D&D: Five Monsters Made For Intrigue
Looking for the perfect monster to be at the heart of your byzantine intrigue? These monsters are made for subtle plans and deception.
Some monsters are pawns, while others weave intricate webs that would ensnare kingdoms if not for those meddling adventurers. And it’s these malevolent masterminds we’re here to talk about today.
What monsters should you reach for when you want a scheming, sinister figure to lie at the center of a tapestry of deceptions, master plans, and manipulations? Well, as it turns out, there are a few monsters built around doing exactly that!
Mind Flayer
Probably the archetypal example of this. A mind flayer is a fantastic “mastermind” villain, and not just because it’s right there in the name. But these psionically-empowered aberrations are adept at Charming and Dominating thralls, which they then use to enact their plans among unsuspecting mortals.
They make for great villains because you might not know you’re dealing with one. Instead, you’re trying to figure out why the Baron has suddenly become a villainous figure. And maybe you side with the leader of the local rebels to oust the corrupt Baron, only to find out that both were in the thrall of a Mind Flayer who was destabilizing the whole region to establish a new colony. Then it’s psionic blasts all the way down.
Beholder
Beholders are an unusual choice – but hear me out. They are terrifying enough that they do not have to lead every fight from the front. They make perfect masterminds because they can ensure that, say, minions who fail them are disintegrated or turned to stone, depending on the eye rays.
And the nature of these angry orbs of ocular obliteration means that they want to rule. Even if they have to lie, cheat, and scheme their way to the top. Their name even reflects this – eye tyrants. They can warp reality around them, and their Charm Rays and natural Charisma allow them to place themselves at the center of power. Disintegration tends to keep its maneuvers quiet.
Rakshasa
One of my personal favorites, the Rakshasa. These fiends are power-hungry masters of deception. They are spelled out as fiends who infiltrate communities to claim positions of power, and use their position to feed their insatiable hungers and advance their scheme. Their true forms look like humanoid tigers (or in the latest edition any blend of humanlike body with the features of animals and monsters), but adopt magical disguises to hide their true nature. Aside from a specific, physical oddity, like palms where the backs of their hands should be, that even their magic cannot hide.
Alongside their natural Charisma, they can read minds and change forms almost at will. They also possess a high Deception ability, allowing them to infiltrate mortal communities. From there, their natural magic resistance and their ability to curse creatures to never benefit from a rest all but assures their rise to power.
Doppelganger
What if you want a low-level intrigue villain? Consider the doppelganger. A folktale brought to terrifying life. These supernatural beings are capable of taking on the form of someone you know, and can Read Thoughts, allowing them to pluck your secrets from your head. They use a person’s knowledge against them, making them the perfect infiltrator.
And at CR 3, these are the perfect “impostor” villains to reveal when your low-level party uncovers the conspiracy. Or whatever the doppelganger is doing.
Aboleth
Finally, the ancient and alien aberration known as the aboleth. These beings dwell in aquatic abysses where they are perfect manipulators. Possessed with vast psionic power, they can project themselves out to a mile, and can communicate telepathically with any being.
Aboleths are immortal, with perfect memories that stretch back eons. Their murky minds remember times before the gods. And their ability to dominate minds lets them take over anyone. Those that they take over can either serve them in the mortal world, while some are cursed, transformed by the aboleth’s mucus cloud into becoming a slimy, amphibious being in thrall of its commanding aboleth.
Even uncovering one of these monsters is dangerous – for they are immortal. You have to kill one, and even then, that only banishes it back to the Far Realm. If you really want to remove one for good, you’ll have to talk to your DM, because rules as written, they can’t be permanently killed.
What are your favorite manipulator monsters?
