Dec 9

Dec 9 Deep Dive - The Manticore

A creature with its origins dating to Greek mythology, the Manticore is one strange-looking creature. We’ve done a lot of creatures whose looks we’ve called strange, bizarre, and in some cases, downright terrifying, but this one makes us shudder with their twisted faces and foul nature. Even their name, which means “Man-Eater” is enough to let us know that we never, ever, want to meet these horrible predators.

OD&D - Manticore

No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12/18
Hit Dice: 6+1
% in Lair: 25%%
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite / 24 spikes
Damage/Attack: 1-3/claw, 1-8/bite, 1-6/spike
Treasure: Type D

The Manticore comes at us in White Box: Monsters & Treasures (1974) and it is nothing but bad news for us and anyone who likes living. We know we've been holding out on you, not describing the Manticore, so here is the big reveal. The Manticore has the body of a giant lion, with two dragon wings, and a scorpion’s tail that can fire venomous spines out of it like projectile porcupine quills. Though, these 24 quills are described as iron spikes, so maybe its more like 24 crossbow bolts being fired at you. In our opinion, the most terrifying part about the Manticore is that it has the face of a human. While we aren’t sure what the face looks like, it could be Julia Roberts or your crazy Uncle Bob, we are confident that it doesn’t matter whose face is on the Manticore. It’s always going to be disturbing.

If you happen to tangle with the Manticore, which really isn’t that hard to imagine as it’s favorite food is man-meat, get ready to be completely torn apart. It can fling 6 of its 24 spikes at you at a time, each one dealing enough damage to drop a level 1 character with a single blow. If you think getting close to this creature is a better idea than just trying to outrun the rest of your party, get prepared to get clawed with its giant lion paws or bitten by its human mouth, which is just awful.

The final thing we’ll leave you with for this edition is that in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry (1976), we find out that Manticores have their own language. We learn this because if you play as a druid, you could be lucky enough to learn the language of a Manticore, hill giant, nixie, treant, green dragon, and more. We aren’t that surprised that the Manticore can talk; we are surprised that they have spent enough time developing their own language, and we can only assume it is just cackling as they rip you apart.

Basic D&D - Manticore

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 6+1*
Move: 120’ (40’) / Flying 180’ (60’)
Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite or spikes
Damage: 1-4/1-4/2-8 or 1-6 each
No. Appearing: 1-2 (1-4)
Save As: Fighter: 6
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: D
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 650

Found in the Holmes Box Set (1977), Cook Expert Rules (1981), and the BECMI Expert Rules Box Set (1983), the Manticore only comes flying at your face with just a tiny change. The Manticore now has leathery bat wings instead of ferocious dragon wings. While they lose some cool points, they do get badass points, so it’s basically a wash at this point.

If you had hoped to hunt down your own Manticore and mount its head on your tavern wall, you are going to have a bit of explaining to do about why some human’s head is on your wall, but also, you are going to have to go on a trip to the mountains. Manticores make their home in mountains and cliffs, and enjoy flying around on air currents looking for their next meal. Once they see you, they begin tailing you for hours, silently soaring behind you and out of sight, waiting for you to stop and rest during your long trek. Once you do so, the Manticore strikes, ambushing you with a hail of tail spikes shot at you from hundreds of feet away.

With 24 razor-sharp spikes, it’s going to be a difficult fight for you as they can launch 6 of them each round. Once they run out of spikes, they then swoop down with vicious claws and horrible human bites, ripping and tearing you apart. If you can drive off the creature, we recommend keeping an eye on the sky as they can regrow two spikes every day, meaning that they’ll be back soon to finish the job.

AD&D - Manticore

Frequency: Uncommon
No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 1
Move: 12”/18”
Hit Dice: 6+3
% in Lair: 20%
Treasure Type: E
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1-3/1-3/1-8
Special Attacks: Tail spikes
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Lawful evil
Size: L
Psionic Ability: Nil

The Manticore is by no means a shining star in this edition of Monster Manual (1977). It gets even less information than the previous two editions, and what information is available is repeated from before. There are a few minor changes, maybe just to keep this gross-looking creature fresh.

Mountain ranges are out, and caves and underground lairs are now in vogue. They prefer warm climates instead of cold ones, and let's be honest, who wouldn't? There's a reason humans flock to Florida in the winter, and we would bet the house that its the human head wanting to head to Florida and not the giant lion body or bat wings that get much of a say. It still relies on shooting its 24 iron tail spikes, shooting six of them at once each round. Once it runs out of ammunition, it jumps into the fray, tearing and rending flesh with its deadly claws and awful human mouth teeth. It still causes us to shudder to think about how one of its main forms of attack is a human bite, especially as its favorite treat are humans who shouldn't be wandering around warm, spooky caverns.

2e - Manticore

Climate/Terrain: Ant
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Low (5-7)
Treasure: E
Alignment: Lawful evil
No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 12, Fl 18 (E)
Hit Dice: 6+3
THAC0: 13
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1-1/1-3/1-8
Special Attacks: Tail spikes
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: H (15’)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 975

**Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1**, 1989 TSR Inc.

This edition continues to provide a wealth of information on all creatures, and it doesn't disappoint as the Manticore appears in the Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1 (1989) and in the Monstrous Manual (1993). It remains a hideous creature with the body of a lion, wings of a bat, and the face of a human - though now this time the artwork shows them with sharp teeth for ripping your flesh from your bones, which is so much better to imagine than a set of human teeth. The Manticore has a tawny hide, and the lion mane is brown and black. The Manticore's giant bat wings have a wingspan of 25 feet and are dark brown with fine hairs throughout. Let's not forget about the Manticore's tail, still covered in deadly iron spikes. Of course, it's still the face that creeps us out the most. The male human face now has long hair and a thick beard, which acts as the lion’s mane.

If you hope to avoid these creatures, make sure to avoid the tropics. While they live in any location that can support human life, since they just love eating humans, they prefer warmor climates. Luckily, most Manticores only have a territory of 20 miles and only one resides within that territory. So if you somehow avoid the storm of 24 iron spikes shot at you in less than a minute, and defeat the horrific Manticore, you’ll be free of such pests for a little bit at least. That is, until you realize that they actually enjoy sharing territory with other man-eating creatures like dragons. We guess they think they are too small to worry about when a dragon is just a few miles away with a hoard of treasure.

Though, that isn’t to say that Manticores don’t have their own treasure hoards. While they might not be such hoarders like dragons, they do collect magic items and trinkets that they take off their victims. Since they lack hands, they can’t use a lot of magic items, but they can wear necklaces and bracelets and may even be willing to work for people that offer them lots of food and magical equipment. See, Manticores aren’t dumb though they can’t often match the intelligence of humanoid creatures. They have their own language, can formulate plans, make deals, and are naturally curious creatures.

Given their appearance, Manticores only mate with other Manticores, doing so for life. When they start a family, they give birth to one or two cubs. It only takes five years for the little tykes to become fully grown adults, making those trying teenage years fly right by. Typically the mother will stick with the children while the father goes off flying in search of a victim, sometimes bringing them back alive so that junior can try to kill their very own human. If you happen to stumble across a nest of Manticore, and somehow keep the cub from dying, you can try and domesticate them. This fails about 80% of the time, but they can be quite good assistants if you want a hyper-aggressive flying lion that can shoot crossbow bolts out of its tail.

In Dragon #153 (Jan. 1990), we get an Ecology of the Manticore written by Spike Jones. Jones often uses the bard Farwanderer as his narrator and does once again. Farwanderer tells a tale detailing when he was young and was sold to a band of mercenaries as punishment for being a thief. The mercenaries were hunting for a Manticore, and knowing their love for human flesh, they used the bard as bait to lure in the Manticore. The plan wasn't a complete success, but they could track the Manticore to its lair containing a couple of cubs. There, they defeated the Manticore, captured two cubs, and Farwanderer could escape largely unscathed.

We glean a couple of tiny new tidbits from the article. A Manticore's eyesight is a good as a bird's, which helps locate prey when flying. On the ground, their smell can pick up nearby metal; so while they may not see you clearly up close, they can smell your sword. Based on Spike Jones’ story, Manticore's only have 12 spikes, and they shoot out volleys of three darts at a time. There is no reason or mention why these Manticore have a different number of spikes. Its face is a detriment, making it hard to bite someone, requiring them to twist their head at a weird angle to get a real good bite on you. A Manticore's lair is messy, littered with the treasure it has taken from its victims. They may not be good at housekeeping, but they are still good at killing you.

3e/3.5e - Manticore

Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 6d10+24 (57 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 20 ft., fly 50 ft. (clumsy)
Armor Class: 17 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+15
Attack: Claw +10 melee (2d4+5) or 6 spikes +8 ranged (1d8+2/19–20)
Full Attack: 2 claws +10 melee (2d4+5) and bite +8 melee (1d8+2); or 6 spikes +8 ranged (1d8+2/19–20)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spikes
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 9
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +9, Survival +1
Feats: Flyby Attack, Multiattack, Track, Weapon Focus (spikes)
Environment: Warm marshes
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pride (3–6)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Lawful evil
Advancement: 7–16 HD (Large); 17–18 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: +3 (cohort)

The Monster Manual (2000/2003) brings the Manticore back to earth with a bizarre picture that leaves us with a lot of questions. The Manticore appears to have more of a leopard body than a lion, and its face is, well, horrific and not even a little bit human looking. The monster swaps its bat wings and returns to the glory of fabulous red dragon wings and now has curved barbs that run down its spine. The awful face on this creature is very reminiscent of a monkey and is covered in the same fur as the rest of the body. This depiction is quite different from the other editions, sure, but we wouldn't call it an improvement.

This edition does bring one exciting change we can all get behind. For the first time, the Manticore can speak common, and maybe we spoke too soon. We can just imagine what these creatures like to talk about, probably providing great detail on how it will rip your flesh from your bones and some tips on how to best prepare human meat. Luckily, you can easily escape the notice of these creatures by just not being a human, not tasting good, and that’s about it. They love to attack creatures, shooting their spikes of doom at you from 180 feet up in the sky above you, safely out of reach of your weapons. Once they run out of their spikes, they then shoot down to the ground with claws and teeth.

4e - Manticore

Level 10 Elite Skirmisher
Large natural magical beast (mount) / XP 1,000
Initiative +12 / Senses Perception +13
HP 210; Bloodied 105
AC 26; Fortitude 24, Reflex 24, Will 22
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6, fly 8, overland flight 10
Action Points 1
Claw (standard; at-will) +15 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 damage.
Spike (standard; at-will) Ranged 10; +15 vs. AC (see also guided sniper); 1d8 + 5 damage. Hit or Miss: The manticore shifts 3 squares after making the attack.
Manticore’s Fury (standard; at-will) The manticore makes a claw attack and a spike attack (in any order) and shift 1 square between the two attacks.
Spike Volley (standard; recharge 3-6) Area burst 1 within 10; +15 vs. AC (see also guided sniper); 1d8 + 5 damage.
Guided Sniper (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) ✦ Mount A manticore with a rider gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls with its spike attack and spike volley power
Alignment Chaotic evil / Languages Common
Skills Stealth +15
Str 21 (+10) Dex 20 (+10) Wis 17 (+8) Con 17 (+8) Int 4 (+2) Cha 12 (+6)

We find the Manticore in the 4th edition Monster Manual (2008). Beyond telling us about the spike-loaded tail, the only description we get is from the picture next to the stat block. The face looks slightly more human, but we think a vampire would be a better description with its red glowing eyes and its teeth. They now have three rows of teeth, so all the better to crunch your bones, and those teeth are constantly growing and falling out, often leaving teeth behind in the mangled corpses as evidence of their hunger. They are back to more or less their original design with a lion’s body, a barbed tail covered in spikes, dragon wings, and a… well, kind of humanoid face.

While the Manticore still speaks common, it will attack without remorse, and negotiating with it is an exercise in futility. A Manticore is generally an angry and pissed-off creature, so be ready for those tail spikes to your head if you bump into one. These creatures believe that there is one true pleasure in life and that is killing intelligent humanoids and eating their flesh. If you do think of trying to avoid these creatures, they largely stick to rocky mountain locations where they can fly high and keep their nests far from others.

The biggest, and oddest, change in this edition is that Manticores are now willing to be mounted and flown. In previous editions, Manticores would outright refuse to be mounted or had to be raised from birth to accept a rider. In this edition, they get even more dangerous as it empowers their flung spike attacks. Also, they are no longer restricted to just 24 spikes per day or per week; now they can launch a volley of spikes at you pretty much all day, every day, regaining their volley attack almost every other round of combat.

Luckily, we don’t leave this edition with just a single statblock and a bit of lore, unlike many of the past editions. The Manticore reappears in the Monster Vault (2010), along with four additional statblocks and ever greater detail about their lives and ecology. One of the most interesting things we learn is what happens if you try and get a Manticore to talk with you. Since they speak a language, they can converse with you, though they can get easily confused and tongue-tied. If you start using words or ideas that they don’t understand, they won’t ask you what the definition is, instead, they’ll use one of their iron spikes to stop your gibbering mouth. They get easily offended by those who act, and are, smarter than them and would rather use their teeth and claws than their words.

If we go back to our earlier confusion about mounted Manticores, we get a bit more clarification about being a possible rider. Manticore are willing to be mounts, but only so long as they are properly awarded treasure and meat. Hobgoblins, goblins, and devils are some of the most likely companions of Manticores, but even they aren’t safe if a Manticore gets bored of a fight. These monsters are wholly mercenary, willing to do anything for the proper reward. But they bore and grow tired easily and will abandon their temporary allies if the fight isn’t fun or they decide they’d rather take a nap. Which is a good strategy for those wanting to avoid fighting a Manticore, just be boring.

5e - Manticore

Large Monstrosity, lawful evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 68 (8d10+24)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.
STR 17 (+3) DEX 16 (+3) CON 17 (+3) INT 7 (-2) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 9 (-1)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Common
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Tail Spike Regrowth. The manticore has twenty-four tail spikes. Used spikes regrow when the manticore finishes a long rest.
Multiattack. The manticore makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws or three with its tail spikes.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Tail Spike. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/200 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Found in the Monster Manual (2014), we’ll skip the description as nothing changes and by this point, you know what this foul human-faced, lion-body, bat/dragon-winged creature looks like. They are ferocious and horrifying to behold, and if they were real, we’d never leave our basement where it is safe from aerial attacks by Manticores.

**Princes of the Apocalypse**, 2015 WotC

This classic monster gets a bit of information to go along with it and, while the Manticore isn’t outright called stupid, the writers imply it. While they may not be the most intelligent creature you’ll ever encounter, they might be the meanest. Their prefer to levy their spikes from high above until they run out of spikes, and then come swooping down with teeth and claws to claim their prize. If you happen to be a bit of a difficult meal to digest, the Manticore may not kill you. Instead, they are willing to talk and be bribed by treasure you might be carrying - though if negotiations break down, and we’re talking about a Manticore here, than they’ll just go for your jugular.

Manticores still have an OK work ethic, working for evil creatures who give them plenty of food and treasure. They often provide air support to goblinoid or orc armies, though they aren’t against betraying them if they’ll get a free meal out of it. They even now make friends with our Manticores, traveling in packs as they patrol their territory. This is only good for Manticores as they have several territorial rivals like chimeras, griffons, perytons, and wyverns who want nothing more than to eat a dead Manticore. Of course, the one thing that truly scares a Manticore is a dragon, as most sane creatures should be. Maybe Manticores aren’t as dumb as the writers make them out to be.

**Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage**, 2018 WotC

The Manticore has been a stable creature throughout the lifespan of Dungeons & Dragons, appearing as a horrific monster in each edition. While they may not be as scary as some other monsters, like a slaad or a kobold, they are still quite dangerous and every adventuring party should face one of these classic monsters during their first adventures.

If you enjoy our Deep Dive series, consider
supporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter!