D&D: Five Monsters Perfect For Your Holiday Adventures
‘Tis the season for holiday adventures and one-shots. Here are five monsters that are perfect for any wintry wonderland.
With the air getting colder and the nights getting longer, the holidays are upon us. And that means it’s time for holiday and/or winter-themed adventures. Which means it’s time for holiday and/or winter-themed monsters.
So with all that in mind, here are some monsters that are anything but a humbug.
Abominable Yeti
Let’s start with a classic. The Abominable Yeti. These are legendary beasts that dwell within the wintry wastes. They can hunt in the snow in virtual invisibility, with advantage to all stealth checks in the snow. On top of that, these big bumbly beasties can freeze someone solid with a single gaze.
A favored tactic is to freeze someone who is straggling behind or scouting ahead, and then to ascond with them to a lair. Just like the Wampa did to Luke on Hoth. Once a target is paralyzed and isolated from its colleagues, the Yeti has a delicious feast.
Remorhaz
Remorhazes are a perennial D&D creature. They may look like they’re cold insect ice monsters, but they’re actually surprisingly warm. So much so that fighting one can often imperil your whole party (if they’re melee-ranged). Unnless you’re immune to fire damage, in which case get in close and warm up.
But on top of that, a remorhaz can swallow targets whole. And while it has a target in its gullet, the remorhaz will deal a surprising amount of damage every turn, while it still fights the rest of the party.
Ogre (In Santa Hat)
Of course, holiday adventures don’t mean “only use cold monsters.” And Ogre in a Santa Hat proves this. You can take any monster and put them in holiday attire. But consider the ogre. Green. Cantankerous. Famously hate singing (and talking donkeys, but that’s another story), and you’ve basically got the D&D version of the Grinch, ripe and ready to steal Christmas from all the Halflings in Halflingville.
Kobolds
Speaking of thieves. Kobolds are the perfect little guys for any holiday adventure. They make for excellent antagonists. You could easily see them being in the employ of someone who’s out to darken the sun for winter solstice. But they could just as easily be the weird little guys that need help delivering toys to all the children in Waterdeep because the toy-making gnomes got kidnapped and so now you have to deliver “presents” like a scorpion on a stick or a very confused badger in a jar.
You’re welcome.
Auril
Auril is Faerun’s goddess of frost and wintertime. She’s also a three-phase monster fight that makes for an excellent antagonist if you do prefer the “just use a cold monster for a holiday adventure” route.
Happy holiday adventuring!
