Monsters that Swallow: In the Belly of the Beast

This article was originally published November 20th, 2020, and has been updated to reflect new additions to the officially published D&D monster cannon, and include Challenge Rating.

I have to say, there are few things that bring me more joy in the coliseum than watching one of my monsters swallow a contestant. Honestly, I’m not sure why. It doesn’t give me that much of an advantage. The contestant is restrained and blind, but they also have full cover from everything outside the monster.

It does create a moment in combat, though. One of our heroes is buried inside the flesh of their foe. Will they hack their way out? Maybe they’ll hit it in the guts so hard that it expels them, or perhaps their friends will have to rush to their rescue and free them from their meaty tomb. I’m glad Dungeons and Dragons 5e has more than a few options for swallowing monsters.

Usually the one to get swallowed is the idiot barbarian who ran way out ahead of their allies. Sadly, this character is uniquely equipped to survive such glaring errors in judgement, and can probably resist the damage and overcome the restraint well enough to deal my beautiful monster a killing blow. I’ll have to visit Vexia in her workshop and see if she can find me something that can sooth the savage heart while it is slowly digested…

Other D&D Monsters that Swallow

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