Intelligent alien creatures such as aboleths, as well as the occasional mad wizard or capricious deity, enjoy tinkering with creatures to make them more suited for their environments or just as a thought exercise. Then the PCs have to go out and fight things like owlbears or chimeras.
Doesn’t it make you want to get in on the action? Monster Mix crosses two monsters from the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault to create new horrors that combine elements from the original creatures beyond just shuffling their component abilities.
Mix up more monsters from previous installments!
This monster mix combines Elementals and Monstrosities. Your players only think they know what’s coming.
Ground Shark
The ground rumbles mightily, heralding the arrival of a squat, stony beast that ruptures the earth and briefly flies to a nearby location.
Earthen Destroyers. Ground sharks are earth elemental versions of bulettes. Scholars studying their origins concluded earth elemental nobles purposefully designed the creatures as more powerful copies of the Material Plane originals. Even on their home planes, ground sharks create devastation wherever they roam.
Wasteland Haunts. In the Material Plane, ground sharks traverse barren, hard-baked ground. Though they can pass through the earth without disrupting it, they usually only do so when attempting to sneak up on prey. A typical ground shark’s hunting ground features many craters. The creatures also enjoy mountainous terrain, but they often cause disastrous landslides that provoke other inhabitants to drive out or destroy ground sharks.
GROUND SHARK CR 6
Large Elemental
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 124
Speed 40 ft., burrow 50 ft.
Perception 13 Stealth 10
Vulnerable thunder
Resistant frightened | Elemental Resilience
Immune lightning | Elemental Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 90 ft.
Languages understands Terran but can’t speak
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +8 | +0 | +5 | −3 | +0 | −3 |
Earth Glide. The ground shark can burrow through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. While doing so, the ground shark doesn’t disturb the material through which it moves.
Earthen Camouflage. The ground shark’s Stealth is 15 while in muddy, rocky, sandy, or stony terrain.
Elemental Nature. The ground shark doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Elemental Resistance. The ground shark is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. In addition, it is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, and unconscious conditions.
Siege Monster. The ground shark deals double damage to objects and structures.
Standing Leap. The ground shark’s long jump is up to 30 feet and its high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The ground shark makes one Bite attack and one Slam attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (4d10 + 5) piercing damage.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (4d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Eruptive Entrance (Recharge 6). If the ground shark is below ground, it can move up to its burrowing speed and burst through the ground, scattering debris in a 30-foot radius centered on itself when it burst out. Each creature in the area must make a DC 15 DEX save, taking 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage plus 14 (4d6) slashing damage and is knocked prone on a failed save, or half as much damage and not knocked prone on a success. The area is treated as difficult terrain afterward. The ground shark can then leap up to 30 feet in any direction.
Groundswell (Recharge 4–6). The ground shark burrows in a straight line. If it is within 15 feet of the surface when it does so, each creature in the line must succeed on a DC 15 DEX save or fall prone. If the ground shark is within 5 feet of the surface, a creature has disadvantage on its save.
REACTIONS
Stomp. If a creature moves within 5 feet of the ground shark, the ground shark can stomp one of its legs. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 DEX save or fall prone, and the ground shark can make a Slam attack against that creature.
Fire-Belly Basilisk
This orange serpent’s eyes glow with an inner fire. It glances in a direction and casually causes debris to combust.
Infection Combustibility. As fire elemental versions of basilisks, fire-belly basilisks transform their victims into fire rather than stone. Unfortunately for those the basilisks set alight, the fire fully consumes them. They can’t return to their previous forms short of powerful resurrection magic.
Warning Luminance. Fire-belly basilisks have fleshy shells surrounding the flame composing the rest of their bodies. These shells usually prevent the basilisks from illuminating their surroundings, but they can inflame their shells to create a crimson light. The creatures do this to ward off threats.
FIRE-BELLY BASILISK CR 4
Medium Elemental
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 88
Speed 30 ft.
Perception 9 Stealth 12
Resistant frightened, petrified | Elemental Resilience
Immune fire | Elemental Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands Ignan but can’t speak
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +2 | +2 | +3 | −3 | −1 | −2 |
Elemental Nature. The fire-belly basilisk doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Elemental Resistance. The fire-belly basilisk is resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. In addition, it is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, and unconscious conditions.
Immolating Gaze. When a creature that can see the fire-belly basilisk’s eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of the basilisk, the basilisk can force it to make a DC 13 CON save if the basilisk isn’t incapacitated and can see the creature. On a failure, the creature bursts into flame, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage. The immolated creature must repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, increasing the fire damage by 7 (2d6) on a failure or ending the effect on a success. The creature’s HP maximum is reduced by the same amount of fire damage it takes. This reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest. The creature dies and becomes an uncontrolled fire if this effect reduces its HP maximum to 0.
Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the save at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can’t see the basilisk until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If the creature looks at the basilisk in the meantime, it must immediately make the save.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The fire-belly basilisk makes two Bite attacks or two Fiery Spit attacks. If both Bite or Fiery Spit attacks hit one creature, the target ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) fire damage.
Fiery Spit. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (4d6 + 2) fire damage.
BONUS ACTIONS
Glow. The fire-belly basilisk can heat up its scales, allowing it to shed bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. The basilisk can end this effect on its turn without spending an action. Otherwise, this effect has a 10-minute duration.
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