Many Monsters have Special attacks that allow them to quickly grapple prey. When a monster hits with such an Attack, it doesn’t need to make an additional ability check to determine whether the grapple succeeds, unless the Attack says otherwise. Unless something tells you otherwise, a monster summoned by a spell or other magical ability is worth the XP noted in its stat block. A saving throw bonus is the sum of a monster’s relevant ability modifier and its Proficiency Bonus, which is determined by the monster’s Challenge Rating . A monster might have one or more tags appended to its type, in parentheses. The parenthetical tags provide additional categorization for certain Creatures.
Dinosaurs work well in a forest and in most cases even better in a jungle. If a Spellcasting monster needs material Components to cast its Spells, assume that it has the material Components it needs to cast the Spells in its stat block. Some Special Abilities have restrictions on the number of times they can be used. If a monster can do something Special with its Reaction, that information is contained here. When a monster takes its action, it can choose from the options in the Actions section of its stat block or use one of the Actions available to all Creatures, such as the Dash or Hide action.
They are extremely durable and nonmagical weapons have little effect on them even if someone did manage to land a blow on them. They cannot be fooled by disguise or deception and cannot show mercy. Being a huge monstrosity, Remorhazes make an excellent centerpiece for an adventure.
The Languages that a monster can speak are listed in alphabetical order. Sometimes a monster can understand a language but can’t speak it, and this is noted in its entry. A “—” indicates that a creature neither speaks nor understands any language. Furthermore, the monster can see into the Ethereal Plane within the same range. A monster with Darkvision can see in the dark within a specific radius.
They also have all of the advantages of water-dwelling animals, like being able to hold their breath and bonuses to movement in aquatic environments. These enemies are pretty much all brawn and muscle looking to overcome their foes with the strength of arms, making it a simple but classic encounter. There are magic users among Orcs but their skills are intuitive as opposed to learned. The lowbie variety is the type of mindless critter that infests graveyards or old tombs and is mostly harmless unless approached. Bear in mind, however, that these don’t necessarily have to be humanoid.
Since this was first published in October 2014 the Dungeon Master Guide was released and provides lists of Monsters by Environment in Appendix B, but the lists are basic. In this article, you’ll find monsters that I think fit in a forest setting and some ideas on how to create encounters with each of them. High in the icy mountains, your adventurers are terrified by a horrible howl traveling on the wind. A huge abominable yeti is already hunting them and will not stop until its hunt is over and blood has spilled on the snow. Have hungry yeti escape to its lair after an attack against a mountain village, turning your heroes into the hunters. These fierce and hardy warriors survive by raiding and pillaging the hard work of others.
If you want to go Jurassic World check out my homebrew Velociraptor and Indominus Rex monster builds. These imp-like monsters are comprised of ice and air, they even look like an evil Jack Frost. An ice mephit can provide an interesting challenge for lower level groups with their frost breath and ability to blend into the icy background.
Some are also found in the Outer Planes, particularly The Planes of Arborea and The Beastlands. Some Creatures of this type are little more than animate masses of their respective elements, including the Creatures simply called Elementals. The races of genies, including djinn ex nihilo creatio auto sifter automation and efreet, form the most important civilizations on the elemental planes. Other elemental Creatures include azers, and Invisible stalkers. Many of them have innate magical Abilities drawn from the creature’s alien mind rather than the mystical forces of the world.
For a group’s first D&D campaign, it is best to balance between too easy and too hard. Redcaps would be excellent antagonists in a grim game reminiscent of the cult 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night, which featured a serial killer dressed as Santa. Perhaps a band of these sadistic creatures has stumbled through a fey crossing to claim victims in a city celebrating the winter solstice, leading local authorities to beseech the players for help. Here are even more forest monsters or check out the Monsters by Environment in Appendix B of the D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. The drake can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra moment.
Green hags lure their victims to them using illusions and with mimicry to create false cries for help. The green hag can act as your classic witch with a cauldron that the adventurers need to hunt down to kill or ask for help. Needle, twig and vine blights are not the most powerful monsters. Blights can be controlled by a Gulthias Tree and used to fill its growing corrupted forest or they can be part of a vine invasion the quickly takes over a forest settlement. In my current campaign, my players were traveling through a dying forest full of giants spiders and blights.