Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Also nice to get a look at some 5.5 MM statblocks.
First impressions.
Looking at the Bugbear Warrior it listed gear with hide armor and 3 light hammers. Given light hammers can be thrown, I'm wondering if other monsters with ranged weapons will get that information listed as a way of, "Here's how many times they can ranged attack." rather than, "Their inventory is Schrodinger's Cat. You don't know how many weapons they have until you open the box."
On the topic of bugbears, I noticed they're being called fey instead of goblin humanoids. Gonna make a little change to hold person at low levels. But fits with the MotMM changing goblins to fey.
Blink Dog had its teleport changed from an action to bonus action. Wonder if more non-damage things will get that treatment. Also traded better attack for lower defense.
We got our first Bullywug caster with the Bullywug Bog Sage. And not only that, but it's a sorcerer! (Sorcerer casters seem to be extremely rare in official books.) Has some nicely themed spells to it. Though wish it had a damage-dealing concentration spell to make use of that CON Save proficiency. Also find that with this one, I don't mind the revised approach to spellcasting monsters that's been used.
I also like the Bullywug Warrior and will probably use it alongside the bullywug to add some variety amongst the CR 1/4s.
The two bullywugs were also a reason for me to hit up a friend and be like, "Yo! There's new monsters!" Since this is perfect timing with him running us through an area that has a lot of bullywugs.
The Mage got mad buffed in HP. From 40hp to 81. And it didn't even lose Shield, although a little more limited and only having 1 counterspell. (But with 3 reaction spells to use, fits with the rule-of-thumb 3-round combats so I don't think that's much of a loss.) Arcane Burst is stronger than [Tooltip Not Found] for its cantrip option. Also noted it has Common +3 for languages instead of just 4 languages. So wonder if that'll be more standard with more enemies speaking Common. (And offers more guarantees for spells that need the target to understand you.) Does seem like the mage went to the School of Warlock Invocations for at-will Detect Magic and Mage Amor. ^^ Personally I prefer the spell slots style of the mage but the 5.5 one has a decent loadout.
Ok... reading the rules, and I noticed a few thing.
Appendix B: Creatures
This product uses stat blocks from the 2024 Player’s Handbook and the 2025 Monster Manual, presented below. The stat blocks from the 2025 Monster Manual are marked with an asterisk and aren’t the final versions.
which is expected. So this is almost like a UA for some Monster Stat blocks.
Some interesting choices on the Blink Dog, I mostly like the new stat, but feel the RP is lacking by removing Keen Hearing and Smell.
Here is the one that bothers me. 1st, new stat block so not a 1 to 1, so that's fair. But the thing that bothers me, like any other species that can be a Player option. Why the flumph does it have a set alignment. I know this is a tradition in the monster stat blocks, but I have always felt that a being with agency in it's life does not need to be beholden to arbitrary alignments to make player characters feel it's ok ... you know. (Keeping my comments G rated BTW because this is based on a Kids cartoon.) Also the special ability... it's ok, but I thought we were avoiding those implications from AD&D and 3rd era lore.
Here is proof of my logic, also a species that can be a player option, Any Alignment which is good IMO, why do Goblins have to be Evil automatically? Also this is a new Bullywug, but it's clearly a new take on the basic bullywug.
New NPC caster. clearly balanced to be lower level now, but also not shown as a spell list making it less obvious how you can alter them as a DM.
Here is the one that bothers me. 1st, new stat block so not a 1 to 1, so that's fair. But the thing that bothers me, like any other species that can be a Player option. Why the flumph does it have a set alignment. I know this is a tradition in the monster stat blocks, but I have always felt that a being with agency in it's life does not need to be beholden to arbitrary alignments to make player characters feel it's ok ... you know. (Keeping my comments G rated BTW because this is based on a Kids cartoon.) Also the special ability... it's ok, but I thought we were avoiding those implications from AD&D and 3rd era lore.
Personally I like the Chaotic Evil alignment. For one, from a quick gloss-over of the one-shot it's a statblock meant for a bugbear doing evil stuff so reflects the stats of who it's meant to portray. And two, I think it's good to have default alignments. When I'm looking through statblocks of things to put in a campaign it's a useful tool to me. And I use the knowledge that they're guidelines overall to change if needs be. (I've got a plan for a Chaotic Good zombie that can talk. So... yeah!)
For the special trait, it also fits with the traditional lore. In mythology bugbears were the monsters under the bed that kidnapped disobedient children. So a trait to not be slowed down while grappling a creature struck me as, "That's cool! I gotta through one of these in the mix one of these days." Big thing will be thinking of a nice scenario where the grappling will be really useful. (Sticking with 5.0 for the foreseeable future so the 5.5 grappling benefits won't apply.) Maybe in a case where the party is tasked with defending an NPC? And so can throw the threat of the bugbear taking that NPC away.
The one thing I am wonder is that upon relooking at it, a light hammer normally does 1d4 damage but the statblock lists 3d4. Surprise attack is taken out so there's also that change of double-damage plus surprise so it's an interesting way of reworking it into something that's more generalist without taking extra space naming traits. It's intriguing. But, kind of like your point with the mage, might have some trickiness when trying to tweak the statblock for the bugbear to use a different type of weapon.
Here is the one that bothers me. 1st, new stat block so not a 1 to 1, so that's fair. But the thing that bothers me, like any other species that can be a Player option. Why the flumph does it have a set alignment. I know this is a tradition in the monster stat blocks, but I have always felt that a being with agency in it's life does not need to be beholden to arbitrary alignments to make player characters feel it's ok ... you know. (Keeping my comments G rated BTW because this is based on a Kids cartoon.) Also the special ability... it's ok, but I thought we were avoiding those implications from AD&D and 3rd era lore.
Personally I like the Chaotic Evil alignment. For one, from a quick gloss-over of the one-shot it's a statblock meant for a bugbear doing evil stuff so reflects the stats of who it's meant to portray. And two, I think it's good to have default alignments. When I'm looking through statblocks of things to put in a campaign it's a useful tool to me. And I use the knowledge that they're guidelines overall to change if needs be. (I've got a plan for a Chaotic Good zombie that can talk. So... yeah!)
For the special trait, it also fits with the traditional lore. In mythology bugbears were the monsters under the bed that kidnapped disobedient children. So a trait to not be slowed down while grappling a creature struck me as, "That's cool! I gotta through one of these in the mix one of these days." Big thing will be thinking of a nice scenario where the grappling will be really useful. (Sticking with 5.0 for the foreseeable future so the 5.5 grappling benefits won't apply.) Maybe in a case where the party is tasked with defending an NPC? And so can throw the threat of the bugbear taking that NPC away.
The one thing I am wonder is that upon relooking at it, a light hammer normally does 1d4 damage but the statblock lists 3d4. Surprise attack is taken out so there's also that change of double-damage plus surprise so it's an interesting way of reworking it into something that's more generalist without taking extra space naming traits. It's intriguing. But, kind of like your point with the mage, might have some trickiness when trying to tweak the statblock for the bugbear to use a different type of weapon.
It just bugs me to force a set alignment on a player species. Sure in a story some humans can be evil, so give us evil humans, but the generic "human warrior" should be "any alignment" They did this with the Bullwug, which in lore are evil toad people based on eldritch horror tropes. They made them player characters and the new stat block shows this change.
With bugbear yes they have a folklore origin, but over the years they have become just one of the many Goblinoid species that players can choose, they are no more evil in origin than bullywug, yet their stat block still show chaotic evil. +the kidnap horror aspect remains. For this adventure it works, but for the final version in the monster manual, I hope they do not keep them like this.
Note there are several amphibious eldritch species, and more than you would expect are player species these days. Bullwug based on Bullfrogs, Grung based on Poison Dart Frogs, locathah which play strongly into the trope being fish people, and even Lizard folk who had water breathing until 5th edition because Lizards can breath under water (Seriously Gaygax why?!? o.0 )
So, does this adventure basically give the backstory for the art on page 32 of the new PHB? At least, spiritually if not literally?
Side note, i love how that picture says Diana even though you can't see her, which I take to mean she has her invisibility cloak on.
Also, if you're going to make Eric a Fighter, you could at least make him a Cavalier fighter. I mean, I understand they were trying to show off the new rules, but still.
@Gothic, fair enough on your preferences. I get where you're coming from. Ultimately I still have a different perspective. But I can respect your stance.
Though I do have a question: You mentioned not once but twice that bullywugs are a player option. And then in the second post you also differentiated between bullywugs and grung. (Was wondering if perhaps you were mixing those up with One Grung Above grung race.) Which source are you getting it from? Since in my friend group one of our players has been using a homebrew bullywug we developed so getting a look at an official bullywug design would be awesome if I've missed something, such as a bullywug mention for an upcoming sourcebook.
@Gothic, fair enough on your preferences. I get where you're coming from. Ultimately I still have a different perspective. But I can respect your stance.
Though I do have a question: You mentioned not once but twice that bullywugs are a player option. And then in the second post you also differentiated between bullywugs and grung. (Was wondering if perhaps you were mixing those up with One Grung Above grung race.) Which source are you getting it from? Since in my friend group one of our players has been using a homebrew bullywug we developed so getting a look at an official bullywug design would be awesome if I've missed something, such as a bullywug mention for an upcoming sourcebook.
Not currently in 5th edition (officially) But AD&D had them listed as one of the Humanoids that could be used, I also remember them from 3rd era, but that might have been one of the D20 games. (old semi-official SRD licenses WotC did.) I just remembering having someone play one in a game with me, and they were in the book. But also with the change to "Any Alignment" this leads me to think future as well. As "Any Alignment" is usually reserved for player species choices. AKA Humanoid Mage. Plus they were in 2014 "evil" as were Bugbears, but released as a player species with "Volo's Guide to Monsters" in 2016, and updated with "Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse" in 2022.
@gothicshark In my opinion, the monsters in the Monster Manual may (or may not) have their own alignments, but that doesn't mean certain creatures can't be playable for PCs if they're presented that way in a book.
That said, and this is just another personal opinion, the consistency between editions of the Monster Manual isn't always easy to understand. I think the way we see the world during different eras plays a role in this.
If my point doesn’t make sense, feel free to disregard it! 😅
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With some familiar faces:
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Amazing. Thank you for sharing.
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Nice! This was the adventure they previewed at PAX West.
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[Phandelver],[Frozen Sick],[Acquisitions Inc.],[Vecna Dossier],[Radiant Citadel], [Spelljammer],[Dragonlance], [Prisoner 13],[Minecraft],[Star Forge], [Baldur’s Gate], [Lightning Keep], [Stormwreck Isle], [Pinebrook], [Caverns of Tsojcanth], [The Lost Horn], [Elemental Evil].Free Dice: [Frostmaiden],
[Flourishing], [Sanguine],[Themberchaud], [Baldur's Gate 3], [Lego].Hi, this is really great thanks for sharing
192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1
2 of them grew goatees?
I did not see that coming.
YAY!!!!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Neato.
Also nice to get a look at some 5.5 MM statblocks.
First impressions.
Looking at the Bugbear Warrior it listed gear with hide armor and 3 light hammers. Given light hammers can be thrown, I'm wondering if other monsters with ranged weapons will get that information listed as a way of, "Here's how many times they can ranged attack." rather than, "Their inventory is Schrodinger's Cat. You don't know how many weapons they have until you open the box."
On the topic of bugbears, I noticed they're being called fey instead of goblin humanoids. Gonna make a little change to hold person at low levels. But fits with the MotMM changing goblins to fey.
Blink Dog had its teleport changed from an action to bonus action. Wonder if more non-damage things will get that treatment. Also traded better attack for lower defense.
We got our first Bullywug caster with the Bullywug Bog Sage. And not only that, but it's a sorcerer! (Sorcerer casters seem to be extremely rare in official books.) Has some nicely themed spells to it. Though wish it had a damage-dealing concentration spell to make use of that CON Save proficiency. Also find that with this one, I don't mind the revised approach to spellcasting monsters that's been used.
I also like the Bullywug Warrior and will probably use it alongside the bullywug to add some variety amongst the CR 1/4s.
The two bullywugs were also a reason for me to hit up a friend and be like, "Yo! There's new monsters!" Since this is perfect timing with him running us through an area that has a lot of bullywugs.
The Mage got mad buffed in HP. From 40hp to 81. And it didn't even lose Shield, although a little more limited and only having 1 counterspell. (But with 3 reaction spells to use, fits with the rule-of-thumb 3-round combats so I don't think that's much of a loss.) Arcane Burst is stronger than [Tooltip Not Found] for its cantrip option. Also noted it has Common +3 for languages instead of just 4 languages. So wonder if that'll be more standard with more enemies speaking Common. (And offers more guarantees for spells that need the target to understand you.)
Does seem like the mage went to the School of Warlock Invocations for at-will Detect Magic and Mage Amor. ^^
Personally I prefer the spell slots style of the mage but the 5.5 one has a decent loadout.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 48, 5/23/25, Immaculate Mary
Thank you, as a kid who watched that tv show in the 80s, thank you.
Ok... reading the rules, and I noticed a few thing.
which is expected. So this is almost like a UA for some Monster Stat blocks.
Some interesting choices on the Blink Dog, I mostly like the new stat, but feel the RP is lacking by removing Keen Hearing and Smell.
Here is the one that bothers me. 1st, new stat block so not a 1 to 1, so that's fair. But the thing that bothers me, like any other species that can be a Player option. Why the flumph does it have a set alignment. I know this is a tradition in the monster stat blocks, but I have always felt that a being with agency in it's life does not need to be beholden to arbitrary alignments to make player characters feel it's ok ... you know. (Keeping my comments G rated BTW because this is based on a Kids cartoon.) Also the special ability... it's ok, but I thought we were avoiding those implications from AD&D and 3rd era lore.
Here is proof of my logic, also a species that can be a player option, Any Alignment which is good IMO, why do Goblins have to be Evil automatically? Also this is a new Bullywug, but it's clearly a new take on the basic bullywug.
New NPC caster. clearly balanced to be lower level now, but also not shown as a spell list making it less obvious how you can alter them as a DM.
Thanks I'll keep for the kids. Looks like it is for their age.
Personally I like the Chaotic Evil alignment. For one, from a quick gloss-over of the one-shot it's a statblock meant for a bugbear doing evil stuff so reflects the stats of who it's meant to portray. And two, I think it's good to have default alignments. When I'm looking through statblocks of things to put in a campaign it's a useful tool to me. And I use the knowledge that they're guidelines overall to change if needs be. (I've got a plan for a Chaotic Good zombie that can talk. So... yeah!)
For the special trait, it also fits with the traditional lore. In mythology bugbears were the monsters under the bed that kidnapped disobedient children. So a trait to not be slowed down while grappling a creature struck me as, "That's cool! I gotta through one of these in the mix one of these days." Big thing will be thinking of a nice scenario where the grappling will be really useful. (Sticking with 5.0 for the foreseeable future so the 5.5 grappling benefits won't apply.) Maybe in a case where the party is tasked with defending an NPC? And so can throw the threat of the bugbear taking that NPC away.
The one thing I am wonder is that upon relooking at it, a light hammer normally does 1d4 damage but the statblock lists 3d4. Surprise attack is taken out so there's also that change of double-damage plus surprise so it's an interesting way of reworking it into something that's more generalist without taking extra space naming traits. It's intriguing. But, kind of like your point with the mage, might have some trickiness when trying to tweak the statblock for the bugbear to use a different type of weapon.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 48, 5/23/25, Immaculate Mary
It just bugs me to force a set alignment on a player species. Sure in a story some humans can be evil, so give us evil humans, but the generic "human warrior" should be "any alignment" They did this with the Bullwug, which in lore are evil toad people based on eldritch horror tropes. They made them player characters and the new stat block shows this change.
With bugbear yes they have a folklore origin, but over the years they have become just one of the many Goblinoid species that players can choose, they are no more evil in origin than bullywug, yet their stat block still show chaotic evil. +the kidnap horror aspect remains. For this adventure it works, but for the final version in the monster manual, I hope they do not keep them like this.
Note there are several amphibious eldritch species, and more than you would expect are player species these days. Bullwug based on Bullfrogs, Grung based on Poison Dart Frogs, locathah which play strongly into the trope being fish people, and even Lizard folk who had water breathing until 5th edition because Lizards can breath under water (Seriously Gaygax why?!? o.0 )
So, does this adventure basically give the backstory for the art on page 32 of the new PHB? At least, spiritually if not literally?
Side note, i love how that picture says Diana even though you can't see her, which I take to mean she has her invisibility cloak on.
Also, if you're going to make Eric a Fighter, you could at least make him a Cavalier fighter. I mean, I understand they were trying to show off the new rules, but still.
@Gothic, fair enough on your preferences. I get where you're coming from. Ultimately I still have a different perspective. But I can respect your stance.
Though I do have a question: You mentioned not once but twice that bullywugs are a player option. And then in the second post you also differentiated between bullywugs and grung. (Was wondering if perhaps you were mixing those up with One Grung Above grung race.) Which source are you getting it from? Since in my friend group one of our players has been using a homebrew bullywug we developed so getting a look at an official bullywug design would be awesome if I've missed something, such as a bullywug mention for an upcoming sourcebook.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 48, 5/23/25, Immaculate Mary
Not currently in 5th edition (officially) But AD&D had them listed as one of the Humanoids that could be used, I also remember them from 3rd era, but that might have been one of the D20 games. (old semi-official SRD licenses WotC did.) I just remembering having someone play one in a game with me, and they were in the book. But also with the change to "Any Alignment" this leads me to think future as well. As "Any Alignment" is usually reserved for player species choices. AKA Humanoid Mage. Plus they were in 2014 "evil" as were Bugbears, but released as a player species with "Volo's Guide to Monsters" in 2016, and updated with "Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse" in 2022.
Nice! Thanks for sharing!
---
@gothicshark In my opinion, the monsters in the Monster Manual may (or may not) have their own alignments, but that doesn't mean certain creatures can't be playable for PCs if they're presented that way in a book.
That said, and this is just another personal opinion, the consistency between editions of the Monster Manual isn't always easy to understand. I think the way we see the world during different eras plays a role in this.
If my point doesn’t make sense, feel free to disregard it! 😅