Updated10February2015(addedlinktoMonsterTraitsandActions)

ThisismyfifthandfinalconversiondocumentforD&D5thEdition.(Youcanfindtheothers
here
.)Liketheothers,Icreatedthisdocumentbycomparingthe5Eversionsofmonstersfrom
the
MonsterManual
withtheir4Ecounterparts.

Mystandardwarnings:
1. Ifyoucomparethe4Eand5Eversionsofmonstersyourself,thisconversionsresults
willbeslightlydifferent.Thisisonlyanapproximation.
2. Mistakesareverypossible,sotellmeifyoufindany.

Youwillneedaccesstoatleastthe

D&DBasicRules
andthe
MonsterManual
tomakefulluse
ofthis.The
DungeonMastersGuide,
whilenotstrictlyrequired,ishighlyrecommendedforits
monstercreationguidelines(pages273283).

ThankstoFrancisUyforinputonRecharge!

ChallengeRating

Beforeyougetstarted,youshouldchooseaninitialChallengeRatingforthecreature.Thisisan
estimateofthemonstersCR,whichyoucanusetoguidetherestofyourconversion.Thereare
twowaystodothis:

UsetheCRofasimilar5Ecreature.
UsetheCREstimatorinAppendix1toconvertitsD&D4ELevel.

Whenyouarefinishedconvertingyourmonsterto5E,youmaywishtoadjustthisinitialCRfor
abetterfit.ThebestwaytodothisistousetherulesfordeterminingCRintheDMG,butif
yourepressedfortime,youcanjustcompareittosimilar5Ecreaturesonceagain.

Size

TherearefourconfirmedcreaturesizesintheStarterSet:
Tiny
,
Small
,
Medium
,and
Large
.
TheBasicRulesextendthatto
Huge
and
Gargantuan
.Inshort,youcanusethe4Esize
categorywithnochange.

Type

4Esthreemethodsforclassifyingamonster(otherthan
role
)are
origin
,
type
,and
keywords
.
Thesedonotpreciselymapto5Estypes.Still,theycanprobablybeconvertedasfollows:

5EType

4EOrigin/Type/Keywords

Aberration

Aberrant(origin)

Beast

Beast(type),usuallyNatural(origin)and
lackingsupernaturalabilities

Celestial

Immortal(origin),andgood

Construct

Construct(keyword)

Dragon

Dragon(keyword)

Elemental

Elemental(keyword)

Fey

Fey(origin),usuallyHumanoid(type)

Fiend

Immortal(origin),andevil

Giant

Giant(keyword)

Humanoid

Humanoid(type),usuallyNatural(origin)and
lackingsupernaturalabilities

Monstrosity

Beast,Humanoid,orMagicalBeast(types)
withsupernaturalabilities

Ooze

Ooze(keyword)

Plant

Plant(keyword)

Undead

Undead(keyword)

Somejudgmentwillberequiredforcertaintypes,likeelementalorfeycreatures.

Fulldetailsonthe5EcreaturetypesareintheBasicRulesPDF.

Tags

Appendedtothecreaturetypein5E,thesecanbedeterminedfromthemonstersdescription.
Typicaltagsinclude
titan
(forcreatureslikethetarrasque),
shapechanger
,specifictypesof
fiends(suchas
demon
or
yugoloth
),andspecifichumanoidraces(
elf
,
thrikreen
,etc.)Ifyour
creatureisntlikelytohaveanyofthetagsabove,skipthisstep.

Alignment

4Ehasfivealignments:
lawfulgood
,
good
,
unaligned
,
evil
,and
chaoticevil
.Thesemapto
5Esalignmentsasfollows:

Lawfulgood
:Nochange.
Good
:Usually
neutralgood
,sometimes
chaoticgood
.
Unaligned
:Iftheycanmakeethicalchoices,
neutral
.Ifnot,theyremainunaligned.
Evil
:Usually
lawfulevil
,sometimes
neutralevil
.
Chaoticevil
:Nochange.

ArmorClass

In4E,ArmorClasswasdeterminedverydifferentlyformonstersthanitisin5E,soitshouldbe
recalculatedfromscratch.

Forcreatureswearingarmor,basetheir5EAContheirDexteritybonusandanyarmorworn,as
explainedintheBasicRulesPDF.

Ifthecreaturedidnotweararmor,youshouldconsidergivingthemnaturalarmor,whichgives
thema+2bonustotheirnew5EAC.Whetherornota4Ecreatureshouldhavenaturalarmoris
basicallyajudgmentcall,butthereareafewelementsthatmaysuggestsuch:

ThecreatureisLargesizeorbigger.
ThecreatureisanAberration,Beast,Dragon,orMonstrosity.
Thecreaturehasa4EACofatleast20.
ThecreatureisanEliteorSolomonsterin4E.

HitDice

In5E,thetypeofhitdieisdeterminedbyacreaturessize.
Tiny
creaturesused4hitdice.
Small
creaturesused6hitdice.
Medium
creaturesused8hitdice.
Large
creaturesused10hit
dice.
Huge
creaturesused12hitdice.
Gargantuan
creaturesused20hitdice.

AsfornumberofHitDice,thisshouldbebasedonthe4Elevelofthemonster.
Tiny
creatures
shouldhavehitdiceequaltotheir4Elevel.
Small
orlargercreaturesshouldhavehitdiceequal
totheir4Elevel,plusone.Forexample,aLevel5Lurkershouldhave6hitdice.

Averagehitpointsforcreaturesshouldberecalculatedasfollows:
Xd4MultiplyXby2.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd6MultiplyXby3.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd8MultiplyXby4.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd10MultiplyXby5.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd12MultiplyXby6.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.
Xd20MultiplyXby10.5(rounddown),thenaddtheirConstitutionbonus,timesX.

Example:Amonsterhas3d8HDandaConstitutionof14(+2bonus).Sotheiraveragehit
pointsare4.5times3,roundeddown:13.ThenyoumultiplytheirConbonusbytheirHD,fora
totalof+6.13+6=19.

Oneexception:A
Solo
creaturein4Eshouldprobablymultiplyits4Elevelbythreetodetermine
its5EHitDice.Forexample,aLevel5SoloSkirmishershouldprobablyhave15hitdicein5E.

Speed

4Espeedsaregiveninsquaressimplymultiplythisby5togettheir5ESpeedinfeet.

Creatureswith
phasing
shouldgetthetrait
IncorporealMovement
(seeWraithinthe
Monster
Manual
).

AbilityScores

Technically,youcanusethe4Escoresasisin5E.However,mostoftheabilityscoresfor5E
creaturesareslightlylowerthantheir4Ecounterparts,soyoumaywanttoconsiderthe
followingaverageadjustments:

Strength
:4forHumanoidsandMonstrosities.2forUndead.Leavetherestthesame.
Dexterity
:4forLargeorbiggercreatures.2forMediumorsmallerHumanoidsand
Undead.Leavetherestthesame.
Constitution
:2forHumanoids.Leavetherestthesame.
Intelligence
:MostcreatureshaveatleastanIntelligenceof2or3,butyoucan
otherwiseleavethisthesame.
Wisdom
:4forLargeorbiggercreatures.2formostothercreatures.
Charisma
:2forMonstrosities.Leavetherestthesame.

SavingThrows

In5E,thesereplacetheFortitude,Reflex,andWilldefenses.5Eassociatessaveswitheachof
thesixabilityscores,andmostcreaturessimplyapplytheirabilitybonustosavingthrows.

Afewmonstersdoappeartoapplytheir
proficiencybonus
totheirsavestheyounggreen
dragonhasa+3tofoursaves,andthezombiehasa+2toone.Ifyourcreaturehasan
additionalbonustosavingthrowsin4E,oritotherwiseseemsappropriateforyourmonster,
considergivingthemproficiencyinoneormoresavesin5E.(Itsusuallylesstroubletoavoid
this,however.)

Skills

4Eskillstranslateinto5Eskillproficienciesasfollows:

4ESkill

5ESkillProficiency

Acrobatics

Acrobatics(Dexterity)

Arcana

Arcana(Intelligence)

Athletics

Athletics(Strength)

Bluff

Deception(Charisma)

Diplomacy

Persuasion(Charisma)

Heal

Medicine(Wisdom)

History

History(Intelligence)

Insight

Insight(Wisdom)

Intimidate

Intimidation(Charisma)

Nature

Nature(Intelligence)and/orAnimalHandling
(Wisdom)and/orSurvival(Wisdom)

Religion

Religion(Intelligence)

Stealth

Stealth(Dexterity)

Thievery

SleightofHand(Dexterity)

Dungeoneering,Endurance,Streetwise

Nodirect5Eskillequivalent.Theseskills
havebeendividedupbetweenotherskills,
genericabilitychecks,exclusiveclass
features,orbackgroundelements.

FulldescriptionsoftheskillscanbefoundintheStarterSetorBasicRulesPDF.

NotethatmonsterslistPerceptionunder
Senses
in4E,separatefromtheotherSkills.Compare
thebonuslistedtheretoits4EWisdombonusifthe4EPerceptionbonusishigher,givethem
proficiencyinPerceptionin5E.(YoumayalsoconsidergivingthemproficiencyinInvestigation
in5E,ifthatseemsappropriate.)

Ifacreaturehasproficiencyinaskill,theirbonuswiththatskillisequaltotherelevantability
bonus,plustheir
proficiencybonus
.

Example:AmonsterhasaDexterityof15(+2bonus)andproficiencyinStealth.Thismeans
thattheyshouldhavea+4bonuswithStealth(Dexterity)checks.Iftheyareamorepowerful
creature,theymayhavea+5bonusinstead.

Somecreaturesseemtohaveahigherproficiencyinoneskillthantheothers,typicallydouble
theirnormalproficiencybonus(+4or+6).Forexample,doppelgangershavea+4onDeception
(Charisma)checks.Youmaywishtodothesamewithacreaturessignatureskill.

Vulnerabilities,Resistances,Immunities

Thesecanbetakendirectlyfromthe4Estatblock.
Immune
becomes
DamageImmunities
and/or
ConditionImmunities

Resist
becomes
DamageResistances
and
Vulnerable
becomes
DamageVulnerabilities
.Ignorethelistednumbersin5E,youeitherhavetheseor
youdont.

Some4EcreaturescanresistalleffectsthattargetAC.Thisshouldbelistedunder
Damage
Resistances
asfollows:

bludgeoning,piercing,andslashingfromnonmagicalweapons

Whenyounote
ConditionImmunities
,rememberthattheymayoverlapwithresistancesor
damageimmunities.Forexample,acreatureimmuneto
poison
damageshouldalsonotethat
theyareimmunetothe
poisoned
condition.

Theinnateimmunitiesof
undead
in5Eare:

DamageImmunities:poison
ConditionImmunities:poisoned

Onlyaddotherimmunitiestoanundeadcreatureiftheyareseparatefromitsundeadnature.

Insubstantial
isaspecialcaseyoushouldprobablygivethemthefollowingresistancesand
immunities:

DamageResistances:acid,cold,fire,lightning,thunderbludgeoning,piercing,andslashing
fromnonmagicalweapons
DamageImmunities:poison
ConditionImmunities:grappled,paralyzed,petrified,poisoned,prone,restrained

Anyothervulnerabilities,resistances,orimmunitiesthatwereinnatetoacreaturewithagiven
origin,type,orkeywordin4Eshouldalsobedetailedintheappropriatesectionsabove.

Senses

Thereareonlyfoursensesestablishedin5Eatthispoint:
blindsight
,
darkvision
,
tremorsense
,and
truesight
.4Es
lowlightvision
appearstohavebeenfoldedinto
darkvision.Anyothersensesshouldbeusedasis.

Ifacreatureisdescribedasblindin4E,anysensesitusesshouldnote(blindbeyondthis
radius)in5E.

Also,allcreatureshaveapassivePerceptionscore.Thisisequalto10plustheirtotalbonusto
Perception(Wisdom)checks.

Languages

4Eand5Emostlysharethesamelistoflanguages.Thereareseveralchanges,however:

Dwarven
isnowcalled
Dwarvish
.Likewise,
Elven
isnow
Elvish
.
Gnomes,halflings,andorcshavetheirownlanguages:
Gnomish
,
Halfling
,and
Orc
.
Supernal
hasbeensplitinto
Celestial
(forcelestials)and
Infernal
(fordevils).
Sylvan
isnowthelanguagespokenbyfeycreatures,andshouldbeconsideredasa
substituteforElvenforanycreaturewiththeFeyorigin.
Undercommon
shouldalsobeconsideredforsomeUnderdarkcreatures.

Traits

IfanabilitylistedattheendofacreaturesAttackPowersin4Edoesnotactuallyrequirean
actionortrigger,itshouldprobablybeaTraitin5E.(Later4Ematerialspecificallybreaksouta
creaturesTraitsaspartofthestatblock,makingthemeasytoidentify.)
Regeneration
should
alsobeatraitin5E,asshouldsome
aura
effects.Anythingelsethatisnotastandardactionin
4E,anddoesnottargetothers,isalsolikelytobeaTraitin5E.

Whenpossible,youshouldreplace4Etraitswithequivalenttraitsfromthe
MonsterManual.
If
thisisnotpossible,eitherbasetheconvertedtraitonasimilar5Etrait,orfollowtheoriginaltext
(afteralteringany4Eruleselementsasneeded).Asageneralrule,Traitsin5Earefocusedon
affectingthecreaturethemselvesconsiderdroppinganyTraitsfocusedontacticalcombat.

AlistoftheknownTraitsin5Ecanbefound

here
.

ActionswithanAttackRoll

TheseareconvertedfromAttackPowers.Notethatturnsin5Eonlyallowforonemove,one
action,andonebonusactioneachturn.Also,mostactionsin5Etendtobewhat4Ecalled
standardactions.Therefore,youshouldconsiderdroppingactionsthatdependonmove,minor,
orfreeactions,unlessyouwishtoconvertthemtonormalactionsor
Traits
.

5Edoesnotshare4Esemphasisongridbasedmovementandtacticalcombat.Assuch,you
shouldprobablydropanyelementofanactionthatinvolvesmovingatargetacertainnumberof
squaresinvolvesmarkingacreatureorreliesonacreaturebeingbloodied.Allofthesedonot
appeartobesupportedby5Eatthistime.(Iftheactiondependsheavilyonthis,itshouldbe
probablybedroppedentirely,oratleastconvertedintosomethingelse.)

Youneedtoconvertfourthingstomaketheseinto5Eactionstherange,thetohitbonus,the
damageinflictedbyelementsoftheattack,andanysavingthrowsrequired.

Notethatattackrollsin5EareonlyrolledagainstAC.Any4Eactionthatdirectlytargeted
anotherdefense(Fortitude,Reflex,orWill)shouldeitherbeconvertedintoanattackagainstthe
targetsACfollowedbytheappropriatesaveafterahitorconvertedintoaneffectwithoutan
attackroll.(See
SavingThrowsforActions
formoredetails.)

AlistoftheknownActionsin5Ecanbefound

here
.

Range

Rangeisfairlyeasytoconvertsimplytakethelistednumber(whichisinsquares)andmultiply
itby5togettherangeinfeet.

Close
attacksdonotexistin5Etreatthemasareaattacks(see
SavingThrowsforActions
).

ToHit

LikeAC,thisshouldberecalculatedfromscratch.Ingeneral,thetohitforanactionisbased
onthe
proficiencybonus
.Thisiscombinedwiththerelevantabilitybonus(usuallyStrengthor
Dexterity).

Notethatmostnaturalattacks(claw,bite,etc.)appeartobe
finesse
attacks,meaningtheycan
useeitherStrengthorDexteritywithattackrolls.Unlessyouthinkyourcreatureshouldbea
weakmeleecombatant,youshouldchoosethehighestofeitherStrengthorDexterityfortohit
withnaturalattacks.

UnusualattackslikethewraithsLifeDrainappeartoeitherhaveahigherbonus,orareusing
somethingotherthanStrengthorDexterity.Idonthaveanyspecificrecommendationsforthis
rightnow,butfeelfreetoexperimentwithotherabilityscores(likeConstitutionorCharisma)if
thatseemsappropriate.Youreprobablysaferavoidingthat,however.
Damage

Forattacksthatusea
weapon
,refertothedamagelistedintheBasicRulesPDForStarterSet.
Ifthecreatureis
large
,increasetheweaponsdamagedieby
one
(i.e.1d6becomes2d6).Ifthe
creatureis
huge
,increasetheweaponsdamagedieby
two
(i.e.1d6becomes3d6).Some
especiallyhugecreatures,and
gargantuan
creatures,mayincreasethedamagedieby
three
(i.e.1d6becomes4d6),butyoureprobablysaferstickingwithtwo.

Fornaturalattacks,youshouldprobablykeepthesamedamagedice.

Othertypesofdamagingattacks(liketheflameskullsfirerayorthenothicsrottinggaze)seem
toadd
one
dieofdamage(i.e.2d6becomes3d6).
Dragon
breathweaponsareupgradedmuch
morethanthat,butuntilwehavemoredragons,Imreluctanttorecommendanyguidelines.

Ifa4Ecreature(suchasa
minion
)inflictsafixedamountofdamage,anddoesnotusea
weapon,convertitasfollows:

12:1d4
34:1d6
56:2d4
78:2d6
910:2d8
1112:3d6
1314:3d8
1516:3d10
1718:4d8
1920:4d10

Somecreaturesinflictadditionaldamageonahit,suchasacidorpoisonconvertthisthesame
astheabove.

DontforgettoaddthemonstersStrengthbonustomeleedamageandDexteritybonusto
rangeddamage.Youcancalculateaveragedamagethroughthemethodaboveunder
HitDice
.

SavingThrowsforActions

Ingeneral,effectstargeting
Fortitude
shouldbeconvertedto
Constitution
saveseffects
targeting
Reflex
shouldbeconvertedto
Dexterity
savesandeffectstargeting
Will
shouldbe
convertedto
Wisdom
saves.

Youwillneedtocalculatea
DifficultyClass
(DC)forthesaveyourcreatureinflicts.Theusual
waytocalculatethisis8+proficiencybonus+theabilitybonusofthecreaturefortherelevant
save.Forexample,aCR2creaturewithConstitution13(+1bonus)thatinflictsaConstitution
saveeffectshouldrequireaDCof11(8+2+1).

TheDMGalsoincludestypicalDCsforcreaturesofagivenCRyoumayusethisinstead.

Ifacreaturecan
sustain
aneffect,lookatthedoppelgangers
ReadThoughts
actionforan
exampleofwhatthatshouldlooklike.

Recharge

Differenttypesofrechargeareconverteddifferentways:
Atwill
:Noconversionneeded.
Encounter
:Thisshouldbe"RechargesafteraShortorLongRest.
Daily
:Thisshouldbe1/day.
Recharge
:Usethesamedierangedescribedin4E.
Rechargeswhen
:Thisdoesntdirectlyconvertto5Efornow,youshouldprobably
makethis2/dayor3/day,orgiveitthedierange56.

ActionswithoutanAttackRollorSavingThrow

Manycreaturessuchasthedoppelganger,flameskull,grick,nothic,owlbear,andyounggreen
dragonhave
Multiattack
,allowingthemtotakemorethanoneactionperturn.Ifyour4E
monstercouldattackmorethanonceforexample,iftheyhavethe
DoubleAttack
power,or
ActionPoints
theycanspendyoushouldprobablygivethemMultiattackin5E.Notethat
mostcreaturescanonlymaketwospecificattackstheonlyexceptionistheyounggreen
dragon,whichcanmakethreespecificattacks.

Therearealsoafewcreaturesthatcantakeactionsnotrequiringanattackrollorsavingthrow
thataffectthings.Ifyourmonstercoulddothisin4E,youcanprobablyusethemin5Ewithlittle
modification.

Reactions

AnyActionthatrequiressomesortoftriggeroftenreferredtoasan
immediateinterrupt
or
immediatereaction
,andbrokenoutas
TriggeredActions
inlater4Ematerialshouldbe
categorizedasaReaction.Beyondthat,theyshouldbeconvertedlikeotherActions,asdetailed
intheprevioussections.

AlistoftheknownReactionsin5Ecanbefound

here
.

FinalNotes

Everythingnotmentionedaboveshouldprobablybedroppedin5E.Ofcourse,ifyoufeelits
veryimportanttothecreaturesconcept,feelfreetoportitoveranyway.

Also,ingeneral,5Emonstersseemtohavefewerattackchoicesthanmanyoftheir4E
counterparts,soyoushouldfeelfreetodropanymonsterabilitiesthatdontseemessentialto
itsconcept.(Thiswillalsospeedyourconversionup,ofcourse.)

Appendix1:CREstimator

Thebelowconversionfollowsaverybroadcomparisonof4EsLevelandXPvalueswiththeCR
forthesamecreaturesin5E.Itsnotperfect,butitworksasaroughstartingpoint.

4ELevelbelowrefersto
Standard
or
Elite
monsters.
Solo
creaturesshouldincreasetheir4E
Levelby1beforeconverting
Minion
creaturesshouldreducetheir4ELevelby1before
converting.

5ECR

4ELevel

0,,or

2to3

4to5

6to7

8to9

10to11

12

13

14

15

16

10

17

+1

+1