Summary

  • Larvae evoke physical disgust, ideal for a survival campaign, and suitable for lower levels of play.
  • Liches provide powerful climactic boss battles in survival campaigns with soul-consuming magic.
  • Myconids, Yetis, and Carrion Crawlers add atmosphere and challenge to survival scenarios.

Survival-based campaigns can be some of the most fun you'll ever have in a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons adventure. For high-level players who may feel like they've seen it all before, testing their limits as a DM by forcing them to consider🐬 rat🐭ions, water supply, illness, and more can bring an intriguing dose of reality into any campaign.

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🌄 ꦜDungeons & Dragons: Most Powerful Beasts, Ranked

Dungeons & Dragons offers up a wide spread of monsters and beasts to summon and do battle against, ไand here are some of the most ferocious.

But, what's a survival campaign withou🐈t monsters that test those same limits? If you plan on running a survival-based adventure that pushes your players to their absolute brink, consider using these monsters to keep the sense ofꦜ danger alive and present throughout the campaign.

10 Larvae

Larvae in the Lower Planes in Dungeons & Dragons.
Larvae by Helge C. Balzer

Stat

Details

Type

Fiend

HP

9-22

CR

0-1

Larvae in Dungeons & Dragons aren't like🍨 the typical larvae we know in the real world. In D&D, Larvae are depraved souls lost to th🍌e bowels of the Lower Planes. They resemble maggots, and have disfigured features that barely resemble how they looked in life.

Larvae are great for a survival-based campaign as they evoke a sense of physical disgust and grotesqueness that is essential for capturing the mood of an adventure like this. You can either use a single Larva for lower-level parties or multiple swarms of Larvae (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:utilizing mob combat rules) for higher-levels of play.

9 Lich

Dungeons & Dragons art of An Ancient Lich and her attendants by Viko Menezes.
Ancient Lich by Viko Menezes

Stat

Details

Type

Undead

HP

315

CR

21

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Liches are extremely powerful mages that can lay waste to even so🦩me of the most daring adventuring parties around. They consume souls and use them to feed their dark magics. If you're looking for a climactic boss battle for your survival campaign, consider using a Lich.

The reason Liches are great for these kinds of campaigns is that they have acc🌠ess to spells like Finger of Death, and Disrupt Life that can absolutely decimate mid to hig🧜h-level parties, forcing players to think on their feet and perhaps even seek help post-battle.

8 Myconids

Mushroom like creatures called Myconids in Dungeons & Dragons.
Myconids by Caroline Gariba

Stat

Details

Type

Plant

HP

3-45

CR

0-2

Myconids are, in essence, fanta💯stical fungi that players can s💫tumble across in dense forest environments. Fungi of any kind are great for a survival-based campaign, as you can tailor the abilities of these spores to evoke undeath or plague.

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Dung🅰eons & Dragons: 🉐10 Most Powerful Oozes, Ranked

The species' voracious appetite has come in handy as a cleaning me🔜chanism for lazy wizards, lich🥀es, and other dungeon designers.

Plus, the 2025 Monster Manual has plenty of different options for Myconids that can be adjusted for any party level. They're probably best suited for lowꦏer levels though, unless you add in a lot of them. Look at Myconid Spore Servants for higher tiers of play.

7 Yetis

Dungeons & Dragons image showing a yeti attacking several humanoids.
Yeti by Richard Luong

Stat

Details

Type

Monstrostiy

HP

51-137

CR

3-9

Yetis can make great boss battles for survival adventures if you're in the right type of biome. If your players are exploring a frostbitten mounꩵtain or tundra, consider using a Yeti to serve as the climax for their current arc. These creatures can be tailored for mid to high levels of play.

Though powerful, Yetis also have a critical weakness that players can exploit, which makes for fun roleplay in combat. If a Yeti takes fire damage, it triggers 𝐆its Fear of Fire trait, which means they have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its neꦚxt turn.

6 Carrion Crawlꦇer ಞ

A terrifying Carrion Crawler monster assaulting an adventurer in Dungeons & Dragons.
Carrion Crawler by Brian Valeza

Stat

Details

Type

Monstrosity

HP

51

CR

2

Carrion Crawlers are great monsters to use for lower-level parties, as they look extremely formidable, but are actually not all that difficult to defeat. This means you can get a great encounter in for your party without actually risking a🌠 TPK. Carrion Crawlers scour the earth, feeding on corpses and decay.

If your campaign is set in a post-apocalyptic environment, Carrion Crawlers are great for setting toneꦉ and creating atmosphere. Have players see these creatures consuming corpses, knowing that if they fall to one of these creatures, their fate will likely be the sa💖me.

5 Blights

Vine Blight, Tree Blight, and Needle Blight, from Dungeons & Dragons.
Blights, by Brian Valeza

Stat

Details

Type

Plant

HP

7-264

CR

1/8-16

Plant blights are a great addition to any campaign that takes place i♛n a barren wast♚eland, or a decaying forest. The best part about blights is that you can tailor them to any kind of party, as the 2025 Monster Manual has no shortage of options available to you.

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💮 Dungeons & Dragons: Monsters That Are Perfect Bosses For A Low Level Party

Dungeon Masters may want to choose some of these monste♈rs for their players to face off against if their levels are still a bit low.

For a really tough challenge, use the Gulthias Blight which can𝐆 prove tough to even the most expert players. The Gulthias' Life-Draining Root ability can restrain and grapple targets, dealing extra Necrotic damage every single turn and reducing HP maximums.

4 Bandits

A group of bandits threatening a tavern in Dungeons & Dragons.
Bandits by Katerina Ladon

Stat

Details

Type

Humanoid

HP

11-169

CR

1/8-11

Bandits do a great job at making a survival environment feel grounded and real, while adding a real sense of stakes to the mix. The threat of the party losing valuable items may have them staying up through the night to guard their supplies, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:incurring points of Exhaustion.

As with many of the creatures on this෴ list, there are tons of different Bandit options you can use, but they work best in groups. Sending in just one bandit will be pretty easy for even a beginne෴r party to take down. Also, make sure to have fun and provide backstories, names, and a general motif for your group!

3 Giant Wolf Spider 𒐪

A giant wolf spider feasting on a corpse in Dungeons & Dragons.
Giant Wolf Spider by Michele Giorgi

Stat

Details

Type

Beast

HP

11

CR

1/4

Giant, mutated arachnids will always be right at home in any kind of survival or post-apocalyptic landscape. Flavor these creatures with acidic or biohazard-like poison🗹, and you'll have a perfect creature fo🃏r your campaign. You can also use a couple of these creatures in tandem with one another for better action economy in combat.

In addition to their standard abilities, consider using webs to make combat more interesting. Perhaps the S🔴pider's lair is all difficult terrain thanks to its web-like encasement. Or, maybe party members can suffer from the Restrained condition if they're not careful.

2 ඣ Flesh Golem

A flesh golem being electrocuted to life in Dungeons & Dragons.
Flesh Golem by Bjorn Hurri

Stat

Details

Type

Construct

HP

127

CR

5

A classic twist on a Frankenstein-esque monster, Flesh Golems are macabre creations stitched togeth✨er with various body parts. Seeing this creature for the first time is sure to evoke a visceral reaction from players, and perfectly sets the tone of this type of adventure.

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2

Plus, the Flesh Golem is no pushover. Its Berserk feature, whichᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ essentially gives it a second wind in battle, can turn a long combat session on its head. Additionally, it has Magic Resistance and can absorb Lightning damage, meaning players may have to think on their feet to stay alive.

1 ဣ ♏ Invisible Stalker

An invisible stalker attacks a terrified adventurer in Dungeons & Dragons.
Invisible Stalker by Kent Davis

Stat

Details

Type

Elemental

HP

97

CR

6

Invisible Stalkers are great creatures to use to strike fear into the heꦉarts of your players. True to its name, the Stalker has the Invisible condition, and can make up to three attacks against players. Plus, their Vortex ability can grapple opponents, which is good for crowd control.

For a great sense of suspense, have your party continuously hunted by an Invisible Stalker as they move through their campaign. They'll be sure to sleep wi🔯th one eye open if they think they're being hunted, even if they can't see their targ𓆏et!

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Your Rating

Original Release Date
1974
Designer
🌊 E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson 🥃
Player Count
2+