Five Deadly Mid-Level Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons 5e

[@BNRmatt]

As a new player, I find learning about the many things that can instantly kill you with an unlucky saving throw more than a little daunting.

[@DallasATrain7]

As a relatively new DM It encourages me to see you realizing the world is dangerous.

[@Dvorak879]

@@DallasATrain7 As a veteran DM I encourage you to look for ways to prove your world is dangerous without using save or suck mechanics. It'll make you better at running combat and your players will feel challenged instead of bored they went down on the first round of combat and are just waiting for the session to end so they can go home.

[@DallasATrain7]

@@Dvorak879 ssshhhhhh I know this but I don't need my players knowing I know this.

[@SingleStepGaming]

@@DallasATrain7 If you think the problem is your players not knowing that there are ways to challenge them without save or suck mechanics, then I daresay your players aren't the problem.

[@rworrick8037]

If you are a new player you should know enough to not view these videos. Know the world is dangerous and proceed accordingly.

[@naoxynsins]

3:23 - Bodak 7:23 - Catoblepas 9:53 - Maurezhi 12:56 - Mindflayer 15:53 - Spawn of Kyuss

[@Sophia-vk5bq]

Overconfident players?! I deserve to be overconfident, I can beat any goblin my DM decides to throw at me. Archer goblins, skinny goblins, hobgoblins, zombie goblins, goblin dogs, goblin cats, forum goblins, paladin of Ilmater goblins. I can beat anything!!!

[@vadaritis]

I dub thee GOBLIN SLAYER!

[@connork9745]

Just wait...Your Dm soon will throw all of them at you at once in a fight against a goblin horde

[@afoolishmortal5265]

You know that Your DM will now send the god of goblins your way right ?

[@Sophia-vk5bq]

@@afoolishmortal5265 which one? Send all four plus Lamashtu cuz I don't know the meaning of tpk, bruh!

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Hoard (20+) of goblin shadows incoming.

[@BeaglzRok1]

I was wondering what creature would feed on CHA. We have Shadows for STR, Intellect Devourers for INT, now I know of the Maurezhi for CHA. A trio of dumpstat abusers.

[@benjamincarney4107]

also check out Vargouille's...you're welcome

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

@@benjamincarney4107 Those are the stuff of nightmares

[@mgmassey174]

A succubi. Don't know if it's stated for it but it could work.

[@VulcanWolf]

A slightly altered/homebrewed hag perchance? That could be her preferred tax on favors.

[@hamzaalfredo7673]

I guess im randomly asking but does anyone know a trick to get back into an instagram account? I was dumb forgot my password. I would appreciate any tricks you can offer me!

[@wizardgradstudent]

Ok so what I’m gathering from this video is that Orcus really likes making the most horrific things.

[@DungeonDudes]

Oh yeah, he’s a big fan.

[@gamester512]

He's the Demon Lord of Undeath. What did you expect? :P Since when are undead *not* horrific (not counting something like a Vampire)?

[@talongreenlee7704]

He’s like Victor Frankenstein if he wasn’t a wimp who had a mental breakdown after his first creation came to life and had another panic attack halfway through making his second monster. He went all in and used his demented creativity to create so many awesome monsters. He even has an official artifact in the DMG that also expresses his twisted imagination

[@baxterbruce9827]

@@talongreenlee7704 What's the name of that item? I wanna look it up

[@freakyzoid3565]

@@baxterbruce9827 The Wand of Orcus

[@AllegoryGar]

Bodak Horseman is my favorite show

[@VulcanWolf]

Not gonna lie, that made me cringe slightly, followed by a bit of inspiration. Mind if I steal that?

[@AllegoryGar]

VulcanWolf2004 I would be honored and disgusted if you did, go for it

[@KS-PNW]

I'm a big fan of Cardi B's Bodak Yellow..

[@T3h_Marganus]

I will be running a Bodak in my campaign when my group hits level 4 or 5. Escorting geological survey teams underneath cities has its dangers!

[@TheExard3k]

With turn undead from cleric or devotion paladin, this is manageable. Without any divine help and radiant damage, that thing is scary af for a lvl 4-5 party. But you can bet those players won't ever ignore their bad CON saves ever again :) If the players know what they're dealing with, let the cleric make some holy water flasks for the party so everyone can participate.

[@quentinw8474]

I used a bodak with a couple ghouls, ghosts a will o wisps. a paladin tried to rush into the middle to turn undead, everything but the will o wisps saved, and the bodak was immune, said Paladin died and got chewed on in the coming turns.

[@ratman505]

The combat encounter I immediately came up with: A Maurezhi posing as an old man, with his disguise nearly broken, is surrounded in a cave by ghouls/ghasts. Because they look threatening to the old man, the party walzes in there, trying to save the poor guy. When they've slain the first of the 4-5 ghouls, it gets back up, as the old man stands up, his skin crumbling from his flesh, revealing the body of the horrible "undead". The party will be scared shitless

[@illoney5663]

Oooh, I love this idea.

[@ratman505]

@@illoney5663 feel free to steal it, we help each other here ;)

[@robertfreeman2554]

Soon as I heard the description I immediately thought of a similar idea. Just substitute old man with cultist

[@BramLastname]

This sounds perfect for a graveyard encounter

[@TJ-vp6cl]

Encounters like that are why im happy my goblin has a helpful 20 passive perception

[@jamesanderson8338]

I watched a random 5e druid video that popped up and let's just say that Im sticking completely to the Dungeon Dude's stuff.

[@revshad4226]

Who was it from because there are lots of great creators out there

[@jamesanderson8338]

@@revshad4226 Cant say I remember but he was complaining about the class alot and very loud lol

[@rolandkushm.d.710]

DD are the cream of the crop

[@troyvzwky]

Yeah, I agree. Since I've found their channel, it's been my go to. They have by far the best communication and production values of all the major DND channels.

[@knutdn]

And DD makes great content without crying that it's either OP or too weak, everything seems to have a spot in your vids, which is a great way to view it 🙂 Keep up the AWSOME work Dungeon Dudes!

[@robinthrush9672]

[@Spiceodog]

bodack horseman

[@isaacgraff8288]

Tiefling Warlock with both Darkness and Eyes of the Devil incantation

[@MoriShep]

Bodack's....why is it always Bodack's there aoe damage is terrifying and have killed many low lvl and higher players

[@archielamarr2950]

Yes I remember that character in D&D sword Wizards of the Coast thing he was a human Barbarian he was not a centaur or an half orc I'm talking about making a PC character that is a centaur half orc will it work

[@robinthrush9672]

@@archielamarr2950 Minsc from the Baldur's Gate series with his miniature giant space hamster, Boo.

[@minijoe24]

18:28 A warlock deciding to use eldritch blast eh? Who woulda thought!

[@gamester512]

"I use Eldritch Blast!" *DM:* "....You're a *Paladin* !" :P

[@kaiserium8551]

@@gamester512 well I'm also a Magic Initiate person, so Eldritch blast!

[@OrcBro]

that's all they have. plus... well... low IQ lmao

[@timercolen1586]

The spawn of kyuss is a monster that would definitely give the party nightmares. Especially with a very descriptive DM.

[@techpriestemily]

Imagine one being ran by Matthew Mercer... that would be terrifying.

[@toddalexander5015]

Have their first encounter with them being attacked as if it was just a random bandit attack on the road while they're escorting a merchant npc. They fight them off pretty easily since its only 1 or 2 but the merchant got vomited on. They seem ok for now but then later during the middle of their long rest he turns. Then the screaming starts...

[@Flowerbandit7]

I think this is exactly what I needed to fill a few slots in a one shot. I love seeing all the unique monsters, just as much as the classics.

[@Thornspyre81]

Again, hands down the best and my favorite D&D channel. Thanks again for all the hard work dudes.

[@goose6752]

I've used zombies infested with rot grubs before, way back in first edition days. Great fun, but very deadly, so I only did it the once. I'd forgotten about it until I saw Princess Mononoke.

[@mgmassey174]

A giant elemental undead spirit boar infested by rotgrubs is practically a dark souls boss.

[@tomswanson6558]

Ghosts are also pretty awesome at CR 4 - the possession feature can last a very long time. My players were shocked that there was no additional saving throw after the initial DC 13 CHA save. The possession only forcibly ends if the PC gets to zero HP or if forced out by magic.

[@aaronbonner5157]

My first encounter with a Spawn of Kyuss was super enjoyable despite it's grim implications. The DM decided to implore the assistance of this grim monstrosity against a party of five, entirely composed of level 1 and 2 adventurers. After a terrifying two hour encounter and a little assistance from a greatclub that was lit ablaze, we somehow managed to slay the beast. Ever since, I try to use the monster in every campaign I run.

[@scoundrel_matt905]

I made a level 14 one-shot featuring a tomb with a banshee, some ghosts, and some skeletons as a warm-up. I was counting on the cleric to make quick work of them all so they could move on, but he rolled low on his initiative and then 2/3 of the party failed their saving throw on the Banshee scream and dropped to 0 on turn 1

[@jamesanderson8338]

Ouch!

[@ChainsGone2012]

Yikes

[@brain-inafryingpan]

My party came up against a mind flayer and I was the only one to succeed against the mind blast because wizard. But I couldn’t do anything because my spells didn’t do anything to it. Wound up getting deus ex machina’d when it tried extracting my brain.

[@giovanniguzman1852]

I once used a spawn of kyuss in a dungeon crawl that ended up turning into a horror movie. The party that had consisted of; Rouge, Sorcerer, Monk, Fighter. All at 7th level. They had heard, that recently, a plague had broken out in a nearby village, and that a contingency of templars was sent to deal with the scourged victims of said plague. However, the templars never returned. So the adventuring party was hired to go in, rescue any missing templars, and destroy any plagued individuals they could find. What they ended up finding was an entire village that had been decimated by a flesh eating plague. Swarms of bloat flies, and giant rats wandered the village, and attacked anyone or anything that got too close to the bodies. The most dangerous creatures, however, where the already dead templars infected with kyuss worms. As the rouge approached a dead templar I had him roll a perception check as he looted the body. He saw the worm crawl up his leg and into his boot. He removed his boot and killed the worm. Just then another 2 worms crawled up his leg. One going into his pants leg the other crawling into his breast plate. He couldn't remove them both, and was infected. Then very rapidly the dead started to rise, as if a dinner bell was rung. The party fought off the undead, all while the rouge was taking continuous damage. The monk was bitten by an infected dead templar and had been injected with 4 worms. Slowly but surely, the rouge and monk wasted away, and a few moments later, the corpses exploded into spawns of kyuss, while the party rested. The fighter was overwhelmed, and the sorcerer was nearly killed. He was Eladrin and could misty step out of the window and feather fall to safety. My players still remember that encounter vividly, and one of my players actually had a nightmare about it.

[@1003JustinLaw]

I once threw a group of Bodaks against my players who were ranged between levels 7-12, but I forgot to take my paladin player’s Aura of Courage into consideration, so simply by staying together, the paladin, barbarian and rogue literally shredded through the horde. Also didn’t help that the cleric dropped a Turn Undead almost immediately once battle started and 5 of 7 failed the save.

[@eastvanisfun]

turn undead rocks

[@noahryan8562]

Unfortunately, I learned how deadly the bodak was the hard way. I threw my 6 level three players against it, thinking that they could handle it. I was wrong and almost TPK'D my party lol.

[@maxw.2579]

Personally I think thats fine from time to time, gotta keep the tension somehow. Depends on the campaign style though, in a very plot heavy campaign a wipe might be a lot of work gone to waste.

[@bibbobella]

Same. This is a party might I add that is exstremely powerful with a paladin, a cleric and a bard. Even though litterally 2 out of 3 of the pcs have so many great abilities against undead it nearly ended with a TPK simply thanks to some unlucky roles! 2 down in 2 rounds thanks to a suprise attack... The bard even died.. Was brought back by the cleric tho

[@connorkendall8192]

Just used one on my 3 level 5 party with the intention of just buffering the HP to make it more manageable, and... yeah. Learned a lesson about challenge rating today lol

[@kylekearney2338]

Best D&D info on the damn internets right here folks.

[@kylekearney2338]

id also like to mention, seeing the videos from when you two started, you both seem much more comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera.

[@YuukiArt-94]

I have a post-apocalyptic world setting where fiends, devils, demons and undead have basically pushed civilization to the brink of extinction called Last Bastion. A massive 3 ring city where life makes its last stand. Adventures are part of the Reclamation Guild and sometimes take missions outside the walls to reclaim the world. You've given me great inspiration for some of the hordes players will face.

[@TheHandgunhero]

The first ever ‘TPK’ I saw was from a Bodak. I wasn’t the DM or player, just a spectator, to a 10th level party of 4. During the session the party entered the Shadowfell, and the Cleric killed himself by entering a graveyard where he could hear the tormented soul of his dead wife screaming for help - and entering the graveyard instantly killed the Cleric and caused him to lose his soul, after the party begged him not to go into the obvious trap. Eventually the 3 survivors encountered a Bodak, whom had in one of the character’s backstory once sadistically tortured and abducted them for his own enjoyment, trying to find a way to distract him from the dread and sorrow he felt. The Paladin charged into battle and failed his saving throw in the Bodak’s aura, causing him to start his turn immediately with 2 failed death saves, and on his turn he failed and died. The Necromancer animated his fallen comrade and tried to fight back but he too succumbed to the Bodak’s gaze and aura and died. The Rogue, knowing the fight was beyond hopeless attempted to bargain for his life. The Bodak then executed him due to his party’s insolence, but then resurrected the dead Rogue as his Warlock minion, bound forever as a Patron of the Raven Queen. One of the most tense moments I’d seen in a game, and terrifying given Bodak’s are only CR6.

[@ChainsGone2012]

Sounds great

[@Skarnet1]

wow..... damn. Poor souls... ;)

[@asherandai1000]

Sounds like they should have read their rules. Paladins are immune to fear at 10th level. Also wtf is this two failed death saves immediately? If someone fails the save they drop to 0, they don't automatically fail any death saves immediately. When the Bodak takes its turn and uses it's aura thats 1 fail, not 2. This whole scenario sounds like utter bullshit.

[@GabrielMillerd]

The Spawn, such a good "The Strain (2014)" mob.

[@ChainsGone2012]

DOPE!! Loved that show (before the last season) so much that I read the books which were awesome.

[@vadaritis]

Though there are many differant mid level monsters that are quite deadly such as the Revenant CR5 or the Black Pudding CR4, Shoosuva CR8, Aboleth CR10, Banshee CR4, Canoloth CR8, Chain Devil CR8, Ghost CR4, Howler CR8, Assassin CR8, Mummy CR3, and my personal favorite Oni CR7. The one that is most underrated I would say is the Chuul. I know what your thinking, "Chuul? that lobster looking freak?" yeah, the Chuul. First its only CR4, meaning you will likely never encounter it alone. It has a magic item aura sense that allows them to track the party, and it is found in areas where it can submerge in water. The reason these things are so dangerous, is they are Large with a Str19, and they make two claw attacks that automatically grapple with 2d6+4 dmg. If they are grappling a creature, it can also use its tentacles to attack, and sure its only a DC13 to save. BUT if you fail, you become paralyzed. Paralyzed creatures (depending on dm) cannot arguably take a deep breath, before being dragged back into the water. Thus they will start to drown dropping them to 0hp. Then it just swims away with your friend, with a swim speed of 30, unless your party dashes will fall behind because move speed is halved without a swimming speed. Rules for suffocating are basically, if a creature cannot breath or is choking can survive a number of rounds equal to thier con mod. Once they run out of air completely, they drop to 0hp and cannot regain hp until they can breath again.

[@asherandai1000]

If Paralyzed creatures could not take a breath then they would immediately start suffocating the moment they are paralyzed. At worst you could argue to half the time they can hold their breath, but you cannot argue that they can't breath at all.

[@Restributordevill]

Our DM threw a catoblepas our way last session. We tried fighting, but it was obvious we couldn't handle it thus it got banished, so the group could run away and hide 😅 besides, we knew nothing of it, and it had like 5 fodder bug swarms 😂

[@YaGirlJuniper]

"Is that actually how you say that...?" LITERALLY JUST ASKED THAT QUESTION TO MYSELF AND GOT YOUR ANSWER I love you two, big parts of your videos almost seem like casual friendly conversations with each other, it's fantastic.

[@revshad4226]

Personally I'm a huge fan of the Invisible Stalker and the Elemental Myrmidons

[@rogiairaix2731]

"Overconfidence is a slow, insidious killer"

[@ilyaavrutskyi3874]

In my first ever campaign I played, our very first tragic moment was with the involement of the spawns of Kyuss: Our party was four characters of lvl 3 (yes, just lvl 3 characters) (Cleric/Rogue/Paladin/Ranger) + an NPC Sourcerer and two average NPC guards. (The only modification that the DM applied was extra 20 hp to each player from the start because he was afraid of a sudden death) And so we had to fight off *two* of those spawns in an open field at night, while being chased by, and eventually surrounded by more "casual" zombies, as well a couple ghouls with their paralising touches. Non the less, our paladin faced and just eviscerated the spawns one by one, rolling huge numbers on that one attack per round on her 2d6 with her double-hand sword. (Mind you, it was 3.5 edition, where the characters weren't as buffed as they are in 5th edition so all our paladin had for example, was her sword and immunity to fear in her heart) We had little to no tactic to be applied here other than attacking them untill they die. And by the end of it, our NPC Sorcerer, our Paladin and one of the guards died due to the worms' necrotic damage that none of us were capable of dealing with at that point. The rogue was unconscious and only me (Ranger) and the cleric were capable of doing anything at all, trying our best to not let the others be infested as the worms were slowly crawling around still. It was the deepest story-deepening element so far however, as after burning the bodies, we mostly just set silently in the dark for a while, unable to really talk after such losses. Looking at the Paladin body and our newly met companion Sorcerer I surely was hecking shocked to a degree that each of those spawns was claimed to be a 5th lvl challange raiting as I looked them up after the session. And immidetly after that I questioned my DM about all of that encounter as a whole. Turns out he was trying to make it more interesting by giving us dangerous enemies but lowering their HP and AC. Although I couldn't understand why he never lowered the damage they were dealing. I really can't say I agreed with that decision at any point in time, even till today So, moral of the story folks, be careful of what you put your players through for the sake of "epicness" or "drama" and so on. Often enough, all the players need is a level up for you to be allowed to make the game more challenging. It would not only feel natural but also would be mosty out of the question how to measure their strength and the struggles you put them through

[@gamester512]

Yeah, if I were the DM and I wanted to try using an unfamiliar monster to "spice things up" for my PCs, but I wasn't sure how well the party could actually handle it, I would have had there only be one such monster (and in the case of something like a Spawn of Kyuss have it be the only one there aside from a few zombies and skeletons), and then see how well the party handles it (and even then, I'd only bring in a monster like that if the party had the means to actually deal with it's abilities....even if the PCs themselves weren't aware of that fact). And if they handled one of them well enough, then at some point later on I'd try pitting them against two or three in one fight (especially if the party had multiple PCs capable of casting Remove Disease). And if they were having trouble, I might bring in a friendly NPC to help them out.

[@trapical]

Fun little fact, the first level spell "Protection from Evil and Good" can save you from the worst parts of every monster shown here. Or for that matter, the other first level spell Bless. It's pretty crazy how often overlooked first level spells can turn a TPK into an fight that everyone survives.

[@thesenate2390]

I watched the low-level version again just this morning and now I see this; I love it

[@AC-hj9tv]

Recently discovered your channel as I'm getting back into D&D for the first time in years. Awesome quality and effort. Keep it up!

[@jacobjensen7704]

Great video! All of these monsters sound.... terrifying. As an idea, have ya'll ever thought of doing a video on Gish characters in 5e? Or maybe individual videos on Bladesingers, Eldritch Knights, etc. You've covered Hexblade before, but that's the only Gish character I've seen thus far.

[@MasterCreamDM]

Just want tp say i appreciate you guys and i love the nicknames in between your actual names. And how they change every episode

[@KonkaBass]

Yuppp literally got dropped from almost full health to unconscious by the Bodecks Death Gaze two sessions ago. In a party of 4 this was huge for early fight hits. We were a few dice rolls off of a TPK on that one.

[@chung5851]

I personally feel that low level undead creatures such as the wight and mummy are actually quite deadly when used correctly (though as far as I'm aware they're not used near as much as they should). Not only do both of these monsters have some pretty powerful abilities (such as the Rotting Fist for mummies, and the Life Drain for the wight.), but both of these can actually be found much more commonly than most of the monsters presented on this list... Which could mean that MULTIPLE of these monsters could be present at any given moment. Now that's not to say the monsters in the video are underpowered (Lord knows how powerful things like Mind Flayers and Badoks are...), but rather that it seems a lot of times undead creatures generally don't get the attention I think they deserve (Saying this, I could easily just have missed a lot of the undead appreciation, but ya get my point right?).

[@BNRmatt]

My party fought a Catoblepas today and, thanks to this video, I knew what we were up against and that this was going to be a hard fight. Lo and behold, the death ray recharged TWICE and took my character down to within four HP of outright death. Fun!

[@starhalv2427]

The deadliest monster I played against my players is Obladi Oblada. This homebrew monster already almost killed a player in my game, and players didn't even realise they can attack it. I regret nothing.

[@StoveandGarden]

I love just listening to these videos in my car when commuting to and from work

[@ChainsGone2012]

Same here

[@JTAKIZZA]

Same here as well.

[@gregorytorres1728]

Age of Worms is an amazing campaign! Played it a year ago and it was the first campaign I played where I really understood the game mechanics and everything. Super memorable and really really fun. Luckily I played a Paladin and didn't need to worry about the Kyuss Worms too much. ;)

[@Enginskywalks]

Star Spawn Manglers are scarier than most of these imo, they can potentially one shot a level 9 fighter as a CR 5 monster

[@greendragon343]

Ive been using World Anvil for a while and its so nice to use. Thanks guys for leading me their way!

[@kristhebrownie]

Spawn of kyuss can be deadly without a paladin or cleric, but spirit guardians kills every worm without a need for curing disease or curse.

[@Rockzilla1122]

spirit guardians is a spell learned only by clerics and oath of the crown paladins

[@TerraDoctor]

@@Rockzilla1122 And background: Orzhov representative, where applicable.

[@maid_of_heart3261]

@@Rockzilla1122 And divine soul sorcerers

[@Zeboki]

Well I got a campaign tomorrow. Guess I’ll use these to the random encounters.

[@MsKeylas]

Don't. At least without foreshadowing

[@seanellis5410]

Before the video: “if the catoblepas isn’t on here, I’ll shave my cat.” After the video: “good, he’s a floof and I love him.” Also, pretty sure Kelly has it right. Esper the bard says it the same way

[@e.s.lavall9219]

I also love stinky danger floofs!

[@christiancasals3480]

I freaking love you guys channel. Seriously one of the best D&D youtube channels there is.

[@wonderfurret8223]

Bulette (CR 5) There are some pretty nasty or difficult subterranean monsters that you can throw at your players. Take for example the bulette (CR 5). One of my players recently planted a magic bean while they were under a well, and it produced a bulette about 3 minutes later. That combat was fun. Only one of my players could fly, let alone outrun the bulette's 40ft burrowing speed. Not only that, but it's leaping abilities and the fact that it is a large creature makes for some fun "knock players to the ground" kind of stuff. This monster literally split the party, and the bulette happened to destroy the only known exit point from the well, leading to a hunt of each and every one of them 1 by 1. Yep, hunting them down 1 by 1 with tremorsense.

[@Xabtiz15]

My players don't know it yet, but they'll be fighting a few Bodaks tonight.

[@ashenwuss1651]

I'm early for once! I can't wait for some more Drakkenheim. Finally finished the latest episode last night.

[@seanforsythe78]

I ran a bodak in a lvl 3 one shot a few months ago. No one knew what it was but they did surprisingly well. It started off pretty bad with the cleric getting dropped immediately, but the rest of the party did well to avoid being in range.

[@pajnolan4459]

Just wanna say: love you guys

[@Twosocks42]

Morhezi infiltration ability is easily nixed by a paranoid paladin, as I found when I tried having one trick the party into a ghoul ambush. ;-;

[@stw7120]

Which is probably only time that ability was actually useful, if your campaign is similar to most. Let the players with super specific abilities feel awesome. Also, it's nice to emphasise how the paladin's abilities and intuition just saved everyone from a pretty deadly fight. That's the reason people play paladin. If this happens, you did everything right.

[@Twosocks42]

@@stw7120 I totally allowed it of course, that is a class ability for him. I do try to sprinkle in some opportunities here and there for him to make use of the ability. In the case of the Morhezi, I just totally spaced that he could sense right through that and shut down a surprise encounter. xP

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

Was flameskull on the low level list then? If not, it deserves to be here. Fireball at that CR and can’t be destroyed permanently without holy water?

[@DungeonDudes]

Flameskulls are scary, although the typical Fireball is about 28 damage on a failed save -- and the Flameskull can only do this *once*. A lot of PCs can survive this easily by 4th or 5th level (not to mention easily shutting it down with Counterspell). Which monster would your REMOVE from this list to make room for the Flameskull?

[@shandaniel2999]

Dungeon Dudes “would your remove” you made a grammatical error bro.

[@Willow-qt2bu]

@@shandaniel2999 you just suck lmao

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

@@DungeonDudes To begin with, it's worth mentioning that once at 4th or 5th level yes we are definitely talking about a creature that is less impressive. To me though, at that level, I would consider throwing out multiples. I think if I were judging purely on a matter of difficulty versus CR, then there's at least an argument, although perhaps not a winning one depending on the view, that it could be considered as more challenging than the catoblepas, and possibly as an equal threat to the maurezhi. The maurezhi gains much from being in company of ghouls, and taken alone could possibly be an easier fight to a level appropriate party. It's difficulty lies in part in secrecy, and in part in the creatures that form natural allies. Flavour wise, difficult to replace it with flameskull. Single creature mathwise, there's an argument. The catoblepas suffers most from ranged attackers. It's ray ability is devastating to someone unfamiliar with it... but it's range and ability to close suffers a great deal. This is a creature that requires some DM skill in maneuvering it into a devastating place to inflict maximum damage, which it certainly can do. Flameskulls have ranged attacks, ranged spells, very effective spell selections, and a conditional death circumstance. And they're fast, with multiple immunities and resistances including to very relevant early level damage types (fire, poison). If a catoblepas closed with you, you're in a bad way quick if the party is level appropriate for CR, possibly leading to an instant death. A flameskull however need never close with you, possibly negating melee attacks altogether, which is a massive swing in its favor depending on party makeup. So I think in this list, there's a reasonable argument that flameskull could be considered a more deadly monster. But one mark against it is its history in the game, and people's familiarity with it. The catoblepas is typically an unknown quantity due to its obscure mythology. Even so, I hesitate to say that the catoblepas deserves a higher ranking.

[@QrozOne]

We recently faced an undead beholder backed up by 3 flaming skulls. The beholder couldn't move but it also couldn't be damaged unless we killed all the skulls first. DM decided to unleash all 3 fireballs on the same round but thankfully two of us had counterspell. The combat was great but we were on the edge at all times.

[@codenamezq8027]

Funnily enough my history of Final Fantasy makes me keenly aware of the Catoblepas' ability. Though I was not keen on the way it was pronounced. I've been pronouncing it wrong all this time.

[@destroyerid]

Hey dudes. I haven’t gone over your whole video list so forgive me if you have covered this. What is your advice for engaging a player that doesn’t seem too interested? I know that the interest and enthusiasm really has to come to the player but what players have you come across that were less than enthusiastic at first that you won over as you got deeper into the game? What kinds of narrative and gameplay techniques did you use to get them engaging?

[@jeffagain7516]

Not sure if you've resolved this issue by now (I hope so!) b but wanted to mention, should any others come across this with a similar concern; I'd suggest the best way to engage the player is by just that, engaging the player in the campaign (or 1-shot) storyline. If you have their back-story (you should), toss in a few plot-lines in some early sessions that involve friends or family of the PC, or their village/city or their trainer/mentor, etc.. Don't focus on just them but have a few key elements or quests in the game, that creates an important plot-point that needs to be resolved in the PCs favour. Throughout a campaign, you can switch things around on occasion to give the same type of attention to other PCs you feel may enjoy it. Some folks don't like being the centre of attention but some also need that extra little buy-in, in order to find a story interesting. Good luck! :)

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

I have been running an extended Phandelver campaign with MinMax players. the expansion 'starter set' has a small dungeon with an air elemental. I had to remind (via the usually slow quiet DMPC) them they had access to two magic swords at this point, to avoid a probable party wipe.

[@jamesanderson8338]

Extended to higher levels or just more stuff?

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

@@jamesanderson8338 I've been playing it at level, though I have had to max out monster HP, add enemies...mostly just adding the unmentioned consequences of the Phandelver campaign as best I can. Trying to transition to the Storm Giant campaign.

[@jamesanderson8338]

@@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati Very cool!

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

@@jamesanderson8338 example: The Goblin King (Klarg) is dead! Long Live the Goblin King! ....who might that end up being? and how? Resolved that in a big battle.

[@aarontran1026]

I got destroyed by a Bodak in Tomb of Annihilation. Knocked me down then threw me into a tomb of annihilation. At level 11.

[@TheWackyWorkbench]

I LOVE catobelpai. I have a certain smile my party hates when I'm about to drop one on them early on in the campaign. Its just so obscure, so most outside my party shrug it off while my players shiver in fear of the cow with a skull.

[@andyh2783]

Was not disappointed in this one boys.....crushed it!!!!!

[@andrewshaughnessy5828]

I threw a bodak at a 7th-level party recently. It sneaked up on them while they were camped out in the woods. The first to go down was (of all people!) the half-orc totem warrior; totally flunked his CON save against Death Gaze, and Aura of Annihilation finished him off. The scout went down too, although both were saved by the druid's Aura of Vitality. So much for a single CR6 monster being an easy encounter!😄

[@samihamouchane961]

My favorite dnd channel. Love you guys ^^ your videos are great keep the good work!

[@notare]

Catoblepas - "Ah tob le pah" It is introduced by the french sounding npc bc its a monster from the french sounding region. And you dont have to say catoblepas.

[@Scott_Burton]

I would hope no DM ever has a player death at their table. Player Character deaths can be traumatic, but a player death at the table would likely make everyone quit playing when a monster in the game kills a player at the table.

[@jordanertz3034]

Player characters die. It happens. The possibility of a PC death is what keeps the tension going in the really tough encounters. It's understandable for a player to be a little upset when their character dies, but that player shouldn't stay upset or leave over it unless the DM was outright trying to kill them. The player definitely shouldn't stay upset if their character died because they did something incredibly stupid (like jumping into the wall mouth that makes things permanently disappear). What's the point of a challenge if there is no possibility of failure?

[@alarosebaster2626]

When fighting a Bodak, pray you have a GOO-lock in your party.

[@Cov1ngtonsGhOst]

Thank you, Monty (and Kelly of course), very cool.

[@rolandkushm.d.710]

"KYUSS" aka Homme's band pre QOTSA! 👍

[@iX1NS0MN14CXi]

I'm running ToA for the 3rd time, this time with my new party. They're about to enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods. I can't wait until they encounter the Bodaks where the Black Opal Crown is. So fun

[@thewitchcat6017]

I can't seem to figure out what's best. Tempest Cleric? Stormborn Sorcerer? Blue/Bronze Dragon Sorcerer? Wizard? Some mix? It would be a nice video.

[@jamesstaton3265]

So, a few days back I participated in a mid-level session to hunt down a vampire spawn. In the ruins we had to explore through, there were three(!) Spawn of Kyuss and two(!!!) Bodak. Knowing OoC what they were, I was personally freaking out. Luckily, everyone lived, but goodness was I on edge through all of it.

[@Xerethane]

I faced a Bodak earlier in the current campaign my brother is running. He had it hiding while we faced hordes of skeletal minions it controlled so it was was dealing crazy damage before we even saw it and my 5th level ranger was knocked down to half health in a single blast. There were a lot of death saves for the party that day and we lost an NPC traveling with us. Anything with abilities similar to it will be a really nasty opponent. I know I'd run if I ever saw more than one at a time.

[@jabloko992]

Another thing I would add to The Spawn of Kyus is that any "-skin" ability, such as Barkskin or Stoneskin, would make you immune to the worms.

[@Person01234]

Sounds like a spell like darkness might be useful when fighting a bodack.

[@mduckernz]

Totally screws you for attacking it, though. At minimum you'll have disadvantage :(

[@Person01234]

@@mduckernz Disadvantage isn't "totally screwed" especially if you have a decent attack modifier. And it protects you from all the effects that rely on seeing each otther.

[@aldoushuxley5953]

@@Person01234 or you use blindness/deafness in the Bodak. That way you can still see

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@mduckernz if you're both in the dark, you have disadvantage to attack, BUT have advantage because they can't see you which cancels out.

[@shardamaka976]

Fog cloud; effectively the same but for a 1st level slot.

[@vickieden1973]

I sprang a single bodak on my party of four 6th level PCs. It was hiding amongst some actual corpses, so the rogue immediately went over to find out how they'd died when the bodak opened its eyes. The paladin had recently just picked up Aura of Protection, and so was super gung-ho. Paladin promptly failed his save against Death Gaze by more than 5, and dropped to 0 hit points. Now, I was using Hero Points, so what followed was: the arcane trickster rogue failed his save by more than 5, spent a hero point to increase the roll, and just took damage instead. The swords bard failed her save by more than 5, spend a hero point to increase the roll, and just took damage instead. By this point, the bodak's rather small pool of hit points was dwindling, so when the war cleric also failed his save (but not by more than 5) and then entered into melee next to the rogue, it pretty much dropped. Sure, they metagamed a little bit, but I was okay with that. Without the Hero Points, that particular string of bad rolls would have probably TPK'd my party. (edited for typos)

[@darienb1127]

Gee, tough enemies. I wonder if they are immune to almost everything. (Looks at stat block) Called it.

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

Bodack strategy. Have your Archer avert their gaze and nope out to at least 100 feet and open fire.

[@erlanddrow7950]

I can imagine someone confronting the 3rd monster. "Wait, you speak Elvish, but not Common?" "Yes." *Fireball*

[@JC_R8MEOW]

I gave my players fits when I put them up against an Oni. It used its ability to change shape to take the form of an NPC who courted the affections of one of the PCs. The discovery of the NPC's corpse in the basement of his house by the players, and subsequent revelation of what they were dealing with makes for all kinds of terror-inducing roleplaying.

[@scottheringer7287]

So questions from a still always learning DM: 1st. Can a Bodak speak even though its undead? 2nd. How would you describe the voice of a Bodak?

[@dagoblin994]

Bodaks make for particularly nasty minions for a devourer.

[@japanadian879]

Our party of 6 had half the party fail their saves against a group of 4 bodaks. Luckily, 2/3 of the ones who were up had healing spells, so the monk ran interference while the ranger and cleric zoomed getting people back up

[@Caddrel]

This is one of my favorite videos from you guys! I'd love a part 2 for monsters at a similar level.

[@evilsquirrel0573]

I almost destroyed my players with a hydra, it hit them heavy the first turn, and then they spent the rest of the turns trying to heal again, I had to have it temporarily retreat so I wouldn’t TPK

[@robinthrush9672]

OK, I've had issues with pronouncing Catoblepas before. I tend to say, "kuh-TAH-bull-pahs". This is wrong and so is Mercer, apparently, or at least how he's enunciation has been portrayed. It's Greek, so it's more like "kah-tah-blay-pous" as opposed to the given "kah-toh-bleep-us". The name means "to look down". forvo com/word/%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%AD%CF%80%CF%89/

[@harkonb]

It's a greek word indeed, and it's pronounciation is Ka-toh (down) Bleh-pas (he who looks). So the creature is called he-who-looks-down which is quite literal, especially if u remember the older version's MM.. four legged long neck creature in a swamp with it's huge head almost touching the surface of the water

[@Heyhowsitgoin999]

Turns out no matter how much a Mind Flayer plans, it can't plan for having 4d20 dolphins dropped on it from 30 feet up. (Our party did this using a Drum of Dolphin Summoning we got from a one off session that was a fun Beach Episode)

[@grustybones7736]

I'm surprised the Helmed Horror didn't make this list. 20 AC, immunity to almost all conditions *AND* force damage, and that's just the first half of it's table. Once you get to it's Magic Resistance and Spell Immunity, it becomes a nearly unstoppable force. I had a Wizard PC who was far too happy-go-lucky casting Web every combat. I saw his jaw hit the table when i told him the HH kept marching on completely unhindered.

[@juiceheadtodd]

I Dm'd a battle scene with 5 lvl 6 pcs vs a maurhezi, 2 ghouls, and 2 ghasts. The paralysis and resurrections made it a pretty good fight.

[@vampiregoat69]

a spore druid shambling mound, a quickling rogue, maurezhi rogue, a wrestling monk spawn of kyuss

[@TruePika17]

Last session we just finished on an epic fight against 1 bodak, 2 Spawns of Kyuss and 2 shadows. My barbarian went straight from 60+ hp to 12 just with two looks from the bodak

[@KlaelDemon]

Cheers mates, I've enjoyed all 3 videos, on the low-level, mid, and high. I personally feel like they point out a glaring issue in monster design for D&D, and 5E. When I was raiding in Legion in World of Warcraft, a huge pain point was the final fight of Tomb of Sargeras, Kil'jaeden, but the raid as a whole. There were so many mechanics that, if failed by even one player, could cause a wipe for the raid, leaving no room for adaptability. I think too many of the dangerous enemies in 5E rely on abilities that either instantly kill a player, or kill them at 0 HP. This doesn't leave much room for interesting combat encounters. I think they should lean into more unusual combat effects, and away from the kill effects.

[@44R0Ndin]

To be fair, the title of the video is "5 most deadly mid-level monsters" not "5 most interesting mid-level monsters". EDIT: If I was DM for a group of friends learning D&D for the first time (new players and new DM playing together), I'd use this video and the one about deadly low level monsters as clues of what NOT to put in my whole first campaign unless that campaign stuck around a really long time.

[@arthurmarques6191]

Can I use "Don't let your newfound powers give you newfound overconfidence because as you will find, there are many terrifying and deadly monsters hidden in dark places" as a quote? It's just sublime

[@GrumpyGrobbyGamer]

Nice options! I like that you chose monsters that won’t generally be well know by players.

[@colinSAcolin45colin]

big ups dungeon dudes

[@olethrosolethros340]

Monty's pronounciation and intonation of Catoblebas is the right one for sure. In greek Catoblebas (Κατώβλεπας) is a combination of the words κάτω (down) + βλέπω (to watch or to see). In legends this mythic creature was supposed to live in Aethiopia. So, coming from a greek guy, no need to change your pronounciation :)

[@DungeonDudes]

We went with what the pronunciation guide on D&D beyond said. I don’t know what to believe anymore.

[@snakeorbreak6258]

Level 20 Moon Druid is a CR 10 creature that can become a CR 20 creature that becomes an endless wave of CR 6 creatures, as well as a metric [redacted]load of CR 1/4 creatures.

[@caiopelichekgoncalves3361]

Oh man! Didn't know about the Catoblepas! Such a funny looking tpk-worthy fella!

[@brandonschmitz6696]

My most deadly monster for tier 1 games is the incubus/succubus. At low enough levels, a strong death kiss will drop maximum hit points to 0 (instant death). I DM a lot of AL, and the succubi are the only monsters I've seen achieve kills in properly balanced games

[@davidbond59]

Monty: “…just for starting your turn within 30ft of the Bodak. A pretty deadly proposition if you ask me.” Monty: “A pretty grizzly image of you ask me” Me: “I was going to ask but I guess I don’t have to, thanks Monty”