Have you ever wondered what monster in 5e has the strongest set of jaws. Of course not, because you have better things to do. Well I didn't have better things to do, in fact I have so few better things to do, I've made a list that puts all creatures with bite/maw attacks in order of jaw strength.
To clarify, I have ordered all creatures who have an attack that implies they are biting something (I did not include monsters with peck attacks for example) into a list based on how much average piercing or slashing (Tiamat deals slashing damage with her bites, unlike every other dragon or dragon like creature) each monsters bite attack deals. I have tried to include as many monsters as possible, including those from MM, VGtM, MToF and EGtW and various other adventures.
As I'm sure someone will point out, the Mind Flayer peak position is more likely down to the fact that most of the other creatures bites don't involve the target losing a vital organ, rather than actual penetration. Other note of interest is that Ancient Dragons can't bite much harder than Young Dragon's. Also that challenge rating doesn't have that big of an impact on jaw power, as shown by the fact the CR3 Killer Whale does the same bite damage as the CR 24 Ancient Red Dragon and the CR 1/2 Giant Sea Eel doing the same bite damage as the CR 25 Kostchtchie.
On a final note, both Kostchtchie and Yeenoghu do less damage with their bites, than they would do if they had made an unarmed strike.
Yeenoghu is a huge creature. Huge creature's do 3d4+Str damage with an unarmed strike because they are 2 sizes higher. Large creatures would do 2d4+Str and Gargantuan creatures would do 4d4+str. So it says in the Create a Monster section in the DMG.
In almost never comes up in modules, but one example is in Storm King's Thunder, there is a possible point where the party can face a hill giant that doesn't wield a weapon, and its damage is listed as 3d4+5 for making unarmed strikes.
Yeenoghu is a huge creature. Huge creature's do 3d4+Str damage with an unarmed strike because they are 2 sizes higher. Large creatures would do 2d4+Str and Gargantuan creatures would do 4d4+str. So it says in the Create a Monster section in the DMG.
In almost never comes up in modules, but one example is in Storm King's Thunder, there is a possible point where the party can face a hill giant that doesn't wield a weapon, and its damage is listed as 3d4+5 for making unarmed strikes.
I could not find any such rule. In fact that whole chapter never mentions "unarmed strike" once.
The closest I could find was this rule for oversized weapons (notably, the complete opposite of "unarmed"):
Some monsters use natural weapons, such as claws or tail spikes. Others wield manufactured weapons.
If a monster has natural weapons, you decide how much damage it deals with those attacks, as well as the type of damage. See the Monster Manual for examples.
If a monster wields a manufactured weapon, it deals damage appropriate to the weapon. For example, a greataxe in the hands of a Medium monster deals 1d12 slashing damage plus the monster’s Strength modifier, as is normal for that weapon.
Big monsters typically wield oversized weapons that deal extra dice of damage on a hit. Double the weapon dice if the creature is Large, triple the weapon dice if it’s Huge, and quadruple the weapon dice if it’s Gargantuan. For example, a Huge giant wielding an appropriately sized greataxe deals 3d12 slashing damage (plus its Strength bonus), instead of the normal 1d12.
"More attacks" is technically more deadly than "More Damage Per Hit", due to the nature of death in 5e. Unless you can deal enough massive damage to kill off a PC in a single hit, following up with that Auto-Crit for 2 failed Death Saving Throws makes a meaningful difference. It also gives the DM more flexibility in combat to either threaten more PCs, or decrease the impact on any single PC.
For the sake of narration, reflavoring multiple attacks as a single more powerful attack, and visa versa, is a perfectly valid option.
Yeenoghu is a huge creature. Huge creature's do 3d4+Str damage with an unarmed strike because they are 2 sizes higher. Large creatures would do 2d4+Str and Gargantuan creatures would do 4d4+str. So it says in the Create a Monster section in the DMG.
In almost never comes up in modules, but one example is in Storm King's Thunder, there is a possible point where the party can face a hill giant that doesn't wield a weapon, and its damage is listed as 3d4+5 for making unarmed strikes.
I could not find any such rule. In fact that whole chapter never mentions "unarmed strike" once.
The closest I could find was this rule for oversized weapons (notably, the complete opposite of "unarmed"):
Some monsters use natural weapons, such as claws or tail spikes. Others wield manufactured weapons.
If a monster has natural weapons, you decide how much damage it deals with those attacks, as well as the type of damage. See the Monster Manual for examples.
If a monster wields a manufactured weapon, it deals damage appropriate to the weapon. For example, a greataxe in the hands of a Medium monster deals 1d12 slashing damage plus the monster’s Strength modifier, as is normal for that weapon.
Big monsters typically wield oversized weapons that deal extra dice of damage on a hit. Double the weapon dice if the creature is Large, triple the weapon dice if it’s Huge, and quadruple the weapon dice if it’s Gargantuan. For example, a Huge giant wielding an appropriately sized greataxe deals 3d12 slashing damage (plus its Strength bonus), instead of the normal 1d12.
Sorry if this is slightly derailing because firstly can I say that I LOVE that you listed all these creatures in this way and I thought it was really interesting. Looking through the list, it actually seems entirely reasonable. I couldn't see any obvious "hang on, this XXXX bites harder than YYYY?" creatures.
Unarmed strikes deal 1 damage plus strength. I think that a huge creature would deal 3+Strength, being 2 sizes larger.
A Hydra also deals 1d10+5 with each bite. If an unarmed attack for a huge creature was 3d4+Str, then it would be better off delivering "as many headbutts as it has heads" instead of bites :D
Yeenoghu is a huge creature. Huge creature's do 3d4+Str damage with an unarmed strike because they are 2 sizes higher. Large creatures would do 2d4+Str and Gargantuan creatures would do 4d4+str. So it says in the Create a Monster section in the DMG.
In almost never comes up in modules, but one example is in Storm King's Thunder, there is a possible point where the party can face a hill giant that doesn't wield a weapon, and its damage is listed as 3d4+5 for making unarmed strikes.
I'm pretty sure you don't add damage bonuses(or anything else from the DM's Workshop) to already existing creature stat blocks. It's just damage guidelines for creatures you make with DM's Workshop rules.
Most creature's attacks aren't considered Unarmed Strikes, they are Natural Weapons, and do more damage. Thanks for the bite guide though. Even though CR doesn't seem to have a lot to do with bite damage, logic does. A killer Whale is Huge and the bite is it's only attack given so, it does a lot. I would have added a Ram or Slam attack myself.
Have you ever wondered what monster in 5e has the strongest set of jaws. Of course not, because you have better things to do. Well I didn't have better things to do, in fact I have so few better things to do, I've made a list that puts all creatures with bite/maw attacks in order of jaw strength.
To clarify, I have ordered all creatures who have an attack that implies they are biting something (I did not include monsters with peck attacks for example) into a list based on how much average piercing or slashing (Tiamat deals slashing damage with her bites, unlike every other dragon or dragon like creature) each monsters bite attack deals. I have tried to include as many monsters as possible, including those from MM, VGtM, MToF and EGtW and various other adventures.
1: Baboon, Badger, Bat, Cranium Rat, Faerie Dragon, Flying Snake, Gazer, Jackal, Larva, Lizard, Poisonous Snake, Quipper, Rat, Spider, Weasel
2: Camel, Deer, Drider, Giant Fire Beetle, Spectator
3: Bullywug, Cockatrice, Dretch, Fire Snake, Gremishka, Hyena, Khargra, Kuo-Toa, Neogi Hatchling, Sahuagin, Sahuagin Priestess
4: Blink Dog, Bone Whelk, Core Spawn Crawler, Death's Head, Giant Badger, Giant Centipede, Giant Frog, Giant Rat, Giant Wolf Spider, Gnoll, Gnoll Flesh Gnawer, Gnoll Hunter, Gnoll Witherling, Jackalwere, Kuo-Toa Monitor, Kuo-Toa Whip, Mastiff, Norker, Pseudodragon, Sea Spawn, Slaad Tadpole, Thri-Kreen, Troglodyte, Wererat
5: Abyssal Wretch, Black Bear, Blindheim, Bronze Scout, Constrictor Snake, Death Dog, Gargoyle, Giant Bat, Giant Weasel, Gnoll Pack Lord, Lizardfolk, Panther, Quasit, Rust Monster, Spined Devil, Vargouille, Velociraptor, White Abishai, Yuan-Ti Malison, Yuan-Ti Mind Whisperer
6: Amphisbaena, Deep Scion, Deinonychus, Ettercap, Giant Lizard, Giant Poisonous Snake, Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu, Gray Slaad, Iron Cobra, Lizard King/Queen, Male Steeder, Neogi, Neogi Master, Norker War Leader, Nupperibo, Pteranodon, Reef Shark, Star Spawn Grue, The Wretched, Vampire Spawn, Werewolf, Yuan-Ti Broodguard
7: Assassin Bug, Black Dragon Wyrmling, Brass Dragon Wyrmling, Carrion Crawler, Copper Dragon Wyrmling, Crocodile, Female Steeder, Giant Spider, Giant Toad, Girallon, Green Dragon Wyrmling, Guard Drake, Hell Hound, Lion, Lizardfolk Shaman, Manticore, Mimic, Phase Spider, Purple Wormling, Rot Troll, Spirit Naga, Troll, Vampire, Venom Troll, White Dragon Wyrmling, Wolf, Yuan-Ti Abomination
8: Berbalang, Black Abishai, Blue Dragon Wyrmling, Brass Dragon Wyrmling, Brown Bear, Couatl, Crag Cat, Giant Coral Snake, Giant Strider, Guardian Naga, Leucrotta, Lizardfolk Render, Merrow, Red Slaad, Tanarukk, The Hungry, Thorny, Tiger, Weretiger
9: Death Slaad, Dimetrodon, Frost Salamander, Gauth, Ghoul, Gold Dragon Wyrmling, Morkoth, Nosferatu, Polar Bear, Red Dragon Wyrmling, Sahuagin Baron, Sibriex, Silver Dragon Wyrmling
10: Aeorian Absorber, Ankheg, Basilisk, Bone Naga, Cloaker, Dire Troll, Dire Wolf, Giant Hyena, Howler, Hydra, Saber-Toothed Tiger, Shadow Mastiff, Vampiric Jade Statue, Worg
11: Aeorian Reverser, Barlgura, Chimera, Giant Constrictor Snake, Green Slaad, Maw Demon, Shadowghast, Winter Wolf, Wyvern, Yeth Hound
12: Blue Slaad, Drow Arachnomancer, Ghast,Ice Devil, Otyugh, Quetzalcoatlus, Rutterkin, Sea Lion
13: Barghest, Blue Abishai, Giant Sea Eel, Hunter Shark, Kostchtchie, Loup Garou, Nergaliid, Sharkbody Abomination, Shell Shark, Swavain Basilisk
14: Beholder, Beholder Zombie, Death Tyrant, Maurezhi, Plesiosaurus, Steel Predator, Umber Hulk, Xorn, Yeenoghu
15: Allosaurus, Annis Hag, Gloomstalker, Hezrou, Hutijin, Mouth of Grolantor, Thousand Teeth, Werebear, Young Black Dragon, Young Brass Dragon, Young Copper Dragon, Young Green Dragon, Young White Dragon
16: Draegloth, Hydroloth, Lesser Star Spawn Emissary, Maw of Sekolah, Mindwitness, Molydeus, Young Blue Dragon, Young Brass Dragon
17: Adult Black Dragon, Adult Brass Dragon, Adult Copper Dragon, Adult Green Dragon, Adult White Dragon, Gray Render, Young Gold Dragon, Young Red Dragon, Young Silver Dragon
18: Adult Blue Dragon, Adult Bronze Dragon
19: Adult Gold Dragon, Adult Red Dragon, Adult Silver Dragon, Ancient Black Dragon, Ancient Brass Dragon, Ancient Copper Dragon, Ancient Green Dragon, Ancient White Dragon, Baphomet, Fraz-urb'luu
20: Ancient Blue Dragon, Ancient Bronze Dragon, Greater Star Spawn Emissary, Juvenile Kraken, Young Remorhaz
21: Ancient Gold Dragon, Ancient Red Dragon, Ancient Silver Dragon, Giant Crocodile, Killer Whale, Udaak
22: Banderhobb, Behir, Froghemoth, Frost Worm, Giant Shark, Pit Fiend, Purple Worm, Red Abishai, Roper
23: Kraken
25: Balhannoth, Canoloth
26: Dragon Turtle, Moloch, Shoosuva
28: Horizonback Tortoise, Mossback Steward, Zaratan
30: Bulette, Core Spawn Worm, Wastrilith
32: Nabassu, Nalfeshnee, Tiamat
33: Tyrannosaurus Rex
36: Astral Dreadnought, Tarrasque
40: Necrotic Centipede, Remorhaz
44: Crokek'toeck
55: Mind Flayer, Ulitharid
As I'm sure someone will point out, the Mind Flayer peak position is more likely down to the fact that most of the other creatures bites don't involve the target losing a vital organ, rather than actual penetration. Other note of interest is that Ancient Dragons can't bite much harder than Young Dragon's. Also that challenge rating doesn't have that big of an impact on jaw power, as shown by the fact the CR3 Killer Whale does the same bite damage as the CR 24 Ancient Red Dragon and the CR 1/2 Giant Sea Eel doing the same bite damage as the CR 25 Kostchtchie.
On a final note, both Kostchtchie and Yeenoghu do less damage with their bites, than they would do if they had made an unarmed strike.
Why does Yeenoghu do less damage with an unarmed strike? Wouldn't it deal 1+9 damage on a hit?
Yeenoghu is a huge creature. Huge creature's do 3d4+Str damage with an unarmed strike because they are 2 sizes higher. Large creatures would do 2d4+Str and Gargantuan creatures would do 4d4+str. So it says in the Create a Monster section in the DMG.
In almost never comes up in modules, but one example is in Storm King's Thunder, there is a possible point where the party can face a hill giant that doesn't wield a weapon, and its damage is listed as 3d4+5 for making unarmed strikes.
I could not find any such rule. In fact that whole chapter never mentions "unarmed strike" once.
The closest I could find was this rule for oversized weapons (notably, the complete opposite of "unarmed"):
Some monsters use natural weapons, such as claws or tail spikes. Others wield manufactured weapons.
If a monster has natural weapons, you decide how much damage it deals with those attacks, as well as the type of damage. See the Monster Manual for examples.
If a monster wields a manufactured weapon, it deals damage appropriate to the weapon. For example, a greataxe in the hands of a Medium monster deals 1d12 slashing damage plus the monster’s Strength modifier, as is normal for that weapon.
Big monsters typically wield oversized weapons that deal extra dice of damage on a hit. Double the weapon dice if the creature is Large, triple the weapon dice if it’s Huge, and quadruple the weapon dice if it’s Gargantuan. For example, a Huge giant wielding an appropriately sized greataxe deals 3d12 slashing damage (plus its Strength bonus), instead of the normal 1d12.
Laid out like this, 5e's design philosophy that CR tends to generate more attacks rather than stronger ones does seem a little silly.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
"More attacks" is technically more deadly than "More Damage Per Hit", due to the nature of death in 5e. Unless you can deal enough massive damage to kill off a PC in a single hit, following up with that Auto-Crit for 2 failed Death Saving Throws makes a meaningful difference. It also gives the DM more flexibility in combat to either threaten more PCs, or decrease the impact on any single PC.
For the sake of narration, reflavoring multiple attacks as a single more powerful attack, and visa versa, is a perfectly valid option.
Sorry if this is slightly derailing because firstly can I say that I LOVE that you listed all these creatures in this way and I thought it was really interesting. Looking through the list, it actually seems entirely reasonable. I couldn't see any obvious "hang on, this XXXX bites harder than YYYY?" creatures.
Unarmed strikes deal 1 damage plus strength. I think that a huge creature would deal 3+Strength, being 2 sizes larger.
A Hydra also deals 1d10+5 with each bite. If an unarmed attack for a huge creature was 3d4+Str, then it would be better off delivering "as many headbutts as it has heads" instead of bites :D
I'm pretty sure you don't add damage bonuses(or anything else from the DM's Workshop) to already existing creature stat blocks. It's just damage guidelines for creatures you make with DM's Workshop rules.
Most creature's attacks aren't considered Unarmed Strikes, they are Natural Weapons, and do more damage. Thanks for the bite guide though. Even though CR doesn't seem to have a lot to do with bite damage, logic does. A killer Whale is Huge and the bite is it's only attack given so, it does a lot. I would have added a Ram or Slam attack myself.