1d10 Monster Traits

Running a combat in D&D can be difficult. Making a group of monsters interesting or unique requires effort planning, especially if there are duplicates of them.

 One simple way to make unique, interesting monsters is to give them simple traits. Traits can be added to any monster, and can change the way they traditionally act. Goblins might be cowardly, but a goblin with the tank trait might jump right into battle. A wolf with the avenger trait howls angrily when a member of the pack is killed, and becomes more dangerous.

Below are 10 sample traits that you can quickly add to any monster or NPC. If you want to spice up an encounter, roll a d10 for one of the monsters and describe how they look or act differently with this trait. A suit of animated armor with the assassin trait might be painted black and be made of lighter material.

Enjoy these 10 monster traits!

D10	Trait	Effect
1	Brute	Deal an additional die of damage with all attacks
2	Glass Cannon	Reduce hit points by half. Deal double the amount of damage with attacks
3	Commander	Allied creatures within 60 feet of the commander get a 1d4 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws
4	Tank	Has the maximum number of hit points instead of average
5	Slippery	Can take the Disengage, Dash, or Hide actions as a bonus action
6	Assassin	Gains proficiency in Dexterity (Stealth). Gains Sneak Attack with a number of d6 equal to the monster’s proficiency bonus
7	Coward	When the monster is reduced to half of its hit points or fewer, it flees
8	Avenger	When the creature’s allies die, it gets stronger. It gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls for each ally that is defeated
9	Minion	A minion creature has 1 hit point and deals half of its normal damage. If a monster has this trait, there should be 2 identical copies of it.
10	Dervish	Any enemy that starts its turn within 5 feet of this creature takes xd6 damage, where x=the creature’s proficiency modifier