Friends and Foes

As they so often do, destruction and creation intermingled. As Purphoros cut into Nyx, he rattled the celestial creatures that populated the night sky. He accidentally dislodged Polukranos, the World Eater, from its heavenly perch. The fifty-headed monster plunged toward the mortal realm, leaving a trail of Nyx blazing in the sky.

Heliod joined with Nylea, God of the Hunt, who cast vines beneath the hydra’s body to ease its harsh entrance into the world. The hydra materialized in the valley and was momentarily stunned into stillness. Though much diminished in size, the hydra could still destroy every human city unless it was immediately contained. Together the gods trapped the hydra inside a cavern deep under the Nessian Forest.

—Jenna Helland, Godsend

This chapter provides stat blocks for a variety of creatures unique to Theros, including mythic monsters—legendary beings intended to serve as peerless threats. It also includes lore relevant to monsters from the Monster Manual that appear on Theros.

Nyxborn Creatures

Just as the gods are born of Nyx, so are many creatures. Nyxborn creatures are beings of legend, some the subjects of hopeful dreams and others the product of nightmares. They come into existence as the result of divine action, as the expression of abstract ideals, or as manifestations of the strength of shared belief. As mortals continue to tell their tales of creatures that never were and repeat legends that glorify historic individuals, Nyxborn creatures of those stories might arise.

Whether monsters, manifestations of long-dead mortals, or other beings, Nyxborn creatures share certain characteristics: they resemble ordinary mortal creatures, but any part of their body that isn’t lit by direct light shows the starry gleam of Nyx. Nyxborn creatures typically act as the direct servants of one of the gods, but occasionally they escape from the realm of Nyx and pursue their own goals—which might be as simple as violent rampage, or as complex as a far-reaching plan to break the power of the gods.

You can use the Nyxborn Monster Origin table to help you decide what brought a Nyxborn creature into existence.

Nyxborn Monster Origin

Nyxborn Statistics

Any type of creature might be Nyxborn. A Nyxborn creature has the normal statistics for its kind, but usually has a special characteristic, a magical quality that sets it apart. When creating Nyxborn creatures, you can summarize their Nyxborn traits as Magic Resistance, as in the Nyxborn Traits table. Alternatively, if you’d like more variety, roll on that table to randomly determine the distinctive characteristic of a Nyxborn creature, or choose one of these or similar traits.

Nyxborn Traits

Classic Monsters

Numerous creatures hold special places in the lives and myths of Theros’s people. Some are beings said to have been created by the gods—often for special purposes or as divine punishments. Others roam particular territories—lands that have become synonymous with a monstrous population. And still other monsters are in some way unique to Theros, exhibiting appearances, behaviors, and abilities seen few other places in existence.

This section explores Theros’s most noteworthy monstrous myths and curiosities unique to this world. If a monster appears differently on Theros than elsewhere in the multiverse, those differences are noted here. Should those differences be significant enough to alter a creature’s statistics, those changes are detailed here, as well. If a monster is from a collection other than the Monster Manual, its source is listed in its description.

Basilisk

Legends told among the worshipers of Pharika describe how the god hid a treasure trove of secrets in basilisk blood, inspiring her followers to seek ways to reveal the truths hidden among organs and scales. Healers dilute the blood to use in potions, and oracles employ it in divination rituals.

Basilisk on Theros have only four legs but are statistically identical to the monster described in the Monster Manual.

Catoblepas

Legends tell of a human herder who bragged that his cattle were the finest in all of Theros. When the gods heard this, Heliod, Nylea, and Mogis became involved in laying a curse that afflicted the mortal and his cattle, giving rise to the first catoblepas. How the gods were involved, though, and for what honorable or petty reasons, the gods' faithful—particularly those of Heliod and Nylea—greatly debate (see chapter 2). Regardless, catoblepases are widely viewed as cursed creatures, which only Mogis’s faithful hold in wicked esteem.

The catoblepas appears in Volo’s Guide to Monsters.

Cyclops

The human polis of Akros maintains an outpost in the Katachthon Mountains to keep an eye on the cyclops population around One-Eyed Pass (see chapter 3). From the cyclopes' perspective, the Akroan soldiers provide a reliable source of food, for the soldiers herd approaching enemies into cyclops territory rather than fighting these foes themselves. Thus, the cyclopes attack the Akroans just enough to keep the humans afraid of them, but not so much that they eliminate them or drive them off.

Similarly, cyclopes who prey on sheep learn never to eat the shepherd. Like the pit of a fruit, a discarded shepherd will eventually “grow” a new flock to feed the cyclopes.

Dragon

The dragons of Theros are barely capable of speech and sow destruction either individually or by forcing minions to carry out their will. Only red and blue dragons exist on Theros, and both are brutish tyrants that leave devastation in their wake.

Blue Dragons

Blue dragons live along the ocean shore in cliffside caves, from where they scan the waves for prey that swims or flies into their territory. Many experienced sea captains know the blue dragon lairs along the coastlines they ply and chart routes to avoid draconic scrutiny.

Red Dragons

Red dragons soar over mountain slopes and lowland valleys, feasting on cattle and those who tend herds. They often lair in dangerous mountain caves or volcanoes. Akroans revere red dragons and employ their images in the design of their armor, believing that the creatures embody the drive for power and dominion. Akroans sometimes settle near a red dragon’s lair, forging tenuous alliances by making sacrifices of cattle or prisoners to gain its favor and protection.

Immortal Perspective

Despite their arrogance and viciousness, dragons are long-lived and perceptive. Their age and patience allows them to divine signs amid violent weather and the rotation of constellations. For worthy sacrifices of food, wealth, or flattery, a dragon might share its interpretations of omens—either those it has witnessed or sights mortals relate to them. Roll on the omens tables in chapter 4 to determine what the dragon has seen. How the dragon interprets these visions is up to you.

Kraken

Krakens number among the most terrifying denizens of the sea, their wrath capable of ruining entire poleis. Under normal circumstances, each kraken is bound by a sea lock, a magical effect that restricts its travel. The area encompassed by the lock is large enough to enable the kraken to feed but prevents these near-immortal beings from raiding densely populated regions. Some stories claim that a seaquake or other natural disaster might break a sea lock and free the kraken to rage as it pleases. Other tales, though, suggest that sea locks emanate from ancient coral weapons buried in the ocean depths and that keep a kraken tied within a few hundred miles.

Nadir Krakens

The largest and most devastating krakens, nadir krakens, dwell in the deepest ocean trenches. These krakens are unique beings, of which the terrifying Tromokratis (described in the “Mythic Monsters” section of this chapter) numbers among the most feared. When a nadir kraken breaks free of its sea lock and rises to the surface, continents are redrawn, civilizations collapse, and eras end.

Lamia

When rage and despair at the gods' misdeeds consume a mortal mind, lamia comes into being. Most lamias in Theros are Nyxborn (described earlier in this chapter), owing their existence to their own twisted imagination, which has changed their physical nature to reflect their internal self. Lamias have wildly varying physical forms, ranging from a feline shape similar to the lamia in the Monster Manual to a more serpentine form similar to a yuan-ti. In each case, the lamia’s body reflects the creature’s corrupted instincts and predatory nature.

Medusa

Medusa (often called gorgons on Theros) are closely associated with Pharika, the god of poison and medicine. Pharika has charged her favored servants with guarding secrets of life, health, and immortality that are too powerful to be known by those who lack the wisdom to use them properly. Those who approach a medusa with humility and worthy offerings might receive the creature’s favor. The medusa might propose a dangerous quest to fetch some rare ingredient or legendary relic, promising to reward success with a bit of Pharika’s knowledge. This information might lead to a cure for a plague, an alchemical breakthrough, or a secret of the cosmos.

The medusas of Theros differ from those in the Monster Manual in that they have long, serpentine bodies in place of legs. A medusa uses the stat block from the Monster Manual with the following altered and additional actions:

Constrict

Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 11) if it is a Large or smaller creature. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the medusa can’t constrict another target.

• Multiattack The medusa makes either three melee attacks—one with its snake hair, one to constrict, and one with its shortsword—or two ranged attacks with its longbow.

Night Hag

Night hags on Theros appear as leathery-faced crones that hold their single eye within their withered lips as they stare with eyeless sockets. They usually build their huts in the Underworld, particularly around the towering pillars of basalt and granite within the Mire of Punishment (see chapter 3). There, amid the lamentations of those who have offended the gods, night hags inhale the smoke of toxic balefires. They follow the visions the smoke invokes to the dreams of vulnerable mortals where they sow the seeds of folly.

A night hag senses the world around her with sensitive fingers, keen hearing, and the single eye she typically holds in her mouth. When a night hag uses her powers to transform, her eye often becomes a bauble or piece of jewelry she keeps close at all times.

Sphinx

Sphinxes typically dwell in island sanctums, especially in the far reaches of the Dakra Isles. Many develop schools of philosophy or academic methods that they share with students they deem worthy, their ideas remarkable enough to seem akin to magic. Their age and wisdom also often allows them to predict what’s to come as effectively as any oracle.

Riddles of the Sphinx

A sphinx might ask riddles to explore the cleverness, thought processes, and humility of those who seek to learn from them. These inquiries help the sphinx gauge a would-be student’s mettle before allowing them access to its secrets. The following are just a few riddles (along with their answers) that a sphinx might use to test a visitor’s wit:

• The more of these you take, the more you leave behind. (Steps)
• What has six faces, but no mouth, has twenty-one eyes, but cannot see? (A die)
• What turns everything but does not move? (A mirror)
• The more there is, the less you see. (Darkness)
• What is stronger than the gods, more terrifying than the demons, the poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, you die? (Nothing)

The Wandering Oracle

Throughout history, the wise and ancient androsphinx Medomai has appeared in Meletis during moments of historical import, such as religious ceremonies, coronations, and the onset of wars. For decades, he has brought his cryptic knowledge of future events to the people, but since his predictions tend to be dire, his arrival is generally viewed as a bad omen.

Unicorn

Unicorns on Theros are closely tied to the mysteries of Nyx. They often appear in the dreams of those doing the work of goodly gods. In such dreams, they might guide the weary to solace, the forlorn to joy, and the heroic to their destiny. In the waking world, they often provide the same aid, sometimes appearing to step from dreams into reality. Those who follow unicorns might find the treasures of lost heroes, hallowed ruins, or grand omens from the gods.

Bestiary

The following pages include descriptions and stat blocks for inhabitants of Theros. The majority are presented in alphabetical order. At the end of this section, you’ll find a selection of mythic monsters, foes designed to pose challenges worthy of legend.

• Abhorrent Overlord
• Akroan Hoplite
• Alseid
• Amphisbaena
• Anvilwrought Raptor
• Aphemia
• Archon of Falling Stars
• Ashen Rider
• Blood-Toll Harpy
• Bronze Sable
• Burnished Hart
• Colossus of Akros
• Doomwake Giant
• Eater of Hope
• Fleecemane Lion
• Flitterstep Eidolon
• Ghostblade Eidolon
• Gold-Forged Sentinel
• Hippocamp
• Hundred-Handed One
• Ironscale Hydra
• Lampad
• Leonin Iconoclast
• Meletian Hoplite
• Naiad
• Nightmare Shepherd
• Nyx-Fleece Ram
• Oracle
• Oread
• Phylaskia
• Polukranos
• Returned Drifter
• Returned Kakomantis
• Returned Palamnite
• Returned Sentry
• Satyr Reveler
• Satyr Thornbearer
• Setessan Hoplite
• Theran Chimera
• Triton Master of Waves
• Triton Shorestalker
• Two-Headed Cerberus
• Typhon
• Underworld Cerberus
• Winged Bull
• Winged Lion
• Woe Strider

Mythic Monsters

This section describes three of Theros’s most infamous terrors, beings whose might and dreadful deeds set them apart as menaces of legendary proportions. While many of Theros’s greatest myths arise from storied terrors—like the hydra Polukranos or the dreaded titans—the monsters in this section have a feature that sets them apart: mythic traits.

Mythic traits transform battles into truly legendary confrontations, well suited to the climactic battles at the ends of adventures or whole campaigns. Mythic traits are optional; they don’t need to be used during combat with these monsters. If you so choose, you may simply ignore a monster’s mythic trait and mythic actions. If you wish to increase a battle’s stakes, though, using a monster’s mythic trait results in some mid-battle twist that changes the way the monster behaves, restores its resources, or provides it with new actions to use. As a result, the battle becomes deadlier and rages on for longer than most combat encounters. Each monster features an “As a Mythic Encounter” section that highlights its mythic trait, notes how using it changes the difficulty of the encounter and the rewards, and includes read-aloud text you can use mid-battle to signal a terrifying shift in the conflict.

Arasta of the Endless Web

A victim of the gods' petty rivalries, Arasta was once one of Nylea’s most beloved dryad companions. Phenax’s bitterness saw her transformed into an arachnid monstrosity and driven into the darkest depths of the Nessian Wood. Now she broods on her unjust fate and the fickleness of the gods who left her cursed with monstrous immortality.

Arasta appears as a gigantic spiderlike creature, her few humanoid features made monstrous by cruel magic and ages of hatred. Webs fill her lair deep in the Nessian Wood, sticky strands made not of silk but of her own endless hair. In her darkened realm, Arasta broods on her hatred of the gods and their servants. She doesn’t do so alone, though, as innumerable arachnids fawn over her, serving as her eyes throughout the wilderness, disposing of victims trapped within her hair, and sacrificing themselves in her defense if they must.

See “Myths of Nylea” in chapter 2 for more details on the tragedy of Arasta.

Arasta’s Lair

Arasta lives in an enormous, gnarled olive tree called Enorasi, which was planted millennia ago by Klothys. It is said that those who eat of its fruit can see glimpses of the future. Eating the fruit brings with it a risk, though, for those who Klothys finds unworthy might be driven mad. There, within Enorasi’s hollow trunk, Arasta awaits the next would-be prophet to make her meal. Her webs stretch beyond the branches of the tree and carpet the forest floor of her realm.

• Path to the Underworld Tales are told of forlorn souls who, because of grief or madness over the loss of a loved one, have sought out Arasta’s lair, as it is rumored that some of the strands of her web are anchored near the edge of the Underworld and can enable a traveler to reach that realm’s ashen shores.

But those who enter her domain unbidden almost never go unnoticed, for Arasta can sense the slightest vibration along her web hair, and her children act as spies on her behalf.

• Lair Actions On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Arasta can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects. She can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.

• Arasta learns about any creature touching her webs. Each creature restrained by a web or Arasta’s Web of Hair must make a DC 21 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, Arasta gains knowledge of a creature’s name, race, where they consider home, and what brought them to her web.

• Arasta casts the giant insect spell (spiders only). It lasts until she uses this lair action again or until she dies.

• Regional Effects The region containing Arasta’s lair is warped by her presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Spiders and insects within 1 mile of Arasta’s lair serve as her eyes and ears. Birds and other flying creatures are absent from the skies and occasionally found trapped in webs.

• Within 1 mile of Arasta’s lair, webs fill all 10-foot cubes of open space, so long as the webs can be anchored between two solid masses (such as walls or trees). The webs are flammable. Any webs exposed to fire burn away in 1 round. Any destroyed webs are magically repaired at the next dawn.

If Arasta dies, the spiders and insects lose their supernatural link to her. The webs remain, but they dissolve within 1d10 days.

Arasta as a Mythic Encounter

Arasta is a formidable enemy under normal circumstances, but to give characters a truly mythic challenge, you can have her call on her Armor of Spiders. Her use of this trait signals a drastic turn in the encounter, as Arasta summons her arachnid children to protect her. While she has temporary hit points from this trait, she can choose one of her mythic actions when she uses a legendary action.

Read or paraphrase the following text when Arasta uses her Armor of Spiders trait:

The nightmarish arachnid unleashes a shriek that sounds like a thousand spider carapaces scarring slate. In response, the ground ripples and bursts over the monster, revealing itself as a wave of countless spiders. The tiny arachnids swarm the larger horror, girding it in skittering bodies.

Fighting Arasta as a mythic encounter is equivalent to taking on two challenge rating 21 creatures in one encounter. Award a party 66,000 XP for defeating Arasta after she uses Armor of Spiders.

Hythonia the Cruel

Theros’s reclusive medusas often delight in collecting and expanding their galleries of petrified victims. Unlike other medusas, Hythonia isn’t merely a collector; she’s an artist.

When Hythonia came to the island of Skathos, the inhabitants worshiped her as an avatar of the god Pharika. The cultists eagerly offered themselves up to the medusa’s petrifying gaze in hopes of gaining Pharika’s favor. Seeing herself surrounded by willing devotees, Hythonia formulated a cruel plan. After encouraging them to engage in wild rituals, Hythonia began turning her followers to stone, weaving their forms to create a grisly throne made of their petrified bodies.

While the medusa’s victims have dwindled, tales of the medusa queen and the divine secrets she hoards have not. Hythonia eagerly trades the mysteries she knows but demands a constant price: a beautiful individual to become part of her throne.

Hythonia’s Lair

Hythonia makes her lair on Skathos, an island where a secret sect of worshipers dedicated to Pharika previously hoarded secrets and engaged in dark rituals.

• Island of Potent Magic Although Skathos’s location remains a mystery, stories tell of the island’s magical plants and Hythonia’s various treasures. Hythonia encourages such rumors by letting lone survivors escape her realm, letting the ravings of survivors tempt more playthings into her clutches.

• Lair Actions On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Hythonia can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects. She can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Hythonia briefly animates creatures that have been petrified by her gaze. Each statue attacks one creature within 5 feet of it, with a +11 bonus to hit and dealing 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage on a hit. If a Medium or smaller creature takes this damage, it is also grappled (escape DC 15).

• Hythonia causes spectral snakes to erupt from a point she can see within 150 feet of her. Each creature within 20 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or take 5 (2d4) piercing damage and become poisoned until the end of its next turn. While poisoned in this way, the creature has disadvantage on Intelligence checks and Intelligence saving throws, and it behaves as if under the effect of the confusion spell.

• Regional Effects The region containing Hythonia’s lair is warped by her presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• A large population of snakes dwells in the region.

• Trees within 1 mile of the lair are petrified wood. Plants that stay within 500 feet of the lair for 1 day turn to stone.

• Small bodies of water within 1 mile of the lair become poisonous. A creature that drinks the water must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 8 hours. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each hour.

Hythonia as a Mythic Encounter

Hythonia serves as a potent threat against even high-level characters, but you can increase the challenge by using the Shed Skin trait. When this happens, Hythonia heals many of her wounds and slips away from danger, and then she can choose one of her mythic actions when she uses a legendary action.

You might foreshadow Hythonia using her mythic trait by describing her skin cracking and turning pale as she suffers wounds. Read or paraphrase the following text when Hythonia finally uses her Shed Skin trait:

The medusa’s skin cracks, turns a lifeless gray, and shatters! The monster crumbles to dust—but what clatters to the ground isn’t scale and bone, but hollow stone. The sound of rippling coils precedes the medusa rising up anew, the last of her shed skin dropping away, revealing glistening, unscarred scales.

Fighting Hythonia as a mythic encounter is equivalent to taking on two challenge rating 17 creatures in one encounter. Award a party 36,000 XP for defeating Hythonia after she uses Shed Skin.

Tromokratis

Most krakens roam the seas, shattering hulls and scattering fleets, but the kraken Tromokratis notoriously vents its wrath on coastal settlements. Whether it acts at the command of the god Thassa or to sate its own hunger, Tromokratis numbers among the most feared threats in the sea, having no fixed lair and wandering where it will. In recent memory, the massive menace rose from the waves to topple the Pyrgnos, Meletis’s great repository of scholarly knowledge. Since that day, the polis keeps a watch specifically for Tromokratis.

• Rough Waters Tromokratis is a particularly cantankerous nadir kraken that has claimed all the sea as its territory. A tumultuous sea is often attributed to Tromokratis battling another kraken to assert its claim. Often, before a journey, sailors blow conch-shell horns in the belief that the sound will soothe nearby krakens.
• The Horn of Humenades Legend speaks of a magic horn that the hero Humenades used in ancient times to summon Tromokratis to lay waste to a cursed city lost to evil ways. The horn was so powerful that, after the city was destroyed, Humenades took it to Tizerus and buried it under a stone near the palace of Erebos.

Tromokratis as a Mythic Encounter

Tromokratis numbers among the most powerful creatures a group of adventurers might face. If you wish to make an encounter with the kraken truly legendary, Tromokratis might use its Hearts of the Kraken mythic trait. When this happens, it calls upon a reserve of strength just as it appears to be vanquished. After its hearts are exposed, Tromokratis can choose one of its mythic actions when it uses a legendary action.

Read or paraphrase the following text when Tromokratis uses its Hearts of the Kraken trait:

The titanic monster’s carapace cracks, revealing a pulsing, red-purple heart buried amid heaps of blubber and muscle. Fissures run across the beast’s ancient shell, revealing three other mighty, ichor-slick organs. The sea terror thrashes, channeling pain into fury.

Fighting Tromokratis as a mythic encounter is equivalent to taking on two CR 26 creatures in one encounter. Award a party 180,000 XP for defeating Tromokratis after it uses Hearts of the Kraken.