Esoteric Weaknesses _ GM Binder

Esoteric Monsters Esoteric Weakness
At the heart of this concept and style of design is that these
This is a system to apply as a template to monsters makes creatures possess a fatal flaw that renders them vulnerable.
monsters more dangerous and unique, making them An esoteric weakness can range from a convenient way to
exceedingly hard to damage outside of a specific esoteric bring down the monster to the only real way to harm the
weakness. Battles with this monsters often play out as one creature.
part fight and one part puzzle - tackling these monsters
without research and preparation is often all but impossible You can roll from the table below, or select on that is
and they should not be carelessly unleashed on an appropriate to the creature (or event your own that fits the
unprepared party. creature and narrative!)

Remember, it is up to the DM to make the encounter d20 Esoteric Weakness
possible providing the tools and clues to beat the creature. 1 Standing in moonlight.
2 Weapons forged more than 100 years ago.
Immunity Grade 3 Called shots targeting their ankle.
The first element of a monster with an Esoteric Weakness is 4 Poison from Foxglove flowers.
to make it far harder to kill with traditional means. This is a 5 Divination magic.
template placed on top of the monsters other stats, and 6 Damage from mithral weapons
comes in the levels found below. In the following table "DR" 7 Acid damage
stands for "Damage Reduction"; damage reduction is a rarely 8 Silvered weapons.
used mechanic in 5e (for good reason) but is appropriate for 9 Environmental damage.
what we are trying to do here, and is subtracted from any 10 Piercing damage from a good aligned creature.
damage done to a creature before any other effect takes 11 A weapon of significance to the creature
place. 12 Thunder damage.
13 A damage type the creature has never taken.
Immunity Effect 14 Damage dealt during the creature's turn.
Grade The creature has a DR of 10. 15 Weapons covered in blood.
Low The creature has immunity to 16 Extra planar creatures.
bludgeoning, piercing and slashing 17 Damage dealt by creatures that cannot see it.
Moderate damage, immunity to spells 5th level or 18 A specific spell created to defeat it.
below, and Legendary Resistance equal to 19 Any damage for a round after speaking its true name
Absolute 20 A specific artifact.
its proficiency bonus.
The creature has immunity to all damage
types, is immune to all magic effects, and
unlimited use of Legendary Resistance.

Magic Resistance grants advantage on saving throws
against these effects. The purposes of Immunity Grade,
magical effects include effects from Psionics, Ki, and other
supernatural sources.

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Damage dealt in the condition that matches a creature's Special Powers
weakness bypasses it's immunity grade effects. For example, The following are not necessarily to build an esoteric
if a creature's esoteric weakness is moonlight, if it takes monster, but can add to the challenge and serve as the basis
damage while in direct moonlight, it would be vulnerable to for making the monster a larger threat, or more difficult to
that damage and that damage would bypass it's immunity deal. Some groups may have little trouble dealing with a
grade. monster that is simply hard to kill, so adding a few of these
can ensure that an esoteric monster remains an appropriate
A creature's vulnerability to its weakness is inversely challenge. You can either roll on the table, or select powers
proportional to it's immunity grade; a creature always has that may vex your player's favorite tactics:
vulnerability to damage dealt in a way that matches its
weakness, but a creature with a high or absolute immunity d8 Special Powers
grade additionally treats any damage dealt by it as an
automatic critical hit. 1 At the start of each of its turns, the creature
teleports 5 feet in a direction of its choosing.
Source of Power
One consideration that should always come up in this sort of As a reaction to taking damage that doesn't
encounter is the source of the monsters immunity grade, trigger its esoteric weakness, the monster
esoteric powers, and esoteric weakness. 2 enters the ethereal plane until the start of its

For a low immunity grade, perhaps it is a goblin that next turn.
blessed (or cursed) by a powerful fey or spirit. This sort of
fight can be overcome without learning its weakness (as long The creature can add double its proficiency
as the immunity grade is low). An absolute immunity grade is bonus to athletics checks, and can contest a
usually the boon of a god and is often given to a suitably epic 3 grapple check at the start of its turns without
recipient, though not always. An encounter against a goblin
Achilles with an Absolute immunity grade would be expending an action.
memorable!
The creature is exudes a supernaturally
Other frequent sources include beings from the far realm terrifying presence. Any creature that starts
to which normal logic does not apply, fey creatures that
follow their own rules, or "a wizard did it". its turn within 30 feet of the esoteric
4 creature while being able to see it must make
Clues
A critical part of running an esoteric monster is cluing the a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + [2 x the
party into the fact that you are running an esoteric monster. creature's proficiency bonus]) or become
The first time a monster like this is used, it's not a bad idea to
simply tell the players (particularly ones familiar with 5e frightened.
combat) that they will encounter a monster that follows
unique rules and warn them they will need additional The creature gains the ability to cast any spell
information to fight the monster. cast within 60 feet of it, gaining one use of
5 that spell it can cast without expending a
You can (and should) offer less fourth wall breaking clues.
Terrified tales of a creature that cannot be injured. Reports of spell slot.
arrows bouncing off it harmlessly, it leaping through walls of
fire unscathed. After a creature takes damage of a damage
type, it absorbs further instances of that
A popular technic is to let the party fight it briefly, but have
it disengage, running away - it is not interested in the party. 6 damage type until the start of its next turn
They may choose to hunt it, but if they wish to, they'll have to (regaining hit points equal to the damage
figure out why their attacks seemed to do nothing to it. taken from it).

Challenge Rating 7 The creature is always invisible.
A monster having an Immunity Grade and Esoteric
Weakness should generally not be considered to its challenge The creature gains a number of Legendary
rating, as the system cannot accurately model the difficulty of Actions equal to half its proficiency bonus
these fights, as they do not follow typical numerical balance (rounded up) that it can use to make a single
rules. 8 attack available to it or move up to its
movement speed (this should not be applied
That said, a DM should consider that these fights have an to monsters that already have Legendary
extra element of challenge to them that is not reflected in the
CR system. Actions).

Art Credits

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