Hello zoologists of all shapes and sizes! Welcome to my spellbook and thank you so much for checking out the for checking out the 7th episode of our beast series. Today we have a very special beast in store for us today as it is one of the more unique ones we’ve covered so far. Today we’re gonna be taking a look at the cranium rat dnd 5e.
Which is an oddly good descriptor of what it is. It is found in the volo’s guide to monsters and it is cr0 so you get 10xp when you kill it. The cranium rat is essentially a normal rat that was blasted with a psionic energy via a Mind flayer or some other means. That’s why these are the rats with brains in d&d?
I really love them, i think they’re super cool there’s like a lot of very interesting things behind them for example if they join together with a cranium rat 5e swarm, their intelligence actually gets boosted up to 15 which is super awesome and then they lose one point of intelligence per each day it’s a way from the swarm.
Outside of that when it is a cranium rat swarm 5e it speaks pretty pretty like you uniquely it says like we a lot. There’s still telepathic even as an individual and typically they serve at the elder brains which is very cool stuff! I honestly love these guys so much, they’re an optional familiar as well, they’re from the volo’s guide book. Very cool stuff! In any case let’s take a quick look at their stats here and break them down a little bit.
Cranium Rat DnD 5E Stats
- Type: Tiny beast, lawful evil
- Armor Class: 12
- Hit Points: 2 (1d4)
- Speed: 30 ft.
It is considered to be a tiny beast but unlike the other one’s we’ve covered this one actually has an alignment. The cranium rat is considered to be a lawful evil. Which is pretty cool! It’s AC is 12 which is decent, 2 hit points just a straight d4 roll. Speed of 30 feet. Now let’s take a look at its actual stats down below.
Cranium Rat 5E Stats
- STR: 2 (-4)
- DEX: 14 (+2)
- CON: 10 (+0)
- INT: 4 (-3)
- WIS: 11 (+0)
- CHA: 8 (-1)
There’s nothing that particularly stands oh it’s rather dexterous as a zero to con, zero to charisma but outside of that nothing to write, home about ironically enough and it has one of the highest charisma stats we’ve covered in the game and i’m not too sure as to why that is but whatever.
Senses
- Darkvision: 30 ft.,
- Passive Perception: 10
In terms of sense you’re looking at 30 feet of darkvision which is pretty good. Passive perception of 10 though which is it leaves a lot to be desired. However this is a little bit unique in the way that this is the first beast we’ve been covered and it has a language attached to it.
- Languages: Telepathy 30 ft.
- Challenge: 0 (10 XP)
The cranium rat is capable of using telepathy up to 30 feet. Very cool stuff and that’s not it by the way. Let’s check out their other traits.
Other Traits
- Illumination: They can perform illumination which as a bonus action, the cranium rat can shed dim light from its brain in a 5-foot radius or extinguish the light. Which is super cool, super cool stuff.
- Telepathic Shroud: The cranium rat also gets access to telepathic shroud. This trait essentially makes it immune to any effect that would sense its emotions or read its thoughts, as well as to all divination spells. Which is super and super useful if you’re trying to keep a low profile. Now let’s take a look at its actions.
Actions
- Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.
The cranium rat only has one action and it is a bite attack. It is plus two to hit, its reaches five feet, it can only target one individual and it deals one point of piercing damage. I love this monster so much, i think they’re very good for a low-level adventuring parties to be threatened or guided by a more powerful maybe even maniacal figure. Which is really cool, i really just i think they’re neat. Also check out this cranium rat squeaker 5e.
Conclusion
That being said, if you have any ideas on how to use them and any thoughts, comments, questions, concerns regarding giant cranium rat dnd 5e please put them down beneath in the comment section, i really do appreciate it. That being said again i hope you guys all have a great day and as always happy studying everyone. Also check out create bonfire 5e | crown of madness 5e | crusher feat 5e | crusader’s mantle 5e | crossbow 5e | criminal background 5e | crown of stars 5e | crossbow expert 5e |