Innate Spellcasting. The couatl's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring only verbal components:
At will: detect evil and good, detect magic, detect thoughts
3/day each: bless, create food and water, cure wounds, lesser restoration, protection from poison, sanctuary, shield
1/day each: dream, greater restoration, scrying
Magic Weapons. The couatl's weapon attacks are magical.
Shielded Mind. The couatl is immune to scrying and to any effect that would sense its emotions, read its thoughts, or detect its location.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 24 hours. Until this poison ends, the target is unconscious. Another creature can use an action to shake the target awake.
Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one Medium or smaller creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the couatl can't constrict another target.
Change Shape. The couatl magically polymorphs into a humanoid or beast that has a challenge rating equal to or less than its own, or back into its true form. It reverts to its true form if it dies. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (the couatl's choice).
In a new form, the couatl retains its game statistics and ability to speak, but its AC, movement modes, Strength, Dexterity, and other actions are replaced by those of the new form, and it gains any statistics and capabilities (except class features, legendary actions, and lair actions) that the new form has but that it lacks. If the new form has a bite attack, the couatl can use its bite in that form.
Can I just say - how in the world is this CR 4? Its AC, HP, attack, and damage are all waaay too high for something of this level, by a pretty huge margin. It's even immune and resistant to damage! Am I missing some reason why this looks incredible OP?
Yeah, it’s cr 6 in my opinion because if u have 4 party members by the second round one could be restrained and one unconscious
maybe because its a good alignment? I might use it as an ally rather than an enemy, and have it swoop down and help the party if shit goes down.
It's CR should be up. I also imagine this creature as the guardian to the gates of heaven. It would be the opposite of the three headed dog guarding the passage to get to the underworld.
it is a CR 4 because they need CR 4 celestials for the Conjure celestial spell.
I doubt that players would have a mind so clouded as to fight it. But I see your point. It's stats strongly resemble that of a Dragon's.
I am slightly confused how a CR 4 - or 6, like some people in these comments are eyeballing - creature can be a patron of a Celestial Warlock who would become stronger than their own patron less than a quarter through a full campaign. Something doesn't quite add up here. Maybe this is a regular Couatl, and patron Couatls are much older and more powerful?
I'm writing this into a CR25 miniboss fight. The weakness I'm seeing that it has is that its poison has a pretty low save--I think that among my players, only one of them has more than a 50% chance of succumbing to it (and she, of course, isn't a close-range fighter). Unless it changes its shape (maybe an elephant? ettin?), none of its attacks are a particular concern for my players, though I think they'll probably have a hard time killing it because its defenses are pretty good. We'll see...
My guess is its CR 4 cause its damage output is close to other CR 4 creatures.Compare it to an Ettin or a Weretiger which are also CR 4.
I think comparing its stats to a dragon's is intensely misleading. Sure, AC is on par with an Adult Dragon, but HP is lower by half (or by 50 points with a Young Dragon), and damage output is nowhere near the same. So for a CR increase we mist be looking at Young Dragons.
Young Dragon attack bonus is +7 nearly across the board, and the Couatl is +8 to +6 - a similar average, but things hit or miss by 1 - and Constrict is the only attack that comes close to the lowest damage of a non-breath Adult Dragon attack. The only thing Couatls have going in the attack department is that their attacks are magical, and they can put you to sleep. Even then the DC is only 13! Looking at Young Dragon breath weapons, we see a DC of 14-17, with multiple possible targets per AOE strike - not to mention the recharge so they can do it all over again!
How about we compare the spells used by Couatls and Dragons. Couatl magic is tactically defensive, and is better used to prepare for battle, roleplay survival, or healing itself. Dragons in 5e have innate spellcasting as a variant only, but they can be molded to fit the individual with high damage options - usually 2 spells of up to 2nd level on average for Young Dragons, but they are DM tailored, the choice of which could change the Dragon's CR more or less depending on what is in play.
Now we get into ALL of the other things Adult Dragons can do. Breath Weapon, with a recharge. Legendary Resistance. Legendary Actions. Frightful Presence. No contest, but those aren't available to Young Dragons.
Young dragons are CR 6-8, and can back it up. Depending on the Dragon, they have multiple options for their AOE breath weapons, and let us not forget that those recharge. They have multiattack, allowing three strikes a round (bite+2 claw). They are all faster on land than a Couatl, though slower in the air, but many have burrow speeds, swim speeds, or both - some are even amphibious. With the exception of a 10' air discrepancy, Young Dragons have tactical advantage on mobility, attack capability, and damage output.
As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the defensive spellcasting and damage immunities of the Couatl, I would say they would be more on par with many Wyrmlings, which are CR 1-3 (The higher of which have more breath options, more mobility, and more HP than the lower of them). As for the damage immunities, what party ready for CR 4 has no one who can use a class ability to make damage magical, if not someone specifically having a magical weapon anyway?
Finally, Couatls roleplayed as the book intends are guardians created by benevolent LG deities, whereas Dragons run the spectrum of alignment and motivation. Sure, a Couatl can technically put the party to sleep, but a dragon that can do that might simply eat them in their slumber - not likely to happen with a benevolent celestial guardian built for defense.
Or, that’s why they are CR 4. Because every Couatl is giving out so much of their true power to celestial warlocks across the infinite multiverse that all they have left for themselves is what’s in the stat block.
*Starts Playing Cleric*
Ooh I can summon a celestial of 4 or lower. What can i get? *looks up CR 4 celestials* Oh just one? That kinda sucks. Well lemme look at it. *click* Holy Shit
Why does it have no lair actions?
doesnt have a lair
It's probably only CR 4 to keep the Polymorph balanced. If it was too high, it'd be able to transform into some even crazier stuff. I think if the DM uses it wisely, it's a decent CR.
Wait, ku-wottle? Really?
We just fought several of these in our last session. We're level 6 and it was very frustrating. Their AC is huge, so it took us over an hour to kill two of them. it went like this:
1. The player tries to hit the couatl.
2. The player misses due to the high AC.
3. The couatl paralyzes a player.
4. next player has to use their turn to wake up the downed player instead of doing damage.
5. repeat.
If you put them in, your party better be a pretty high level or it's just going to be a lot of swinging and missing. Most of our characters have +6 hit DC, so on average they are going to miss on 65% of their attacks.
Our DM definitely ignored the fact that they are lawful good. We were pretty much told that they were just generic snake monsters.
I'm pretty sure she wasn't tracking the resistances either. If she had, it probably would have taken even longer... or killed the whole party.
This is way after this post was made, sorry, but that's because patrons don't need to be powerful to be patrons. The pact basically allows the warlock to use the power of the plane the patron is from, not specifically the patron itself. It's really up to the story the DM wants to tell, but essentially, the patron is just a contractor, and could be as simple as an imp giving the warlock access to power in order to use them. Yeah, they can overpower them pretty quickly, and immediately lose access to their power, so...
In my opinion, creatures that are patrons to warlocks don't always have to be physically powerful or dangerous in a fight. Perhaps that's the reason the entity is mysterious and detached. For instance, I feel as though an Aboleth is a perfect monster for a Great Old One warlock, but Aboleth is only CR 10.
yup...as in Quetzalcoatl.... pronounciation: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Nci-Quetzalcoatl.oga
old Mesoamerican god that could change into a feathered winged serpent.