D&D: New Monsters in ‘Scions Of Elemental Evil’ Preview 5.5E Monster Manual Changes
From pistol-wielding pirate captains to revamped succubi, the new free Scions of Elemental Evil adventure shows off 5.5E monsters.
Scions of Elemental Evil is available on D&D Beyond now, free to all users. And you might want to check it out. Because even if you don’t play, the adventure is still a window into the future.
The new adventure is designed to showcase the 5.5E ruleset. And that means, besides new magic items, new monsters. There are a fair amount in here too, including updated versions of classic monsters like ogres and incubi, as well as new monsters and NPCs.
Scions of Elemental Evil – New Monsters And What’s Different
Now, whether these are the final versions of the monster stat blocks we’ll see in the upcoming 5.5E Monster Manual, releasing February 2025, is anyone’s guess. I would lean more towards what they are, though. And if you’ll recall, word from WotC is that monsters, on the whole, have been overhauled. Now, they’ll be more in line with their actual CR. All the math has supposedly been adjusted.
But, in some cases, very little has changed. Like the new Ogre. It is fundamentally the same as it is in the old Monster Manual, and indeed, in the Basic Rules, with one key difference: It now has 68 instead of 59 hit points.
I don’t know how much of a difference that will actually make. But hey, that’s one more potential hit from a cantrip or something. Not every monster featured in the adventure has had only minor tweaks, though. In some cases, it’s practically a whole new stat block.
Such is the case with the incubus. Where the incubus, formerly, had been just a reskin of the succubus, the two fiends are now substantively different. Incubi now are more like creatures of Nightmare.
Instead of a psychic damage claw, they have Nightmare Touch, a much more damaging attack (3d6 + 5 instead of 1d6 + 3) that also automatically curses targets hit by it. An Incubi’s Nightmare Touch means you can gain no benefit from Short Rests.
That curse lasts 24 hours or until you finish a Long Rest, so it’s pretty brutal. Similarly, the incubi can, as a Bonus Action, potentially knock someone out if they have less than 20 hit points. Creatures so afflicted either fall unconscious for an hour (or until they take damage or are awoken) or 4d8 Damage. Not bad.
Incubi Aren’t The Only Different Ones Though
Incubi have one last trick though, and that is that they can transform into a succubus at the end of a Long Rest. And succubi are also a little different from their 5E form. Though not to the extent that incubi are.
The 5.5E succubus is built different. It still has the same Fiendish Touch, but a succubi’s draining kiss has been nerfed – it only does 3d8 damage (or half on a successful Con save) instead of 5d10 + 5. But succeed or not, the kiss reduces a target’s hp maximum by the damage dealt.
And instead of a nonspell Charm ability, succubi can just cast Dominate Person as an 8th-level spell at will (lasts up to 8 hours).
What About New Monsters In Scions Of Elemental Evil, Though?
While there are a few more updates along those lines, there are also new stat blocks to play with. My favorite is the pistol-wielding Pirate Captain. Weighing in at CR 6, the Pirate Captain packs a mean punch.
Each hit with a rapier does 2d8 + 4 damage. But the captain also has a pistol that deals 2d10 + 4 damage. The pirate captain can make three attacks using either weapon in any combination. Which is a mighty wallop, for sure. But the captain can also riposte as a reaction, adding 3 to its AC and potentially making a rapier attack if the original attack misses.
Good, clean, fun.
There are a few other tweaks throughout the adventure. Gray Oozes, for instance, can interact with the crafting rules, sort of. You can find all the rest for yourself at the link below.
