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Otyugh 5e: Stats, Grapples, Disease and the 2024 Changes
An otyugh is a CR 5 Large aberration with AC 14, 114 hit points (104 in 2024), two 10-foot tentacles that grab Medium or smaller creatures, and a bite that infects its victims with a disease that eats their maximum hit points. The fight it wants is simple: grab two characters, then smash them into each other with Tentacle Slam until they are stunned. It also has one-way telepathy, so it can tell the party exactly what it wants, even though they can't answer back the same way. The 2024 version hits harder with its tentacles and slam but no longer restrains the people it holds.
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Otyugh Stat Block (2014)
The otyugh from SRD 5.1, the same stat block as the 2014 Monster Manual.
Otyugh
Large aberration, neutral
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d10+48)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
16 (+3)
DEX
11 (+0)
CON
19 (+4)
INT
6 (−2)
WIS
13 (+1)
CHA
6 (−2)
Saving Throws CON +7
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Otyugh
Challenge 5 (XP 1,800; PB +3)
Traits
Limited Telepathy.The otyugh can magically transmit simple messages and images to any creature within 120 ft. of it that can understand a language. This form of telepathy doesn't allow the receiving creature to telepathically respond.
Actions
Multiattack.The otyugh makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its tentacles.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw against disease or become poisoned until the disease is cured. Every 24 hours that elapse, the target must repeat the saving throw, reducing its hit point maximum by 5 (1d10) on a failure. The disease is cured on a success. The target dies if the disease reduces its hit point maximum to 0. This reduction to the target's hit point maximum lasts until the disease is cured.
Tentacle.Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 13) and restrained until the grapple ends. The otyugh has two tentacles, each of which can grapple one target.
Tentacle Slam.The otyugh slams creatures grappled by it into each other or a solid surface. Each creature must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage and be stunned until the end of the otyugh's next turn. On a successful save, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn't stunned.
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 otyugh has two different turns:
•Multiattack: a bite (+6, 12 piercing) and two tentacles (+6, 10-foot reach, 7 bludgeoning plus 4 piercing each). A tentacle hit on a Medium or smaller creature grapples it (escape DC 13) and leaves it restrained until the grapple ends. Each tentacle holds one creature.
•Tentacle Slam: instead of attacking, it slams everyone it is holding into each other or a wall. Each makes a DC 14 Constitution save or takes 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage and is stunned until the end of the otyugh's next turn. A success halves the damage and avoids the stun.
The bite carries disease. A creature it bites makes a DC 15 Constitution save or is poisoned until the disease is cured. Every 24 hours it repeats the save: a failure reduces its hit point maximum by 5 (1d10), a success cures the disease. If the disease drops its maximum to 0, it dies.
Limited Telepathy lets the otyugh push simple messages and images into the mind of any creature within 120 feet that understands a language. The receiver can't reply telepathically. Its only spoken language is Otyugh.
The Otyugh in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 otyugh (SRD 5.2.1) keeps CR 5 and 1,800 XP.
Otyugh
Large Aberration, Neutral
Armor Class 14
Initiative +0 (10)
Hit Points 104 (11d10 + 44)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
16 (+3)save +3
DEX
11 (+0)save +0
CON
19 (+4)save +7
INT
6 (−2)save −2
WIS
13 (+1)save +1
CHA
6 (−2)save −2
Senses Darkvision 120 ft.; Passive Perception 11
Languages Otyugh; telepathy 120 ft. (doesn’t allow the receiving creature to respond telepathically)
Challenge 5 (XP 1,800; PB +3)
Actions
Multiattack.The otyugh makes one Bite attack and two Tentacle attacks.
Bite.Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing damage, and the target has the Poisoned condition. Whenever the Poisoned target finishes a Long Rest, it is subjected to the following effect. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 15. Failure: The target’s Hit Point maximum decreases by 5 (1d10) and doesn’t return to normal until the Poisoned condition ends on the target. Success: The Poisoned condition ends.
Tentacle.Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 10 ft. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13) from one of two tentacles.
Tentacle Slam.Constitution Saving Throw: DC 14, each creature Grappled by the otyugh. Failure: 16 (3d8 + 3) Bludgeoning damage, and the target has the Stunned condition until the start of the otyugh’s next turn. Success: Half damage only.
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 Otyugh
2024 Otyugh
HP
114
104
Tentacle
7 bludgeoning + 4 piercing; grapple and restrain
12 (2d8 + 3) piercing; grapple only
Tentacle Slam
10 damage, stunned until end of its next turn
16 (3d8 + 3) damage, stunned until start of its next turn
Bite disease
DC 15 Con on hit or poisoned; daily save, −1d10 max HP on a failure
Poisoned automatically on hit; DC 15 Con save after each Long Rest, −1d10 max HP on a failure
Telepathy
Limited Telepathy trait
Telepathy 120 ft. in its languages (receiver can't respond telepathically)
What changes at the table:
•Held characters can fight back. A grappled 2024 character isn't restrained. It can attack the otyugh normally, and attacks against it don't get Advantage.
•The stun is shorter but can repeat every round. A 2024 slam stuns until the start of the otyugh's next turn, so the victim loses exactly its own turn. The otyugh then slams again. A 2014 slam lasts through the otyugh's next turn, which sets up a full Multiattack with Advantage on stunned targets.
•Every bite poisons. There is no save on the hit in 2024. The save comes only when the character finishes a Long Rest, and a success ends the poison.
How the Otyugh Fights
Turn one: grab two. The otyugh opens with Multiattack. Against AC 16, +6 hits on a 10 or better (55%), so it averages about 19 damage a round (6.6 from the bite, 12.1 from two 2014 tentacles; 2024 tentacles push it to about 20). More important, each tentacle has a 55% chance to grab someone. Aim them at the two characters with the weakest Constitution saves, usually the wizard and the rogue.
2014 rhythm: slam, then feast. On turn two, slam. A character with a +2 Con save fails DC 14 on 11 or lower (55%). A stunned creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saves, can't take actions, and attacks against it have Advantage. Because the 2014 stun lasts through the otyugh's next turn, turn three is a Multiattack with Advantage against stunned, restrained targets: the bite hits about 80% of the time. Then slam again. Alternate.
2024 rhythm: slam every turn. The 2024 stun ends right as the otyugh's turn begins, so it gets no Advantage from it. The better play is to slam on every turn after the grabs: 16 damage per failed save, and a 55% chance each round that each held character loses its whole turn. Stunned creatures can't take actions, so they can't use the escape action either.
The bite is a long-term threat. The otyugh doesn't need to win the fight to hurt the party. One bite that lands (in 2014, plus a failed DC 15 Constitution save) leaves a character poisoned, with Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, until the disease is cured.
It doesn't need to fight at all. An otyugh with Int 6 isn't a mindless beast. It can use its telepathy to demand food, warn the party off its pile, or bargain for safe passage. It understands only Otyugh, so the party can't answer back without magic like Tongues (Comprehend Languages lets a caster understand the otyugh, not the other way round), and with Int 6 it may not follow much of what they say anyway.
Running an Otyugh Encounter
An otyugh is 1,800 XP. With the 2024 budget for four characters:
Party (4 characters)
Low / Moderate / High budget
One otyugh is...
Level 4
1,000 / 1,500 / 2,000
High (1,800 of the 2,000 High budget)
Level 5
2,000 / 3,000 / 4,400
Low (1,800 of the 2,000 Low budget)
Level 6
2,400 / 4,000 / 5,600
Low (well inside the 2,400 Low budget)
At level 5, an otyugh plus a gibbering mouther (450 XP) is 2,250 XP, a Moderate fight on paper (3,000 Moderate budget) that plays much harder because one creature holds characters still while the other scrambles their turns. Two otyughs (3,600 XP) are Moderate at level 6 (3,600 of the 4,000 Moderate budget).
Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), one otyugh is a Hard fight for four level 4 characters (1,500 Hard, 2,000 Deadly) and Easy for level 5.
Two practical notes:
•Size matters. The tentacles only grab Medium or smaller creatures. A Large ally, or a character enlarged by Enlarge/Reduce, can't be held.
•Plan for the disease. If you run an otyugh at level 3 or 4, someone may finish the session poisoned with a shrinking hit point maximum. Make sure a cure is reachable: a temple, or a cleric, druid or paladin with Lesser Restoration.
How Players Beat Otyughs
•Stay out of 10 feet. Its reach is 10 feet and its speed is 30. It has no ranged attack and no fly speed. Archers and casters who keep their distance can't be grabbed.
•Break the grapple early. Escape DC 13. A character with +5 Athletics or Acrobatics needs an 8 or better. Escaping before the slam is far better than saving against it.
•Use Dexterity saves. Its weakest saves are Int −2 and Cha −2, and Dex +0 is the weakest physical one. Fireball, Lightning Bolt and Web all target Dex. Its Con save is +7, so skip Con-save spells.
•Its mind is open. No Magic Resistance and no immunity to charm or fear. Hold Person can't target it (it's an aberration), but Wisdom-save spells like Hypnotic Pattern go against its +1 Wis save.
•Cure the disease. In 2014, Lesser Restoration ends the disease outright. In 2024 the hit point loss lasts until the Poisoned condition ends, and Lesser Restoration ends that. Don't sleep on it untreated: the 2024 save happens after each Long Rest, and every failure takes up to 10 off maximum hit points.
•Feed it. It is hungry, not evil. Throwing it a sack of food or garbage might end the encounter with no roll at all.
Otyugh Encounter Ideas
The guild's garbage man. A thieves' guild keeps an otyugh in the sewer under its hideout and pays it in refuse. It also feeds it the occasional informant. The otyugh sends the party a telepathic image of the last person who came down here with a lantern, which is how they learn who the guild killed.
The midden at the keep. A border fort's waste pit has been "cleaning itself" for years. Now the soldiers are sick: three are poisoned and wasting away, and the fort's priest can only cure one a day. The party has to deal with the otyugh in the midden and find out who started throwing more than garbage into it.
The deal. An otyugh sits on the only dry path through a flooded dungeon level. It telepathically offers the party passage in exchange for "meat, big, fresh." It means the owlbear two rooms over. The party can kill the owlbear and drag it here, or fight the otyugh in waist-deep sewage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is an otyugh in 5e?
The otyugh is CR 5 (1,800 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
How does an otyugh's disease work?
In 2014, a creature bitten makes a DC 15 Constitution save or is poisoned until the disease is cured; every 24 hours it saves again, losing 1d10 maximum hit points on a failure and curing the disease on a success. In 2024, the bite poisons automatically, and the save is made after each Long Rest with the same 1d10 loss on a failure.
How does Tentacle Slam work?
Every creature the otyugh is grappling makes a DC 14 Constitution save. On a failure it takes bludgeoning damage (10 in 2014, 16 in 2024) and is stunned; on a success it takes half and isn't stunned. The 2014 stun lasts until the end of the otyugh's next turn, the 2024 stun until the start of it.
Can an otyugh talk?
It speaks only Otyugh, but it can send simple telepathic messages and images to any creature within 120 feet that understands a language. The receiver can't answer telepathically, so a conversation usually needs translation magic.
How many creatures can an otyugh grapple?
Two, one per tentacle, and only Medium or smaller creatures.
Is an otyugh evil?
No. The otyugh is neutral in both editions. It is hungry and territorial, which makes it a good creature to negotiate with or bribe. If your party strikes a deal with one, Loreify can record the session so nobody forgets what they promised it.
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.