Using minotaurs in a maze (tactics)

[johnbragg]

Running my wife and kids through Lost Mines of Phandelver, and they've entered Wave Echo Cave. Next up is likely a small maze of mining tunnels which, by the module, has an ochre jelly as the threat.

I'm throwing more monsters into the dungeon, and I may want to move the ochre jelly somewhere else and put a minotaur in, because that's what you conjure when you have a maze. From the minotaur entry, I don't see much support for a hit-and-run approach, which is pretty much how you take advantage of a maze.

How do you mod monsters in 5E?

[MrStabby]

Maybe run a ghost/spectre minotaur who can pass through walls. The challenge is to make it through to the minotaurs grave in the centre of the maze and sanctify it.

[UnwiseAlistair]

I like the ghost Minotaur idea. You could even reference the original Minotaur myth and say it was slain ages ago, but still wanders the halls where it lived and died. Maybe make it a reflavored specter, and have it regenerate at the middle of the maze if destroyed, and have some object they can find/destroy to destroy it permanently. Maybe make the "destroy the source" information known by prompting a history, arcana, or religion check.

[Trask]

Have lots and lots of secret doors and passages that's minotaur knows, and so he can easily show up behind them, retreat, show up in front or to the side, wherever he can get an advantage.

[Easy_Lee]

Consider a single, powerful Minotaur the players must run from, else be unable to handle its high DPR. Build suspense by telling of the loud crashing and roars the players hear, growing ever closer. The goal is to repeatedly escape down winding passageways and secret doors to recover, while whittling its HP.

It would need to be slow. Discourage kiting with twisty passageways that prevent long-shots. Perhaps give the Minotaur a reaction upon taking damage to charge one player.

[johnbragg]

I'm still learning 5E, and the biggest thing I learned today is that anyone can do a partial move, do an action, and complete their movement. So hit-and-run tactics are on the table, limited only by movement rates.

So I gave the minotaur boots of speed, for an 80 MV, and I'm leaving the ochre jelly in the maze. The minotaur avoids the ochre jelly, but can use it as a trap/obstacle for the PCs.

Between the fast-moving minotaur and the ochre jelly, this encounter is tough enough that the PCs will earn the boots of speed.

[wilhelmdubdub]

https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf

https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Waterborne_v3.pdf

I would build a Krynn Minotaur Underdark scout. If you give him 5 levels, it will have 2 attacks, and a third on its first round of combat and plus 10 movement speed. Also at 5th level, this subclass gets rope trick which should help it to charge in and hide. Primeval awareness will help with tracking humanoids, and take humanoid as its favored enemy. For spells give him alarm, hunter's mark, spike growth and pass without a trace/ or longstrider. Give it a breastplate and Defense fighting style for 17AC, or if you are going more than 5 levels multiclass Barbarian. For a feat give him mobility, that would give you ten movement speed an can charge in and get out without attacks of opportunity.