Let's Read: The Tome of Beasts by Kobold Press

[Nicrosil]

Hey all! This is a let's read for Kobold Press's new book for 5e, Tome of Beasts. I'll be going through each entry, talking about the monster, its art, and some hooks you could use for your game.

I want to thank some people for inspiring this Let's Read, but I'll put it in a spoiler if you want to skip the sappy stuff.

First, I want to thank MrConsideration for his amazing Let's Read of the Monster Manual (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431996-Let-s-Read-The-Dungeons-and-Dragons-5e-Monster-Manual!) because it's what inspired me to write this, and I'm shamelessly stealing his format for each entry. I'd also like to thank Monsieur Meuble on the RPG net boards for his Let's Read of the 3.5e Monster Manual (https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?739833-Let-s-Read-D-amp-D3-5-Monster-Manual-(by-someone-with-no-idea-of-what-he-is-doing)), which got me into the Let's Read genre in the first place. I also want to thank Kobold Press for making this amazing book in the first place, and I want to thank you guys, for listening to my ramblings.

Kobold Press, for those who don't know, has tons of supplements and adventures for 5e and Pathfinder, notably the Tyranny of Dragons adventure path, and the Midgard campaign setting. A lot of the monsters in this book are from there previous works, but many are new. Before you get worried that these monsters are inseparable from their lore, the book claims that all of these monsters can be used anywhere, but puts their campaign setting specific information in a side box. There are a few typos, stuff that wasn't caught in the translation from Pathfinder to 5e, but it's hardly noticeable.

Enough rambling, onto the first entry!

Nihileth, Aboleth
We're starting out with a bang! The Nihileth continues the time honored D&D tradition of "thing, but undead and stronger." Measuring at CR 12, this planar mutated Aboleth is a good arc-ending boss, especially for a lower power level, Lovecraftian campaign.

I do have one issue, however. Aboleths, to me, are very much a once per campaign monster, due to their abilities that can eliminate party members or even cause a TPK, and because they can be a very unique NPC. Did we really need an upgraded form? It can't be to make it more relevant at higher levels, since it's CR only increases by two. Mechanics and fluff wise, it's very interesting, but I'm still left wondering, why?

Art
The art is eerie, implying movement and stability. Its sleek body transitions from greenish bones to a dark, shadowed purple, frozen in transition between ethereal and material forms. It's pitted and scarred, unlike its smoother cousins. This is a beast that's literally been through hell and back. Its three citrine eyes stare ahead, teeth sharp and crooked. Its whiskers are bony, but seem lithe and flowing. This contradiction is confusing, but perhaps that's the point. It has a strangely humanoid jaw; is there something to the Aboleth's origins we don't know? We shouldn't know?

Statblock and Tactics
The statblock is a bit weird. It's a sort of hybrid between a new monster, and a template from 3.x. "Aboleth Traits" says to consider this a normal Aboleth, except where otherwise noted. Why make DM's do this extra work, flipping back and forth between the two? I thought it was an issue with the SRD, but the Aboleth is in there. Page count limits maybe? On the bright side, it says specifically what abilities are taken from the Aboleth, which helps minimize flipping between the two books. This includes the Enslave ability, which coupled with its disease abilities, means that the Nihileth could easily take multiple characters out of commission, and should be used wisely by DMs.

Anyway, the Nihileth can transform between two states as a bonus action. In its material from, it has resistance to nonmagical physical (side note, I refer to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage as "physical", since it's a lot easier to type, and very rarely does the individal type matter) damage, and can perform it's tail and tentacle attacks. In its etheral form, it can fly 40 feet a round, is immune to nonmagical physical damage, and resistant to fire, acid, lighting, and thunder, and can perform a withering touch attack. In either form, it is immune to lots of conditions and other damage types, and has a form of Uncanny dodge, but only has 135 HP to balance it out.

Another main gimmick of the Nihileth is it's disease. When a creature is attacked by its tentacle, its psychic attack, or telepathically communicates with it, the creature must make a save or become diseased. Their skin becomes translucent, they can't regain HP unless totally underwater, and take acid damage if not submerged enough. They also take cold damage from the Nihileth's Void Aura. If a creature dies, it becomes a permanently dominated Nihilethic zombie.

Nihilethic zombies look a lot like deep ones. Slimy green skin, amphibious features, and three, bulbous yellow eyes. Mechanics wise, they're a lot like zombies, but with the trappings of their Nihileth progenitors. They can swap between material and ethereal forms, can spread the Nihilethic disease, and have a kind of damage reduction, similar to Goliaths. They can also sacrifice their remaining health to a Nihileth.


The Nihileth, being an undead, has those standard traits. It doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, and has Undead Fortitude, which I've never actually seen work. Anyway, instead of the usual mucus cloud, the Nihileth has a "Void Aura," which makes creatures "slowed." Eh? Do they mean slow, as in the slow spell, or difficult terrain, or something else? A relic from Pathfinder, maybe?

The Nihileth has the usual Legendary and Lair actions, and the Lair effects of the Aboleth. But, unique to the Nihileth is the Void Absorbance Lair action. It steals 6d6 HP from nearby Nihilethic zombies, healing the Nihileth.

Obviously, this is not supposed to be a one-on-one fight. The Nihileth has all the trickery and dirty fighting of the Aboleth, coupled with its new form changing abilities. Since it can fly in its ethereal forms, you can do a lot of neat things without pulling out the underwater combat rules, and that's always a plus! I imagine that it would have "pockets" throughout its underground layers full of waiting zombies for it to absorb health from, and pools of water for it to enter its material form in. You can create some very neat, vertical fights with that.

Fluff
In the age before humanoids, before gods, the Aboleths reigned supreme. A group of them set out into the planes, not satisfied with merely scrying on these distant lands. Years passed, and with Man's arrival came the Aboleth's downfall. The party that left was presumed dead, until one day they returned, warped and changed by the things they saw between realities. After all, many of the Outer Planes are shaped by the faiths and beliefs of mortals. What things dwelt in that space before mankind? These new Nihileths are intent on destroying the Material plane, driving it into the Void they dwelt in. They must have immense gaps in their racial memories; they have no memory of the rise of humanity. How will they react to these strange apes who claim the world as their own?

With the Nihileth, we get our first sidebar! Void Speech is a language spoken by the malevolent denizens of the "Outer Darkness", found in the Midgard campaign setting. While neat, I feel its niche has already been filled. Lovecraftian languages are covered with Deep Speech and Undercommon, and evil languages by Abyssal and Infernal. Perhaps Void Speech is best suited for the Far Realms, then?

Hooks
The party is caught in a terrible storm, and has to spend the night in a tiny, reclusive seaside town. The residents are strange, almost inhuman, and a terrible voice whispers in the back of their minds. Can they survive the night, and find the source of the madness?

While not entirely trustworthy, the Aboleth living deep beneath the swamp has proved to be the party's best source of information. But, they return one day to find him frightened. A new threat has emerged, a strange breed of Aboleth from beyond the stars, that their racial memory has little information on. All the Aboleths coming together for the first time in human history to stop their eldritch siblings. Does the party unite with the Aboleths and help take down the void tainted evil, or let the two destroy each other, potentially losing a valuable resource?

Verdict
A very good monster mechanically and lore wise. Despite some strangeness with the statblock, the Nihileth has the potential to be a very good boss fight.

And I just realized how long this was. Whoops. I'll try and make these entries shorter in the future.

[Regitnui]

It wasn't long at all, actually.

Right, what did I think of the Nihilith? Honestly, not a lot. I would personally sooner take the interesting traits of this guy and put them onto a different chassis, instead of saying "eldritch aboleth". Your 'normal' aboleth is already a creature of the deep ocean with a racial memory that remembers the time before the gods. If that's not eldritch enough for you, then you should probably be playing a different system.

However, I do like the idea of the nihilith. Here's an idea; instead of the sane, reasonable and entirely understandable motive of exploration, let's take these and make them the original aboleth, native to the Far Realm (Xoriat) that either devolved into the Material Plane aboleth or were twisted into it by the vastly different physics.

The 'Nihilithic Traits' or switching between almost-solid and not-quite-ethereal forms sounds perfect for a creature that lives outside our physics. An eldrazi from the Plane Shift: Zendikar books would be a perfect monster to use these on, as well as anything that would scare the infernal out of the denizens of the Lower Planes. An aboleth is almost too normal a concept.

Tilder? Great concept. Odd monster. Better with the traits used as a Psuedonatural template.

[Nicrosil]

Thanks for the comment! I was just worried I was rambling too much about mechanics. I guess that the Nihileth is a complex monster. Well, most monsters in Tome of Beasts are "complex"; almost everything has some kind of unique ability besides Multiattack.

Nihileths as the original Aboleths is the really cool thought I hoped people would comment with, so thanks!

I do wish that Kobold Press had a section in the back explaining each of the traits they made and how they effect CR, similar to the customizing monsters section of the DM's Guide. I mean, over 400 monsters is awesome in and of itself, but I wish it gave us the tools to make infinite monsters.

Anyway, on to our next monster!

Abominable Beauty
The first of many fey! There is a small criticism I have about Tome of Beasts, and now's a good time to bring it up. There's a lot of repeated themes. I mean, there's half a dozen "seductive, murderous women" monsters, and tons of "tiny/small trickster fey." A lot of the repeated ones are fey, which are often folktale and mythological creatures. My guess is that Kobold Press took names and ideas from several cultures, but each had their own take on basic monstrous archetypes. Enough rambling, onto the monster!

Art
We see a woman, standing in a fog bank, lit up with the magical light cupped in her hands. Long, dark hair wraps in a spiral around her, her eyes glow a pure white, and her face is somewhere between an angry grimace and a smile. This is very much not a human.

Statblock and Tactics
Like I mentioned earlier, most of the monsters in Tome of Beasts have some unique mechanical ability. The Abominable Beauty has two recharging abilities. Her Blinding Gaze ability requires a rare Charisma save, or be blinded, and her Deafening Voice can make any creature within 90 feet permanently deafened. Neat! Something I do want to note is that the DC's for these are a bit weird. DC is 8 + proficiency + ability modifier, and the Abominable Beauty, at CR 11, has +4 proficiency. The DC for Deafening Voice is 16, so it keys off of her Constitution or Dexterity, probably Constitution. But, the DC for Blinding Gaze is 17... And none of her ability modifiers are +5. Typo maybe? I'm not sure if there's any errata yet.

Her standard attacks deal fire damage, and anyone who touches her also takes fire damage. She is, of course, immune to fire damage. She has a +12 to Deception, Performance, and Persuasion, and a +7 to Perception, so there's potential for a social encounter. No charming ability like a nymph, so she actually needs the social skill bonus. Telling your players how their characters act based on a skill check is always a bit worrisome, however. Ironically, I feel better about something inflicting the charmed condition, since skills are a bit nebulous in 5th edition.

Fluff
The Abominable Beauty is absolutely perfect. Everything about her is perfect. Except the massive jealousy complex. And paranoia. But besides that!

The Abominable Beauty "in adolescence" transforms into an image of beauty based on nearby places. For example, she may have "long-legged elegance near elves, a stout figure with lustrous hair near dwarves, or unscarred or emerald skin near goblins." This begs the question, what happens when they mature? Does their beauty become so beautiful and bright that they become a star? The book says they take on the "superficial" traits, so maybe they refine these traits as adults, becoming the perfect image of beauty, in body and mind, to whoever's looking at them (I think there was a Red Dwarf episode based on that same premise...)?

Abominable Beauties grow very jealous over their beauty, hunting down and killing anything more beautiful than them, a la Snow White. Kind of. Never mind. Anyway, is that limited to just other creatures? Are there Luddite Abominable Beauties, destroying famous works of art? I'm not an expert on D&D fey, but I think they are, and very much value, beauty. Are Abominable Beauties banished fey then, in fear of them destroying entire courts in rage?

Maybe Abominable Beauties are a kind of elemental of beauty? Maybe, in the same way the Seven Deadly Sins have been stated up as various demons or devils, Abominable Beauties are fiends of the minor sin of Jealousy? Well, that would fall with Envy, right? I don't know. What I'm getting at here is that there are other ways of fluffing the Abominable Beauties than jealous fey.

Despite me using female pronouns, there are male Abominable Beauties who are "rare but even more jealous in their rages." If I were to use these in my games, I would say they're agender, and instead manifest as the image of beauty to whoever's nearby.

Hooks
The Grand City of X has been ransacked, its museums and galleries burnt to the ground, its youth killed, and even the puppies have been taken! The city suspects the nearby orc tribes, and is preparing to go to war, but there is little evidence it was them. Can the party find this mysterious luddite and puppy kicker in time?!

A prominent fey noble has been banished to the Material Plane as punishment for their jealously. Can the party help them get over their pettiness and reclaim their title before the fey courts collapse in the power vacuum?

Verdict
An interesting monster mechanically, and can be refluffed into interesting encounters. And yes, I'm skirting around the problems with the portrayals of women in mythology, but I don't want to open that can of worms yet.

[Regitnui]

The Abominable Beauty is a nice monster, but this is the place to bring up my major issue with the fey in this book; they're all Evil. Every last one of them. While fey are unlikely to be helpful, lumping them all in the same category as devils and demons is really counter to their unique identity as spirits of nature. The faeries work on a different morality, but that doesn't make them Evil, just Neutral. This objection doesn't hold for all of the fey in the book, but the category of fey should not be "easy kills" like the usual Evil creatures. Instead, fey to me are a signal that the game is changed; negotiations should be the first resort when fey are involved, not the last.

The Abominable Beauty is better named the Nymph; it's almost exactly an update of the 3.5 mechanics of "unearthly gorgeous beauty" that defined that monster. The idea of the nymph imitating whatever the dominant humanoid race's perception of ideal beauty is interesting, leading to a great excuse to include one of these in a gangs of hobgoblins, gnolls or even a human village. In the feywild itself, they may even be courtiers or handmaiden's for the even more beautiful faerie queens.

[Millstone85]

The concept of an illithid lich (or alhoon) appeals to me. Here is yet another character trying to escape the natural order of life and death, except that said order is already alien and repulsive to us. When your afterlife is a giant brain in a pool, can you really be blamed for trying to avoid it? Is that how the average humanoid candidate to lichdom sees the Outer Planes? This is really food for thought, pun intended.

This nihileth thing, now, I just don't see it. The average aboleth is already a living fossil and, when slain, will respawn in the elemental plane of water. What does undeath bring to the table? I would be slightly more interested in a Shadowfell kind of deal where the creature is now full of dark energy and has taken on a sepulchral appearance, but isn't actually a corpse.

[Nicrosil]

The concept of an illithid lich (or alhoon) appeals to me. Here is yet another character trying to escape the natural order of life and death, except that said order is already alien and repulsive to us. When your afterlife is a giant brain in a pool, can you really be blamed for trying to avoid it? Is that how the average humanoid candidate to lichdom sees the Outer Planes? This is really food for thought, pun intended.

This nihileth thing, now, I just don't see it. The average aboleth is already a living fossil and, when slain, will respawn in the elemental plane of water. What does undeath bring to the table? I would be slightly more interested in a Shadowfell kind of deal where the creature is now full of dark energy and has taken on a sepulchral appearance, but isn't actually a corpse.

Thanks for the comments! I agree, the Nihileth seems excessive. The book does suggest the latter, that they're Aboleths tainted by the planes/Void/Outer Darkness/Shadowfell/Far Realms/Abyss/whatver actually.

Speaking of excessive undead, our next monster is the...

Accursed Defiler
Actually, the Accursed Defiler does not continue the time honored tradition of having an undead for every way you could die! Turns out they're an ancient tribe, cursed for spoiling an oasis. It seems kind of backwards though, I mean, your punishment for destroying an oasis is the ability to really efficiently destroy oases? And, today I learned the plural of oasis is oases. Huh.

Art
A figure lurches forward in a sandstorm. He's hunched forward, as if moving in a strong headwind, but there's a sort of arrogance, or majesty to him. He may be cursed, but he's accepted, if not dominated, it. He wears tattered garb, reminiscent of desert clothing, but torn to shreds in the never ending wind. His skin is yellow and papery, like a wasp nest, his face distorted, like a dried jack-o-lantern. It's disgusting. I love it.

Statblock and Tactics
It's relatively simple. Standard undead resistances and immunities, low HP, CR 4. It "understands ancient language, but can't speak." Neat.

It is cursed, so unless killed in a hallowed location, or by someone "blessed," it reforms next sunset in a random location 1d100 miles away. Their speed is only 30 feet though, so the party is probably long gone. There is the opportunity for some social encounters, I suppose. The "blessed" line is interesting; it's italicized meaning it specifically refers to someone under the effects of a bless spell. It's like stuff that refers to "divine" things; it's never specifically defined anywhere, but you get the idea. Rulings over rules, I guess.

It's surrounded by a sandstorm, which is a lightly obscured area for everyone but Accursed Defilers, and it has a recharging ability called Sandslash that deals damage to anyone in the sandstorm, which can lead to some cool tactics; have several bunched together for overlapping swarms, so a Sandslash is going off each round? It has a slam ability, which, if you fail a DC 13 Constitution save, grants a level of exhaustion. Exhaustion can rapidly turn an encounter from "standard fight" to "Oh God, everyone's dying." You want to watch out for that third level especially; that's where the death spiral starts. The obvious strategy, then, is to pick them off at range, but their sandstorms might negate that. I can think of two ways of getting rid of exhaustion: getting a full night's sleep removes one level, and Greater Restoration, a 6th level spell that uses up 100 gold. Mm. Even though they're CR 4, you're probably better off using many of them for high level characters than a few for lower leveled ones. If I were to use these in my games, I would give the players a few potions that can reduce exhaustion, probably with some other side effect. Give them a few rounds of being poisoned and blinded, refluffed as hallucinations? Cactus juice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjQHpD2WQL4#), maybe.

Fluff
Like I referenced above, the Accursed Defilers are remnants of an ancient tribe that, well, defiled a sacred oasis, and have been cursed with a never ending thirst. That seems very... local. I mean, if you travel a few hundred miles out of that one desert where that one group trashed that one spring, you'll never encounter them.

We could go an alternate route, say that they're restless spirits of those who died in a desert, but now we're back to "undead for every way you could die." Hmm. A more general curse then? Belief is a very powerful thing in D&D...

Perhaps, as civilizations grow in the desert, the local springs, rivers, and oases that make the cornerstones of these cities become objects of worship. The water becomes blessed, and the nation grows, a positive feedback loop based on faith. The minor water spirits become elementals, then naiads, sirens, and naga, and finally, godlings. But, the desert is unforgiving, and so is this minor pantheon. Those who disobey are cursed, to permanently seek out the water they had forsaken, but never find relief from it.

Of course, you could go the alternate route. Maybe these are devilish spirits, or sand elementals, conjured out of sands and bones, to spread the wasteland everywhere, to choke rivers and defile everything pure.

They apparently understand the ancient language they spoke in life, but don't communicate. They can also be lackeys for other, more powerful desert themed monsters. Basically, they're just encounter fodder.

Hooks
The city of Oriac is under siege! Demons rise out of the very sand and there seems to be no end to their number! Their touch draws water out of their victims like a puddle in the sun! Why are they here? Why won't they die? And why is the church silent about this?

A killer has been stalking the streets, his victims found desiccated. The party has tracked him to the desert, but the tracks mysteriously vanish. As they travel, they see a figure shimmering in the distance. A mirage, or something more sinister?

Verdict
I'm not a fan of it, honestly. The lore is too limited for my liking, and that exhaustion rider effect can make fights go really poorly really fast. Probably best saved as a swarm for high level characters. The art is dope though.

[Finback]

A lot of the repeated ones are fey, which are often folktale and mythological creatures. My guess is that Kobold Press took names and ideas from several cultures, but each had their own take on basic monstrous archetypes.

As a small note, participants in the KS for this could make submissions, at certain tiers. So it's entirely possible a lot of people independently submitted fey types, and these were just among the better made ones.

[Regitnui]

Accursed Defilers suffer from the Time of Beasts' only other major problem; this is very lore-specific. If you want to use these as is, either there's a massive epidemic of desert people destroying water sources, in which case they're all going to die, or there's only one specific location where you find these guys. If killing them is as easy as attacking while under the effects of bless, your standard NPC Adept buff spell, I can see why they're uncommon, but yeah.

Verdict: first of the many desert-themed monsters here. Alright, if not especially subtle.

[Millstone85]

I still won't buy the book but I like the thread.


It seems kind of backwards though, I mean, your punishment for destroying an oasis is the ability to really efficiently destroy oases?It could be a bit like Kelemvor's backstory. The curse started out as something that made sense, like a condemnation to a very thirsty undeath, but over the years the curse turned into a malign spirit of dryness. Or maybe the accursed eventually got some control over the magic and now revel in the irony of their revenge.

[TrinculoLives]

That's quite depressing about all of the fey being evil. I mean, many of them should be chaotic neutral, at the worst, according to my understanding of fey in cultural references.

[Regitnui]

That's quite depressing about all of the fey being evil. I mean, many of them should be chaotic neutral, at the worst, according to my understanding of fey in cultural references.

I know, right? Only the Redcap and similar beasts are evil, where most of the rest of the fae bend more towards "I honour my deals and avenge myself on those who cross me".

[Shining Wrath]

Jumping in!

I agree with the complaints about most fey being evil, and also don't like nearly every monster having some sort of "special move". To me, Tome of Beasts feels a little too "gamey". Having said that, there's much to be gleaned from this Tome, and I'm glad I bought it.
The backstory to the nihileth seems OK, but I almost wish they were called to wander by something along the lines of a Great Old One. Give them a Thoon!
The Abominable Beauty is meh. The phrase "femme fatale" exists to describe the trope.
I agree with the Accursed Defiler being very Kobold Press specific. I'd take them and give them a backstory where they arise when Someone Does Something Bad or The Stars Are Wrong and heroes must stop them before they render the entire desert devoid of water. You could even make them planar travelers that destroy all water on worlds and then open gates to move to new worlds.

[Regitnui]

Jumping in!

I agree with the complaints about most fey being evil, and also don't like nearly every monster having some sort of "special move". To me, Tome of Beasts feels a little too "gamey". Having said that, there's much to be gleaned from this Tome, and I'm glad I bought it.
The backstory to the nihileth seems OK, but I almost wish they were called to wander by something along the lines of a Great Old One. Give them a Thoon!
The Abominable Beauty is meh. The phrase "femme fatale" exists to describe the trope.
I agree with the Accursed Defiler being very Kobold Press specific. I'd take them and give them a backstory where they arise when Someone Does Something Bad or The Stars Are Wrong and heroes must stop them before they render the entire desert devoid of water. You could even make them planar travelers that destroy all water on worlds and then open gates to move to new worlds.


As I sad in my own review, if they'd called the abominable beauty a nymph and made it either neutral or chaotic, it'd be a far more valuable addition to the overall canon of the game.

I like your idea about the accursed defiler. I'd place them as special creatures on Athas, as the result of a humanoid being killed by drowning in the Silt Sea or similar environment. They're naturally and unwillingly mummified, leaving a corpse with an overwhelming sense of thirst as its last thought and driving motivation. A twist then would be that an Elemental Cleric must give their blessing to destroy the creature, though traditionally a Water (Tempest?) Cleric.

[Nicrosil]

@Finback: Fair point! I forgot about that. I wish they included something saying where each monster came from, like if it was ported from one of their other supplements, a backer contribution, etc.

@Regitnui: Yeah, something I hoped to see was if they could divorce the monsters from the setting specific fluff. While you could easily adapt the Nihileth, the Accursed Defiler is a bit trickier...

@Millstone85 I'm glad you like the thread! The book is nice, but I understand if you don't want it.

@Shining Wrath I agree with all you're points, except the monsters being too "gamey." I like more complex monsters with more abilities than Multiattack. To each their own, I guess.

Now, I did some digging in the book, and not all fey are chaotic evil! They do seem to tend towards chaotic, but there are some exceptions, notably Baba Yaga's horseman, and several Fey Lords and Ladies, but we'll get to those in due time.

Our next monster is... oh. A chaotic evil fey. Whoops.

Ala
First off, the name. Ala is from folklore, from Serbia, where it's a female wind demon that brings hail and thunder. The name in Latin is related to the word for "wing" which, while probably coincidental, is neat. Like it's mythological counterpart, the Ala is an evil whirlwind. It can take the form of a human or a hag with a storm taking the place of her hips and legs. However, it's true form is a whirlwind, which can always be seen by a šestaci, a person with six fingers on each hand. That's probably something from a setting book, I assume a shaman of some kind? You can easily change it up to fit with any setting however; it's not a core part of the monster. Šestaci, by the way, isn't a made up word; it's a tiny village in Moldova.

Art
A twisted whirlwind morphs into an ugly hag. Her arms are splayed back; you can see corded, twisted muscle in red and blue shades, reminiscent of storms, or cadavers. Her hair is wild and flowing, but in distinct locks, like a storm cloud with multiple tornadoes emerging from it. Her face is gaunt, her jaw prominent. Two beady eyes look ahead, and her mouth, full of crooked, yellow teeth, growls. The thing I don't like is the torso. It looks like she's wrapped up in rags, but they're too angular. It's supposed to look twisted and spiraling, not like an NPC from Playstation 1.

Statblock and Tactics
The Ala is a CR 8 flying skirmish monster. Using Flyby and her flight speed of 40 ft, she can duck in and out of combat. She has three attacks: a bite, a claw, and a recharging attack called Lightning's Kiss. The bite deals extra poison damage, but the claw is pretty standard. Lightning's Kiss is weird. See, attacks call for either an attack roll, where the monster tries to roll higher than the PC's AC, or a saving throw, where the PC tries to roll higher than the monster's DC. Some attacks have secondary, "rider" effects, where after the attack is made, the PC rolls a saving throw to avoid a secondary effect. The Ala's bite attack is a good example of this. The bite is an attack, but the PC saves against taking the poison damage.

Now, Lightning's Kiss calls for an attack, and then a save to take half damage. It's a weird hybrid between an attack roll and a saving throw. It's not that it has a secondary effect; the problem is that there's no primary effect. What's the point of the attack roll?

Oh, and if a thunderstorm is raging, you have disadvantage on the save for Lighting's Kiss. As a DM, I don't think you're likely to find Alas outside a thunderstorm. Maybe that's why Lighting's Kiss calls for a save and attack roll; it's to fix the math! On second thought, that's really stupid.

Anyway, the Ala is pretty standard defense wise. She's immune to lightning, poison, and thunder damage, but no condition immunities, meaning, yes, you can grapple a storm. Okay, to be fair, she does have a +8 to Athletics, but still!

Fluff
The Ala is the result of a parasitic growth on treants; they suck the life force from them before bursting out as whirlwinds. The poison/lightning damage combination makes sense now; the Ala is very much a tree killer. Ala's are known for their voracious appetites; in the wild they seem to be hunters of hunters, eating bears, wolves, and badgers. From an ecological standpoint, that's not very efficient. However, they crave the flesh of the innocent, and some tribes may offer sacrifices to Alas.

They bring hail and thunder wherever they go; they are so proficient with lightning and storms that many think they are related to gods of lightning. I like conflicting origins; not everyone in the world knows the truth.

Like many fey, they're shape-changers, switching between hag, whirlwind, and something in between. Again, the šestaci, people with six digits on each hand, can always see their true forms. You know, that reminds me of lycanthropes, with their human, animal, and hybrid forms. Are Alas some kind of elemental lycanthrope?

Hooks
While traveling, the party finds a desiccated village. Following the tracks, they see a tribe of wild elves have bound the villagers; they seem preparing for some ritualistic sacrifice. Can the party infiltrate the camp and free the villagers? Who's the old woman that the elves seem to defer to? And will this storm ever stop?

A treant, the guardian of the forest, has gone mad! He's rampaging everywhere, and the local shaman doesn't know why! He see's storms everywhere, despite the clear sky. Can the party figure out what's ailing the shaman, and help the treant?

Verdict
Weird mechanics, some problematic art, and fluff that doesn't really resonate with me. Maybe you guys can find a better use for it? Thanks for the support everyone!

[Regitnui]

What do we boil this down to? I think "elemental lycanthrope" is a great concept to move closer towards. I also get a strong impression on Codex Alera's windmanes from this. I'll tackle both.

Firstly:

Like the mortal world, the elemental planes have both sentients and monsters. Djinn are among the sentient elementals, capable of holding a long and erudite conversation on how you mortals are incredibly annoying and should either leave or submit to their iron-fisted rule. The base elementals as mortals see them are largely bestial, operating on a set in long-ingrained instincts and caring little for what gets in their way.

However, the division isn't always so clear cut. The Xorn from the elemental plane of earth are intelligent, but use their intelligence entirely towards the acquisition of their preferred food. The ala are another creature that cross the line. Caught between the body of a fey and the mind of an air elemental, they combine the worst of both. Few have managed to tell whether the ala are truly intelligent, as their attention spans all too easily run out, leaving them to attack or flee any encounter with steadier beings. Air elementals from the greatest to smallest likewise avoid them, for fear of becoming another ala through these creatures' unexpected attacks.

Fey, however, seem to be immune to the ala's mood swings. Some say this is the result of a deal struck with the Queen of Air and Darkness many centuries ago. The Queen's temple was struck once by a thunderstorm. As payment for the sheer audacity of the air elementals who sent the storm, she transformed the clouds and winds to the first ala, banishing them back to the elemental plane to find and corrupt those who had dared trespass..

Alternatively;

Ala are a short-lived type of fey who are born in and follow thunderstorms. They cannot reach beyond the storm front, though they find themselves capable of taking corporeal form to interact with the material world. Though they're as mischievous and playful as most other fey, the combination of the fact that they only spawn in the strongest storms and mortals' habit of taking shelter through those times has given the ala an overwhelming contempt for those who are so terrified of them.

The odd human who stays out long enough to win the trust of the ala may be granted strange powers. Some women in the island nations, desperate for children,.stand out in the storms hoping to gain a fey child from the ala. Many die due to the perfectly natural results of standing out in a hurricane, but enough women return to their homes with child that the legend endures. Why the ala do this is unknown, but the children of these 'stormwives' almost always display sorcerous powers the elders say they inherit from their ala parent.

Finally:

As I was writing the fey story, I remembered the Sylph. This is another fey from previous editions that this statblock could be adapted into. While the six-fingered hands may not translate well or ever be relevant, don't tell me you can't see Sylvia from OoTS working off these stats...

[JackPhoenix]

"Šest" means six in many slavic languages. In czech, šesták was an old Austria-hungarian coin with the value of six krejcars (krejcar was a lower value coin). Proper plural term would be šestáky, but šestáci would work if the world šesták refered to a person. It is also a surname and similar word šesťák means sixth-grader.

Just something I thought off when I saw that word in the post.

[Shining Wrath]

Sestaci are another Kobold Press setting-specific item that easily refluffs to some sort of "chosen ones", depending on your campaign. Half-orcs? Wild magic sorcerers? People who have been bitten by a lycanthrope but were cured of the affliction? Whatever suits you.

I agree that a two-roll (three if you count damage) attack sequence for Lightning's Kiss is clunky. Either it's a dragon-breath type attack, save for half, or it's an attack, save against side effect. Compare the air elemental Whirlwind Attack or the water elemental Whelm - saving throw to avoid the effect.

I do like the idea of a parasitic growth upon treants, but my concept of the ancient tree-folk would involve them knowing how to rid themselves of such things - perhaps with the aid of a dryad. So the party runs into a treant outside the forest, acting strangely, trying to reach a distant forest where the Blessed Dryad Blessadry lives. Do they help? Or kill the treant before the parasite takes over?

[Nicrosil]

@Regitnui I love this; I'm definitely using that backstory for my next storm sorcerer.

@JackPhoenix I did not know that; thank you!

@Shining Wrath I love that hook! Sentient trees infected with a disease seems to be a common (http://cdn.wikimg.net/strategywiki/images/6/69/Oot_deku_summoned.jpg)trope (http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Dark-Souls-3/Dark%20Souls%20Gameplay%205.jpg).

I just want to thank everyone for the support so far; I really appreciate the comments and insight you've given. Next entry is coming soon!

[ShikomeKidoMi]

I'm going to buck the trend here and disagree about the accursed defilers being setting specific.

They're region specific. You need a desert and that's it. Just claim some extinct tribe got cursed in desert X. Your PCs are probably not going to travel through more than one desert while still at the level where they're a threat in one campaign, so you can plop them down in any region of your choice. It's not like they require setting specific elements, such as Dark Sun's Dragon Kings and Defiler magic to work. Actually, since it's a curse for destroying a sacred oasis, maybe god Y curses anyone who destroys one of Y's oases with the same curse, letting it crop up in multiple places.

[Nicrosil]

@ShikomeKidoMi Fair point! I'm of the opinion that mechanics and fluff can always be separated; many of my minibosses were refluffed dragon wyrmlings.

I love 5e to bits, but there's some things from 3.X I miss. Like many people, I miss the huge amount of material for DM's and players. 5e just isn't old enough yet. Something I might be in the minority on are the Inevitables.

The Inevitables are one of the races native to Mechanus, the clockwork plane of Law. They traveled the planes, methodically stalking those who have broken the capital-L Law. They were Terminators and Ultron, rolled into a Lawful Neutral package. They were dope, and I loved them.

Come 5th edition though, and there are no mentions of the clockwork angels. Instead, we got... Modrons. Bumbling shapes with faces straight out of the uncanny valley. A fan favorite, apparently.

But, this monster is a step in the right direction, in my opinion. A guardian of the Law, fighter of chaos, as likely to be friend as foe. Enter the...

Algorith


Art
A humanoid figure, muscles rippling, lunges forward. It's turned sideways, about to swipe with the two glowing blades in its hand. The glowing yellow eyes and impressionistic renditions of hands and feet imply that it was made, not born. Its skin is grey, with thin stripes. The stripes appear to be made of tiny characters, reminiscent of Hammurabi's Code. It teaches the law as it punishes those who break it.

Statblock and Tactics
The Algorith is a CR 10 construct with all the resistances, immunities, and traits that would imply. It has high stats, AC 18, and strong saves across the board. Skill wise, it has high bonuses to the standard Athletics, Investigation, and Perception, but it also has a +7 to Insight.

Oh! It's our first spellcaster! It's an innate caster, keying off of Charisma so DC 16, with at will aid, blur, detect magic, and dimension door. 5 times a day, it can cast dispel magic, and once a day it can cast commune, asking 5 questions, or wall of force. Neat! I wish they had listed the spell description, so we don't have to flip between multiple books.

Beyond it's standard multiattack, it has a recharging Cone of Negation. Everything in a 30 foot cone takes 12d6 force damage and suffers the effect of dispel magic, Dexterity save for half damage and avoid the dispel magic. 5 times a day it can throw a tiny rune of law; creatures within 30 feet of the thrown rune take 6d6 force damage and are stunned until the start of the Algorith's next turn, Dexterity save to avoid being stunned and half the damage. As you can tell, all of it's attacks deal force damage, which is hard to negate.

Fluff
The Algorith has many purposes: it guards the entrances to the realms of Conceptual from beings of the Absolute, root out Chaos from all of creation, even in the demesnes of gods, and undo the actions of those who twist fate. Basically, they oppose most things PC's do.

Their bodies aren't made of matter; they're force bound by weird mathematical and physical laws mortal sages do not understand. Their blades are another form of this force, just, you know, capable of dissolving matter into finely ordered sand.

Traditionally, they serve no master except the Law itself, but may enter the service of a lawful god, or be summoned by a "skein witch," which is definitely the title I'm using for my next diviner wizard.

That's two references to fate... Perhaps the strange markings on the Algorith aren't metaphysical laws. Perhaps it's the written history of the multiverse. All things that were, are, and will be are etched into their forms. When powerful beings threaten this predestined fate, the Algoriths know exactly where, when, and how they will act. Each Algorith's marking vary a little; these are probable futures that lie within an acceptable margin of error. This is why Algorith's travel in multiple of 5's; whenever they need to check if something fits in the Plan they always have a large enough sample size.

Hooks
Throughout the party's adventures, strange, grey humanoids have been watching them, occasionally sparring with blades made of force. Now, as the adventure comes to a climax, and (terrible thing) is about to happen, a legion of Algoriths arrive. Can the party convince them that they are not the true threat, and unite to stop the end of the world?!

The empire of Magicopolis has made a breakthrough: a gate to a strange, astral realm, where thoughts and belief are made real. They invite the party to be beta testers, but before the portal can be activated, a squadron of metallic men appear and begin to destroy it!

Verdict
A very neat monster in both fluff and mechanics. I'm sorry that it's been a while; writer's block and a busier work schedule have been a pain in the butt.

[MaxWilson]

Algoriths were the monster that got me excited enough for the Tome of Beasts to buy a copy. A few remarks:

The effect of Cone of Negation could use some clarification. If you fail the Dex save, you suffer the effect of a Dispel Magic--but Dispel Magic normally requires an ability check as part of its effect for spells above 3rd level. Does Cone of Negation bypass the check, and if not, what bonus does it use for its checks? I know my answer (yes, there's a Charisma check at +4, just like any other Dispel Magic, because AoE Dispel Magic with damage is already powerful enough without making it automatic) but that's an interpretation--it would be nice if there was an unambiguous answer in the Algorithm's description itself.

At-will Aid is very interesting (not that powerful, but interesting), and at-will Blur + AC 18 is also nice. The at-will flight is in some ways expected for high-level monsters, but flight and high Athletics are also very nice features for anti-monster fighting. I'm sure they make good allies; interestingly though, they are immune to Planar Binding and Charm, so there's no real way to get them as minions.

1/day Wall of Force is extremely powerful against PCs if you're using Algoriths as adversaries. I don't really respect most CR 10 monsters from the MM, but as a DM I would respect the Algorith enough I would not, contrary to usual practice, expect 4 11th level PCs to be able to defeat 3 Algoriths without much risk. Officially it's only a double-Deadly fight, but in practice I'd treat it as twice that: it's more like a quadruple-Deadly fight in that it wouldn't surprise me much if the PCs actually lost. In contrast, I'd expect the adventurers to be able to defeat three CR 10 Devas or Death Slaads handily.

The fact that they fight with Occam's Razor and throw concussion grenades delights me to no end.

Edit: also, Dimension Door has potential for algorith groups (let's call them pentads). They can do things like: one Algorith grabs another and Dimension Doors them both on top of the party to gain surprise; the second Algorith still has its action free to throw a Cone of Negation immediately (perhaps even with a readied action). Or, one Algorith casts Wall of Force around one PC, then all the Algoriths Dimension Door inside to beat on that PC exclusively. (One of them brings the Wall of Force caster inside immediately so the other PCs can't break his concentration.) One of the Algoriths may spend an action grappling/proning the PC (at Athletics +9) to be extra-sure the deck is stacked in their favor.

[Nicrosil]

SNIP

Thanks for the comments! I didn't read the Wall of Force description; you're right, played right Algoriths can be deadly. They're probably better used like Accursed Defilers: one of them as a boss, or several of them for much higher leveled PC's. A "fair" fight will be anything but. I'll go with your interpretation of the Cone of Negation as well.

Centaurs make no sense. Horses evolved, and thrive in, wide open plains. Humans, according to one theory, are natural born marathoners and distance runners; the catalyst for our evolution was climate change turning forests into plains and forcibly relocating some monkeys. Why, pray tell, would a creature composed of half human and half horse then, be native to forests. Our next monster is a half humanoid half ungulate living in the forest that makes complete sense. Well, as much sense as a half humanoid half ungulate can make.

Alseid
First off, the name. Alseid is traditionally a nymph, a Greek, female nature spirit, that presides over glens and groves. In reality, they're like Centaurs, with the top half of an elf, bottom half of a deer. They live in forests, and have the stereotypical druid/hippie philosophy.

Art
An Alseid views us with a critical eye, but with a bit of a sneer, as it pulls an arrow out of his quiver. Perhaps the barbarian's made a stupid remark, making the DM and the monster go "...******* what?" And yes, he. Male Alseid have antlers growing from their forehead. This one appears to have... 2 points? I have no idea; I'm not a hunter. The Alseid also has some kind of crown made of twigs and berries and long, white dreadlocks that compliment his white deer half. There's a sort of blue hue to the whole picture; it gives the sense of a magical forest, under a starlight sky and waxing moon.

Statblock and Tactics
The Alseid is a whopping CR 1/4 monstrosity, with high Dexterity and Wisdom, and bonuses to Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. It can speak Common, Elvish, and Sylvan. They have some standard bow and spear attacks, and can always discern north and don't leave tracks. Neat, but somewhat boring.

We do get a beefed up version, however. The Grovekeeper is CR 3, and a level 5 druid, using shillelagh instead of a spear. It gas standard druid spells, including lesser restoration, which is interesting. Grovekeepers can be low level spellcasters then; go ask the Grovekeeper and complete his trial to cure this disease. Maybe treants go to them to have Alas removed, like Shining Wrath suggested (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21301629&postcount=17)?

Tactics wise, Alseids probably don't resort to combat first, instead trying to lead or trick people out of their forest. If it must come to combat, they're guerrilla fighters, dodging in and out of the trees. Maybe, if they're fighting persistent combatants, they bait them to a clearing, where the Grovekeeper can call lightning.

Fluff
Alseid are respectful, almost worshipful, of the forests they live in; kindly leading those with similar respect to safety, and baiting the irreverent to their dooms. Something interesting is that they treat the forest as an individual. Individuals, plural, I can understand in a game with treants and such. But as one being? As we discussed earlier, belief is powerful in D&D... What if the Alseids worship an actual Alseid, the grove nymph kind? This minor spirit draws strength from the forest, and the Alseids seek to protect her.

Alseids seem to be kind of border fey, straddling the line between mortal, yet mystical, elves, and the truly weird fey courts. Maybe Alseids are the next step in elf evolution, a transformative gift from the goddess these elves serve. Or am I thinking of driders?

Again, male Alseids have antlers, which branch every 10 years in the first century of their life. They may branch further if they prove themselves to their forest. And that isn't superstition either; each tribe is ruled by a prince with 13 branches, so they must be doing something right. Sawing or cutting off the horns of an Alseid is a grave punishment, but I can see these disgraced Alseid being zealots for their grove nymph, trying desperately to prove themselves to her. Due to their strong natural ties, Alseids often become rangers or druids, but I don't think barbarians or fey warlocks are out of the question. There are stats for Alseids in the back of the book, and in Midgard Heroes, so that's a perfect backstory for your next Alseid character.

Hooks
A terrible curse has struck the (low level) party! Their only hope is the Grovekeeper, an ancient Alseid prince who lives deep in the forest. Can the party convince him to help them? Can they prove themselves worthy? Can they even find him in the endless forest?

A logging village is being harassed by a strange character, an elf with the lower body of a deer, with shaved antlers. Confronting him, the party learns he's a disgraced Alseid prince whose antlers were removed by a rival, and now he's trying everything to win back the respect of the forest. Can the party help him reclaim his title and antlers and teach him the true meaning of friendship?

Verdict
I like it! The art is nice, it has tons of potential, despite it being a bit bland mechanically. I love centaur-esque creatures and wish there were more. There's the half ogre half elephant Loxoda coming up, but besides that I don't think there's much else. Where are the orc/buffaloes hybrids? The dragonborn ...kamodo dragons? The dwarf... uh... Mm.

[MaxWilson]

Tactics wise, Alseids probably don't resort to combat first, instead trying to lead or trick people out of their forest. If it must come to combat, they're guerrilla fighters, dodging in and out of the trees. Maybe, if they're fighting persistent combatants, they bait them to a clearing, where the Grovekeeper can call lightning.

I imagine that with their high Stealth, Alseids probably play like a slower version of goblins: instead of popping in and out of hiding every round, they probably Hide on one round, sneak to new positions, then all open fire at once (with advantage due to hiding, or without disadvantage if at long range) and dart back behind cover immediately, Hiding again the following turn and sneaking to new positions over the next few rounds. It might take 20 or 30 rounds (2-3 minutes of game time) for the Alseids to get off five or six volleys, but they have relatively good AC and rather high HP totals. Overall I'm going to guess that a dozen angry CR 1/2 Alseids will give a 5th level party far more grief than the equivalent number of CR 1/2 orcs, especially in wooded terrain.

As a bonus, they'll be less vulnerable to counter-orc standard tactics such as Fireball, due to both their higher HP totals and the fact that their ranged weapons and good speed imply a skirmish formation that will only catch a few Alseids per Fireball. In fact, Fireball will just make them angry, if you do it in a forest.

The most interesting thing about Alseids, to my eye, is that they have a Charisma of 8. (Int 8 too, but that doesn't grab me as much.) I wonder what that says about their society. Are they just flighty and shy, or does it manifest in some other way such as being bossy, insensitive, or having a dorky sense of humor?

[Regitnui]

Brace yourselves, people. I have no criticisms about the Algorith. I'd say they're physical manifestations of the Prophecy, since I play in Eberron, but that's just me.

The Alseids are almost certainly fey in habitat if not mechanics. I'd include them as centaur relatives, though they'd certainly take over the role of "forest half-human" from the centaur. What can I say, I like the idea of a herd of centaur migrating across the plains, their thunderous hoofbeats signaling to all farmers that today's a day to stay indoors and lock up the livestock.

[JackPhoenix]

Half-elf, half-deer protectors of the forests? Where did I seen that before...

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/fictionalraces/images/1/11/Dryad.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120225032957
And they are led by Grovekeeprers with druidic magic? Well, that makes sense...wait

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/wowwiki/images/0/03/Keeper.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20050926140536

Well, I guess I'll have one less homebrew to worry about if I'll run a Warcraft game and players decide to visit some druidic area.

[Shining Wrath]

Algoriths are great fluff but the challenge rating might be low. This is what happens when every creature has a collection of "neat" features. The whole can be greater than the sum of the parts, and I can see this guy, used intelligently, as being just brutal for a 10th level party. With the combination of AC, resistances, and immunities defensively I'd call this guy about CR 14. Offensively he's CR 10 except for the special effects; stunned is a very powerful condition to impose, and Dispel Magic as part of a AoE spell is really unfair. Total I'd call this guy closer to a CR 13 or CR 14 than a CR 10. So, good monster, bad CR. :smallfrown:

Strategy: fly to within 30 feet of the party spell caster. Cone of Negation removes Mage Armor and/or other buffs. Use the rest of your move to go straight up. Next round, swoop down and kill the spell caster; probable hit points of about 6 per level and Squishy just ate 42 from Cone of Negation. One logic razor ought to do it, and two is almost guaranteed. Fly up again with the rest of your move. Round 3, see if there's a good grouping for Reality Bomb. Two or more people within 60' of one another? Bomb 'em. Round 4: attack someone stunned. With advantage, two hits are almost guaranteed, and even the barbarian is going to feel 62 points of damage - BTW, rage doesn't reduce force damage by half unless you took Totem / Bear at level 3. In the meantime of course they are trying to kill you (foolish mortals!) but AC 18, being above their heads, and being resistant to a lot of the low and mid level attack spells means you're still going - and guess what, Cone of Negation is probably recharged. Your worst nightmare is likely to be an Archery Fighter or Ranger; they'll have high Dexterity to avoid the special attacks and are able to engage you while flying. Kill them next? How many rounds of toe-to-toe will it take to kill the 9 HP / level tough guy? Maybe this is when you retreat and seek healing. Leave 'em with a Cone of Negation to remember you by, and fly off.

Four rounds. Spell caster is on the ground bleeding; if both the Cone of Negation and the Reality Bomb caught a second person, they are down 42 + 21 + 62 = 125 HP, so almost certainly unconscious as well unless a Bearbarian or a druid who wild shaped. BTW, wild shape is a magical effect, so cone of negation forces the druid back into normal form.

If I introduce one of these guys as an NPC he shall be named Occam. :smallsmile:

[Nicrosil]

I have returned from the land of the dead! And I bring new entries!

Amphiptere
I guarantee I'll misspell that. The Amphiptere is probably the closest we've come to a bog standard monster. It's a lizard. That flies. And has a stinger. Mm.

Art
A lizard-like creature rears back, its arms stretched like bat wings, legs grasping forward with sharp claws. Its long tail and hooked stinger sway beneath it. Yellow feathers, small and fuzzy, more like fur, line its back, arms, and tail. It's ornamental; you can see in clear detail the membranous, bat like, rather than bird like, wings.There's a sense of motion and uncertainty here. Is it pouncing forward, ready to tear into it's prey, or is it taking off, peeling off of its victim like a swimmer launching off of the wall?

Statblock and Tactics
They're mini wyverns, essentially. CR 3 beasts with good Dexterity, Constitution, and Perception. They have a bite and stinger attack, and the stinger has a rider that inflicts the poisoned condition for an hour. Poisoned, for those that forgot, gives disadvantage on attacks and ability checks. An hour is a long time, but I think there are several ways to negate it.

Interestingly enough, the Amphiptere has Flyby, so it doesn't provoke opportunity attacks while leaving a creature's reach, and a new trait called Swarming. Two Amphiptere's can occupy the same space, and give each other advantage on attacks. It's like a combination of Pack Tactics and the Swarm traits, so that's neat.

In small groups, the Amphipteres play it safe: lying in wait to swarm the weakest member of a group, then fly out. Unlike the previous entry, Amphipteres don't have a high Stealth bonus, so they probably rely on their advanced maneuverability to avoid pursuit. In large groups, things can get interesting. I can see murmurations (https://www.google.com/search?q=murmuration&hl=en&biw=1332&bih=564&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3mLy57efPAhVO5mMKHQSUCjIQ_AUIBygC)of Amphipteres, stalking the party across long distances, diving in all at once to bite and sting the entire party. You can make some neat, if not paranoia inducing, encounters with that.

Fluff
It's a bit lacking. A large portion of it is discussing their modus operandi, which we already established: hit and run ambush in small groups, huge swarms in large.

I suppose that you could say they're spies for a dragon? You could use them for any kind, but green and black probably work best.

Maybe they're the result of magical genetic engineering? An effort to make wyverns a viable familiar, gone horribly wrong? For some reason its reminding me of old basilisk myths. Bathe a clutch of frog eggs in wyvern poison, and they will hatch into a swarm of Amphipteres...

Hooks
After a harrowing journey, the party is traveling back home. But, a cloud of monsters looms far above them... How will they deal with this new threat?

Part of the Grovekeeper's trial is to hatch a clutch of Amphipteres, and release them all at once atop a mountain. How will the party wrangle a hundred Medium sized poisonous bat lizards, much less carry them up a mountain?

Verdict
Average mechanically and fluff wise. You could probably get a few neat encounters out of this, but I'm not seeing it right now.

[Regitnui]

Eh. These little guys don't strike me as anything better than a psuedodragon or faerie dragon. Personally, I'd rule them as juvenile wyverns, have a bunch of them burst out of a defeated wyvern's nest.

[Shining Wrath]

The "shared space" mechanic on size Medium is an interesting one and probably not as broken as the goblin's conga line. It works because of flight; they attack in 3D.

Fluff wise these guys are obviously pack hunters like wolves, so even though they are winged lizards with poison stingers it doesn't feel right to call them wyvern-kin. I'm thinking Unseelie Fey breed them to guard places they want to keep mortals away from. They'd range over a territory and hunt anything that came within it. You could easily have them engage the party once, be driven off, and then follow looking for a vulnerable moment. Imagine the sight of a Amphiptere following the party a couple hundred feet up and a hundred feet back, just waiting - but where are the others? And who might be following the Amphiptere as it follows us? Similar effect to wolves howling at night.

[Nicrosil]

And we're back! What a better entry to celebrate with than a spirit of fertility and rebirth!

Andrenjinyi
Gonna misspell that one too. In a nutshell, it's a giant rainbow snake fertility spirit. I love it already. It's from Australian mythology; Andrenjinyi is one name for the Rainbow Serpent, an androgynous diety of fertility, water, and rainbows, which is said to have shaped the earth. I like that they're including Australian mythology; I rarely see it used compared to Greek or Norse mythology.

Art
A gigantic, coiled snake stares down a man in robes, offering up a chest with light shining out of it. The snake has black scales, but they shimmer with blues and pinks, like bismuth (https://65.media.tumblr.com/9c7bc9edccdfa3aaa712752e960429a3/tumblr_nwy3y7BdmQ1raievko1_500.jpg) or an oil spill (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/78/23/f2/7823f28bb4a7b40d47be7054bcc5ffa5.jpg). It's underbelly is a grey-white, reinforcing the duality of the Andrenjinyi. It stares with glowing eyes, evaluating the sacrifice presented to it.

Statblock and Tactics
The Andrenjinyi is a CR 15 gargantuan celestial, with high Strength, Constitution, and Charisma, and high Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma saves. It has bonuses to Arcana, Perception, and Religion, and is resistant to acid, fire, cold, and lightning damage, and is immune to psychic damage. It has AC 18, and 228 HP, with a 60 feet swim and run speed, and 20 feet climb and burrow speed. Already, it's very solid and mobile.

It's a spellcaster, keying off of Charisma, so DC 19, +11 to hit. At will, it can cast create water, speak with animals, and stoneshape. Three times per day, it can cast control weather, dispel magic or reincarnation without material components. Once a day, it can cast blight, commune with nature, contagion, flesh to stone, or plant growth. Wow. I like it; it reinforces the theme of natural protector that can bless a village or screw it over just as easily. The reincarnation is also interesting; it can make the Andrenjinyi a quest monster, like the Grovekeeper. Well, you have access to reincarnation at 9th level, so maybe that would work better in a low magic campaign...

Anyway, the Andrenjinyi's attacks count as magic, and it has advantage on saves against magical effects. The Andrenjinyi has a bite attack and a constrict attack that makes the target grappled and restrained. If the bite and constrict attacks both hit the same target in the same round, it's swallowed whole. It's similar to other swallow attacks, but instead of dealing acid damage each round, they make a Wisdom save or become permanently polymorphed into a new form determined by the DM Andrenjinyi.

The Andrenjinyi can also teleport between bodies of water a mile apart as a full round action. A rainbow appears, connecting the two pools. There's no limit to how many times it can do this, and with it's 120 feet blindsense range, you could play whack a mole with it. A long, tedious game of whack a mole. In fact, you could raise the stakes and have it teleport after swallowing someone if you really hate that character.

Strangely enough, it doesn't have legendary or lair actions. Admittedly, it already has lair shaping abilities with its spells, but still! It's a perfect candidate for terrain shaping abilities.

Oh, and it's amphibious.

Fluff
The Andrenjinyi are great spirits that were shed off of the Rainbow Serpent when she wandered the world. The Rainbow Spirit was the first spirit to walk the earth, shaping and molding the flat plain with her passing. After that, she created all the animals and made Law. Those who obeyed her were transformed into humanoids and were gifted with sentience, those who did not were transformed into mountains. After that, she ascended into the stars, tasking the Andrenjinnyi to watch over creation. Clerics who worship the Rainbow Serpent can choose the Life domain. Neat.

The Andrenjinyi follow their duty... dutifully... They bless villages that follow the ancient laws, and punish those that don't. The problem is that human's aren't quite sure what that ancient law is. There's obvious stuff, like not murdering people, but then there are more esoteric rites, like offering menstrual blood and "soothing crying infants." Retribution is quick and disproportionate, with the Andrenjinyi ravaging an entire village for the sins of one person.

Andrenjinyi, despite being hermaphroditic spirits of fertility, cannot reproduce. They're a dying race, and there could be great consequences if the last one falls...

Hooks
An ally has slipped into a coma, and the only way to heal her is through the water serpent's shape-changing magic. Can the party find the correct sacrifices and rites to perform to appease the spirit and save their friend?

A terrible creature is terrorizing a village with pestilence and tempests; when the party finally tracks it down they see it is an Andrenjinyi, an ancient fertility spirit, one of the last of its kind. Does the party kill this ancient creature, or do they try to find some way to appease it?

Verdict
A very interesting monster with dope art. I probably like it so much because it reminds me of this (https://consequenceofsound.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/tumblr_ln49ujbow71qi681yo1_500.jpg)album art, which was inspiration for a world-building project I had years ago. Nostalgia aside, this is a solid monster with a lot of potential hooks, and a great way to restart the thread.

[Gnomes2169]

Just a quick question, are there perhaps 2 different versions of the Tome of Beasts? I got mine today (black cover with a mind flayer head), and it has no creature within it that has a name that starts with "A."

[Nicrosil]

Just a quick question, are there perhaps 2 different versions of the Tome of Beasts? I got mine today (black cover with a mind flayer head), and it has no creature within it that has a name that starts with "A."

I'm not sure if they've released alternate versions; maybe it was a Kickstarter backer goal? Here's an image of the cover I got (https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/018/116/53c3a73f97558e1d1163957b4a1756de_original.jpg?w=15 36&h=864&fit=fill&bg=000000&v=1463724480&auto=format&q=92&), pulled from their Kickstarter page. Are you perhaps thinking of the alternate art for Volo's Guide to Monsters (http://dnd.wizards.com/sites/default/files/media/images/head-banner/Volos_Monster_manual_alt.png)?

[Gnomes2169]

I'm not sure if they've released alternate versions; maybe it was a Kickstarter backer goal? Here's an image of the cover I got (https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/018/116/53c3a73f97558e1d1163957b4a1756de_original.jpg?w=15 36&h=864&fit=fill&bg=000000&v=1463724480&auto=format&q=92&), pulled from their Kickstarter page. Are you perhaps thinking of the alternate art for Volo's Guide to Monsters (http://dnd.wizards.com/sites/default/files/media/images/head-banner/Volos_Monster_manual_alt.png)?

Yeah, that second one is the one I have, but it has a grand total of 0 monsters that have been covered so far in this thread. :smallconfused:

[JackPhoenix]

Yeah, that second one is the one I have, but it has a grand total of 0 monsters that have been covered so far in this thread. :smallconfused:

Propably because Volo's Guide of Monsters from WotC (that isn't yet out everywhere) is a different book from Tome of Beasts from Kobold Press (that came out months ago)?

[Shining Wrath]

An epic level quest would be finding a way for the last two Andrenjinyi to reproduce, thereby staving off the end of the world or something like that.
Maybe the Transforming Gullet can create little Andrenjinyi if you can persuade the big one to do so - with appropriate offerings and some DC 30 Religion checks.

[Gnomes2169]

Propably because Volo's Guide of Monsters from WotC (that isn't yet out everywhere) is a different book from Tome of Beasts from Kobold Press (that came out months ago)?

This is probably the problem, yes! And the reason why I need to actually do research... blargh... ignooooore my failures and my transgressions please.

[MaxWilson]

Just a quick question, are there perhaps 2 different versions of the Tome of Beasts? I got mine today (black cover with a mind flayer head), and it has no creature within it that has a name that starts with "A."

No Alhoon? I thought I saw one in the index.

[Gnomes2169]

No Alhoon? I thought I saw one in the index.

It's under the category Mind Flayer; Alhoon. No proper A's section in Volo's Guide to Monsters.

[Ben_McFarland]

Sestaci are another Kobold Press setting-specific item that easily refluffs to some sort of "chosen ones", depending on your campaign. Half-orcs? Wild magic sorcerers? People who have been bitten by a lycanthrope but were cured of the affliction? Whatever suits you.

No it's not.

It's a term for a six-fingered person. I wrote the original Pathfinder monster for Tales of the Old Margreve and pulled that bit out of the wikipedia page for an ala (which I can't link because it's been too long and my post count is now 0, but you can find it easily enough, the ala (demon) page).

It isn't setting-specific, it's a nod towards the eastern european source material inspiring a lot of KP material. I scooped it because it was cool and a GM could do something with it.

Carry on.

-Ben.