Shadow — D&D 5e Monster Stats (CR 1/2)

Q: What are Shadow's AC and HP in D&D 5e?

Shadow has an Armor Class of 12 and 16 hit points (3d8+3).

Q: What Challenge Rating is a Shadow?

Shadow is CR 1/2, worth 100 XP — roughly a fair fight for a party of four characters of a similar level.

Q: What type of creature is Shadow?

Shadow is a medium undead, alignment chaotic evil.

Armor Class12

Hit Points16 (3d8+3)

Speed40 ft.

ChallengeCR 1/2 (100 XP)

STR

6

(-2)

DEX

14

(+2)

CON

13

(+1)

INT

6

(-2)

WIS

10

(+0)

CHA

8

(-1)

SkillsStealth +4

Resistancesacid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Immunitiesnecrotic, poison

Vulnerabilitiesradiant

Cond. ImmuneExhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained

Sensesdarkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Special Abilities

Amorphous. The shadow can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.

Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action. Its stealth bonus is also improved to +6.

Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the shadow has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

Actions

Strength Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) necrotic damage, and the target's Strength score is reduced by 1d4. The target dies if this reduces its Strength to 0. Otherwise, the reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest.
If a non-evil humanoid dies from this attack, a new shadow rises from the corpse 1d4 hours later.

Running Shadow in an encounter

As a CR 1/2 threat worth 100 XP, Shadow is a fair challenge for a party of four at a comparable level. With no legendary actions it works best in numbers or paired with support, where its CR 1/2 rating won't be burned down in a single round. Use the XP value with the encounter builder to slot it into a balanced fight.

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