D&D: Mordenkainen’s Multiverse Makes Magic Monsters Manageable
Monsters of the Multiverse makes managing magic monsters easier than ever. Spell slots are gone, but not forgotten. Take a look.
One of the big changes in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse is the way magic-using monsters work. These are the same changes outlined in the Creature Evolutions article put out by the D&D Design Blog, but now we have a chance to see how they actually fit into the revamped monster design. In a nutshell, it makes spellcasting monsters so much more user-friendly than before.
To illustrate the difference, we’re going to take a look at a couple of the reworked spellcasting monsters and NPCs. Hopefully you’ll get a sense for how the new system works. Let’s start with the most basic difference.
Monsters now have the Spellcasting Action. Any monster capable of casting spells now has a separate action on their stat block called “Spellcasting.” The monster’s Save DC accompanies the entry, along with a list of what spells they can cast and how often.
New Spellcasting Rules
Spell slots are gone. Here’s a look at the spellcasting entry for the Hobgoblin Devastator as it originally appears in Volo’s Guide to Monsters:
And here’s a look at how it’s changed:
Right away, the list is simpler. Instead of the Hobgoblin Devastator having to decide between casting fireball or lightning bolt or something like Thunderwave or Magic Missile, they have an easier list. Two fireballs, two lightning bolts for hitting groups of targets, and then fly, fog cloud, and gust of wind as needed.
WotC has clearly worked out an interesting calculus here. The Hobgoblin Devastator loses out on total number of spell slots (dropping from 11 to 10) but gets a higher number of higher level spell slots.
If the Hobgoblin Devastator lives long enough, they can cast 6 different 3rd level spells, effectively doubling the number of slots from the earlier version. They don’t have to choose between fireball and fly, either. They can do both.
Fly at the beginning to get away from melee weirdos, then rain fireballs and lightning bolts down. Sure, they lose out on the ability to upcast a fireball to a 4th level slot or cast Ice Storm, I guess–but they gain so much more.
Also, their Cantrips are gone. You might have noticed Devastating Bolt though. That’s how Devastators manage their at-will magic damage now. And most spellcasting monsters have something like this.
In this case, it’s a ranged spell attack that deals pretty good damage and knocks a creature prone. Devastating Bolt is more powerful than a 7th level Acid Splash or Fire Bolt, for sure. But it’s not overwhelming. It brings the Devastator where they need to be for CR 4.
Spellcasting and Multiattacks
The other big change is that some creatures now get to use spellcasting as part of their multiattacks. Drow Shadowblades now wield magic and swords with equal skill. They used to have this complicated system:
You’d have to hit with an attack, create a cube of darkness, and then dismiss the darkness eventually to deal some extra damage. Now the Shadowblade can just make three attacks with the shadowsord (doing more damage on average) and can cast Darkness:
It’s a small change. But an important one. The Shadowblade isn’t the only monster or NPC to have this change. Bards, for instance, also gain the ability to swap out an attack to cast a spell as part of their multiattack.
And just look at how happy they look as a result.
Also they have multiattack now. Which is great, they needed it. There’s a lot to love about the new more user-friendly rules in Monsters of the Multiverse’s magic rules. Hopefully this trend continues into “the next evolution of D&D.”
Happy Adventuring!
