guarding cunning life

Gem Stalker

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

Underdark, hunting Aberrations, and guarding its creator’s lair. A gem stalker is imbued with life, sapience, and purpose by the mystical energy of the gem dragon’s breath, and it is dedicated to

that amount.When a gem dragon kills an aberrant creature from the Far Realm, the dragon sometimes reshapes the alien corpse into a gem stalker—a cunning predator capable of traversing the

Warforged Soldier

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

steel, then magically imbued with life and sentience. The warforged were created to fight in the Last War, and in the aftermath of that conflict, they struggle to understand their place in the world. Most

warforged soldiers still serve their former masters, often guarding dragonmarked houses or merchant caravans. Many warforged find it difficult to separate themselves from the soldiers they were made

Yagnoloth

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

makes one Massive Arm attack and uses Battlefield Cunning, if available, or Teleport. Electrified Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +8;{"diceNotation":"1d20+8", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction

’s next turn. Battlefield Cunning (Recharge 4–6);{"diceNotation":"1d6", "rollType":"recharge", "rollAction":"Battlefield Cunning"}. Up to two allied yugoloths within 60 feet of the yagnoloth that

Narth Tezrin

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

Cunning Action. On each of his turns, Narth can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4;{"diceNotation":"1d20+4","rollType":"to hit

ran off and never returned. Ideal: “The bigger the risk, the greater the reward.” Bond: “I adore my colleague Alaestra, and I’d like to do something to impress her.” Flaw: “I’ll risk life and limb to become a legend.”

Medusa (Theran variant)

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

target.Medusas (often called gorgons on Theros) are closely associated with Pharika, the god of poison and medicine. Pharika has charged her favored servants with guarding secrets of life, health, and

Gremishka

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

gave them life as they infest the walls of spellcasters’ homes or the surrounding lands. Despite their feral appearances, gremishkas are cunning creatures. They might imitate the sounds of

the gremishka’s initiative.Gremishkas are the vicious products of mistakes made by novice spellcasters seeking to create life. The results are cat-sized, magically unstable creatures with

Swarm of Gremishkas

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

by novice spellcasters seeking to create life. The results are cat-sized, magically unstable creatures with a taste for the trappings of magic—particularly spellbooks, spell components

, familiars, and the like. Gremishkas delight in tormenting magic-users, holding vicious grudges against those who gave them life as they infest the walls of spellcasters’ homes or the surrounding lands

Phantom Warrior

Monsters Curse of Strahd

master or because it believes it must perform a task to satisfy its honor or sense of duty. For example, a guard who dies defending a wall might return as a phantom warrior and continue guarding the

. A phantom warrior retains the alignment and personality it had before it died, and it remembers how it died. Memories of its life from shortly before it died are hazy, and older memories are

Pudding King

Monsters Out of the Abyss

Stone Camouflage. The Pudding King has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in rocky terrain. Gnome Cunning. The Pudding King has advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma

with spell attacks). The Pudding King knows the following sorcerer spells: Cantrips (at will): acid splash, light, mage hand, poison spray, prestidigitation 1st level (4 slots): false life, mage armor

Catoblepas

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

of carrion, and wallowing in mire. A catoblepas might be found with the one mate it chooses for life and, on occasion, with a calf. A catoblepas attacks anyone that moves too close, especially if

guarding its young. A catoblepas’s stink, like the stench of death mixed with swamp gas and skunk musk, gives it away as being much more ghastly than its appearance suggests. When it is on the

Girallon

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

environments abundant with life. They share apes’ adeptness at climbing, although few trees can support the weight of these half-ton creatures. The ruins of cities, especially those found in deep

. A girallon that’s captured when young and carefully trained could end up in a seemingly unlikely place, such as guarding the entrance to a city’s thieves’ guild. Those who would

Greater Death Dragon

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

of their former selves, albeit twisted by their state of being. These greater death dragons scheme to achieve their ends, all the while amassing and jealously guarding treasure hoards as they did in

life. In battle, they are deadly foes, channeling the Cataclysmic fire that limns their bones and fuels their breath. They take cruel delight in snatching foes in their jaws, rushing into the air, then

Master Thief

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

;retire” from hands-on work to run a thieves’ guild, spearhead some covert enterprise, or enjoy a quiet life of luxury. When a master thief completes a challenging heist, they often leave

each other, resembling a tent 9 Worthless coin with a bite mark in it 10 Chalk or charcoal sketch of a domino mask Cunning Action. The thief takes the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Breath Drinker

Monsters The Book of Many Things

causing the creatures to devour themselves. Cunning stalkers, breath drinkers are usually solitary. Occasionally they serve powerful Far Realm entities or Elder Evils, consuming life and souls for their

reduces the target’s Charisma to 0, the target dies. Until the breath drinker dies, the dead target can’t be returned to life by any means short of divine intervention. On a successful save

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

Gray Render

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

its master.A curious impulse drives the gray render. Despite its hulking form and terrible appetite, it wants most of all to bond with an intelligent creature and, once bonded, to give its life to

protect that creature. Great strength and a ferocious nature make gray renders fierce guardians, but they lack a shred of cunning. Gray renders reproduce by forming nodules on their bodies that, on

Boss Augustus

Monsters The Book of Many Things

were slain by monster hunters when he was young, and he traveled from town to town for most of his life, fleeing whenever townsfolk discovered his true nature. Delour and Pyrite accepted Augustus in a

way he’d never experienced before. When the three of them created the Moonstalkers guild, Augustus relished his new life of crime. But over time, his passion has faded. The riches they gathered

Exethanter

Monsters Curse of Strahd

. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the Exethanter’s gaze for the next 24 hours. Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead

creature within 20 feet of Exethanter must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6);{"diceNotation":"6d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Disrupt Life

Black Viper

Monsters Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Cunning Action. On each of her turns, the Black Viper can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action. Evasion. If the Black Viper is subjected to an effect that allows her to make

who died a century ago, after a long and nefarious career. Esvele Rosznar, a brash young noble, has recently adopted the Black Viper's persona to lead a secret life of crime. Like many other nobles

Hoard Mimic

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

true form if it dies.Kin to the common mimic described in the Monster Manual, hoard mimics are among the oldest and most cunning of their kind. A hoard mimic’s massive, amorphous form and shape

dragon’s lair to draw unwitting intruders away from the real riches—and into the mimic’s maw. If faced with unexpectedly fierce opposition, though, a hoard mimic might offer information about the true hoard in exchange for its life.

Arcturia

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

the lich's gaze for the next 24 hours. Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 20 feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6

);{"diceNotation":"6d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Disrupt Life","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.A Lich’s Lair A

Emerald Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

spellcasting ability (spell save DC 12): At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible), minor illusionEmerald dragons are the most curious, cunning, and manipulative of the gem dragons, wielding

least get close without arousing suspicion. Once in a position to observe, the dragon studies the day-to-day life of local folk, with a keen interest in any magical phenomena. Emerald dragons&rsquo

Baphomet Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

. Although filled with bestial bloodlust, there lies within a cruel and cunning intellect devoted to subverting all of civilization. Baphomet wields a great glaive called Heartcleaver. He sometimes

more of the following effects: Plant life within 1 mile of the lair grows thick and forms walls of trees, hedges, and other flora in the form of small mazes. Beasts within 1 mile of the lair

Baphomet

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

minotaur with six iron horns. A fiendish light burns in his red eyes. Although he is filled with bestial blood lust, there lies within him a cruel and cunning intellect devoted to subverting all

. Hedge Mazes. Plant life within 1 mile of the lair grows thick and forms walls of trees, hedges, and other flora in the form of small mazes. Panicked Beasts. Beasts within 1 mile of the lair become

Strahd, Master of Death House

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Strahd regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn. Cunning Escape. Strahd moves up to

. Little happens there without the Darklord’s knowledge, although Strahd rarely pays attention to what he considers the uninteresting dealings of lesser beings. History In life, Strahd von

Ancient Amethyst Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

able to awaken psionic potential in others, and many of the greatest psi warriors in history were the dragon’s students. 4 After centuries guarding the world against incursions from the Far

, requiring no spell components and targeting any body of water in that region. If the dragon dies, the populations of aquatic life near the lair return to normal levels over the course of 1d10

Young Emerald Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

hand is invisible), minor illusion 1/day each: detect thoughts, invisibility, silent imageEmerald dragons are the most curious, cunning, and manipulative of the gem dragons, wielding psionic power to

, or at least get close without arousing suspicion. Once in a position to observe, the dragon studies the day-to-day life of local folk, with a keen interest in any magical phenomena. Emerald dragons

Adult Emerald Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

":"damage", "rollAction":"Emerald Embers", "rollDamageType":"fire"} fire damage.Emerald dragons are the most curious, cunning, and manipulative of the gem dragons, wielding psionic power to weave illusions to

close without arousing suspicion. Once in a position to observe, the dragon studies the day-to-day life of local folk, with a keen interest in any magical phenomena. Emerald dragons&rsquo

Ancient Emerald Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

":"Emerald Embers", "rollDamageType":"fire"} fire damage.Emerald dragons are the most curious, cunning, and manipulative of the gem dragons, wielding psionic power to weave illusions to deceive and

arousing suspicion. Once in a position to observe, the dragon studies the day-to-day life of local folk, with a keen interest in any magical phenomena. Emerald dragons’ attentiveness to unusual

Yagnoloth Legacy

Monsters Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become stunned until the end of the yagnoloth's next turn. Life Leech. The yagnoloth touches one incapacitated creature

within 15 feet of it. The target takes 36 (7d8 + 4);{"diceNotation":"7d8+4","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Life Leech","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage, and the yagnoloth gains temporary hit

Lich Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

gaze for the next 24 hours. Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 20 feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6

);{"diceNotation":"6d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Disrupt Life","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.A Lich’s Lair A lich often

Yuan-ti Malison (Type 3) Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

emotions are foreign to most yuan-ti, which understand sentiment only as an exploitable weakness. A yuan-ti views the world and the events of its own life with such extreme pragmatism that it is nearly

are cunning and ruthless tacticians who readily sacrifice lesser yuan-ti if potential victory justifies such losses. They have no sense of honorable combat and strike first in decisive ambush if they

Valindra Shadowmantle Legacy

monsters Tomb of Annihilation

successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to Valindra's gaze for the next 24 hours. Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 20 feet of Valindra must make a DC

18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6);{"diceNotation":"6d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Disrupt Life","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage on a failed save, or

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

securely for at least ten days. How did you come by that money? What allowed you to break free of your desperate circumstances and embark on a better life? Skill Proficiencies: Sleight of

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

elements, and endured sickness without the advantage of medicine or a place to recuperate. You’ve survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some combination of each

circumstances and embark on a better life? Skill Proficiencies: Sleight of Hand, StealthTool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, thieves’ toolsEquipment: A small knife, a map of the city you grew up

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