D&D: Five Ways to Terrify the Monsters (For Once)
Just because it’s the spooky season doesn’t mean you should have to put up with fear. Try these tricks to terrify the monsters for once.
They say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. And now that there’s a multi-headed hydra goose in D&D 5E, it’s high time that they got to spend the spooky season running scared for once in their lives. Not that they’ll necessarily get far.
But you know, it’s nice to have the shoe on the other foot for once. Here are a few ways to turn the terrifying monster back idea back on itself.
Gloom Stalker Ranger
First up, and most obvious, the Gloom Stalker Ranger. These Rangers might not have been born to the darkness, but they sure adopted it. They can disappear completely from the sight of enemies who rely on darkvision, allowing them to terrify their enemies as an unseen threat. But they also are just an absolute nightmare in the first round of combat, when they deal scads of damage.
It’s a little bit basic, sure, but the Gloom Stalker Ranger is a great way to strike terror into your foes, Batman style.
Oathbreaker Paladin
Have you discovered this hidden subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 yet? A Paladin who breaks their Oath is instead imbued with dark powers that match their ambitions. When you become an Oathbreaker Paladin, which you do by typically breaking your Paladin Oath, as the name implies, you gain the ability to control the undead. But you also gain a feature called Dreadful Aspect.
It has dread right in the name. Anyone affected by this use of your Channel Divinity is frightened of you for 1 minute unless they can escape from you. And they’ll want to get away because your Aura of Hate makes you deal even more damage.
Play a Fallen Aasimar
If you’d rather not invest your whole class/subclass into striking terror, you could always play a Fallen Aasimar. These celestial souls have since fallen from whatever grace they had and have become necrotic ravagers.
When you transform, revealing your celestial nature, your eyes become pools of darkness as ghostly, flightless wings sprout from your back. Anyone who can see you becomes terrified (your allies excluded, of course), and you deal extra damage with your every attack or spell.
Pipes of Haunting
Here’s an option you can pick without having to invest your whole lineage or subclass into it. Any character (who is proficient with wind instruments) can pick up some Pipes of Haunting and use them to inspire fear. With an eerie, spellbinding tune, any creature that hears these pipes will be stricken with terror. You can elect to exclude nonhostile creatures, so you won’t terrify your party (unless someone is secretly planning to betray you).
Will of the Talon
If a simple magic item won’t do for you, there’s always the Will of the Talon. This is a massive golden war pick adorned with chromatic dragon gems that can channel the power of Tiamat. And channel it, it does. With a bonus action you can cause creatures to become Frightened of you for a minute, and that’s the least of its powers. It only gets stronger the more you use it, though since it’s an intelligent, sentient weapon, you may get more than you’ve bargained for.
Fear can be your chief weapon. Leave surprise and all the rest to the Spanish Inquisition.
