Quote from Budapest >>

Thank you! Wonderful insight. I agree Kieth set the bar quite high, but honestly I am always interested in DM's take on tactics and story. I really appreciate your efforts and I encourage you to keep up this series.

As for specifics... is there a way to hide spoilers on this forum? I'm playing a WotC adventure and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

 The exclamation point in the options bar of the text box gives you a spoiler bar that looks like this:

We are playing

The players are about to embark on a journey

Narratively the purpose of this mini adventure is to introduce the PC's to way to get to the lair of the BBEG. I want to have a series of colorful encounters with some easy to medium combat. I found a great supplement on reddit that has a list of encounters for this journey. 

The party, if everyone can make it, is 7 - level 7 PC's.

Thanks for the spoiler warning- I'm a player in that one!

Quote from Budapest >>

We are playing

Rime of the Frostmaiden

 

The players are about to embark on a journey

on Angajuk's the awakened sperm whale magical boat

 

Narratively the purpose of this mini adventure is to introduce the PC's to way to get to the lair of the BBEG. I want to have a series of colorful encounters with some easy to medium combat. I found a great supplement on reddit that has a list of encounters for this journey. 

The party, if everyone can make it, is 7 - level 7 PC's.

How to Play an Aboleth like a Lovecraftian Horror of the Deep

Sandrin splashed wildly in the rushing waters, gasping and spluttering as the waves crashed over him, and into the cave walls to his side. He drifted down the flooded tunnel while trying desperately to reach out and grab hold of something, anything that he could grab hold of to escape the rivers flow. It had been hours since he'd last seen the rest of the party, last as their boat overturned in that massive lake underneath the dungeon. He'd thought they hit a rock first, but could've sworn he'd seen a shape moving beneath the inky depths, and a tentacle seeping back under the waves. And that voice... that deep, overpowering voice.. Sandrin had never heard something so powerful before, so ancient. The voice of a god, and yet, something so vile, so demanding, so strange about it. Sandrin shuddered, shaking off all thoughts of the encounter, concentrating on swimming ahead. Always a way out, always another path. He'd been lucky, wearing only light leather aboard the boat. He hadn't seen Vash or Neira, but doubted either had swam very far in full plate. He was also a fair swimmer, but these currents in the rushing cave tested his limits. Strange, that waters in a cave like this would be so powerful. As if they were influenced, as though something else moved them. He stopped as he spied dip in the water ahead, a small falls where the water foamed and crashed. He tried desperately to paddle back, but to no end as he drifted over the side. The falls were bigger than he first thought, a good 25 feet tall. Sandrin plummeted over the side, hitting the water with a loud SMACK and sinking below. He held his breath and struggled to get to the surface but started as he felt something wrapping around his leg. He looked and saw a tentacle extended up from the depths, wrapped around his leg and squeezing, pulling him slowly down. He struggled to hold his breath while also trying to free himself from the slimy grasp. It was no use. He drifted down, struggling as another wrapped around upper body, increasing the pull. He felt a strange numbing sensation, and his skin felt slimy and clammy. He saw a dark shape moving up from the depths, and glimpsed the most horrifying face he had ever seen. The black water made it difficult to see, but the size of this creature alone would have been enough to frighten him. The face that stared at him had black beady eyes, three of them, on top of it's head. An oval shaped mouth with rows of teeth gaped at him, with a pulsing pink maw and throat that echoed at him. "THE DEEP SHALL SWALLOW THEE, THOU SHALT BECOME BUT A PORTION OF THE POWER OF MY EMPIRE." Sandrin began to choke as the slimy feeling encompassed his body, and he sunk ever deeper, that face still staring at him. THINE GODS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL, AND I SHALL ONCE AGAIN CAST MY TENTACLES TO MORTAL SHORES, AND DRAG ALL LIVE BENEATH THE BLACK WAVES..." it echoed, teeth and maw pulsating with the words. Sandrin blacked out, his last sight the aboleth's tentacles encompassing his body, pulling him into a watery embrace...

Aboleth are ancient beings who rose to power before the gods, forging an empire that dominated humankind for a time. One day they were defeated by the gods, and sunk beneath the ocean waves, plotting out their revenge against the surface and the gods of mankind. And while they posses but a lowly CR 10, aboleths are one of the most enjoyable aberrations in the monster manual, Lovecraftian-esque deep dwellers also featured in the 3.5 e Lords of Madness supplement. As with all cosmic horror beings, the aboleth's power lies not in it's combat abilities necessarily, but in it's reach and unimaginable scope of power.

Cosmic Horror

Cosmic or eldritch horror capitalizes off fear of the unknown, expanding on that idea to the fullest extent, creating legendary cosmic beings whose true intentions and powers are truths so unknowable that they drive mortal minds mad. The term Lovercraftian refers to the horror writer H. P. Lovercraft, who inspired the being Cthulu, a popular example of eldritch horror featured in a wide variety of media, from books to comics to rpg's. This type of horror along with cosmic focuses on these unknowable entities, and their cultic followings as well as their terrifying plans that sometimes take place on a galactic scale. A good way to facilitate this in game is to massively outclass your players in comparison to the boss. Now I know that can conjure up some skepticism, especially since it's not your goal to as a DM to kill or destroy your players (usually). However, I'm not suggesting having them fight it necessarily, or even giving them the option right away. The aboleth might drift around them at level one, never showing itself but maybe playing with it's layer actions and enslaving one or two of the players to show off. It doesn't attack, but should sure scare the heck out of them. When playing cosmic horror it's important that your players aren't solely feeling overworked or dominated all the time. This can make the game a slog, and your players will feel like they're being dragged through it. One way to break it up is to utilize little moments of comedy. A horror game can be pretty dark, so your players can lose a lot of energy if there are no light or funny moments in the campaign. Nothing huge, just allow their personalities to show and have fun with it. If your group is joking and showing some excitement, that probably means they're enjoying the campaign, so don't lose all hope. The other ditch to fall into is to have too much joking and lightheartedness in the session, and thus having the horror atmosphere ruined. This can especially be a big problem with cosmic horror, where the feeling and the atmosphere are everything. This isn't always the players' fault, it may just be the way they are. In this case, the best thing you can do is prepare. Music is pretty much the number one tip I've heard about horror campaigns, and it works every time. Doesn't matter if it's spotify or youtube, as long as you have some kind of atmospheric horror music. Another good tip is to just tell the players it's a horror campaign. This works surprisingly well, despite how it sounds. By just telling the players, your already conjuring that spark of fear and dread in them, putting them in the perfect position for the start of the campaign. Another secret to horror is fear of the unknown. This is one that just about everyone knows, and is pretty much surrounded by today in popular horror films. Jump scares are a common example of this in practice, although it's harder to pull off in DnD. A good way to conjure fear of the unknown in DnD is to reveal the enemy as late as possible, or to keep the party from attacking it directly. Aboleth are perfect for this, as they have powerful telekinetic abilities, allowing for conversation at great distance, without direct contact. They also have the enslave ability, allowing them to exert complete control over other creatures at any distance. This means that the players could conceivably encounter the aboleth's thralls while the aboleth itself is miles away, plotting.

Titan of the Deep

Aboleths are ancient in the truest sense of the word. They dwelled in the ocean depths before the gods emerged, enslaving much of the intelligent population in the known world. They created an empire spanning centuries that very well might have lasted longer had the true gods not arrived, desecrating the burgeoning empire and driving the remaining aboleths deep beneath the waves. Aboleths have flawless memories, and the wound they bore from the downfall of their empire is still fresh. They seek nothing more than to drag down all life beneath the waves, once again restoring their power and dominance, and eventually destroying the gods. Because of their perfect recall and flawless memory, aboleths plot over ages, carefully calculating and forming plots that seem inconceivable to mortal minds. Their memories are freshened by each creature they consume, adding to the trove of archaic knowledge. An Aboleth can probe a creature's mind as well, reading it's thoughts and knowing it's desires. The treasure of an aboleth is it's wealth of knowledge, similar to how a dragon has a hoard of physical treasure. They protect this knowledge, and even slyly offer it to other beings, promising reward and true divine power with it. Aboleths manipulate to an extent, but see other creatures only as weak thralls, beings to be dominated. The lifespan of an Aboleth is potentially eternal, since their bodies are reformed in the Elemental Plane of Water upon death, so mortal lifespans are really just blips in their grand schemes. This reinforces the idea of cosmic horror, the fact that the aboleth is a creature literally eons old, plotting for as long to overthrow the gods. And in truth, the Aboleths resemble gods in their own way. They seek worship and a kind of adoration. It's not unreasonable to assume that Aboleths gain their own cult following, in the Lovecraftian-Cthulu spirit. These cultists could be villains throughout a campaign, whether they are thralls, fanatics, or a mix is up to you. Paying homage to a Steven King theme of small town horror, I like the idea of a small island community, cut off from major ports and parts of the world, where the majority of the population is enslaved or under the dominance of an aboleth. Most in the town are either mind-controlled thralls, or cultists who worship the aboleth. They make sacrifices regularly, and heavily monitor the uncontrolled humanoids within the community. The aboleth mainly demands worship and adoration, occasionally accepting a sacrifice to satisfy it and add to it's knowledge pool. Large groups of Chuul, the ancient servants of the aboleth, monitor the outside of the island, watching water traffic and stopping sailors from discovering the secret of the island. That's just one idea though. There are countless ways to use an aboleth, many unique and challenging in themselves. Because of the aboleths description as this ancient, enemy of the gods type of monster, Cr 10 didn't really cut it for me. I made a few tweaks, adding more health, bumping up some of it's scores, and giving it some innate spellcasting as well. That just enhanced for me the drama and power of this monster, but that's up to you whether or not you make the change. But the aboleth in a campaign should always feel ancient, mysterious, and powerful, as it deserves.

Unknowable Mind

An aboleth is a creature so vastly ancient, it boggles mortal minds. It is a being driven by purpose, reborn century after century to accomplish it. It's pretty clear that aboleth all want, primarily, to dominate other creature and overthrow their civilizations, and eventually, destroy their gods. Thus the aboleth is hostile, but patient. it's waited for centuries, so it's plans are years and years in the making, beyond the scope of mere mortals to comprehend. Any interaction with an aboleth is dramatic, eerie, and alien. Make sure to heighten the drama over time, building up fear and a feeling of dread in your players. I've already discussed a few ways how to do this, but roleplay and interaction with the aboleth is also key. It's important to remember that an aboleth doesn't think like a person. It's motivations span eons, and it isn't distracted by fear or vanity, like a lich or a dragon. It's also incredibly intelligent, and has stored up knowledge from years of conflict. It shouldn't be surprised or paranoid concerning the players actions, and should be able to easily get a read on them. It gains an advantage through telepathic communication, allowing it to sense a creature's desires. Any aboleth has grown accustomed over the centuries to playing on these desires to confuse and manipulate a creature. It can be difficult to know when to have the party first encounter the aboleth, whether in it's lair or the open sea, but wherever it is, the aboleth starts at a distance, communicating telepathically. If it shows itself at all, it's only to create fear and show the party a little of what they're dealing with. It doesn't attack at first, instead communicating and displaying it's power. It might use it's enslave ability on a PC briefly, just to show it's grasp of control. That should be the main focus of first encounters with the aboleth. Control. The aboleth isn't necessarily trying to kill them yet. It just encountered them. They haven't done enough to threaten it truly. However, the aboleth is still an overlord in it's own domain. It controls the sea, the people, enslaving those who stood against it, turning enemies into allies, and always plotting three steps ahead. It commands forces of Chuul to overthrow resistance and enslaves the rest. On the subject of control, the thralls are also a key part of any aboleth interaction. Thralls are tragic stories, humanoids dominated by the aboleth, and doomed to serve under it's control. The Thralls are also a key part of building an ambience of dread and inspiring fear in your players. Any encounter with a thrall is an eerie one, with an air of mystery to it. Where did this creature come from? How did it come to be in this wrecked state? Who did this to it? All questions that intrigue your players regarding the thrall. Another advantage to having these in a horror game is the pity players feel for them. In 5e DnD, as I've already said, horror is very difficult to conjure up, especially when the party is level 5 and beyond. I say that specifically because (at least with my group), the players are pretty confident, not usually going to run from anything. But if they encounter a thrall, they might question their normal combat routine. I mean sure, this guy is attacking them, but it's still a person under mind control at the end of the day. Do they run? Knock him out? Just kill him and be done with it? Make sure to reinforce the idea that the thralls are human, but their mind belongs to the aboleth. This is my beef with a lot of zombie movies. The main characters have been fighting zombies so long, blowing up slashing and shooting them, and at that point you kind of lose the humanity of the zombies, and by extension lose the feeling of horror. Make sure to preserve humanity, but also an alien kind of fear. The roleplay with thralls is up to you, and also depends on the scenario. Is this just a brute the aboleth easily dominated to guard something, like an ogre or a beefy human berserker? In that case, the thrall isn't really concerned with disguise. It's job is to tank, and that's it. It's eyes are glazed over, it's drooling, and it rarely talks, if at all. A cult leader or more social figure is different. For instance, a fanatic who believes the aboleth is some kind of god or master from beyond is probably somewhat trusted by the aboleth. This is a creature the aboleth can manipulate without direct mind control, usually by planting fear and suspicion through telepathy. The aboleth might occasionally enslave a cult leader or political pawn to use that person as a sort of prophet, speaking through it to show the master's voice. This is really a flavor thing, but it is cool to reveal that there be more to this cultist than meets the eye. Any time the aboleth seeks control over a creature, or a group of them (enslave 3/day), it lures it it's lair using telepathy, maybe impersonating a god or a lost loved one if it has to (deception +4), but is still an aboleth, so it's words are demanding and powerful. This creature is not messing around, and whoever it's talking to should feel intimidated and small in comparison. Once it lures them near it, it comes within 30 feet, staying always in water, and enslaves them, perhaps taking a hostage to infect and turn into a skum. Of course, the aboleth isn't going to hang around in the shadows forever. Whether it's the BBEG boss fight, or a quick scrap, any encounter with the aboleth is a chance for some A+ roleplay. Obviously the aboleth starts off in water, which I'll discuss tactically later, but for now just know that it will pretty much always be in water, whenever the players encounter it. This could be on sea, in an underwater cave, or a lagoon, but there could also be land nearby, especially in a cave system with a lot of flooded areas, so the players don't necessarily have to be on land themselves. At any rate, the aboleth begins in water, communicating creepy things telepathically. Aboleths monologue, obviously, because they've had 50,000,000 years to prepare, and they're an ancient boss monster. It's definitely going to brag and overlord a little about it's master plan. Another fun roleplay tip for aboleth is the way they speak. Since these creatures are so incredibly old, its fun to use old or middle English (not over the top obviously), just enough to show that this thing is from another time entirely. That's pretty much the point of the aberration type, and also a part of Lovecraft horror; this thing does not belong here. In any communication it might voice the creature's desires and fears, trying to throw them off while it swims eerily around them. A really fun way to do this in a cave system is to have the players in one cavern, while the aboleth swims below them in a disconnected cavern, still communicating with telepathy. All horror is based off fear of the unknown. The less players see the aboleth, the more frightening it is. Better yet to give them small glimpse, like the last few tentacles seeping into the water, just to make them question and wonder more about this creature. An aboleth in it's lair can also create an illusory duplicate of itself, anywhere within one mile of the lair. This a good scare tactic for roleplay, so that when the players get angry or fed up and decide to attack it, it poofs and disappears. Fun and also preserves your bosses' hp. Don't do it to death though. The players will encounter it at some point, the truth will be revealed, however convoluted. This is your moment to shine, where you finally show that this boss isn't all bark; it's got some major bite. so let's take a look at combat tactics for the aboleth.

Alien Mastermind

Aboleth have above average stats in every regard, with very high strength and constitution, a low dexterity, but a 17 AC, added to the fact that it's mostly in water, and probably won't need to make too many Dex saves if you play it right. It really shines in its mental scores, with an 18 in Intelligence and Charisma, and a 15 in Wisdom. We can conclude from these stats that the aboleth is smart enough to fight by more than instinct, and knows immediately who's who in the party, and can tell pretty well individual roles, strengths, and weaknesses (+10 Perception!). It also has some killer offensive moves, which when combined with enslave, and it's lair actions and legendary actions, make this thing a pretty fearsome foe. To start off, let's look at it's lair. In its lair the aboleth should have plenty of areas that it can gain access to through water, preferably like an underwater cave system for it to swim around to different parts and also a way to get to the ocean. But how does an aboleth find such a perfect area? Well it definitely doesn't just pick a random cave thinking "Guess I'll chill here for a few millennia". An aboleth has years to develop it's lair, and besides, it's not going to do all the work itself. What's enslave for if not free labor? It can easily scrounge up some minions to dig or move rocks to make it's lair more accessible. Another option that I enjoy is to give the aboleth ruins of an ancient temple or structure sunk long ago from their ancient empire. This reinforces that feeling that this guy is super old, but also has a lot of cool design capabilities, like shrines and carvings devoted to the ancient aboleth. Just imagine your players doing a deep sea dive through that creepy old structure! Anyway, the aboleth is smart in this decision, and always has at least one escape route from whatever chamber it's fighting the party in, and maybe an old school bring the house down move to where the ceiling and walls start to crumble as the boss escapes. Speaking of the region itself, some regional affects of an aboleth lair are: slimy, wet, difficult terrain within one mile of the lair. Yuccck. Water sources are also polluted so you can't drink, a minor detail, as players probably won't be drinking the water in an aboleth's lair, but may be a plot point where a village nearby has their water polluted. Finally it can create an illusory duplicate, which we've already discussed. These are fairly minor things but all together add to the ambience of the layer. An aboleth's lair actions (which like all lair actions take place on initiative count 20) allow it to cast phantasmal force on all creatures within 60 feet of it, okay I guess but it is a 2nd level spell, not worth the use of a lair action in my opinion. It is nice because it has mass targeting, but doesn't really compare to the other actions, and combats can go quick. Depending on your players it might only be 2 or 3 rounds, with only 2 or 3 initiative count 20's. Use these wisely. It's second lair action is very useful, allowing the aboleth to control tides on the ground out to 90 feet, creating a surging tide that goes out and pulls creatures in towards the aboleth. This is useful for any creatures that are really bugging the aboleth from a distance, like spellcasters, who are also very unlikely to make the strength save from this throw, while that barbarian almost certainly will. This action does require that the players be on the ground, and that there be pools of water within 20 feet of them on said ground, making the obvious use of this action to pull creatures into the water, the aboleth's natural habitat. If you really wanted to cheese this move, you could say all ground in the aboleth's lair has about an inch of water in it due to flooding. Jerk move, but hey, that's what you get for messing with an aboleth. This move can't be used until the aboleth uses another lair action, leading us to our final action. This one lets the aboleth target creatures in water within 90 feet of it, forcing a Wisdom save, and dealing low psychic damage. Not phenomenal, but nice once you've pulled all those pesky adventurers into the water. Here's how it all fits together. The aboleth, one initiative count 20, uses grasping tide, pulling all the lows strength characters out to sea, so to speak. Then, after it's used it's tentacles for a few rounds, the aboleth uses another layer action on the second round (count 20) to give a psychic shock to all those in the water. All right, those are the layer actions, now on to regular combat. The aboleth is beefy, with high hp and AC for it's level. It also has a triple tentacle multiattack, with a +9 to hit, also imposing a Constitution save resulting in a disease effect. It also has a tail attack, which deals slightly more damage, but can only be made once. Totally not worth it in the place of tentacles. So what's the point of tail? Well, I assume the reason why it's not part of the multiattack is because of aboleth physiology, where the tail is at the back, and the tentacles are all out front, requiring it to turn completely around to tails swipe. If you wanted to rule that this turning around costs say, 5 feet of movement, you could add it to the multiattack with that debuff. But otherwise, what is Tail Swipe for? Legendary Actions! The Tail costs one action, along with detect, while psychic drain costs two. My thought on this is, the aboleth uses tail at the end of any creature in melee's turn, whether it be a barbarian with a potion of water-breathing, or a sea elf fighter giving it trouble. It bats that player away with the tail, then heals by draining a nearby enslaved creature. But Ghosty, you ask, when does it enslave the players, or does it have thrall nearby? excellent question. My favorite, and perhaps most maniacal idea regarding your question, is to have thralls in cages nearby (half cover!) for the aboleth to drain of hp. That way the players are split; the big bad is healing, so we either have to kill or free the thralls, causing probably one or two players to give up an action doing that. Plus, the thralls have half cover from ranged attacks, so this is a really fun and jerky move. As far as using enslave on a player, it's worth it if the players has low wisdom, and has been giving them a lot of trouble. It turns this creature against the party, using it in combat as long as it can, but keep in mind this target gets to remake the saving throw when it takes damage. Enslave is situational, but very useful against a low wisdom melee fighter. It's also potentially useful against a spellcaster, especially one targeting the aboleth with AOE spells (low dexterity, remember), to command the creature to dispel it's own magic. The aboleth is super strong defensively, with a mucous cloud within 5 feet of it that incurs a disease that stops a creature from breathing air, forcing it underwater, right where the aboleth wants it. This isn't a problem to sea elves or triton, but the party can't be all water breathers, and even if they are, the aboleth has a plan for them. It also has a 10 foot tentacle reach, and a swim speed of 40 feet, so it's good at hitting stuff and not letting it hit back. If we're thinking on that horror principle, the aboleth remain in the dark, and underwater, as much as possible, and lashes out with those 10 foot tentacle to anyone on land, then retreating back into the deep. These also incur a disease, which forces the creature to go underwater to regain hp, and begins to show a minute after infection, likely after combat is over. If you want this disease to be a plot feature, have the first combat with the aboleth early, and make it short. Let if infect a player, and then have them find a cure or a means of healing throughout the adventure. A great way to scare a party with this is to show thralls or other creature in different levels of infection, some new, with slimy, strange skin, and some in the final stage, turned into skum. This is a phenomenal scare tactic, and is even better if the aboleth taunts while the players fight a skum. "you battle with your own fate... this is what you are doomed to become..". On the subject of Skum, and minions in general, of which the aboleth has quite a few to choose from. Skum and Chuul are it's primary fighters, each with various impressive stats, although Skum are preferable for scare tactics and a bit of that horror feel, whereas Chuul are the ancient aboleth footsoldiers, melee combatants with strong AC and attacks. Chuul in an aboleth lair also make use of the water tunnels with their swimming speed. Chuul have high AC, great strength and constitution, immunity to poison because they're shellfish, and low intelligence, suggesting they operate like animals, on instinct. Unless, of course, they are near an aboleth, which in this case they are, and the aboleth commands them using deep speech. Of course their execution of these commands is limited with low intelligence, but it does suggest that Chuul near an aboleth are a bit more organized, if not just to impress the boss. Chuul can sense magic within 120 feet, which means they smell that paladin walking around with a +1 Sword of Aboleth-Smiting, and immediately report it to the boss, assuming he doesn't already know. In combat, the chuul can do two pincer attacks as a multiattack, plus a tentacle attack if they have a grapple on someone. To me it makes sense to go pincer/pincer/tentacle, assuming they grapple on one of the first two pincers, which taking them both first increases the chances of. The chull's tentacles poison potentially paralyze a creature, which they then drag to the water for the master to finish off. This, combined with the aboleth's mucous cloud and disease effects, make a frightening pairing for any aboleth encounter.

To conclude, I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy this series, and that it makes you a better DM at running monsters. The best way to really have fun with scary boss fights and horror in general is to conjure up that dread and atmosphere, and that sort of hopeless feeling when they encounter this ancient boss. If you do that, this is sure to be an encounter your players won't forget. So take care and enjoy

Hope you enjoy, please offer feedback or any tips you have on these monsters, plus suggestions for breakdowns you would like to see in the coming weeks. Thanks

How to Play a Death Knight like a Ruthless Undead Commander

The fighter's blade cleaved through the chest of the last wight, cleanly slicing the undead creature in two. She stood triumphantly, her orc heritage showing through when her tusks poked out over her lips in a grin. "That'll be the end of these!" she exclaimed, turning to the rest of the party. The rogue wrestled himself out of a pile of bones, only reaching about 3-feet at his full height.

"Try to make less mess next time, eh?" the halfling said, brushing the macabre leftovers off his leather armor.

"Come on you two," the warlock said, picking her staff up off the ground. "The last door is ahead. That's where the sorceress instructed us to go. I believe this is your domain, Ferrin?" she said, gesturing to the rogue.

He sighed, waddling over to the door, and pulled his thieves kit out, wheedling his tools into the small key hole. "You know", he said, "I feel like I don't get paid enough to almost die every mission smothered in bones", he grunted, as the doors gave way. "You're all very-"

"By the forgotten gods", the paladin said, staring into the chamber. Bones littered the floor covering every available surface, and at the end stood an iron throne, atop which sat a suit of armor, with bony hands, both clutching a greatsword in front of it. The suit did not move as they approached. "What is this place?" the paladin wondered, staring across at the strange throne.

"It shall be your demise," a voice echoed, deep, seemingly from within the suit of armor. Red fire glowed in eye sockets behind the visor, as the suit stood to its full height and dragged it's sword across the ground as it lurched toward the party, sparks flying off the ground.

"What do you want from us, fell creature?" the paladin questioned, axe at the ready.

"You who serve the will of gods will see your futility in you DESTRUCTION!" the death knight bellowed, and spread his arms as a wave of dark energy exploded out from his chest. Flinging all but the rogue back into the wall. The energy drained and flooded their bodies, an anti-life magic sapping their strength and health. The tabaxi warlock stood quickly and raised her staff, but gasped as the death knight slammed his sword into the ground, and the bones flew into the air, materializing into an army of undead. "The folly of the gods will meet its end here today," the knight issued as his army gathered. He pointed his sword at them, the same black negative energy coalescing in his off hand. "As will you."

With the exception of a Lich or a Death Tyrant, the death knight is one of the most powerful undead in the Monster Manual, with high stats across the board, terrifying melee and ranged capabilities, spellcasting, and the presence and dominance to command armies of the undead. The flavor text describes Death Knights as paladins who lost their way and died before seeking to make amends for their broken oaths. This makes them unique among undead. Many undead fall into two types; either they are raised by an outside force, like wights, zombies and skeletons, by a necromancer or strong necromancy magic. Or, they are driven from their death to seek out their own purpose in undeath, such as a revenant, banshee, or ghost. However, the death knight's background and motives make it an outlier in these categories, so let's take a look at the motivation of a death knight.

Undying Hatred

Unlike a lich or a death tyrant, there aren't many specifics given as to how a Death Knight becomes undead. Instead, all we are told is that "dark powers" of some kind attract to the dark knight and can transform it into a death knight. It's also mentioned in passing that they occasionally serve fiends, giving them fiendish minions, so an archdevil or demon lord is another possibility. Personally Archdevils fit the bill more, but I suppose you could go with either. The Dark Powers of Ravenloft are another option, which also fits thematically for the Domains of Dread and the fall from grace. Whichever you land on, know that there is something at the core of the death knight's being that drives it to continue on after death. The most likely candidate is hatred. The death knight can only atone for its current state by seeking redemption for it's past wickedness. Their undead state is a kind of torture, a purgatory, as they're forced to live on in a shell of their former selves. However, the way it's described, the Death Knight doesn't really want to atone for it's wickedness. It doesn't care that it hurt people. It's angry, and it hates it's mere existence, so it blames those it sees responsible for putting it in the current situation; the gods, it's paladin oaths, perhaps the duties of a paladin in general, and, by extension, all other paladins. Anyone but itself. This develops into an extreme hatred, the driving force behind the death knight's plans. Whoever it serves, it seeks to blot out life, and has the opposite disposition that clerics and paladin do to undeath. Instead, it sees life as an abomination, and any clerics or paladins it kills along the way are bonus points. In fact, the flavor text and the stat block both show that death knights are stripped of all healing spells, and instead, gain powerful necromancy spells, we can assume, for the purpose of blotting out life. All these things tied together show that the death knight has become the very thing it swore to destroy. However, looking back at these, it's also not abundantly clear what a Death Knight does other than seek out infidels (it's a word) to destroy. Well, despite their brute physical stats and capabilities, and their CR of 17, Death Knights are almost always servants to a hire power. Not servants in the way we might first think of, more like pawns. Brutal, devastating pawns with immense destructive capabilites, but pawns nonetheless. They are bosses in their own right, and are extremely dangerous foes, but they lack a clear vision of their own other than to destroy and punish the good. They aren't stupid, in fact, all their mental scores are above average, with Charisma at highest (for obvious reasons), followed by a high wisdom, and a 12 in Intelligence. Not bad, but also not the smartest bosses, and added to the fact that they're chaotic evil, it's pretty clear that they live to destroy. Something like a very powerful Lich, Archdevil, or a Darklord of Ravenloft could be the guiding force behind a Death Knight's rage. Any of these would take advantage of having an undead general at their disposal, and that's really about how a Death Knight ranks. They command large forces of undead troops, which ties into their Marshall Undead feature (which I'll look at later), but aren't afraid to charge into battle on the front lines either. Death Knights are probably pretty rare within the world, as Oathbreaker paladins are pretty rare. Thus, one of these alone is a formidable opponent, and is never an easy win in battle.

Commander of the Undead

As we've already seen, a Death Knight has a significant power in it's ability to form armies of the undead. This is where a likely partenership between a lich and a Death Knight could easily happen. The Death Knight needs troops, and the Lich needs a big scary meat shield to go do it's bidding. With an Intelligence of 12, the Death Knight isn't exactly the brains of the operation, compared to the Lich's maxed out 20. The arrangement here is tense, but it easily works. In this situation lets say the Death Knight was brought to life by a lich, who in turn provides it with an opportunity to go out and punish those it seeks to destroy, especially those pesky adventurers fooling with the Lich's operation. I would recommend giving the Lich more necromancy opportunity here to fuel the Death Knight's army, which would from there march out to wreak destruction and conquer for the Lich. That's just an example, but I feel in any case it's important for the death knight to have some kind of army. Usually undead, as fiends gain no bonus from the Marshall Undead feature, but you could mix it up there. A Death Knight should have a good grasp of military tactics, and knows how to use the undead at it's disposal to it's advantage. Well fortified kingdom that a regular army wouldn't be able to easily penetrate? Send swarms of zombie over the walls with a few zombie plague spreader World War Z style to weaken the inner city, then swoop in with wights and skeleton hordes to finish it off. Stealth isn't exactly the Death Knight's forte, but this is a situation where fiends could be useful. Send in a few yugoloth assassins to deal with a greater threat, especially a political one, and while you're at it, it couldn't hurt to bolster your ranks with a few Bone Devil, Spined Devil, and nycaloth. While the flavor text offers fiends as an option, it doesn't say which direction the Death Knight leans, but I would say either could feasibly work (although it is chaotic and can speak Abyssal). Devils have the coordination and tactics that a death knight would value, while demons have the savagery and raw brutal power that could be valuable in combat. Obviously it doesn't use both, and Yugoloths are always a helpful split if you're unsure of which direction. In it's usual undead retinue, I would stray away from any undead types that are solitary by nature, such as a Ghost, Banshee, or Revenant. Ghoul or Ghast are solid choices as are Wight, which I've already mentioned. I've aleady shown some ways zombies work, but such low level undead like zombies or skeletons are unlikely to challenge players who are high enough level to take on a Death Knight. Groups of Wraiths accompanied by Specter are also a worthy combo together, so it really depends on the level of your players and how difficult you want this challenge to be. Of course, you can run a death knight without minions, but that's really taking away a core part of it's strategic advantage. Marshall Undead depends on undead allies, and likewise, many of the Death Knight's spells and attacks deal necrotic damage, which other undead can shrug off. In any combat, the Death Knight isn't just a scary evil paladin, it's a scary evil paladin with the potential to command armies. It has a real presence in that way, in it's reach of power and dominance in battle.

Death Knight Interaction

Obviously, a Death Knight is a terrifying presence, whether it's on the battlefield or not. It's an undead knight with red fire for eyes and coming at you with a glowing necrotic sword for crying out loud. It's a brute, but not a stupid one. However, as we've already discussed, it's basic driving desire in undeath is it's hatred for the living. So how do these two things--it's desire to destroy and it's above average social abilities--fit together. Well, for starters, it's high charisma ain't all charm. I mean, a T-rex has a 9 in charisma, and we all know that isn't going towards persuasion, so I would argue that a Death Knight's social interaction is primarily to intimidate and order other "lesser" beings around. After all, it's unlikely a Death Knight is working with anything living, but if for some reason it is, or if it conquers a village or town, then it's attitude is always cruel and domineering. It has no sympathy for life, especially not for other paladins or clerics. It has no concept of mercy or sparing of the weak, it actually beats them down and cruelly disposes of all those it sees as weak. A Death Knight can't really be threatened, charmed, bullied, or even reasoned with. After all, what do the living have to offer it? Instead, it is the primary influencer in social situations, a trait which really only serves to command them to submit to it. It's high Charisma gives it this sense of immense power, the ability to command and dominate, that really is complemented by it's terrifying look and melee capabilities to match. Of course, it's not without flaws. It's charisma may be high, but it's intelligence is barley above average, and certainly lower than the average party wizard. So it's not the smartest guy on the field, and the smarts it has I would say are devoted to combat strategy. So it's not necessarily unable to be tricked or at least slightly manipulated. However, any roleplay with a Death Knight mostly involves it lording itself over the pc's commanding them to surrender, or more likely promising a quick death. If there's any paladins, especially those of the same order or god as it formerly was, in the party, then the Death Knight doesn't mince words and attacks. They stand for the exact thing it came back to punish, and thus it doesn't care to speak, only to punish.

Death Knight Combat Tactics

On that note, let's take a look at the Death Knight in combat. As we've already discussed, this boss is well equipped with the brute physique, and has strong melee and ranged capabilities. It has strong defensive abilities, spellcasting, and the ability to marshal undead forces. A Death Knight is a strong frontline fighter, with a 20 AC and 180 hp that easily allow it to take a hit, or dodge one. It's equipped with magic resistance, granting it advantage on spell saving throws, which comes in handy when the cleric tries something on it. It has high Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws, also giving it an extreme advantage over spellcasters. It's completely immune to necrotic and poison damage, which spellcasters are unlikely to try against it anyway, but it's still useful going against a necromancer or an undead warlock. The Death Knight can parry as a reaction, on a round, adding 6 to it's AC, which is already a 20. Conclusion? The Death Knight ain't afraid of anyone. It's got nothing to fear from spellcasters, even clerics, because of magic resistance, added to it's high saving throws. It's unlikely a cleric will waste a turn using Turn Undead, but even if they do, it's highly like the Death Knight will succeed. Any average spellcaster will have trouble getting through all those effects, and then having to wear down it's high hp. It has nothing to fear from a frontline fighter due to it's AC, and it's parry ability. It's also adept at keeping frontline attackers from reaching it, through use of spells like Banishment, hold person, or staggering smite. Due to Marshal Undead, the Death Knight also grants advantage on turn undead saving throws to it's minions (again, unlikely to be used, but in case it comes up). A Death Knight in melee is nothing to sneeze at either. These strong defensive abilities allow it to charge into melee with it's longsword, which deals a healthy amount of necrotic damage. Added to that is it's spellcasting ability, as well as the extremely powerful Hellfire Bolt. Let's take a look at it's spells first, then move on and take a look at it's melee combat:

-At first level the Death Knight has Command, Compelled Duel, and searing smite, with 4 slots total. Command is a control spell, with some minor inhibiting affects, and searing smite is a damage booster cast on a weapon. Compelled duel is extremely situational.

-At 2nd Level we have Hold Person, and Magic Weapon, with three slots. Magic weapon is a bonus action that adds to the attack bonus, and hold person paralyzes a target on a failed Wisdom save (pretty high at a Death Knight's 18)

-At 3rd Level we have Dispel Magic, and Elemental Weapon. Elemental Weapon is situational and I'll break down fully how it fits into action economy. The Death Knight has three third level slots.

-At 4th level it also has 3 slots, with which to cast Banishment, or Staggering Smite. Banishment is a solid spell to remove an enemy temporarily from combat, and Staggering Smite is a damage booster with some additional affects.

-At 5th level the Death Knight has two slots with which to cast Destructive Wave, a powerful damage dealing option that pushes creatures back on a failed save.

Let's take a look at those spells. There are a few that strike me as throwaways at first glance, mainly elemental weapon and compelled duel. By "throwaways" I mean very little to zero use in combat, comparatively. Elemental Weapon requires an action, it concentration, and give such a miniscule damage buff that it's hardly worth considering. If you need a spell like this stick with Magic Weapon, which is cast as a bonus action (keep in mind that magic weapon is also concentration). The Death Knight is going to need concentration for other spells like banishment or hold person. The second is compelled duel. Not I bad spell I suppose but it's so specifically situational that it can really only be used when the target the Death Knight wants to kill doesn't want to fight it for some reason (even then, the Death Knight just attacks, starting combat anyway). Onto the rest of the list, the Death Knight has access to Staggering Smite and Searing Smite. Searing smite isn't the best in the paladin's repetoire, and if the Death Knight is going to hold concentration to cast one, it might as well be Staggering Smite. Staggering Smite adds 4d6 psychic damage to it's longsword attack which already deals plentiful necrotic and slashing damage, and forces a Wisdom save on the target, which on a fail imposes disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. Solid damage, solid effect, solid spell. Hold Person at 2nd level is a worthy spell, but saving one of those 4th level spell slots (of which it has 3) for it is even better. This upcast allows it to target three creatures, and while one creature can feasibly make a Wisdom save, even with luck, it's unlikely that 3 will. Casting it at 5th level with up to four is even better. Magic Weapon is situational, and unless your party has resistance to non-magical damage, it's unlikely you'll need it. Plus, the Death Knight has a +11 attack bonus anyway. It's unlikely a +1 will significantly aid it. Comparatively, magic weapon isn't worth upcasting. At 3rd level Dispel Magic can be useful in combat, but is situational. It is most useful to end an adverse affect on the Death Knight that affects it significantly in combat, or a spell on a player that grants resistance or immunity to necrotic or fire damage (as in Hellfire Bolt). Elemental Weapon, as I've already discussed, is a waste of an action. At 4th level the Death Knight has Staggering Smite, which I've already discussed, and Banishment, a powerful spell that requires a Charisma save. That's important as, unless the player is a warlock or bard, Charisma is likely dumped. Most paladins will also have high charisma, but the Death Knight wouldn't target them with this anyway. Banishment is also concentration, so it can't be held at the same time as Hold Person. Thus, Banishment comes in to play later in combat, after Hold Person has dropped or remained ineffective. If the Death Knight is casting Banishment, it sacrifices it's action that would normally be reserved for a multiattack. However, banishment is still worth it to remove any inconvenience from play, especially a Wizard or Barbarian with low charisma. Banishment is even better when upcast at level 5, allowing the Death Knight to target two creatures instead of one. Keep in mind that it has 3 4th level slots, and two 5th level ones. So it can upcast both banishment and hold person, but if it chooses to upcast hold person at 5th level, it obviously cannot also upcast banishment at 5th level. Why? Because it reserves a slot for... Destructive Wave! A 5th level spell that deals 5d6 thunder damage, 5d6 necrotic damage, and knocks a target prone on a failed save. This spell is obviously worth saving the slot for, and also targets each creature within 30 feet of the Death Knight. All right, now that we know the spells, let's take a look at how it all fits together, along with the Knight's other attacks.

In a combat scenario, the Death Knight is a frontliner. It's not afraid of damage, even radiant, and charges forward into melee as soon as possible. Most of it's spells don't benefit particularly from range, in fact, most assume a melee attack style, with the Smites and Destructive Wave. It's minions join behind it, although their strategies may vary depending on the type. A Death Knight's M.O. in combat is most likely to target one of the players, or the whole party, if not, it has another goal or target, and the party is an inconvenience. For this rundown, I'll assume it has personal beef with the party. The Death Knight opens with an upcast Hold Person, targeting 3 or 4 players depending on whether or not it is cast at 5th level. Keep in mind casting at 4th level leaves open a double banishment casting for later, but coming out strong with hold person is also advisable. After this turn (using parry as a reaction in between to counter anything particularly dangerous, like a magic weapon with radiant damage), it comes out with it's triple multiattack, targeting the object of it's hatred. This is a strong multiattack, with an average of 82 damage on a hit per attack. And with a +11 bonus, the chances of hitting are pretty good. Any attack against a  creature paralyzed by Hold Person is a critical hit! This means the damage is doubled on that attack, for an even more brutal multiattack. If you want to stack even more hate on, add in a Staggering Smite for good measure. Those hits will safely take care of the barbarian for a turn or two (if a player is already paralyzed by Hold Person, the Death Knight doesn't bother with a smite unless trying to finish the creature off). If for some reason Hold Person doesn't work, or the multiattacks just aren't hitting as well as they should, the Death Knight might relent and cast Dispel Magic to end any effects inhibiting it, using Destructive Wave to push some of the melee fighters back and deal some more damage. This gives it some room to choose another target, but keep in mind Destructive Wave largely relies on the Death Knight being in melee or at least close to several creatures, as the radius is 30 feet centered on self. However it should be in melee already. If it's at a range, and the party is really annoying it, then the Death Knight expends it's use of Hellfire Bolt, trying to catch 3 or more creatures in the blast. If specific players are annoying it with ranged spells or traps, like a wizard or druid, then the Death Knight doubles up Banishment, and sends them to Daryl's Demiplane of Dereliction for a time out. It doesn't cast banishment on a paladin, who is likely to succeed on Charisma, and is probably the Death Knight's target anyway. On interim rounds, if all it's effects are playing out well, the Death Knight continues using it's longsword multiattack until it or the players are destroyed. A Death Knight doesn't fear death, as it's only really an inconvenience. It'll be reborn even more angry anyway. It rarely ever retreats, and in fact I can't even think of a scenario where it would do this. If the players are not it's target, it sweeps through them, attacking and using it's other action to stop them, but doesn't waste time there. It maintains concentration on destroying whoever it's hate is directed at currently. With minions, it really doesn't fight that differently, as it doesn't care for their lives. Minions are certainly useful, especially as distractions and meat shields in combat, but the Death Knight won't lose any sleep over catching a few underlings in Destructive Wave.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this article a lot, I hope you like it and add it to your DM's toolkit in your next session. I hope you enjoy this series, and let me know if you have any suggestions for monsters you'd like me to break down, or comments or questions about past articles. Feel free to share your own feedback as well, and enjoy ;)

This is a really helpful series, and makes a good read in general. Thanks and keep them coming. 

Quote from imalius >>

This is a really helpful series, and makes a good read in general. Thanks and keep them coming. 

 appreciate it. Some are more difficult than others but I enjoy the writing all the same. Anything you'd like to see in upcoming articles? anything you've had trouble running in the past or are thinking about running in the future? I always enjoy hearing how others DM's think about his, and their approach to different creatures.

I'm about to run Icewind Dale, so anything you fancy from there would be interesting

Quote from imalius >>

I'm about to run Icewind Dale, so anything you fancy from there would be interesting

 don't own it but I'll take a look for sure!

As a player in Icewind I have run into winter wolves a lot. 

Quote from imalius >>

I'm about to run Icewind Dale, so anything you fancy from there would be interesting

 Maybe an article about horror, specifically alien horror and cold related monster? I can do a few stats in particular, and recommend some encounters as well?

Regrettably the next article will be late due to work and time. Apologies, but know the icewind dale tips will be coming, as well as a special spotlight on mimics and oozes

Quote from Gh0styy >>

Regrettably the next article will be late due to work and time. Apologies, but know the icewind dale tips will be coming, as well as a special spotlight on mimics and oozes

 Mimics and oozes are fun!

Quote from Dragonslayer9 >>

Quote from Gh0styy >>

Regrettably the next article will be late due to work and time. Apologies, but know the icewind dale tips will be coming, as well as a special spotlight on mimics and oozes

 Mimics and oozes are fun!

 I know! It can sound weird to include them together, but they actually have a good few similarities in play style.

Quote from Gh0styy >>

Quote from Dragonslayer9 >>

Quote from Gh0styy >>

Regrettably the next article will be late due to work and time. Apologies, but know the icewind dale tips will be coming, as well as a special spotlight on mimics and oozes

 Mimics and oozes are fun!

 I know! It can sound weird to include them together, but they actually have a good few similarities in play style.

 I would imagine. They are both stealthy, slow moving ambush predators, and the mimic's canon true form is ooze-like.

How to Run Mimics and Oozes like Stealthy Ambush Predators

Everyone has an iconic experience or story with a mimic or an ooze. Whether it's the classic chest or trinket suddenly biting at the player's hand, or the slow moving mass of jelly on the dungeon floor ingesting bones, these two creatures are iconic for any D&D fan. Many fantasy fans and first edition players are familiar with the ooze category in some way, jellylike creatures that burn with acid and lurch across dungeon walls. Likewise, mimics are iconic for their ability to shapeshift into small objects or items and then lash out at unsuspecting players. And while both these creature types are remembered more as staples from the dungeon crawl area, there is still plenty of entertainment and value to be had from these dungeon dwellers. To start off, I'll give a description and run down of both of these creatures, and we'll then move on to tactics.

Why Mimics and Oozes?

Anyone who's read this series for a bit knows that most of the monsters I've covered have been intelligent to some extent, even bosses in their own right. This isn't merely a preference, but makes the process of writing tactics for a monster easier and more fluid. The process begins with the question, "what motivates this monster to do what it does?" We are provided with a stat block and flavor text in the Monster Manual, where my goal is to bridge the two and provide analysis of how to run monsters. You can normally answer the question by asking some other questions, such as "how was this created", "how does it live", or even "is it alive in the first place". The backstory and creation of a creature (as provided in said flavor text) usually give the details you need to flesh out these questions. As Dr Doofenshmirtz stressed, backstory is key to any villains development. In contrast to all that work, why choose mimics and oozes, creatures with a 5 and 1 in Intelligence respectively, in an article series on monster tactics and roleplay? Well, as I mentioned before, many remember these creatures from the "dungeon crawl" years, a time when Dungeons and Dragons involved more actual dungeons. In these places, creatures like mimics, oozes, rust monsters, and skeletons were the DM's best friend, creepy crawlers who had an iconic feel and a sense of belonging in a dark, dingy catacomb. In the days of D&D now, especially in the Critical Role world, roleplay and clever villains with complex motives and even more complex plots and subplots have largely taken over the dungeon crawl stereotype. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, as it shows D&D's audience is changing, and as such, the game has changed. However, your players need to beat up a few thugs before they can overthrow the Lord Baron's cousin's evil plot to poison the Duke and save the kingdom. Before anyone is a master of the world, they were first a humble street thief with something to prove. So, like with anything, be it sports, a job, or school, I find it useful, necessary even, to take it back to basics now and then. Despite the age of roleplay and complex villainy, there is still plenty to do with mimics and oozes to make them interesting in a D&D campaign.

A Squishy Foe Indeed

Oozes, gelatinous cubes especially, are creatures that even your non-D&D-playing friends might recognize. Even the Pixar movie Onward (along with some other very D&D-like sentiment) features a gelatinous cube type creature. Oozes in lore are somewhat ambiguous, as even the Monster Manual states that it may or may not be Jubilex who 'sired' them. However, it's pretty obvious that the demon lord has a connection to oozes as he is the only one capable of controlling and guiding these animalistic creatures. Outside of magical experimentation or control by the demon lord, oozes are straightforward creatures, driven by one urge: hunger. Oozes are drawn to warmth and movement, and feed on organic material with their slimy forms. While some oozes, such as the Black Pudding and the Gray Ooze corrode nonmagical weapons and armor, creatures like the gelatinous cube engulf these materials, corroding organics but leaving coins and bones behind. This makes oozes interesting not only as enemies but as obstacles, albeit ones with shiny and potentially lucrative insides. Oozes aren't motivated by greed or by hatred along with their hunger, only instinct. They're pretty much slightly sentient vacuum cleaners. This makes them unique in their hunting and eating tactics. Similar to the Undead Nature feature possessed by undead creatures, oozes don't require sleep. However, they do need to eat, as that is not specified in ooze nature, and is their driving motivation. So if your characters encouter an ooze, it is always hungry, and always searching for food. Theoretically, and ooze can live forever, provided it has food, although something not often specified is what happens to a starving ooze? In most scenarios, it's unlikely that an ooze wouldn't have organic material around it, even in a dungeon. A rotting corpse, a bit of moss here and there, anything is really food for the ooze. An ooze can most likely go for quiet a while without food, being a slow ambush predator, so I would argue it takes a lot of time and significant isolation to starve an ooze. An ooze that's hunting has found a spot it's comfortable in, and with good vantage and maneuverability (all oozes have a climbing speed, and two have spider climb). All oozes (with the exception of the gelatinous cube) can also squeeze through a space as small as an inch wide with their amorphous trait, which means that, despite their general lack of speed, they have an escape route pretty much anywhere. Despite the fact that oozes are described as having no sense of self preservation, I would say that whenever significant damage has been dealt to them, they flee, their desire to feed again overcoming their impulse to fight now. You can interpret this however, that's just my two cents. Now let's look at the different types of oozes:

- [monster}Gray Ooze[/monster]s are the lowest on the ooze totem pole, and the smallest, with low hit points and AC, and a speed of only 10 feet. They are resistant to acid, cold and fire damage, and also possess the corrode metal and false appearance trait, which no other oozes have. It's digestive enzymes apparently break down organic and non-organic materials, such as metal weapons and armor  It is literally described as "stone turned to liquid by chaos". Interpret that how you will, but I interpret it as some magical event or calamity of powerful chaos magic shapes the area around it, literally changing the phases of matter, and gray ooze are a by-product of such phenomenon.

- Ochre Jelly are yellowish-gold slimies, with the spider climb trait allowing them to climb walls and ceilings, added to the amorphous trait, as well as the ability to split shared with the Black Pudding. Ochre jelly are resistant to acid damage, and immune to lightning and slashing, which seems strange at first. However, these two types trigger the split ability, which allow it to half into two smaller jellies, at size medium or larger (1 large jelly=2 medium jellies=4 small jellies). Their hp is a slight buff from the Gray Ooze, and they have just slightly more intelligence. The Monster Manual says this addition gives them enough instinct to avoid large groups of enemies.

- The Black Pudding is like a combination of the gray ooze and ochre jelly, possessing immunity to lightning, cold, acid, and slashing damage, and the Ochre Jelly's split trait and spider climb, as well as it's size. It also gets the gray ooze's corrosive features, with the ability to digest organic material, as well as weapons and armor. The Black Pudding is size large, and has 85 hit points, and a powerful melee attack. It's physically the most dominant of the four in the monster manual, despite it's AC being one point lower due to it's Dex score.

- The Gelatinous Cube is a staple of the ooze kind, a moving mass of jelly that engulfs those unaware of it's squishy presence. Although it has the lowest armor class due to it's size and depressingly low dexterity, the gelatinous cube is strong in other ways. It's size, for one thing. Not only is the cube large, but it occupies the entire space (10 ft by 10ft!), so it's pretty difficult to get around, added to it's strong engulf ability, which deals some hefty acid damage. It also has the unique transparent feature, which seems a little odd at first, but is actually quite useful with the rest of the portfolio. In my campaign, the only thing I would add is immunity to acid damage, which the gelatinous cube lacks for some reason.

With that in mind, let's look at some ways oozes can be made more interesting in general, as well as some more specific tactics for each one:

Oozes are squishy, in both senses of the word. Not only are they masses of jelly, but they also are general marked by extremely low AC, although it's usually matched by high hit points. However, their attacks also leave something to be desired. Even the black pudding, whose pseudopod attack deals 18 acid damage added to the 6 bludgeoning damage, is still only one attack. So the oozes are slow, vulnerable, and not incredibly powerful. What to do? Well, it's all about creativity and the battlefield. There are some monsters that require little planning, that can be dropped in anywhere and still be a fun encounter. You don't have to tailor the encounter too much to make it enjoyable, and the players can still have fun. However, oozes are situational! You can't just drop a gelatinous cube in the middle of town square like a bandit attack or a runaway horse cart. Oozes require a playing field that's not always level. Two things to keep in mind: Take advantage of the ooze's special abilities, and the opportunity to disguise them. On that first note, all oozes have blindsight, out to 60 feet, and are blind beyond that. This makes me think that they 'favor' (as much as unintelligent creatures can) a certain area or territory. It can be small and simple as a certain doorway in a dark dungeon, where the ooze can reach down and drip it's acidic tentacles on unsuspecting passersby, or a crate made of a certain material in an abandoned store house. Either way, oozes are ambush predators (thank you @Dragonslayer9 for the title), and rely on the darkness and the shock of the moment to work that to their advantage. Oozes don't take penalties from being in dark (blindsight) but are attracted to light and movement, and will thus know when the party enters it's general area. Many oozes are suited to disguise in different ways. The gray ooze has a built false appearance feature where it just looks like a wet rock, or, based on the illustration, something like mortar between stone. Especially in the darkness, this feature could be quite potent. Imagine a swarm of these, or a larger one, seeping out from between the bricks in a cramped corridor and lurching out at the players from all sides! Spooky. Likewise, the gelatinous cube has a trick up it's pseudopod where it appears transparent and requires a perception check to notice. This one has always made me a little skeptical seeing as how all illustrations seem to depict these as green or blue, but it's up to your ruling. After all, I like the idea of the party coming around the corner, and taking a minute to realize that this seemingly invisible wall is moving towards them! The gelatinous cube really is best suited to a dungeon crawl, because, well, it's a cube. But I've also seen it used to resemble a pool of water, with treasure at the bottom, which makes more sense to me with the transparent feature. Magical weapons and trinkets appear to be at the bottom of the pool, when in reality, the pool itself is a death trap. 10 acid at the start, plus an additional 21 per round! Not bad. The black pudding and the ochre jelly are both size large, but equally flexible. Dead in Thay features a huge black pudding resembling a lake, which the party can go out on, realizing too late that the dark waters are more treacherous than they seem. They both share the spider climb and split ability, allowing them to attack from ceilings, a good ambush technique, and also the frightening split ability, making you face multiple foes at once. The black pudding and gray ooze also share the corrosive features, with the black ooze's corrosive form being a rendition on the gray ooze's corrode metal ability, with an added acid damage penalty. These are juicy abilities, which should not be overused, but in my opinion are more underused if anything. These subject the armor or weapons to a permanent, cumulative -1 bonus (to nonmagical items of course), and destroys them if they reach a certain point. Pretty nasty, and financially scary too. Plate armor is expensive, and having to deal with that major annoyance from these low level creatures can be super annoying in a dungeon crawl with no close smithies. On that note, don't think of oozes as bosses, or even really encounters, so much as traps or obstacles. Something to be overcome, or worked around. Gelatinous cubes are obvious examples of this, big scary cubes taking up the hallway, but the players may never actually have to attack it. The ooze may be a prod pushing them to escape down the other hallway filled with spike pits and other traps. In this case, the ooze's slow movement builds tension, and allows the players time to think up a solution. The Split ability, combined with spider climb, makes for an interesting scenario when the party has to fight two foes at once. And on the ceiling and floor at that! And whats more, whose to say different oozes can't team up? With their already frightening abilities, just imagine these oozes together, with a gelatinous cube sliding ominously down the hall as gray oozes seep from cracks in the walls. especially scary when you consider corrode and the acid damage from engulf. If you like modifying your monster to give them an edge, check out Out of the Abyss, which features ooze variations aplenty, including the lord of oozes himself, Jubilex. Also see Mordenkainens tome for information on [Tooltip Not Found]s for an interesting ooze twist. Intelligent oozes are fun creatures not only to roleplay, but also to adapt tactics to.

In conclusion, have fun with oozes. Don't just rely on the statblock, but use your skills as a DM to shape the battlefield and the encounter to your needs. After all, There's no telling which cracks an ooze might seep out of...

Spotlight on Mimics coming soon

Cool article! There’s a really fun encounter in the fireball island themed dnd adventure where there appears to be a treasure chest sitting in the middle of a shiny room. It’s actually a mimic inside of a gelatinous cube.

 Also, I ran a nothic the other day and players really liked it- your tips were useful! 

Appreciate it! Glad these tips are being used in your games. Don't worry, haven't forgot about you guys, more articles are coming. It's been an extremely busy two weeks but the mimic spotlight and more is coming.