Last Updated on November 11, 2023
Froghemoth
Huge monstrosity, unaligned
- Size: Huge
- Creature Type: Monstrosity
- Alignment: Unaligned
- AC: 14 (natural armor)
- Hit Points: 184 (16d12 + 80)
- Speed: 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
- STR: 23(+6), DEX: 13(+1), CON: 20(+5), INT: 2(-4), WIS: 12(+1), CHA: 5(-3)
- Saving Throws: Con +9, Wis +5
- Skills: Perception +9, Stealth +5
- Damage Resistances: Fire, lightning
- Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 19
- Languages —
- Challenge Rating: 10 (5,900 XP)
Amphibious. The froghemoth can breathe air and water.
Shock Susceptibility. If the froghemoth takes lightning damage, it suffers several effects until the end of its next turn: its speed is halved, it takes a -2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws, it can’t use reactions or Multiattack, and on its turn, it can use either an action or a bonus action, not both.
Actions
Multiattack. The froghemoth makes two attacks with its tentacles. It can also use its tongue or bite.
Tentacle: Melee Weapon Attack +10 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16) if it is a Huge or smaller creature.
Until the grapple ends, the froghemoth can’t use this tentacle on another target. The target has four tentacles.
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage, and the target is swallowed if it is a Medium or smaller creature.
A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the froghemoth, and takes 10 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of the froghemoth’s turns.
The froghemoth’s gullet can hold up to two creatures at a time. If the froghemoth takes 20 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the froghemoth must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, each of which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the froghemoth.
If the froghemoth dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 10 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Tongue: The froghemoth targets one Medium or smaller creature that it can see within 20 feet of it. The target must make a DC 18 saving throw.
On a failed save, the target is pulled into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the froghemoth, and the froghemoth can make a bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Source: Volo’s Guide to Monsters
Guide to the Froghemoth in 5e – Beyond the Stat Block
In D&D, we get to explore strange fantasy worlds, which naturally means encounters with strange creatures.
You’ll get your fair share of zombies and trolls, and if done right, those can feel truly weird and horrifying, but sometimes you need a bit more to truly scratch that bizarre itch.
Cue the froghemoth. A massive aberration that is much more behemoth than frog.
It’s the truly bizarre creations like this that really let DMs and players drop all preconceptions about what it means to be an adventurer.Â
What Is A Froghemoth?
A froghemoth is a monstrous frog-like creature with two hind legs, four massive tentacles, three eye stalks, two nose stalks, a long barbed tongue, and a set of vicious teeth ready to eat anyone stupid enough to get in this thing’s path.
This is a creature that has been around since the days of AD&D, one that has likely given many adventuring parties an unhealthy fear of amphibious creatures to this day.
The exact origin of froghemoths is unknown, at least in 5e.
Volo’s Guide to Monsters tells us that the first froghemoths may have made their way to our plane in large metallic cylinders, although no conclusive proof of this has been found.
Running a Froghemoth in Your Game
With all their power and mass, froghemoth are little more than ambush predators on their own. This doesn’t make them any less threatening; it just means they won’t have many tactics to speak of.
In general, these creatures aim for the biggest target first and continue to attack until they’re significantly damaged. There comes a point where a meal can fight back too much to be worth it.
This might give you some inspiration on a fun way to run this creature:
The Champions Belt:Â Gladiator Froghemoth
In The Champion’s Belt, an adventure published in Dungeon Magazine issue 128, a froghemoth named Madtooth the Hungry is kept as the climactic match for a gladiator arena.
In this instance, the creature is underfed and has nowhere to go if it does fear for its life. The thing will fight to the last breath.
You can run something similar, if not a gladiator than another situation where the froghemoth is cornered and has to fight for it’s life.
Adding Minions to the Froghemoth Encounter
If a froghemoth is at the service of a bullywug tribe, we’re probably going to see a much larger battle. To me, this is one of the coolest ways to introduce the massive creature.
In an encounter like this, regular bullywug soldiers will fight alongside the beast like minions.
Of course, bullywugs are going to be more in control of this situation than their massive war beast. They’ll be doing their best to corral the adventurers toward the beast.
A lot of distraction will make it harder to focus with the real threat at hand, and the party will have to be very creative to survive.
Players should keep their distance from the creature as much as possible.
No matter the background of the encounter, those tentacle and tongue attacks are just too deadly to be risking. Ranged attacks will do just fine, especially if you can keep your distance.
They don’t have incredible speed, so if you can stay a good click away from them, you can let off as much damage as possible.
Obviously, one of the best things is to take advantage of the Shock Susceptibility in these creatures’ stat block.
There are just so many benefits — half speed, reduced AC and Dexterity saves, no multiattacks or reactions, and the inability to take an action and a bonus action in the same turn — that the players gain when this happens.
It honestly reduces the CR by several stages and turns HP into the hardest obstacle to overcome.
I hope this guide has given you some more insight to the Froghemoth beyond a simple stat block.
As always, happy adventuring.
As a kid, I was often told to get my head out of the clouds and to stop living in a fantasy world. That never really jived with me, so I decided to make a living out of games, stories, and all sorts of fantastical works. Now, as an adult, I aspire to remind people that sometimes a little bit of fantasy is all you need when life gets to be too much.
