The monsters in The Witcher 3 are great, so that’s why I created this D&D monster names ‘Forest Fiend’, inspired by the fiend of the Witcher 3. It also has some resemblance to the Jötunn monster of Norse folklore, which is a really creepy concept. Though it’s not a one-to-one copy because it had to fit our campaign. Long story short: it’s a demonic moose or elk-like creature with high mobility that serves as a protector of the forest. For more lore, keep reading. But if you just want the stat block and tactics for this D&D monster, scroll down.
D&D Monster Lore: Forest Fiend
A town specialized in woodcutting, timbering and sawmilling is having issues. Part of the forest has become too dangerous for them to work in, since several men have died in a fairly short period of time. A thick mist has risen in that area, the animals are more ferocious, and people disappear. The townspeople believe that an ancient forest spirit that protects against fire (you can give it a name that fits your campaign setting) has gone mad and is now roaming across the lands.
In the end (at least, in my setting), it’s a little of column A and a little of column B. A religious sect fled their country for being too careless with magic, and they accidentally summoned this creature, inspired by the tales of the protective spirit. Of course you can think up any other reason for this monster to appear. The main idea is to feed the players some hints early on that this is a creature that protects the forest against fire. Because that leads to the ‘lure’ of fire: it wants to stomp out fire to prevent the forest from burning.
Forest Fiend: Stat block
| CR | 7 |
| AC | 15 |
| HP | 85 |
| Speed | Walk: 50ft |
| Size | Large |
| Actions | Multi-attack (bite, claw, ram) – Bite: +7 (5ft), 14 piercing – Claw: +6 (10ft), 8 slashing – Ram: +7 (5ft), 15 bludgeoning |
| Additional feats | Charge: if the fiend moves 25ft or more, target must make DC 17 STR save, or be knocked prone. Fiend can then ram or bite |
| Bonus Action | – Cause fear (DC13) WIS (“red glowing eyes”), target is frightened – Regenerate 13 HP (after taking lightning damage, cannot use this bonus action for one round) |
| Reaction | – Telepathy (abyssal) – Counterspell (1/day) |
| Villain Action 1 | Thick mist (PCs have disadvantage on ranged attacks and reactions) |
| Villain Action 2 | Charge (take a free movement) |
| Villain Action 3 | Bucking (10ft range melee radius, 16 bludgeoning) |
| RESISTANCES (1 per CR) | Slashing, Piercing, Bludgeoning, Acid, Cold, Force, Thunder |
| IMMUNITY (1 per 3CR) | Fire, Psychic |
| CONDITION IMMUNITY | Frightened, Stunned, Exhaustion |
| VULNERABILITY | Lightning damage: – Removes melee resistance – Stops regeneration until the end of its next turn |
| WEAKNESSES | Poison stops the fiend in its track |
| LURE | Runs towards burning wood |
| STATS | STR +4 (19) DEX +3 (16) CON +6 (23) INT +0 (11) WIS +2 (14) CHA +1 (12) |
| SAVES | STR +7 DEX +6 WIS +5 CHA +4 |
Forest Fiend: running the monster
This monster was created to fight as a solo beast against four players of level 4. That is also why I gave it static damage instead of rolls: so I would know how many hits the players could take. I wanted the damage to be high to make the players take notice, but I didn’t want the risk of one-shotting a player with one or two (un)lucky rolls. Some DMs might disagree, but I enjoy employing my control aimed at the players having the most fun. If you want dice rolls, make them something like 4d4+3 or 2d6+5.
Forest Fiend: main tactics
The main tactic for this creature: run and attack, it’s that simple. It should move 25 feet to hit a target (charge), then use the rest of the movement to move to the next target to do it again. And after hitting the last player, the creature can perform its multi-attack. That’s the ideal situation, since player positioning will determine whether this is possible in the first place. It’s unlikely that the creature will be able to charge for a second time, and even if that’s the case, there is still a save.
The bonus actions can either frighten players (for crowd control) or heal the monster. If possible, start with frightening one player to hamper their damage output, then heal the monster each turn. The creature also has one powerful reaction: a counterspell that can be used once per day. If the players are working on a ‘nuke’ to take the monster out quickly with powerful magic, use this. It’s only fair since the monster is on its own. And the way to explain it narratively is the same way it frightens people: the red glowing eyes.
Villain Actions
The villain actions are created to overcome some weaknesses. With the first villain action, the battlefield becomes misty, making it hard to simply stay away and snipe from a distance. I have opted not to create a ‘heavily obscured’ situation, because that would mean all attacks against players have advantage as well. If you want to adapt this for higher level players, then that would be feasible. Use the mist, then frighten a player, then ram them. The second villain action simply gives the monster a chance to move around and alter the situation. And the final villain action gives it the possibility to really hurt the players if they gang up on it.
What the players should do
The main tactic: lure it with fire (preferably by burning wood). Using fire, the players can fully control the monster’s direction, meaning they can avoid taking (most) damage. Once something has been lit, the monster charges towards the fire, uses its charge feature (if possible) and then it still has movement and an action to attack a player.
I have given the forest fiend a specific weakness and vulnerability. It is weak against poison, and in this case it means that it will stop its charge whenever it encounters poison of some kind (a poison cloud that it has to run through, for example). I’ve also made it vulnerable to lightning damage, since it can be perceived as a ’cause of forest fire’, and lightning will take away melee resistance and regeneration. So ideally, the players lure it by burning something, then strike it with lightning and gang up on it.
Forest Fiend: Harmless Key export
If you’re using Harmless Key as your encounter builder and combat tracker (and you should), import the monster. You can simply import this JSON into Harmless Key and run the monster. It’s that easy!