I found a 3E monster that has a trait called magic absorption you I read it would be pretty easy to just attach it to a preexisting monster like an otyugh, a krasis, a purple wurm, or any construct.
"Absorb Magic (Su): Nishruus feed on magic. They absorb any magical energy that comes in contact with their bodies, including spells targeted on them, magic items they envelop, and even spellcasters engulfed within their misty forms. This unusual diet has the following effects.
If a nishruu is the target of a spell that deals hit point damage, it absorbs the spell and permanently gains hit points equal to the damage it would otherwise have dealt. The only exceptions are cold and fire spells, which deal damage (reduced, in the case of cold spells) and then dissipate after 1 round.
If a nishruu is the target of a non-damaging spell, it absorbs the spell and gains 1 hit point per spell level.
If a magic item that has charges is in contact with a nishruu, the creature drains 1d4 charges upon initial contact and a like amount every other round thereafter.
If a nishruu is in contact with a magic item that does not have charges, the effects of the item are negated for as long as it remains in contact with the nishruu and for 1d4 rounds afterward.
If a character enveloped within a nishruu attempts to use a temporary item such as a potion or scroll, the effect does not initiate until 1d4 rounds after the user leaves the nishruu's body.
Artifacts do not operate while in contact with a nishruu and for 1 round thereafter.
A spellcaster (arcane or divine) loses one prepared spell or spell slot, determined randomly, upon initial contact with a nishruu. Each round thereafter that two remain in contact, the spellcaster loses one additional randomly selected spell. Each time she loses a spell in this manner, she must make a DC 15 Will save or suffer the effects of a feeblemind spell. The save DC is Charisma-based."(https://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/block/Nishruu)
Just replace the enveloping with being grappled or eaten and you're all set.
Maybe something like the rakshasa's limited magic immunity, except that the creature gains spell slots/temporary HP equal to the spell level (or 2 or 3 times the spell level).
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
As far as I know, there's no 5e Monsters that work as you are wanting but you could homebrew one.
Possibly a Construct built around a Rod of Absorption, I would recommend using something that already has magic resistance (Helmed Horror looks good for this, it already has immunity to 3 spells of your (it's creators) choice).
You could work it so that they can only act in combat if they have at least 1 level of power in their Rod equivalent.
An alternative method is a creature that on a hit, requires a Spellcasting Ability Saving throw or it 'Steals' 1dX levels of spell slot - like how a Shadow takes Strength or how an intellect Devourer takes Int.
Can’t use rakshasha as they are already a separate thing in the campaign.
TLDR version of events
i have homebrewed the lore around Hags, Witches & bloodhunters in my campaign (heavily inspired by Madoka Magica) where witches are driven by a hunger to feed on magic, if they deny themselves this feeding then they become large monsterous Hags that are primaly driven by this hunger. A girl that makes a wish of a hag gets granted their wish but as part of the price become a witch.
Everyone contains some level of magic in this world, so the Hags are mostly blind but have like predator heat vision only seeing magic not heat. Witches are not blind but see this faintly like auras. some witches chose dark means to satiate their hunger, others choose light. But they know the cost of not feeding.
bloodhunters are an order of hag hunters, that are initiated by drinking the blood of a hag to gain the power and ability needed to hunt. Although over time they have become general paranormal hunters and investigators.
however....I want this to tie into the larger story and the Hags be a failed line of experimentation by a magical aristocracy on a huge creature that feeds on magic (malignant or benign in nature). They tried to weaponise it and it went wrong.
have no issue homebrewing it the creature but if there is a creature already in the lore that does that (especially if it’s a gargantuan monstrous looking one) then I wanted to start there.
Can’t use rakshasha as they are already a separate thing in the campaign.
What I meant was using the ability from the Rakshasa, not using the creature itself.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Like I said if it comes down to homebrewing I can make anything up.
just wanted to use what was already there if there was something.
Kind of surprised there isn’t tbh. A gargantuan monstrosity that devours living things to consume magic seems kind of basic
That's not as basic as you might think. Balance purposes Wizards of the Coast haven't made a monster that is specifically designed to counter only some of the player classes. From your description here:
Can’t use rakshasha as they are already a separate thing in the campaign.
TLDR version of events
i have homebrewed the lore around Hags, Witches & bloodhunters in my campaign (heavily inspired by Madoka Magica) where witches are driven by a hunger to feed on magic, if they deny themselves this feeding then they become large monsterous Hags that are primaly driven by this hunger. A girl that makes a wish of a hag gets granted their wish but as part of the price become a witch.
Everyone contains some level of magic in this world, so the Hags are mostly blind but have like predator heat vision only seeing magic not heat. Witches are not blind but see this faintly like auras. some witches chose dark means to satiate their hunger, others choose light. But they know the cost of not feeding.
bloodhunters are an order of hag hunters, that are initiated by drinking the blood of a hag to gain the power and ability needed to hunt. Although over time they have become general paranormal hunters and investigators.
however....I want this to tie into the larger story and the Hags be a failed line of experimentation by a magical aristocracy on a huge creature that feeds on magic (malignant or benign in nature). They tried to weaponise it and it went wrong.
have no issue homebrewing it the creature but if there is a creature already in the lore that does that (especially if it’s a gargantuan monstrous looking one) then I wanted to start there.
The bold bit sounds less like the need for a mechanic around magic consumption and more like just eating anyone - if everyone has magic, the only feature that you need that currently isn't present is Total Magic Immunity, as there are creatures with some level of Spell Immunity. Again, this is not a basic thing - it makes most Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, Warlocks and, Wizards useless in a fight against it.
There are things that provide a semblance of Magic/Spell Immunity - like the Rod of Absorption or the Rakshasa or Helmed Horror - but these are explicitly restricted so that they don't fundamentally stop 5 classes from being usable. The follow up to that is the ruling on Magical Weapons - do those count with the immunity or not? If you are immune to damage from magical sources, does that include magic weapons? Does the rule that a Dragons Breath weapon attack is not magical work in reverse?
Absorb Magic: The creature can try to absorb the magic of a spell it can see being cast within 30ft. This function as per Counterspell but the creature must roll to see if they counter the spell regardless of what level the spell is actually cast at. On a success the spell is countered and the creature can choose to either heal 1d6 hit points per level of the spell or recover am expended spell slot (this spell slot must be lower than the level of the spell they countered). The creature can use this ability once per long rest.
That would be an ability you could tack onto any creature you wanted and function like a spell eating vampire. You could combine it with something based ar ound the Night Hag Nightmare Haunting ability where the Nightmare Haunting is a way they could draw the innate magic out of sleeping or incapacitated creatures.
EDIT: you could also use an effect like the Beholders anti magic cone/eye to represent them nullifying magic but limit it to once per turn or once per rest.
Can’t use rakshasha as they are already a separate thing in the campaign.
TLDR version of events
i have homebrewed the lore around Hags, Witches & bloodhunters in my campaign (heavily inspired by Madoka Magica) where witches are driven by a hunger to feed on magic, if they deny themselves this feeding then they become large monsterous Hags that are primaly driven by this hunger. A girl that makes a wish of a hag gets granted their wish but as part of the price become a witch.
Everyone contains some level of magic in this world, so the Hags are mostly blind but have like predator heat vision only seeing magic not heat. Witches are not blind but see this faintly like auras. some witches chose dark means to satiate their hunger, others choose light. But they know the cost of not feeding.
bloodhunters are an order of hag hunters, that are initiated by drinking the blood of a hag to gain the power and ability needed to hunt. Although over time they have become general paranormal hunters and investigators.
however....I want this to tie into the larger story and the Hags be a failed line of experimentation by a magical aristocracy on a huge creature that feeds on magic (malignant or benign in nature). They tried to weaponise it and it went wrong.
have no issue homebrewing it the creature but if there is a creature already in the lore that does that (especially if it’s a gargantuan monstrous looking one) then I wanted to start there.
Just to clarify, if everyone has some level of magic in them, would there be a mechanical difference between (for example) regaining hitpoints by eating someone and regaining hitpoints by eating someones magic (magic can't mean spell slots or be linked to Spellcasting as some classes don't have those (but do have magic))? Would something like a Vampire work?
Not meaning to cause any offence, I'm just trying to figure out how the flavour text of your request could apply mechanically
It’s far more from a lore perspective than a mechanical one.
Think of everyone’s magic being like goku drawing energy for a spirit bomb or (so help me for making this reference) midochlorians/ the force. Everyone just has an amount of energy that exists within them, magic users just have more and or are able to control it.
think of it like Harry Potter but there’s no such thing as muggles, just a lot of squibs (again hate using that reference)
so it’s not about magical immunity, it’s creatures that just feed on magical essence far more for flavour than any mechanic.
I am not looking for a creature that regains hit points by feeding or had it as an action, just something that lore wise feeds in it. Like a vampire would blood.
my bad for not staying this was more a flavour abd lore question than a straight mechanical one.
It’s far more from a lore perspective than a mechanical one.
Think of everyone’s magic being like goku drawing energy for a spirit bomb or (so help me for making this reference) midochlorians/ the force. Everyone just has an amount of energy that exists within them, magic users just have more and or are able to control it.
think of it like Harry Potter but there’s no such thing as muggles, just a lot of squibs (again hate using that reference)
so it’s not about magical immunity, it’s creatures that just feed on magical essence far more for flavour than any mechanic.
I am not looking for a creature that regains hit points by feeding or had it as an action, just something that lore wise feeds in it. Like a vampire would blood.
my bad for not staying this was more a flavour abd lore question than a straight mechanical one.
From this point of view, I believe Icewind Dale's Tomb Tappers are workable, they've got an obsession with magic.
Or the Chuul from the Basic Rules, while neither lorewise consumes magic, both are highly passionate about both having magic stuff and not wasting magic
Could straight up add flavor to fit your setting without much effort, like that the poison-paralysis from the Chuul tentacle grapple is because it's leeching the magic from a person, the small amount of magic inherent in folks being forcibly removed is paralyzing to people. (Just a weird suggestion that I thought is a potentially cool rework of a feature without needing to change how it actually works)
Like I said , I am confident in my ability to homebrew, just wanted to find out if there was anything already in the lore that would save me the trouble.
If I currently DM for you don’t read ;)
Okay so I am looking for creatures that feed on magic, preferably high level. Any suggestions (preferably not on Mordenkainen as I don’t own it )
I found a 3E monster that has a trait called magic absorption you I read it would be pretty easy to just attach it to a preexisting monster like an otyugh, a krasis, a purple wurm, or any construct.
"Absorb Magic (Su): Nishruus feed on magic. They absorb any magical energy that comes in contact with their bodies, including spells targeted on them, magic items they envelop, and even spellcasters engulfed within their misty forms. This unusual diet has the following effects.
Just replace the enveloping with being grappled or eaten and you're all set.
Maybe something like the rakshasa's limited magic immunity, except that the creature gains spell slots/temporary HP equal to the spell level (or 2 or 3 times the spell level).
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
As far as I know, there's no 5e Monsters that work as you are wanting but you could homebrew one.
Possibly a Construct built around a Rod of Absorption, I would recommend using something that already has magic resistance (Helmed Horror looks good for this, it already has immunity to 3 spells of your (it's creators) choice).
You could work it so that they can only act in combat if they have at least 1 level of power in their Rod equivalent.
An alternative method is a creature that on a hit, requires a Spellcasting Ability Saving throw or it 'Steals' 1dX levels of spell slot - like how a Shadow takes Strength or how an intellect Devourer takes Int.
Can’t use rakshasha as they are already a separate thing in the campaign.
TLDR version of events
i have homebrewed the lore around Hags, Witches & bloodhunters in my campaign (heavily inspired by Madoka Magica) where witches are driven by a hunger to feed on magic, if they deny themselves this feeding then they become large monsterous Hags that are primaly driven by this hunger. A girl that makes a wish of a hag gets granted their wish but as part of the price become a witch.
Everyone contains some level of magic in this world, so the Hags are mostly blind but have like predator heat vision only seeing magic not heat. Witches are not blind but see this faintly like auras. some witches chose dark means to satiate their hunger, others choose light. But they know the cost of not feeding.
bloodhunters are an order of hag hunters, that are initiated by drinking the blood of a hag to gain the power and ability needed to hunt. Although over time they have become general paranormal hunters and investigators.
however....I want this to tie into the larger story and the Hags be a failed line of experimentation by a magical aristocracy on a huge creature that feeds on magic (malignant or benign in nature). They tried to weaponise it and it went wrong.
have no issue homebrewing it the creature but if there is a creature already in the lore that does that (especially if it’s a gargantuan monstrous looking one) then I wanted to start there.
Closest thing in appearance/description would be something like a Flesh Golem but replacing Lightning Absorption with Spell Absorption?
I say Flesh Golem because it's in basic Rules but if you have Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, then there's a better choice along the same lines.
Working with the same change as above: Fiendish Flesh Golem
What I meant was using the ability from the Rakshasa, not using the creature itself.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Like I said if it comes down to homebrewing I can make anything up.
just wanted to use what was already there if there was something.
Kind of surprised there isn’t tbh. A gargantuan monstrosity that devours living things to consume magic seems kind of basic
That's not as basic as you might think. Balance purposes Wizards of the Coast haven't made a monster that is specifically designed to counter only some of the player classes. From your description here:
The bold bit sounds less like the need for a mechanic around magic consumption and more like just eating anyone - if everyone has magic, the only feature that you need that currently isn't present is Total Magic Immunity, as there are creatures with some level of Spell Immunity. Again, this is not a basic thing - it makes most Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, Warlocks and, Wizards useless in a fight against it.
There are things that provide a semblance of Magic/Spell Immunity - like the Rod of Absorption or the Rakshasa or Helmed Horror - but these are explicitly restricted so that they don't fundamentally stop 5 classes from being usable. The follow up to that is the ruling on Magical Weapons - do those count with the immunity or not? If you are immune to damage from magical sources, does that include magic weapons? Does the rule that a Dragons Breath weapon attack is not magical work in reverse?
what about:
Absorb Magic: The creature can try to absorb the magic of a spell it can see being cast within 30ft. This function as per Counterspell but the creature must roll to see if they counter the spell regardless of what level the spell is actually cast at. On a success the spell is countered and the creature can choose to either heal 1d6 hit points per level of the spell or recover am expended spell slot (this spell slot must be lower than the level of the spell they countered). The creature can use this ability once per long rest.
That would be an ability you could tack onto any creature you wanted and function like a spell eating vampire. You could combine it with something based ar ound the Night Hag Nightmare Haunting ability where the Nightmare Haunting is a way they could draw the innate magic out of sleeping or incapacitated creatures.
EDIT: you could also use an effect like the Beholders anti magic cone/eye to represent them nullifying magic but limit it to once per turn or once per rest.
Just to clarify, if everyone has some level of magic in them, would there be a mechanical difference between (for example) regaining hitpoints by eating someone and regaining hitpoints by eating someones magic (magic can't mean spell slots or be linked to Spellcasting as some classes don't have those (but do have magic))? Would something like a Vampire work?
Not meaning to cause any offence, I'm just trying to figure out how the flavour text of your request could apply mechanically
It’s far more from a lore perspective than a mechanical one.
Think of everyone’s magic being like goku drawing energy for a spirit bomb or (so help me for making this reference) midochlorians/ the force. Everyone just has an amount of energy that exists within them, magic users just have more and or are able to control it.
think of it like Harry Potter but there’s no such thing as muggles, just a lot of squibs (again hate using that reference)
so it’s not about magical immunity, it’s creatures that just feed on magical essence far more for flavour than any mechanic.
I am not looking for a creature that regains hit points by feeding or had it as an action, just something that lore wise feeds in it. Like a vampire would blood.
my bad for not staying this was more a flavour abd lore question than a straight mechanical one.
Also when I said basic before it was more in a “your so basic Becky” than “urgh this is like 101” :D
From this point of view, I believe Icewind Dale's Tomb Tappers are workable, they've got an obsession with magic.
Or the Chuul from the Basic Rules, while neither lorewise consumes magic, both are highly passionate about both having magic stuff and not wasting magic
Another option (and a supplemnet I've directed people to twice in as many minutes on the forums).....
https://media.wizards.com/2017/downloads/magic/Plane-Shift_Kaladesh.pdf
Page 17, there is an ability called gift of the aetherborn that might be useful to add to creatures to give them feeding on magic vibe as well.
Edit: In the creature section there is also the monster: Gremlin which might suit if tweaked a little as well.
Chuul could work
Could straight up add flavor to fit your setting without much effort, like that the poison-paralysis from the Chuul tentacle grapple is because it's leeching the magic from a person, the small amount of magic inherent in folks being forcibly removed is paralyzing to people. (Just a weird suggestion that I thought is a potentially cool rework of a feature without needing to change how it actually works)
Go on Pintrest and look up D&D homebrew/monsters. Tons of stuff there.
Like I said , I am confident in my ability to homebrew, just wanted to find out if there was anything already in the lore that would save me the trouble.
If you don't care about eating magic have mechanical effects, just use a Beholder. You can also use an NPC Arcane Trickster with Spell Thief.