Giant constrictor snake 5e how to#
Giant constrictor snake 5e manual#
Giant constrictor snake 5e Pc#

Of course, I’ve never been an “out-of-the-box” kind of guy. Kinda pricey at the 1,100 XP price tag, but these can help out considerably by keeping PC’s on their toes. Keep ’em hidden ’til the PC’s engage and then have them go nuts on the Skull Lord’s biggest threats. Plus, with +6 to hit and 17 damage, they’ll put a hurting on the heroes. Same as above, but instead use the minotaur skeleton to tie up multiple opponents. Plus, it takes up a 10′ x 10′ area, which means it can tie up a lot of characters.

Giant constrictor snake 5e manual#

The ogre zombie from the Monster Manual works especially well here since it’s got nearly 4 times the hit points of a normal zombie and is only a boost of 450 XP. Here’s some canned undead that works at that level:

Giant constrictor snake 5e Pc#

Yes, it’ll be tough, but there’s nothing worse than a BBEG fight that ends quickly because it’s “balanced.” If you ain’t killing at least one PC in a BBEG fight, you’re probably doing it wrong. It doesn’t have to be a lot (in fact, I recommend keeping it closer to 1:1 monster to PC’s), but have each one play a specific role to support the Skull Lord (and vice versa). If he is the BBEG for level-10 PC’s, I say toss in another 500-1,000 XP per PC worth of bad guys. And he only gets 5 at a time.Īs a Challenge Rating 15 bad guy, chances are he’s going to go up against the PC’s sometime around levels 10 (for a deadly encounter), and maybe even earlier than that if it’s the big bad evil guy for a campaign. Fortunately, his minions are good for that, but it gobbles up all his legendary actions to create them. Therefore he needs some stuff to get in the way. A few whacks from high-level melee fighters and he’s as good as dead. The Skull Lord has some glaring disadvantages. What kind of support is needed for the Skull Lord? Therefore, it’s going to try to prevent those conditions as much as possible. In addition, it is immune to most conditions with the exception of paralysis and restrained. Keith points out that the Skull Lord’s biggest weaknesses are Constitution and Wisdom-based saves, which the Skull Lord stinks at despite its higher challenge rating. Again, be sure to read up the article yourself to get more details.

It’s an undead running on compulsions, therefore it’s unlikely it’ll try to escape unless its creator has specifically commanded it to.

After figuring out who the biggest threat is, the Skull Lord will smash that threat with all its attacks, minions, and finish it off with finger of death.Once the PC’s are tied up with the undead minions, it’ll drop cloudkill.If it doesn’t have to move, it’ll crank out some zombies and skeletons to help it out (it can only summon five of these at a time… at CR 15, that’s puzzling, because skeletons and zombies at that level are nothing more than annoying speed bumps).It’s going to keep its distance from characters that can do significant melee damage.

Probably open with cone of cold to shake things up.If you haven’t already read Keith’s article, here’s a rundown of the Skull Lord’s basic tactics: One thing that really stood out in Keith’s article is his mention of how the Skull Lord works better as a front-line support caster than a solo boss. Three heads, all enemies in life, constantly bickering with each other over what to do, who to kill, etc.Īlso, Skull Lord totally sounds like an awesome name for a metal band. I mean, the guy (guys? girls? combination?) is totally ridiculous. 3 new undead monsters for 5e D&D to support Skull Lord (and vice versa).What sort of support is needed for the Skull Lord?.A quick look at the Skull Lord’s tactics.To piggy-back off Keith’s article, I’m going to offer up some baddies to help support Skullie Skull and his Bickering Bros:

Giant constrictor snake 5e how to#

If you’re looking for tactics on how to run this awesome beastie from Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, then be sure to zip over and read Keith’s article: Skull Lord Tactics. If you’re an avid reader of Keith Ammann’s amazing monster tactics blog, The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, then no doubt you’ve probably read his recent article on skull lords. DM Dave 1 Comment on 3 Skull Lord Support Monsters: Zombie Constrictor Snake, Venom Maw, and Swarm of Crawling Claws Posted in Monsters