Blackscale and Poison Dusk Lizardfolk

 The D&D 3.5 Monster Manual III saw the coming of the Blackscale Lizardfolk and the Poison Dusk Lizardfolk. One of them is big and smashy, the other is small and sneaky. I gather that they're both relatively prominent in the Eberron setting, which I don't know a lot about. I will say, though, that from what I have seen & heard, Eberron is pretty awesome. It seems I missed a few awesome things when I took a little hiatus from playing D&D.

Note: both pictures below are from the Monster Manual III.

Lizardfolk, Blackscale

Large humanoid (lizardfolk), neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 59 (7d10+21)

Speed 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

19 (+4) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 7 (-2)   12 (+1) 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +2, Survival +5

Damage Resistances acid

Senses passive Perception 13

Languages Draconic

Challenge 3

Hold Breath. The blackscale lizardfolk can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

Actions

Multiattack. The blackscale lizardfolk makes two attacks, each one with a different weapon.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage.

Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) piercing damage.

Like the common lizardfolk, blackscale lizardfolk are primitive reptilian humanoids that lurk in the world’s swamps and jungles. Their lairs are typically very similar to the common lizardfolk’s lairs: hut villages in grottos, marshy ruins, and watery caverns.

Blackscale lizardfolk are usually around 9 feet tall, with black scales. A leathery crest runs from the top of its head to about mid-back, and its deep-socketed eyes and flat nasal openings give its face an appearance similar to a skull.

These creatures are every bit as territorial and xenophobic as their smaller kin. They tend to be more straightforward combatants, finding tricks and traps tools for lesser lizardfolk. Blackscale lizardfolk are overly concerned with showing their battle prowess, and will fight as an unruly mob if left to their own devices. It takes a strong hand to get them organized for any length of time.

Lizardfolk, Poison Dusk

Small humanoid (lizardfolk), neutral

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 13 (3d6+3)

Speed 25 ft., swim 25 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

12 (+1) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)   12 (+1) 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6, Survival +5

Senses passive Perception 13

Languages Draconic

Challenge 1/2

Chameleon Skin. The poison dusk lizardfolk have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

Hold Breath. The poison dusk lizardfolk can hold its breath for 15 minutes.

Poison Use. The poison dusk lizardfolk frequently makes use of poison, and it is considered proficient with the Poisoner’s Kit.

Actions

Multiattack. The poison dusk lizardfolk makes two attacks, each one with a different weapon.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, half as much on a successful one.

Net. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 5/15 ft., one target. Hit: Special: target creature of Large size or smaller is restrained until it is freed. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check, freeing itself on a success. Dealing 5 points of slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.

Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) slashing damage.

The poison dusk lizardfolk, standing between 3 & 4 feet tall, are considerably smaller than their other lizardfolk kin, but they are no less dangerous when provoked. A poison dusk lizardfolk’s scales can shift in color, which happens frequently to reflect the lizardfolk’s mood. They are also able to use their ability to change color to give them an advantage when hunting or in battle. Its eyes are larger than other species, and its crest flattens or extends based on mood.

Poison dusk lizardfolk are much more cunning than their larger kin, preferring to strike at their foes through trickery rather than direct combat. They make frequent use of traps and poison, and favor ambushes. One of their favorite tactics is to entangle foes with nets, then have archers strike with poison arrows.

What has come before.

I'm a complete amateur at this blogging thing. It's been fun, though I noticed I've put up enough posts at this point that finding anything is proving difficult. So I thought I'd list my posts here by category.

PC Races:

The Grippli

The Treeling

Critter Stats:

Bonjo Tombo

Indominus Rex

Aspis Drone

The Rest of the Aspis Nest

Yuki-onna, the Snow Woman

Ilsidahur, the Howling King

The Ghour

The Wendigo

Nordom & the Gear Spirit

Fall-from-Grace

The Sa'ir

The Eyeball, the tiniest beholderkin

The Yeth Hound

The Hodag

The Rakasta

The Norker

St Kargoth the Betrayer, King of the Death Knights

The Firbolg

Some Smaller Elementals

The Caterwaul

The Ukobach

The Cooshee, the Elven Dog

The Nightgaunt

The Ghasts of the Vaults of Zin

The Firenewt

The Keythong

The Ahool

My Sorry Excuse For An Attempt At A Class:

The Theurge

The Fey Sorcerer Bloodline

Bonjo Tombo, the Demon Ape

Hopefully Frog God Games won't mind, but a took a creature from their book, Dead Man's Chest, and converted it to 5e. Bonjo Tombo, the Demon Ape, trapped on the island he rules and a terrible threat to anyone who visits it.

Dead Man's Chest is a pdf they sell for $11.99, and comes in both the 3.5 & Pathfinder versions. It's a neat little book with a bunch of interesting maritime things in it. It also has a few adventures, including one with Bonjo Tombo.

Bonjo Tombo

Huge fiend, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)

Hit Points 207 (18d12+90)

Speed 50 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

27 (+8) 13 (+1) 20 (+5) 8 (-1)   10 (+0) 12 (+1)

Saving Throws Str +13, Con +10, Wis +5

Skills Athletics +13, Perception +5, Stealth +6

Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15

Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

Magic Resistance. Bonjo Tombo has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Water Vulnerability. Immersing Bonjo Tombo in running water or ocean water causes him to shrink one size category per minute until he reached Tiny size. Every size category he shrinks reduces his strength by -4 and reduces his weapon damage by 1d4. It takes Bonjo Tombo one month per size category to return to his normal size. Rain does not have this effect. Bonjo Tombo will not cross rivers or enter water under any circumstances.

Actions

Multiattack. Bonjo Tombo makes one attack with his bite and two with his fists.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d6+8) piercing damage.

Fists. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (3d10+8) bludgeoning damage.

Roar (1/day). Bonjo Tombo unleashes a horrific roar. Each creature within 60 feet of it that can hear it and that isn’t a demon must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of Bonjo Tombo’s next turn.

Legendary Actions

Bonjo Tombo can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Bonjo Tombo regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

Attack. Bonjo Tombo makes one fist attack.

Charge. Bonjo Tombo moves up to his speed.

Fling (Costs 2 Actions). Bonjo Tombo grapples a creature that is size Large or smaller if he succeeds at a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Bonjo Tombo then releases the creature he is grappling by flinging it up to 100 feet away from him, in a direction of his choice. If the creature comes into contact with a solid surface, such as a wall or floor, the creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was flung.

Bonjo Tombo, the Demon Ape, is a thoroughly evil monster that is as ferocious as he is dumb. Reputed to be the offspring of Demogorgon and a demon-tainted giant ape, Bonjo Tombo rules his jungle island with savagery and malice.

Bonjo Tombo looks like a massive ape with a frightening visage, possessing two pairs of glaring yellow eyes, one atop the other, and a pair of wicked tusks that jut out from his lower jaw. His filthy gray hide covers a massively muscled frame, which has long arms and short legs that end in apish feet. Despite his size, he is surprisingly stealthy as he stalks his island home. Bonjo Tombo fears running water, refusing to cross it under any circumstances.

Bonjo Tombo begins any violent engagement with his mighty roar, then immediately rushes his enemies to crush them with his mighty fists. He will also grab opponents and fling them into trees and other pieces of landscape, sometimes even throwing the hapless creature into its companions.

A ramble on the nature of the D&D multiverse.

I'm going to warn you now, this really is a long-winded, rambling bit of nonsense regarding D&D cosmology, creation myth, and all of that silliness. Read at your own risk.

The kind folks at Wizards put in a few different cosmological models for every DM to choose from with this most recent edition. We have the classic Great Wheel (my personal favorite), the tree one (that I'm not that familiar with), and the Astral Sea and Primal Chaos (which I guess was introduced in 4e?). I've recently spent a little too much time reading the various articles and what have you about the nature of the D&D multiverse and it made my eyes cross.

Now, the easy way to handle it is to say "Screw it. Oerth exists and Toril is someone's fever dream." Or vice versa. There are no other worlds, etc, etc. I grew up reading DC Comics, so as a result I can't do that. The thing is, the different "In the beginning" stories for each setting don't really mesh all that well together at times. We have Tharizdun trying to destroy everything in Oerth's distant past, Primordials looking at the Prime Material Plane and yelling "Gimme!" over in the Abeir-Toril neighborhood, and who knows what else. I'm not that familiar with many of those apparently awesome settings that came out in the 90s and possibly later. I mean, warforged! How awesome are they?

Now, keep in mind, I'm just rambling here. This is how I've decided to reconcile all of this craziness so that if, for some insane reason, I want people from the Forgotten Realms to visit the World of Greyhawk or vice versa, it all make sense. To me, at least. And honestly, it probably won't ever even factor into the game, but damn it, DC Comics!

So this is my thought: in the beginning there were primordial gods who did stuff. Exactly what kind of stuff? Who knows for sure. These gods predate any and just about all of the current gods running around out there messing with mortal lives. And, for whatever reason, most if not possibly all of these primordial gods, who didn't require the worship of mortals because there weren't any, are dead. Or whatever passes for dead for a supposedly immortal being. Thus we have giant, petrified dead gods floating around the Astral Plane with Githyanki cities built on them. Tharizdun may have been one of these gods, as might have been Ao. Atropus was probably one of them, but now he's just (just!) a petrified undead head travelling around the multiverse stamping out mortal life wherever he (it?) finds it. If Asmodeus is, in fact, Ahriman, then he would be one too. But of course Asmodeus is a big, fat liar who spreads so many stories about his past, who can know for sure which version of his origin is true. Jazirian, the couatl deity, may also be part of that most ancient group of gods.

So, from nothing, or the Primal Chaos, or who really knows, the primordial gods appeared. They, in turn, began the shaping of all things, and from them came the oldest gods. It's arguable who these oldest gods may be, but this is a creation myth, so different names get tossed about depending on who is telling the story. They, in turn, gave rise to still other gods. And somewhere in all of this, the Prime Material Plane came into existence, and mortals started popping up like dandelions. So this is my thought: originally there was only one world. Somewhere along the way, something happened. Something truly cataclysmic. Maybe is was Tharizdun's attempt to destroy all of creation. Maybe it was the Primordials getting grabby. Whatever it was, it happened so long ago that only some of the most ancient beings in the planes know exactly what happened.

Anyway, this cosmic event caused the Prime Material Plane to splinter. What was once one was now many, and this is why so many different worlds resemble each other so much, with many having many of the same races. There are variations here and there, of course: Krynn doesn't have orcs and has kender instead of halflings, Eberron has the warforged, Athas has scary cannibal halflings, etc, etc. Separated, each world began developing in its own way. Btw, I'm not sure how I feel about this Crystal Sphere thing that Spelljammer has going on.

Now there are all these different worlds. Prime real estate for the molding. And wouldn't you know it, there are a gaggle of gods wanting to do just that. So there is a great, big cosmic landgrab and once those lucky gods and goddesses get in there, they start up their mythological PR machines, getting people to believe in their version of how it all started. Of course, some of those gods know more about those early days than others. Some of the youngsters probably don't really know that much more about it than the mortals do. And those who really know are either not talking, making up stories, or are dead and gone. The few remaining obyriths probably know the real deal. Ao, maybe Asmodeus, the oldest of the tanar'ri such as Demogorgon. Regardless, the truth of the matter is buried under so much conjecture, divine spin doctoring, and misinformation that very few know the real story. Then mortals start travelling the planes and sharing the stories of their own world with people from other places, and myths start getting combined and it all becomes a big mess that religious scholars and planar sages spend all their time debating. And of all the races populating the various worlds of the Prime Material Plane, only the aboleth really know what is going on, but they don't care to actually share this information with anyone else.

And just to mess everything up even further, along come the illithids, conquering world after world and threatening everything. And no one knows where they came from, not even the aboleth. Fortunately, events and their own arrogance conspired against these brain-sucking monsters and Gith and her followers destroyed the Mind Flayer empire and nearly exterminated the race. However, groups still exist here and there, which is why some worlds have them and some don't. And some worlds, like Golarion (that's right, I said it), once had mind flayers but were pretty much wiped out. However, some remnant still remains in the depths of Golarion's Darklands, the neothelids. Because as we all know, a neothelid comes from an illithid tadpole that didn't undergo ceremorphosis and wasn't eliminated by a colony's elder brain because it was dead. Sounds like the work of githyanki to me. And if the mind flayers are dead, and they either don't know about or care about the neothelids, then the githyanki have no reason to return to Golarion anytime soon.

And we all know that the Whispering Tyrant is a mystical echo of Vecna brought about by the Maimed God's attempt to recreate all of reality in his own image when he invaded Sigil. Right?

The rest of the Aspis nest.

Not long ago I posted a 5e conversion for the Aspis Drone. Below are the Aspis Larva and Aspis Cow, as well as 5e stats for giant ants, since they are a pretty big part of the Aspis nest. I'll admit that I'm actually a little shocked that the Monster Manual didn't include giant ant stats, since once upon a time, they were a somewhat commonly encountered monster.

From the original entry for the Aspis way back when in AD&D. I don't remember if this is supposed to be the Cow or the Larva, but since they look very much alike except for a significant size difference, I don't think it matters.

Aspis Larva

Small monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 10

Hit Points 7 (2d6)

Speed 15 ft., Swim 20 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

7 (-2)   10        10        3 (-4)   10        6 (-2)

Damage Resistances acid

Damage Immunities thunder

Senses tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage.

Aspis larvae resemble giant maggots or grubs, typically being white or off-white in color. Aspis larvae are deaf and blind, using their sense of smell and ability to perceive vibrations to sense potential food. Unlike drones, aspis larvae are soft-bodied and easily injured.

Aspis larvae have incredible appetites and spend all of their time eating. They are strictly kept in the nest’s grub hatcheries, where the drones dump food scraps and other waste into a pit that looks like a sewer. The larvae constantly swim and eat in these pits. The stench can be nauseating to a non-aspis visitor.

Aspis Cow

Huge monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 11 (natural armor)

Hit Points 76 (8d12+24)

Speed 10 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

18 (+4) 8 (-1)   16 (+3) 11 (+0) 14 (+2) 9 (-1)

Damage Immunities acid

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages Aspis

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Acidic Secretion. The aspis cow exudes a dangerous corrosive that coats its body and adheres to the walls and floor of its chamber. A creature that touches the aspis cow takes 4 (1d8) acid damage. A nonmagical weapon made of metal or wood that hits the aspis cow corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If this penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the aspis cow is destroyed after dealing damage.

The aspis cow can eat through 2-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round. Aspis drones and larvae are immune to the cow’s acidic secretion.

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6+4) piercing damage.

On rare occasions, an aspis larva is selected by the nest’s drones and separated from its siblings. It is fed a specific diet and nurtured in a very careful way, ultimately growing to a massive size and never maturing into an aspis drone. It instead matures into an aspis cow, looking very much like a huge larva. The aspis cow is slow and clumsy, but exudes a corrosive substance from its body and has a powerful bite.

Giant Ant Worker

Small beast, unaligned

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)

Hit Points 4 (1d6+1)

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

11 (+0) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 1 (-5)   7 (-2)   3 (-4)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8

Languages –

Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage, and the giant ant clings to the target. To remove the giant ant, the target may attempt a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target that the giant ant is clinging to. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) poison damage.

Many species of giant ant workers have modified ovipositors that they use as a stinger when defending their nest. Some species have developed much larger mandibles and have lost their stinger, their bite causing 1d6 piercing damage. Others have lost their stinger and have the ability to spray acid from an acidopore in their gaster. This attack has the following stats: Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (2d4) acid damage.

Giant Ant Warrior

Medium beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)

Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

14 (+2) 10 (+0) 13 (+1) 1 (-5)   8 (-1)   3 (-4)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9

Languages –

Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage, and the giant ant clings to the target. To remove the giant ant, the target may attempt a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target that the giant ant is clinging to. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage.

The giant ant warrior is really just a larger worker ant, being more dangerous than its smaller brethren due to its increased size and strength. Like the worker ant, some species have lost the ability to sting and have larger mandibles, causing 1d8 piercing damage with a bite. Some species have acidopores instead of stingers, with the following acid spray attack: Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) acid damage.

Giant Ant Queen

Large beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 22 (3d10+6)

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

16 (+3) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 1 (-5)   10 (+0) 3 (-4)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages –

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) piercing damage.

Giant ant queens lack the stinger of the worker and warrior ants. Before the queen ant mates for the first time, she has a pair of wings that give her a flying speed of 50 ft. She loses these wings once she has mated and established a nest.

Giant Ant Drone

Medium beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)

Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 50 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

14 (+2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 1 (-5)   7 (-2)   3 (-4)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8

Languages –

Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

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

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.

Giant ant drones are the males of the ant colony. They exist for one purpose; to mate with the queen and then die. Unlike the workers and warriors, they are equipped with a pair of wings. As males, they have no ovipositors, and thus lack the sting of the other ants of their nest.

Indominus Rex

I'm sure many of you have seen Jurassic World by now. No doubt some of you loved it and some of you hated it. Regardless, you have to admit the Indominus Rex makes one heck of a D&D monster.

So, spoilers for all five of you who haven't seen the movie and still care about what happens. The Indominus Rex is a hybrid dinosaur made from combining DNA from the T Rex with velociraptor, tree frog, cuttlefish, and, I don't know, the Rock and I think maybe the Predator. Anyway, it's a bad mofo; smarter and more maladjusted than other dinosaurs, with the ability to camouflage itself. It also temporarily takes over the supposedly trained velociraptor pack because it's essentially a giant velociraptor with an incredibly bad attitude. I suspect How It Should Have Ended got it right when it portrayed the conversation as: I Rex: "Hey, we should eat all the humans." Velociraptors: "You make a very compelling argument."

Here's the thought I had for how this monster could fit into a D&D game, assuming you don't have mad scientists combining a bunch of random DNA together in a lab for giggles. Demogorgon's layer of the Abyss is supposed to have a giant jungle just loaded with dinosaurs and other nasty things. The Indominus Rex could be something that just evolved there, since it is the Abyss. Or, Demogorgon could have made the critter for yucks, because he apparently likes doing that sort of thing. I would imagine that a jungle in the Abyss is a really tough place to live, so while the I Rex probably wouldn't really group together in a less deadly environment, I could see some coming together for mutual benefit in that toxic cesspool. They certainly are smart enough to figure that one out. Obviously, it working with the velociraptors in the movie is what originally suggested the pack tactics. If your party can't handle three or four of these things, though, what are they doing in the Abyss?

Just to be upfront about it, I blatantly stole most of the design from Shawn Ellsworth over at Tribality. They do a lot of good stuff over there, if you haven't checked them out yet. I borrowed a tiny bit from DM Paul Weber, then mixed things up to my liking and here is what I got.

Indominus Rex

Huge monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 147 (14d12+56)

Speed 60 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

25 (+7) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 7 (-2)   14 (+2) 10 (+0)

Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages –

Challenge 10

Ambusher. The indominus rex has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.

Chameleon. The indominus rex is able to change its color to blend in with the foliage around it. It has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide, and it may take the Hide action as a bonus action.

Keen Senses. The indominus rex has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.

Pack Tactics. The indominus rex has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if it has at least one of the indominus rex’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Actions

Multiattack. The indominus rex makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with either its claws or tail. It can’t make a bite attack and a tail attack against the same target.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 33 (4d12+7) piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 19). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the indominus rex can’t bite another target.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8+7) slashing damage.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8+7) bludgeoning damage.

On a lark, I converted the Aspis to D&D 5e

Well, I converted the drone, anyway. These guys first appeared way back in 1981 in module A1, Slave Pits of the Undercity. They've been around here and there since.

This picture is from Slave Pits of the Undercity.

Aspis Drone

Medium humanoid (aspis), neutral

Armor Class 18 (natural armor, shield)

Hit Points 33 (6d8+6)

Speed 30 ft.

Str        Dex      Con      Int        Wis      Cha

12 (+1) 12 (+1) 13 (+1) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 7 (-2)

Skills Perception +3, Survival +3

Damage Resistances acid, fire

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13

Languages Aspis

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

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

Actions

Multiattack. The aspis drone makes two attacks with its claws or two attacks with its weapons.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) slashing damage.

Dart. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4+1) piercing damage.

Handaxe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing damage.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage.

Aspis are a species of insect creatures that dwell in underground nests not very far below the surface. These nests are a complex series of tunnels connecting a number of chambers. Most people will only ever encounter aspis drones, as they handle all of the foraging and other duties necessary for the survival of the nest.

Aspis drones look like giant weevils, with tough, chitinous bodies that are typically grey or off-white in color. They have two multifaceted eyes, a pair of short, blunt antennae, and a long proboscis. They have six legs, each of which ends in claws capable of fine manipulation.

Insular Hive Mind

Aspis colonies tend to keep to themselves and rarely have much interest in interacting with other species. During lean times, aspis drones may raid nearby communities.

An aspis drone lacks any sort of individuality; no names, no personality to speak of. They live to serve the aspis cow that dwells at the center of their tunnel network. A drone rarely takes action without first being instructed by the cow.

Defenders of the Nest

Aspis drones are tasked with defending the nest from all threats. When they enter combat, they rear up onto their hind-most legs and use their other four limbs for fighting. An aspis drone will usually use a pair of handaxes or shortswords, and they also commonly use a shield. Their bodies are not suitable for using a bow, but they will use darts for ranged combat.

An aspis drone defending its nest is fearless and will fight to the death without hesitation. Despite the drone’s usual lack of initiative, it will fight intelligently. If it is forced to withdraw, it will attempt to stymie pursuit by setting simple traps. Aspis nests always have traps protecting the most important areas, such as the central chamber or the larvae chambers.

The Nose Knows

Aspis do not have a verbal language. They communicate entirely through body language and scents. Most humanoids are incapable of detecting the subtle variations in the scents used in aspis conversation. Rarely, an aspis drone might learn a very rough form of another species’ language.

Aspis are able to influence other sorts of insects with their scents. They most commonly use giant ants are guardians for their nests. An aspis nest will usually have a handful of giant ants present, though on occasion they will have a full giant ant nest mixing its tunnels with that of the aspis nest.