#VOLOS GUIDE TO MONSTERS RACES MANUAL#
#VOLOS GUIDE TO MONSTERS RACES PC#

The ferocity of foes increasing as a battle progresses is a killer piece of drama, and IвЂ™m glad these orcs capitalize on it. Paired with an evoker or sniper from the back and bolstered by their own spells, these orcs stand as horrifying foes on the front lines of a battlefield. That means if theyвЂ™re below half life (usually 22 hit points), they can make four attacks on a turn.

Orc Claws of Luthic know a few powerful spells, have the Aggressive ability, but most importantly, once they are below half hit points (something I call Bloodied, a condition from fourth edition D&D), they double the number of claw attacks they make.

#VOLOS GUIDE TO MONSTERS RACES MANUAL#

Intermonster play is excellent, I use it in my games, and WOTC should use it more too, more of this, WOTC! To be fair, the original orc war chief in the Monster Manual has a similar ability, granting nearby allies advantage, but I think the addition of reactions to the orc's allies is far superior. Orc Blades of Ilneval boast an extra damage die on longsword hits and, similar to a dragonвЂ™s breath, have a rechargeable ability called IllnevalвЂ™s Command that allows them to, as an action, command up to three orcs within 120вЂ™ feet to make an attack with their reactions. Love it, movement options are usually limited for monsters. Three of the four variants carry the Aggressive ability, a bonus action that allows movement toward a foe. HereвЂ™s the run down of why theyвЂ™re great. There are five orc variants in VGTM (not including the tanarukk), and four of the five are interesting foes to face and craft an encounter around. Despite their terrible chapter in the book (more on that soon), their stat blocks are inspiring and powerful in the hands of a proper tactician AND a novice DM. Wizards of the Coast decided to vary up the action economy and orc power level with their set of orcs in VGTM. A creature of elemental earth, perhaps these ogres or gnolls are under the employ of a greedy elementalist or a domineering galeb duhr.

Pair it up with brutes and snipers like ogres and gnolls to turn the flail snail into a truly deadly encounter.

Grant it additional tentacles depending on the size of the group and allow them to attack more than one target.

Allow its Shell Defense action to be a reaction instead, allowing it to emerge as a bonus action on its turn.

The powerful Antimagic Shell and interesting Flail Tentacles abilities engineer a fascinating foe, and its defensive and single-target potential elevate it to a top-five combatant in VGTM.Д¬onsider the following to further spice up the flail snail in combat encounters:

#VOLOS GUIDE TO MONSTERS RACES PC#

In addition, the flail snail may attack with as many tentacles as it possesses (rules as written, the flail snail starts with five and must attack one target), which allows it to smack one PC into submission.

Volos guide to monsters races