I considered having the hag cast fog cloud, but I just couldn't see enough of a benefit. The cloud is stationary and the hag only has melee attacks. The medusa would just stay far from the cloud and shoots arrows (even if at disadvantage due to the cloud's heavy obscurement).
@LoarvicLoarvic3 ай бұрын
But the cloud would cancel medusa's petrification gaze, and the hag could have cast fog cloud when she grappled medusa to gave her disadvantage of her attacks.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
@@LoarvicLoarvic She can't gesture spells (somatic components) while crushing someone in a bear hug.
@Jay_763 ай бұрын
Plus, wouldn't the Fog Cloud give the Medusa another chance at stealth?
@LoreFoundry3 ай бұрын
The hag can absolutely bite while grappling the target. Crushing Hug's secondary damage occurs automatically at the top of the round, I don't see why she could have thrown in a couple of those bites.
@gliscaradu14243 ай бұрын
Ever gonna use ogrillons?
@josephbutler49503 ай бұрын
The annis hag is such a cool but scary creature. Imagine you find yourself lost in a boggy hollow, you're hungry and tired after trekking through the stinking bog. But then you luck upon a old cottage and are greeted by a friendly old lady just for her to turn into a massive, ugly beast thing that rends your arms asunder and squeezes you in a hug so hard you pop. Freaky stuff. I hope we see her or one of her hag sisters again.
@markmongan3 ай бұрын
A sister revenge battle would be sweet. Or maybe the Medusa is hunting the sisters.
@Snowie78263 ай бұрын
I remember running one years and years ago. She had a demiplanar wagon full of magic items which she draged around like a horse, but appeared to be an unusually strong little old lady 😅
@The_Squatch_973 ай бұрын
A pack of Blink Dogs led by an Eladrin Hunter (build however you see fit) vs. a Displacer Beast (or a group of them if you want to have more doggos)
@purplehaze23583 ай бұрын
I think it's genuinely like, impressively humiliating to miss all three of your attacks on an opponent that's not only close, but touching you.
@redfaux743 ай бұрын
I would agree. Those snakes would've been biting at a huge "advantage". But it seems 5E is more like a board game now. It's become simplistic in the extreme. I'm surprised Hags don't have some kind of wand or something ranged. They just go around smashing things? 😂😂😂 No intellect at all?
@LoarvicLoarvic3 ай бұрын
The hug was so tight that medusa couldn't even move. Use your imagination.
@redfaux743 ай бұрын
@LoarvicLoarvic - 🤣 The hug was so tight the snakes on her head were paralyzed. 🤣 All of them.
@fratystuff67373 ай бұрын
@@redfaux74 They weren't able to go through the tough skin of the hag 😅
@fratystuff67373 ай бұрын
@@redfaux74 Wasnt dnd originally a wargame? Idk what you mean by "now", as if it wasn't the case before. Annis hags are the brute type of hags, so even if they may have some magical tricks, they really perform better with physical violence. If you want more magical hags, bheur hags, night hags or even the classic green hag is your choice.
@Stratplayer053 ай бұрын
I think my money is on the Annis Hag here unless the petrification connects.
@dieselhall45053 ай бұрын
Hmm I was betting on a petrification win but I will take the money either way
3 ай бұрын
Yay! Another Monster Melee!! Glad to have you back Esper, glad you had a good trip and gained a level!
@LetMeGetAUhhh3 ай бұрын
Would love to see a version of this with a spellcasting hag. I really like evil vs. evil scenarios in general
@Migolcow3 ай бұрын
If I'm not mistaken the Hag should be able to cast Fog Cloud 3x a day...that would totaly shift this fight in her favor. You'd have to rule if it affected the petrification gaze but honestly I don't see how it wouldn't. And all ranged attacks from the medusa would be at disadvantage.
@fhuber75073 ай бұрын
2X a day. But that's enough.
@samuelpierce6393 ай бұрын
@@fhuber7507pretty sure it’s 3
@beauberry61793 ай бұрын
Would be an advantage, but the hag only has melee attacks so the cloud would be a waste.
@thewaver83 ай бұрын
It's 3x/day, but I don't see how there would be advantage. The Hag wouldn't be able to see through the Fog Cloud herself, at least in accordance with her stat block. It would only cancel out the disadvantage imposed by averting her sight from the Medusa.
@Migolcow3 ай бұрын
@@thewaver8 Hags are cunning, in the fight she blindly pursued but this variety of hag does stuff like create tokens to manipulate ppl with. Her real strategy would best be "get some cover, plop down fog cloud, wait as an ambush predator." Medusa did so much of her damage at range because the hag acted like a mindless berserker. If forced to come to the hag (or flee the fight) the fog could easily allow the hag to get in melee more efficently (and drop the fog the moment she tried to grapple).
@takeyouforgranite78503 ай бұрын
Vecna vs Acererak for a Master vs Apprentice Lich battle would be cool, or maybe we could have a Brains vs Brawn match, like a Hill Giant vs a Gnome Ceremorph or some other "Big Dumb Brute" vs "Small Smart Caster"
@fratystuff67373 ай бұрын
Could the annis hag release her hug after the damage is done and then take her multiattack action? Since the hug specifies that the damage is done at the start of her turn. If she did that right there in the stairs at the end, she probably would've won. Also just as a side note, I think the hag could very well make the hug attack as a AoO which is brutal.
@jbowers563 ай бұрын
Yeah, this is the optimal way to play this I believe!
@Jeromy19863 ай бұрын
3:49 A beast that you have tamed, to be sure. Just imagine if you used D&D Beyond and suddenly a "Please Insert Coin" just starts flashing on-screen halfway through the battle 🤣🕹
@wichitadisciple98743 ай бұрын
I’ve never fought either one of them, so this will be educational for me. I love these fights.
@Braley213 ай бұрын
Hell yeah, my favorite series on youtube rn!
@nunya_bizniz3 ай бұрын
Same
@Natu_RPGS3 ай бұрын
loved the fight, this might be the best one so far. It was fast, but very engaging because until the very end, either one could win.
@bradwalls86563 ай бұрын
The Medusa @ the end ~ "Ugh (snake hair hisses), I.. really hate.. hugs!"
@GreycatRademenes3 ай бұрын
Recently in my campaign I had a pretty interesting encounter: my player found a temporary companion who is a regular goblin (7 hp, 15 ac, etc..). When they were fighting a bunch of Drow, the goblin got himself in a solo fight with 4 regular spiders 1hp, 12ac...). I'm curious if you'd do an episode where it's 2-3 mini-battles like this with really really low CR and at low numbers, like 1 goblin vs 3-4 spiders.
@tjhookertj69233 ай бұрын
keep it up, love your work!
@derrells1233 ай бұрын
Halloween special: vampire vs werewolf lord, mummy vs flesh golem (frankenstein's monster), ghost vs witch (hag), skeletons vs zombies, classics only
@joedominguez80643 ай бұрын
This was a great one! Cool location, the combatants felt well matched and reacted with a lot of realism, well played!
@Cptbaron3 ай бұрын
What a cinematic battle - great jobs!!
@markmongan3 ай бұрын
Wow! What a battle! So cool. When Medusa made that last hit under water a fist pumped and jumped in the air :)
@craigyeah10523 ай бұрын
Good fight, good fight.
@leviborgman50953 ай бұрын
I really enjoy these monster melee videos keep em coming they're great
@nightflame693 ай бұрын
Totally need a rematch!
@clowdde3 ай бұрын
You definitely gained a level, happy to see you back 🔥
@kings.37283 ай бұрын
Cats vs Dogs! In other words, Feline-style monsters vs Canine-style monsters!
@gabtheeldritch22633 ай бұрын
WOW that was a close one for both of then
@jeskebill3 ай бұрын
Love the series! Could you do Skull Lord vs Lich?
@nonemo1383 ай бұрын
I missed this series! Nice!
@rg66373 ай бұрын
I love seeing another episode in this series!
@matthewbouboulis48403 ай бұрын
Great video as always. I almost think fog cloud would be helpful to negate the gaze and even the playing field but it was close.
@johngleeman83473 ай бұрын
What a fantastic bout!. Loved this one! :D
@rub-al-khali42653 ай бұрын
Great fight!👏👏👏
@chrisjones60023 ай бұрын
These videos have really shown the importance of having some kind of ranged attack. I know It's no big surprise or anything but you can really see how important it is to have some ranged option. Even a couple javelins could make the difference.
@briceking6693 ай бұрын
At 7:17 Does the hag hug that grapples/retrains the medusa create disadvantage on the medusas attacks?
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
No restrained, just grappled (Foundry doesn't have a grappled icon, though maybe I can find a module to get more icons)
@briceking6693 ай бұрын
@@esperthebard good to know. I’m enjoying the battles, keep up the good work.
@thewaver83 ай бұрын
Esper, I'd like to pitch an idea which I believe would suit your amazing lore skills. It occurred to me that a Cleric and a Warlock can be basically the same thing: they both have a connection with a greater deity that empowers them. I discussed this with a friend and they mentioned that they weren't quite sure what separated a "god" worshipped by a Cleric from a Warlock's "patron". So it would be awesome to have a lore video where you go over the origins and roles of a "god pantheon" and how they differ from the traditional Warlock's patrons - and if, by lore alone, a Warlock could technically make a pact with a pantheon deity, or if the 2 are actually farther apart than my playful assertion seems to imply.
@garvinanders23553 ай бұрын
That was a really close fight! I would like to see the guardsmen come back, although at this point I think all the survivors should be at least lvl 1 in one class or another. Which might just make them an adventuring party...
@rememberstayangry23663 ай бұрын
You should do a poll on who is going to win the day before you release the fight video.
@BobbyCorwen17713 ай бұрын
Same with the elves vs dwarves. I dont really like when 1 enemy gets 2+ rounds of free range damage and kite ability that the other just cant avoid. Id say start within dash range so that 1 enemy cant gain an obvious health advantage
@shangmg3 ай бұрын
Here the situation is kinda different. So first of all they are in the dash range, just that medusa won the initiative roll. Here the hag is able to pounce on medusa pretty fast, and hag has the speed advantage so no kite options here. Also quite often the ones with range option, have weaker melee, so letting them have a chance is usually fine i would say. But in some cases it would be interesting to see two options. In elves vs dwarves, the one thing that makes it unfair to the point it would be one sided is the speed difference that is also in favour of elves.
@Natu_RPGS3 ай бұрын
Range and mobility advantage is a big tatic advantage. If you dont take it into account, the fight would be a lot less strategic and it would simply be who have better damage and survavibility, and that would be a lot more boring and wouldn't tell how those creatures would fight in reality.
@uptheironschris173 ай бұрын
Rooting for Medusa on that one! That was close! Unless the hag collapses on Medusa which pins Medusa down under the water in which she makes con saves and dex/str checks to free herself or drowns. 😊
@Jay_763 ай бұрын
I a little surprised the Medusa won this without petrifying the Annis Hag, if only just barely. Perhaps a rematch would be worth while. In the mean time, might I suggest a Melee of non-standard moving Monsters. Perhaps a pack of 6 or 8 Blink Dogs vs a Phase Spider or 2? Very much enjoy your content Esper, keep on keeping on.
@kovoksgamingАй бұрын
Would love to see a rematch of this!!!
@ElfieElfieElf3 ай бұрын
I think the Medusa is going to take this for sure. She has ranged attacks and starts super far away. The Hag is slightly faster, so there's a chance it can catch up, but it'll probably take a while. A longbow and distance is a Herculean task for a melee only monster to overcome.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
They started 60 feet apart. Hag has 40 ft speed, medusa 30 ft. No Herculean task involved.
@BeatchBall3 ай бұрын
Nice matchup, Esper. Excited for the next girl fight. Maybe a coven of night hags versus a female Sphinx. I don't know if that would be an even fight either way. But would be interesting. Any chance we will get a ranking video on the new classes from the 5.5 edition of the player's handbook?
@rickylahey6573 ай бұрын
Whats stopping a medusa from running up and grabbing the face of an opponent and staring them into stone?
@joydjinn86923 ай бұрын
I vote for a rematch! That was fun.
@redfaux743 ай бұрын
Great video. ❤ Good choices. I'd like to see more spellcasting from a Hag tho. I thought they were witches on crack. 😅 I want to see much more undead for Halloween month however. Please.... And werewolves! 😊
@allensheets93693 ай бұрын
best fight so far
@stamatisvolanis84823 ай бұрын
Annis hag ftw! Hags are some of the best monsters in dnd and for good reason. I'm rooting for the hag. Let's go Edit: last time I rooted for the hobgoblins. Now the hag. I'm sad now. We can never have good things
@christianlangdon37663 ай бұрын
Some have pointed out that the hag should have spellcasting and one of them being fog cloud. But I feel this is a dwarf vs elves thing. Ranged characters in 5e are at such a huge advantage in the game that unless you give the melee character a way to get around it they will never be able to get anywhere.
@stamatisvolanis84823 ай бұрын
@christianlangdon3766 don't remind me of dwarves vs elves. That multiattack vs no multiattack did most of the work
@christianlangdon37663 ай бұрын
@@stamatisvolanis8482 I mean yea, but also why the elves have a higher move speed, have ranged multi and a bunch of things to stack the deck. They didn't even have much less ac because of how good dex is in dnd 5e, dwarfs only had slightly higher HP and that was all they did.
@stamatisvolanis84823 ай бұрын
@christianlangdon3766 honestly, that flat value of ac where suddenly a lightly armored elf and a heavily armored dwarf have the same chance to not be hurt by an attack is a bit simplistic.
@Radwar993 ай бұрын
The hag lost despite getting better rolls than the Medusa.
@galling20523 ай бұрын
SWOLE GRANNY HELL YEA!
@WoundedWarrior20083 ай бұрын
Death tyrant Vs Mummy lord both CR 15 Both undead spellcasters could make for quite the fun sling of spells and wit =) also might be extremely complex but would love to see it =)
@griffinflyer773 ай бұрын
Would casting fog cloud have helped level the playing field? That way, neither side can see each other.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
I considered it, but couldn't quite see a strong enough upside.
@samsteuter78213 ай бұрын
@@esperthebard instead of dashing sending it out on first turn would help. Also, when grappling right?
@markmongan3 ай бұрын
Ding grats! Level up!
@MawsParasite23 ай бұрын
Wild bill hickock once got into a fight with a bear and he killed it with a bowie knife(short sword), but because it was on top of him, his ribs were broken and he almost died. I would imagine that the Medusa here probably suffered similar injuries from th' foul hag.
@Malgar93 ай бұрын
could you use a vampire or a liche
@richardscanlon42103 ай бұрын
As soon as I see it's a creature with ranged attack against a creature without ranged attack, the outcome is obvious. Especially when the one with ranged attack has twice as many hit points.
@cyclopsgaming69743 ай бұрын
A fight you could do is take a few humanoid stat blocks and put them up against a cyclops in a reenactment of Odysseus and his men fighting the Cyclops. A new iteration but higher level of guards maybe with a mixed team of guards, veterans and gladiator. Maybe even a bandit or bandit captain.
@theKorkk3 ай бұрын
I want to see the guardsmen again maybe the survivors from the wolf battle are headed to a nearby town when they get ambushed by a vampire and some zombies ot would go well with the Halloween theme going on
@ScythianGryphon3 ай бұрын
You can play as a Hag in Dungeons and Dragons now! I`d love to play as Medusa, though. If only there was a Bard, well versed in creating heroes and monsters...
@The_Squatch_973 ай бұрын
The Loading Crew: That's... why I'm here. But in all seriousness, Stuart of the Loading Crew made a homebrew book for 5E, as well as Pathfinder 1 and 2. It's got team work themed subclasses for every class sans the Artificer and several races, including Snake people, wolf people, desert themed elves, and also ghosts
@ScythianGryphon3 ай бұрын
@@The_Squatch_97 Well, this is wonderful! I`m making a note.
@o-sosa79103 ай бұрын
Let’s go Medusa!!!!
@nightflame693 ай бұрын
If the hag does the hug and gets petrified does the Medusa just die from starvation unless it somehow manages to break free?
@kyte5648Ай бұрын
This was the closest match I saw. Maybe the hag was part of a coven, that wants to avenge her now?
@dennisthornton44343 ай бұрын
level in what? fun and glory.
3 ай бұрын
How did she use a short sword when she was held in a grappling hug? she could not move her arms could she? I could be wrong of course if she didn't grapple her arms. it was a cool fast paced fight for sure! a rematch would be interesting.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
It's just the regular grapple effect.
@Stratplayer053 ай бұрын
Rules as written 5e doesn't prevent that. Doesn't make too much since but that's always been the rule. For a simulation I can see it but yeah if I were running that encounter for some reason, I'd have probably checked whether or not the sword got dropped or if being grappled forced a CON save to be able to take a breath and avoid instantly having to save vs. starting to drown.
3 ай бұрын
@@Stratplayer05 ok cool I have not played 5e so I was not sure about the rules in 5e regarding a grapple like that. it's fine it does not matter really, just seems weird if you are in a bear hug that you would be able to swing a sword but no big deal it was a cool fight anyway.
3 ай бұрын
@@esperthebard ok like I said to the other answer, I was not aware of the 5e rules, when we used to play a bear hug or being constricted (by a large snake/tentacle monster of some kind) you needed to make a Dex save to see if your arms were pinned. maybe that was a house rule I don't remember honestly.
@DalePoole21 күн бұрын
Wouldn't the Medusa be prevented from sword attacks because she's grappled? I've always had trouble understanding grappling rules so perhaps there is something in the rules of which I am not aware?
@daniel-san93223 ай бұрын
I think it'd be cool to see Yeenoghu vs Baphomet. Yeenoghu is probably my favorite demon lord
@oldben60863 ай бұрын
In your opinion, what would have happened if the hag had been petrified while the medusa was still in the crushing hug? Could the medusa escape from the stone clutches of the hag, or would she eventually perish from dehydration/starvation?
@Klyrunak3 ай бұрын
Solaar vs Great Wyrm Black Dragon?
@migaloomoki57243 ай бұрын
I gotta stop reading comments before I finish the fight haha
@nettlesandsnakes91383 ай бұрын
Considering how it ended, it’s possible that both of them are dead now.
@TheCrowFairyTale3 ай бұрын
Elephants vs hobgoblins 😁
@LouisTravieon3 ай бұрын
An Annis? ... run, run fast 😳
@alibaba-2553 ай бұрын
Archmage vs beholder
@dennisthornton44343 ай бұрын
need to have an adventuring party, fighter, cleric, magic user, those kinds and put them against one of these monsters. \
@Mrboomboompow3 ай бұрын
Before I watch I’m betting on the hag.
@Jeromy19863 ай бұрын
Would have been funny if the Medusa got stuck in a stone grip
@TheCrowFairyTale3 ай бұрын
Halflings vs Gnomes
@Figgy51193 ай бұрын
The Anis hag didn't do an action on her last turn, right? Or did i miss something?
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
She can't attack while doing her crushing hug, so there really wasn't any obvious action to take. Though someone said technically she could release the grapple after dealing the damage at the start of her turn, then use her multiattack action. I'm not sure that was the intention of the designer, but if so, I wish that would have been made more obvious.
@Nekross063 ай бұрын
Ancient Gold Dragon vs. Kraken
@Tarrasuge3 ай бұрын
👍
@Thyme2GreenHorn2 ай бұрын
Nice!
@ΚωνσταντίνοςΠαξιμαδάς3 ай бұрын
Hello, how are you doing? How about Asmodeus vs Demogorgon for a future video?
@shadowhell83783 ай бұрын
How did the hag know where the stone steps were if she has her eyes closed
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
@@shadowhell8378 Her eyes weren't closed. She was averting her eyes away from the medusa's gaze.
@shadowhell83783 ай бұрын
@@esperthebard ok
@AnotherZenThought3 ай бұрын
In our world Medusa is not a "monstrous creature". She was a high priestess who was r*ped by Poseidon and as a result Athena cursed her into the form we know. She's a victim, not a monster.
@luchirri3 ай бұрын
¡¡¡Go Dusa, go!!!!
@isaacgraff82883 ай бұрын
GO MEDUSA!
@maxime24453 ай бұрын
Shouldn't there be disadvantage when the hag restrains the medusa? Restrained gives disadvantage i thought.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
No restrained, just grappled (Foundry doesn't have a grappled icon, though maybe I can find a module to get more icons)
@AnEvolvingApe3 ай бұрын
I don't care who it fights but you need to get a Marilith in the ring.
@fhuber75073 ай бұрын
100%... If Annis casts the cloud, it wins.
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
The cloud is stationary and the hag only has melee attacks. The medusa just stays far from the cloud and shoots arrows into it.
@fhuber75073 ай бұрын
Put those bowshots to disadvantage and never give the medusa advantage or petrification gaze and it loses.
@viniciusklaussnerfonsecaco19523 ай бұрын
Clutch
@MGP22103 ай бұрын
Just bought Monstrous Heroes off of your website. 😊🎉🎉🎉🎉😊 🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
@@MGP2210 Thank you, enjoy!
@noodledoodle94083 ай бұрын
content++
@jasonf19783 ай бұрын
I know everyone is a critic, and not to be a Debbie Downer, but didn't the Medusa have disadvantage on her attacks?
@esperthebard3 ай бұрын
time stamp?
@LuperAZ3 ай бұрын
could the Hag Slam the medusa?
@kevinedwards53903 ай бұрын
A rematch with more dialogue between them please
@c.jfrank56993 ай бұрын
i think unless there where mistakes or forgotten mechanics in a fight, new matches are better.
@Homjos_Erhas3 ай бұрын
want to like the video, but also dont want to turn 888 likes into 889....
@Kaleb-ElijahMorgan3 ай бұрын
Hi
@MinillaToGo3 ай бұрын
A fight between Gripplis and Duodrones would be cool.
@Seftix113 ай бұрын
Would have house ruled so the giant musclebound hag has more hp than the Medusa. Seems off she is like a range poison user with more hp than a strictly melee monster