We can all agree that as 5e characters level up it can become more difficult to challenge them to combat. There are many dials that the base 5e game provides that can help provide a variety of difficulty for the players. You can adjust the number of enemies, the number of attacks, the amount of HP they have, and many other options.
However, sometimes you can’t always prepare for those boosts in power the players get at higher levels or with magic items. So for that, I turn to the following resources to provide lair actions, bloodied actions, and legendary actions for CRs of all types. This allows me to create dynamic and engaging encounters with even low CR creatures. Have you used any of these supplements before?
Home Field Advantage
Normally only legendary creatures have lair actions in their stat block. Home Field Advantage provides lair actions for lower CR creatures and monsters in the D&D 5e Monster Manual. The more than 320 lair actions provided are dynamic, varied, and easy to use. The mechanics have been well-tested and work great. I’ve used them to good effect in my own games and have even mixed and matched lair actions from other creatures for different flavorful effects. Lair actions are a great way to build more challenging combats. You can also use them outside of combat like during exploration of a location or lair. Definitely, a resource you will use anytime you need to spice up an encounter.
Home Field Advantage is available in PDF, hardcover, and digitally for Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.
Bloodied & Bruised
The Bloodied & Bruised series provides new combat actions for creatures in the 5e Monster Manual, Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, and many other adventures and monster books. Bloodied actions are an inspiration taken from 4th edition D&D where the creature has new abilities when they get to half HP. This allows monsters new combat actions that can completely change the tone of a fight. One of my favorites is the different versions of ‘death throes’ where the monster does some extra damage when they perish by exploding, falling, and other dastardly demises. Bloodied reactions are one of the best mechanics I’ve added to the game to better dial in the difficulty of combat.
Bloodied & Bruised is available in PDF for many of the official Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition books.
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/376169/Bloodied–Bruised-Vol-1–Monster-Manual?affiliate_id=3271765
discount bundle – https://www.dmsguild.com/product/312302/Bloodied–Bruised–Complete-Collection-Bundle-BUNDLE?affiliate_id=3271765
Legendary Bestiary
The Legendary Bestiary provides legendary actions for all the CR 1- 3 creatures in the 5e Monster Manual. Legendary actions are a great way for a creature to react and change the combat in the middle of a round. Many of the higher CR creatures have 3 or more but this book lets you add one or two legendary actions for low-powered monsters. Multiple volumes go all the way up to CR 9 and include other books like Eberron: Rising From the Last War and Volo’s Guide to Monsters. I like that the actions are designed to be on theme with the creature and keep the players guessing with a mix of high and low-impact legendary actions. You can even treat them like lair actions and add them at 5, 10, and/or 15 in the initiative count.
Legendary Bestiary is available in PDF, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds versions.
discount bundle – https://www.dmsguild.com/product/309930/Legendary-Bestiary-BUNDLE?affiliate_id=3271765
Next time you’re preparing for a combat encounter, use these resources together to make it more dynamic and exciting. Not every encounter is gonna call for these additions but I would definitely use them for any type of boss encounter. Check them out and let me know which one is your favorite!
Good luck with your next session. I believe in you. See you in the future!
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