D&D Gets a ‘Minecraft’ Compendium
Add Creepers to your next D&D campaign with the all-new Minecraft Compendium for 5E. Download today, explode tomorrow.
D&D Direct 2023 revealed many things. Not the least of which was a new Minecraft crossover project that not only brings D&D to Minecraft, but vices the versa as well. And while it will be a while yet before you can head to Faerun from your friendly neighborhood Minecraft client, you can bring Minecraft monsters to your D&D game today.
Because the era of the Creeper is at hand. Blowing up the whole campaign isn’t just for player characters anymore. In the new compendium, which you can claim with a free D&D Beyond account, you’ll unlock four new monsters and some digital art of a Minecraft wolf.
D&D’s Minecraft Compendium – Ender Dragons For All
In this bestiary, you’ll find rules enough to bring five of Minecraft’s classic foes to your tabletop. Each one gets its own description and full Monster Manual treatment. Starting with the Blaze.
These elemental beings set everything on fire, simply by existing. To make it worse, they can shoot fireballs as well. But, in true Minecraft fashion, if you manage to defeat one, you can pick up its glowing remains in the form of a Blaze Rod worth 100gp. Because Minecraft monsters would be nothing if you couldn’t kill them for their loot.
The Blaze can make three ranged spell attacks, dealing a scant 1d10+3 per hit, but creatures hit are automatically set ablaze for an additional 1d6 per round until they take an action to snuff the flames.
Creepers, on the other hand, appear out of nowhere and explode. Just like in Minecraft, a Creeper can’t do anything except wander around, but as soon as anyone gets close enough to it, it starts hissing, and at the start of its next turn, it explodes if anything is still nearby.
And it explodes for a total of 4d6 lightning damage, or 6d6 if it’s been charged by taking lightning damage from any source (including being hit by an exploding Creeper).
Ender Dragons are CR 19 creatures, making them the highest-rated creature in the compendium. They may not have the full draconic attack routine, having only a singular bite attack that deals 5d6 + 8 damage per hit, but they can also make an AoE attack at will that knocks enemies prone.
Their breath weapon is a 15d6 cone of necrotic gas, which creates lingering zones of necrotic energy, which might make it tricky to defeat. And as a side note, they are sometimes found near End crystals, which emit a healing beam that heals the dragon for 20 hit points per turn. Defeat an Ender Dragon, though, and you’ll get a jet-black dragon egg worth 5,000 gp.
An Enderman is a mysterious figure indeed. And their abilities reflect this. They can teleport when taking damage or being targeted by a ranged attack of any kind. They also hit for 3d8 + 4 damage with their slam attacks, making them not super challenging to defeat if you can get in close.
And they may, rarely, drop an Ender Pearl worth 500 gp. Assuming they don’t disintegrate into nothing.
Finally the Wolf of the Overworld. These are functionally identical to wolves. Only instead of having advantage on perception checks, they have a Passive Perception of 15. They’re the least additional “additional monster” in the compendium, for this reason.
What monster from Minecraft would you put in D&D?
