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Darkmantle 5e: Darkness, Then a Face Full of Darkmantle
A darkmantle is a CR 1/2 Small cave predator with AC 11, 22 hit points, blindsight 60 feet and two actions that work as a pair. Darkness Aura (1/day) fills 15 feet around it with magical darkness that darkvision can't see through. Inside it, the darkmantle can perceive the party and the party can't see it, so its Crush attack has advantage, and a Crush with advantage wraps around a Medium or smaller target's head: Blinded and unable to breathe until it's pried off or killed. The 2024 version is an Aberration, loses its stalactite camouflage, says the victim "is suffocating", and lets only the victim try to pull it off.
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Darkmantle Stat Block (2014)
Darkmantle
Small monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 22 (5d6+5)
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft.
STR
16 (+3)
DEX
12 (+1)
CON
13 (+1)
INT
2 (−4)
WIS
10 (+0)
CHA
5 (−3)
Skills Stealth +3
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (XP 100; PB +2)
Traits
Echolocation.The darkmantle can't use its blindsight while deafened.
False Appearance.While the darkmantle remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a cave formation such as a stalactite or stalagmite.
Actions
Crush.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the darkmantle attaches to the target. If the target is Medium or smaller and the darkmantle has advantage on the attack roll, it attaches by engulfing the target's head, and the target is also blinded and unable to breathe while the darkmantle is attached in this way. While attached to the target, the darkmantle can attack no other creature except the target but has advantage on its attack rolls. The darkmantle's speed also becomes 0, it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed, and it moves with the target. A creature can detach the darkmantle by making a successful DC 13 Strength check as an action. On its turn, the darkmantle can detach itself from the target by using 5 feet of movement.
Darkness Aura (1/Day).A 15-foot radius of magical darkness extends out from the darkmantle, moves with it, and spreads around corners. The darkness lasts as long as the darkmantle maintains concentration, up to 10 minutes (as if concentrating on a spell). Darkvision can't penetrate this darkness, and no natural light can illuminate it. If any of the darkness overlaps with an area of light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower, the spell creating the light is dispelled.
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.
Three 2014 traits shape the ambush. False Appearance makes a motionless darkmantle indistinguishable from a stalactite or stalagmite. Echolocation switches off its blindsight while it's deafened. And the 2014 Darkness Aura spreads around corners and dispels any overlapping light from a spell of 2nd level or lower, so a Light cantrip or Continual Flame goes out when it touches the aura.
The Darkmantle in the 2024 Rules
Darkmantle
Small Aberration, Unaligned
Armor Class 11
Initiative +3 (13)
Hit Points 22 (5d6 + 5)
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft.
STR
16 (+3)save +3
DEX
12 (+1)save +1
CON
13 (+1)save +1
INT
2 (−4)save −4
WIS
10 (+0)save +0
CHA
5 (−3)save −3
Skills Stealth +3
Senses Blindsight 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10
Languages None
Challenge 1/2 (XP 100; PB +2)
Actions
Crush.Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Bludgeoning damage, and the darkmantle attaches to the target. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature and the darkmantle had Advantage on the attack roll, it covers the target, which has the Blinded condition and is suffocating while the darkmantle is attached in this way. While attached to a target, the darkmantle can attack only the target but has Advantage on its attack rolls. Its Speed becomes 0, it can’t benefit from any bonus to its Speed, and it moves with the target. A creature can take an action to try to detach the darkmantle from itself, doing so with a successful DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. On its turn, the darkmantle can detach itself by using 5 feet of movement.
Darkness Aura (1/Day).Magical Darkness fills a 15-foot Emanation originating from the darkmantle. This effect lasts while the darkmantle maintains Concentration on it, up to 10 minutes. Darkvision can’t penetrate this area, and no light can illuminate it.
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
2024
Type
Monstrosity
Aberration
Camouflage
False Appearance
None
Echolocation weakness
Yes (deafened = no blindsight)
No
Darkness Aura
15-ft. radius, no natural light, dispels light spells of 2nd level or lower
15-ft. Emanation, no light of any kind can illuminate it
Head cover effect
Blinded, unable to breathe
Blinded, suffocating
Who can detach it
Any creature, action, DC 13 Strength check
The target itself, action, DC 13 Strength (Athletics)
CR, AC, HP, speeds and the Crush's +5 for 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning are unchanged.
How Darkmantles Fight
Turn 1: darkness. Darkness Aura is an action and needs concentration, up to 10 minutes. Everyone within 15 feet of the darkmantle is now in magical darkness. Characters there effectively can't see; the darkmantle's blindsight ignores it.
Turn 2: crush with advantage. Attacking a creature that can't see you gives advantage. Against AC 15 the +5 Crush hits on a 10 or higher, about 80% of the time with advantage. A hit with advantage on a Medium or smaller target covers its head: blinded and unable to breathe.
Then hang on. While attached, every Crush has advantage and the darkmantle moves with its victim. Damage is low, about 5 a round. The danger is the breathing:
•2014: the target is "unable to breathe." Under the SRD 5.1 suffocation rules it can hold its breath for 1 + its Constitution modifier minutes (minimum 30 seconds); after that it survives rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1) and then drops to 0 hit points.
•2024: the target "is suffocating." SRD 5.2.1 defines Suffocation as a hazard: a creature can hold its breath for 1 + its Constitution modifier minutes (minimum 30 seconds) before suffocation begins. Once it runs out of breath, it gains 1 Exhaustion level at the end of each of its turns, and it removes those levels when it can breathe again. Read against that definition, the covered creature starts holding its breath when the darkmantle lands.
Either way, even the 30-second minimum is 5 rounds, and a darkmantle with 22 HP rarely survives that long once the party notices. The blindness and the darkness matter more than the air.
DM ruling, not rules text: some DMs read "is suffocating" as "already out of breath", so the victim gains Exhaustion at the end of every turn it's covered (each level is −2 to d20 Tests, including the Strength (Athletics) check to pull the darkmantle off). That is much harsher than the glossary definition, and it makes a CR 1/2 creature a real killer. If you use it, tell the players before the session, not mid-fight.
Without the aura, it drops from the ceiling. In 2014, False Appearance hides it until it moves, and an attack from hiding has advantage. The 2024 darkmantle has only Stealth +3 and has to rely on darkness and surprise.
Running a Darkmantle Encounter
For four level 1 characters, the 2024 Low budget (200 XP) buys two darkmantles and Moderate (300 XP) buys three. Four darkmantles (400 XP) are Low for level 2.
Under the 2014 guidelines in our encounter calculator, two darkmantles count as 300 XP: Hard for four level 1 characters.
Two darkmantles whose auras overlap can black out a 30-foot cave mouth. Pair them with a grick or a roper for a cave the party should fear entering.
How Players Beat a Darkmantle
•Break concentration. The aura lasts only while it concentrates. Each hit forces a Constitution save (DC 10 or half the damage) with only a +1, so it fails about 40% of the time, and 22 HP doesn't last long anyway.
•Pull it off. In 2014, any ally can take an action and make a DC 13 Strength check to detach it. In 2024, only the covered creature can try, with Strength (Athletics), so allies should kill it instead.
•Cancel its advantage (2024). It's an Aberration, so Protection from Evil and Good gives it disadvantage on attacks against the warded creature. Advantage and disadvantage cancel, which means no head cover.
•Deafen it (2014). Echolocation means a deafened darkmantle loses blindsight. The Silence spell does this.
•Fight outside 15 feet. Its darkness is 15 feet around it and it flies at only 30 feet. Archers outside the aura can target the black sphere, though they're attacking a creature they can't see.
Darkmantle Encounter Ideas
The lamp-lighters' tunnel. Miners report that in one stretch of tunnel their lanterns stop giving any light. Two miners came back blind and gasping, one didn't come back. Three darkmantles hang among the real stalactites.
The shrine's lamps. A roadside shrine keeps a lamp burning under a rock overhang, and travelers leave offerings beside it. A darkmantle has learned that people who come to relight the lamp kneel right under its perch. The party arrives to find the lamp out and a pilgrim's pack on the floor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a darkmantle in 5e?
CR 1/2, worth 100 XP, in both editions.
How does the darkmantle's Darkness Aura work?
Once per day, as an action, it fills a 15-foot area around itself with magical darkness for up to 10 minutes while it concentrates. Darkvision can't see through it. In 2014 no natural light illuminates it and it dispels light spells of 2nd level or lower; in 2024 no light of any kind can illuminate it.
Can a darkmantle suffocate you?
It can cover a Medium or smaller target's head if it hits with advantage. In both editions the normal hold-your-breath rules apply first: 1 + Constitution modifier minutes, minimum 30 seconds. In 2024, once that breath runs out, the target gains an Exhaustion level at the end of each of its turns until it can breathe.
Is the darkmantle an aberration?
In the 2024 rules, yes. In the 2014 rules it's a Monstrosity.
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.