Reviewing 5E D&D Monsters - 5E Adventure Modules, Pt 1

A lot of my older 5th Edition 'adventure module review' has been quite... messy. And with me recently re-mastering and rewriting much of my 5E D&D content, I have also decided to do the same treatment to the adventures. Some of the statblocks of the monsters introduced in these adventures do make it into more bestiary-oriented sourcebooks (like the 'Guard Drake' entry, for example), but a lot of them involve NPCs, named final villains, or very setting-specific characters like members of a cult specific to that adventure or setting. And when I did these reviews the first time around, I tried to go through everything. Including trying to give a synopsis of the modules, which is a bit foolish considering the nature of D&D adventures. 

That got exhausting really quickly, and I end up rambling just to pad out content and be exhaustive. At some point I ended up dreading doing the adventure modules, or trying to go through the logistics of trying to figure out how many monsters are contained within each adventure and how many would fit in an article. 

And in this revision? I decided to go through a couple of rules to make this process more enjoyable for me as a writer, and hopefully for you guys reading the ramblings I do about fictional fantasy monsters. I'll only talk about monsters I have something to talk about (no animals, no NPCs, no slightly-modified variant), I won't cover any named villains (no Tiamat, no Strahd, no Imix, no Demogorgon...) and I won't necessarily be going in proper chronological order of release.

To that end, I've picked the format of listing the origin adventure of the monster beneath the chunk of monster details I like to talk about. I think this is a nice compromise to give context to these monsters, without me having to spend entire paragraphs summarizing adventures that I might not be particularly interested in.

Anyway, this current batch combines almost all of the adventure modules from 2014 to 2018, with the exception of Tomb of Annihilation. For those that care, I originally reviewed these entries in the blog in two and a half articles (with the Waterdeep books originally mashed with the Eberron sourcebook). 

• Click here for the previous part.
• Click here for the next part.
• Click here for the index.

[Tyranny of Dragons, The Rise of Tiamat, Lost Mine of Phandelver, Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss originally reviewed in July 2020; Curse of Strahd, Storm King's Thunder, Tales from the Yawning Portal originally reviewed in September 2020; Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage originally reviewed in December 2020; Revised in April 2026]

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Ambush Drake

• Medium Dragon; Unaligned; CR 1/2
  
• Debut: Hoard of the Dragon Queen / Tyranny of Dragons (2014)

The first two adventure modules are the two-parter of Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Tyranny of Dragons, and being the first-ever 5th Edition adventure meant that they had the entire Monster Manual to draw from and create monsters out of. Which makes sense, monsters from the bestiaries become more notable as they get bigger roles in stories. But in those adventures, we also get a bunch of unique statblocks. Two of them are Drakes -- the Guard Drake and the Ambush Drake. The Guard Drake would graduate to a bigger bestiary in Volo's Guide to Monsters, leaving its cousin the Ambush Drake behind. 

Presumably, the two Drakes have a similar origin story since the Ambush Drake visually resembles the Guard Drake, only using a Green Dragon's features instead of a Blue Dragon. Four-legged, wingless and more bestial, and with the context that they are utilized by the Dragon Cult of Tiamat, they are also likely to be created by the same ritual that made the Guard Drakes. 

The Ambush Drake is a much weaker version of the Guard Drake, but has bonuses to the damage dealt if it manages to surprise its prey in, you guessed it, the ambush. They also have the 'pack tactics' ability that is normally assigned to weaker pack hunters like wolves.

Drakes in Dungeons & Dragons were perhaps the most prolific in 3rd and 4th Edition, with the monster manual and bestiary teams really going ham in creating as many variations of these lesser non-sentient dragons as possible, with the Drakes often also taking the ecological niche of creatures like dinosaurs in their respective settings. While I appreciate the effect, having so many lesser dragons does cheapen the oomph when an actual dragon shows up, something that 5th Edition seems to take to heart as they scale back the non-true dragons by quite a bit.

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Ixitxachitl

• Small Aberration; Chaotic Evil; CR 1/4 (regular)
  
• Medium Aberration; Chaotic Evil; CR 4 (Vampiric Ixitxachitl)
• Debut: Out of the Abyss (2015)

And with that, we jump straight into the next two-parter adventure module, Princes of the Apocalypse and Out of the Abyss. They involved elemental planes, elemental cults and Underdark shenanigans, and some of the monsters here like the Derro would be represented in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. But not the lxitxachitl! (Pronounced ick-zit-zah-chit-ul). The lxitxachitl is a little weirdo that debuted all the way in the 1st Edition's Monster Manual, and that does really highlight just how some monsters from that book become staples in the genre like the Gelatinous Cube or Beholder... while others like the lxitxachitl make me go 'really? It debuted in the first book?'

lxitxachitl, or Demon Rays, are aberrations that resemble monstrous manta rays. Older editions just drew a regular manta ray with mean evil eyes, with 3rd Edition giving us a nice, tropical-themed lxitxachitl. 4E and 5E went for all sharp, jagged edges, a pair of mandible-like protrusions, and a shark-like mouth. It does look a fair bit more demonic, particularly with all the textures. The text for the 5E version still describes it as having little 'claws' at the end of their fins, although the 5E artwork moves them to be on either side of the mouth. It really is a nice piece of monster artwork, and I do think that the main reason the lxitxachitl isn't represented more is that they kind of fight over the Cloaker over the design space of being a manta ray monster. 

lxitxachitl make use of their similarities to common manta rays to fool other humanoids, hiding the fact that they are actually cunning and highly intelligent. They inhabit bodies of water both freshwater and salt. They hollow out coral reefs and aquatic rocks to create labyrinthine dens, stripping an area bare of resources before moving on. They often come into conflict with other aquatic creatures, and have a culture surrounding survival. Most lxitxachitl are actually classified as 'small', being noted to be the size of a hand, which isn't what you'd expect from looking at that artwork. 3E's artwork actually has one of these baby lxitxachitls latching on to its parent rather adorably. 

Elder lxitxachitl will gain the power of regeneration and the ability to drain life from others, which is represented by the 'Vampiric lxitxachitl' stat block, giving them just those two abilities. From how the lore is represented, though, they're not actually vampires, they just have vampire-esque abilities. Yet others revere the demon prince Demogorgon, and act as lxitxachitl Clerics able to channel clerical spells. 

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Mongrelfolk

• Medium Humanoid; Any Alignment; CR 1/4
  
• Debut: Curse of Strahd (2016)

We then go from those adventures to perhaps one of the most famous 5th Edition modules, the gothic horror story revolving around a vampire lord, Curse of Strahd. Highly beloved by the fandom, Curse of Strahd also comes with a bestiary detailing several of the beings that reside in Barovia, and some variations of existing creatures like Animated Objects and Blights (with the Tree Blight graduating to the 2024 Monster Manual). 

One of the creatures introduced to 5E in Curse of Strahd is the Mongrelfolk, whose concept isn't the most immediately clear from their more modern art. I think the Mongrelfolk's original 2E artwork with its more cartoonish colouring demonstrates this the best, showcasing that the Mongrelfolk are a patchwork creature that have features taken from many different humanoids and beasts. They are a nice shout-out to classic sci-fi horror book The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Mongrelfolk are humanoids who underwent horrific, magical transformations, being patched together with features of various beasts. The artwork for 5E only shows an individual with a dog-ish face and a single duck leg, but the prose goes into detail on how any combination of features could be possible, specifically detailing the 1E artwork in the process ('body shape of a dwarf, a head that combines cat and lizard, one arm ending in a crab pincer, one leg with a horse hoof). 

The 5E statblock gives us a little table of features that the DM can roll for the Mongrelfolk, although I feel they are far more interesting by combining two or three features. Darkvision or keen hearing alone isn't particularly interesting on their own, after all. The Mongrelfolk all also have the ability to mimic sounds, because despite their misshapen vocal cords, they are very much able to mimic the noises of animals and humanoids, at least enough to draw enemies into a trap. 

It is noted that Mongrelfolk unfortunately face a lot of prejudice from other humanoids, and often find themselves abused, shunned or even enslaved. This leads the Mongrelfolk to be skittish and suspicious of regular humanoids, hiding in ruins and the fringes of civilization. The individuals that interact with the greater world often hide their more monstrous parts under cloaks or plant-based accessories, to masquerade as more regular, more acceptable humanoids. 

There are also rules about Mongrelfolk offspring, where those that are turned into a Mongrelfolk could be returned to their original form; while Mongrelfolk that reproduce with regular humanoids will create a 'true' Mongrelfolk that can't be 'undone' since they are born that way. But honestly, from the way they have been described, it really does seem like the Mongrelfolk would be happy to keep to themselves! Leave the nice patchwork people alone, it's not their fault that you think they are monstrous! I haven't read through all of Curse of Strahd, but the story does portray the Mongrelfolk as sympathetic, tragic victims of the villains. 

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Phantom Warrior

• Medium Undead; Any Alignment; CR 3
  
• Debut: Curse of Strahd (2016)

"Phantom" as a common name for a D&D undead never really stuck around, despite the many Specters, Wraiths, Ghosts, Geists, Banshees and many other incorporeal undead that have shown up in the franchise's history. The only 'Phantom' I've really been able to find that properly fits the original meaning of the term is from 2E's Monstrous Manual, where the Phantom is characterized as an echo left behind after a particularly strong death trauma, being more of an echo or an image instead of a properly independent undead. In 5E terms, the Phantom would be a less-malicious Spectre bound to a single location and repeating either the dead person's death throes, or trying to communicate some unfinished business. 

Curse of Strahd's Phantom Warrior is the remnant of a knight who died performing his sworn duty, and still remains after death. Unlike Ghosts, Phantom Warriors are not bound to complete some unresolved goal, lingering willingly out of loyalty and duty. Notably, Phantom Warriors can 'choose to end its undead existence at any time', and usually they will do so out of understanding that their duties are completed. 

Phantom Warriors are noted to be able to remember their alignment, their personality, and how they die, but no more than a couple of weeks, upon which everything becomes hazy. In combat, they fight like how they were while alive, but with an additional forcefield that protects them from physical attacks, as well as the ability to phase through objects. 

There is honestly a fair amount of overlap between the 5E Phantom and many of the other 5th Edition 'ghostly' undead, and they are essentially less-angry versions of the more popular 'Sword Wraith' monster introduced in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. I do like the idea of a ghost that stays behind out of duty and its own desire, but I also feel like there's perhaps a bit too heavy of a glut of ghostly enemies to make the Phantom actually stand out.  

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Wereraven

• Medium Humanoid (Shapechanger); Lawful Good; CR 2
  
• Debut: Curse of Strahd (2016)

The Wereraven is another type of lycanthrope introduced in Curse of Strahd, debuting in the original 2E Monstrous Manual and proving so popular in 5th Edition that the Wereraven statblock has reappeared in Candlekeep Mysteries and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, receiving pretty cool artwork. One artwork shows a more raggedy wereraven, with beady eyes and a hunched-over pose as they collect trinkets, while the other Wereraven is dressed in nicer robes with a crossbow, and a more heroic build in general. Ever since 2E, Wereravens were always characterized as being more heroic and well-put-together than most other lycanthropes. 

Of course the gothic-horror inspired adventure will have lycanthropes, and a segment of Curse of Strahd does deal with Werewolves, but ravens are equally gothic! Hence, Wereravens. The Wereravens introduced in Curse of Strahd are part of a secret society called the Keepers of the Feather, and their characterization is just that -- Wereravens are highly cautious, trust one another, but distrust everyone else. In the land of Barovia, it's probably just good survival instincts. They tend to blend into society and obey the law, keeping out of everyone's sights. 

Instead of a 'murder' of crows, Wereravens call their little groups 'Kindnesses', and tend to utilize regular ravens and hide among them. Like real ravens, they collect shiny trinkets and baubles. Unlike real ravens, they give them away to charity. There really is a sense of the Wereraven society being a more good-aligned parallel with their fellow raven-inspired humanoid race, the Kenku, being a group of secret society philanthropists instead of a crime syndicate.

Not much to say here that I haven't really spoken of in the Lycanthropes, other than appreciating the art of cool raven-people. I like my ravens. 

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Tressym

• Tiny Monstrosity; Any Alignment; CR 0
  
• Debut: Storm King's Thunder (2016)

Give a player and excuse to access a cute and unique familiar, and I guarantee you, just like a Pokemon player, they will pounce on it. Our next book is Storm King's Thunder, featuring a giant-themed adventure and 5th Edition's inordinate love towards giantkin. A bunch of new statblocks for random animals are in this book, but most relevant and popular is the little mascot, the Tressym. 

A Tressym is just a cat with wings. That's it. That's the simplicity of it. It's a cute kitty with wings, except that they are inordinately smart for a cat, and have the additional ability to detect invisibility and sense poison. A good kitty! I'm not a cat person myself, but I must admit that a Tressym familiar would be adorable, and I've played in a campaign with a player that had one of these. It's just so much more interesting and immersive to have a slightly weirder D&D creature!

Rather cutely, Tressym peacefully ignore other flying creatures that aren't malicious like faerie dragons or bats, and even while hunting for food they explicitly steer clear of 'nestlings' and eggs. So they're like, ethical hunters. Tressym are particularly vicious towards evil flying monsters like stirges and manticores. I am sorry, little Tressym, Manticores are the size of dire lions and you are just a cute little adorable widdle kitty tat. Although I suppose that behaviour tracks with real-world cats, I suppose. 

Tressyms usually mate with others of their kind, but like real cats, don't mate for life. They can also mate with normal cats, but only one out of ten children will have wings. Lastly, an adorable detail is that Tressyms have a long memory... but not necessarily the context to understand what it's seeing. It might see its wizard be hurt by a wand that shoots lightning, and will try and protect the silly human by all wooden sticks. I am sorry, that is adorable.

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Yakfolk

• Large Monstrosity; Neutral Evil; CR 3 (Warrior), 4 (Priest)
  
• Debut: Storm King's Thunder (2016)

Huh. Debuting all the way back in Al-Qadim are the Yakfolk, or Yikaria ('the Lucky Chosen') in their own language. The Yakfolk are essentially civilized minotaurs, wearing clothes and dressing in a quasi-Tibetan-coded garb. Hiding in secluded mountain settlements and desert oases, they definitely do have that vibe going on about them. But where you think that the Yakfolk sounds like a peaceful species name, they are actually a people that thrives on slavery. Yep, one of these. 

Other civilizations treat the Yakfolk as a race of 'bogeyman', but in this case their reputation is actually warranted. In their idyllic, paradise-like remote hideouts, the Yakfolk practice an outwardly enlightened and peaceful culture... but are actually evil overlords. It is quite interesting of a societal kind of 'gotcha', because when outsiders stumble into one of their hidden locations, the Yakfolk will foster the image of a secret utopia, actually playing on the tropes and the kindly and grumpy face of the yak  to get their new victims to lower their guards. Once they do, the Yakfolk will disarm and enslave them. That's mean! I would find it funnier if the Yakfolk isn't so heavily coded based on a real-life culture!

When they are not pretending to be nice to get new slaves, Yakfolk have an intense drive for learning. Anything they can't gain or use, they will destroy. And what do they learn? Why, powerful dark knowledge to corrupt and dominate others, of course. Yakfolk culture is a malignant theocracy in service to a nameless deity called the Forgotten God, and at least in this campaign, the Yakfolk do sacrifices based on the four elements -- immolation, live burial, drowning or throwing the victim off a mountain to represent fire, earth, water and air respectively. A neat bit of culture (and a nod to older editions) is that Yakfolk used to be able to command the Dao after some cosmic deal, but that sentence has apparently expired due to the timeskip between 3E and 4E.

What about abilities, then? The Yakfolk aren't just powerful yak-people. The book gives us statblocks for the Yakfolk Warrior and the Yakfolk Priest, the latter having a mass of cleric spells, but all Yakfolk also unexpectedly have an ability to 'magically crawl under another creature's skin, control its body, and suppress its mind'. That is not something I had expected, nor remembered, on top of everything else, but that's just such a unexpected ability for a species of bovine-people to have. The fact that this is described to be so gruesome with this cow-man crawling under its victim's skin and hijacking the mind is... there's just something so wrong about that. You'd expect something alien-looking like the Mind Flayers to screw with your mind, you don't exactly expect something like the Yakfolk to pull off a Wendigo-style possession!

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Crag Cat

• Large Monstrosity; Unaligned; CR 1
• Debut: Storm King's Thunder (2016)

The Crag Cat very nearly did not make it into this review series, and frankly only made it in by virtue of being classified as a monstrosity and not being a regular animal. The Crag Cat looks like just a larger version of a white lion, but actually adapts its coat depending on the weather -- being white in snowy seasons, and gray to blend with rocks otherwise. Their cry resembles a human scream, and prefers to hunt humans to the exclusion of all else.

Their stat blocks also offer a couple of surprising abilities, having a 'Spell Turning' effect that causes any spell that targets it specifically to have the potential of being reflected back on the caster. It also has the strange ability of nondetection, something that many powerful figures in D&D would probably love -- complete immunity from divination and magical scrying. This second bit is a quite bizarrely powerful feature to give to a random carnivorous feline that probably won't come up too much, but it does make this random kitty cat feel a bit more special. 

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Dread Warrior

• Medium Undead; Neutral Evil; CR 1
  
• Debut: Tales from the Yawning Portal (2017)

Next up is Tales from the Yawning Portal, an anthology and remakes of some classic D&D modules from older editions. Many of the monsters introduced in this anthology are actually released afterwards as part of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which includes the Deathlock and the Choker. But one variation of undead is the Dread Warrior, a type of special undead servant utilized by the Red Wizards. Dread Warriors are simple undead minions with weapon attacks and a bit more 'undead fortitude' similar to zombies. But the unique thing about them is that Dread Warriors are linked to their respective Red Wizard to be utilized as an equivalent to a familiar. Via a psychic link, a Red Wizard can view the world via the Dread Warrior, and even pilot it to do certain actions. 

That is about it that makes the Dread Warrior different from another low-level undead like a zombie or a skeleton, but the slight flexibility does allow a bit of twist to what seemed to be a 'regular' undead corpse. I can see why the Dread Warrior did not make the jump to a proper bestiary book, however. 

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Kelpie

• Medium Plant; Neutral Evil; CR 4
  
• Debut: Tales from the Yawning Portal (2017)

In Scottish legend, the Kelpie is a shapeshifting water spirit that lures people to their death by drowning, often times appearing in the form of a horse, or sometimes as a human. I am quite surprised that D&D hasn't actually done a proper adaptation of this mythological Kelpie. Instead, the Kelpie throughout D&D's history has been a weird little monster that initially debuted in 1st Edition's Fiend Folio, which even this 5th Edition Kelpie still draws inspiration from. 

See, the Kelpie in Dungeons & Dragons isn't a magical horse, or a fey, or even an evil spirit. No. Thanks to the 'kelp' pun, the Kelpie is... a shape-shifting seaweed. That is actually a clever little twist! The 'horse' and the 'beautiful female' (playing off of Sirens, another mythological creature I'm surprised isn't more prominent in D&D) forms are just like, forms that the Kelpie takes to attract its prey. 

The Kelpie in 5E is a very faithful adaptation of its original Fiend Folio appearance, having the shapeshifting ability as well as the 'drowning hypnosis' ability. Once a target is charmed by the Kelpie's humanoid or equine form, they will be dragged by the Kelpie underwater, and attempt to breathe... and drown. At which point the sentient seaweed will consume their prey. 

I get not adapting statblocks like the Dread Warrior or Phantom into a bestiary due to a lot of overlap. But are you seriously telling me that the shapeshifting plant that charms people into riding it isn't weird or interesting enough to get a proper new art and a longer lore than the paragraph we had? Come on. 

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Nereid

• Medium Fey; Any Chaotic Alignment; CR 2
  
• Debut: Tales from the Yawning Portal (2017)

There have been various terms used for aquatic fey in various mythologies that got adapted into Dungeons & Dragons. Nymphs, Nereids, Naiads... they all kind of blend together and are all pretty fey women that live underwater. In its first appearance in 2E, the Nereid debuted as a 'Water-kin' Elemental, being classified alongside the Water Weird as a type of specialized elemental lifeform similar to the Salamanders or Galeb Duhrs. They then end up being re-interpreted as aquatic fey in 3E. 

5E's Nereids are simple, just noted as being fey creatures that can shape their environments, and they bear an otherworldly beauty regardless of which gender they appear in. Surprisingly, despite the transformation from Elemental to Fey, 5E's Nereid still retains a lot of the features that the Nereid in 2E's Monstrous Manual. This includes the ability to control water, be invisible in water and be surrounded by marine animals, yes, but Nereids also have the unexpected ability to spit poison. This is actually interpreted as acid damage, which... yes, it makes sense that a being with mastery over water can summon acid, too, but it's just such a fun and unexpected ability for a traditionally elegant being like the Nereid to do. I'm all for it!

An aspect of the 2E Nereid that surprisingly makes it to the 5E Nereid is the 'Mantle Dependance'. All Nereids come with a mantle of silky cloth that the Nereid's spirit is bound to. The mantle can't be harmed while the Nereid still wears it, but if it is stolen or separated, and then destroyed, the Nereid will be poisoned and die. The scarf essentially works similar to the tree that a Dryad is bound to, which is honestly an aspect that really screams 'fey' more than 'elemental' to me. 

It's just such a shame that so much of the Nereid's fun lore isn't really properly laid out, and you need to really go through each ability to piece together the Nereid. I am honestly surprised that none of the sourcebooks, and not even the Witchlight Feywild adventure, has taken the time to give us a properly-statted out block for a water fey. 

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Sea Lion

• Large Monstrosity; Unaligned; CR 5
  
• Debut: Tales from the Yawning Portal (2017)

Sometimes known as the Sea Cat in older editions to avoid confusion with the real-world mammal known as the Sea Lion, this weird creature has shown up all the way from the 1st Edition's Monster Manual. The Sea Lion is a strange creature that is shaped like a mermaid, with the lower body of a fish, but the claws and head of a lion instead of a man. This creature resembles Singapore's Merlion, which is a name that I really wished this creature was called instead just to not have the confusion with real-world pinnipeds. 

There really isn't much about the Sea Lion beyond them being a weird 'fusion' creature, with their stat block only containing generic beast melee attacks and some aquatic features. I took a peek into their previous entries in older bestiaries, and there really isn't much about them other than them behaving like lions (hunting in a pride, being fierce predators) and being able to be domesticated, just a bit harder. 

The design team likes the Sea Lion enough to reprint them in a bunch of other aquatic adventure books, like Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Locathah Rising, but never really bothered to give a proper creature writeup to come with the block. A bit of a shame, that. 

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Lava Child

• Medium Humanoid; Neutral; CR 3
  
• Debut: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018)

We jump a bit ahead for a pair of adventures set in the massive city of Waterdeep -- Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage. The first book didn't really give us any new monsters, but the second one does, and we're starting off with the Lava Children, which are... weird. The Lava Children debuted all the way back in 1E's Fiend Folio, everyone's favourite book of the strangest things to have graced D&D's history. Lava Children are created from the union of the elements of Earth and Fire, creating... large, adult-sized beings that always perpetually look like children. Which is... most certainly a weird creature design concept. 

Despite acting and looking like children, a Lava Child that has reached maturity... will lay eggs, procreating without mating. These hatch into more Lava Children, and it is noted that all Lava Children look physically similar. Okay? They... they like meat the most, but can also feed on anything that's not made of metal or stone.

They are classified as humanoids instead of elementals, despite their name. They do, however, have the ability to pass through metal. The Lava Children are mostly nonviolent, content to reside in their little volcano lairs and worship the gods of the elements that create them. However, when they decide to be territorial, many adventurers have been fooled by their big, child-like smile... even as they decide to tear smaller intruders limb from limb. 

I don't know. The Lava Children are probably one of my least favourite monsters because of the strange hodgepodge of features and themes. They're not even actually creepy or disturbing or funny, they're just... they just got me tilting my head and go 'why'. There is a bunch of random themes here that I don't feel is properly portrayed. Kudos to the 5E artwork for giving this thing a really demented expression. Just look into those eyes. They look more horrifying than most demon artwork out there. 

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Living Spells

• Small Construct; Chaotic Evil; CR 8 (Blade of Disaster)
• Medium Construct; Unaligned; CR 0 (Unseen Servant), 0 (Demiplane), 1 (Burning Hands)
  
• Large Construct; Unaligned; CR 4 (Bigby's Hand) 5 (Lightning Bolt), 7 (Cloudkill)
• Debut: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018)

Debuting in 3rd Edition are the creatures called 'Living Spells', which as their name implies, are spells that somehow caused certain spells to take sentience. They are classified as 'constructs', and are essentially the very same spell that so many spellcasters use... except their energies just continue indefinitely. This happens in areas where powerful unnatural forces or huge clashes of magic just cause spells to continue to happen independently as they subsist on the ambient magical energy in the land. 

Several Living Spells have appeared throughout 5th Edition. Dungeon of the Mad Mage gave us the Living Unseen Servant; Eberron: Rising from the Last War gave us Living Burning Hands, Living Lightning Bolt and Living Cloudkill. Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden gave us Living Demiplane, Living Blade of Disaster and Living Bigby's Hand. 

I will spare really much of the details of these spells. Most of them are self-explaining. Living Burning Hands and Bigby's Hands are giant magical hands, one of them being on fire and the other being larger and more solid. Living Cloudkill (a.k.a. the coolest spell name ever) is just a roiling cloud of death-fog going around this area of magical flux. The Eberron sourcebook gives a template to take any spell, look for a corresponding template of the similar spell level, and swap the 'spell mimicry' to match whatever spell you want to adapt into a Living Spell. 

I don't think I've ever really appreciated how much spells really matter to the players who play them until I played spellcaster PC's myself with a slower level grind, and the anticipation to reach each successive milestone and getting to pour through tables to pick spells is just really fun. Each spell gets a bit of a 'character' of their own, so to speak, and to see them manifested as roiling sentient magical effects is certainly interesting, even if I don't have much to really say about the topic beyond that. 

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Scaladar

• Huge Construct; Unaligned; CR 8
  
• Debut: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018)

The Scaladar is a giant robotic scorpion robot associated with the Waterdeep setting, having been around since 2nd Edition. When I first went through the Waterdeep books, I actually thought the Scaladar was the name of a specific 'boss' enemy, but it turns out that there are a bunch of these Scaladars running around, enough that all Scaladars have a 'Scaladar Link' ability that lets them know if there are more Scaladars around. They can shoot lightning bolts from their stingers, and if they are themselves attacked with a lightning spell, they can absorb it and empower their next lightning strike. 

The creator of the Scaladar created artifacts called Trobriand's Rings, and anyone who wears one such ring becomes immune to being attacked by Scaladars and must obey their commands. It's a control ring! Interestingly, if two people holding different rings say contradictory commands, the Scaladar short-circuits and becomes inert for an hour. 

It sure is a giant metal scorpion! It's inherently cool, but there's really not a whole ton to say about it. A lot of the stuff with the control ring and lightning blast are pretty basic 'mecha' enemy stuff. 

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Werebat

• Medium Humanoid (Shapechanger, Goblinoid); Neutral Evil; CR 2
  
• Debut: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018)

And to end this article, the last entry from Waterdeep is going to be the Werebat. Which is... a lycanthrope that turns into a bat! The body layout is similar to DC comics' Man-Bat, with a humanoid body and head; large bat wings instead of hands, and clawed feet. The Werebat curse is noted to be particularly rare even among other lycanthropes, and the curse appear to be more common among goblins. In fact, the artwork shows one of 5E's orange-skinned goblins. Look at that goofy grin on his face. That Werebat is very happy to be included. 

Interestingly, despite not really being vampires, the Werebats still need to feed on blood to survive. They need to feed on one pint of fresh blood every day, or suffer exhaustion that can't be alleviated by mere rest. It's a bit less debilitating, I suppose, when you realize that Werebats can shrink down to the size of actual vampire bats and go around feeding on wildlife just like actual vampire bats. 

This causes them to be shunned even by their goblin kin, and the Werebats end up being exiled. The prose notes how they are forced to adopt nocturnal hunting habits and move into caves... but goblins already do that. The Werebats also gain the ability to echolocate, as well as sunlight sensitivity, both of which make sense for a part-bat lycanthrope. I don't really have much else to say about Werebats... I feel like they at least tried a bit to make the Werebat curse a bit more different with the vampiric feeding necessities, but this is probably a huge reason why they cut down a lot on random lycanthrope variations. There really is ultimately not much to really say that can't be put into a template of 'hey, pick whatever animal you want your characters to turn into'.