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Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > 8 Large and in Charge Monsters of 5E D&D
5E D&D nightmare shepherd mythic odysseys of theros

8 Large and in Charge Monsters of 5E D&D

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I’ve been following up a post about the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with a look at standout monsters from each size category and with 14 Mighty Medium Monsters of 5E D&D out of the way it’s time for Large creatures to make their presence known. From the barely there giant fly all the way to the yelping yeth hound these 5E D&D monsters are Large and sometimes even in charge. Let’s get into it.

5E D&D’s larger than (PC) life monsters

Crunching numbers to theorize the most effective monsters in combat isn’t the focus of these posts. Instead I’m looking through all the official Large sized 5E D&D creatures with an eye towards the standouts who make a major impact. These might punch above their weight, possess unusually impressive features, hold significance to me or demonstrate another definitely subjective perspective.

At the moment there’s 434 Large creatures among official 5E D&D sources. The largest creature type represented among them are beasts with 65 individual entries. Oddly enough there’s five humanoids in the mix, which are definitely outliers. Humanoids almost 100% across the board fit into the Medium and Small categories with the exception of the Tiny jermlaine from the wonderful collection of monsters in Mordenkainen’s Fiendish Folio Volume 1 and the five Large ones. Of the latter I feel like there’s a case to be made for most of them as monstrosities and one giant. (Why a half-ogre NPC is humanoid but a generic Monster Manual half-ogre is a giant is beyond me.)

Picking standout Large creatures needs some structure. This time around I’m choosing two Large monsters from each tier of play. Presented in no other particular order below you’ll find two creatures between challenge rating 0-4, two CR 5-10, two CR 11-16 and two CR 17-20+.

Sacred Statue

I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around this one. The idea presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes starts with an eidolon — a ghostly spirit bound by a sacred oath to safeguard a place of import to the divine. When interlopers intrude on a sacred site these undead spirits inhabit a specially prepared effigy to drive them away. It’s a pretty cool scenario rife with potential and not for nothing the illustration of the sacred statue brings to life the classic original first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook cover. What I don’t get is why the sacred status is only CR 0 when can attack twice per round with a +8 bonus and deal an average 43 bludgeoning damage with each hit. That’s crazy!

Carrion Crawler

Choosing a second Large monster from tier one proved really tough! If I’m honest I prefer tier one and two games to run and play in so there’s a tremendous number of creatures I really adore to choose from. Yeth hounds make for strong contenders but since we’ve got a post all about these fantastic fey I’ll go with a childhood favorite I’ve still got a lot of affection for today. Carrion crawlers take the relatable repulsion to creepy crawlies like centipedes to monstrous proportions. Encountered alone in their dank, dark tunnel territory a single carrion crawler can cause lots of problems for adventurers. A nest of these things would make even higher level parties paralyzed with dread (and their poisonous tentacles). If you’re looking to punch them up even more carrion crawlers make terrific mounts

Spirit Naga

I’m not gonna lie — Explictica Defilus is the No. 1 reason for choosing this monstrosity. The villain of the terrific classic Against the Cult of the Reptile God module gives us one of the best names ever. It rolls off the tongue with delicious evilness! Nagas in general present a lot of really cool lore, which to my knowledge hasn’t been explored a whole lot in D&D history. Spirit nagas boast some powerful spellcasting potential and as the Monster Manual entry suggests it’s their dominated minions who make them dangerous to face for a variety of reasons. But my favorite thing about them is their Rejuvenation trait, which is best summed up by the flavor quote from this creature’s most (only?) prominent representative. “If you destroy me, I will return, and everyone you care about will suffer for it.”

Star Spawn Hulk

I love dipping science fiction chocolate in my fantasy peanut butter and star spawn as a whole scratch this itch wonderfully. My appreciation for this particular creature from the star spawn family of seven monsters from the CR 1/4 star spawn grue to the CR 21 greater star spawn emissary comes largely because of their Psychic Mirror trait. Paired with a star spawn seer these devastating brutes turn into ground zero for psychic damage bombs. I can only surmise this is the intention with the design, which I discovered in the midst of an epic turning point session in my longrunning Spelljammer campaign. On their own these aberrations hold their own too. Watch out for those Reaping Arms!

Nightmare Shepherd

Mythic Odysseys of Theros seems like a really underappreciated 5E D&D book. It came and went without much hoopla in a year where Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, Curse of Strahd: Revamped and nine Unearthed Arcana documents all released. (Crazy, right?!) Anyway this fiend flies from the Underworld to make an absolutely terrifying villain. On its own perhaps not the kind of threat likely to cause a TPK but a high roll with its Herd the Underworld action and the Aura of Nightmares surrounding it gives this Large creature a bit of breathing room where its Innate Spellcasting can quickly change the fortunes of its adversaries.

Gray Render

I chose this creature for a couple of reasons. First of all this monstrosity is purely physical — no magical attacks or defenses. As CR climbs it becomes increasingly difficult to design monsters who keep up without these sorts of attributes (especially when they’re humanoids). What really sells the sizzle for me comes from the flavor text and lore though. There’s a wealth of adventure and storytelling potential in there along with a terrific table of Gray Render Quirks to represent their chaotic and unpredictable nature.

Marut

Break a cosmic contract and find out. Inevitable long before the MCU’s Thanos when one of these immutable constructs sets out to enforce planar law their quarry had best beware. If a marut can’t Justify lawbreakers it tracks down right off the bat and send them straight to the Hall of Concordance in Sigil then watch out! Adventurers with less than 120 hit points or resistance to force damage might get taken down without a doubt by a pair of Unerring Slams. Or it might stun every creature in a 60 foot cube with a single action. When you make a contract with planar stakes exercise caution!

Zuggtmoy

Demon Lords represent! In this case it’s the Demon Queen of Fungi and Lady of Rot and Decay whose origins lie way back in the original Temple of Elemental Evil. Spores, fungi and plants appeal to my monster proclivities and good ol’ Zuggtmoy does not disappoint. Infestation Spores and Mind Control Spores create Lair like conditions in an area around her and not for nothing she’s a legendary creature who already comes with a lair and regional effects! With all the twisted plant and fungus stuff going on adventurers ought to be mad with terror before they even come face to face with this terror.

*Featured image — A nightmare shepherd is a gaunt, ashen fiend with leathery wings. It carries a shepherd’s crook, which it uses to direct a flock of wandering dead that it torments and occasionally feeds upon. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]

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Doug Vehovec

Nerditor-in-Chief Doug Vehovec is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, with D&D in his blood since the early 80s. Fast forward to today and he’s still rolling those polyhedral dice. When he’s not DMing, worldbuilding or working on endeavors for Nerdarchy he enjoys cryptozoology trips and eating awesome food.

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