Monsters by Role

The following lists categorize all of the monsters into their roles, as detailed in Monster Advancement. These roles indicate what types of character classes are treated as key classes for each monster.

Combat monsters are good at ranged and melee combat.

Spell monsters have an inherent ability to cast magic spells.

Skill monsters are particularly adept at ambushing prey, use sneak attacks, or have bard-like powers.

Special monsters have no key classes—their focus is on unique tactics and abilities.

Creatures listed as having “Any Role” do not use special rules when advancing via class level—they lack racial Hit Dice, and thus advance in level normally. All of the PC races fit into this category as well.

Creatures listed in the “No Role” category have no key classes—these are generally any creatures that are mindless or have an Intelligence score of 2 or lower. Unlike Special creatures (which also have no key classes), creatures in this category cannot gain class levels at all, and must advance using other methods. If a creature in this category gains an Intelligence of 3 or higher, the creature becomes a Combat Role monster.

Note that monster templates are not listed here—with the exception of skeletons and zombies (which lose their intelligence and thus have no key classes), a templated monster’s key class is the same as the base creature’s key classes.

Any Role

aasimar, azer, dhampir, drow, drow noble, duergar, fetchling, goblin, grippli, hobgoblin, ifrit, kobold, locathah, merfolk, orc, oread, serpentfolk, svirfneblin, sylph, tengu, tiefling, undine

Combat Role

aboleth, accuser devil, achaierai, air elemental, air mephit, akata, animate dream, arbiter, astradaemon, astral deva, athach, attic whisperer, augnagar, avoral, axiomite, balor, barbed devil, babau, barghest, bearded devil, bebilith, behir, belier devil, belker, black dragon, blindheim, blink dog, blue dragon, bodak, boggard, bone devil, bralani, brass dragon, brijidine, brine dragon, bronze dragon, bugbear, bythos, cacodaemon, catoblepas, cauchemar, centaur, cetaceal, ceustodaemon, chaos beast, charda, charybdis, chernobue, chimera, choker, chupacabra, chuul, cloud dragon, cloud giant, copper dragon, crag linnorm, crypt thing, crysmal, crystal dragon, cyclops, cythnigot, dark creeper, dark stalker, death worm, decapus, derghodaemon, derro, destrachan, devilfish, devourer, djinni, doppelganger, draconal, dragon horse, dragon turtle, draugr, dretch, drider, dullahan, dust mephit, d’ziriak, earth elemental, earth mephit, efreeti, Elysian titan, erinyes, ettercap, ettin, fire elemental, fire giant, fire mephit, flame drake, forest drake, forlarren, freshwater merrow, frost drake, frost giant, gargoyle, ghaele, ghoul, gibbering mouther, glabrezu, glacier toad, gnoll, gold dragon, gray render, greater barghest, green dragon, green hag, grick, grindylow, gug, handmaiden devil, hangman tree, harpy, hellcat, hell hound, hezrou, hill giant, hippocampus, horned devil, hound archon, hound of Tindalos, howler, hydrodaemon, iathavos, ice devil, ice elemental, ice linnorm, ice mephit, ice troll, imentesh, immolation devil, invisible stalker, jabberwock, janni, jyoti, kalavakus, keketar, kelpie, kolyarut, korred, kraken, krenshar, kyton, lamia, lamia matriarch, leng spider, leonal, leukodaemon, lhaksharut, lightning elemental, lillend, lizardfolk, lurker in light, magma dragon, magma elemental, magma mephit, mandragora, manticore, marid, marilith, marsh giant, marut, medusa, meladaemon, mercane, mihstu, mimic, minotaur, mite, mobat, mohrg, mohrg (demonic)[PA], monadic deva, mongrelman, moonflower, morlock, movanic deva, mu spore, mud elemental, mummy, nabasu, nalfeshnee, naunet, neothelid, nessian warhound, nightcrawler, nightskitter, night hag, nightmare, nightwalker, nightwave, nightwing, nuglub, nyogoth, ogre, ogre mage, olethrodaemon, omox, ooze mephit, otyugh, pech, pegasus, peryton, phase spider, phoenix, pit fiend, planetar, poltergeist, pseudodragon, pugwampi, purrodaemon, quickwood, rakshasa, rast, ravener, redcap, red dragon, reefclaw, remorhaz, retriever, revenant, rock troll, rune giant, sahuagin, salamander, salt mephit, saltwater merrow, sandman, sard, satyr, sceaduinar, scylla, sea drake, sea hag, seugathi, shaitan, shambling mound, shantak, shemhazian, shield archon, shining child, shoggoth, shoggti, silvanshee, silver dragon, sinspawn, skaveling, skum, slithering tracker, slurk, solar, soul eater, sphinx, star archon, steam mephit, stone giant, storm giant, succubus, taiga giant, tarn linnorm, tarrasque, tendriculos, thanadaemon, Thanatotic titan, theletos, thoqqua, thrasfyr, thulgant, thunderbird, totenmaske, treant, triton, troglodyte, troll, trumpet archon, twigjack, Umbral dragon, unicorn, urdefhan, vampiric mist, vargouille, vegepygmy, vemerak, voidworm, vrock, vrolikai, water elemental, water mephit, water orm, wendigo, white dragon, wight, winterwight, winter wolf, witchfire, witchwyrd, wood giant, worg, wyvern, xacarba, xill, xorn, yeth hound, yrthak, yeti, zelekhut

No Role

adamantine golem, alchemical golem, allosaurus, amoeba swarm, amphisbaena, animated object, ankheg, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, army ant swarm, assassin vine, aurochs, aurumvorax, basidirond, basilisk, baboon, badger, bat, bat swarm, behemoth hippopotamus, bison, black pudding, boar, brachiosaurus, bulette, bunyip, camel, carnivorous blob, carrion golem, cat, cave fisher, cave scorpion, centipede swarm, cheetah, clay golem, clockwork golem, cockatrice, colossal black scorpion, compsognathus, constrictor snake, crab swarm, crawling hand, crocodile, darkmantle, deinonychus, dire ape, dire badger, dire bat, dire bear, dire boar, dire crocodile, dire hyena, dire lion, dire rat, dire shark, dire tiger, dire wolf, dire wolverine, dog, dolphin, dust digger, eagle, elasmosaurus, electric eel, elephant, emperor cobra, flesh-eating cockroach swarm, fire beetle, flesh golem, froghemoth, frost worm, fungal crawler, gelatinous cube, giant amoeba, giant anaconda, giant ant, giant bee, giant black widow, giant centipede, giant crab, giant crawling hand, giant dragonfly, giant dragonfly nymph, giant eagle, giant fly, giant flytrap, giant frilled lizard, giant frog, giant gar, giant leech, giant maggot, giant mantis, giant moray eel, giant mosquito, giant octopus, giant queen bee, giant scorpion, giant slug, giant snapping turtle, giant solifugid, giant spider, giant squid, giant stag beetle, giant tarantula, giant tick, giant toad, giant wasp, giant whiptail centipede, girallon, glass golem, gloomwing, glyptodon, goblin dog, goliath stag beetle, gorgon, gorilla, gray ooze, great white whale, griffon, grizzly bear, gryph, hawk, hippogriff, hippopotamus, horse, hydra, hyena, ice golem, iron cobra, iron golem, jellyfish swarm, leech swarm, lemure, leopard, lion, lizard, magma ooze, manta ray, mastodon, megaloceros, megatherium, mithral golem, monitor lizard, monkey, monkey swarm, Monstrous gar, monstrous jellyfish, monstrous roach, mosquito swarm, necrophidius, ochre jelly, octopus, orca, owl, owlbear, parasaurolophus, phycomid, poison frog, pony, pteranodon, purple worm, ram, rat, rat swarm, raven, rhinoceros, riding dog, roc, rust monster, scarecrow, sea serpent, shark, sicuel solifugid, shocker lizard, slicer beetle, slime mold, snapping turtle, spider swarm, squid, stegosaurus, stingray, stirge, stone golem, tenebrous worm, tentamort, tick swarm, tiger, titan centipede, toad, triceratops, tylosaurus, tyrannosaurus, venomous snake, violet fungus, viper, viper vine, wasp swarm, weasel, whale, wolf, wolverine, wood golem, woolly rhinoceros, xtabay, yellow musk creeper

Skill Role

babau, choker, dark creeper, dark slayer, dark stalker, denizen of Leng, derro, doppelganger, ettercap, faceless stalker, greater shadow, grig, homunculus, imp, intellect devourer, invisible stalker, jinkin, lillend, morlock, nabasu, nereid, paracletus, pixie, quasit, shadow, shadow demon, siren, skulk, spectre, spriggan, vexgit, vulpinal, wraith

Special Role

akhana, banshee, cassisian, cloaker, dryad, lantern archon, leucrotta, mothman, quickling, roper, soulbound doll, will-o’-wisp

Spell Role

aranea, black dragon, blue dragon, brass dragon, brine dragon, bronze dragon, brownie, cloud dragon, copper dragon, couatl, crystal dragon, dark naga, draconal, drider, ghaele, gold dragon, green dragon, guardian naga, lamia matriarch, leprechaun, lyrakian, magma dragon, monadic deva, movanic deva, neh-thalggu, nymph, planetar, pleroma, rakshasa, ravener, red dragon, silver dragon, solar, spirit naga, star archon, trumpet archon, umbral dragon, white dragon, worm that walks

scroll to top