Deciphering Monster Stat Blocks

One of the most fun aspects of D&D is combat! Risking everything! Dodging fang and claw! Swinging wildly and plunging your trusty blade into the heart of a big nasty monster! What's not to love?!

DnD Adventure Club includes a monster stat block for every encounter in our issues. We've streamlined and simplified the standard D&D stats. Here's a quick little primer for how to use a monster stat block.

ARMOR CLASS
This is the number an adventurer needs To Hit a monster. Have the player roll a D20 and add their To Hit bonus. If they roll the Armor Class number or higher, they hit and get to roll damage.

SAVING THROWS
When a player casts a spell, often times a monster will need to "make a Saving Throw". The player's spell or effect will have a success number. The monster needs to roll a D20 and add their saving throw bonus. If the total is the success number or higher, they make their "Save". Some monsters will have special bonuses for certain saving throws — Goblins have a -2 on Intelligence saves and a +2 on Dexterity Saves for instance — so use that bonus instead.

SPEED
This is how many feet a monster can move during their turn.

DARKVISION
If a monster has Darkvision, they can see in the dark.

ABILITIES AND SKILLS
Monsters have abilities and skills just like your players!

ATTACKS
This is the number of attack actions a monster gets during their turn. Typically a monster can attack and move it's speed each round. Just like adventurers.

TO HIT
When a monster rolls to attack an adventurer, roll a D20 and add this bonus. If the total equals a player's Armor Class or greater the attack succeeds, roll damage.

DAMAGE
This is the damage a monster's attack does on a successful hit. Roll the appropriate dice and add them up, add the damage bonus and tell your player how much damage they take. The player should subtract the damage from their current hit point total. And if they reach zero hit points they fall unconscious!

And that's how to read a monster stat block. Go knock 'em dead!