both before death cunning ritual

Dracolich

Monsters Monster Manual

it turns to dust if reduced to 0 Hit Points. If the gem is destroyed, the dracolich can create a new one by completing an 8-hour ritual using a gem worth 1,000+ GP and by expending 5,000 GP, which the

ritual consumes.Multiattack. The dracolich makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting to cast Ray of Sickness (level 2 version). Rend. Melee Attack Roll: +13

Dracolich (Gargantuan)

Monsters Monster Manual

it turns to dust if reduced to 0 Hit Points. If the gem is destroyed, the dracolich can create a new one by completing an 8-hour ritual using a gem worth 1,000+ GP and by expending 5,000 GP, which the

ritual consumes.Multiattack. The dracolich makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting to cast Ray of Sickness (level 2 version). Rend. Melee Attack Roll: +13

Dead Three Scion

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Multiattack. The scion makes two attacks, using Death Touch or Mindwrack Bolt in any combination. Death Touch. Melee Attack Roll: +12

;{"diceNotation":"1d20+12", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction":"Death Touch"}, reach 5 ft. Hit: 25 (4d8 + 7);{"diceNotation":"4d8+7", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Death Touch", "rollDamageType

Shadowmoor Expert

Backgrounds Lorwyn: First Light

, chaotic place perpetually lit by pale moonlight. You might survive Shadowmoor’s merciless conditions thanks to your wit and cunning, or you might keep threats at bay with your brawn and bravery

. Regardless of where you tread, you keenly understand that friendship is a rare commodity. You believe that knowing who to trust and who to keep at arm’s length isn’t just practical— it’s often a matter of life or death.

Darkling Elder

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Death Burn. When the darkling elder dies, magical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area

must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 7 (2d6);{"diceNotation":"2d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Death Burn","rollDamageType":"radiant"} radiant damage

Tempest Spirit

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

hit point maximum is reduced to 0.A storm giant can escape death through a mystical ritual that transforms the giant into a semiconscious storm. However, if the giant performs the ritual in a place

. Death Bolt (Recharge 5–6);{"diceNotation":"1d6", "rollType":"recharge", "rollAction":"Death Bolt"}. The spirit hurls a magical lightning bolt in a 120-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in

Darkling Elder Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

Death Burn. When the darkling elder dies, magical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area

must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 7 (2d6);{"diceNotation":"2d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Death Burn","rollDamageType":"radiant"} radiant damage and

Murgaxor

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

commands, take their turns on initiative count 15 (losing initiative ties), and fight until destroyed. Regional Effects Murgaxor’s ritual wreaks havoc on the equilibrium of life and death

ritual ends or is interrupted: Clinging to Life. Death saving throws are made with advantage. Grievous Wounds. Any creature that scores a critical hit rolls one additional damage die to determine

Stone Cursed

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Cunning Opportunist. The stone cursed has advantage on the attack rolls of opportunity attack;opportunity attacks. False Appearance. If the stone cursed is motionless at the start of combat, it has

repeat the saving throw. The effect ends if the second save is successful; otherwise the target is petrified for 24 hours.Stone cursed are spawned through a foul alchemical ritual performed on a Humanoid

Relentless Impaler

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

Bloodheart Stake. The impaler is magically bound to the ceremonial stake and the sacrificed corpse the ritual caster used to create it. If the impaler is reduced to 0 hit points, it disappears, then

", "rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage.In the Domains of Dread, practitioners of foul magic perform a profane ritual that turns living creatures into fiendish killers. This ritual necessitates the use of a

Darkling Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

Death Flash. When the darkling dies, nonmagical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area

qualify to undergo a ritual to become an elder. Other elders mark the supplicant with glowing tattoos, channeling some of the darkling's absorbed light away from its body. If the ritual succeeds, the

Witherbloom Apprentice

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

Regeneration. The apprentice regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. Verdant Talisman. At the end of a 10-minute ritual, the apprentice can touch one willing

","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Verdant Talisman"} to its initiative rolls while it wears the talisman. These benefits last for 1 hour or until the apprentice conducts another ritual to bestow another

Witherbloom Pledgemage

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

Regeneration. As long as the pledgemage has at least 1 hit point remaining, the pledgemage regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. Verdant Talisman. At the end of a 10-minute ritual, the

another ritual to bestow another talisman. When the benefits expire, the talisman crumbles to dust.Briar Vine. Melee Spell Attack: +5;{"diceNotation":"1d20+5","rollType":"to hit","rollAction":"Briar Vine

Slithering Tracker

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

the same time, a slithering tracker flows into places where a normal creature can’t go and brings its own brand of watery death down on its quarry. The ritual for creating a slithering tracker

half.The quest for revenge sometimes leads those terribly aggrieved to undergo a ritual whereby they transform into bodies of semiliquid sentience known as slithering trackers. Innocuous and insidious at

False Lich

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

effects.Multiattack. The false lich makes two Death Rend attacks and uses Bloodcurdling Lament if available. Death Rend. Melee Spell Attack: +14;{"diceNotation":"1d20+14", "rollType":"to hit

", "rollAction":"Death Rend"} to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d10 + 7);{"diceNotation":"3d10+7", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Death Rend", "rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage

Bodak

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

a successful one.A bodak is the undying remains of someone who revered Orcus. Devoid of life and soul, it exists only to cause death. A worshiper of Orcus can take ritual vows while carving the demon

Death Gaze. When a creature that can see the bodak’s eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of the bodak, the bodak can force it to make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw if the bodak isn’t

Dracophage Subject

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Death Throes. When the draconian is reduced to 0 hit points, it dissolves into acid that splashes on those around it. Each creature within 5 feet of the draconian must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity

saving throw or be covered in acid for 1 minute. A creature covered in the acid takes 7 (2d6);{"diceNotation":"2d6", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Death Throes", "rollDamageType":"acid"} acid

Kapak Draconian

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Death Throes. When the draconian is reduced to 0 hit points, it dissolves into acid that splashes on those around it. Each creature within 5 feet of the draconian must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity

saving throw or be covered in acid for 1 minute. A creature covered in the acid takes 7 (2d6);{"diceNotation":"2d6", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Death Throes", "rollDamageType":"acid"} acid

Night Blade

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

cause terrible pain and bleeding. Killers from the Shadows. Bhaal’s followers are cunning murderers who kill to strike fear and thrive on sowing terror in the cities they inhabit. They can call

rank are the death’s heads, who can take on the skull-faced guise of their deity to terrify their prey. In combat, they intimidate foes by shrugging off the deadliest attacks with ease, showing that resisting Bhaal’s schemes is futile.

Uthgardt Shaman

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

require some sort of blood sacrifice, and their effects are usually transformative. For example, some Black Raven shamans know a ritual that allows them to hatch giant ravens from normal raven eggs, and

some shamans of the Griffon tribe can transform themselves into griffons by performing a ritual that requires them to drink copious amounts of horse blood. UTHGARDT SHAMAN TRIBAL SPELLS Depending

Alhoon

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

pursue arcane magic are exiled as deviants, and for them no everlasting communion with an elder brain is possible. The road to lichdom offers an alternative way to escape the permanency of death, but

minds are never accepted as part of the collective. For them, death means oblivion. Lichdom offers salvation and the prospect of being able to pursue knowledge indefinitely. Yet learning the secret of

Rot Troll

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

trolls, and venom troll;venom trolls that follow are especially likely to arise when trolls regenerate in the presence of magical emanations, planar energy, disease, or death on a vast scale, or if

their bodies were damaged by elemental forces. These unusual forms can also be produced and shaped by the ritual magic of evil spellcasters or by trolls’ own practices, as is the case for dire

Nagpa

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, fly, hold person, suggestion, wall of fire 1/day each: dominate person, etherealness, feeblemindLong ago, the Raven Queen cursed a cabal of powerful wizards for meddling in a ritual that would have

to please and thereby escape further attention from her cold gaze. All the original thirteen remain alive, thanks to their cunning and their willingness to do whatever is necessary to survive

Sivak Draconian

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Death Throes. When the draconian is reduced to 0 hit points by a creature that is Large or smaller, the draconian crumbles into dust that then forms a spectral, shrieking image of the creature that

. Sivaks can magically change their features to mimic the appearance of those they’ve slain. This allows these cunning soldiers to sow confusion and despair among their enemies. When sivaks are

Underworld Cerberus

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

deep in the Underworld. Terrifying and cunning, they guard portals between the wards of the Underworld, Erebos’s greatest treasures, and noteworthy souls who might attempt to escape the realm of

life and death. Most cerberi have a boundless hunger for fresh meat, especially the flesh of humanoids. Villains have been known to exploit that hunger by luring cerberi away from the river and setting them loose on mortal settlements.Fire, Necrotic

Eye and Hand of Vecna Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

power, Vecna couldn’t escape his own mortality. He began to fear death and take steps to prevent his end from ever coming about. Orcus, the demon prince of undeath, taught Vecna a ritual that

would allow him to live on as a lich. Beyond death, he became the greatest of all liches. Even though his body gradually withered and decayed, Vecna continued to expand his evil dominion. So formidable

Blue Abishai

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, wall of forceSeekers of forgotten lore and lost relics, blue abishais are the most cunning and learned of their kind. Their research into occult subjects gleaned from tomes plundered from across the

before death and, as a reward, found its soul transformed into a draconic devil to serve at her pleasure in the Nine Hells. Each type of abishai is associated with one of Tiamat’s five dragon

Strahd, Master of Death House

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, and can’t use his Change Shape bonus action.Multiattack. Strahd makes two Death Strike

attacks. He can replace one of these attacks with Blighted Fire if available. Death Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +9;{"diceNotation":"1d20+9", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction":"Death Strike"} to hit

Dire Troll

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

regenerate in the presence of magical emanations, planar energy, disease, or death on a vast scale, or if their bodies were damaged by elemental forces. These unusual forms can also be produced and

shaped by the ritual magic of evil spellcasters or by trolls’ own practices, as is the case for dire trolls. Vaprak the Destroyer Although trolls are rarely devout and seldom ponder spiritual

Venom Troll

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

;rot trolls, spirit troll;spirit trolls, and venom trolls that follow are especially likely to arise when trolls regenerate in the presence of magical emanations, planar energy, disease, or death on a

vast scale, or if their bodies were damaged by elemental forces. These unusual forms can also be produced and shaped by the ritual magic of evil spellcasters or by trolls’ own practices, as is the

Spirit Troll

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

trolls regenerate in the presence of magical emanations, planar energy, disease, or death on a vast scale, or if their bodies were damaged by elemental forces. These unusual forms can also be produced

and shaped by the ritual magic of evil spellcasters or by trolls’ own practices, as is the case for dire troll;dire trolls. Vaprak the Destroyer Although trolls are rarely devout and seldom

Gauth

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

must immediately make the save. Death Throes. When the gauth dies, the magical energy within it explodes, and each creature within 10 feet of it must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 13 (3d8

);{"diceNotation":"3d8","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Death Throes","rollDamageType":"force"} force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.Bite. Melee Weapon Attack

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

recuperate. You’ve survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some combination of each. You begin your adventuring career with enough money to live modestly but

. (Lawful) 3 Change. The low are lifted up, and the high and mighty are brought down. Change is the nature of things. (Chaotic) 4 Retribution. The rich need to be shown what life and death

Lich Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability 7th level (1 slot): finger of death, plane shift 8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun 9th level (1 slot): power word

. Everything about a lich’s lair reflects its keen mind and wicked cunning, including the magic and mundane traps that secure it. Undead, constructs, and bound demons lurk in shadowy recesses

Crab Folk

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

can't make attacks with that claw against other targets. The crab folk has two claws, each of which can grapple only one target.The crab folk are the result of a magical ritual used long ago by a mighty

, their lack of cunning foiled her plans. Many tumbled into the sea and drowned, too simpleminded and impatient to learn how to swim. Others smashed caravans and crushed their defenders most effectively

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