Jackalwere is a CR ½ creature that is IMMUNE to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. IMMUNE!!! That's pretty rough. Oh, and it has pack tactics and a sleep gaze! CR ½!
The Shadow is a CR 1/2 creature that is Damage Resistance acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison And doesn't do HP damage it drains Strength, if the Str hits 0 that's death. You can't heal that so the party's cleric won't help..
TBH I started my campaign with 2 of these and some jackals as the main antagonists. It's a perfect introduction to my DMing style as you can't just smack your problem away. You need to first find them then find a way to hurt them, which included using a ceremonial sickle from the local church, and a candle holder. Ha also the Jackelwere were gunslingers. It was wild west themed, tiny unreliable guns so not a lot of damage, things were hard as it was.
Yeah, there are a couple nasties deceptively mixed into the lower levels. When I first started running 5e, back when it was brand new, I decided to adapt an old adventure from an '80's Dungeon (or maybe it was Dragon) magazine. There was a pack of jackalwere in the adventure, and I totally missed the damage immunity in their stat block prior to the encounter. The characters were roughly 3rd level at this point, and the only melee character (sadly, a monk) instantly found himself all but worthless in the fight, and the spell casters were mostly relying on cantrips. It was a rough encountered. The ogres they had encountered earlier were much easier. Hahaha! That encounter did teach me to look much more closely at the stay blocks, though.
How are power level unreliable? there have never been a single instant of a character with a lower power level beating a character with a higher power level
@@marraytaleus6598i think its because the characters can power their power level so the villians are always like "nah they weak" then they get stomped because they was just lying. Also in super, kuillin beat gohan in an elimination fight.
Considering how much difference in power two player characters of the same level can have depending on how the player builds them, there's no way for monster CR to be a reliable measure that can be equally applied to all game groups. They're a rough estimate of what enemy a party of that level can handle.
I zoned out halfway through the description of the Duergar Mind Master's abilities and realised that conceptually the way we describe stat blocks is very funny because of how it's exactly how someone making fun of d&d thinks we talk
Yeah I agree, I was paying close attention and he still jumped between so many topics in one sentence (starting around 9:56) that it was tough to follow. If you weren't pretty familiar with the game this would sound like utter gibberish lol
I zoned out, because he was talking about a lot of monsters from specific adventures and I didn't know what monsters they were and I don't own every single 5e D&D product that ever existed.... He spread it so thin that I was like, "Yeah, I don't own that and wasn't planning on getting that any time soon..." So, I lost interest.. I thought he was going to use more core D&D monsters.
@@Taricus well there are statblocks online, so if you want to look up monsters, it's pretty viable. I personally own the books, but my DM sometimes looks things up online.
I actually find that it's quite fun to throw playable builds at my players. As an example, a couple of sessions ago when they were just 6th-level characters, I threw at them a Levistus Tiefling with eight levels in Shadow Magic Sorcerer who was going around with Boots of Elvenkind and a Bag of Devouring as she silently caused murders in the city.
How to lose friends with a Gorgon: Have a High Level Forge Cleric (or any spell caster with Animate Objects) riding it so when someone gets petrified, the Cleric casts Animate Objects on the person, breaking them down to little pieces and using their remains as flying weapons against their friends.
I dunno if you could use animate objects to break a statue into smaller pieces, but you could most certainly animate the statue itself and put the players in a position of needing to defend themselves from their now animated stone friend-turned-foe.
The animate object spell cannot target creatures that are petrified. A petrified creature, even though its body and worn equipment have been turned to stone, is still alive and this is not an object. This makes petrified creatures an invalid target unless they are actually killed. It would actually be fairly difficult to kill a petrified creature and also keep the creatures body in one piece.
My dm is super irritated with us because he allowed some home brewing and were steam rolling every encounter. Tried to throw a banshee at us. High rolls resulted in only one player going down
@@pinkliongaming8769 good doesn't always mean nice. Conflicting goals, maybe a misunderstanding, or even the good old temple gayrdian testing you trope. Oh or maybe a fallen couatl
"The Lava Child is outright immune to metal weapons, and has advantage on players with metal armour" Þörrin the barbarian grips his great club and begins to laugh.
Same with martial classes being boring and subclass/classes and spells being either overpowered (Circle of the Moon, Hexblade, Hypnotic Pattern and Simulacrum) or underpowered (Great old one, True Strike, Sky Write, Illusory script and other situational spells). 6e is gonna have to sort out a lot of stuff.
@@justas423 I don't feel like True Strike, Illusory Script or Sky Write really need to be buffed in any meaningful way; some spells should be situational, especially if you're a divine spellcaster or a wizard with access to spell scrolls for purchase as you can just choose to prepare it only in the situations where you know you'll need it and it won't prevent you from having access to more generally useful spells at other times. I don't know about overpowered spells so much either, but under or overpowered subclasses need to go, for sure.
@@justas423 Welcome to D&D, where 9th level casters have always been hilariously overpowered no matter what edition (especially since 3rd edition, because the guy in charge of balancing the classes thought wizards were the kewlest).
Broke: "ok this video shows me which monsters to watch out for so I dont TPK my party" Woke: "ok, how can i legitimize having a lava child in Ghosts of Saltmarsh"
I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of Will-O-Wisp, that thing is a nasty little creature. Stupidly high AC, instant invisibility and good damage. It might not be better than the Mind Master, but it is at least an honorable mention.
Man, this really shows how terrifying Rime of the Frostmaiden really is. Not only is there a dungeon filled to the brim with Duergar, but there’s also a *first level quest* with a Sea Hag + Will-O-Wisp combo
What about the CR1 Quickling of Volo's guide. It has an AC of 16, blurred movement so players make attacks with disadvantage, evasion against burning hands e.d. It Makes 3 attacks at a +8, dealing 1d4+6 damage per hit, And runs at a wopping 120 ft/turn
Against 1? Fighter engages, Wizard casts magic missile. (average damage is same as quickling's Hp) Multiples? Colorspray should be good against about 3 of them. Flips the tables on them. Their 3 attacks now have disadvantage and negates their blurred movement for 1 round. The party can now (hopefully) kill them or trap them somehow. Still, awesome creature.
The first time my party's Bear totem Barbarian was brought down was by a CR-appropriate group of Duergar around level 9, lead by a Duergar Warlord. He tanked something like 240 damage, but went down eventually.
10:40 To clarify, Barbarians don't need to Rage to reckless attack (unless your DM has houseruled as such, for whatever reason). They *do* take attacks at advantage as well though, so it's not just free advantage against such a high AC monster.
I know this didn't make it on your list, but the CR 1 Shadow was super deadly specifically to my 3rd level party's cleric. See, this cleric had rolled really weird stats such that their physical stats were cartoonishly low (think 4s and 5s) and their mental stats being incredibly high (18s and 19s). When the shadow hit them, they did a bit of damage, lessened by the cleric's necrotic resistance, but rolled a 4 on their strength drain. The cleric had 3 strength. They instantly died. This was a new party so I spared the cleric, having them go unconscious, but it's still imprinted in my mind. Their strength score was lowered to a 1 after that.
Well it's simple. I keep a small chart with all the monster names and how many times they have killed players. Kobolds have been stuck at 68 for like a year.
I usually use CR as a guideline to pick monsters that are reasonable for the environment, then build something that makes sense from my own perspective... If it ends up being a little broken I adjust AC on the fly like, "You hit and although the Duregar doesn't seem to take damage, you manage to make them drop their shield/ your blade manages to catch the shoulder guards and drop them" It's not perfect but I can prepare faster :shrug:
It's an effective way to adjust things on the fly, I've done it more than once, and gives the players a feeling that they're helping in some way. That's at least my 2 cents.
Thats what I do as well. I level adjust things to fit the level of the party so you can use just about anything at anytime. There are only a few monsters I wont touch their stat blocks like Dragons or specialized monsters like the Mimic.
@@Taricus dm: "okay roll your damage" Player: *reaches into their bag and pulls out a basketball sized dice before rolling it.* "782 plus 93 thats... 875 radiant damage." Dm: *dumbfounded* "ummm okay... Their is now nothing left of the kobald."
I got the monster manual a month ago and had to agree with you. Life drain for a cr 1 creature is insane. Succubus’ and and incubus’ have drain kiss but with their cr 5 doing 5d10 +5 psychic damage is insane, even though it has a low con save half still does a lot and did I mention it decreases max hit point and kills a player if they are reduced to 0 max hit points. If you are playing a character that isn’t barbarian,fighter, or paladin you are screwed. This creature will destroy the spirit and hope of any spell caster or isn’t the list of characters mentioned since at fifth level they are at risk of dying with a bad roll of the dice
Honestly, my pick for CR 8 would be the Warforged Titan out of the Eberron book. AC of 20, HP of 125, Huge with 10ft reach and speed of 40ft, it's platform ability (which makes paring it with two ranged monsters no fun for the melee in you party), a nice AoE attack, and those multiattack axehand and hammerfist. The fact that being hit by the hammer can knock you prone, and the axe doing bonus damage to prone is harsh. Granted, as a standalone, it's not bad. It just hits really hard. But placed with two ranged monsters on it's platforms makes it nasty IMO.
I gotta say, this video impressed me. I can tell how much work went into it; I expected a lot of the considerations, but analyzing the modified variant monsters from the supplemental books really blew me away. Plus it's extremely educational for DMs of all levels. Thanks for making and sharing this, I'm very intrigued to see the rest of the series.
Shadows can certainly be strong, but let me tell you: if your party has a light cleric 2nd level or higher, you can throw a 100 shadows at the party and they will win in a single turn. Like seriously, a light cleric's channel divinity wrecks the shadow.
@@justmonica9253 their channel divinity wrecks low level encounters in general. It's a massive aoe nuke. But depending on initiatives, party members can still drop.
@JustMonica That is one specific subclass of a class that already specializes in fighting undead, though. It also requires the shadows to all be within 30 feet of the cleric, but with their movement speed of 40 feet and the fact they’re ambush predators, it’s not a guarantee the cleric gets the channel divinity off on all of them before something bad happens. Radiance of the Dawn is definitely a great way to take them out if you’re being swarmed and see them coming, but it’s a move that’s effective on the majority of low level mobs as well, even without vulnerability to radiant. I don’t think that specific case makes shadows much less threatening, the same way a nightwalker isn’t less threatening because it’s countered by a level 14 or higher necromancer.
While I agree that the Skulk is the strongest CR 1/2 monster (especially at lower levels), I'm surprised you didn't even mention Shadows. Shadows are extremely dangerous even to higher level parties because of their strength drain ability, especially because strength is so often a dump stat. Pair that with many resistance/immunities and you have a TPK waiting to happen. I played a game where we fought 10 of them at level 12 and 2 party members died instantly when they attacked with no chance to save them.
I’m surprised the dark mantle didn’t get a mention. The 10’ darkness that you need a 3rd level light spell or higher in order to see through it and if their attack hits the pc starts to suffocate.
I used this in our current game off the "out of the abyss" module. Killed two of the NPCs in the party. At the time it was just a game with my brother as the only PC, but he had acquired a lot of NPCs from the beginning of the game and even he admitted that some of them should go.
I absolutely agree with the skulk so when I read it’s stats I started planing ways the players could see it and the big one I cam to was that when they get that attack off the claws become bloody allowing players with a passive perception of 15 to be able to call it out and ignore the disadvantage but the skulk still retains its advantage
Imagine my face when my banshee nearly tpk'd my players on round 2. Only one person succeeded on their save, the warlock with -2 to WIS and they dropped to 1 hit point.
I just want to say that I appreciate your content. I really love D&D I love making characters I love role-playing I love all the aspects about it. I don't get to play very often and I've never got to try my hand at dming , but I feel like watching your content gives me the knowledge to be a better player and maybe one day a better GM
I would've thought that monsters that instakill instead of KO would be considered more deadly such as shadow, intellect devourer, will o wisp or catoblepas Guess this is only for TPKs and not just accidentally killing a party member
@@rhysjonsmusic or if they're in a bigger group, i'll agree that stat damage is only that lethal if it's punching above it's weight Still catoblepas are terrifying
And the scary thing with shadows is a small group of them. Especially if they focus on a character at a time. That or if the party has no weapons that can hurt it. Then even a single shadow is gonna cause chaos
Thanks for another video bud. Really appreciate you always taking the Help action for people like myself. Your dm advice and player advice has been so beneficial to me personally. Its given me much to think about and mature on. If you ever take requests, I would request a video or series concerning dnd characters or lore. What I come across often is there is juuuust enough info in the phb, dmg, and mm to help you have enough knowledge a out Faerun, forgotten realms, races, etc. I've had to sift through many a resource to collect what I needed for greater character customization and backstory creation. For myself, Tome of Foes, Lords of Darkness, Volos guide, and faith and pantheon have been what I've been wanting, lore about races, the history of Faerun, of the gods and the big name bigwigs of legend. I tthink people, like myself, need help in finding out books that are good for that, what's REALLY useful to you for creating a character, what will give you more details for a really unique and beautiful story. I've come into DND just last year, with the Starter Set. There's a LOT of history out there, that I feel the core 3 books just dont do justice to or even a rich well to jump into. It's really bare bones :/ i hope I've communicated my request well lol. Anyways, thanks Cody.
Our party got TPK'd last week by the Kobold Underlings. While i dm normally, one of my normal players wanted to run a small campaign in the vacation. So, him not being entirely experienced, and us being with only three level one characters instead of the normal six in the other campaign, got absolutely rekt by four of these.
At CR 2 I would like to add the intellect devourer, maybe it’s not as powerful in a 1 on party fight but if it lands a hit on the low int barbarian that may as well be a TPK. 5e is not balanced around PvP so if the players body is snatched and they get to have a turn before the wizard or rogue then just a light smack while in rage and they are done. The point is “insta kills” and enthrallment is very powerful and I think this creature is often overlooked by it looking very wonky
When we rain into a group of Lava Child... Children? The rest of the party ran and left the Monk to it... Similar tactics to their standard Rust Monster protocol
I think for CR8, the drow priestess of lolth takes the cake. a pretty good caster already; but she also has the opportunity to summon a CR10 demon once a day. a pretty scary adversary indeed
Great video thus far! I'm currently at CR 2. My only thing is that I would like to see the whole stat block on the screen and your body blocks it a bit at the corners. Just as a thought, it would work well if you were positioned to the right and maybe a touch smaller and then the stat block is visible. Hope that doesn't come off as me telling you what to do so apologies if it is. Great research and video otherwise!
In regards to the Skulk: This is why I like to start the game w/ or purchase Thieves Tools. It comes with a mirror mounted on a medal handle. You wouldn't think it, but that mirror can REALLY come in handy.
_Yeesh!_ I knew that CR was just an approximation, but this explains the level of variance I've had between supposedly balanced encounters. These two videos are super-useful, I like how you teach us to spot traps and red flags in statblocks.
Loved this video! Just my thoughts on a CR 1 - I always find a standard Brown Bear surprises the party, not the highest AC at 11 but 34 HP tanks a few hits at low levels, two attacks at +5 to hit with a 1d8+4 bite and a 2d6+4 claw attack can drop a Level 1 character, the panic really sets in at that point, a frenzied beast may very well attack a downed party member... I think using a standard animal lures them into a false sense of security like "Oh this thing isn't sparkling with magical energy or wreathed in flames just a standard bear this won't be much trouble" then BAM Yogi shows them what's what and the party never casually waltz into a cave ever again
All depends on the party. I typically try to balance my encounters in and out of combat around the strengths and weaknesses of the party. Where it gets hard is trying not to favor one skill set over another and having people feel left out.
Love the content as always. Just a suggestion: look into getting some foam wall panels to dampen the echo from your voice reverberating back into the mic.
This video is incredible, I love the runner up idea as well so if you think they are to powerful you can go just a step down and still have a real challenging encounter
Ask anyone who's played the Death House intro to CoS at level 1. I'll fight a bugbear over a Spectre any day at that level. At least with the bugbear there's a chance the PCs who drop will recover/get healing. With a Spectre, only thing to do when PCs drop: go through their pockets for loose change.
I want to say thank you! I have recently come upon your videos and I'm learning what to do since I've gotten an interest in dnd. Your channel has helped me learn the do's and don't's to this and it's been quite fun!
I also fully agree with the MF Arcanist being deadliest considering it also has an Int score of 19 so roleplayed correctly, the party is going to really need to work well to outsmart him.
I love your list here Cody, and I was wondering something about a creature from the Guilds of Ravnica book. The Category 1 Krasis has a CR of 1, an AC of 15, is Amphibious, has Multiattack (one bite, one claw that do 1d10 and 1d8 respectively with +5 to hit and +3 damage on both) and a base strength of 16. In addition to this base state block, Krases can also have 2 of up to 16 different abilities paired however you choose. Major and minor adaptations such as Armored Hide give this CR1 creature an additional +4 to AC (bringing it up to a 19 on a CR1 with powerful close combat skills) and it will still get an additional adaptation such as making its swim speed equal to its base walking speed or the ability to camouflage with the Cryptic Skin adaptation. Over all, this makes them some of my favorite all time creatures to bring into a campaign, as there are so many ways to use them for plot purposes- but here's the thing, at CR1, a Krasis with an AC of 19 and the ability to swim incredibly fast or become nearly invisible prior to or during combat seems like an enormous hurdle for players at level 1. They come with 19 or 3d8+6 hit points, so they're definitely not easy to bring down and are often quite elusive. I should also mention, this is the stat block for just the CR1 Medium sized Krasis, not the CR6 Large or the CR 16 Huge variants. I felt it was worth mentioning because I feel like running into anymore than one of these CR1s could spell death for the entire party, especially if they are of the Armored Hide or Bioluminescent Markings (gives advantage on saving throws against spells and magic) variants. It is also likely that even just one of them could kill 1-4 party members with relative ease if it had the right combination of adaptations and the party wasn't prepared for it. I just wanted to get your thoughts on these creatures to see if you think they are too powerful as standalone creatures or if they are simply a decent challenge for a low level adventuring party. I once did a one shot with the idea of having my players hunt a Large CR6 Krasis that I adjusted to be more like a CR7 or 8 by giving it 1 major adaptation and 2 minor ones and the party was at level 10. The Krasis nearly killed 2 players before moving into the second half of the adventure (it was supposed to flee the first fight wounded to recover, and their job was to continue the hunt to find its nest). The party managed to stabilize both of the unconscious players, but they were really close to just outright dying. These things are definitely not simple to deal with, they are basically the Predator and an Alien mixed together ._.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a video for the most under powered monsters for their CR level on top of the most powerful. For example, I think the Cloaker is super underpowered for being a CR 8 based of the encounter I used them in my campaign. A player cast light and rendered the Cloaker’s phantom illusions useless. The Cloaker did a lot of damage to one player but didn’t even touch the other three players before getting killed.
That all comes down to action economy. I generally don’t like the pattern of a party of players fighting one person or creature because it just seems so unlikely that creatures other than aberrations and undead would ever live alone or not try to escape to get allies to pick off the party later.
It'd be cool if you put in titles for each section, and maybe a list of links to jump to timestamps for what you're talking about at that time. Great videos, newly found you and I've been going through the videos for the last couple days. Great job man.
I feel like the shadow and intellect devourer could have at least made honorable mentions. They both have abilities that can kill a PC without needing to chew through hit points. Those abilities also make the encounter more difficult the longer they go on with the shadow sapping the strength from the party and the intellect devourer turning one of the party members into a meat puppet.
Yeah if I run into a specter a low level I just run the other way until I can't. This is a nice, well-thought out list! How many parts are you planning?
Well this one went to 8, next will probably go to 15 or 16, then a final one(probably) that goes through the rest(are there CRs above 20 in 5E? I haven't gotten to play a lot of 5E, yes even as long as it's been out!)
@@dragohammer6937 indeed, except that over 16 there are 2-3 monsters per CR (and some CRs have a single monster), so my personal bet is the list will stop at 16
Cody, you should talk about your personal 5 favourite homebrew monsters. There's a bunch of really interesting existing ones I've found lately, mostly for their lore and ability to build an entire campaign around. Consider it, it could be a really interesting way to open and show what you really prioritize in your monsters and your games
One of the CR 1/2 monsters I found to be insane was the kraul from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. AC 18, pack tactics, climbing and/or flying and immunity to charm while with allies. My players found these so tough to deal with, I had to find a way to remove some of them from the first fight I put them in.
On of the strongest creatures I've got to run while running modules is in the module "In The Gardens of Evil", which takes place in Avernus. One of the possible encounters in this module are special Girallons. Normal Girallons are CR4 monstrosities with 5 attacks dealing 1d6+4 damage per hit on a +6 to hit. These specific Girallons are CR5, considered fiends instead of monstrosities, and are given the Pack Tactics ability, but everything else is the same. And there are 4 of them in the encounter. If these things go first or second, at least one of the party is going down.
I'm surprised the Catoblepas wasn't mentioned for CR 5. It doesn't have a whole lot of hit points, but MAN does that death ray have potential to kill. Failing by 5 or more on a DC 16 con save and the player takes 64 necrotic damage? At best PCs have a 50/50 shot of even making the saving throw, and then the ability recharges on a 5-6. It's the kind of monster you only put in your game if you've talked to a player and they've agreed to let their character die so they can play a new one lol
But would they know to use it is the question. These are all new dm trap monsters. like: "Shit I didn't mean to kill them second session" kinda trap monsters.
CR1=Quickling check it out! AC16 with disavantage to hit, Evasion, 3 Attks +8 to hit,1d4+6 each, Mov 120ft (Don`t try to run), +6 Initiative. Chaotic Evil=No survivors! Only chance win the initiative and a magic missile spell well rolled dmg.
I'm glad I reviewed this one for my session. I plan on throwing a Young black dragon and 2 green hags at my party, and I might just have to dial that dragon back a little bit.
There is a creature that I think you missed - the Frost Druid from Rime of the Frostmaiden. I can easily imagine this monster TPKing a group. The weirdest thing about the Frost Druid is that one of the starting quests in Rime of the Frostmaiden has you face one at level 1! The implied tactic from the stat block is shape changing into a creature with good stealth and surprising the party. A fox in an available option, and with its +5 to stealth, nonthreatening appearance if caught and the Frost Druid's Pass Without Trace spell to boot, and surprise is guaranteed. If you play your cards right, the Frost Druid will use the surprise round to cast Conjure Animals as a 5th level spell slot to summon 16 more creatures to the battlefield, before wiping down the party with 3 castings of Ice Storm, dealing 4d6+2d8 damage (an average of 23) to every party member with proper positioning. A smart frost druid will use the conjured animals to grant itself cover to avoid loosing concentration, but even if it does, it still has plenty of 3rd level slots to cast conjure animals with, 3 to be exact. If you are playing the frost druid as smart as possible (which you probably shouldn't given its lethality) have it deal with the counterspell issue by having it stand more than 60ft away from casters as it casts conjure animals, and then have it command the animals to walk forward. Ice Storm has a range of 300ft, so their is no issue their. The 300ft range also helps it maintain concentration on spells. Whether it is stronger than the Gorgon is a tough call, but I reckon it is. The action economy that it achieves is just to good, and the Frost Druid also has very consistent AOE. However, it is squishy - much squishier than the Gorgon - something to keep in mind for players trying to defeat this absurdly unbalanced monster. Hope you like my thoughts!
I used a Mind Flayer Arcanist with some minions against my group a while back. One of the players assumed it was a normal Mind Flayer and used an AOE fear effect that also hit the teams fighter. He figured the rest of the team to take one mind flayer without the aid of the fighter. They started to have regrets after it started casting Shield and Lightning Bolt spells. All of the minions and the teams fighter failed the fear save. Without the fighter, the party was lousing the damage per round race even though they had the advantage in action economy. Lucky for the rest of the party, the fighter was able to get out of sight of the bard that cast the fear bomb and passed his next save to break the fear. Action Surge has a heck of a way of turning a fight around.
I think Living Cloudkill from Eberron: rising from the last war could take CR 7; good amount of hit points, poison attacks doing 4d6+5 twice per round as well as a recharging on a 5 or 6 cloudkill spell meaning without poison resistance or immunity it can drop spellcasters while attacking tanks. Then there is the fact that inside its cloudkill spell it would be invisible as it is made of the same material with the same density. This would mean without dispel magic or something like warding wind, how my party survived, most parties would be unable to see the creature giving it advantage on its attacks, which once again do 4d6+5 poison damage on a hit. This one creature down the barbarian I had failed to down in any other combat and I did even consider the vanishing into the fog.
I typically use lower CR monsters against my party. I rarely use wandering monsters, since I prefer carefully prepared preset tactics from monsters. This way I can tailor my encounters to test a party’s weaknesses and strengths for the boss fights. I stress to the party to learn from their encounters on their way to the boss fights, because it’s possible they will encounter similar monsters and tactics during the boss fight. Naturally I add surprises into the Boss fight to keep them on their toes. The more intelligent the monsters are, the better their tactics will be. For harder fights I will often use the terrain to give the monsters an advantage. Examples could include, utter darkness, broken ground, steep hills, natural cover, overpowering and nauseating stench, bitter climate areas(heat or cold), monsters using hit and run tactics, monsters fleeing into trapped areas that they know how to avoid, etc. the above examples spice up the average combat encounters quite nicely. I use deadly poisons very sparingly, but if the monsters have spell casters, they will use their non caster comrades as meat shields to get their spells off, usually targeting obvious healers first.
When this series is over, are you going to do another one for the WORST creatures by CR? That would be fun.
Would people want this?
@@Taking20 Yes
@@Taking20 Yes
@@Taking20 Definitely. It'd be very useful to help new DMs consider poor examples of creatures.
Taking20 it’s a yes from me
The correct answer at every CR is Kolbolds.... Just is increasing numbers.
Or Kobolds discover the wonders of Industrial Age technology. Kobold Mechs powered by magic anyone? Or Tucker’s Kobolds.
Kobolds in thier home are straight up deadly to pretty much any party level. Especially if the adventures are careless
@@TheBabsPlayGames "overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer"
@@gasterblaster9817 “brought low by hubris” love some good DD
I used kobolds with 5 player levels in gloomstalker ranger as a fight for my level 7 party, it was gnarly
Jackalwere is a CR ½ creature that is IMMUNE to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. IMMUNE!!! That's pretty rough. Oh, and it has pack tactics and a sleep gaze! CR ½!
Holy moly. My players are going to hate you for inducing me in using this creature as an enemy for them lol
The Shadow is a CR 1/2 creature that is Damage Resistance acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
And doesn't do HP damage it drains Strength, if the Str hits 0 that's death. You can't heal that so the party's cleric won't help..
Philip Tolhurst
www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/shadow
It does 2d6+2 necrotic damage and reduces strength stat by 1d4 on a hit.
TBH I started my campaign with 2 of these and some jackals as the main antagonists. It's a perfect introduction to my DMing style as you can't just smack your problem away. You need to first find them then find a way to hurt them, which included using a ceremonial sickle from the local church, and a candle holder.
Ha also the Jackelwere were gunslingers. It was wild west themed, tiny unreliable guns so not a lot of damage, things were hard as it was.
Yeah, there are a couple nasties deceptively mixed into the lower levels. When I first started running 5e, back when it was brand new, I decided to adapt an old adventure from an '80's Dungeon (or maybe it was Dragon) magazine. There was a pack of jackalwere in the adventure, and I totally missed the damage immunity in their stat block prior to the encounter. The characters were roughly 3rd level at this point, and the only melee character (sadly, a monk) instantly found himself all but worthless in the fight, and the spell casters were mostly relying on cantrips. It was a rough encountered. The ogres they had encountered earlier were much easier. Hahaha!
That encounter did teach me to look much more closely at the stay blocks, though.
When CR in D&D is about as reliable as Power Levels in Dragon Ball Z
hhahhahahahhah SOOO true brother :D
oh I get it now they both don’t matter. lolololololol
How are power level unreliable? there have never been a single instant of a character with a lower power level beating a character with a higher power level
@@marraytaleus6598i think its because the characters can power their power level so the villians are always like "nah they weak" then they get stomped because they was just lying.
Also in super, kuillin beat gohan in an elimination fight.
Considering how much difference in power two player characters of the same level can have depending on how the player builds them, there's no way for monster CR to be a reliable measure that can be equally applied to all game groups. They're a rough estimate of what enemy a party of that level can handle.
when you have to magic and punch a child to death youtube takes your money
Did that really get this demonitized?
@@kguy2249 no. Its monetized
Lol too funny.
I zoned out halfway through the description of the Duergar Mind Master's abilities and realised that conceptually the way we describe stat blocks is very funny because of how it's exactly how someone making fun of d&d thinks we talk
Yeah I agree, I was paying close attention and he still jumped between so many topics in one sentence (starting around 9:56) that it was tough to follow. If you weren't pretty familiar with the game this would sound like utter gibberish lol
I zoned out, because he was talking about a lot of monsters from specific adventures and I didn't know what monsters they were and I don't own every single 5e D&D product that ever existed.... He spread it so thin that I was like, "Yeah, I don't own that and wasn't planning on getting that any time soon..." So, I lost interest.. I thought he was going to use more core D&D monsters.
@@Taricus well there are statblocks online, so if you want to look up monsters, it's pretty viable. I personally own the books, but my DM sometimes looks things up online.
The highest CR monster is an adventuring party who is interested in your stuff!
Arm yourselves! We're building and testing weapons over here!
I actually find that it's quite fun to throw playable builds at my players. As an example, a couple of sessions ago when they were just 6th-level characters, I threw at them a Levistus Tiefling with eight levels in Shadow Magic Sorcerer who was going around with Boots of Elvenkind and a Bag of Devouring as she silently caused murders in the city.
I've done similar things with mixed results. A playable character without the benefit of the players fait accompli always seems to lose its luster.
Bruh just throw a castle at them
A walking castle Cr 35 curtesy of the dnd wiki’s insanity
@@thecurator2045 Link?
How to lose friends with a Gorgon: Have a High Level Forge Cleric (or any spell caster with Animate Objects) riding it so when someone gets petrified, the Cleric casts Animate Objects on the person, breaking them down to little pieces and using their remains as flying weapons against their friends.
That's super fucked, and I love it
i hope my dm never sees this, now again, im also a dm to others >:D
I dunno if you could use animate objects to break a statue into smaller pieces, but you could most certainly animate the statue itself and put the players in a position of needing to defend themselves from their now animated stone friend-turned-foe.
I read about a player who animated thier petrified party members and beat a medusa to death with them xD
The animate object spell cannot target creatures that are petrified. A petrified creature, even though its body and worn equipment have been turned to stone, is still alive and this is not an object. This makes petrified creatures an invalid target unless they are actually killed.
It would actually be fairly difficult to kill a petrified creature and also keep the creatures body in one piece.
Killed a character with a Banshee wail tonight so... this checks out XD
Just DM things
banshees are powerful, but have you ever used a coautl to use a banshee scream, then turn into a flame skull?
My dm is super irritated with us because he allowed some home brewing and were steam rolling every encounter. Tried to throw a banshee at us. High rolls resulted in only one player going down
@@Spiceodog coautals are good why were they fighting?
@@pinkliongaming8769 good doesn't always mean nice. Conflicting goals, maybe a misunderstanding, or even the good old temple gayrdian testing you trope.
Oh or maybe a fallen couatl
"The Lava Child is outright immune to metal weapons, and has advantage on players with metal armour"
Þörrin the barbarian grips his great club and begins to laugh.
Allister monondrocholis the wizard opens component pouches and begins to grin.
*laughs in Druid*
Lunk the Monk:
The CR systen CR-iously needs to be reassessed.
Same with martial classes being boring and subclass/classes and spells being either overpowered (Circle of the Moon, Hexblade, Hypnotic Pattern and Simulacrum) or underpowered (Great old one, True Strike, Sky Write, Illusory script and other situational spells). 6e is gonna have to sort out a lot of stuff.
@@justas423 fighters needed maneuvers baked into the core class
@@justas423 I don't feel like True Strike, Illusory Script or Sky Write really need to be buffed in any meaningful way; some spells should be situational, especially if you're a divine spellcaster or a wizard with access to spell scrolls for purchase as you can just choose to prepare it only in the situations where you know you'll need it and it won't prevent you from having access to more generally useful spells at other times. I don't know about overpowered spells so much either, but under or overpowered subclasses need to go, for sure.
@@justas423 Welcome to D&D, where 9th level casters have always been hilariously overpowered no matter what edition (especially since 3rd edition, because the guy in charge of balancing the classes thought wizards were the kewlest).
@@gasterblaster9817 *coughs in 4th Edition*
Broke: "ok this video shows me which monsters to watch out for so I dont TPK my party"
Woke: "ok, how can i legitimize having a lava child in Ghosts of Saltmarsh"
I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of Will-O-Wisp, that thing is a nasty little creature. Stupidly high AC, instant invisibility and good damage. It might not be better than the Mind Master, but it is at least an honorable mention.
Man, this really shows how terrifying Rime of the Frostmaiden really is. Not only is there a dungeon filled to the brim with Duergar, but there’s also a *first level quest* with a Sea Hag + Will-O-Wisp combo
@@reyntime8735 and Sephek Kaltro
Yeah. Especially since I've seen them combined with a Banshee several times
What about the CR1 Quickling of Volo's guide.
It has an AC of 16,
blurred movement so players make attacks with disadvantage,
evasion against burning hands e.d.
It Makes 3 attacks at a +8, dealing 1d4+6 damage per hit,
And runs at a wopping 120 ft/turn
Quicklings are one of my favorite creatures to summon with conjure woodland beings. Not as cheaty as pixies but still really fun.
I thought of quicklings too
I almost TPKed a parry with 2 quickling
Against 1? Fighter engages, Wizard casts magic missile. (average damage is same as quickling's Hp)
Multiples? Colorspray should be good against about 3 of them. Flips the tables on them. Their 3 attacks now have disadvantage and negates their blurred movement for 1 round. The party can now (hopefully) kill them or trap them somehow.
Still, awesome creature.
@@mephura this assumes your party has a well built mage with a PC that knows how to use them...
What I learned today is that Duergar don’t mess around.
The first time my party's Bear totem Barbarian was brought down was by a CR-appropriate group of Duergar around level 9, lead by a Duergar Warlord. He tanked something like 240 damage, but went down eventually.
The amount of work you put into these videos is really amazing
Thanks Jeffery! Very kind of you to say ;-)
@@Taking20 thanks for the videos always love them
True
10:40 To clarify, Barbarians don't need to Rage to reckless attack (unless your DM has houseruled as such, for whatever reason). They *do* take attacks at advantage as well though, so it's not just free advantage against such a high AC monster.
In my homebrew campaign, I'm using Taking20's face as the reference for the god of knowledge and the arcane.
I know this didn't make it on your list, but the CR 1 Shadow was super deadly specifically to my 3rd level party's cleric. See, this cleric had rolled really weird stats such that their physical stats were cartoonishly low (think 4s and 5s) and their mental stats being incredibly high (18s and 19s). When the shadow hit them, they did a bit of damage, lessened by the cleric's necrotic resistance, but rolled a 4 on their strength drain. The cleric had 3 strength. They instantly died.
This was a new party so I spared the cleric, having them go unconscious, but it's still imprinted in my mind. Their strength score was lowered to a 1 after that.
Shadows are actually CR 1/2 not 1 - making everything you just said even deadlier lol.
This is why rolling for stats is stupid. I've never once seen it lead to a balanced character.
Well it's simple. I keep a small chart with all the monster names and how many times they have killed players. Kobolds have been stuck at 68 for like a year.
That is awesome!
What's your second highest monster?
@@meganofsherwood3665 your mom.
Vagrant
Wowie wow unique and funny
I subscribed to this channel just to watch this video, and it was worth it!!!
I'm ok with it
@@Taking20 PUNCH those Lava Children TO DEATH! Got me!
I usually use CR as a guideline to pick monsters that are reasonable for the environment, then build something that makes sense from my own perspective...
If it ends up being a little broken I adjust AC on the fly like, "You hit and although the Duregar doesn't seem to take damage, you manage to make them drop their shield/ your blade manages to catch the shoulder guards and drop them"
It's not perfect but I can prepare faster :shrug:
It's an effective way to adjust things on the fly, I've done it more than once, and gives the players a feeling that they're helping in some way. That's at least my 2 cents.
Thats what I do as well. I level adjust things to fit the level of the party so you can use just about anything at anytime. There are only a few monsters I wont touch their stat blocks like Dragons or specialized monsters like the Mimic.
Dice?
Dice!
Must collect them all!
The little caltrops that are d4's
Cute squares that are d6's
And the others...
Maybe even the rare d100
I feel this
A friend of mine had a dream that she had a d1000 LOL! She said it was like a basketball LOL!
@@Taricus dm: "okay roll your damage"
Player: *reaches into their bag and pulls out a basketball sized dice before rolling it.* "782 plus 93 thats... 875 radiant damage."
Dm: *dumbfounded* "ummm okay... Their is now nothing left of the kobald."
Haven’t watched yet, but Specter had BETTER be on here.
"Well, yes, but actually no"
Or is it the other way around?
Spoiler alert it’s a Specter like creature but with extra resistance
I got the monster manual a month ago and had to agree with you. Life drain for a cr 1 creature is insane. Succubus’ and and incubus’ have drain kiss but with their cr 5 doing 5d10 +5 psychic damage is insane, even though it has a low con save half still does a lot and did I mention it decreases max hit point and kills a player if they are reduced to 0 max hit points. If you are playing a character that isn’t barbarian,fighter, or paladin you are screwed. This creature will destroy the spirit and hope of any spell caster or isn’t the list of characters mentioned since at fifth level they are at risk of dying with a bad roll of the dice
Same with Shadows
@Carl Marchiano +4 Greatsword and you're fighting CR 1 monsters? Ight
Honestly, my pick for CR 8 would be the Warforged Titan out of the Eberron book. AC of 20, HP of 125, Huge with 10ft reach and speed of 40ft, it's platform ability (which makes paring it with two ranged monsters no fun for the melee in you party), a nice AoE attack, and those multiattack axehand and hammerfist. The fact that being hit by the hammer can knock you prone, and the axe doing bonus damage to prone is harsh.
Granted, as a standalone, it's not bad. It just hits really hard. But placed with two ranged monsters on it's platforms makes it nasty IMO.
Or better yet, pair it with its creators who cast hold person, getting free crits on paralyzed creatures with those big ass weapon dice is amazing
Who hurt you? xD
really missed your content during a well earned break. Loving the content back in full force!
"I hope i dont get demonetized"
add drops right the second after.
I think your fine cody
I gotta say, this video impressed me. I can tell how much work went into it; I expected a lot of the considerations, but analyzing the modified variant monsters from the supplemental books really blew me away. Plus it's extremely educational for DMs of all levels. Thanks for making and sharing this, I'm very intrigued to see the rest of the series.
I really thought there would be SHADOW on this list.
Yeah, i think its much stronger than... what was that in the video?
@@Melix0ff the Skulk
Shadows can certainly be strong, but let me tell you: if your party has a light cleric 2nd level or higher, you can throw a 100 shadows at the party and they will win in a single turn. Like seriously, a light cleric's channel divinity wrecks the shadow.
@@justmonica9253 their channel divinity wrecks low level encounters in general. It's a massive aoe nuke. But depending on initiatives, party members can still drop.
@JustMonica
That is one specific subclass of a class that already specializes in fighting undead, though. It also requires the shadows to all be within 30 feet of the cleric, but with their movement speed of 40 feet and the fact they’re ambush predators, it’s not a guarantee the cleric gets the channel divinity off on all of them before something bad happens. Radiance of the Dawn is definitely a great way to take them out if you’re being swarmed and see them coming, but it’s a move that’s effective on the majority of low level mobs as well, even without vulnerability to radiant. I don’t think that specific case makes shadows much less threatening, the same way a nightwalker isn’t less threatening because it’s countered by a level 14 or higher necromancer.
While I agree that the Skulk is the strongest CR 1/2 monster (especially at lower levels), I'm surprised you didn't even mention Shadows. Shadows are extremely dangerous even to higher level parties because of their strength drain ability, especially because strength is so often a dump stat. Pair that with many resistance/immunities and you have a TPK waiting to happen. I played a game where we fought 10 of them at level 12 and 2 party members died instantly when they attacked with no chance to save them.
After a TPK, save those chars as the DM.
In the next campaign, use the dead chats as a competing adventuring group. Let them fight.
I’m surprised the dark mantle didn’t get a mention. The 10’ darkness that you need a 3rd level light spell or higher in order to see through it and if their attack hits the pc starts to suffocate.
I used this in our current game off the "out of the abyss" module. Killed two of the NPCs in the party. At the time it was just a game with my brother as the only PC, but he had acquired a lot of NPCs from the beginning of the game and even he admitted that some of them should go.
My friend dropped one on me in 3.5. It knocked me out, and would have killed my character if there wasn't another party member there to kill it.
So you know, the radius is actually 15 feet. Just some helpful knowledge
I absolutely agree with the skulk so when I read it’s stats I started planing ways the players could see it and the big one I cam to was that when they get that attack off the claws become bloody allowing players with a passive perception of 15 to be able to call it out and ignore the disadvantage but the skulk still retains its advantage
Man, I thought the Bodak would grab CR6 for sure!
Same! That thing is SOOO mean. By luck of the dice my one shot party survive by a single attack.
Yeah Bodak deserved at least an honorable mentions though he doesnt see much game time.
Imagine my face when my banshee nearly tpk'd my players on round 2. Only one person succeeded on their save, the warlock with -2 to WIS and they dropped to 1 hit point.
I just want to say that I appreciate your content. I really love D&D I love making characters I love role-playing I love all the aspects about it. I don't get to play very often and I've never got to try my hand at dming , but I feel like watching your content gives me the knowledge to be a better player and maybe one day a better GM
I would've thought that monsters that instakill instead of KO would be considered more deadly such as shadow, intellect devourer, will o wisp or catoblepas
Guess this is only for TPKs and not just accidentally killing a party member
Owen Elliott omg intellect devours are the worst!
The thing with shadows and intellect devourers is that they're only threats to characters with low stats.
@@rhysjonsmusic or if they're in a bigger group, i'll agree that stat damage is only that lethal if it's punching above it's weight
Still catoblepas are terrifying
Papi The Harpy I’ve had a single one reduce a character with a 19 intelligence and drop him -due to poor rolls- wore the character like a suit..
And the scary thing with shadows is a small group of them. Especially if they focus on a character at a time. That or if the party has no weapons that can hurt it. Then even a single shadow is gonna cause chaos
Thanks for another video bud. Really appreciate you always taking the Help action for people like myself. Your dm advice and player advice has been so beneficial to me personally. Its given me much to think about and mature on.
If you ever take requests, I would request a video or series concerning dnd characters or lore. What I come across often is there is juuuust enough info in the phb, dmg, and mm to help you have enough knowledge a out Faerun, forgotten realms, races, etc. I've had to sift through many a resource to collect what I needed for greater character customization and backstory creation. For myself, Tome of Foes, Lords of Darkness, Volos guide, and faith and pantheon have been what I've been wanting, lore about races, the history of Faerun, of the gods and the big name bigwigs of legend.
I tthink people, like myself, need help in finding out books that are good for that, what's REALLY useful to you for creating a character, what will give you more details for a really unique and beautiful story. I've come into DND just last year, with the Starter Set. There's a LOT of history out there, that I feel the core 3 books just dont do justice to or even a rich well to jump into. It's really bare bones :/ i hope I've communicated my request well lol. Anyways, thanks Cody.
Our party got TPK'd last week by the Kobold Underlings. While i dm normally, one of my normal players wanted to run a small campaign in the vacation. So, him not being entirely experienced, and us being with only three level one characters instead of the normal six in the other campaign, got absolutely rekt by four of these.
Yep
At CR 2 I would like to add the intellect devourer, maybe it’s not as powerful in a 1 on party fight but if it lands a hit on the low int barbarian that may as well be a TPK. 5e is not balanced around PvP so if the players body is snatched and they get to have a turn before the wizard or rogue then just a light smack while in rage and they are done. The point is “insta kills” and enthrallment is very powerful and I think this creature is often overlooked by it looking very wonky
When we rain into a group of Lava Child... Children? The rest of the party ran and left the Monk to it... Similar tactics to their standard Rust Monster protocol
“AWW man I really hope I didn’t get my video demonetized” *ad plays*
I think for CR8, the drow priestess of lolth takes the cake. a pretty good caster already; but she also has the opportunity to summon a CR10 demon once a day. a pretty scary adversary indeed
There is worse
Great video thus far! I'm currently at CR 2. My only thing is that I would like to see the whole stat block on the screen and your body blocks it a bit at the corners. Just as a thought, it would work well if you were positioned to the right and maybe a touch smaller and then the stat block is visible.
Hope that doesn't come off as me telling you what to do so apologies if it is. Great research and video otherwise!
You haven't really got a deadly encounter, until the banshee TPK at 4th level.
In regards to the Skulk: This is why I like to start the game w/ or purchase Thieves Tools. It comes with a mirror mounted on a medal handle. You wouldn't think it, but that mirror can REALLY come in handy.
In Critical Role, Caleb cast Slow on the Hydra, and that was the best destruction of a monster I have ever seen.
Slow is a very underrated spell.
It's incredibly handy against multi attack monsters.
_Yeesh!_ I knew that CR was just an approximation, but this explains the level of variance I've had between supposedly balanced encounters. These two videos are super-useful, I like how you teach us to spot traps and red flags in statblocks.
how about the swarm of rot grubs? that thing gets in and doesn't inmediately get out, character may be in real danger.
Loved this video! Just my thoughts on a CR 1 - I always find a standard Brown Bear surprises the party, not the highest AC at 11 but 34 HP tanks a few hits at low levels, two attacks at +5 to hit with a 1d8+4 bite and a 2d6+4 claw attack can drop a Level 1 character, the panic really sets in at that point, a frenzied beast may very well attack a downed party member...
I think using a standard animal lures them into a false sense of security like "Oh this thing isn't sparkling with magical energy or wreathed in flames just a standard bear this won't be much trouble" then BAM Yogi shows them what's what and the party never casually waltz into a cave ever again
It might not be comparable to CR but the toughest fights I’ve had were when the DM made player characters for us to fight.
All depends on the party. I typically try to balance my encounters in and out of combat around the strengths and weaknesses of the party. Where it gets hard is trying not to favor one skill set over another and having people feel left out.
I love how Taking20 is looking more and more like a 40k player with less hair.
Love the content as always. Just a suggestion: look into getting some foam wall panels to dampen the echo from your voice reverberating back into the mic.
Lava Child: the "throw the druids a bone" monster
Monk
This video is incredible, I love the runner up idea as well so if you think they are to powerful you can go just a step down and still have a real challenging encounter
Ask anyone who's played the Death House intro to CoS at level 1. I'll fight a bugbear over a Spectre any day at that level. At least with the bugbear there's a chance the PCs who drop will recover/get healing. With a Spectre, only thing to do when PCs drop: go through their pockets for loose change.
I want to say thank you! I have recently come upon your videos and I'm learning what to do since I've gotten an interest in dnd. Your channel has helped me learn the do's and don't's to this and it's been quite fun!
Or, in keeping with Rocky & Bullwinkle tradition: How To TPK Your Players At Any Level.
Great Video! I love that you mention red flags for balancing. Very important for new and experienced DMs
I also fully agree with the MF Arcanist being deadliest considering it also has an Int score of 19 so roleplayed correctly, the party is going to really need to work well to outsmart him.
I love your list here Cody, and I was wondering something about a creature from the Guilds of Ravnica book. The Category 1 Krasis has a CR of 1, an AC of 15, is Amphibious, has Multiattack (one bite, one claw that do 1d10 and 1d8 respectively with +5 to hit and +3 damage on both) and a base strength of 16. In addition to this base state block, Krases can also have 2 of up to 16 different abilities paired however you choose. Major and minor adaptations such as Armored Hide give this CR1 creature an additional +4 to AC (bringing it up to a 19 on a CR1 with powerful close combat skills) and it will still get an additional adaptation such as making its swim speed equal to its base walking speed or the ability to camouflage with the Cryptic Skin adaptation. Over all, this makes them some of my favorite all time creatures to bring into a campaign, as there are so many ways to use them for plot purposes- but here's the thing, at CR1, a Krasis with an AC of 19 and the ability to swim incredibly fast or become nearly invisible prior to or during combat seems like an enormous hurdle for players at level 1. They come with 19 or 3d8+6 hit points, so they're definitely not easy to bring down and are often quite elusive. I should also mention, this is the stat block for just the CR1 Medium sized Krasis, not the CR6 Large or the CR 16 Huge variants. I felt it was worth mentioning because I feel like running into anymore than one of these CR1s could spell death for the entire party, especially if they are of the Armored Hide or Bioluminescent Markings (gives advantage on saving throws against spells and magic) variants. It is also likely that even just one of them could kill 1-4 party members with relative ease if it had the right combination of adaptations and the party wasn't prepared for it. I just wanted to get your thoughts on these creatures to see if you think they are too powerful as standalone creatures or if they are simply a decent challenge for a low level adventuring party. I once did a one shot with the idea of having my players hunt a Large CR6 Krasis that I adjusted to be more like a CR7 or 8 by giving it 1 major adaptation and 2 minor ones and the party was at level 10. The Krasis nearly killed 2 players before moving into the second half of the adventure (it was supposed to flee the first fight wounded to recover, and their job was to continue the hunt to find its nest). The party managed to stabilize both of the unconscious players, but they were really close to just outright dying. These things are definitely not simple to deal with, they are basically the Predator and an Alien mixed together ._.
"I really hope that didn't get this video demonitized"
*Ad immediately rolls*
It would seem you've done well
You should do a video for your picks of the best level 20 character builds, including multiclassing and feats.
Wizard 20
That's it, that's the build.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a video for the most under powered monsters for their CR level on top of the most powerful. For example, I think the Cloaker is super underpowered for being a CR 8 based of the encounter I used them in my campaign. A player cast light and rendered the Cloaker’s phantom illusions useless. The Cloaker did a lot of damage to one player but didn’t even touch the other three players before getting killed.
That all comes down to action economy. I generally don’t like the pattern of a party of players fighting one person or creature because it just seems so unlikely that creatures other than aberrations and undead would ever live alone or not try to escape to get allies to pick off the party later.
It'd be cool if you put in titles for each section, and maybe a list of links to jump to timestamps for what you're talking about at that time.
Great videos, newly found you and I've been going through the videos for the last couple days. Great job man.
Havent watched yet, but the CR 4 Flameskull should be on here.
I had expected will-o-wisps, shadows, intellect devourers or quicklings at least mentioned, I have learned a bit.
I think that shadow is the strongest cr half monster for higher level party.
Ossi L shadows are absolutely nasty! The same with wights/ghouls! BUT.. they are best used as groups. Especially ghouls that are in a body of water
Shadows, I hate shadows
I feel like the shadow and intellect devourer could have at least made honorable mentions. They both have abilities that can kill a PC without needing to chew through hit points. Those abilities also make the encounter more difficult the longer they go on with the shadow sapping the strength from the party and the intellect devourer turning one of the party members into a meat puppet.
Maybe the deadliest monster by CR was the friends we made along the way
Sergio Le Roux Damn those doppelgänger
Oh cool, looks like I have the roster for the colloseum encounters in the next city. Thanks!
I enjoyed this video. I wish there was a way to show it.
This was so well done.. thank you for this!! Would have loved portraits with each tho :(
Yeah if I run into a specter a low level I just run the other way until I can't.
This is a nice, well-thought out list! How many parts are you planning?
Well this one went to 8, next will probably go to 15 or 16, then a final one(probably) that goes through the rest(are there CRs above 20 in 5E? I haven't gotten to play a lot of 5E, yes even as long as it's been out!)
@@JacksonOwex there's CR up to 30, with tiamat's avatar being the strongest
@@dragohammer6937 indeed, except that over 16 there are 2-3 monsters per CR (and some CRs have a single monster), so my personal bet is the list will stop at 16
Cody, you should talk about your personal 5 favourite homebrew monsters. There's a bunch of really interesting existing ones I've found lately, mostly for their lore and ability to build an entire campaign around. Consider it, it could be a really interesting way to open and show what you really prioritize in your monsters and your games
*Party:* _[encounters a Lava Child]_
*Monk:* _[laughs in sign language]_
*Druid:* _[snickers in Shilellagh]_
*Wizard:* _[looks over spell cards: Fireball, Melf's Minute Meteors, Aganazzar's Scorcher, Scorching Ray, Firebolt...]_
One of the CR 1/2 monsters I found to be insane was the kraul from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. AC 18, pack tactics, climbing and/or flying and immunity to charm while with allies. My players found these so tough to deal with, I had to find a way to remove some of them from the first fight I put them in.
We almost got tpk'ed by two black dragon wyrmlings luckily I was a black dragonborn so I talked us out of it... Now we're in a dragon cult
My parties reaction to wrymlings was smashing oil in its face and lighting it on fire
@@gamingwizard1027 jesus
Surprised that the Intellect Devourer didn't make an appearance
Kobold underlings are specifically for an adventure, they’re not just meant for any encounter
On of the strongest creatures I've got to run while running modules is in the module "In The Gardens of Evil", which takes place in Avernus. One of the possible encounters in this module are special Girallons. Normal Girallons are CR4 monstrosities with 5 attacks dealing 1d6+4 damage per hit on a +6 to hit. These specific Girallons are CR5, considered fiends instead of monstrosities, and are given the Pack Tactics ability, but everything else is the same. And there are 4 of them in the encounter. If these things go first or second, at least one of the party is going down.
I'm surprised the Catoblepas wasn't mentioned for CR 5. It doesn't have a whole lot of hit points, but MAN does that death ray have potential to kill. Failing by 5 or more on a DC 16 con save and the player takes 64 necrotic damage? At best PCs have a 50/50 shot of even making the saving throw, and then the ability recharges on a 5-6. It's the kind of monster you only put in your game if you've talked to a player and they've agreed to let their character die so they can play a new one lol
I'd just like to point out that Thieves' Tools have a mirror, so most parties will have one, regarding the Skulk
But would they know to use it is the question. These are all new dm trap monsters. like: "Shit I didn't mean to kill them second session" kinda trap monsters.
The mojo is back. 😀
Velociraptors... Ive learned my lesson on them as a DM, a pack of those can easily take down a higher level party if they get the jump on them.
A monster that surpasses everything in this video: The mimic. No need to explain.
@Taking20 every CR deserves its own TIER-list #Taking20
Bruh 2 minutes WOOAAHHAHHA
CR1=Quickling check it out! AC16 with disavantage to hit, Evasion, 3 Attks +8 to hit,1d4+6 each, Mov 120ft (Don`t try to run), +6 Initiative. Chaotic Evil=No survivors! Only chance win the initiative and a magic missile spell well rolled dmg.
You put so much work into your vidoes, it is great! They always are well thought out and informative.
I'm glad I reviewed this one for my session. I plan on throwing a Young black dragon and 2 green hags at my party, and I might just have to dial that dragon back a little bit.
Dude, I like your energy everytime I watch your videos
There is a creature that I think you missed - the Frost Druid from Rime of the Frostmaiden. I can easily imagine this monster TPKing a group. The weirdest thing about the Frost Druid is that one of the starting quests in Rime of the Frostmaiden has you face one at level 1!
The implied tactic from the stat block is shape changing into a creature with good stealth and surprising the party. A fox in an available option, and with its +5 to stealth, nonthreatening appearance if caught and the Frost Druid's Pass Without Trace spell to boot, and surprise is guaranteed. If you play your cards right, the Frost Druid will use the surprise round to cast Conjure Animals as a 5th level spell slot to summon 16 more creatures to the battlefield, before wiping down the party with 3 castings of Ice Storm, dealing 4d6+2d8 damage (an average of 23) to every party member with proper positioning.
A smart frost druid will use the conjured animals to grant itself cover to avoid loosing concentration, but even if it does, it still has plenty of 3rd level slots to cast conjure animals with, 3 to be exact. If you are playing the frost druid as smart as possible (which you probably shouldn't given its lethality) have it deal with the counterspell issue by having it stand more than 60ft away from casters as it casts conjure animals, and then have it command the animals to walk forward. Ice Storm has a range of 300ft, so their is no issue their. The 300ft range also helps it maintain concentration on spells.
Whether it is stronger than the Gorgon is a tough call, but I reckon it is. The action economy that it achieves is just to good, and the Frost Druid also has very consistent AOE. However, it is squishy - much squishier than the Gorgon - something to keep in mind for players trying to defeat this absurdly unbalanced monster.
Hope you like my thoughts!
I used a Mind Flayer Arcanist with some minions against my group a while back. One of the players assumed it was a normal Mind Flayer and used an AOE fear effect that also hit the teams fighter. He figured the rest of the team to take one mind flayer without the aid of the fighter. They started to have regrets after it started casting Shield and Lightning Bolt spells. All of the minions and the teams fighter failed the fear save. Without the fighter, the party was lousing the damage per round race even though they had the advantage in action economy. Lucky for the rest of the party, the fighter was able to get out of sight of the bard that cast the fear bomb and passed his next save to break the fear. Action Surge has a heck of a way of turning a fight around.
Really helpful video thank you :) I'm a relatively new DM and I enjoy watching your videos for inspiration and tips!
I think Living Cloudkill from Eberron: rising from the last war could take CR 7; good amount of hit points, poison attacks doing 4d6+5 twice per round as well as a recharging on a 5 or 6 cloudkill spell meaning without poison resistance or immunity it can drop spellcasters while attacking tanks. Then there is the fact that inside its cloudkill spell it would be invisible as it is made of the same material with the same density. This would mean without dispel magic or something like warding wind, how my party survived, most parties would be unable to see the creature giving it advantage on its attacks, which once again do 4d6+5 poison damage on a hit. This one creature down the barbarian I had failed to down in any other combat and I did even consider the vanishing into the fog.
I was certain the shadow or catoblepas would be on the list, but I have to concede your logic Cody, great vid
I typically use lower CR monsters against my party. I rarely use wandering monsters, since I prefer carefully prepared preset tactics from monsters. This way I can tailor my encounters to test a party’s weaknesses and strengths for the boss fights. I stress to the party to learn from their encounters on their way to the boss fights, because it’s possible they will encounter similar monsters and tactics during the boss fight. Naturally I add surprises into the Boss fight to keep them on their toes. The more intelligent the monsters are, the better their tactics will be. For harder fights I will often use the terrain to give the monsters an advantage. Examples could include, utter darkness, broken ground, steep hills, natural cover, overpowering and nauseating stench, bitter climate areas(heat or cold), monsters using hit and run tactics, monsters fleeing into trapped areas that they know how to avoid, etc.
the above examples spice up the average combat encounters quite nicely. I use deadly poisons very sparingly, but if the monsters have spell casters, they will use their non caster comrades as meat shields to get their spells off, usually targeting obvious healers first.