The Gorgon is not a cunning foe, but a tragedy. Born of ancient hubris, it is a relentless security system that was simply forgotten—a magical spasm in an iron shell. Learn how to use its single-minded duty and the power of its Command Key to create a truly unique, agonizing, and thematic challenge for your players.
encounter design
Danger Without Malice: Ankylosaurus
The Ankylosaurus doesn’t stalk or roar. It simply moves, dragging the world with it. A living siege engine with a tail like a falling star, this creature teaches adventurers that danger isn’t always evil—sometimes it’s just massive, unstoppable, and heading directly toward the only place your party doesn’t want it to be.
Deer: The Anchor of a Forgetful Forest
Deer aren’t predators—but they aren’t harmless, either. In the right forest, at the wrong moment, a deer becomes an uncanny anchor point the world bends toward. This encounter turns a CR 0 creature into something eerie, regretful, and impossible to ignore every time your party looks away.
Monthly Monster Mashup 7: Dryad + Wight
What happens when a Dryad’s devotion meets a Wight’s hunger? You get a guardian who keeps protecting long after death — a tragic fusion of life, decay, and desperate purpose. This Dark Dryad offers DMs a haunting encounter about corruption, consequence, and what we cling to even as we fall apart.
Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable: Running Invisible Stalkers
What if that first spring breeze wanted you dead? The Invisible Stalker is more than an invisible bruiser — it’s a summoned assassin with intelligence, malice, and method. This entry explores how to make its unseen terror felt long before combat begins… and how to ensure its death has weight.
The Naga Remembers: Giving Your Campaign a Soul
The Guardian Naga isn’t just a creature—it’s a moment. A serpent who remembers everything, it exists to protect knowledge, reframe your campaign’s narrative, and shift your players from wanderers to prophets. But it won’t share what it knows without a reason. This entry explores how to use the Naga as a mythic, emotional keystone—one that reshapes not only what your party learns, but how they understand the world they’re in.
Ettins: Two Minds, No Masters
Ettins aren’t just two-headed brutes — they’re a study in permanent codependence. Whether you lean into comedy, pathos, or tactical chaos, these tragic giants offer more than a sack of hit points. From bickering crime lords to fading sentinels of forgotten tombs, here’s how to get the most out of the monster you’re already talking to.
Mammoths: Gods of Hair and Bone
What do your players see when they see a Mammoth? A beast to be hunted, a symbol of ancient power, or a god walking the tundra? In this entry, we explore how these colossal creatures can become powerful narrative moments — not just for combat, but for choice, culture, and consequence.
The Colossus: When the Dungeon Walks
What happens when the dungeon stands up? The Colossus is more than just a monster — it’s a walking battlefield, a relic of a forgotten war, and the start of something huge. Whether your players want to fight it, stop it, or claim it, this is an encounter they won’t forget.
One Trick, One Drop, One Kill (Maybe): The Piercer
A conical horror that drops from the ceiling and hopes for the best, the Piercer is one of the weirdest monsters in D&D — and one of the funniest. Whether you use it for comedy, paranoia, or foreshadowing something far worse, this larval death drop deserves more than a passing glance.
Encounter Every Enemy 