The Beastmaster Needs Accounting

A lot of people feel the 5e ranger class is a bit lacking. I think the Hunter archetype is fine, but I agree that there are issues with the Beastmaster.

Reddit user Leuku wrote up what I thought was a nice solution to solve the Beastmaster's issues.

Check it out: What the Beastmaster Needs is Accounting

The Firenewt

Way back when in 1981, the firenewt appeared in the 1st edition Fiend Folio. I read that the firenewt was created by Albie Fiore for White Dwarf Magazine but I am uncertain if that is true or not. It has since appeared in Monstrous Compendium of the Forgotten Realms in 1986 and in Monsters of Faerun in 2001.

I've decided to update these charming monsters for 5e, because can you really have too many man-eating horrors?

I don't know who did this picture. It's one of the official D&D pictures for the firenewts & giant striders.

Firenewt

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (chain mail)

Hit Points 22 (4d8+4)

Speed 30 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

13 (+1)             10 (+0)             13 (+1)             8 (-1)               13 (+1)             7 (-2)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Skills Perception +3, Survival +3

Senses passive Perception 13

Languages Draconic

Challenge ½

ACTIONS

Glaive. Melee weapon attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+1) slashing damage.

Longsword. Melee weapon attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+1) slashing damage or 7 (1d10+1) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Fire Breath (Recharge 6). The firenewt exhales fire on a single creature within 5 ft. The creature must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Elite Firenewt Warrior

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (chain mail)

Hit Points 32 (5d8+10)

Speed 30 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

15 (+2)             10 (+0)             14 (+2)             9 (-1)               13 (+1)             7 (-2)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Skills Perception +3, Survival +3

Senses passive Perception 13

Languages Draconic

Challenge 1

ACTIONS

Battleaxe. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) slashing damage or 7 (1d10+2) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Fire Breath (Recharge 6). The firenewt exhales fire on a single creature within 5 ft. The creature must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Firenewt Overlord

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (chain mail)

Hit Points 52 (8d8+16)

Speed 30 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

16 (+3)             11 (+0)             15 (+2)             9 (-1)               14 (+2)             9 (-1)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Skills Perception +4, Survival +4

Senses passive Perception 14

Languages Draconic

Challenge 2

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The firenewt overlord makes two battleaxe attacks.

Battleaxe. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+3) slashing damage or 7 (1d10+3) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Fire Breath (Recharge 6). The firenewt overlord exhales fire on a single creature within 5 ft. The creature must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Firenewt Priest

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (chain mail)

Hit Points 27 (5d8+5)

Speed 30 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

14 (+2)             10 (+0)             13 (+1)             10 (+0)             15 (+2)             8 (-1)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Skills Animal Handling +4, Perception +4, Survival +4

Senses passive Perception 14

Languages Draconic

Challenge 2

Spellcasting. The firenewt is a 5^th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). The firenewt has the following cleric spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): control flames, guidance, light, sacred flame

1^st level (4 slots): bane, cure wounds, shield of faith

2^nd level (3 slots): hold person, spiritual weapon

3^rd level (2 slots): bestow curse, dispel magic

ACTIONS

Glaive. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) slashing damage.

Longsword. Melee weapon attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) slashing damage or 7 (1d10+2) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Fire Breath (Recharge 6). The firenewt exhales fire on a single creature within 5 ft. The creature must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Giant Strider

Large monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)

Hit Points 32 (4d10+8)

Speed 40 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

17 (+3)             12 (+1)             15 (+2)             2 (-4)               10 (+0)             5 (-3)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Senses passive Perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 2

Healing from Fire. Every 3 rounds that the giant strider is exposed to intense heat, it is healed as if with a cure wounds spell cast at 1^st level. If it is hit by magical fire, the giant strider is healed as with a cure wounds spell cast at a level equal to the number of damage dice.

Magic Resistance. The giant strider has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

ACTIONS

Beak. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+3) slashing damage.

Kick. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target (behind the giant strider). Hit: 10 (1d12+3) slashing damage.

Fireball (Recharge 5-6). The giant strider emits a small fireball from ducts near its eyes with a 60 ft. range. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point chosen by the giant strider must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. Creatures take 7 (2d6) damage of a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Cruel marauders believed by many to be distantly related to lizardmen, firenewts live in hot and volcanic regions. They lair underground and when encountered outside their lairs, it is usually an expedition setting out to exterminate someone.

Firenewts stand 5 ½ to 6 feet in height, with smooth skin and deep crimson eyes. Their hides are a mottled sepia color, darkest along the spine and fading to near-white on the belly. While their teeth are quite sharp, they are too small to making biting an effective attack.

Cruel and Martial

Firenewts live in a harsh, martial society dominated by their priesthood. They consider all others to be either enemies or prey, including other tribes of firenewts. It is considered a great honor to destroy an enemy tribe’s hatching ground.

When they capture creatures that are not immune to flame, they delight in burning them to death. The agony of a creature burning alive causes firenewts a great deal of amusement.

Bitter Rivalries

Though firenewts are very organized when facing an outside foe, their tribes are rife with vicious infighting.  Petty jealousies abound, and competitiveness can be quite extreme. These conflicts usually take the form of attempts at sabotage or otherwise causing a rival’s downfall rather than direct violence. Murdering a fellow member of a tribe is considered a crime and carries a terrible price: the perpetrator is tortured for three days before being fed to his own giant strider mount.

Larger tribes will have a firenewt overlord, who is the strongest of the tribe’s warriors. He and his cadre of elite warriors lead the tribe in war. The priesthood controls the hatching ground, trains the giant striders and leads the tribe in the worship of whatever fire god they venerate. Struggles for control and dominance of the tribe can be rather frequent between the overlord and the priesthood. Though these battles of will can be quite bitter, they don’t usually result in open bloodshed.

 Masters of the Giant Striders

The firenewts have domesticated the giant striders, and use them as mounts. A firenewt expedition usually has two thirds of its number mounted, with the remaining one third marching on foot. Most giant striders encountered will be in the service of the firenewts; very few are wild and free roaming.

Giant striders are large, flightless birds adapted to living in hot, volcanic regions. They stand about 8 ft. tall, with mottled, leathery skin of dusky red. Their eyes glow a dull red and steam constantly billows from their noses and mouths. Giant striders are highly aggressive, and fear very little, making them excellent war mounts. They can deliver a vicious bite with their saw toothed beaks, or deliver a powerful kick with a clawed foot to someone standing behind them.

Fire Lizard (Young)

Large monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 85 (10d10+30)

Speed 30 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

19 (+4)             10 (+0)             16 (+3)             2 (-4)               10 (+0)             5 (-3)

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Immunities fire

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages –

 Challenge 3

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The fire lizard makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.

Bite. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+4) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee weapon attach: +6 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+4) slashing damage.

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6). The fire lizard can exhale fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Firenewt priests will typically have 1-3 young fire lizards guarding the tribe’s hatching ground.

Fire lizards, also called “false dragons”, have a strong resemblance to wingless red dragons. Their scaly hides are grey, with mottled red & brown along the back. Their eyes are yellow with black, slitted pupils.

Hatchlings leave to fend for themselves very shortly after hatching. Fire lizards are attracted to shiny objects, so the incidental treasure found in their subterranean lairs will typically be gems or objects made of metal.

Scholars do not believe that these reptiles are related to dragons, though this is far from certain. Dragons certainly don’t have any particular desire to spend time with these creatures.

The Ghasts of the Vaults of Zin

In HP Lovecraft's Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, the protagonist ends up in the Underworld of the Dreamlands. There, he encounters all sorts of monstrous things, ghasts being one of those things. Vicious, predatory, possibly the result genetic experimentation long ago, they are repulsive beings that fear the light of the sun.

I don't have a picture for this one. If you look online, you will see that a lot of different people have interpreted what the creature looks like in their own unique way.

Ghast

Large monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)

Hit Points 52 (8d8+16)

Speed 40 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

19 (+4)             12 (+1)             15 (+2)             7 (-2)               12 (+1)             6 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages Ghast

Challenge 2

Keen Smell. The ghast has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The ghast takes 10 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The ghast makes two attacks: once with its bite and once with its kick.

Bite. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage.

Kick. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) blunt damage.

Ghasts are large, semi-bipedal creatures that live deep underground. They fear the light of day, and will quickly sicken and die if exposed to the ray of the sun.

Ghasts hop on long legs that end with hoofed feet. Their eyes are yellowish red, and they their hides have been described as scabrous. Their faces are curiously human-like, even though they lack a nose or forehead. They speak their own debased language.

Pack Hunters

 Ghasts hunt in packs and will readily devour any meat they can find. They fear little, and will use their numbers to bring down larger and more powerful prey. If there are no other sources of meat available, they will resort to cannibalism without hesitation.

The Nightgaunt Flies Again

Halloween has sparked some inspiration in me. I was going to write up some alternate types of vampires, but then I was suddenly hit with the desire to write up the nightgaunt, a species of flying humanoid created by HP Lovecraft. They lived in the Dreamlands where they served the god Nodens and guarded the mountain known as Ngranek.

The nightgaunts appeared in the poem Night-Gaunts as well as in the novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, both by Lovecraft. Lovecraft apparently wrote once that when he was 6 or 7, he was tormented by a nightmare in which night-gaunts would snatch him up and carry him off.

Picture by Maichol Quinto.

Nightgaunt

Medium monstrosity, neutral evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 78 (12d8+24)

Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

Str                    Dex                  Con                  Int                    Wis                  Cha

19 (+4)             15 (+2)             15 (+2)             6 (-2)               14 (+2)             10 (+0)

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +6

Damage Resistances cold, psychic

Condition Immunities blinded, frightened, paralyzed

Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 14

Languages understands Deep Speak but can’t speak

Challenge 3

Camouflage. When in dim light or darkness, the nightgaunt has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Faceless. The nightgaunt doesn’t have a face, nor does it need to breathe. As a result, the nightgaunt is immune to gaze attacks as well as any attacks that require inhalation, such as Stench.

Magic Resistance. The nightgaunt has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Tickle. When the nightgaunt has successfully grappled a creature, as a bonus action it can tickle the creature with its barbed tail. Every round, a tickled creature must make a DC 14 Constitution save or be stunned for 1 round. The nightgaunt may continue to attempt to tickle the creature for as long as it is grappled. The nightgaunt may move its full speed when grappling a stunned creature.

Actions

Clawed Hands. Melee weapon attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the nightgaunt can’t use its clawed hands on another target.

The nightgaunt (or night-gaunt) is a strange and mysterious species of wholly unnatural origin. Thought by scholars to have been summoned from another plane long ago, their motivations are unknown. Nightgaunts are more or less humanoid in shape, very thin and with slick, black skin. They have a pair of clawed hands and a long barbed tail that they use to “tickle” victims into submission. Perhaps their most unsettling feature is their complete lack of a face, while a pair of inward-facing horns adorn their head. They fly using a pair of membranous wings, and are incredibly silent.

Oddly, they are extremely reluctant to fly over large bodies of water.

Night Time Predators

Nightgaunts only come out at night. They avoid exposure to the sun, though as far as can be determined, they aren’t harmed by its rays. When they spot prey, they silently swoop down upon it, grappling it and then using their barbed tails to “tickle” it into submission. This is by no means a pleasant experience; rather, it is a disorienting and humiliating experience that can leave prey helpless.

Once subdued, the nightgaunt carries its victim to someplace typically dangerous. If it needs to, it can drop the prey while in flight, but it prefers to set the victim down safely and leave it to the tender mercies of whatever creatures may be near-by. Some think that nightgaunts, having no mouths, feed on the psychic energy produced by their victim’s fear and anguish rather than the victim’s physical flesh. It has been observed that once it has set down a victim, a nightgaunt will frequently stay close so as to observe what happens next.

Silent Sentinels

Nightgaunts are frequently encountered guarding something. How one entices these creatures to stand guard is a secret known to only a few. If they aren’t guarding something on someone’s behalf, then they are guarding their own territory against invaders. They can be very territorial and will defend their domain aggressively, groups of the creatures flocking together to challenge invaders.