Summary
The Astral Sea is one of the most iconic realms in theDungeons & Dragonsuniverse. Sometimes known as the Astral Plane, the Astral Sea is essentially DND’s version of outer space. Home to no shortage of strange, alien-like creatures, this locale is great for any adventure, and can play host to all manner of interesting creatures and combat encounters.
If this is your first time as GM running a campaign in the Astral Sea, and you aren’t sure which monsters you should use for the setting, this list has you covered. Here’s a list of the best monsters to use for the Astral Sea.
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To kick things off with an extremely high-level encounter, the Blob of Annihilation is a great monster for a climactic boss battle. This ooze has a ton of resistances and immunities tailored for high-level parties. One of its core features is its ability to self-destruct when reduced to zero hit points, ejecting anyone inside itinto the Astral Sea, regardless of what plane they’re on.
The ooze also has Legendary Resistances, magic resistance, and a ton of restraining and engulfing moves. Use this monster to keep an overly confident party in check.
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12
At first glance, a Pirate Admiral may not seem ideal for the Astral Sea. However, since the release of Spelljammer, there are plenty of ways you’re able to use pirates in space to capture the imaginations of your players. Consider employing a Pirate Admiral and their astronautical crew in a wild space encounter.
The Pirate Admiral isn’t easy to take down between their multiattack ability and magical scimitar that can inflict the charmed and poisoned conditions on players. Just make sure you spend time fleshing out their crew and ship to give the encounter a real flare.
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1
These low-level celestials are best used as a group or as part of alarger mob encounter. However, they make for a fun, enigmatic encounter that players aren’t going to easily forget. These beings are neutral, and really only attack if threatened.
Their abilities range from passing through creatures to inflicting damage to healing and blessing themselves with their innate spellcasting. Use an encounter with these Iotas to first introduce your players to the wonders of the Astral Sea.
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Depending on the size of your party, Solars can be used as part of a group or as an individual. These powerful celestials are large angels that protect the multiverse. With a wide host of abilities and resistances, they’re not easily overcome.
For extra fun during the encounter, before combat starts, engage in a roleplay scenario first. Solars can automatically detect the presence of a lie, making for a fun twist should players attempt to deceive the creature in any way.
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Lower-level oozes are perfect for beginner parties, in that they are sure to be memorable, but not lethal to your table as a whole. Use a Psychic Gray Ooze for fun Astral Sea flavor.
These oozes have a decent amount of resistances (Acid, Cold, Fire, Psychic) to make them formidable, but they don’t have some of the auto-death features that more powerful oozes have. This makes them a great option for first-time players who might not be aware of how deadly certain encounters can be.
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7
Mind Flayersare classic Astral Sea creatures who have featured in nearly every edition of Dungeons & Dragons. They also make for great antagonists, as their devious schemes and tricks often threaten the Material Plane.
Just be careful when using Mind Flayers as they have some abilities that can prove highly lethal for certain parties. For example, even a standard Mind Flayer has the Extract Brain ability, which allows them to devour the brain of any creature they reduce to zero hit points, meaning the player won’t really get a chance to even make death saves.
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Various
Slaadi come in many different forms and originate from theextraplanar realm of Limbo. As planar travelers though, they can fit right at home in the Astral Sea if need be. Slaadi almost look like large frogs or amphibians. But don’t let their appearance fool you; they can be formidable opponents in combat.
Slaadi are broken down into different colors. Depending on which one you go for, encounters against Slaadi can be easy or nearly lethal. For an extremely high-level encounter, use the Death Slaad, which can shape-shift and has a decent number of spells at its disposal.
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For fans of Dune, consider using Gricks for your next space-bound adventure. Technically speaking, Gricks are most commonly found in the Underdark, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be lurking in the middle of an Astral Sea asteroid!
These worm-like creatures are terrifying to behold, and have beaks and tentacles to attack their foes with. Luckily, these creatures aren’t too powerful, meaning they’re well-suited for mid-level adventuring parties.
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Githyanki are one of the most classic space-themed species in all of Dungeons & Dragons. Some modules even allow you to play as githyanki if you so desire. These alien-like creatures were once conquered by Mind Flayers, but have since risen up to find freedom and a passion for planar travel.
Various githyanki creatures are perfect for random encounters as your party traverses the stars. you may even use these creatures for non-combat encounters if you so desire.
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2
Though not all that deadly, the Gibbering Mouther is a horrifying sight to behold. An amorphous blob made of eyeballs and dozens of rows of teeth, the Gibbering Mouther is another creature well-suited to the inside of an asteroid’s cave or other extraplanar dungeon.
Though it doesn’t have that many hitpoints, its Blinding Spittle and Gibbering abilities can inflict Blindness on enemy combatants, or confuse and befuddle players into attacking each other, making it good for larger parties of adventurers.
