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A character can spend one or more Hit Dice at the end of a short rest, up to the character's maximum number of Hit Dice, which is equal to the character's level. For each Hit Dice spent in this way, the player rolls the die and adds the character's Constitution modifier to. A monster can be Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, or Gargantuan. The Size Categories table shows how much space a creature of a particular size controls in combat. See the player’s D&D basic rules or the Player’s Handbook for more information on creature size and space. A monster’s Constitution modifier also affects the number of hit points it has. Its Constitution modifier is multiplied by the number of Hit Dice it possesses, and the result is added to its hit points. For example, if a monster has a Constitution of 12 (+1 modifier) and 2d8 Hit Dice, it has 2d8 + 2 hit points (average 11).

Jul 08, 2019  They say 7-9 feet later in the text. There’s also the problem that with their size, you’d expect tauren to be Large creatures, but Large PCs don’t work in D&D, so they have to be classified as Medium. The old Warcraft RPG had tauren as Large in the first edition, but changed them to Medium in the second. Dice Sizes Explained. Dice are measured in millimeters (mm) from side to side, and while dice can range in size from 5mm all the way up to 100mm or more, there are a few dice sizes that are considered 'standard': 5mm, 12mm, 16mm, 19mm, 25mm, and 50mm.

Damage Rolls

Each weapon, spell, and harmful monster ability specifies the damage it deals. You roll the damage die or dice, add any modifiers, and apply the damage to your target. Magic weapons, special abilities, and other factors can grant a bonus to damage. With a penalty, it is possible to deal 0 damage, but never negative damage.

When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier–the same modifier used for the attack roll–to the damage. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage and whether to add any modifiers.

If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a wizard casts fireball or a cleric casts flame strike, the spell's damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.

Critical Hits

When you score a critical hit, you get to roll extra dice for the attack's damage against the target. Roll all of the attack's damage dice twice and add them together. Then add any relevant modifiers as normal. To speed up play, you can roll all the damage dice at once.

For example, if you score a critical hit with a dagger, roll 2d4 for the damage, rather than 1d4, and then add your relevant ability modifier. If the attack involves other damage dice, such as from the rogue'sSneak Attack feature, you roll those dice twice as well.

Damage Types

Different attacks, damaging spells, and other harmful effects deal different types of damage. Damage types have no rules of their own, but other rules, such as damage resistance, rely on the types.

The damage types follow, with examples to help a GM assign a damage type to a new effect.

Acid. The corrosive spray of a black dragon's breath and the dissolving enzymes secreted by a black pudding deal acid damage.

Bludgeoning. Blunt force attacks–hammers, falling, constriction, and the like–deal bludgeoning damage.

Cold. The infernal chill radiating from an ice devil's spear and the frigid blast of a white dragon's breath deal cold damage.

Fire. Red dragons breathe fire, and many spells conjure flames to deal fire damage.

Force. Force is pure magical energy focused into a damaging form. Most effects that deal force damage are spells, including magic missile and spiritual weapon.

Lightning. A lightning bolt spell and a blue dragon's breath deal lightning damage.

Necrotic. Necrotic damage, dealt by certain undead and a spell such as chill touch, withers matter and even the soul.

Piercing. Puncturing and impaling attacks, including spears and monsters' bites, deal piercing damage.

Poison. Venomous stings and the toxic gas of a green dragon's breath deal poison damage.

Psychic. Mental abilities such as a mind flayer's psionic blast deal psychic damage.

Radiant. Radiant damage, dealt by a cleric's flame strike spell or an angel's smiting weapon, sears the flesh like fire and overloads the spirit with power.

Slashing. Swords, axes, and monsters' claws deal slashing damage.

Thunder. A concussive burst of sound, such as the effect of the thunderwave spell, deals thunder damage.

Back to Main Page → 5e System Reference Document → Combat

Updated 10 February 2015 (added link to Monster Traits and Actions)

This is the third in my series of conversion documents for D&D 5thEdition. (You can find the one for Nexthereand the one for 3.5/3E/Pathfinderhere.)I created this document by comparing the 5E versions of monsters fromthe Monster Manual with their 2E counterparts. I also referred to twosources for converting monsters from 2E to 3E: Wizards’ officialConversionManual and theDragon Magazine article “How to Create aMonster”.

I will once again include two warnings:

1. If you compare the 2E and 5E versions of monsters yourself, you will

   notice this conversion does not produce perfectly identicalresults. I went for approximation, not precision.

2. I am fallible, so there may be mistakes. If you find any, let me

   know.

The end of this document also explains how to adjust these guidelinesfor converting monsters from 1E.

You will need access to at least the D&D BasicRulesand the Monster Manual to make full use of this. The Dungeon Master’sGuide, while not strictly required, is highly recommended for itsmonster creation guidelines (pages 273-283).

Also, thanks to Russ Morrissey for a simplification on dragon AC, andthe people in this ENWorldthreadfor general help!

Challenge Rating

Before you get started, you should choose an initial Challenge Ratingfor the creature. This is an estimate of the monster’s CR, which you canuse to guide the rest of your conversion. There are two ways to do this:

• Use the CR of a similar 5E creature. If you use this approach, the

  creature should also serve as your “reference monster” (seeAbility Scores).

• Use the CR Estimator in Appendix 1 to convert its AD&D 2E XP Value.

When you are finished converting your monster to 5E, you may wish toadjust this initial CR for a better fit. The best way to do this is touse the rules for determining CR in the DMG, but if you’re pressed fortime, you can just compare it to similar 5E creatures once again.

Size

5E appears to use 3.5’s size ranges (slightly trimmed). These do notperfectly match 2E’s size categories, so convert them as follows:

2E Size5E Size

Tiny (2’ or less) Tiny (2 feet or less)Small (2’-4’) Small (2-4 feet)Medium (4’-7’) Medium (4-8 feet)Large (7’-8’) Medium (4-8 feet)Large (8’-12’) Large (8-16 feet)Huge (12’-16’) Large (8-16 feet)Huge (16’-25’) Huge (16-32 feet)Gargantuan (25’-32’) Huge (16-32 feet)Gargantuan (32’ or more) Gargantuan (32 feet or more)

You can also simply use the 2E size category as is, if you don’t mindbeing off by a few feet.

Type

2E did not have creature types, so you will need to assign thoseyourself, based on the monster’s description. The types are allexplained in the 5E Basic Rules.

Tags

Appended to the creature type in 5E, these can be determined from themonster’s description. Typical tags include titan (for creatureslike the tarrasque), shapechanger, specific types of fiends (such asdemon or yugoloth), and specific humanoid races (elf,thri-kreen, etc.) If your creature isn’t likely to have any of thetags above, skip this step.

Alignment

Generally, keep this the same. However, creatures in 5E may also beunaligned, meaning they operate on instinct - so you may want tochange neutral to unaligned for some creatures.

Armor Class

It’s easiest to recalculate AC from scratch, based on their Dexteritybonus and any armor worn. (Make sure to check the rules for determiningAC in the Basic Rules PDF.)

If the creature did not wear armor, and had an AC of 6 or below, theyshould have natural armor. In that case, give them a +2 bonus to theirnew AC.

Dragons appear to have stronger natural armor in 5E. For now, Isuggest estimating their 5E AC by subtracting it from 19.

Example: A dragon of some sort has AC -1. Subtract that from 19:19-(-1) = 19+1 = 20.

Hit Dice

In 5E, the type of hit die is determined by a creature’s size. Tinycreatures use d4 hit dice. Small creatures use d6 hit dice.Medium creatures use d8 hit dice. Large creatures use d10 hitdice. Huge creatures use d12 hit dice. Gargantuan creatures used20 hit dice.

In 2E, Hit Dice may be displayed in formats like “1-1” or “5+3”. Thefirst number is the number of Hit Dice; ignore the later number.

Tiny creatures should keep the same number of hit dice as they hadin 2E.

Small or Medium creatures should add one hit die. Forexample, 1d6 should become 2d6.

Large, Huge, and Gargantuan creatures should add two hitdice. For example, 3d10 should become 5d10.

Average hit points for creatures should be recalculated as follows:

Xd4 - Multiply X by 2.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus,times X.

Xd6 - Multiply X by 3.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus,times X.

Xd8 - Multiply X by 4.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus,times X.

Xd10 - Multiply X by 5.5 (round down), then add their Constitutionbonus, times X.

Xd12 - Multiply X by 6.5 (round down), then add their Constitutionbonus, times X.

Xd20 - Multiply X by 10.5 (round down), then add their Constitutionbonus, times X.

Example: A monster has 3d8 HD and a Constitution of 14 (+2 bonus). Sotheir average hit points are 4.5 times 3, rounded down: 13. Then youmultiply their Con bonus by their HD, for a total of +6. 13+6 = 19.

Two exceptions:

Oozes should probably keep their current hit dice.

Dragons have been upgraded a lot since 2E, so any 2E dragonconverted like other monsters is likely to be comparatively weak. Butsince we have only one example, I can only suggest you convert them likeother creatures of their size.

Speed

Use the 2E Movement stat, then convert it as follows for eachmovement type (in feet).

Movement up to 12: Divide by 3, multiply by 10, round to nearest 10.

Movement above 12: Multiply by 2, round to nearest 10.

For reference, the 2E abbreviations for special movement are Fl(flying), Sw (swimming), Br (burrowing), Cl (climbing), and Wb (movingacross webs).

Example: A creature has Movement 9, Fl 21. Its new ground movement is9/3 = 3, 3x10 = 30 feet. Its new flight speed is 21x2 = 42, rounded to40 feet.

A creature that can move across webs (Wb) should replace that speed withthe trait Web Walker (see Giant Spider in the Monster Manual).

Ability Scores

The only ability score provided in most 2E stat blocks isIntelligence. You can use this statistic as given - if there’s arange, go for the average or highest score. If only the Intelligence“rating” is provided, use the below for reference:

• Non- (0) [which must be increased to at least 1 for 5E]

• Animal (1)

• Semi- (2-4)

• Low (5-7)

• Average (8-10)

• Very (11-12)

• High (13-14)

• Exceptional (15-16)

• Genius (17-18)

• Supra-genius (19-20)

• Godlike (21+)

If you are really lucky, the monster’s description may describe otherability scores. Use them as given if they are provided, with theexception of Strength, which should be converted as follows:

2E Strength5E Strength

1-18 Same18/01-18/99 1818/00 (2E ogre) 1919 (2E hill giant) 20-2120 (2E stone giant) 22-2321 (2E frost giant) 23-2422 (2E fire giant) 25-2623 (2E cloud giant) 27-2824 (2E storm giant) 2925 30

For any ability scores missing at this point, you will need to choose a“reference monster”. This is an existing monster similar to the oneyou’re converting. (For example, a skeletal undead could use theskeleton as a “reference”.) If you based the monster’s initial CR on anexisting 5E monster, you already have your “reference monster”!

Use the ability scores of the “reference monster” to fill in any blanks,possibly tweaking them as needed to fit the monster’s concept or knownability scores.

When choosing a “reference monster”, use these sources, in this order ofpreference:

1. The D&D 5E Monster Manual.

2. Monsters from D&D Next material.

3. D&D 3.5’s Monster Manual. You can use this site as a quick

   reference:http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm

4. The “How to Create a Monster” article (linked above).

   Ready to have a good ol' fashioned road trip?

Note that in 5E, creatures always have all six ability scores. If youuse a 3.5 “reference monster” and it is missing any of these, you shouldlook at the next closest Next or 5E monster, or use the guidelines forfilling in blanks from my 3.5 conversiondocument.

Alternatively, the 2E sourcebook Dungeon Master Option: High-LevelCampaigns provides a method for determining monster ability scores, ifyou want to fill in the blanks from the 2E side. They recommend rollingrandomly and consulting a table, but I would use the average result onthe table instead (results 9-12). Another 2E resource to consider isThe Complete Book ofHumanoids.Note that any resulting Strength scores would still need to be convertedto 5E.

Saving Throws

Ignore the 2E rules for monster saving throws. In 5E, saves areassociated with each of the six ability scores, so most creatures justuse their ability bonus for saves.

However, a few 5E monsters do appear to apply their proficiencybonus to these saves. You may wish to do the same for your convertedcreature, if their 2E description suggests it should.

In most cases, though, you should probably pass on giving your creatureproficiency with saves - it’s much easier without it.

Skills

The majority of monsters will have few or no skills, especially monstersdriven by instinct. Consult the 2E monster’s description to see if ithas any talents that might match a particular 5E skill. For reference,the 5E skills are:

Athletics (Strength)

Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth (Dexterity)

Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion(Intelligence)

Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, andSurvival (Wisdom)

Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion(Charisma)

Full descriptions of the skills can be found in the Basic Rules PDF.

If a creature has proficiency in a skill, their bonus with that skill isequal to the relevant ability bonus, plus their proficiency bonus.

Example: A monster has a Dexterity of 15 (+2 bonus) and proficiency inStealth. This means that they should have a +4 bonus with Stealth(Dexterity) checks. If they are a more powerful creature, they may havea +5 bonus instead.

If a creature is hard to surprise, it should probably have proficiencyin Perception (Wisdom). If the creature is good at surprising enemies,it should probably have proficiency in Stealth (Dexterity).

Some creatures seem to have a higher proficiency in one skill than theothers, typically double their normal proficiency bonus (+4 or +6). Forexample, doppelgangers have a +4 on Deception (Charisma) checks. You maywish to do the same with a creature’s “signature” skill.

Vulnerabilities, Resistances, Immunities

Look at the 2E creature’s Special Defenses and description - thisshould give you an idea what the creature is vulnerable against (listedunder Damage Vulnerabilities in 5E), what the creature is resistantagainst (listed under Damage Resistances), and what the creature isimmune against (listed under Damage Immunities or ConditionImmunities).

Some 2E creatures can only be harmed by magical weapons of a certainbonus (+1, +2, etc.). This should be listed under Damage Resistancesas follows:

bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

If the creature can only be harmed by some other material, add thefollowing:

..nonmagical weapons that aren’t (silvered or adamantine or [othersubstance])

Modify the above as needed for other resistances.

When you note Condition Immunities, remember that they may overlapwith resistances or damage immunities. For example, a creature immune topoison damage should also note that they are immune to thepoisoned condition.

The innate immunities of undead in 5E are:

Damage Immunities: poison

Condition Immunities: poisoned

Only add other immunities to an undead creature if they are separatefrom its undead nature.

Incorporeal creatures should probably have the following resistancesand immunities:

Damage Resistances: acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning,piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Damage Immunities: poison

Condition Immunities: grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone,restrained

Magic resistance has also been simplified, and is now listed as atrait - see the flameskull for an example.

Senses

There are only four senses established in 5E at this point:blindsight, darkvision, tremorsense, and truesight. 2E’sinfravision, ultravision, and similar senses are equivalent todarkvision. Any non-visual replacement for sight should be blindsight ortremorsense. Any creature with innate “true seeing” should havetruesight.

Also, all creatures have a passive Perception score. This is equal to 10plus their total bonus to Perception (Wisdom) checks.

Languages

Refer to the Basic Rules PDF for the known languages in 5E. If nolanguage for your creature is listed there, give them the nativelanguage provided in their 2E description.

Traits

To determine a creature’s Traits, look at the 2E monster’s description.When possible, you should use equivalent traits from the MonsterManual; if this is not possible, either base the converted trait on asimilar 5E trait, or simply use the original text as is.

Beast Mastery Hunter16. Wow battle for azeroth.

A list of the known Traits in 5E can be foundhere.

Spellcasting is a special case. In addition to being used for 2Emonsters with levels in a spellcasting class, lists of spell-like powersalso tend to be translated as Spellcasting. (The only exception shouldbe specific spell-like powers which are really important to a creature’sconcept, in which case they are either listed as Innate Spellcastingor broken out as individual traits, actions, or reactions.)

If the creature lists a caster level, use that. If no caster level isprovided, use their 2E Hit Dice. Make sure to use the 5E rules forspellcasting, and replace spells with closest equivalents if necessary;refer to the Basic Rules for more details. (For Innate Spellcasting, thespellcasting ability is typically Wisdom or Charisma.)

Actions with an Attack Roll

Actions should be taken from a 2E creature’s normal attacks, SpecialAttacks, or description. You need to convert three things to makethese into 5E actions - the “to hit” bonus, the damage inflicted byelements of the attack, and any saving throws required.

A list of the known Actions in 5E can be foundhere.

To Hit

Ignore the THAC0 and recalculate this from scratch. In 5E, the “to hit”for an action is based on the proficiency bonus. This is combinedwith the relevant ability bonus (usually Strength or Dexterity).

Note that most natural attacks (claw, bite, etc.) appear to befinesse attacks, meaning they can use either Strength or Dexteritywith attack rolls. Unless you think your creature should be a weak meleecombatant, you should choose the highest of either Strength or Dexterityfor “to hit” with natural attacks.

Unusual attacks like the wraith’s Life Drain appear to either have ahigher bonus, or are using something other than Strength or Dexterity. Idon’t have any specific recommendations for this right now, but feelfree to experiment with other ability scores (like Constitution orCharisma) if that seems appropriate. You’re probably safer avoidingthat, however.

Damage

In 2E, damage is often expressed not in dice, but as a range, like 1-6,3-12, or 2-5. In such cases, you will have to figure out how many dicethat is before converting. (In the above cases, it’s 1d6, 3d4, and1d4+1.)

For attacks that use a weapon, refer to the damage listed in theBasic Rules PDF or Starter Set. If the creature is large, increasethe weapon’s damage die by one (i.e. 1d6 becomes 2d6). If thecreature is huge, increase the weapon’s damage die by two (i.e.1d6 becomes 3d6). Some especially huge creatures, and gargantuancreatures, may increase the damage die by three (i.e. 1d6 becomes4d6), but you may be safer sticking with two.

For natural attacks by tiny or small creatures, you shouldprobably leave the damage dice alone. However, the minimum damage dieappears to be 1d4, so any weaker attacks should probably upgrade tothat. (The same goes for damage dice below 1d4 for other creatures.)

For natural attacks by medium or larger creatures, use the followingtable:

2E Damage Dice5E Damage Dice

1d4 1d6 (or 2d4)1d6 1d8 (or 2d6)1d8 1d10 (or 2d8)1d10 1d12 (or 2d10)1d12 2d8 (or 2d12)

If an attack inflicts more than one die of damage, increase the 5Edamage die by that number. For example, 2d4 should become 2d6 (or 3d4).

Some creatures’ strongest natural attacks seem to add both one die ofdamage and increase the die type by one - for example, 1d6 becoming 2d8.This should be used carefully, however, and shouldn’t be used on morethan one attack.

Don’t forget to add the monster’s Strength bonus to melee damage andDexterity bonus to ranged damage. You can calculate average damagethrough the method above under Hit Dice.

Dmg 5e Pdf

Other types of damaging attacks (like the flameskull’s fire ray) seem tobe treated much like the “strongest natural attacks” above, but therearen’t many examples yet. Still, that guideline may work for now.Dragon breath weapons are upgraded much more than that, but until wehave more dragons, I’m reluctant to recommend any guidelines there.

Saving Throws for Actions

5E saving throws are very different from 2E. They should probably beconverted as follows:

2E Saving Throw5E Saving Throw

Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic ConstitutionRod, Staff, or Wand Wisdom (or Dexterity)Petrification or Polymorph Constitution (or Wisdom)Breath Weapon Constitution (or Dexterity)Spell Wisdom

Feel free to substitute a different ability score for the save, if itseems more appropriate.

You will need to calculate a Difficulty Class (DC) for the save yourcreature inflicts. The usual way to calculate this is 8 + proficiencybonus + the ability bonus of the creature for the relevant save. Forexample, a CR 2 creature with Constitution 13 (+1 bonus) that inflicts aConstitution save effect should require a DC of 11 (8+2+1).

The wraith’s Life Drain should be used in place of 2E’s energydrain attack.

Recharge

Some actions also have a recharge. Two examples are the giantspider’s Web and the young green dragon’s Poison Breath, which both havea recharge of 5-6.

Recharge seems to cover strong effects that, in 2E, could only be used alimited number of times per day, or required a number of rounds betweenuses.

My recommendation is to use “Recharge 5-6” for most limited-use actions,and keep “X per day” for especially strong attacks that should only beused once in a battle.

Actions without an Attack Roll

Many 5E creatures - such as the doppelganger, flameskull, grick, nothic,owlbear, and young green dragon - have Multiattack, allowing them totake more than one action per turn. If your 2E monster could attack morethan once, you should probably give them Multiattack in 5E. Note thatmost creatures can only make two attacks - the only exception is theyoung green dragon, which can make three.

There are also a few creatures that can take actions not requiring anattack roll or saving throw. If your monster could do this in 2E, youcan probably use them as is in 5E.

Reactions

Anything that could be converted into an Action, but requires some sortof trigger, should be categorized as a Reaction. Otherwise, they shouldbe converted like other Actions.

A list of the known Reactions in 5E can be foundhere.

Final Notes

Everything not mentioned above, like Morale, should probably bedropped in 5E. Of course, if you feel it’s very important to thecreature’s concept, feel free to port it over anyway.

Appendix 1: CR Estimator

The below conversion follows a very broad comparison of the 5E CR and 2EXP Value for the same creatures in both editions. It’s not perfect, butit works as a rough starting point.

5E CR2E XP

5e Size Categories Dmg Dice Games

0 7⅛ 15 to 35¼ 65 to 120½ 175 to 2701 4202 6503 975 to 14004 20005 3000 to 40006 5000 to 60007 70008 8000+1 +1000

Appendix 2: 1E

While there were several underlying changes between 1E and 2E, themonster statistics can be converted more or less the same as 2Ecreatures. There are a few differences, however, which are mostlycosmetic.

Movement rates are the same as 2E, but they are usually displayed inthe following format:

[normal]”

/[flying]”

*//[swimming]” *

([burrowing]”)

*[web]”

@[climb]”

1E only recognizes three size categories: S (small), M(human-sized), and L (large). “M” is defined as 5-7 feet; “S” isanything smaller than 5 feet; “L” is anything larger than 7 feet. If aspecific size in feet is given, you may use that number with the 2E sizeconversion; if not, you will have to choose an appropriate sizeyourself, based on the creature’s description.

XP Value is calculated differently from 2E. As such, if you want touse their XP Value to determine their 5E CR, you cannot use Appendix 1’sCR Estimator. Instead, use the following alternative table (ignoring theextra XP per monster hp):

5E CR1E Basic XP Value

0 5 or less⅛ 5 to 20¼ 20 to 50½ 50 to 1001 100 to 2002 200 to 3503 350 to 6504 650 to 9005 900 to 13006 1300 to 17007 1700 to 21008 2100 to 25009 2500 to 300010 3000 to 350011 3500 to 400012 4000 to 450013 4500 to 500014 5000 to 550015 5500 to 600016 6000 to 650017 6500 to 700018 7000 to 750019 7500 to 800020 8000 to 900021 9000 to 10,00022 10,000 to 15,00023 15,000 to 20,000+1 +5000

(Note that the original 1E Monster Manual does not provide XP Valuesat all; you have to refer to the 1E Dungeon Masters Guide.)

Psionic Ability is listed for many 1E monsters (as well as a smallernumber of 2E monsters). Psionics rules are beyond the scope of thisconversion, but you may wish to import any described psionic powers asInnate Spellcasting (see the Mind Flayer for an example), or as othertraits, actions, or reactions as appropriate.

Dnd 5e Dmg

FYI, the 1E Monster ManualII hasa list converting the damage ranges (2-8, etc.) to dice rolls, which maycome in handy for both 1E and 2E conversions.