r/dndmonsters

I've been working on an original homebrew bestiary and wanted to share one of my favorites: the Neurotoad.

It's a Tiny Beast built entirely around collective illusions. What makes it mechanically unique is that its danger scales with numbers: with 1-2 Neurotoads it produces false sounds and shadows; with 3-4 it generates illusory duplicates and distance distortion; with 5 or more it can simulate entire terrain, conceal exits and create nonexistent enemies. And the DC of its saving throws increases by +1 for each additional Neurotoad present.

Its Synaptic Call trait summons 1d4 reinforcements the moment it feels threatened, which can turn an apparently easy encounter into illusory chaos within a few rounds. Harmless Appearance makes players underestimate the threat until it's too late.

And when a creature fails a saving throw, Distorted Reality imposes disadvantage on its next roll or reduces its speed by half.

It doesn't seek to kill. It seeks to confuse until you leave.

The bestiary quote sums it up perfectly: "Don't trust what you see… when the swamp is thinking alongside you."

Ideal encounter: 2-3 Neurotoads at the start that quickly scale to 5 or more.

Feedback on balance for CR 1/2 is very welcome.

Do you like my black cat dragon?

Hi folks,

I've started to make silly, weird monsters for dnd and I thought to start to post them again on reddit after the long pause.

This monster, other than being a cutie, has a peculiar mechanic centered aroung "jinx": when a player rolls a specific number on a die, this monster stacks "jinx" points it can use to deal extra necrotic damage.

Speaking of this creature's breath weapon, I decided to not focus over damage (pointless, if you ask me). Instead, I've opted for a "cursing" effect, which allows this monster to curse up to 4 numbers, hexing all creatures in a cone: by failing the saving throw against the breath weapon, all hexed creature must be cautious: if they score one of the cursed numbers, the curseed number is removed from the list and they take psychic damage.

By the way: being a cat I had to give it a mobility skill, so its bonus action allows it to glide in the form of a bidimensional shadow over any surface, ignoring gravity.

So, do you like it? Let me know

Illustration by Andrea Petruzzi

These pages are from Goblins & Goblins, my manual focused on expanding goblins into a much wider range of roles, encounters, factions, and campaign tools.

This preview includes the Goblin Shadowmancer, a CR 3 spellcaster built around darkness, fear, teleportation, necrotic magic, and optional shadow traits; the Goblin Alchemist, a chaotic potion-maker with random concoctions, explosive flasks, and extra customization options; and the Goblin King, a CR 4 leader who commands nearby goblins, uses legendary actions, and can turn a messy goblin fight into something much more dangerous.

I wanted Goblins & Goblins to make goblins feel fresh again, not just as disposable low-level enemies, but as tricksters, leaders, weird specialists, faction members, recurring villains, or chaotic allies that can show up at many different levels of play.

What’s Inside?

• Tons of Goblin Statblocks – From the explosive Goblin Alchemist to the fearsome Goblin King, with extra traits and variants for customization.
• Unique Goblin Races – Expand your bestiary with Desert Goblins, Sky Goblins, Snow Goblins, and Swamp Goblins, each with unique abilities and lairs.
• Goblin Campaign Tools – Factions, encounter ideas, trap-filled hideouts, and a goblin name table to enrich your adventures.
• 75+ Magic Items – From general goblin gear to race-specific magic items tailored for each goblin subrace.
• VTT & Art Resources – Includes 36 art handouts and 28 creature tokens to bring goblins to life at your table.

You can also find more of my creatures and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or by visiting r/JonnyDM!

I've been working on an original homebrew bestiary and wanted to share one of my favorites: the Shriekweaver Monkey.

It's a Small Monstrosity built around harassment and control. What makes it interesting mechanically is the combination of three traits working together: Cave Hunter lets it move across walls and ceilings without ability checks, Unsettling Mimicry imposes disadvantage on Perception checks against any creature that hears the imitated voice, and Pack Tactics gives it advantage on attacks when allies are nearby.

Its combat routine is simple but brutal: lock targets in place with Grasping Claw and finish them off with Spider Bite, which combines piercing and poison damage in a single attack against grappled targets.

What I love most is that before combat even starts it has already sown confusion. The bestiary quote sums it up perfectly: "The voice was familiar. That should have been the first warning."

The ideal encounter is 3-5 Shriekweavers in a cave with high ceilings and areas of total darkness.

Feedback on balance for CR 2 is very welcome.

I've been working on an original homebrew bestiary and wanted to share the Alpha version of the Shriekweaver Monkey.

If the standard Shriekweaver is already dangerous for its Unsettling Mimicry and Pack Tactics, the Alpha takes everything to another level. It's CR 7 and what makes it especially interesting isn't its raw damage but its Pack Dominance trait: while it lives, all allied Shriekweavers within 60 ft. attack with greater precision, resist fear, and can react to each of its hits by moving to attack.

Its Abyssal Shriek (Recharge 5-6) can frighten multiple targets for 1 minute and trigger chain attacks from the entire pack against frightened creatures. It can grapple two creatures simultaneously with Grasping Claw and finish them off with Spider Bite, which combines piercing damage with 3d6 poison and a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned.

And when a creature misses it, Arachnid Counter lets it immediately counterattack with another Grasping Claw.

The bestiary quote sums it up perfectly: "The screaming came from everywhere at once. Then something dropped from the ceiling."

The ideal encounter is Alpha + 3-5 Shriekweavers in a cave with high ceilings and areas of total darkness.

Feedback on balance for CR 7 is very welcome.

I've been working on an original homebrew bestiary and wanted to share one of my favorites: the Snaptongue.

It's a Tiny Beast built entirely around opportunism. What makes it interesting mechanically is the combination of three traits working together: Reptilian Camouflage gives it advantage on Stealth in natural environments and ruins, Opportunist by Nature gives it advantage against distracted or controlled creatures, and Never Fights to the Death makes it flee the moment things get dangerous.

Its main action is Prehensile Tongue: a 15 ft. reach attack that doesn't just deal damage but can steal an object, knock the target prone, or drag it 5 ft. closer. And with Swallow and Run it can disengage without provoking opportunity attacks while gaining temporary hit points if it stole something that turn.

It doesn't seek to kill. It seeks to steal and disappear. An encounter with 2-3 Snaptongues can be more frustrating and memorable than a dragon for a disorganized party.

The bestiary quote says it all: "It doesn't attack you. It waits. And by the time you notice… your food is already gone."

I've been working on an original homebrew bestiary and wanted to share one of my favorites: the Abisaurio.

It's a Medium Monstrosity built around terrain control and patience. What makes it interesting mechanically is the combination of three traits working together: Lord of the Deep gives it a massive advantage while submerged, Nocturnal Hunter punishes surprised creatures with extra 2d6 damage, and Moisture Dependency creates a real weakness that smart players can exploit by pulling it away from water.

Its signature move is Drag into the Deep (Recharge 5–6): it grabs a creature and swims away with it, forcing a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or the target starts suffocating. Combined with Feeding Frenzy, which lets it rush wounded creatures as a bonus action, it becomes extremely dangerous against disorganized parties.

The bestiary quote says it all: "It never chases the fastest prey. It waits for the most careless."

Feedback on balance for CR 5 is very welcome.

Lady Miss Fortune has arrived on the scene! It took her no time at all to board us and capture the entire crew, ha, ha! And thank goodness she left me as a witness to pass along the information. What do you all think about her, who would you like to see next?

The art and images are from League of Legends, property by Riot Games.

If you want to use Miss Fortune and other champions, here is the FoundryVTT module.

Here are the creature art pieces for the June issue of Dragonix's Deadly Denizens IV!

Also, Dragonix's Deadly Denizens Volume IV arrives next week on Kickstarter on July 7, 2026, bringing over 300 statblocks, now built for the 5.5e ruleset!

If you’d like to support the project, I encourage you to follow the campaign through this link so you’re notified the moment it launches.

Hey all, I am Snowy from Snowy's Maps! I just wanted to share some monsters from our JUST LAUNCHED Kickstarter, which features an epic sci-fi monster manual - The Tome of Monsters: Galactic Edition!

For simply checking out the Kickstarter page, you can nab 7 free monsters on us!

Check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snowysmaps/tome-of-monsters-galactic-edition-sci-fi-monster-manual

The Tome of Monsters: Galactic Edition is THE monster manual that you need for your sci-fi campaigns, whether your party is exploring an oppressive dystopian city, expansive alien landscapes, or the depths of space, we've got you covered!

And yes, that's right! With more than 100 monsters spanning 7 essential sci-fi themes, the Tome of Monsters: Galactic Edition is compatible with DnD5e, bringing ALL of these epic monsters to your table (or your Foundry VTT)!

The seven themes were directly inspired by the Paizo's SF2e Galaxy Guide, and we’ve made the monsters a bit more flexible to suit a slightly wider number of themes other than JUST the one they appear in.

Early bird pledges are available for the next 48 hours ONLY so be sure to grab a discount if you want to back! All rewards will come with 14 bonus battlemaps too!

Thanks so much!
Snowy

Ronin, Yokai Monster

Thoughts?

Here are a few preview pages from Atlantis: War of the Tridents, my 270+ page adventure module for 5E, blending Greek mythology, Atlantean fantasy, underwater exploration, political conflict, and traditional fantasy adventure.

This preview shows a mix of the content included in the book: the Barbarian: Path of the Sea Serpent, an ocean-themed subclass built around aquatic adaptation, serpent-like fury, and sea monster resilience; the Atlantean Elemental Sword, a very rare magic weapon forged with fire, lightning, and water gems; several new ocean-themed spells like Rejuvenating Waters, Water Cyclone, and Tidal Smite; Callista, the High Priestess of Athena in Atlantis; and monsters such as the Brine Sea Serpent and Lesser Stone Golem.

The full adventure includes flexible campaign paths, underwater and surface encounters, new character options, spells, magic items, NPCs, monsters, locations, factions, and extensive VTT resources.

It is designed for campaigns that want mythic adventure, oceanic exploration, Atlantean politics, divine influence, ancient secrets, and dangerous creatures from the depths.

You can explore all my manuals and resources on DriveThruRPG, or through my Linktree, and check out more previews on r/JonnyDM.