Fighting creatures bigger than a house is a staple of D&D at any tier of play. And here are some gargantuan creatures for any level.
Fighting big monsters is a tried and true part of any D&D adventure. But sometimes, finding the right big monster for the right situation can be tricky. After all, sometimes, those gargantuan creatures can be too deadly to lower level creatures. But other gargantuan monsters are more of a pushover for higher level parties. It’s all about finding the right terrible monstrosity for the right party.
Yggdrasti
When it comes to gargantuan monsters, the yggdrasti is not too bad for a lower level party to face. At CR 7, it is on the lower end of the spectrum. Not quite a brontosaurus (but it feels bad to beat up one of those). But still, a good big monster for earlier in a campaign.
These are gigantic space trees that hate living things, and especially civilization. They can disguise themselves as regular big trees, and can emit lightning as well as grapple creatures with its twisting roots. But, crucially, these monsters are vulnerable to fire. So a clever/prepared party can make short work of one.
Roc
These are classic D&D gargantuan monsters. And classic gargantuan monsters out of myth. A roc is a giant bird, capable of flying off with an elephant in its talons. And they make for fantastic encounters out in the wild. Especially if a party encounters a roc while traveling, and they don’t have to fight it to the death—a roc might be driven off if its would-be prey causes it too much damage.
But rocs also make for amazing mounts for characters. At CR 11, they will be relevant throughout all of the mid-upper levels of play. If you want them to challenge real high level parties, just put a wizard or archer on one and let them fly.
Purple Worm
An iconic gargantuan monster, D&D’s purple worm is the subject of its very own streaming show, Faster Purple Worm, Kill, Kill! And it’s not hard to see why. These big creatures are impossibly tough. They burrow through anything up to solid rock, and they can swallow prey whole and dive beneath the earth, leaving hapless party members unable to pursue their swallowed up comrade.
They also, weirdly enough, have a poison stinger, too. And if you ride one, Javier Bardem will proclaim you the Lisan al-Gaib.
Zaratan
Here’s a gargantuan D&D monster the party might not kill. But then again they might, you can never tell. A zaratan is a gargantuan turtle, large enough to have various terrain features on its back. These are your living island creatures. Your lion turtles from Avatar: the Last Airbender. Your miniature versions of Great A’tuin. If you ever want a gargantuan creature that can be its own adventure location, atop the armored, earthen shell of a zaratan will have your players buzzing.
Red Greatwyrm
Finally, when you absolutely, positively have to try and terrify your players, one of the Greatwyrms out of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons might do the trick. I recommend the Red Greatwyrm.
A greatwyrm is a dragon that has lived more than 1200 years and has found a way to fuse together its “multiversal echoes” into a single entity. Greatwyrms are vastly more powerful than their non-greatwyrm kin. Elemental forces flow and ripple within and around their form.
And they have two hit point pools, at least. So once your party takes them down the first time, you get to enjoy the start of phase 2, now with more fire.
So get out there and go big! And then go home.
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