Monster of the Week #1

D&D

Introducing Monster of the Week - where I'll pull out any cool monsters I've found in D&D or any other systems I have been using recently. Come back to see what other unique creatures we may come across!

The monster of this week is a unique 3rd edition creature that I stumbled upon. I have found an amazing Tumblr page who focuses on upgrading legacy creatures and giving them a 5e paint. You can find these guys here if you are interested in seeing more.

(hint, more of these creatures will feature!)

For this week we will be looking at the following monster:

The Bone Drinker

You can find the full stat block and more cool 3rd to 5th creatures here on the Third to Fifth Tumblr page.

This nasty guy is really cool. I'm big into horror, so a disgusting creature like this is right up my alley.

The Bone Drinker boasts a horrible ability - to possess its hosts and drink their bones from their undead corpse.

With a CR rating of 6, it's no easy foe for a smaller party or individual hero. What I really like about this creature is how something like this could be presented as a standard zombie-like creature, that overtime could reveal itself to be a Bloodborne-esque creature or encounter.

I have not had the opportunity to run this creature yet, but based on its stats, its multi-attack (x4) and a challenging 15 DC saving throw to not be "drank" by this creature, it is definitely not one I will throw in liberally at a party.

This creature may provide an opportunity for party members to think outside the box a bit if they have a strength in melee combat, as being close to this thing means getting hit a LOT, and getting drank some too.

Even better, with Undead Fortitude, this creature may not die if it hits 0 hitpoints (depending on its saving throw).

I've been glancing through 3rd edition's monsters, and oh man, it doesn't mess around. However, there are some great creatures in here that I've never seen in my 3-4 years of playing D&D.

I'll be designing an encounter around this thing and using it for a one-shot at my local comic shop - that's for sure.

-J