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Aboleth 5e: Mind Control, Mucus and Fighting It Out of the Water
An aboleth is a CR 10 Large aberration with AC 17, 135 hit points (150 in the 2024 rules), a 40-foot swim speed and only 10 feet on land. It fights with tentacles that infect whoever they hit, three legendary actions a round, and a mind-control action that turns a party member into its servant: Enslave (DC 14 Wisdom, 3/day) in 2014, Dominate Mind (DC 16, 2/day) in 2024. The 2024 aboleth is the more dangerous of the two. It gets Legendary Resistance, grapples with 15-foot tentacles, feeds on grappled or charmed targets with psychic damage, and can dominate someone in the same turn it attacks.
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Aboleth Stat Block (2014)
This is the SRD 5.1 aboleth, the same stat block as the 2014 Monster Manual. The SRD version has no lair actions.
Aboleth
Large aberration, lawful evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 135 (18d10+36)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
STR
21 (+5)
DEX
9 (−1)
CON
15 (+2)
INT
18 (+4)
WIS
15 (+2)
CHA
18 (+4)
Saving Throws CON +6, INT +8, WIS +6
Skills History +12, Perception +10
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20
Languages Deep Speech, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (XP 5,900; PB +4)
Traits
Amphibious.The aboleth can breathe air and water.
Mucous Cloud.While underwater, the aboleth is surrounded by transformative mucus. A creature that touches the aboleth or that hits it with a melee attack while within 5 ft. of it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is diseased for 1d4 hours. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater.
Probing Telepathy.If a creature communicates telepathically with the aboleth, the aboleth learns the creature's greatest desires if the aboleth can see the creature.
Actions
Multiattack.The aboleth makes three tentacle attacks.
Tentacle.Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. The disease has no effect for 1 minute and can be removed by any magic that cures disease. After 1 minute, the diseased creature's skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can't regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.
Tail.Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Enslave (3/Day).The aboleth targets one creature it can see within 30 ft. of it. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed by the aboleth until the aboleth dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The charmed target is under the aboleth's control and can't take reactions, and the aboleth and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance. Whenever the charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the aboleth.
Legendary Actions
The aboleth can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The aboleth regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect.The aboleth makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Swipe.The aboleth makes one tail attack.
Psychic Drain (Costs 2 Actions).One creature charmed by the aboleth takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage, and the aboleth regains hit points equal to the damage the creature takes.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The 2014 aboleth's offense comes from two places. Its Multiattack is three tentacles (+9, 10-foot reach, 12 bludgeoning), and each hit forces a DC 14 Constitution save against a disease. Its legendary actions add up to three tail attacks (+9, 15 bludgeoning) between other creatures' turns. Enslave is a separate action, so any round it spends charming someone is a round without tentacles.
The disease is slow and nasty. It does nothing for 1 minute. After that, the victim's skin turns translucent and slimy, it can't regain hit points unless it's underwater, and outside water it takes 1d12 acid damage every 10 minutes unless its skin is kept wet. Only Heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher removes it once it has set in, Heal is a 6th-level spell, so a level 9 party can't cast it yet and has to keep the victim's skin wet until it finds someone who can. Inside the first minute, any magic that cures disease (Lesser Restoration, for instance) ends it.
On the defensive side, the 2014 aboleth has no Legendary Resistance and a Dexterity save of −1. Those two facts shape how players should fight it.
The Aboleth in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 aboleth (SRD 5.2.1) is a different fight built on grapples.
Aboleth
Large Aberration, Lawful Evil
Armor Class 17
Initiative +7 (17)
Hit Points 150 (20d10 + 40)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
STR
21 (+5)save +5
DEX
9 (−1)save +3
CON
15 (+2)save +6
INT
18 (+4)save +8
WIS
15 (+2)save +6
CHA
18 (+4)save +4
Skills History +12, Perception +10
Senses Darkvision 120 ft.; Passive Perception 20
Languages Deep Speech; telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 10 (XP 5,900, or 7,200 in lair; PB +4)
Traits
Amphibious.The aboleth can breathe air and water.
Eldritch Restoration.If destroyed, the aboleth gains a new body in 5d10 days, reviving with all its Hit Points in the Far Realm or another location chosen by the GM.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair).If the aboleth fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Mucus Cloud.While underwater, the aboleth is surrounded by mucus. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 14, each creature in a 5-foot Emanation originating from the aboleth at the end of the aboleth’s turn. Failure: The target is cursed. Until the curse ends, the target’s skin becomes slimy, the target can breathe air and water, and it can’t regain Hit Points unless it is underwater. While the cursed creature is outside a body of water, the creature takes 6 (1d12) Acid damage at the end of every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to its skin before those minutes have passed.
Probing Telepathy.If a creature the aboleth can see communicates telepathically with the aboleth, the aboleth learns the creature’s greatest desires.
Actions
Multiattack.The aboleth makes two Tentacle attacks and uses either Consume Memories or Dominate Mind if available.
Tentacle.Melee Attack Roll: +9, reach 15 ft. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) Bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 14) from one of four tentacles.
Consume Memories.Intelligence Saving Throw: DC 16, one creature within 30 feet that is Charmed or Grappled by the aboleth. Failure: 10 (3d6) Psychic damage. Success: Half damage. Failure or Success: The aboleth gains the target’s memories if the target is a Humanoid and is reduced to 0 Hit Points by this action.
Dominate Mind (2/Day).Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 16, one creature the aboleth can see within 30 feet. Failure: The target has the Charmed condition until the aboleth dies or is on a different plane of existence from the target. While Charmed, the target acts as an ally to the aboleth and is under its control while within 60 feet of it. In addition, the aboleth and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance. The target repeats the save whenever it takes damage as well as after every 24 hours it spends at least 1 mile away from the aboleth, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the aboleth can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The aboleth regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Lash.The aboleth makes one Tentacle attack.
Psychic Drain.If the aboleth has at least one creature Charmed or Grappled, it uses Consume Memories and regains 5 (1d10) Hit Points.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Aboleth
2024 Aboleth
CR (XP)
10 (5,900)
10 (5,900, or 7,200 in its lair)
AC / HP
17 / 135
17 / 150
Saving throws
Con +6, Int +8, Wis +6
Dex +3, Con +6, Int +8, Wis +6
Multiattack
Three Tentacles
Two Tentacles plus Consume Memories or Dominate Mind
Tentacle
10 ft. reach, 12 damage, disease (DC 14 Con)
15 ft. reach, 12 damage, Grappled (escape DC 14), up to four targets
Mind control
Enslave, 3/day, DC 14 Wis, its whole action
Dominate Mind, 2/day, DC 16 Wis, part of Multiattack
Psychic damage
Psychic Drain (2 legendary actions): 3d6 to a charmed creature
Consume Memories: 3d6, DC 16 Int, any charmed or grappled creature within 30 ft.
Legendary actions
3: Detect, Tail Swipe, Psychic Drain
3 (4 in lair): Lash, Psychic Drain
Legendary Resistance
None
3/day (4/day in lair)
Mucus
Touching or hitting it in melee underwater: DC 14 Con or diseased (breathe only underwater)
Everyone within 5 ft. at the end of its turn underwater: DC 14 Con or cursed
Other
Tail attack (+9, 15 damage), used through Tail Swipe
No tail; Eldritch Restoration: a new body 5d10 days after it's destroyed
The changes that matter most:
•Grapple, then feed. Every tentacle hit grapples a Large or smaller target. Consume Memories (DC 16 Intelligence save, 3d6 psychic, half on a success) works on anyone it has grappled or charmed, and the Psychic Drain legendary action repeats Consume Memories and heals 1d10. A 2024 aboleth with anyone in its tentacles can deal psychic damage four times a round.
•Mind control is free. Dominate Mind rides along with the tentacle attacks. In 2014 the aboleth had to choose.
•It can't be locked down cheaply. Three Legendary Resistances (four in its lair) burn through the party's best save-or-suck spells.
•The slime is a curse now, not a disease. In 2024 the victim can breathe water as well as air, can't regain hit points except underwater, and takes 1d12 acid every 10 minutes when dry. Because it's a curse, disease cures don't touch it. The 3rd-level Remove Curse spell ends it, along with every other curse on the creature.
•It comes back. Eldritch Restoration gives it a new body 5d10 days after death. Killing an aboleth in 2024 buys time; it doesn't end the story.
Lair notes. SRD 5.2.1 gives the aboleth only three lair numbers: 7,200 XP, four uses of Legendary Resistance and four legendary actions when it fights in its lair. The lair actions and regional effects printed in the Monster Manuals aren't in either SRD. If you use them, they come from your Monster Manual, not from this page.
How the Aboleth Fights
An aboleth is a genius (Intelligence 18) with telepathy and History +12. It doesn't fight fair, and it doesn't fight on land if it can help it.
Pick the ground. Its land speed is 10 feet. In water it moves 40. Its lair should put the party on narrow ledges or in waist-deep water with the aboleth in a deep pool next to them. Characters without a swim speed have Disadvantage on melee weapon attacks underwater (in 2014 unless they use a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear or trident; in 2024 unless the weapon deals piercing damage), and ranged weapon attacks underwater automatically miss beyond normal range and have Disadvantage within it (in 2014, crossbows, nets and thrown weapons like javelins are exempt from the Disadvantage). Fire damage is resisted by anything underwater, including the aboleth.
Open with the mind. Before initiative, the aboleth talks. Probing Telepathy shows it the greatest desire of anyone it can see who answers it telepathically, and it uses that to bargain. In combat, the first target of Enslave or Dominate Mind is the character most likely to fail a Wisdom save and hit hard: usually the barbarian, fighter or rogue.
•2014 Enslave: DC 14 Wisdom. A fighter with +1 Wisdom fails on 12 or lower, 60% of the time. The aboleth spends its action, then follows with three tail swipes as legendary actions.
•2024 Dominate Mind: DC 16 Wisdom. The same fighter fails on 14 or lower, 70% of the time. The aboleth also gets its two tentacle attacks that turn.
A dominated fighter is the aboleth's best weapon. In 2014 the charmed creature can't take reactions and is under the aboleth's control. In 2024 it acts as the aboleth's ally and is under its control while within 60 feet. Send the fighter after the cleric.
Damage per round. Against AC 18, a +9 attack hits on a 9 or better, 60% of the time.
•2014, all-out: three tentacles (3 × 0.6 × 12 = 21.6) plus three Tail Swipes (3 × 0.6 × 15 = 27) is about 49 damage a round, before disease.
•2024, grappling: two tentacles (14.4) plus Consume Memories on a grappled fighter with +0 Intelligence (fails on 15 or lower, 75%: 0.75 × 10 + 0.25 × 5 = 8.75) plus three Psychic Drains (another 26 psychic and about 16 hit points of healing) is about 49 a round too, but most of it ignores AC. A wizard with +7 to Intelligence saves takes far less; a fighter or barbarian takes almost all of it.
Use the thralls as a shield. Whenever the charmed creature takes damage it gets a new save, so a smart aboleth keeps its thrall out of the party's line of fire and makes the party choose between hurting their friend and leaving it in the fight.
Flee before it dies. An aboleth that drops below 40 hit points dives. With a 40-foot swim speed and the party stuck on the ledge, it simply leaves. In 2024 it doesn't even need to escape: Eldritch Restoration means death is a setback, and it might fight to the end out of contempt.
Running an Aboleth Encounter
The aboleth is a solo or near-solo boss for a level 9 to 12 party. Under the 2024 rules, the XP budget per character is 1,300 / 2,000 / 2,600 at level 9 and 1,900 / 2,900 / 4,100 at level 11 (Low / Moderate / High).
Party (4 characters)
2024 budget (Low / Moderate / High)
Aboleth encounter
Level 9
5,200 / 8,000 / 10,400
Aboleth (5,900) or aboleth in its lair (7,200): Moderate; in lair + 2 chuul (9,400): High
Level 11
7,600 / 11,600 / 16,400
In lair + 2 chuul (9,400): Moderate; in lair + 4 chuul (11,600): top of Moderate; a fifth chuul makes it High
The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, used by our encounter calculator, put a single aboleth (5,900 XP) at Medium for four level 10 characters (party thresholds 2,400 Easy, 4,800 Medium, 7,600 Hard, 11,200 Deadly). Adding two chuul makes 8,100 XP, doubled to 16,200 for a group of three: well past Deadly.
The XP doesn't count the thralls. If the aboleth dominates a party member, the encounter just gained a level 9 character on the monster's side. Plan for that before you add extra creatures: a lone aboleth that lands one Dominate Mind is a hard fight.
Good allies are aquatic and servile: chuul, sahuagin, a giant octopus, or ordinary Humanoids it has dominated. Underwater-capable thralls also let it fight in the pool while they guard the shore.
How Players Beat an Aboleth
•Protection from Evil and Good. It covers Aberrations in both editions. The warded creature can't be charmed by the aboleth and the aboleth has Disadvantage on attacks against it. Cast it on the character with the worst Wisdom save before the fight. Clerics, paladins, warlocks, wizards and (in 2024) druids have it.
•Wake up the thrall. A charmed character repeats the save whenever it takes damage. A single 1-damage cantrip gives the 2014 thrall a DC 14 save and the 2024 thrall a DC 16 save. In 2024, also try to get the thrall more than 60 feet from the aboleth, where it's still charmed but no longer under control.
•Fight it on land. Out of water its speed is 10 feet. Lure it into shallow water or block the pool. Control Water (4th level) can part the water and leave it stranded on the pool floor.
•Target the right save. The 2014 aboleth has Dexterity −1 and no Legendary Resistance: Lightning Bolt and other Dexterity-save spells land most of the time. The 2024 aboleth has Dexterity +3 and Charisma +4 and three Legendary Resistances. Bait them out with cheap saves first, then cast the spell that matters.
•Break the grapple (2024). Escape is an action and a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 14. Getting out of the tentacles also stops Consume Memories and Psychic Drain unless you're charmed.
•Bring the cure. For the 2014 disease, Lesser Restoration within the first minute is cheap. After that you need a 6th-level cure. For the 2024 curse, Remove Curse ends it.
What doesn't work well: Dominate Monster and Banishment are fine against the 2014 aboleth but run into Legendary Resistance in 2024. Hold Person can't target it at all, since it isn't a Humanoid.
Aboleth Encounter Ideas
The drowned priest. A coastal temple's high priest walked into the sea during a storm and came back three days later, preaching that the gods are lies. His skin is translucent and wet. He's a dominated thrall, cursed by the mucus, and the aboleth sees through him. The party can follow him to the sea cave where he goes every night to "pray," or break the domination and learn what he told it.
The memory market. A merchant in the city sells memories: drink from her cup and relive someone's best day. The memories are real. They come from Humanoids the aboleth killed with Consume Memories, and the merchant is one of its dominated thralls. Buying one gives a character a clue the aboleth wanted them to find.
The flooded archive. A scholar hires the party to recover books from a library that flooded a century ago. The aboleth lives in the reading room and has read every book. It offers a trade: it tells them what they want to know, and in return one of them carries something out for it. It already knows what each of them wants most.
Aboleth plots run for months, and players forget which NPC was dominated in which session. Loreify can record the session and track every NPC the party met, so you can check who answered the aboleth's telepathy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is an aboleth in 5e?
An aboleth is CR 10 (5,900 XP) in both editions. In the 2024 rules it's worth 7,200 XP when encountered in its lair.
How does an aboleth's Enslave work?
In the 2014 rules, Enslave is an action usable 3 times per day: one creature within 30 feet makes a DC 14 Wisdom save or is charmed and under the aboleth's control until the aboleth dies or they're on different planes. The target repeats the save whenever it takes damage, and once every 24 hours when it's at least a mile away.
What is Dominate Mind in the 2024 aboleth?
Dominate Mind replaces Enslave in the 2024 rules. It's usable twice per day as part of Multiattack, with a DC 16 Wisdom save. A charmed target acts as the aboleth's ally and is under its control while within 60 feet, and it repeats the save when it takes damage or after every 24 hours spent at least a mile away.
Does the aboleth have Legendary Resistance?
Only in the 2024 rules: 3 per day, or 4 per day in its lair. The 2014 aboleth has legendary actions but no Legendary Resistance.
How do you cure the aboleth's disease or curse?
The 2014 tentacle disease can be cured by any disease-curing magic in its first minute; after that only Heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher works. The 2024 mucus effect is a curse, which Remove Curse ends.
Does the aboleth have lair actions?
Not in the SRD. SRD 5.2.1 only says that in its lair the 2024 aboleth is worth 7,200 XP and gets four uses of Legendary Resistance and four legendary actions. The lair actions themselves are in the Monster Manuals.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.