Manticore 5e: Stats, Tail Spike Volleys and the Fight in the Air

A manticore is a CR 3 Large monstrosity with AC 14, 68 hit points, a 50-foot fly speed and a tail that fires three spikes a turn at +5 to hit, 7 damage each, out to 100 feet. That ranged volley is the whole fight: a manticore that stays airborne can shoot a party that has no way to reach it. In the 2014 rules it carries 24 spikes, enough for eight volleys before it has to land. The 2024 manticore drops that limit, so it can shoot all day.

Table of Contents

• •Manticore Stat Block (2014)
• •The Manticore in the 2024 Rules
• •How Manticores Fight
• •How Many Manticores for Your Party?
• •How Players Beat Manticores
• •Manticore Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Manticore Stat Block (2014)

This is the manticore from SRD 5.1, the same creature as the 2014 Monster Manual.

The Multiattack is a fork. Either the manticore bites once and claws twice (7 + 6 + 6 = 19 damage if everything lands), or it fires three tail spikes (7 each, 21 total) at targets up to 100 feet away, 200 with disadvantage. Same attack bonus, same rough damage, but one option needs it on the ground next to the fighter and the other lets it hover out of reach.

Tail Spike Regrowth is the 2014 limit: 24 spikes, regrowing only after a long rest. Three spikes per volley means eight volleys. Eight rounds is longer than most fights, so in practice the limit matters across several encounters in one day, not inside one.

The Manticore in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 manticore (SRD 5.2.1) keeps the same AC, hit points, speeds, ability scores, CR and Common language. Its attacks are simplified.

Two changes matter at the table:

• •It can mix melee and ranged. A 2024 manticore can Rend the fighter in front of it and put a spike into the wizard 60 feet back in the same turn. The 2014 version has to pick one mode for all three attacks.
• •No ammunition. A 2024 manticore never runs dry, so "outlast it" stops being a plan. Melee damage also rises slightly: three Rends average 21 against the 2014 bite-and-claws total of 19.

How Manticores Fight

A manticore should almost never land. It has a 50-foot fly speed, darkvision and no reason to trade blows with a sword-and-board fighter.

Hover and shoot. The ideal position is 30 to 60 feet up and 60 to 100 feet away: inside normal spike range, beyond most thrown weapons and well past melee reach. Every turn it fires three spikes and moves. Against AC 15:

A +5 attack hits AC 15 on a 10 or higher. Disadvantage means both d20s need 10 or more: 0.55 × 0.55, about 30%.

The numbers show why it stays at range: the volley does as much damage as melee and costs the manticore nothing. Concentrate all three spikes on one target. Eleven or twelve damage a round is enough to drop a level 3 wizard in two turns.

Pick targets that can't answer. The manticore is smart enough (Intelligence 7) to notice who is shooting back. It should hover over the fighter with the greatsword and spike the archer, not the other way round. If the party has no ranged damage at all, the fight becomes a slow execution, and you should signal that early with a warning volley or a demand.

When it lands (2014). A 2014 manticore that has spent its spikes, or that faces a party it can't hurt from the air, drops onto the most isolated character for bite and claws. With 68 hit points and AC 14 it doesn't last long in a melee scrum, so have it pick off a stray scout or a downed character's rescuer rather than charge the whole group.

Leaving. It has no Flyby trait, so flying away from a character in reach provokes an opportunity attack. A 2024 manticore that Rends someone should spike someone else with its remaining attacks and then fly off on its next turn, taking one opportunity attack, rather than staying in melee. At half hit points (34), it should leave. It speaks Common and is lawful evil, so a wounded manticore is a good candidate for a deal: safe passage for its life, or information for a meal.

How Many Manticores for Your Party?

A manticore is worth 700 XP. Using the 2024 SRD budget per character:

Two manticores are much harder than the XP suggests if the party has only one or two ranged attackers. Six spikes a round on one character is about 23 damage at AC 15.

Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, which our encounter calculator uses, two manticores count as 2,100 XP after the ×1.5 group multiplier. That is Deadly for four level 3 characters (threshold 1,600) and Medium for four level 5 characters (threshold 2,000).

How Players Beat Manticores

• •Bring ranged damage. The manticore's defense is altitude. Longbows, crossbows and cantrips like Eldritch Blast answer it. A party of four melee characters needs a plan before the fight, not during it.
• •Knock it out of the sky. A flying creature that has the Prone condition falls unless it can hover, and the manticore can't. Command with "Grovel" does exactly this. It fails a DC 13 save on an 11 or lower (55%, with its +1 Wisdom), then drops and takes 1d6 per 10 feet fallen. The 2014 version of Command needs a target that understands your language, which the manticore does: it speaks Common.
• •Fight under cover. Spikes need line of sight. Three-quarters cover adds +5 to AC, which cuts a spike's hit chance against AC 15 from 55% to 30%. Tree canopy, a covered bridge or a cave mouth turns the fight in the party's favor, since the Large manticore can't follow into tight spaces.
• •Target its weak saves. Intelligence (−2) and Charisma (−1) are its worst, but few low-level spells use them. Dexterity is +3, so Faerie Fire is less reliable than usual. Wisdom (+1) is the practical target.
• •Make it land. In 2014, outlasting it works: after eight volleys the manticore must come down to fight. Count the spikes out loud at the table. The 2024 manticore has no limit, so this tactic doesn't apply.

Manticore Encounter Ideas

The pass contract. A manticore has guarded a mountain pass for years under a deal with the village below: one sheep a week, and it kills anything else that tries the road. A new village reeve has stopped paying. The manticore is still keeping its side of the bargain, with interest. The party can fight it, renegotiate, or find out why the reeve wants travelers to stop coming.

Spikes in the wagon. The party finds a wrecked caravan with 21 tail spikes in the wagon boards and the oxen. Anyone who knows (or rolls a good Nature check) can work out it has three spikes left. It's on foot nearby, feeding, and it will have a full tail again by morning. Hunt it tonight or face it at full strength tomorrow. This one works only with the 2014 stat block.

The bell tower. A manticore nests in a ruined town's bell tower, 40 feet up, with a clear view of the square. The square is 150 feet of open cobbles, and the tower sits on one edge, so most of it is inside the 100-foot normal range of its spikes. The party needs to cross to reach the chapel crypt. Smoke, a shield wall or a distraction all work. A character with a 30-foot speed who Dashes across eats two or three volleys.

If your campaign runs into a manticore that wants to bargain, Loreify can record the session so the terms it agreed to are still on file when it comes back to collect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a manticore in 5e?

A manticore is CR 3 and worth 700 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 14, 68 hit points and a 50-foot fly speed.

How many tail spikes does a manticore have?

The 2014 manticore has 24 tail spikes, fires three per volley and regrows used spikes on a long rest, so it gets eight volleys a day. The 2024 manticore has no spike count at all.

Can a manticore talk?

Yes. Both the 2014 and 2024 stat blocks list Common as its language, and its Intelligence is 7. It can threaten, bargain and beg, which makes it easier to run as a negotiator than most CR 3 monsters.

How much damage does a manticore do per round?

Up to 21 with three tail spikes or three 2024 Rends, and up to 19 with the 2014 bite and two claws. Against AC 15, each +5 attack hits 55% of the time, so expect about 11 damage a round.

What's the difference between a manticore and a chimera?

Both are flying Large monstrosities, but they fight differently. The manticore (CR 3) shoots from range with tail spikes. The chimera (CR 6) has 114 hit points, fights in melee with three attacks and breathes a 15-foot cone of fire for 31 damage.

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.