Make my monster 5e: Inevitable

[The Shadowdove]

Hey forum peeps,

The monster manual seems to be lacking certain monsters that I need in my campaign that were in previous versions.

I am not very confident in my ability to create monsters with abilities and stats relevant/equivalent to theirs in previous editions.

Would anyone mind translating the monster "Inevitable" stats into 5e for me please?
They're the lawful mechanical creatures from the Mechanus plane.
(I'll need them later to attempt to recover magical artifacts from my players' possession.)

Also, changes to their abilities that you might suggest would be much appreciated.

thank you so much in advance.


-Dove

[Freelance GM]

Got 'em. I also posted them in the other thread, but I'll post them here, too, for everyone's convenience.


Medium Construct, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 19 (Natural)
Hit Points: 90 (12d8+36)
Speed: 30 feet
---------------------
STR 14 (+2) DEX 13 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 16 (+3)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Darkvision 60 feet
Skills Deception +7, Investigation +8, Insight +11, Perception +7
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Spellcasting. The Inevitable is a 10th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC15, +7 to hit with spell attacks).
It can cast Invisibility and Vampiric Touch at-will, as well as the following spells:
1st Level (4 slots): Disguise Self
2nd Level (3 slots): Hold Person, Invisibility, Locate Object, Suggestion, Zone of Truth
3rd Level (3 slots): Fear, Vampiric Touch
4th Level (2 slots): Locate Creature
5th Level (1 slot): Geas, Hold Monster
1/week: Geas
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
---------------------
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 5 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 2 longsword attacks, or 1 longsword attack and a Vampiric Touch attack.
Enervation Ray. Ranged spell attack +7 to hit, range 200ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d10) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC15 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target takes a long rest. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0.
+2 Magic Longsword. Melee weapon attack +8 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) slashing damage.
Vampiric Touch. Melee spell attack +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6) necrotic damage, and the Inevitable regains half that many hitpoints.

" Kolyaruts mete out punishment to those who break bargains and oaths.

Before beginning a mission against a deal-breaker, a kolyarut learns as much about the contract or oath as possible. It’s not interested in those who break deals accidentally or against their will— only those who willingly break contracts violate the principle that kolyaruts are created to uphold. If a written contract was broken, the kolyarut typically carries a copy of the contract with it.

Kolyaruts are the most talkative of the inevitables, making credible attempts at social niceties such as proper greetings before getting down to the matter at hand. They can use disguise self to appear as almost any kind of humanoid—useful if they need to go undercover to catch their quarry." - D20SRD



Large Construct, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 24 (Natural)
Hit Points: 143 (15d10+60)
Speed: 30 feet
---------------------
STR 25 (+7) DEX 13 (+1) CON 18 (+4) INT 12 (+1) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 18 (+4)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Darkvision 60 feet
Skills Religion +6, Perception +8, Insight +8
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Innate Spellcasting. The Marut's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC16, +8 to hit with spell attacks).
At-will: Command, Inflict Wounds, Dimension Door, Fear
1/day each: Chain Lightning, Circle of Death, Wall of Force
1/week: Earthquake, Geas, Plane Shift

Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
---------------------
Fists of Thunder and Lighting: The Marut's slam attacks are magical. When the Marut hits with its left hand, the target takes an additional 3d6 lightning damage, and when the Marut hits with the other, the target takes 3d6 Thunder damage. (Included with the attack.)
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 10 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 1 attack with the Fist of Lightning, and one attack with the Fist of Thunder.
Fist of Lightning: Melee attack, +12 to hit. Reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and 12 (3d6) lightning damage. Additionally, the target must make a DC20 Constitution saving throw, or be blinded until the end of the encounter. At the end of the target's turn, the target may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect.
Fist of Thunder: Melee attack, +12 to hit. Reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and 12 (3d6) thunder damage. Additionally, the target must make a DC20 Constitution saving throw, or be deafened until the end of the encounter. At the end of the target's turn, the target may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect.

" Maruts confront those who would try to deny the grave itself.

Any who use unnatural means to extend their life span could be targeted by a marut. Those who take extraordinary measures to cheat death in some other way might be labeled transgressors as well. Those who use magic to reverse death aren’t worthy of a marut’s attention unless they do so repeatedly or on a massive scale.

When a marut has identified its target, it walks surely and implacably toward the foe, never resting. " - D20 SRD



Large Construct, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 19 (Natural)
Hit Points: 80 (8d10+36)
Speed: 35 feet, fly 40 feet
---------------------
STR 21 (+5) DEX 11 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 15 (+2)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Truesight
Skills +7 Perception, +7 Insight
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Innate Spellcasting. The Zelekhut's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC14, +6 to hit with spell attacks).
At-will: Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Fear, Locate Person
3/day: Hold Monster
1/week: Geas
Challenge 9 (8,400 XP)
---------------------
Electrified Weapons. The Zelekhut's chains are magical. They deal an extra 2d6 lightning damage. (Included in the attack.)
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 5 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 2 spiked chain attacks.
Spiked Chain. Melee weapon attack +9 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing damage and 7 (2d6) lightning damage.

Zelekhuts are charged with hunting down those who would deny justice—especially those who flee to escape punishment. Expert trackers, they use a combination of natural skill and magic to find fugitives wherever they may hide.

A zelekhut may initially appear rather non-threatening—but when it is about to enter combat, it can cause two spiked chains to spring forth from its forearms. In similar fashion, it can cause a pair of golden metallic wings to emerge from its back. Retracting the chains or the wings does not require an action, and both can be done as part of a move.


These are some relatively faithful conversions of the D20 SRD versions of the Inevitables, built using the rules in the 5E DMG. I made the Kolyarut purely by the DMG RAW, and miraculously, it wound up as roughly the same CR (CR10+ DM fiat for the value of the spellcasting), so I just eyeballed the other two and assumed the CR would be in the right area. They have a lot fewer hit points than monsters of their level should, but they make up for it with high AC's, resistance to magic and weapons, and some pretty sweet offensive abilities.

The only thing I'm a little worried about is the Innate spellcasting on the Marut and Zelekhut- there wasn't any good 5E analogue on how to fairly convert their spellcasting. In 3.5, they have a ton of at-will spells, but 5E leans towards less magic. I did the best I could without removing anything. I doubt it will be too horribly game-breaking, though.

I also included the fluff from the 3.5 OGL content on D20SRD.org, but not the tactical information. I'd recommend checking that out at some point- it really helps convey the way Inevitables think. For example, a Kolyarut has no qualms using its Vampiric touch on an ally to save its own life, and although the Inevitables try to end fights as quickly and cleanly as possible, they have no concern for collateral damage; only their targets matter. If you'd like even more information, check out the Pathfinder versions of the Inevitables.

EDIT: Fixed type from Outsider to Construct, adjusted CR's and boosted HP accordingly.

[The Shadowdove]

Thanks so much. I'll write this all down and make good use of it in my campaign!

You rock!

[Inevitability]

Got 'em. I also posted them in the other thread, but I'll post them here, too, for everyone's convenience.


Medium Outsider, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 19 (Natural)
Hit Points: 90 (12d8+36)
Speed: 30 feet
---------------------
STR 14 (+2) DEX 13 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 16 (+3)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Darkvision 60 feet
Skills Deception +7, Investigation +8, Insight +11, Perception +7
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Spellcasting. The Inevitable is a 10th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC15, +7 to hit with spell attacks).
It can cast Invisibility and Vampiric Touch at-will, as well as the following spells:
1st Level (4 slots): Disguise Self
2nd Level (3 slots): Hold Person, Invisibility, Locate Object, Suggestion, Zone of Truth
3rd Level (3 slots): Fear, Vampiric Touch
4th Level (2 slots): Locate Creature
5th Level (1 slot): Geas, Hold Monster
1/week: Geas
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
---------------------
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 5 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 2 longsword attacks, or 1 longsword attack and a Vampiric Touch attack.
Enervation Ray. Ranged spell attack +7 to hit, range 200ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d10) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC15 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target takes a long rest. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0.
+2 Magic Longsword. Melee weapon attack +8 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) slashing damage.
Vampiric Touch. Melee spell attack +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6) necrotic damage, and the Inevitable regains half that many hitpoints.

" Kolyaruts mete out punishment to those who break bargains and oaths.

Before beginning a mission against a deal-breaker, a kolyarut learns as much about the contract or oath as possible. It’s not interested in those who break deals accidentally or against their will— only those who willingly break contracts violate the principle that kolyaruts are created to uphold. If a written contract was broken, the kolyarut typically carries a copy of the contract with it.

Kolyaruts are the most talkative of the inevitables, making credible attempts at social niceties such as proper greetings before getting down to the matter at hand. They can use disguise self to appear as almost any kind of humanoid—useful if they need to go undercover to catch their quarry." - D20SRD



Large Outsider, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 24 (Natural)
Hit Points: 113 (15d10+36)
Speed: 30 feet
---------------------
STR 25 (+7) DEX 13 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 12 (+1) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 18 (+4)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Darkvision 60 feet
Skills Religion +6, Perception +8, Insight +8
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Innate Spellcasting. The Marut's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC16, +8 to hit with spell attacks).
At-will: Command, Inflict Wounds, Dimension Door, Fear
1/day each: Chain Lightning, Circle of Death, Wall of Force
1/week: Earthquake, Geas, Plane Shift

Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
---------------------
Fists of Thunder and Lighting: The Marut's slam attacks are magical. When the Marut hits with its left hand, the target takes an additional 3d6 lightning damage, and when the Marut hits with the other, the target takes 3d6 Thunder damage. (Included with the attack.)
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 10 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 1 attack with the Fist of Lightning, and one attack with the Fist of Thunder.
Fist of Lightning: Melee attack, +12 to hit. Reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and 12 (3d6) lightning damage. Additionally, the target must make a DC20 Constitution saving throw, or be blinded until the end of the encounter. At the end of the target's turn, the target may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect.
Fist of Thunder: Melee attack, +12 to hit. Reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and 12 (3d6) thunder damage. Additionally, the target must make a DC20 Constitution saving throw, or be deafened until the end of the encounter. At the end of the target's turn, the target may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect.

" Maruts confront those who would try to deny the grave itself.

Any who use unnatural means to extend their life span could be targeted by a marut. Those who take extraordinary measures to cheat death in some other way might be labeled transgressors as well. Those who use magic to reverse death aren’t worthy of a marut’s attention unless they do so repeatedly or on a massive scale.

When a marut has identified its target, it walks surely and implacably toward the foe, never resting. " - D20 SRD



Large Outsider, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class: 19 (Natural)
Hit Points: 80 (8d10+36)
Speed: 35 feet, fly 40 feet
---------------------
STR 21 (+5) DEX 11 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 15 (+2)
---------------------
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.
Condition Immunities charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned.
Senses Truesight
Skills +7 Perception, +7 Insight
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and the language of their first target.
Innate Spellcasting. The Zelekhut's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC14, +6 to hit with spell attacks).
At-will: Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Fear, Locate Person
3/day: Hold Monster
1/week: Geas
Challenge 9 (8,400 XP)
---------------------
Electrified Weapons. The Zelekhut's chains are magical. They deal an extra 1d6 lightning damage. (Included in the attack.)
Magic Resistance. The Inevitable has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The Inevitable regains 5 hit points at the beginning of its turn.
ACTIONS------------
Multiattack. The Inevitable makes 2 spiked chain attacks.
Spiked Chain. Melee weapon attack +9 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) slashing damage and 4 (1d6) lightning damage.
Vampiric Touch. Melee spell attack +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6) necrotic damage, and the Inevitable regains half that many hitpoints.

Zelekhuts are charged with hunting down those who would deny justice—especially those who flee to escape punishment. Expert trackers, they use a combination of natural skill and magic to find fugitives wherever they may hide.

A zelekhut may initially appear rather non-threatening—but when it is about to enter combat, it can cause two spiked chains to spring forth from its forearms. In similar fashion, it can cause a pair of golden metallic wings to emerge from its back. Retracting the chains or the wings does not require an action, and both can be done as part of a move.


These are some relatively faithful conversions of the D20 SRD versions of the Inevitables, built using the rules in the 5E DMG. I made the Kolyarut purely by the DMG RAW, and miraculously, it wound up as roughly the same CR (CR10+ DM fiat for the value of the spellcasting), so I just eyeballed the other two and assumed the CR would be in the right area. They have a lot fewer hit points than monsters of their level should, but they make up for it with high AC's, resistance to magic and weapons, and some pretty sweet offensive abilities.

The only thing I'm a little worried about is the Innate spellcasting on the Marut and Zelekhut- there wasn't any good 5E analogue on how to fairly convert their spellcasting. In 3.5, they have a ton of at-will spells, but 5E leans towards less magic. I did the best I could without removing anything. I doubt it will be too horribly game-breaking, though.

I also included the fluff from the 3.5 OGL content on D20SRD.org, but not the tactical information. I'd recommend checking that out at some point- it really helps convey the way Inevitables think. For example, a Kolyarut has no qualms using its Vampiric touch on an ally to save its own life, and although the Inevitables try to end fights as quickly and cleanly as possible, they have no concern for collateral damage; only their targets matter. If you'd like even more information, check out the Pathfinder versions of the Inevitables.


-- Incoming Nitpick --

'Outsider' is not a type in 5e. I think you mean 'Construct' here. Heck, they even were constructs in 3.5.

[Freelance GM]

-- Incoming Nitpick --

'Outsider' is not a type in 5e. I think you mean 'Construct' here. Heck, they even were constructs in 3.5.

Oh crap, you're right...

IMO, it's a giant gray area. Pathfinder says Outsiders, 3.5 says Constructs, flavor has valid arguments for both.

However, they are neither fiends nor celestials, and there isn't a vanilla "Outsider" type in 5E, so Constructs it is. Good catch, I'll edit it.

POST EDIT: I just realized this has the awesome/hilarious side-effect of making them impervious to Detect/Protection from Evil and Good spells. So, most of the stuff for identifying and protecting yourself from extraplanar creatures will not save you from an Inevitable. Seems appropriate.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

great work on the conversions!

Inevitables are probably my favorite DND monsters.

I'm a little worried about the hitpoints though. They seem low even with regeneration...

[Freelance GM]

great work on the conversions!

Inevitables are probably my favorite DND monsters.

I'm a little worried about the hitpoints though. They seem low even with regeneration...

I thought the same thing- on one hand, I was trying to keep it close to the 3.5 version as possible, and it turns out that even after converting, they were still pretty close. According to the 5E monster creation rules, their spellcasting, resistances, and higher-than-average AC's are supposed to compensate for this.

Here's the relevant parts of the process the DMG suggests:

Find the HP value the table suggests for the target CR.
If the creature has resistances, Multiply effective HP by a variable amount based on desired CR. Find the new CR.
Magic Resistance increases its effective AC by 2, see if it is enough to augment the CR.
Add 3x creature's Regeneration rate to effective HP, see if it is enough to augment CR.
For every 2 points above average AC is, increase its CR by 1.
Increase the CR by an additional X, where X is chosen arbitrarily based on the DM's opinion about how good its Spellcasting is.

The Kolyarut- the one I did all of the calculations for, instead of just eyeballing, has 90 HP, which is a laughable CR2. It's resistances increases this to 135 (x1.5), a CR5. The additional +15 from Regeneration increase it to 150, a CR6. The Kolyarut's AC is 19, while the recommended AC is 15. The difference is 4, so the CR goes up another 2 points- to CR8. The additional +2 to Effective AC from Magic Resistance makes it CR9.
Of all the Inevitables, the Kolyarut has the most robust spellcasting- and two of its higher-level spells became At-will abilities, so I figured that was enough to close the difference, and keep the Kolyarut at it's 3.5 value of CR12.

EDIT: Actually, I missed a detail. Resistances are caculated based on the desired CR, not the actual one, so I needed to multiply the Kolyarut's HP by 1.25 instead of 1.5. To keep its CR the same, its base HP has to increase to 108. I'll go ahead and make that change.

As I said, I eyeballed the other two, so let's go ahead and check my work there. The Marut will probably need a good bit more HP, too.


Marut Base HP: boosted to 136. Starting CR: 5
Resistances x1.25 = 170. CR: 7
Regeneration +15 = 185. CR: 8
AC: 24. Recommended AC: 16. 8 point difference = +4 CR. CR: 12
Magic Resistance = +2 AC. +1 CR. CR: 13.
Damage is based on first 3 rounds of combat. Chain Lightning + Fists + Fists = 106 average damage = equivalent to CR17. Save DC on attack riders isn't high enough above average to increase the DC.

So, let me translate this for you. The Marut's HP and stuff make it effectively CR 13, with the damage output of a CR17. If it didn't have spellcasting, I'd keep it where it is, but after doing the math, CR16 seems more appropriate.

Now, the Zelekhut.
Base HP: 80. Starting CR: 2
Resistances x1.5 = 120. CR: 4
Regeneration +15 = 135. CR: 5
AC: 19. Recommended is 15, 4 point difference, +2 CR. CR: 7.
Attack bonus is +9, recommended is +7. Difference is 2, CR+1. CR: 8
Turns out, Zelekhut got Vampiric touch from my failed copy-paste proofreading skills. It's actual damage output is only the chains, which is 24 damage on average, and actually really low for its CR. (CR3 damage) I'll go back and boost that to something more appropriate, and maybe add an attack rider. At any rate, it's got higher-level spells than it should for it's CR, so I'd say after the damage boost, it should stay CR 9.

[Zehridamus]

So, I gotta say, im kinda new at the whole homebrewing thing, but im glad that someone finally translated the inevitables. Great work! Now, in my world, there is only one of each inevitable, and they act as the embodiment of their laws (you know, Marut fills the role of the angel of death, that sort of thing). I figured i would makr them all boss monsters, but... I feel like all of them are massively overpowered! Sure, i have a huge party, but they could probably totally crush them by themselves. Any help from the more qualified and educated masses?

[SharkForce]

So, I gotta say, im kinda new at the whole homebrewing thing, but im glad that someone finally translated the inevitables. Great work! Now, in my world, there is only one of each inevitable, and they act as the embodiment of their laws (you know, Marut fills the role of the angel of death, that sort of thing). I figured i would makr them all boss monsters, but... I feel like all of them are massively overpowered! Sure, i have a huge party, but they could probably totally crush them by themselves. Any help from the more qualified and educated masses?

unless your party is extremely powerful, they *should* be running from the embodiment of death, justice, or... uhhh... i dunno, whatever you want to call the principle the kolyarut enforces, rather than just facing them head-on.

that said, you might be surprised. relatively low level groups *can* take on relatively high CR enemies, provided the low level group uses their brain. a group of level 10ish characters could probably take on even the marut with some careful planning and preparation. for example, the marut has a move of 30, and that's it. it can dimension door at will, but that takes up its action, at which point it can no longer attack. and it's fixation makes it pretty easy to lure it into a trap as well.