#5th edition dungeons and dragons

Creature: Rathis

“They are twisted creatures of the planes beyond, aye. Many-armed and many-eyed, carrying a disturbing crown and raising the dead like no other. But they don’t become normal zombies, like in any haunted graveyard between here and the Sixth Ring, no. They become coiling, bizarre, green-skinned beasts, as if a normal person traveled to that thing’s rotting birthplace and returned with the same fold in reality in themselves as that thing spawned from.”

Eldritch sentries. Rathis are hulking, twisted creatures from the Outer Planes that spawn seemingly with no reason and no purpose. Their existence is a simple convergence of chance, a rip within reality that is torn by the winds of misfortune, out of which a rathis climbs like pus from a wound. They are strange creatures, their limbs and faces reminiscent of humanoids but their minds completely other. Their green-blue skin represent more of a sac or membrane that contains the writhing, coiling mass of their muscles. Pierce the skin of a rathis with magic, and it will seem almost distraught.

Raise their servants. Rathis, despite being largely purposeless and fatherless, have a tendency to seek out dead creatures, from which it creates a new being: the rathis abomination. Humanoid corpses that spawn abominations no longer look like the person that they once were, but become four-armed, stretched husks that look and act like the rathis and are connected to it like a hive-mind. The rathis is the king, the nexus that connects its abominable servants, and that orders them around. Any rathis found wandering has a large chance of having collected a trail of abominations that wander along with it, protecting the rathis and, upon death, being raised by it over and over again.

Aberrant intelligence. Despite the rathis’ wholly alien mind, it can be reasoned with. Many rathis have needs and wants that are beyond humanoid capability to understand or meet, but a rathis that is left alone, or provided with anything that seems to please it (from more corpses to raise to food that it doesn’t consume, to powerful magical items or simple rubbish in some cases) will still not fight or protect anything that doesn’t interest it, but it can be passed by without conflict. The difficult part in making a deal with a rathis is figuring out what it wants, if anything.

Aberrant nature. A rathis or rathis abomination doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Rathis are rarely found around any other aberration aside from its own abominations. A rathis that spawns in a civilized area may surround itself with as many abominations as it can, or with any sort of humanoid minion it can find in its area. Rathis are fiery fighters against creatures that breach their territories or pose any threat to the rathis or its “companions”, and many rathis that don’t yet have any abominations seek out conflict to turn the bodies of its fallen enemies into its quiet, abhorrent convoys.

Under the Read more, you’ll find the stat block for the Rathis Abomination.

Resource: Bonewarp Armor

The legendary Bonewarp Armor, crafted by the hero Wulf Bonebreaker himself, can be found in the deepest pits of the new world, safely hidden away by the very creatures that it was made to eradicate. You must slash your way through breeding pits full of demons and ancient crypts swarming with zombies to attain each piece of Wulf’s plated bone armor, but the full set is worth the risk - or is it?

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the Bonewarp Armor at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Curator

Amina Delsryn had had apprentices before - young children on the cusp of their early teens, bumbling and stumbling and dropping materials everywhere. She’d never really appreciated their help. The mess they left behind usually created more work than if she simply worked alone, but she’d made an agreement with the College, and the children needed to spend their apprenticeship in the presence of a master. So, when the College assigned her an automaton, she was pleasantly surprised - especially when it introduced itself as AMO-9 and asked where it could begin its duties.

Wizardly companions. Curators are automatons not unlike warforged that run on artificial intelligence and have been imbued with magic in a combination of arcane enchantments and technology known as magitech. They are spellcasters themselves, and are often found in the presence of high-ranked arcane masters, academy students or traveling mages. They fulfill simple duties such as cleaning, cooking, and organizing, but can also be programmed to fulfill more complicated tasks such as assisting in enchanting, alchemy or even the creation of other constructs. Because of their natural arcane inclinations, curators are skilled at understanding when certain experiments carry risk, and will inform their masters of possible side effects.

Arcane wardens. Curators that are found outside colleges and academies are often considered the guardians of mages that are traveling. Young apprentice wizards that need to travel to fulfill their ascension to a higher rank, for example through an academy quest, are sometimes assigned curators to make sure the young adventurer stays safe and healthy on the road. Artificers can also occasionally be found with curators, although their companionship is often more of a parent-child relationship than a master-apprentice.

Resource: 1d100 Random Mysterious Objects

Have you ever wanted to give your players something weird but not powerful, just to leave them scratching their heads? Or maybe your campaign starts with a rat-infested cellar, where the players find something strange that kickstarts their adventure to become legendary heroes. Want to introduce a mystery, plot hook, original loot, or a clue for a puzzle? These rolling tables should help!

This resource provides a d100 rolling table of random mundane or magical objects that leave your players wondering. Where did it come from? What’s its purpose? Who made it? The other two tables provide you with options for the object’s original purpose, and its current or original owner or creator! Maybe the BBEG demilich uses that portrait of a lost companion to draw power from, or that strange copper cube is actually a complicated key that opens the tomb of a long-dead legendary hero. The possibilities are endless!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at “1d100 Random Mysterious Objects” at the Homebrewery here!

Collection: Dinosaurs

Ever wanted to run a primordial campaign, set in a time before civilization, where humanoids had to survive against a never-ending onslaught of dinosaurs? Or maybe, in your new cyberpunk setting, the civilization on the next planet over is working in tandem with domesticated dinosaurs? Either way, I’ve never found that the official sources provided enough different kinds of dinos to fulfill my needs. In this collection, you’ll find nine additional dinosaur species, each outlined and illustrated, to drop into your campaign at will. Or maybe your druid/wizard needs a few more options for their Wild Shape or Polymorph. From the fearful carnotaurus and spinosaurus, to the small, playful compsognathus, to everything in between.

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the “Collection: Dinosaurs” at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Smoke-Cursed

“It was a horrific sight to see,” the elderly man croaked, tears in his eyes, rubbing the back of his hand with crooked, wrinkled fingers. “They- They were reduced to naught but ashes, and yet - the act itself would not be their end, as they rose again, but this time many, and screaming, and howling in agony as if their very souls were ripped from their beings.”

Followers of the Regth-Koth. For the distant, evil entity Regth-Koth, its followers are nothing but ants crawling for its own attention, and it feels no love and no affection towards anything but itself. A group of cultists that, in their dedication and thoughtless worship, mistakes the attention of Regth-Koth for a blessing from their master, may find that some things were not meant to be understood by mortal minds. Regth-Koth hates self-obsession within the ranks of its followers, and although it likes to see them crawl over each other to reach its own aberrant heights, it reduces those who have proven themselves to be too self-servient to a cloud of agony and pain, and creates a smoke-cursed.

Perpetual damnation. Smoke-cursed can also be created through the intervention of other divine or semi-divine creatures, although their appearance is low and the punished act must be severe. Smoke-cursed are perpetually caught in their own pain and suffering, an amalgamation of many souls damned in the same place, merging and twisting together in a ghost-like, otherworldly entity. A smoke-cursed has no motivation or intentions, but is so engrossed in its own agony and suffering that it only wishes to relieve itself by forcing that pain on others. It has no physical touch, but the sounds emitted by a smoke-cursed are maddening enough to make the bravest warriors flee. Smoke-cursed haunt their original homes, whether that be the lairs they once worshiped their dark masters in, or whatever battlefield that caused their combined, instant deaths.

Aberrant nature. A smoke-cursed doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Smoke-cursed are sometimes employed by the very cults that become them, if a cult worshiper manages to avoid the destruction of their master. For dark cults that follow aberrant entities from beyond the veil, and whose cult followers are prone to narcissism or self-worship, it is not uncommon to see more than one smoke-cursed contained in an air-tight room, only to be set free when the lair is invaded or the cult needs a sacrifice.

Creature: Pyre-Heart Scarecrow

The field was aflame, dried stalks of corn reduced to ash by hungry flames shedding bright light, blocked out only by the creeping shape of a scarecrow. It could not escape the fire now, not in the way it was surrounded by that which it feared, but it knew, somehow, that even if it were destroyed like the crops around it, it would rise again from the destroyed land and continue its wretched existence.

Imbued by flame. Animated scarecrows that are destroyed by enormous fires or destructive fire spells sometimes have their essence imbued by the flame that killed them, and rise again as a pyre-heart scarecrow. Pyre-hearts look similar to regular scarecrows, although the ragged clothes they were are stained with soot and burned around the edges, and within their empty gazes, a dark fire is alight. Their close encounter with fire allows the newly-made pyre-heart to control some of it, despite its own weakness, and continue the ravaging destruction of flame.

Hag’s companions. Hags that build scarecrows to protect their huts or do simple tasks for them may intentionally burn a scarecrow in order for it to turn into a pyre-heart. Although the empowered scarecrow might pose more of a threat to the hag than before, they are capable warriors and, especially if the hag is under other threat, can be powerful allies. A scarecrow that is destroyed in a large fire or killed with a fire-based spell has a 25% chance to rise as a pyre-heart scarecrow after 1d10 hours. A pyre-heart scarecrow remembers anything it saw or heard as a regular scarecrow.

Constructed nature. A scarecrow doesn’t require air, food, water or sleep.

Friends and companions. Besides hags, pyre-heart scarecrows are also occasionally used by other constructs to function as a sort of bounty hunter. Any scarecrow whose fiery death results in a pyre-heart may remember the creature that killed it, and come after it again, this time wielding the power of fire. Some necromancers that search for a skilled, but malleable leader of their undead may create a pyre-heart scarecrow for their magical abilities.

Collection: “I Search the Haversack!”

This chapter is a second part to a previous set of rolling tables (“I Search the Bookcase!”), expanding on the rolling tables provided on this blog to help you decide what to put into your world when your players get investigating. “I Search the Haversack!” contains 18 separate rolling tables with many different options to decide what that bandit chief carries on his person, what sort of bags the drow priestess takes with her, and where that death slaad keeps its valuables. Roll on these tables to determine what their bags or carried objects look like, how they have been packed, what is in the bags and whether the players will have any use for it. Accidentally put a merchant caravan in your game, and now the players have a cart full of objects, but you’re not sure what they were transporting? Take a look at the “Merchandise” table, and you’ll find what you’re looking for to give your players a push into the right direction. Enjoy!

See the first part, “I Search the Bookcase!”, here!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at “I Search the Haversack!” at the Homebrewery here!

Feature: Downtime Revisited (Again): Part One

Do you use downtime in your campaigns, and do you reference the DMG or Xanathar’s Guide for inspiration? The downtime options provided in the official material for 5th edition are few, and don’t cover the possibilities of downtime. In this series, which will be published every so often, more options are provided, as well as necessary details for Dungeon Masters to run these activities. In this part, five new options are provided: becoming a guild agent, creating a new spell, inventing a device, starting a business, and starting a rumor. Something for everyone.

What sort of downtime activities do you like to do when you get the chance? Let me know, and I might include it in the next chapter!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at “Downtime Revisited (Again): Part One” at the Homebrewery here!

Collection: I Search the Bookcase!

This 3-page collection of ideas for books on your in-game bookshelves should help you figure out what to say when one of your players goes to inspect the mad mage’s books. Books are a great way to embed lore into your world and share it with your players. Additionally, some books may have been owned by magical creatures, or a wizard may have left a note or two in the margins, creating a whole new adventure for your players to chase after. Or maybe you’d rather make your own books? These tables will help you decide what it looks like, how it’s written and what’s so special about your books.

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the collection “I Search the Bookcase!” at the Homebrewery here!

Collection: Items for Spellcasters

This small collection of magical items for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons gives you a few more options for your spellcasting PCs, that aren’t +1 arcane foci! Depending on what school or type of magic your players specialize in, some items may be very useful for them. And if all else fails, being able to prepare one extra spell every day can benefit everyone, even that pesky fighter who insists the cleric doesn’t need to prepare revivify :)

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the Spellcasting Items collection at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Blood Crystal Golem

“In those places where blood crystals are mined, darker minds may turn towards complicated purposes of the crystals. A skilled sculptor who knows the properties of blood crystal and their magical capabilities may be able to hew a golem from it, one that is particularly resistant to magic, and which contains the crushing gravitational force necessary to compress carbon into crystal.” - excerpt from “The Golem Handbook”.

Crystalline vigor. Blood crystals are a much-desired source of magical material that is easily imbued with supernatural properties or used as a magical component for spellcasting. It is mined under very strict circumstances, in very small amounts, but those who own a blood crystal mine can count themselves rich before ever mining a single shard. However, because of its limited availability, blood crystals are much sought after and desired, and creatures with the ambition to subjugate others often use it to sculpt a follower from it - the blood crystal golem.

Resistant to the arcane. Because of the innate magical properties of blood crystals, golems created from this material are especially resistant to many spells and outright immune to some. They themselves are naturally magical as well, causing their fist attacks or use of weaponry to breach even the most talented fighter’s defense. While a blood crystal golem is not a particularly frightening foe on the basis of the destruction it can wreak, it is extremely durable and hardy, and can survive many hits that would be lethal to a lesser being, which increases its overall danger level.

Constructed nature. A blood crystal golem doesn’t require air, water, food or sleep.

Friends and companions. Many blood crystal golems are created around times such as the Spellplague, or other events that wreak magical havoc. Those who survive the encounters with other magical creatures are sought after as enduring, powerful allies, and often they acquire new masters when their previous master is slain. Because of this, blood crystal golems are usually only found under the command of a much more powerful creature, and it is not uncommon to encounter more than one being controlled by a single overlord.

Creature: The Mechanist

tell me, mechanist, is it true?
does none of it bother you?

once upon a time, upon a time, behind us
the Mechanist inclined clockworks of time define us
who you are, who you are
merely springs that tick the time of things away

Spatial wanderer from Mechanus. The Mechanist is a strange, unknown creature that some insist they have met on their travels, but tales are spread far and wide and real truth is often muddled with grandiose tales of the being. The few things that are clear about its identity is that it is part machine, part human and that it travels to the other planes from Mechanus - but where its origins lie, none know. What is clear about it, however, is that it possesses the great, terrible power to warp and modify time, which means it is both widely feared and admired.

Time reversals. Locations that the Mechanist has visited often suffer from strange warps or folds in time, but none of the inhabitants of such locations can tell afterwards whether the warping started before or after the Mechanist arrives. Some suggest that it is attracted to these locations because of the inconsistent timelines that are already present, others argue that the mere presence of the Mechanist causes these temporal folds. In the grand scheme of things, others believe, in the life of a time-traveling, spatial-warping immortal creature, there is no difference between the two.

Chronological immortality. The Mechanist is immune to any effect that would age it, and it can’t die from old age.

Clockwork quintessence. When the Mechanist dies, its body vanishes. It returns to Mechanus, where it reforms and reawakens after 1d12 days.

Constructed hybrid nature. The Mechanist requires no air, food, drink or sleep. It has two creature types: construct and humanoid. It can be targeted by any effect if it applies to one of its creature types.

Template: Born from Bone

Something rattling, clacking, crunching, dusty, bony climbs through the darkened tunnel. Will your party anticipate the skeletal manticore, or expect something more… alive?

This is a template for your monsters - homebrew or official. Spice things up by turning a simple owlbear into an undead force to be reckoned with. At higher levels, your new undead creatures may even make some friends of their own, and then the fun can really begin.

Do you like this template? I have a few more ideas for other ones, so let me know in the replies of this post or send me an ask and I’ll work on a few more!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, go take a look at the Born from Bone template at the Homebrewery here!

My other templates can be found here.

Template: Wreathed in Wildfire

Something new - a template for your monsters. Whether they’re helpful or antagonistic, your monsters will feel unique if you make them unique, and this template will help you do so. Choose the right Challenge Rating for your monster (found on its original stat block) and apply the “Wreathed in Wildfire” template to it to give it a fiery theme. A word of warning: these monsters will punch hard, so use in moderation - or sow fear amongst your players!

Do you like this template? I have a few more ideas for other ones, so let me know in the replies of this post or send me an ask and I’ll work on a few more!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, go take a look at the Wreathed in Wildfire template at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Spore Presence

“When guardians of nature that have a personal bond with fungi, symbiotic plants and other spore-releasing agents find themselves looking up at the sky and wondering what manner of druidic growths can be found amongst the far reaches of the cosmos, something may reach out to them to help them find it. Something otherworldly, something itself made of spores and infestations. Some choose to turn away from this entity, but others embrace it, moving between the stars, finding their way to distant planes, and returning inherently changed - sometimes for the best, sometimes for worse.”

Warped druidic agents. A spore presence was once a druid, human or other, who has departed on a journey of discovery and been touched by something definitively other. They lost their humanity, their appearance, but gained something else in return - considered a blessing by some and a curse by others. In whispered circles, a spore presence’s unique form is said to have been caused by the spores of an otherwordly entity, a creature or apparition not quite of this world, which has itself infested the druid’s mind and changed it to what it has become.

Solitary patrols. Spore presences tend to find their way back to their homeland after some time, but without the communicative skills they had before their departure. Instead of talking, they use a confusing, disorienting telepathy that consists of warped images and garbled sounds to convey their thoughts and feelings, which only builds fear into the people they attempt to communicate with. Many spore presences that have returned to their home planet instead seek out a solitary life, generally within cave systems or other dark, mouldy locations, where they can merge amongst the fungi and mildew that they themselves have become part of. A spore presence in its hibernation mode - which can last years if it remains undisturbed - merges into the surface on which it rests and becomes a formless, indistinguishable but large patch of spores that emit no sign of life.

Aberrant nature. A spore presence requires no air, food, drink or sleep.

Hybrid nature. A spore presence has two creature types: aberration and humanoid. It can be targeted by any effect if it applies to one of its creature types.

Creature: Bloombeast

Created by the Unseelie Court in their war against the Seelie fey, bloombeasts were made to attract creatures of nature like flies to a fly trap. Their spores incapacitate, allowing the bloombeasts free reign on whichever unfortunate prey they manage to halt. They can be vicious, despite their beautiful, floral appearance.

Unseelie watchdogs. The Unseelie Court created the bloombeasts as they created their displacer beasts, except the experiments that originated in the bloombeasts were not as succesful as the creation of the displacer beasts. Bloombeasts turned out more aggressive and violent than initially designed, and their bloodthirst led to the Unseelie fey instead simply releasing them into Seelie territory. The bloombeasts procreated - through a bizarre mating ritual involving a tree or other natural growth, which dies in the process of “birthing” a new bloombeast - and spread through both fey territories, though the Unseelie fey have since taught the beasts to only hunt Seelie fey.

Natural fighters. A bloombeast’s biggest weapon is the flower that grows out of its body like a fleshy head. It cannot see through the flower, but it releases a potent, sickly smell that enraptures creatures that get close enough to sense it. Additionally, the flower can erupt in golden-pink spores which, when inhaled, cause unimaginable psychic pain. Having successfully captured its prey, the bloombeast’s next method of attack is simply slicing with the curled claws at the end of its legs, which produce a painful poison.

Resource: Sablecat Armor

Thieves of the widespread black network known as the Grimalken were blessed by Mask, god of thieves, for their loyalty to him. Mask granted them a shred of his own ebony cloak, which was quickly multiplied by the Grimalken thieves who were skilled in transmutation magic. Talented seamstresses employed by the network sewed the fabric onto boiled leathers, reinforcing it with magically enchanted silver studs and clasps. The final product was the Sablecat Armor, designed, made, worn, and blessed by thieves, black as night and completely soundproof. Lucky initiates into the Grimalken (or some other thieves’ guilds who have duplicated the Armor for themselves) may be able to attain a set - although the armors worn by the Grimalken grandmaster thieves are the most coveted and impressive.

Treat the rogue in your life (or your party) with a set of specialized studded leather armor, and allow them to climb the ranks of their local thieves’ guild and gain more impressive sets. The Sablecat Armor can be easily placed into the hands of any network of your own design, or any existing network, such as the Zhentarim, as a future hint to any sneaky, thieving players that belonging to a faction comes with its own rewards!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, go take a look at the Sablecat Armor at the Homebrewery here!

NPC: Baron d'Avariss, Aristocrat of the Unseelie Court

“Few of the Unseelie Fey are as well-known as Baron d'Avariss, nobleman of that cursed Court, patron of collectors and the affluent. His warlocks know him as an intelligent, although self-indulged and egocentric being. But below the guise of bestowing magical abilities on those who worship him and helping the rich expand their hoards, the Baron has a secondary purpose. His place in the Court is that of High Treasurer, and he expands his influence upon the Material Plane, too - placing the sin of endless greed and desire upon the hearts of mortal men, twisting their desire into materialistic wishes until they rot to the core, forever tainted by the Baron’s cursed touch.”

Father of greed. The Baron started as a simple fey - a changeling boy left to steal on the streets. He owned nothing for many years, but upon the acquisition of his first gold piece, picked from the pocket of an unnamed god posing as a man, something changed. A certain desire was lit within his heart, and even as he grew and expanded his glimmering hoard, it could not be enough. When another urchin stole from him on the street in an act of pure luck and courage, the changeling condemned the child, and promised his Fey ancestors that he would give anything immaterial for the return of his possession. The Seelie Court refused, but the darkness that had already grown within him did not go unnoticed by the Unseelie Fey, who accepted his bargain, and raised him to the status of archfey, and he became the Baron.

Impostor amongst men. The Baron, now in charge of inciting eternal greed in the non-fey, does not seek out his targets, but simply waits for the right person to pass by him. He travels to the Material Plane, where he poses as a rich noble, parading his wealth until covetous eyes find him. Convincing his targets that wealth is the answer to all their problems is easy, and he bargains with them until they agree their never-ending servitude in exchange for riches beyond measure in this lifetime. The gold provided by the Baron is cursed, and infects the owner with gold-sickness, each coin disappearing eventually, until nothing but empty promises, lies, and cobwebbed vaults remain.

Archfey patron. As a warlock’s patron, the Baron ever bargains with his warlocks. Their powers always come with a prize, and the Baron no longer covets only gold and riches. Each of his followers has something to offer them, and he lures them with promises of power and magic to attain what he desires.

Special equipment. The Baron wears a robe of stars and carries a wand of enemy detection. He also always carries a bag of holding filled completely with illusory gold, gems, and other treasures that look, feel, and smell real to anyone other than the Baron. His magic items aren’t included in his stat block.

Friends and companions. The Baron is loyal only to the Unseelie Court and the Queen of Air and Darkness, although each of the Court’s members schemes against each other Court representative. The Baron allies himself with his warlocks, as their patron, but is fiercely paranoid and does not trust any of his allies.

Requested by anonymous!

Creature: Demoniker

“There is more than the cloakers and deathmantles that crawl along the water-eroded ceilings of shallow caverns. Insect-creepers, with claws that dig in flesh - made to grasp and hold, contain and control. Demonikers. They clamber up the damp, rocky walls, and drop on unsuspecting victims. The more powerful the cave-dweller, the more the demoniker will be attracted to its prey, as the more powerful the demoniker will be, once it clamps its keratin mandibles into its mark and release the poison-like substance that gives the demoniker unyielding control over the hunted.” - Excerpt from “Threats of the Underdark”, chapter 6: Arthropods and Vermin, by Golthil Basalt, svirfneblin arcanobiologist.

Cave-dwellers. Demonikers, despite their name, don’t belong to the clade of demons but instead are small, insectoid monstrosities. They are, when perceived, six-legged, long-tailed, bug-like beings that reproduce through their victims. Demonikers live for only a few months, and are most often found in the shallow caves and tunnels, where creatures may wander in regularly, or near settlements in the underdark, such as deep gnome mines or drow cities.

Destructive reproduction. Demonikers don’t need water or food during their short lifetime, but require a host for reproduction. They reproduce asexually, where a single demoniker can reproduce through the laying of eggs that contain cloned copies of itself. In order to reproduce, a demoniker takes control of a living creature of appropriate size, and, through its control, makes the creature act erratically and destructively - often leading to the host’s death. The demoniker then uses the remains to lay its eggs within, which hatch into young demonikers within a few weeks, continuing the cycle of control and destruction.

Monstrous nature. A demoniker doesn’t need food or water.