It’s Really Easy Being Green

For this installment of 3D Thursday, we decided to grab something off the monster shelf that may or may not give you warts!

We’re getting our green on with the Giant Toad from EC3D Designs’ Beasts and Baddies series. He has an insatiable appetite to go along with his Gene Simmons-esque snapping tongue.

DM Ben wanted a little late-night wandering monster encounter for his game group’s prisoner caravan travel. It’s a multi-day journey that will require several evening-long rests, and at least one of the nights needs a little excitement.

The Cultists are mean lil’ bastards to their prisoners, so they randomly pick a prisoner to tie up to a big stump for some “sweet dreams.” Your encounter could happen during a thunderstorm downpour, making the posted guard sleepy and a bit tricky for others to hear any cries for help.

We plan to set the surprise guest encounter up like so:

• Players make a random roll to see who gets tied to the stump.
• Prisoner rolls a perception check to spot the toad.
• [he/she sees the giant toad approach].
• Prisoner makes a stealth check vs toad’s-2 Wisdom to try and stay perfectly still.
• Giant Toad ultimately gets two initial attacks on the player.
• Player must wake the guards to come to his/her rescue (Performance, DC 13).

And then, as DM likes to do from time to time, he will have the players roll the attacks of the Cultists, who actually don’t want to see their slave trade asset perish to some hungry toad!

For our monster stats here, you can use D&D Beyond’s version or this fun Killer Toad on Reddit (AC: 14, HP: 44, Multiattack with Sticky Tongue and then Bite). Unfortunately, our tied prisoner will start off this encounter already restrained by his ropes.

DM Ben wants to map out this monster’s most likely sequence because there’s a lot going on here.

• Starting with a Surprise round (as noted above).
• Restrained Prisoner: attacks adv monster/disadv prisoner.
• Restrained Prisoner: disadv Dex saving throw for prisoner.
• Attack 1: Sticky Tongue (Dex, DC 14) | 1d8+3 damage.
• Attack 2: Swallow (+6 attack, 2d6+3 damage).
• If Swallowed, start of next turn, player takes 1d8 acid damage.

If the player gets hit by the first tongue attack but not initially swallowed, he/she can try and break the grapple (but again at disadvantage). To break out, the prisoner can use an action to make a DC 17 Athletics or Acrobatics to escape it. We’re making this a tougher escape because the player has to break free of the ropes and the sticky tongue, and that’s no easy feat in this scary situation.

Pretty fun, right? Well, for some of us. Maybe this is revenge for all those times frog legs were on the menu?