Death Burst: These Monsters are a Blast

Are your players getting a little too confident? Do they feel like they can just run up to monsters and hack away at them without any tactics or preparation? Death Burst may be just the trait you’re looking for.

This article was originally published in August 2022. It is being republished with updates.

Death Burst triggers when the creature dies, typically dealing damage to other creatures within a specified radius of the “burster”. Some monsters with this trait cause blindness, such as the dust mephit. Others have a death burst, but it’s called something else, like the Colossus of Akros and its Crumbling Destruction trait, or Death Throes for draconians

You should consider the environment for the encounter as well. Make sure to keep spaces enclosed so that the burst is harder to avoid. Shut down long lines of sight with objects. This will make it harder for your players to snipe the enemies from a safe distance. Also, consider sending an NPC in first to get a taste of the sweet burst so that your players know the stake. Unless you’d rather they find out the hard way.

Get Out of Here! This Article is About to Death Burst!

Wanna know what other monsters are on my Hotlist? Or, maybe instead of the deadliest you want monsters that provide interesting challenges in and out of combat? Check out my Blocklist.