Let's Read The Monster Manual II: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Fight Them

[twas_Brillig]

I like the idea of a dragon sending out messages "My time is coming, my hoard is free to the strongest among you".

Especially if it's time isn't coming - it's going to feign death / polymorph / hide and come out to finish off the eventual winner(s) and claim all the wealth they brought with them (weapons and the like).

Or use the survivors as pawns in some game. Maybe literally.

(Or a dragon sends out that kind of message...on its rival's behalf.)

[Notafish]

Not sure if I'm jumping the queue, but...

Harpy

Introduction
Harpies are terrifying bird women who like to steal valuables and rend adventurers limb from limb. According to Wikipedia, Harpies are creatures from Greek and Roman mythology, originally wind spirits who served the Erinyes/Furies. Although Erinyes make an appearance in the MM as devils, this connection is not mentioned in the entry. I occasionally get Harpies confused with sirens, and it seems that I'm not the only one -- this Harpy has an alluring voice, which can lead weak-willed adventurers to their doom.

Art
I've been impressed with the 5th Edition art team's choices to avoid cheesecake in places where they might not have in the past. Despite being nude and bearing mostly humanoid features, the harpy pictured appears suitably monstrous. The pale eyes and partially-obscured claws place this creature square in the uncanny valley, which makes sense here.

Purpose & Tactics
I'd expect harpies to appear in groups, or as very low level solo monsters. With the "Luring Song" ability, they might also serve as trap monsters who force characters to move toward dangerous terrain. The ability text gives targets a large number of chances to save, so without some tweaking, I feel the ability is more flavorful than dangerous.

As flying monsters, hit and run tactics are possible, but all of the harpy's attacks are melee, so they might better serve as distractions from a larger, ground-based threat than the main event, unless the combat takes place on a cliff face or in the air.

While they do speak Common, the Harpy presented here has an Int of 7. Complex social encounters were probably not intended.

Fluff
The book provides a fairly detailed fairy tale about a scorned elf maiden and describes the present-day harpies' motivations: sadism and greed. There is also a section on harpies' preference for unfair fights on difficult terrain. I like the discussion of motivations and tactics, but the origin story didn't do much for me. I did use it as inspiration for plot hook below, though.

Hooks
Travelers on their way through Warg Creek Pass have been going missing, along with their goods. When the party arrives to investigate, they find no tracks, but they do hear a captivating song from high above...

To get to Adventure Island, you must first brave the Songbird Straights. No experienced sea captain will agree to this course.

An old elf claims his daughter has been subject to a terrible curse. A minor god has transformed her into a horrible flying monster! Can the party track down his daughter and reverse the god's curse?

Deep in the Temple of the Furies, there is rumored to be a door to the Nine Hells. As you enter the temple atrium, you hear wailing from above. Wings rustle in the rafters.

Verdict
I can grit my teeth and accept the decision to combine the Harpy and the Siren into one creature from an aesthetic standpoint, but I wish the luring song was a) more powerful and b) presented as an optional variant. I appreciate the effort on the fluff and the artwork, though.

[GorinichSerpant]

For some reason I feel that harpys may make suitable minions for hags. They are both sadistic feminine creatures, that try to fool their victims and are born of some sort of corruption of ordinary female humanoids. Maybe the harpies are literally or adaptly the children of a raven nosed green hag. The trickery of the luring song could be a hint for when they go deeper into the forest to fight a boss that is trickier yet still.

[Sharur]

Gastronomie, the Half-Dragon was indeed fully immune in 3.5. However, in 5E even full Dragons are only resistant and not immune, so it would be illogical for half-dragons to have better protection from the elements than their full-blooded fore-bearers. On the plus side, you can now roast a Red Dragon to death. I'm not sure how that works with something that lives in and around volcanoes, though.

NOTE: I'm AFB at the moment, so I am referring to the following online SRD: http://www.5esrd.com/gamemastering/m...sters-h/harpy/

not_a_fish, I have to disagree with your verdict, on two points.

1. It seems on par with power for its level, which is to be a moderate threat to a party of four level 1 characters. At 1st level, a "weak save" character (say WIS 10, with no proficiency) will fail 50% of the time; a "strong save" character (say WIS 16, and proficiency in WIS saving throws) will fail 25% of the time. This seems on target for me (and lasts until level 5).

The harpy's song is also more powerful than other charms, due to a) compelling movement and b) not allowing a save if the harpy damages the charmed target, unlike other charms (The harpy's song only allows a save if something other than the harpy deals damage to the charmed target). The harpy could be raking the target all day, with no (additional) save.

Something that just came to me while writing this, is that the above means that someone can literally be slapped out of the harpy's song.

If you really think it needs more power, then remove the charm immunity, or at least restrict it to those who pass the initial save (i.e. those who resist the effects from the outset gain immunity, not those who "snap" out of it). Also, an interesting idea that a DM I played with had, was instead of saving on the harpy's turn, you save at the start of your next turn, with a bonus to the save DC for each additional song you heard.

2. It technically is optional, as it is a bonus action, rather than an aura, but be aware that if you do so, you probably need to take a look at the CR. I feel like the charm is a large part of the Harpy's threat.

Also, interesting is that the Harpy's song specifically calls out giants in addition to the typical humanoids as valid targets. This presents an interesting scenario wherein a group of harpies could snare, say a Hill Giant, as a servitor.

[Notafish]

The harpy's song is also more powerful than other charms, due to a) compelling movement and b) not allowing a save if the harpy damages the charmed target, unlike other charms (The harpy's song only allows a save if something other than the harpy deals damage to the charmed target). The harpy could be raking the target all day, with no (additional) save.

Ah! I didn't notice the exception for harpy-based damage! That does change things a bit.

On re-reading the ability, I also noticed that a successful save only grants immunity to one particular harpy's song for 24 hours. I had initially read it as granting immunity to all harpysong for 24 hours. I guess a large horde of harpies could be adequate understudies for Odyssey-style sirens.

[odigity]

Updated collection thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...8&postcount=28

[VariSami]

Hell Hound

Introduction
A true classic monster but not one of high profile. The hell hound is quintessentially a mid-level secondary unit which acts as support for stronger foes or as a pack similar to wolves or hunting dogs (after which it is modelled, of course). The Wikipedia article mentions how in some myths, they are associated with fire but none of the examples seem to have this included. It might well be that Christian myths that absorbed the original stories attributed the hounds of hell a fiery nature or this might be an RPG convention. Notably, the myths of hellish hounds are actually represented by multiple monsters such as Barghests and Shadow Mastiffs which leaves the hell hounds proper just the baseline: they are fiendish canines which breathe fire.

Art
Compared to the 3.5 art, it is much more sterile but probably also represents the creature better. This version is clearly more canine and also has a nice inner glow and body structure to represent its unnatural, fiery nature. Specifically, the barrel-like chest which is almost fully continuous with the hell hound's maw shows how it is simply a furnace within superficial disguise of skin and fur. There are no innards here, only fire. The rest of its body being somewhat languished and stretched to direct one's gaze towards its glowing chest and maw emphasises the effect. Both of its left-hand paws look off, though (and not only because they are a bit too blurred). There is no reference for size but the feel of the creature is not weighty enough to seem bigger than its medium size, and its base creature disqualifies the thing being smaller (although, beware of hell chihuahuas; now 80% hate and 20% tremble). The way the picture has been made as large as humanly possible might actually work against the hell hound in this case: the picture would likely work better if it was only slightly less expansive on page.

Purpose & Tactics
As mentioned, the hell hound is not a solo monster. The stats, shared with other canines, reflect this through the inclusion of pack tactics which only works alongside other melee creatures but can be very dangerous when enabled. All bits which make the hell hound special are both related to its fiery nature: it deals additional fire damage with its bite, it breathes fire, and it is immune to fire. The added damage on its bite naturally makes it feel more dangerous than a wolf without any artificial inflation of the damage dice (compare this design to natural weapons in Tome of Beasts, for example). However, the more important bits are the breath weapon and fire immunity. The hell hound's breath has a low save DC and deals middling damage which seems to also hint at how this is a creature which is intended to be used in multiples: the damage from a nova of their breath weapons is not quite that likely to kill party members despite representing a real danger. Of course, the hell hound's fire immunity means that this large area effect does not hurt other hell hounds, making using it in packs easier. Similarly, allies can easily abuse their area of effect fire attacks, which are not that scarce.

Other than that... The hell hound is a hound - it can be used for tracking, guarding (it has proficiency in perception), and hunting. It also understands Infernal and has a low non-animal intelligence, making it able to follow more complex orders than a mundane hound and to adapt its tactics to at least some degree since it is not just a simple beast.

Fluff
As the proficiency in Infernal and the allusion to hell (namely, the Nine Hells) in its name hint, the hell hound is linked to devils, with which it shares its immunity to fire. However, it is described as a more commonplace monster in the Lower Planes in general, as well as the eternal battlefields of Acheron. The fluff provided in the Monster Manual continues to focus on the hell hound as a creature of fire, mentioning fire giants as potential owners and quite literally spending half its description on how feeding stokes its flames while death makes it immolate. The rest is spent detailing how this is a creature of pure evil and cannot escape its killer nature. It is noteworthy that the hell hound (like its devil masters) is lawful evil. As such, it is likely to remain loyal to its duty instead of indulging in distractions and it might even make a deal to not attack someone in exchange for a change at using them to hunt greater prey.

Hooks
The doors of Hell are open and fell creatures are pouring out! Acting as scouts and advance forces, packs of hell hounds are attacking settlements and patrolling the forests, setting fire to wherever they go.

As the party approaches the infernal mansion of the pit fiend, Karthus II, the Blazing Eye of Bel, they must avoid the hell hounds positioned to guard the area and its key locations in small groups. If any are alerted to the party's presence, their howl will have the nearest patrols and a group of devils join the fray.

The tyrannical fire giants have been raising a brood of hell hounds and are using nearby villagers as game to feed and train their new hunting dogs. Unless the party unroots and kills every hell hound used for breeding, deep inside the giants' fortress, they will only mildly waste the giants' resources by killing a single group of hell hounds and their giant handler.

Verdict
I think the hell hound has surprising tactical depth given its relatively simple stats in 5e. It being a canine gives it a clear niche which is supported surprisingly well by the fact that it is intelligent enough to understand verbal commands and lawful in alignment. Overall, though, their role is not to stand out. They provide additional challenge alongside either more powerful solo monsters or as a complement to a unit of appropriate humanoid enemies. The fact that they are as generic as they are helps them fit as pets to a wide variety of enemies, from devils to mundane evil legions.

[Arvin Natsuko]

Gastronomie, the Half-Dragon was indeed fully immune in 3.5. However, in 5E even full Dragons are only resistant and not immune, so it would be illogical for half-dragons to have better protection from the elements than their full-blooded fore-bearers. On the plus side, you can now roast a Red Dragon to death. I'm not sure how that works with something that lives in and around volcanoes, though.

5e Dragons are indeed immune to their own breath element.

I agree with Gastronomie that Half-Dragons should have the same immunity.

[Arimm]

Helmed Horror

Intro
The Helmed Horror is a relatively old monster from 2nd edition where they were CR 8, and while their CR has been halved in this edition they are still fearsome opponents for any lower level party and likely to still be troublesome to mid level parties not prepared for their high defenses.

Art
The art here shows a helmed horror in quite menacing and detailed armor. I especially like how the eyes on the shoulder-mask glow from the ethereal energy of the Horror within. The pose doesn't show mush character other than "hello I'm here to kill you" but that's fine as constructs don't tend to have much character.
The bonus sketch art at the bottom shows a Horror wielding a mace as apposed to a sword, I guess to show that it is pretty easy to give these whatever weapon you want them to have.(In previous editions they had both a sword and a crossbow)

Purpose & Tactics
I would not want to fight these things, with an armor class of 20 while their shield is up, resistances to pretty much everything but magic and adamantine weapons, and immunities to three spells of their creators choice these things are walking no wait flying tanks. Thankfully their damage isn't that high for their level. Their traits would likely lead me to use them in one the following ways;

1. Put it up against a party that is unlikely to be able to kill (due to being to low level or not having magic items) it in a large mansion/castle in which the Horror will be able to chase them relentlessly while the party tries to come up with a way to immobilize or otherwise stop it.

2. Due to its 60 feet sight that it is blind past you could use it as a stealth section in a dungeon against a really low level party that it would likely kill, or have a whole area full of them where one alerts all the others if it spots an intruder Phantom Hourglass style. If run well this could be really fun and nerve-wracking.

3. As a boss for a low level construct/wizard dungeon. Their tactical skill in battle but lack of self preservation could make for an interesting enough battle itself, given an environment that the party can make use of.

Fluff
They are just kinda upgraded animated armors when you get down to it and the fluff here doesn't add much besides that fact. They are more intelligent and take the makers intent into account so finding loopholes in their logic is far less likely here.
I would likely rewrite the fluff for my own purposes, saying that they are the souls of warriors so loyal that they lingered to continue their task. This would also better explain their tactical skill and capability to fly.

Hooks
As you enter the next dust-covered room you see menacing suits of armor lining the walls. Suddenly (insert number here) of them begins to glow as thick red aether fills the suit(s). This/These is/are the knight(s) of Jothrim, ancient king of this realm, and now it/they attack!

The wizard who lives in the old castle hasn't been seen for a few days, and when we went in there we saw a horrifying red ghost flying in the darkness brandishing a sword! Will you brave adventurers please go investigate?

The parties wizard wishes to create some animated armor, but role badly enough and a wandering spirit may interrupt the ritual,inhabit the armor and attack!

Verdict
While a bit dry in fluff, the Helmed Horror's formidable abilities and easy re-fluffing make it a fine candidate for encounters. I probably wouldn't center a quest on them however.

[Millstone85]

There is currently no monster with resistance to force damage, and only one with immunity, which is the helmed horror.

It is said many helmed horrors are programmed to laugh when targeted with eldritch blast, and then laugh twice as hard if the warlock switches to chill touch, because they are immune to necrotic damage too.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

It is said many helmed horrors are programmed to laugh when targeted with eldritch blast, and then laugh twice as hard if the warlock switches to chill touch, because they are immune to necrotic damage too.

And, of course, they're also immune to that old reliable Magic Missile (and most creators sensibly make them immune to that other staple Fire Ball).

[Gastronomie]

The fact they're immune to particular spells could make them interesting enemies if you make them creations of a boss Caster. Basically, the Caster knows the best spells the party has from data acquired through previous fights between the party and the boss's minions, so he can use that to his advantage by selecting them for the Helmed Horror's immunities. And it wouldn't be just a "challenging encounter" - it would also signal the party that the boss is really seeing them as a valid threat.

[SharkForce]

you can also use it a lot like careful spell if you pair them with a spellcaster.

the wizard/cleric/druid/whatever doesn't have to worry about casting a few specific spells to hit the party as well as the minion (in addition to some that the helmed horror will be immune to simply because of its nature).

[Sharur]

5e Dragons are indeed immune to their own breath element.

I agree with Gastronomie that Half-Dragons should have the same immunity.

You are correct; my apologies, I don't know why I thought otherwise. (I could have sworn I looked it up somewhere and it said resistance, but looking in my copy of MM, you are correct)

As for the Helmed Horrors: Despite the name, they are neutral, and the (lack of a) description of how they are created means that it need not be evil. Also, they are adaptable. Perhaps a less intimidating looking example could be the ultimate guard or gate warden, for a walled city or a manor or a vault. Also, I could see them as "Mr. Pump" from Discworld, the implacable parole officer.

Another way Helmed Horrors are better than their Animated Armor counterparts is that they lack the anti-magic susceptibility feature. I'm not sure if that is a positive or a negative. On the one hand, it means there isn't a built in "inventive" way of shutting them down; on the other, I dislike "tricks that you can learn from the monster manual", like troll weaknesses. I much prefer when the PCs discover things in-universe.

[Unoriginal]

Since the Helmet Horror is immune to Force effects, can it walk through a Wall of Force?

[SharkForce]

Since the Helmet Horror is immune to Force effects, can it walk through a Wall of Force?

it isn't immune to force effects, it is immune to force damage.

wall of force does not deal force damage, so helmed horrors aren't any more immune to it than any other monster, at least not by default.

[mythossanta]

Really digging this guy. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I'm definitely going to put this in my campaign (players just hit 5th). I'm a big fan of giving monsters class levels and this guy just begs for them. Here's a few ideas, with story points:

Helmed Horror + Revised Ranger (1+): The key idea behind this set up is a Helmed Horror with a favored enemy. Perhaps it's a guardian of a tomb in an area in an area with a bad ghoul problem. Perhaps they guard a (former?) human settlement from goblinoids.

Helmed Horror + Fighter (3+ Champion): This Helmed Horror was built to be a perfect guardian and killing machine. A fantasy terminator. However, it's creator died before bringing it to perfection. Now it wanders the halls of it's artificer's tower, following it's last commands.

Helmed Horror + Artificer (1+): This one is cheating, but I think it's a good use of the stat block. The guy holds the soul of a dead artificer. Unfortunately the conversion was less than successful, so it lacks proper intelligence. It does however know how to fire a thundercannon.

[Arimm]

So I didn't think doing two in a row would be very courteous of me but it seems no one is interested in doing Hippogriff so would anyone mind if I do it?

[Unoriginal]

So I didn't think doing two in a row would be very courteous of me but it seems no one is interested in doing Hippogriff so would anyone mind if I do it?

I don't mind you doing it, but the fact is I kind of forgot about this thread until now. I have no issue writing the Hippogriff, tomorrow or in two days, I think.

[Sharur]

Well if we're slapping Fighter levels on a Helmed Horror, I'd go with Battle Master. It fits better for me with the tactical cunning aspect, and I don't see the Champion HH as a "Terminator" until something like 18th level when it gets its Survivor regeneration ability.

Though if we're putting class levels on it, I'd stick a few Oathbreaker Paladin levels, to make a lower end Death Knight. Actually, if you put enough levels, I'd say it'd be a more melee focused Death Knight. (The MM death knight has Magic resistance, whereas our HH death knight has resistance to non-magic physical damage).

Or, if we are putting player features on creatures, I'd prefer to use feats. If you want it to be more of a physical tank, choose something like Tough or Defensive Duelist(and waive the finesse weapon requirement); if you are using it as a guard Alert or Sentinel can help with that; if you want to make it a true horror (pun intended) for your spell casters, give it Mage-Slayer.

Hippogriff

Intro: So, the Hippogriff. Another half-bird, half-terrestrial creature from ancient myth, similar to the Griffin. Actually, that comparison is going to come up a lot, to the point that the 4E Monster Manual actually displayed hippogriffs as a sub-type of griffins. Younger D&D players may have first come accross this creature in Harry Potter, for better or worse.


Art
The art for the hippogriff takes up more than half a page, room that I personally find would have better spent with more lore, which is skimpy. I think that the longer one looks at the art, the worse I find it. The back half looks like a passable galloping horse (although I can't shake the feeling that I've seen it somewhere before, as a whole horse). The crest on its head looks ridiculous to me, the talons' posistioning remind me of an image of an eagle swooping down to catch a fish in a lake from my 7th grade biology textbook, and the wings look completely off. The far wing looks fine (attached to the center of mass, in an "airplane wing" formation) whereas the near wing looks to far forward(attached to the front leg almost) and nearly perpendicular to the other one.

Basically, the art feels like someone got a picture of a horse, and then (badly) photoshopped a bird-of-prey on top. The only good thing for me in the image is the watercolor background; I can see the indistinct greyness as either clouds or distant mountains.

One possibly good thing about the art, though, there is possibly a point of size reverence for once. A Hippogriff is large, like a horse. If we assume it's horse-like hindquarters to be of a similar to their apparent source, it gives us a good idea of what dimensions the hippogriff should have.

Purpose & Tactics
This seems like a Griffin knock-off. Slightly worse stats, -1 comparatively to hit and AC, an almost identical Multi-attack that does an average of 1 damage less on the beak attack, the same bonus to Perception, there's not a whole lot of differentiation between the members of the "Griff" clan, but there are:

1) HP: As expected for something with similar defense and attacks as its CR better, the Hippogriff has only an average of 19 HP, a fraction of the Griffin's 59. This is particularly important because both of these large fliers lack the Fly-by Attack feature, so neither is going to be doing strafing runs, but the Griffin can speed in outside of most attack ranges (save for notably bows), and set itself down for a few rounds of combat. Most level 1 frontliners can two-shot the Hippogriff.
2) Speed: Compared to the Griffin, the Hippogriff trades 20ft of flight speed for 10ft of Ground Speed, so it has to get even closer. The ground speed it gets in return is probably never going to come up, unless you built a Death Star Trench Run scenario.
3) Vision: The Hippogriff does not get the Darkvision of the Griffin, so it's going to be daytime only threat. Maybe if you kill a hippogriff on the plains during the day (and level up to 2, with 5E's very small XP requirement at level 1) and take the meat with you, you'll get harassed by Griffins that evening.

I honestly feel that WotC missed a chance to do something tactically interesting with these creatures, both in general, and to differentiate between Griffin and Hippogriff. I understand that this is harder with lower CR creatures, but still, couldn't they give it the CR1/2 Warhorse's Trampling Charge or something (and if they required the charge to be on the ground, that would be a chance to use the increased ground speed).

Fluff
One theme that runs through what little fluff there is personal loyalty, to their life partner, to their eggs, and to their riders. Another thing is that these omnivorous (half-horse remember) creatures are on everyone else's dinner menu, even the Griffon's. Grrr. Underdog senses, tingling!

Hooks
1) Friend or Foe?: The injured party sees a dark shape in the sky as they search for shelter on the plains is it a hostile orc on a griffin or a friendly Sky Knight on their Hippogriff mount?

2) The Rich Fool is Too Good for a Regular Mount: The party has contracted to guard and protect the self-centered progeny of the local power broker; if the party fail, not only are they out of a job, but said power broker will take their heads. It has been a easy job, until now, when the protectee has gotten it into their head that a normal horse isn't good enough; they want a hippogriff. Now, the party has to capture one, and teach the child how to ride it.

3) Execution or Jailbreak, or, Stealing from Ms. Rowling: Well, the previous adventure has gone poorly, and the kid got hurt (possibly due to their own arrogance), and demanded that the creature be killed. Now the party must face a choice, leave the beast to its fate(or maybe even carry it out themselves), or rescue and release the creature. Riding off into the sunset is optional.

4) Fey Patron's Dues, or, "Raleigh, the Red Beaked Hippogriff": The party's Warlock has a fey patron with a "request": find and capture (taming not necessary), a hippogriff with a red beak to lead the Archfey's sled team. Hurry up, the spring equinox is approaching fast, and without a team of hippogriffs, how is the archfey supposed to reward the good childern their promised fruits (and eat the bad ones)?

5) Poor Bill, or You Know Your Party are Inventive Murderhobos If: Dragons, Chimeras, and Griffins all prey upon Hippogriffs. If a party is hunting or being hunted by such a beast, they can use a hippogriff (tamed or otherwise restrained) as either bait or a distraction. (Or if your party are less evil, the party druid can wildshape into a hippogriff to lure out such a foe)

6) Sovereign Glue Works, Part I or, "You're a Horrible Druid and This is Why you were kicked from your Circle": What little lore there is about Griffons stresses their bonds of loyalty; Normal glue is made from horses. So where does the supreme bonding agent Sovereign Glue come from? Gus the Glue-maker thinks it comes from hippogriffs, and hires the party to hunt some for him.

7) Sovereign Glue Works, Part II or, "A Lesson in Features of the Medieval Economy": The local lord is upset. Someone has been circumventing her monopoly on Sovereign Glue, and she hires the party to discover who it is. Bonus points: this comes after the previous hook, and the answer is the party themselves.

8) Witherwings, Scourge of the Plains, or "Inspired by Mythossanta": Mythossanta brought up the possibility of putting class levels on a monster; Personally, I think its better to either add on a feat instead, or custom create a monster to encompass "class" features (the Hobgoblin Iron Shadow, in Volo's Guide is a good example of this). Nevertheless, if I were to add class features to the Hippogriff, I would add Barbarian. The speed increase can apply both to land and fly speed, the damage reduction of rage (and d12 hit die) can bolster the relative lack of HP, and at higher levels the Brutal Critical feature takes advantage of the d10 damage die on the beak attack.

Verdict:
A bit superfluous with the presence of the Griffin. Nothing wrong with it per say, but it doesn't add anything to the mix. If you got rid of the griffin, this could fill most (but not quite all) of its roles.

[Sharur]

I don't mind you doing it, but the fact is I kind of forgot about this thread until now. I have no issue writing the Hippogriff, tomorrow or in two days, I think.

My apologies if you meant to claim the Hippogriff writeup, Unoriginal. I've been writing it over the last week, so I hadn't been checking the thread.

[VoxRationis]

This is particularly important because both of these large fliers lack the Fly-by Attack feature, so neither is going to be doing strafing runs, but the Griffin can speed in outside of most attack ranges (save for notably bows), and set itself down for a few rounds of combat. Most level 1 frontliners can two-shot the Hippogriff.

How does Fly-By Attack work in 5e? (AFB currently.) I thought everyone could put their attacks in the middle of their movement by default in 5th.

[Millstone85]

I think the hippogriff is in the MM so you can have a flying mount that:
a) isn't actually an intelligent creature giving you a piggyback ride, like a dragon or pegasus.
b) will not likely end up eating you and/or someone else's mount, like a dragon, griffon or wyvern.

It is a bird-horse. It flies and can be mounted, provided it is well trained. I respect that.

How does Fly-By Attack work in 5e? (AFB currently.) I thought everyone could put their attacks in the middle of their movement by default in 5th.

A creature with Flyby "doesn't provoke an opportunity attack when it flies out of an enemy's reach" (MM, various).

[ShikomeKidoMi]

I think Millstone85 has it. It's also why they're so much weaker than Griffins. They're meant to be used as rides, not fighters.

[Unoriginal]

Guess I'll write the hobgoblin one, then.

On the subject of the hippogriff: it really opens a lot of possibilities to have a not-that-rare, not-that-powerful flying mount.

I mean, imagine its impact on communication, or how sieges and other military operations would have to account for them to work in a D&D world.

I'd posit that most cities would have at least a few hippogriffs unless there is something that specifically makes them unable to get them.

Hell, just use the hippogriff as a mount for a Knight and you'll probably have a memorable encounter for lvl 4 groups. Add some armor and the Dodge action, and you have a serious contender for "thing you don't want your enemies to have"

[SharkForce]

How does Fly-By Attack work in 5e? (AFB currently.) I thought everyone could put their attacks in the middle of their movement by default in 5th.

flyby attack makes it so you don't eat opportunity attacks for doing it ;)

[Arimm]

Soooooo...
You there unoriginal?

[odigity]

Updated collection thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...1&postcount=29

Holy crap, this thread has nearly completely died after two years of activity. Since it's slowed down so much, probably won't revisit till new year's.

[DerKommissar]

As this used to be a very nice thread I'd like to ressurect it - hope that more people will join in again :)

Hobgoblins

Intro

The three main Goblinoids are the Goblin, the Hobgoblin and the Bugbear. The goblin is a small, fast breeding nuissance, which nevertheless can be dangerous: with their bonus action disengange/dash and a good ranged attack they are a threat to everyone - but most of the time manageable due to their disorganisation. The Bugbear in contrary is the stronger, way sneakier, older Brother, but more of a loner. Still you dont want him to be your enemy. The Hobgoblins on the other hand are as strong as the bugbears, but can come in numbers as the goblins. And they are intelligent. And organized.

Art

The MM does not depict the different ranks, but only the Captain (I think it is the Captain, as the others have shields in their descriptions. On the other hand I think that he is wielding a longsword, not a greatsword. So its hard to tell...)

I don't like the art so much, as he looks more like a marvel comic villain, than from a 'medival setting'. Also the perspective is a bit off: the angle from down below makes him seem taller than medium. He is wearing a japanese style armor which looks okay, but why no helmet? First thing a soldier like the hobgoblin would put on is a helmet. The belt buckle is weird. Also the face doesen't do it for me. Im sorry, but I just don't like the picture so much, I rather imagine them looking like the LoTR Armored Uruk hai.

Purpose and Tactics

The Hobgoblins have excellent AC, Martial Advantage pushes their damage up by quite a bit and they have a ranged option. Plus they work in groups and the fluff says they are riding worgs. All in all they are quite strong for their CR*. I was quite pleased to see, that their mechanics meet the fluff and it fits well together. Each the captain and warlord are building on the basic hobgoblin in a well rounded way.
All in all I think the Hobgoblins are a very nice monster if you want to challenge your party, but be carefull: Their actual CR is a bit higher, they synergize well amongst each other (virtually bumping the CR) and they are intelligent. See them as the 'ruling class' amongst goblins.

Fluff

The Hobgoblin from the saga is some kind of small house spirit, who aids people while they are asleep. It seems the D&D Hobgoblin only has the name in common, so I'd say we skip the Real-World comparison.

In D&D the hobgoblin was there since first edition. I like to imagine them as kind of a mixture of the organization, equipment and martial spirit of the roman legions and the equally dangerous but hard to keep in bounds renaissance mercenaries. An invasion of hobgobns is not a disorganised 'wave' as a goblin swarm or a gnoll raid that put a 30 years war over the countryside, but it is an actual organized, well-trained army invading. But their intelligence might make it possible to reason/negotiate with them and get your town spared or make them march against a common enemy. Or make trade agreements. Because in contrast to other monster hordes: They have a greater goal, a motivation to invade you, not just the standard 'the world has to become an evil place' motivation. In my campaign I use them as a fraction among others (humans, dwarfs, elves, orcs, etc.)**.

Hooks

During the long war against some greater evil, Humen and Hobgoblins fought side by side. Still today men (in contrary to other humanoids) maintain a good relationship with them. There even is a huge hobgoblin outpost in the kingdom of Yourcampaign. This has the benefit to shield the human lands from the goblin hords of Mount Krzach. Long time has past since the war and the hobgoblins want to withdraw their forces into their mainland, where they need anyone they can get to fight another enemy. Can the heroes manage to keep the kingdom from being swarmed by goblin hords?

The heroes encounter a disgraced band of Hobgoblins who seek an honorable death in battle to join Maglubiyet in his eternal feast. Can the heroes convince the hobgoblins to fight an enemy of theirs instead or do they have to fight them in an almost sportive setting?

The heroes are visited by a hobgoblin in disguise, offering a huge reward if they betray the City of Yourcampgain and help an hobgoblin army to conquer the city. They are (credibly) granted immunity for the time after the city has fallen by the hobgoblins. What will their decision be?

The city of Yourcampaign is under siege by hobgoblins. Spies tell that they are preparing the ultimate weapon to finally bust the gates of the city. In desperation the city council decides that an archwizard weaves the appearance of the heroes into hobgoblins and enables them to speak goblin fluently. Can the heroes stop the fall of the city?

Verdict

The Hobgoblin is an interesting creature. It can be used as an adversary, an ally, or just as a challenging random encounter. Goblinoids with their diversity are in general a quite versatile class of creatures.

*If anybody cares, their proper CR is between 0,5 an 1, so they are stronger than their stated CR would let you think, unlike e.g. the ogre, which is mechanically 'over-CRed'.

**5e did mostly away with alignment and all the discussions it spawned at various play tables/internets. I think it is a good oportunity to not see all 'evil creatures' as inherently evil, (i.e.: stupid evil), but to maybe leave some perspective: e.g. they are seen as cruel by their enemies but they themselves would call it rational. Why not give monsters a motivation beyond "to see the world burn". I found the input on good aligned chromatic dragons very interesting btw :)

[Regitnui]

BRAAAAIIIIINNSSS...

Wait, we're not at the zombies yet.

Anyway, I'd like to say that the perception of hobgoblins as sentient reasonable foes is new, but Eberron did it with Dhakaan (Ancient goblinoid empire) and the modern country of Darguun. Personally, I like the new "neutral" perception of hobgoblins as rival empire builders to contrast humanity and their allies. If you need a go-to "monstrous ally" for your campaign, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better option than hobgoblins and the other goblinoids and creatures under their command. They might be nasty, but they've got just as much interest as the "common races" in keeping the land safe for their people.

They'll crush you if you aren't "their people", but so would humans, to be fair.