2024 DnD 5e Monster Manual Change Log

2024 DnD 5e Monster Manual Change Log

Introduction

The 2024 Monster Manual promised that every monster from the 2014 Monster Manual was reexamined. Creatures were updated to fit their CR better, to be easier to play, and ideally to surprise long-time players who have developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the Monster Manual’s contents.

This article contains a comprehensive change log comparing the 2014 and 2024 versions of monsters. It was compiled as part of my ongoing work on Monstrous Species, and I’ve chosen to share my change log in hopes that it’s useful for other players and other DnD creators.

NOTE: This article is a work in progress. RPGBOT didn’t receive early access to the Monster Manual, so I have not had access to the full rules text yet. The list below is based on stat blocks available in the Player’s Handbook and in the stat block previews which WotC has shared on social media. I will continue to update this article as we get more stat blocks and when I can get my hands on the book.

ANOTHER NOTE: DnDBeyond has issued errata for the Monster Manual.

Organizational Changes

  • Creatures are no longer grouped by “family”, so there are no longer sections of angels, true dragons, etc.
  • Many creatures were renamed. A full list is included in the appendices. Most were to make individual stat blocks more distinct, such as “Aarakocra” changing to “Aarakocra Skirmisher,” but a few creatures were changed to fit updated lore, such as the “Androsphinx” changing to “Sphinx of Valor.”
  • The 2014 Monster Manual included two appendices with stat blocks: Miscellaneous Creatures and NPCs. There is now only one appendix with stat blocks titled “Animals.” Everything else was sorted into the rest of the Monster Manual.

General Design Changes

  • Humanoids are largely absent from the Monster Manual except as NPCs.
    • Duergar and drow are not included; instead, they’re handled using NPC stat blocks with no distinction for species.
    • The 2014 DMG has a table of stat adjustments that you could use to alter NPC stat blocks to fit specific humanoids, but that was not replicated in the 2024 DMG, so species for NPCs is now purely cosmetic.
    • Gith, gnolls, and goblins are all still included because they are no longer humanoids.
  • Keen Sense traits have gone away. Most creatures that had a Keen Sense now get proficiency in Perception. Some get Expertise.
  • Legendary Actions which consume more than one Legendary Action no longer exist.
  • Some creatures include their Proficiency Bonus or even double their Proficiency Bonus in their initiative modifiers.
  • Sure-Footed (Advantage on saves vs. being knocked prone) has gone away. Creatures like goats and mules got a little less interesting.
  • Web Walker and Web Sense, which were always together on creatures that had them, are now consolidated into Web Walker.
  • Creatures which had powerful save-or-suck effects, such as the Ghoul (Paralyzing Claws) and the Mind Flayer (Mind Blast) have had the durations of those effects reduced from 1 minute to 1 round. These effects could easily take a player character out of a fight, often with no resource except a lucky roll on a difficult save. This was terribly unsatisfying for players, and made those creatures unpredictably powerful since one bad save could cause the party to death spiral into a TPK. But don’t worry: these creatures were buffed in other ways to compensate.

The Introduction

The designers repeatedly promised that the introduction would include more thorough advice on how to actually run monsters, including advice on how to run creatures to suit their CR. No such advice exists, which is disappointing, but honestly not surprising.

WotC has done this with all three of the core rulebooks: promised a very specific thing that players wanted (engaging crafting rules in the PHB, specific magic item prices in the DMG), then gave us the barest hint of what they promised. I’m not letting this specific omission color my opinions of the rest of the book, but it would be nice if the DnD design team were more honest with the community about what was in the books. There is enough here to be happy about that they don’t need to lie about the book’s contents, and I wish they would stop.

The Introduction thoroughly explains the format of stat blocks and how individual parts of a monster and a monster entry function. This section is shorter than the 2014 version, as explanations of various movement types and senses have been moved to the Player’s Handbook. Largely this section is concise, well-written, and accessible.

I did notice one particularly odd bit of text in the explanation of how spellcasting works: The text clarifies that, despite being listed in the “Actions” section, spells with a casting time longer than 1 Action still follow the normal rules for casting such spells. But what about spells with a Bonus Action casting time Shillelagh or Misty Step? Do monsters and NPCs cast those spells as an Action?

The Introduction no longer discusses ammunition. The 2014 version specified that enemies carried 2d4 pieces of ammunition for thrown weapons and 2d10 for ranged weapons. This could, in theory, lead to a hilarious situation where enemy archers went into a fight with just two arrows. I have never heard of anyone using this rule, so I’m not surprised that it has been omitted.

Stat Block Changes

Stat blocks are organized to reflect the organization of the new Monster Manual.

Monsters

  • Aarakocra
    • New: Aarakocra Aeromancer
    • Aarakocra. Renamed to “Aarakocra Skirmisher.” Lost one hit die, but Constitution increased from 10 to 12, resulting in a total of 2 lost hit points. Dive Attack was rolled into Talons and its damage bonus changed from 1d6 to 2d4, so the Aarakocra Skirmisher can’t get the damage bonus with weapons. The Aarakocra’s javelin was replaced with a new “wind javelin,” which deals an additional 1d4 Thunder damage and then magically returns to the Aarakocra’s hand.
  • Aboleth. Initiative changed from -1 to +8. Added two hit dice, increasing hp by 15. Added new Eldritch Restoration trait, which was previously described in their lore, but not represented mechanically. Mucous cloud has been reworked; it’s now a curse instead of a disease, affected creatures become amphibious, they can now only heal while underwater, and they take ongoing acid damage when out of water for extended periods. Multiattack is now 2 Tentacles and either Consume Memories or Dominate Mind rather than always 3 Tentacles. Tentacle now grapples the target, but no longer applies the same effect as Mucous Cloud. Enslave is replaced by Consume Memories and Dominate Mind. The Aboleth’s Legendary Actions no longer include Seek, and Psychic Drain now works on either Charmed or Grappled creatures rather than just Charmed creatures.
  • Air Elemental.
  • Animal Lord. New!
  • Animated Objects.
    • Animated Armor. 
    • Animated Broom. 
    • Animated Flying Sword. 
    • Animated Rug of Smothering. 
  • Ankheg.
  • Arcanoloth. 
    • Errata: The Arcanaloth’s AC is now 18.
  • Arch-Hag. New!
  • Assassin. 
  • Awakened Plants
    • Awakened Shrub. 
    • Awakened Tree. 
  • Axe Beak
    • New: Giant Axe Beak
    • Axe Beak. 
  • Azers
    • New: Azer Pyromancer
    • Azer. Renamed to “Azer Sentinel.”
  • Balor.
    • Errata: The balor’s HP is now 287 (23d12 + 138).
  • Bandits.
    • New: Bandit Deceiver and Bandit Crime Lord
    • Bandit. 
    • Bandit Captain. 
  • Banshee. 
  • Barbed Devil. 
  • Barlgura. 
  • Basilisk. 
  • Bearded Devil. 
  • Behir. 
  • Beholder. 
  • Berserkers
    • New: Berserker Commander
    • Berserker. 
  • Black Dragons
    • Black Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Black Dragon. 
    • Adult Black Dragon. 
    • Ancient Black Dragon. 
  • Black Pudding. 
  • Blights
  • Blink Dog. 
  • Blob of Annihilation. New!
  • Blue Dragons
    • Blue Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Blue Dragon. 
    • Adult Blue Dragon. 
    • Ancient Blue Dragon. 
  • Bone Devil
  • Brass Dragons
    • Brass Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Brass Dragon. 
    • Adult Brass Dragon. 
    • Ancient Brass Dragon. 
  • Bronze Dragons
    • Bronze Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Bronze Dragon. 
    • Adult Bronze Dragon. 
    • Ancient Bronze Dragon. 
  • Bugbears
  • Bulettes
    • New: Bulette Pup
    • Bulette
  • Bullywugs
  • Cambion. 
  • Carrion Crawler.
  • Centaurs
  • Chain Devil.
  • Chasme. 
  • Chimera. 
  • Chuul. 
  • Clay Golem.
  • Cloaker. 
    • Errata: In the Attach action, in the sentence that begins with “While the cloaker is attached…”, “Bite attacks” is now “Attach attacks”.
  • Cloud Giant. 
  • Cockatrices
    • New: 
    • Cockatrice.
  • Colossus. 
  • Commoner. 
  • Copper Dragons
    • Copper Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Copper Dragon. 
    • Adult Copper Dragon. 
    • Ancient Copper Dragon. 
  • Couatl. 
  • Crawling Claws.
    • New: 
    • Crawling Claw. 
  • Cultists
  • Cyclopes
  • Cyclopes
    • New: Cyclops Oracle
    • Cyclops. Renamed to “Cyclops Sentry.” Added 10 ft. of speed, and lost the Poor Depth Perception trait which made them awful at fighting at range. Multiattack now lets the Cyclops Sentry attack using any combination of Stone Club and Rock. Stone Club damage dropped from 3d8+6 to 3d6+6 and Rock damage dropped from 4d10+6 to 3d10+6. Added Limited Foresight.
      • Both instances of “Stone Club” have changed to “Stone Club”.
  • Dao. 
  • Darkmantle. 
  • Death Dog. 
  • Death Knights.
    • New: 
    • Death Knight Aspirant Errata: In the Spellcasting action, “1/Day” has changed to “1/Day Each”.
    • Death Knight. 
      • Errata: In the Spellcasting action, “2/Day” has changed to “2/Day Each”.
  • Death Tyrant. 
  • Demilich. 
  • Deva. 
  • Displacer Beast. 
  • Djinni. 
  • Doppelganger. 
  • Dracolich. 
  • Dragon Turtle. 
  • Dretches. 
  • Drider. 
  • Druid. 
  • Dryad. 
  • Earth Elemental. 
  • Efreeti. 
  • Elemental Cataclysm. 
  • Epyreans. 
  • Erinyes. 
  • Ettercap. 
  • Ettin. 
  • Faerie Dragons
    •  
  • Fire Elemental. 
  • Fire Giant. 
  • Flameskull. 
  • Flesh Golem. 
  • Flumph. 
  • Fomorian. 
    • Errata: Both instances of “Greatclub” have changed to “Stone Club”.
  • Frost Giant. 
  • Fungi
    • Violent Fungus. 
      • Errata: The Initiative entry has changed to “–5 (5)”.
  • Galeb Duhr. 
    • Errata: The Initiative entry has changed to “+2 (12)”.
  • Gargoyle. Added 15 hp, initiative bonus raised from +0 to +2. Added Expertise in Stealth. Lost False Appearance, added Flyby. Bit and attack was dropped, and claw damage changed from 1d6+2 to 2d4+2.
  • Gelatinous Cube. Lost two hit dice, reducing hp by 21. Added immunity to acid damage. Pseudopod added a +2 damage modifier. Engulfed creatures now only take 3d6 damage instead of 6d6, but they can’t cast spells with Verbal components, so no more Misty Step to get out.
  • Ghasts
  • Ghouls
  • Gibbering Mouther. 
  • Githyanki. 
    • Errata: In the Spellcasting action, “2/Day Each” has changed to “2/Day”.
  • Githzerai. 
  • Glabrezu. 
  • Gladiator. 
  • Gnolls
  • Goblins
    • Goblin Boss. 
      • Errata: The range for the Shortbow action is now “80/320 ft.”
  • Gold Dragons
    • Gold Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Gold Dragon. 
    • Adult Gold Dragon. 
    • Ancient Gold Dragon. Initiative bonus raised from +2 to +16. Actions were significantly redesigned. 
  • Gorgons. 
  • Goristro. 
  • Gray Oozes. 
  • Green Dragons
    • Green Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Green Dragon. 
    • Adult Green Dragon. 
    • Ancient Green Dragon. Initiative bonus increased from +1 to +8. Added a hit die, increasing hp by 17. Charisma increased from 19 to 22. Lost proficiency in Deception and Insight. Added Battle Ready trait. More Legendary Resistances. Actions significantly redesigned.
  • Green Hag. 
  • Grell. 
  • Gricks. 
  • Griffon. 
  • Grimlock. 
  • Guardian Naga. 
  • Guards. 
  • Half-Dragon. 
  • Harpy. 
  • Hell Hound. 
  • Helmed Horror. 
  • Hezrou. 
  • Hill Giant. 
  • Hippogriff. 
  • Hobgoblins.
  • Homunculus. 
  • Hook Horror. 
  • Horned Devil. 
  • Hydra. 
  • Ice Devil. 
    • Errata: In the Senses entry, “Blindsight 60 ft. (unimpeded by magical Darkness), Darkvision 120 ft.” has changed to “Blindsight 120 ft.”
  • Imp. Added 3 hit dice, increasing hp by 11. Lost proficiency in Persuasion and resistance to nonmagical B/P/S damage. Sting’s base damage increased from 1d4+Str to 1d6+Str. Poison’s damage was reduced from 3d6 to 2d6, but no longer allows a save. Shapechanger renamed to Shape-Shift.
  • Incubus. 
  • Intellect Devourer. 
  • Invisible Stalker. 
  • Iron Golem. 
  • Jackalwere. 
  • Kenku. 
  • Knights
  • Kobolds
  • Kraken. 
    • Errata: In the Fling action, “Large” has changed to “Large or smaller”.
  • Kuo-toa
    • New: 
    • Kuo-Toa. Spear renamed to “strange spear” and no longer allows two-handed use. Net renamed to “sticky net” and now uses a saving throw instead of an attack roll. The net now has immunity to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage. Slippery now works as a Reaction and lets the kuo-toa automatically end a grapple. Sticky Shield now allows the victim to use Strength (Athletics) to recover their weapon instead of a plain Strength check. My god, Athletics has an actual use in the 2024 rules.
  • Mind Flayer
    • Mind Flayer. Added 5 hit dice, adding 28 hit points. Lost the ability to cast Levitate, but now has a 15-foot fly speed and the ability to hover. Initiative modifier improved from +1 to +4. Added proficiency in Dexterity, giving the Mind Flayer a total of 4 save proficiencies. Lost proficiency in Deception and Persuasion. Tentacles damage improves from 2d10+4 tp 4d8+4, grapple escape DC reduced from 15 to 14, but the Stunned effect no longer allows a save. Extract Brain is now a Con save instead of an attack. Mind Blast’s damage increased from 4d8+4 to 6d8+4, but it now only stuns creatures until the end of the Mind Flayer’s next turn rather than for a minute.
    • Mind Flayer Arcanist. Ac increased from 15 to 16. Fully doubled their hit dice, adding 72 hit points. Initiative improved from +1 to +6. Added a 30 ft. fly speed with the ability to hover. Dexterity improved from 12 to 14. Constitution improved from 12 to 13. Intelligence improved from 19 to 20. Added proficiency in Dexterity, giving the Mind Flayer Arcanist a total of 4 save proficiencies. Added Multiattack, allowing the Mind Flayer Arcanist to attack with its Arcane Tentacles three times. Tentacles renamed to Arcane Tentacles, added +2d10 more damage, but no longer grapples and stuns the target. Instead, it teleports the target 30 feet to a surface which can support it, and dropping the target to 0 also eats its brain. Extract Brain and Mind Blast are gone. Instead, the Mind Flayer Arcanist now has Mind Burst, which is an Emanation instead of a Cone, but still does psychic damage and stuns creatures. Spellcasting reworked significantly, removing many spells, but adding Fireball for some reason. Shield 2/day.
  • Lamia. 
  • Larvae. 
  • Lemures
    • New: Swarm of Lemures
      • Errata: The swarm’s Dexterity score is now 7. In the Swarm trait, “Small” has changed to “Medium”.
    • Lemure. 
  • Lich. 
  • Lizardfolk. 
  • Mages
  • Manes
  • Manticore. 
  • Marid. 
  • Marilith. 
  • Medusa. 
  • Mephits
  • Merfolk
  • Merrow. 
  • Mezzoloth. 
  • Mimic. 
  • Mind Flayers
  • Minotaur of Baphomet. 
  • Modrons. 
  • Mummies. 
  • Myconids. 
  • Nalfeshnee. 
  • Night Hag. 
  • Nightmare. 
  • Nobles
  • Nothic. 
  • Nycaloth. 
  • Ochre Jelly. 
  • Ogres
  • Oni. 
  • Otyugh. 
  • Owlbears
    • New: Primeval Owlbear
    • Owlbear. 
  • Pegasus. 
  • Performers
    • Performer Legend. 
      • Errata: The Initiative entry has changed to “+9 (19)”.
    • Performer Maestro. 
      • Errata: The Initiative entry has changed to “+7 (17)”.
  • Peryton. 
  • Phase Spider. 
  • Piercer. 
  • Pirates
  • Pit Fiend. 
  • Pixies
  • Planetar. 
  • Poltergeist. 
  • Priests
  • Pseudodragon. Gained +1 AC. Lost Keen Senses, but upgrade proficiency in Perception to Expertise. Lost Limited Telepathy. Sting no longer requires an attack, the save DC increased by 1, and the damage changed from 1d4+2 to 2d4.
  • Purple Worm. 
  • Phase Spider. 
  • Quaggots. 
  • Quasit. Added 7 hit dice, increasing hp by 18. Lost resistance to non-magical B/P/S damage. Claws renamed to Rend. No more poison damage or 1 minute of poison, but the target is Poisoned for 1 round without a save.
  • Rakshasa. 
  • Red Dragons
    • Red Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Red Dragon. 
    • Adult Red Dragon. 
    • Ancient Red Dragon.
      • Errata: In the Spellcasting section, “1/Day” has changed to “1/Day Each”.
  • Remohazes
  • Revenants
    • New: Haunting Revenant
    • Revenant. 
  • Roc. 
  • Roper. 
  • Rust Monster. 
  • Sahuagin
  • Salamanders
  • Satyrs
  • Scarecrow.
  • Scouts
  • Sea Hag. 
  • Shadow. 
  • Shadow Demon. 
  • Shadow Dragons
    • New: 
    • Shadow Dragon. 
  • Shambling Mound. 
  • Shield Guardian. 
  • Silver Dragons
    • Silver Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young Silver Dragon. 
    • Adult Silver Dragon. 
    • Ancient Silver Dragon.
  • Skeleton.
    • New: Flaming Skeleton (well, new to 5e)
    • Minotaur Skeleton. The Charge trait has been rolled into the Gore action, and now no longer pushes the target away, though it still knocks them prone and deals extra damage, and the prone effect no longer allows a save. Gore’s damage has been reduced from 2d8+4 to 2d6+4. Greataxe has been replaced by Slam, which deals 2d8+4 damage instead of 2d12+4.
    • Regular Skeleton. Dex increased from 14 to 16, increasing attack bonuses, damage, and initiative by 1.
    • Warhorse Skeleton. Hooves damage dropped from 2d6+4 to 1d6+4, but added a charging knockdown mechanic.
  • Slaadi
    • Slaad Tadpole. Lost 1 hit die, resulting in a loss of 3 hp. Bit damage increased from 1d4+2 to 1d6+2.
    • Green Slaad.
      • Errata: In the Spellcasting action, “1/Day” has changed to “1/Day Each”.
  • Solar. 
  • Sphinx
    • New: Sphinx of Wonder
  • Spies
  • Spiner Devil. 
  • Spirit Naga. 
  • Sprite. Added 3 hit dice, increasing hp by 8, which is a 400% increase. Longsword replaced by Needle Sword, which does 1d4+4 damage instead of just 1 damage.  Shortbow now charms the target for 1 round on hit instead of having a chance to put the target to sleep. Invisibility now uses the spell Invisibility.
  • Stirges. 
  • Stone Giant. 
  • Stone Golem. 
  • Storm Giant. 
  • Succubus. 
  • Tarrasque. 
  • Thri-kreen. 
  • Toughs
  • Treant. 
  • Troglodyte. 
  • Troll. 
  • Ultroloth. 
  • Umber Hulk. 
  • Unicorn. 
  • Vampires.
    • New stat blocks: Vampire Familiar, Vampire Nightbringer, and Vampire Ubral Lord
    • Vampire.
  • Vrock. 
  • Warriors
  • Water Elemental. 
  • Water Weird. 
  • Werebear. 
  • Wereboar. 
  • Wererat. 
  • Weretiger. 
  • Werewolf. 
  • White Dragons
    • White Dragon Wyrmling. 
    • Young White Dragon. 
    • Adult White Dragon. 
    • Ancient White Dragon.
      • Errata; The Ancient White Dragon’s Charisma score has changed to 18.
  • Wight. 
  • Will-o’-Wisp. 
  • Winter Wolf. 
  • Worgs
  • Wraith. 
  • Wyvern. 
  • Xorn. 
  • Yetis
  • Yochlol. 
  • Yuan-ti
  • Zombies
    • Zombie. Lost a hit die, reducing hp by 7. Added immunity to Exhaustion. 

Animals

  • Allosaurus. Claws now adds a pounce effect which knocks the target prone and then allows the Allosaurus to make an additional Bite attack.
  • Ankylosaurus. Tail damage reduced from 4d6+4 to 1d10+4, roughly halving its damage. The knockdown effect no longer allows a save, but now only works on creatures up to Huge size.
  • Ape: Fist damage increased from 1d4+3 to 1d6+3, and Rock now has a recharge, but does another d6 of damage
  • Archelon. New!
  • Baboon. No changes.
  • Badger. Con raised from 12 to 16, lost Keen Smell, added proficiency in Perception
  • Bat. Lost Echolocation and Keen Hearing, but didn’t gain proficiency in Perception like most beasts that previously had a keen sense.
  • Black Bear. Land speed dropped from 40 to 30, and added a 30 ft. swim speed. Dex raised from 10 to 12, lost Keen Smell, added proficiency in Perception, Bite and Claw attacks consolidated into “Rend”, but still gets two attacks
  • Blood Hawk. Lost Keen Sight. Proficiency in Perception improved to Expertise. Beak damage now improves from 1d4+2 to 1d8+2 if the target is Bloodied.
  • Boar. Con raised from 12 to 14, which adds 2 hp. Relentless is replaced by Bloodied Fury. The Charge trait is rolled into the Boar’s Gore attack and no longer allows a save.
  • Brown Bear. Str, Con, and Dex are all changed. Lost Keen Smell, but added Darkvision. Bite damage improved due to a Str increase. Claw damage significantly reduced, but now knocks the target prone.
  • Camel. Ability scores changed significantly, and added Darkvision. Bite damage previously omitted a Str modifier, which has been corrected.
  • Cat. Climb speed increased from 30 ft. to 40 ft.. Lost Keen Smell, but added Darkvision and the ability to use Dexterity when jumping.
    • Apparently cats in the 2014 Monster Manual didn’t have Darkvision because one of the designers had a cat that couldn’t see in the dark
  • Constrictor Snake. Added proficiency in Perception and Stealth. Bite damage die increased from 1d6 to 1d8. Constrict now uses a saving throw instead of an attack roll.
  • Crab. Strength increased from 2 to 6.
  • Crocodile. Hold Breath duration increased from 15 minutes to 1 hour. Bite damage die reduced from 1d10 to 1d8.
  • Deer. Bite attack is now a ram attack dealing bludgeoning damage. I don’t know why they had a bite attack, and I would be very excited to hear whatever story led to that happening.
  • Dire Wolf. Seemingly has Expertise in Perception now. Bite damage was reduced, but the trip effect no longer allows a save.
  • Draft Horse. Lost a hit die, and Con increased from 12 to 15, resulting in 4 less hp in total. Hooves damage die reduced from 2d4+Str to 1d4+Str.
  • Eagle. Constitution increased from 10 to 12, increasing hp by 1. Lost Keen Sight, gained Expertise in Perception.
  • Elephant. Attacks have been reworked entirely. The Elephant now uses a much more standard charge attack and can stomp a prone creature as a Bonus Action.
  • Elk. Con increased from 11 to 12, resulting in 2 hp. Added Darkvision and proficiency in Perception. Charge is rolled into the Ram attack, and the damage is reduced. Hooves is gone.
  • Flying Snake. Dexterity increased from 15 to 18, increasing initiative bonus from +2 to +4, but not changing AC. Bite attack bonus decreased from +6 to +4, and damage reduced from 1+3d4 poison to 1+2d4 poison.
  • Frog. Added a bite dealing 1 damage.
  • Giant Ape. Initiative modifier increased from +2 to +5, added one Hit Die, increasing hp by 11. Intelligence increased from 5 to 7. Added proficiency in Survival. Rock replaced by Boulder Toss, which is a small ranged AOE which recharges only on a 6. Added a new Leap Bonus Action allowing the ape to jump 30 feet by spending 10 feet of movement.
  • Giant Badger. Con increased from 15 to 17, resulting in +2 hp. Lost Keen Smell, but added proficiency in Perception, and increased Darkvision from 30 ft. to 60 ft. Added resistance to poison damage. Lost multiattack in favor of a single Bite attack dealing 2d4+1 damage.
  • Giant Bat. Blindsight increased from 60 ft. to 120 ft. Lost Echolocation and Keen Gearing. Bite damage increased fro, 1d6+2 to 1d6+3.
  • Giant Boar. AC increased from 12 to 13. Added new Bloodied Fury trait, granting Advantage on melee attack rolls while Bloodied. Lost Relentless. Charge rolled into the Gore attack.
  • Giant Centipede. AC increased from 13 to 14. Added a second Hit Die, increase hp from 4 to 9. Bite now longer deals poison damage, but now inflicts the Poisoned condition without a save.
  • Giant Constrictor Snake. Adds Multiattack which allows the snake to both bite and constrict. Constrict no longer makes the target Restrained, and the snake can Constrict other creatures even while grappling a creature.
  • Giant Crab. Dex raised from 13 to 15, but no change to AC, and the Giant Crab’s Stealth modifier got worse because it also lost proficiency in Stealth.
  • Giant Crocodile. Hold Breath duration increased from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bite now only affects creatures up to Large size and no longer makes the target Restrained. Tail now only knocks creatures prone up to Large size, but it no longer allows a save.
  • Giant Eagle. Lost Keen Sight, but added Expertise in Perception. Beak and Talons replaced by a new Rend attack. Now speaks Celestial instead of Giant Eagle.
  • Giant Elk. Initiative bonus increased from +3 to +6. Dexterity increased from 16 to 18. Added 90 ft. of Darkvision. Now speaks Celestial instead of Giant Elk. Charge rolled into the Ram attack. Ram now deals some radiant damage. Hooves attack removed.
  • Giant Fire Beetle. Added 30 ft. climb speed. Bite now deals 1 damage instead of 1d6-1.
  • Giant Frog. Added proficiency in Perception and Stealth, but the Stealth modifier doesn’t calculate correctly. Probably a typo. Bite damage increased from 1d6+1 to 1d6+2, can only grapple up to Medium size, but no longer makes the target Restrained. Swallow no longer requires the frog to hit with a bite attack against the Grappled creature, and now deals acid damage at the end of the frog’s turn instead of the beginning of their turn.
    • Errata: In the Bite action, the Melee Attack Roll modifier has changed to “+3”.
  • Giant Goat. Added a climb speed. Dex increased from 11 to 12, and added Darkvision. Lost sure-footed. Charge rolled into Ram, and the knockdown effect no longer allows a save.
  • Giant Hyena. Added 60 ft. Darkvision. Rampage was reworked.
  • Giant Lizard. Land speed and climb speed both increased to 40 ft. Darkvison improved from 30 ft. to 60 ft. Added Spider Climb.
  • Giant Octopus. Lost a Hit Die, reducing hp by 7. Intelligence increased from 4 to 5. Lost Underwater Camouflage. Tentacles can now only grapple creatures up to medium size. For some reason it says “it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13) from all eight tentacles,” and I’m not sure what that means in rules terms. Ink Cloud is now a 10-foot Cube instead of a 20-foot radius Sphere, and the movement after using it no longer requires a Bonus Action.
  • Giant Owl. Intelligence increased from 8 to 10. Wisdom increased from 13 to 14.  Proficiency in Stealth increased to Expertise. Lost Keen Hearing & Sight. Now speaks Celestial instead of Giant Owl. Talons now deals 1d10+2 damage instead of 2d6+1, slightly reducing average damage. Added spellcasting, which Druids still don’t get to use until they get Beast Spells at level 18. 
  • Giant Poisonous Snake. 
  • Giant Rat. 
  • Giant Scorpion. 
  • Giant Sea Horse. 
  • Giant Shark. 
  • Giant Spider. The bite’s poison damage is reduced slightly, but no longer allows a save. The Web now allows an initial save instead of relying on an attack roll.
  • Giant Toad. 
  • Giant Venomous Snake. 
  • Giant Vulture. 
  • Giant Wasp. 
  • Giant Weasel. Dex raised from 16 to 17. Lost Keen Hearing and Smell, added proficiency in Acrobatics.
  • Giant Wolf Spider. 
  • Goat. Str reduced from 12 to 11, reducing the Goat’s attack bonus and damage by 1. Added a climb speed, proficiency in Perception, and Darkvision. Charge rolled into Ram, and no longer allows a save. Lost sure-footed.
  • Hawk. Lost Keen Sight. Proficiency in Perception improved to Expertise.
  • Hippopotamus. 
  • Hunter Shark. 
  • Hyena. 
  • Jackal. 
  • Killer Whale. 
  • Lion. Con reduced from 13 to 11, resulting in a loss of 4 hp. Lost Keen Smell and Pounce. Adds Multiattack and a new Roar.
  • Lizard. Added Spider Climb.
  • Mammoth. 
  • Mastiff. Lost Keen Hearing and Smell. Proficiency in Perception improved to Expertise. Bite no longer allows a save to avoid being knocked Prone.
  • Mule. Lost Sure-Footed.
  • Octopus. Lost Hold Breath, Underwater Camouflage, and the grapple effect on hit with its tentacles. Gained Compression. Ink Cloud is now once per day instead of once per Short or Long Rest.
  • Owl. Lost Keen Hearing and Sight, but increased proficiency in Perception and Stealth to Expertise.
  • Panther. Lost Keen Smell. The old Pounce trait was removed. Added a new Pounce action which adds bonus damage if the Panther has Advantage, plus a new Prowl action which allows the Panther to move away and Hide.
  • Piranha. 
  • Plesiosaurus. 
  • Polar Bear. 
  • Pony. Hooves damage reduced from 2d4+2 to 1d4+2.
  • Pteranodon. 
  • Rat. Lost Keen Smell. Added a Climb Speed, proficiency in Perception, 30 ft. of Darkvision, and Agile (doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks).
  • Raven. Con increased from 8 to 10, Int increased from 2 to 5, Wis increased from 12 to 13. Con changed results in hp increased from 1 to 2, a 100% increase!
  • Reef Shark. Added a 5 ft. land speed for some reason? Bite damage changed from 1d8+Str to 2d4+Str
  • Rhinoceros. 
  • Riding Horse. Dex increased from 10 to 13, resulting in +1 AC. Hooves damage changed from 2d4+Str to 1d8+Str. Joins the Elephant as the only two animals listed in the PHB’s Equipment chapter to get a buff in the 2024 rules.
  • Saber-Toothed Tiger. 
  • Scorpion. Sting’s poison damage was reduced from 1d8 to 1d6, but no longer allows a save.
  • Sea Horse. 
  • Spider. Bite’s poison damage no longer allows a save.
  • Swarm of Bats. 
  • Swarm of Insects. 
  • Swarm of Piranhas. 
  • Swarm of Poisonous Snakes. 
  • Swarm of Rats. 
  • Swarm of Ravens. 
  • Tiger. Lost two hit dice, resulting in a loss of 15 hp. Dex increased from 15 to 16, resulting in +1 AC and +1 to Stealth. Lost the Pounce trait, and its attacks were reworked. The Tiger now gets multiattack, allowing it to use the same Pounce and Prowl actions that the Panther gets.
  • Triceratops. 
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex. 
  • Venomous Snake. Added 1 hit die, adding 3 hp. Dex reduced from 16 to 15, reducing AC by 1. Bite damage increased from 1 to 1d4+Dex. Poison damage changed from 2d4 to 1d6, and no longer allows a save.
  • Vulture. 
  • Warhorse. Trampling Charge rolled into Hooves. Hooves’ base damage was reduced from 2d6+Str to 2d4+Str, but the knockdown effect no longer allows a save.
  • Weasel. Added a climb speed. Lost Keen Hearing and Smell. Added proficiency in Acrobatics and Darkvision.
  • Wolf. Lost 1 AC and Keen Hearing and Smell. Proficiency in Perception upgrade to Expertise. Bite damage changed from 2d4+Str to 1d6+Str, but the knockdown effect no longer allows a save.

4 Comments

  1. picklepotato February 5, 2025
  2. Tempest February 6, 2025
    • Spicythunder February 6, 2025
  3. Spicythunder February 6, 2025

Leave a Reply