5e Artisanal Database → Quick 5e Monster Stats

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Monster Features

Give any custom monster impactful features and attacks that make sense for their place in the game. When a monster feature deals damage, choose a damage type appropriate to the creature's physiology, theme, or story. A creature channeling magical power might deal acid, cold, fire, lightning, force, poison, psychic, necrotic, radiant, or thunder damage. A creature making use of spines, spikes, or projectiles might deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage.

Damaging Blast. This creature has one or more single-target ranged attacks using the attack bonus and damage calculated above, and which deal damage of an appropriate type.

Damage Reflection. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of this creature hits them with a melee attack, the attacker takes damage in return of a type appropriate to the creature. The damage dealt is equal to half the damage of one of this creature's attacks. If you give a creature this feature, give them one less attack than normal.

Misty Step. As a bonus action, this creature can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space they can see.

Knockdown. When this creature hits a target with a melee attack, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Restraining Grab. When this creature hits a target with a melee attack, the target is grappled (escape DC based on this creature's Strength or Dexterity modifier). While grappled, the target is restrained.

Damaging Burst. As an action, this creature can create a burst of energy, magic, spines, or some other effect in a 10-foot-radius sphere, either around themself or at a point within 120 feet. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom saving throw (your choice, based on the type of burst). On a failure, a target takes damage of an appropriate type equal to half this creature's total damage per round. On a success, a target takes half as much damage.

Cunning Action. On each of their turns, this creature can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Damaging Aura. Each creature who starts their turn within 10 feet of this creature takes damage of a type appropriate to the creature. The damage dealt is equal to half the damage of one of this creature's attacks. If you give a creature this feature, give them one less attack than normal.

Energy Weapons. The creature's weapon attacks deal extra damage of an appropriate type. You can add this damage on top of the creature's regular damage output to give them a combat boost, or you can replace some of the creature's normal weapon damage with this energy damage.

Damage Transference. When this creature takes damage, they can transfer half or all of that damage (your choice) to a willing creature within 30 or 60 feet of them. This feature is particularly good for boss monsters.

Conditions

Creatures may inflict conditions on attacks. Here's a list of potential conditions. Be careful to ensure such conditions don't take away too much agency from the characters or their players. Aim towards fun.

Blinded

• A blinded creature can't see and it automatically fails ability checks that require sight.
• Attack rolls against a blinded creature are made with advantage, and the creature's attack rolls are made with disadvantage.

Charmed

• A charmed creature can't take any hostile action against the charmer.
• Ability checks the charmer makes to socially interact with the charmed creature have advantage.

Confused

• A confused creature can't take reactions.
• On its turn a confused creature rolls a d8 to determine what it does.
  • On a 1 to 4, a confused creature does nothing.
  • On a 5 or 6, a confused creature takes no action or bonus action and uses all its movement to move in a randomly determined direction.
  • On a 7 or 8, a confused creature makes a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach or does nothing if it can't make such an attack.

Doomed

• A doomed creature dies at a time determined by the GM, or within 13 (2d12) hours.
• A doomed creature continues to be doomed even after it dies. Magic equivalent to a 7th-level or higher spell can remove the doomed condition (such as regenerate cast on a living creature, resurrection, true resurrection, or wish).

Frightened

• A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while it is able to see the source of its fear.
• A frightened creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear.

Grappled

• A grappled creature's Speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to movement speeds.
• If the grappler becomes incapacitated the condition ends.
• If an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect the condition ends.

Incapacitated

• An incapacitated creature can't take actions, bonus actions, or reactions.

Paralyzed

• A paralyzed creature is incapacitated and can't move or speak.
• A paralyzed creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• Attack rolls against a paralyzed creature have advantage.
• Any attack that hits a paralyzed creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.

Petrified

• A petrified creature (and all of its mundane possessions) is transformed into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone).
• A petrified creature's weight is increased by a factor of ten and it ceases aging.
• A petrified creature is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• A petrified creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• A petrified creature has resistance to all damage.
• A petrified creature is immune to poison and disease (time spent petrified does not affect the duration of a poison or disease already in its system).

Poisoned

• A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Prone

• A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl (every 1 foot of movement while crawling costs 1 extra foot) until it stands up.
• Standing up requires half a creature's movement.
• A prone creature makes melee attack rolls with disadvantage.
• An attack roll against a prone creature is made with advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet. Otherwise, the attack roll is made with disadvantage.

Rattled

• A rattled creature cannot take reactions.
• A creature that is immune to being stunned is immune to being rattled.

Restrained

• A restrained creature's Speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to speed.
• Attack rolls against a restrained creature are made with advantage.
• A restrained creature makes attack rolls with disadvantage.
• The restrained creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

Slowed

• A slowed creature's Speed is halved.
• A slowed creature takes a −2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
• A slowed creature cannot take reactions.
• On its turn, a slowed creature can take either an action or a bonus action, not both. In addition, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn.

Stunned

• A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move, and can speak only falteringly.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.

Unconscious

• An unconscious creature is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• An unconscious creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone.
• An unconscious creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• Attack rolls against an unconscious creature are made with advantage.
• Any attack that hits an unconscious creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.

Tracked Conditions

Various challenges, obstacles, and magics can lead to either fatigue or strife. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of fatigue or strife (detailed in the effect's description).

If a creature suffering from fatigue or strife fails to resist another effect that causes a level of the tracked condition, its current level increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.

A creature suffers the effect of its current level in a tracked condition as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 3 fatigue has its Speed halved, it cannot Sprint, and it makes Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks with disadvantage.

An effect that removes a tracked condition reduces its level as specified in the effect's description, with all tracked condition effects ending when a creature's condition level is reduced below 1.

Finishing a long rest reduces a creature's fatigue and strife levels by 1.

Fatigue

Fatigue represents exhaustion, exposure, hunger, injuries, and other physical factors which gradually wear a creature down. A creature which reaches the 7th level of the fatigue track becomes doomed and dies.

Fatigue Level Effects

1. Cannot dash.
2. Disadvantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks.
3. Speed halved.
4. Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws using Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
5. Hit Dice halved.
6. Speed reduced to 5 ft.
7. Doomed.

Strife

Strife represents corruption, despair, fear, loss of resolve, and other mental factors which gradually undo a creature's very soul. A creature which reaches the 7th level of the strife track suffers a special, permanent effect, which is either randomly selected or decided by the GM. This might involve the creature shutting down completely, or being impacted in such a way that it is forever changed.

Strife Level Effects

1. Disadvantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks.
2. Disadvantage on concentration checks.
3. Can only take a bonus action or action each turn (not both).
4. Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws using Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
5. Suffer the effects of a randomly determined short-term mental stress effect.
6. Cannot cast spells (but can cast cantrips).
7. Suffer the effects of a randomly determined long-term mental stress effect.

This work includes material taken from the Lazy GM's 5e Monster Builder Resource Document written by Teos Abadía of Alphastream.org, Scott Fitzgerald Gray of Insaneangel.com, and Michael E. Shea of SlyFlourish.com, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This work includes material taken from the A5E System Reference Document (A5ESRD) by EN Publishing and available at A5ESRD.com, based on Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition, available at www.levelup5e.com. The A5ESRD is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.