 (natural armor)

Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40)

Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	5 (-3)	18 (+4)	1 (-5)	7 (-2)	1 (-5)

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion, poisoned, prone

Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8

Languages –

Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Cold Absorption. Whenever the entomblinizier is subjected to cold damage, it takes no damage and instead regains a number of hit points equal to the cold damage dealt.

Corpse Attraction. If the entomblinizer can use its Resurrection action, it must.

Actions

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and 7 (2d6) cold damage.

Resurrection (1/Day). The entomblinizer absorbs the remains of a creature that died 100 or fewer years ago as a result of taking cold damage or freezing to death. While inside the entomblinizer, the remains have total cover against attacks and other effects outside the entomblinizer. If the remains stay inside the entomblinizer for 1 hour, the remains return to life as if the resurrection spell had been cast on them. The entomblinizer immediately expels the living creature from its body.

Coming Soon to DMs Guild

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