Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicks – Monster Manuals – Moby Dick

Add a comment

In keeping with the Haunted Mansion our party is currently exploring, I came up with a WHOLE haunted library ala Gomez Addams

Encounter Mechanics

  • The books remain inert until one is pulled from the shelf. When disturbed, all eight awaken.
  • They can hover off the ground, flapping like birds. Some have the ability to run.
  • Their CR can be set between 2–3 each (slightly weaker alone, but dangerous as a group).
  • The fight can escalate as more books fall open—giving your party a frantic “stop pulling tomes!” realization.

Encounter Notes

  • Trigger: The fight begins when one book is pulled from the shelf. The rest join after 1 round, 1d4 books at a time, for rising tension.
  • Tactics: Books hover and swarm. “Art of War” boosts the others, “Odyssey” disrupts positioning, “Dracula” heals mid-fight.
  • Party Balance: Facing all 8 at once could overwhelm — consider staggering their arrival for a cinematic escalation.

Moby Dick
(Book Monster)

Medium Construct, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 14 (hardened cover)
Hit Points 68 (9d10+18)
Speed 10 ft. (tentacles make for poor legs), hover 20 ft., swim 30 ft. (spectral water surrounds it)

STR 16 (+3) DEX 12 (+1) CON 15 (+2)
INT 8 (-1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws Str +5, Con +4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned, prone, exhaustion
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages understands Common, cannot speak
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Traits

  • Spectral Waters. The area within 10 ft. of the Moby Dick Tome is considered difficult terrain for enemies as ghostly seawater swirls around.
  • Hold Breath. The tome can’t drown and is immune to effects that rely on breathing.

Actions

  • Tail Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10+4) bludgeoning damage.
  • Crushing Wave (Recharge 5–6). The tome slams its covers shut, releasing a surge of spectral seawater in a 20 ft. cone. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or take 18 (4d8) bludgeoning damage and be pushed 15 ft. on a failed save (half damage, no push on success).
  • Spectral Undertow (1/day). One target within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be grappled and restrained by ghostly waters (escape DC 14). While restrained, the target takes 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns.

Return to Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicks

Monster Tome base images were built using ChatGPT using prompts by Alien Graphics ©2025 Alien Graphics

All verbiage is ©2025 Alien Graphics and all imagery is ©2025 Alien Graphics and shared under the CC BY-NC-SA

Leave a comment