Magmin 5e: Small, Burning and Dangerous to Kill

A magmin is a CR 1/2 Small fire Elemental with AC 14, 9 hit points (13 in 2024), immunity to fire, and a touch that deals 7 fire damage and sets the target on fire. Its defining trait is Death Burst: when it dies, it explodes, and every creature within 10 feet makes a DC 11 Dexterity save or takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. The fighter who kills it is the one who gets burned. The 2024 magmin has more hit points but loses its resistance to nonmagical weapons, and its burning now follows the 2024 Burning hazard rules.

Table of Contents

• •Magmin Stat Block (2014)
• •The Magmin in the 2024 Rules
• •How Magmins Fight
• •How Many Magmins for a Low-Level Party?
• •How Players Beat Magmins
• •Magmin Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Magmin Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 magmin:

Its touch is +4 to hit for 7 (2d6) fire damage. A creature or flammable object it hits ignites and takes 3 (1d6) fire damage at the end of each of its turns until the burning target uses an action to douse the fire. That ongoing damage is the real cost: at level 1, a burning character either spends their action putting themselves out or keeps losing 3.5 hit points a round.

At 9 hit points it should die fast, but in 2014 it resists bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks. A level 1 fighter's longsword deals half damage, which roughly doubles its effective hit points against weapons.

Ignited Illumination lets it light or extinguish itself as a bonus action. Lit, it sheds bright light for 10 feet and dim light for 10 more. Unlit, a magmin in a dark tunnel is just a small shape with darkvision 60 feet.

The Magmin in the 2024 Rules

The SRD 5.2.1 magmin keeps CR 1/2, AC 14 and the explosion.

Burning in 2024. The SRD 5.2.1 Burning hazard deals 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of the burning creature's turns. To put it out, the creature uses an action to give itself the Prone condition and roll on the ground, or the fire goes out if it's doused, submerged or suffocated. So the 2024 burn is smaller (2.5 a round instead of 3.5) but costs an action and leaves you prone.

The 2024 Touch text says the target starts burning "if the target is a creature or a flammable object that isn't being worn or carried". Read plainly, any creature it hits starts burning; only objects need to be unattended.

The 2014 magmin with 9 HP and weapon resistance is effectively tougher against a martial party than the 2024 magmin with 13 HP and no resistance. Against spellcasters, the 2024 one lasts longer.

How Magmins Fight

Swarm, because they can. Magmins are immune to fire, so a Death Burst doesn't hurt other magmins. Five of them can pile onto one character, and every one that dies burns the character again. A party that kills three magmins in melee around the fighter has dealt the fighter up to 21 fire damage on failed saves.

Touch the unarmored. Its +4 hits AC 14 on a 10 (55%), or about 3.9 damage per attempt before the burn. It wants the wizard or the rogue, not the paladin in splint mail (AC 17, hits on 13+, 40%).

Set the room on fire. In 2014, its Death Burst ignites flammable objects that aren't worn or carried. A magmin that runs into a storeroom of hay or oil casks before it dies turns a small fight into a burning building. In 2024, its touch still sets unattended flammable objects burning.

Go dark, then light up. Unlit magmins in a cave are hard to spot. When they're ready to attack, they all ignite with a bonus action at once. It's a good ambush tell for the players: the room suddenly fills with light.

How Many Magmins for a Low-Level Party?

Four level 1 characters have a 2024 budget of 200 (Low), 300 (Moderate) and 400 (High):

The 2014 column uses the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide thresholds and group multiplier, as our encounter calculator does. The gap between the editions is large here because the 2014 multiplier doubles the XP of any group of 3 to 6 creatures.

At level 1, be careful with Death Burst. A 7-damage explosion on a failed save can drop a wizard with 6 hit points who happened to be standing next to the fighter. For a first-level party, three magmins is plenty.

How Players Beat Magmins

• •Kill them at range. Death Burst only reaches 10 feet. Archers and spellcasters who kill a magmin from 15 feet away take nothing.
• •Don't use fire. Fire Bolt, Burning Hands and Fireball do nothing to it.
• •Use spells against the 2014 version. Its resistance applies only to nonmagical weapon damage. Magic Missile (three darts, 3.5 force each) kills a 9 HP magmin on average without an attack roll. Thunderwave kills one on a failed save 56% of the time (2d8 rolls 9 or more), but its 15-foot cube starts at the caster, so a magmin that dies at the near edge bursts within 10 feet of the caster.
• •Step away before the last hit. Shoving a magmin 5 feet away, or hitting it with a 10-foot reach weapon, still leaves you within 10 feet of the burst. Back off and let a ranged character finish it.
• •Carry water. In 2014, an action douses the fire. In 2024, dousing or submerging puts out the Burning hazard without the prone roll. Create or Destroy Water can make rain in a 30-foot cube that extinguishes exposed flames, which puts out every burning character in the area (and a lit magmin's glow).

Magmin Encounter Ideas

The glassworks. A glassblower's furnace was built over a vent, and magmins started crawling out of it. The glassblower has been feeding them broken bottles to keep them calm. When the party arrives, the glassblower is out of bottles.

The lantern thieves. In a mining town, lanterns are going missing and miners are coming back burned. The magmins in the lower tunnels keep themselves dark and only light up when they attack, and they collect lanterns because they like the glass.

The courier. A salamander sends a magmin with a message for the party. It is chaotic neutral and impatient. If they insult it, it will deliver the message and then touch the nearest wooden building.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a magmin in 5e?

The magmin is CR 1/2 (100 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 14 and 9 hit points in 2014 or 13 in 2024.

What happens when a magmin dies?

It explodes. Each creature within 10 feet makes a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage on a failure or half as much on a success. In the 2014 rules, the explosion also ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

Does Death Burst hurt other magmins?

No. Magmins are immune to fire damage in both editions, so a magmin exploding next to another magmin doesn't harm it.

How do you put out a magmin's fire?

In the 2014 rules, a burning target takes 1d6 fire damage at the end of each of its turns until it uses an action to douse the fire. In the 2024 rules, the target is Burning: it takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns, and it can put the fire out with an action by going Prone and rolling, or by being doused, submerged or suffocated.

Is a magmin resistant to nonmagical weapons?

The 2014 magmin resists bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks. The 2024 magmin has no damage resistances, only fire immunity.

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.