Dire Wolf 5e: Stats and Guide for Players & DMs

Last Updated on November 21, 2023

You may have heard about dire wolves from Game of Thrones or be familiar with their real life counterparts that used to live on earth 9,000 years ago.

But dire wolves in DnD 5e are their own beast with their own strengths and characteristics. In this article, you’ll learn what they are, how they fight, and how to fight back. 

The Dire Wolf in D&D 

Dire wolves are DnD’s megafauna version of wolves, powerful apex predators that survive in a world of magic and monsters. 

In game terms, the dire wolf is a Large beast with no alignment or sentience. In combat, it controls a 10-foot by 10-foot space (or 2 squares by 2 squares if you use a grid map).

As a Large beast, you can imagine it as roughly the size of horse, though perhaps a little smaller and more densely muscled. 

Take a moment and imagine a wolf, a pack of wolves the size of horses surrounding you in the quiet dark of a forest. That’s what a dire wolf is. 

Dire Wolves as Druid Wild Shape Options

We have the Dire Wolf as our best all around option for CR1 creatures in our Wild Shape List.  This is mainly due to Pack Tactics and the ability to knock enemies prone.

Excellent speed, good hit points, and an excellent hit chance on attacks make this beast a fantastic option.  You can even be a mount for smaller companions.

The dire wolf has an AC of 14 (including its natural armor), which makes it pretty easy to hit. That’s pretty reasonable for its CR of 1.

Because of its Keen Senses, the dire wolf has advantage on any Wisdom (perception) rolls that rely on its smell or hearing, making it an excellent tracker. 

Lastly, the dire wolf is designed to work with others. Its Pack Tactics feature means it has advantage on its attack roll if one of its allies is within 5 feet of its target (and the ally isn’t incapacitated).

Plus its primary attack, Bite (+5 to hit, 2d6+3 piercing damage), when used against a creature, knocks that creature down on a successful attack unless the creature makes a DC 13 strength-saving throw. 

Remember that prone creatures give attackers within 5 feet advantage on their attack rolls, so dire wolves are all about helping their allies. 

Dire Wolves as Mounts

Dire Wolves (as Large beasts) are a potential mount for many species.

While they may not be well designed for carrying riders, as long as the load isn’t unreasonably heavy (such as Medium creatures on the small side or simply Small creatures), dire wolves can lend their enhanced speed to combatants. 

You can read more about mounted combat in D&D here.

Dire Wolves in Combat

Whether you’re fighting these creatures or running an encounter with them as a DM, it’s worth remembering this classic truism of DMing:

“If you want your characters to feel cool, have them fight a single powerful foe. If you want your characters to almost die, have them fight a group.” 

A single dire wolf can be scary but manageable for a low-level party, especially if they play it smart. A pack of dire wolves using smart tactics and their environment can be a threat to even higher-level adventurers. 

In general, the more enemies you fight the more difficult the combat can be.  This has to do with the concept of the action economy in D&D.  

Just keep in mind that although this is a low CR creature, multiple wolves knocking the players down prone, and hitting on almost every attack can get out of hand for the party quickly.