Mike Mearls Games

Simpler Aboleth

Added 2024-09-04 23:07:12 +0000 UTC

I was asked to try tackling a more complex monster. The first critter in the SRD is the aboleth, so here is my revision of it.

I tried using an aboleth in an encounter years ago and it was deeply frustrating. It has wonky, complex mechanics that burn a lot of DM mental energy and don't do much in play. I've tried streamlining it significantly while adjusting its stats using the excellent book The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes.

A few notes:

Charming each round is a little boring, as it sticks the DM with forcing one interesting save per round and not much else, so I upped the save DC and made it a recharge ability. I like that tempo better. Try to dominate a character, otherwise smash away with tentacles.
This creature is large, but I opted for a 20-foot reach on the tentacles to make them feel more sinuous in play.
I added a rider to the melee attack to make the charm effect that much deadlier.
I added a ranged attack because the originally inexplicably doesn't have one. I added a forced movement effect to trigger any opportunity attacks from charmed PCs. I see it as a bolt of telekinetic energy. The "movement" is the aboleth moving its target around.
I dropped a lot of the flavor material about its cloud of mucous. In play, it had a ton of rules and didn't really add anything to the game. YMMV.

I see this as a combat stat block, with descriptions of the attacks and such contained in the running text of a monster entry. Riffing off of Skerples' excellent The Monster Overhaul, I'd also want the monster entry to include tables for names, personalities, unique treasures, and so on.

Based on my earlier work, an escape is a limited use ability that lets a creature end all conditions, spells, and effects on it. It can use the escape at the end of any turn.