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Swarm of Ravens 5e: Stats, Cacophony and the Murder of Crows
A swarm of ravens is a CR 1/4 Medium swarm of Tiny beasts that flies at 50 feet and spots almost everything (Perception +5, passive 15). The 2014 version has AC 12, 24 hit points and beaks that deal 7 (2d6) piercing damage to a creature in its space. The 2024 version keeps AC 12 but drops to 11 hit points and 5 damage, and gains Cacophony, a shrieking action that Deafens a creature and gives it Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. The 2024 swarm is fragile and annoying. The 2014 swarm is tougher and does more damage.
Swarm.The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny raven. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
Actions
Beaks.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target in the swarm's space. Hit: 7 (2d6) piercing damage, or 3 (1d6) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.
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 SRD 5.1 swarm. Its beak attack has a 5-foot reach but can only target a creature in the swarm's space, so in practice it has to fly onto someone. 24 hit points is more than most CR 1/4 creatures, and with resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, a sword effectively has to deal 48 to finish it. The weak beak (1d6) starts at 12 hit points or fewer.
The rest is the standard swarm package, the same in both editions: shared spaces, no healing, and eight condition immunities.
Swarm.The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny raven. The swarm can’t regain Hit Points or gain Temporary Hit Points.
Actions
Beaks.Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) Piercing damage, or 2 (1d4) Piercing damage if the swarm is Bloodied.
Cacophony (Recharge 6).Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 10, one creature in the swarm’s space. Failure: The target has the Deafened condition until the start of the swarm’s next turn. While Deafened, the target also has Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls.
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 Swarm of Ravens
2024 Swarm of Ravens
CR (XP)
1/4 (50)
1/4 (50)
AC / HP
12 / 24
12 / 11
Beaks
+4, target in its space, 7 (2d6)
+4, reach 5 ft., 5 (1d6 + 2)
Weak beaks
3 (1d6) at half HP or fewer
2 (1d4) while Bloodied
Cacophony
None
Recharge 6, DC 10 Wisdom save, Deafened plus Disadvantage on attacks and checks
The hit point cut is the big change. Even with resistance, two or three weapon hits finish a 2024 swarm: a greataxe hit for 10 deals 5, nearly half its 11 hit points. The 2024 beaks also no longer need to share a space. Cacophony does: it only targets a creature in the swarm's space, it recharges on a 6, and it replaces the beak attack that turn. When it lands, the target has Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of the swarm's next turn.
How Swarms of Ravens Fight
Dive, peck, and stay up. With a fly speed of 50 and a walking speed of 10, a raven swarm lives in the air. A 2014 swarm flies onto a target, pecks, and stays there; leaving provokes an Opportunity Attack, so it doesn't leave a soft target. A 2024 swarm can peck from the next square and only needs to move in for Cacophony.
The damage. +4 against AC 15 hits on an 11 or better, 50%. That's about 3.5 damage a round from a 2014 swarm and 2.5 from a 2024 swarm. Low, but steady, and it lands on whoever the ravens chose.
2024: shut down the archer. Cacophony is worth more than a peck against a character whose turn is one big attack roll. A DC 10 Wisdom save is easy for a cleric and less easy for a rogue or fighter with Wisdom +0, who fails 45% of the time. A failed save gives that character Disadvantage on every attack until the swarm's next turn. Because it recharges only on a 6, roll for it at the start of each of the swarm's turns and use it the moment it's back.
Ravens are lookouts. Passive Perception 15 is better than most level 1 characters. A swarm circling over a camp or a ruin spots a sneaking party, and the commotion warns whoever the ravens live near. The stat block has no darkvision, so at night it only spots what's lit.
About the eyes. Neither stat block has a blinding attack. Describe ravens going for faces as much as you like, but the mechanics are piercing damage and, in 2024, Cacophony. If you want a lasting Blinded effect, that's a homebrew change, not the SRD swarm.
Running a Swarm of Ravens Encounter
A swarm of ravens is worth 50 XP. For four characters:
Check the level 3 row in our encounter calculator, which uses the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide thresholds and group multiplier. For 2014 rules, the multiplier makes a hag with two swarms look harder than the 2024 budget says.
Ravens rarely carry a fight alone. They work as a support piece for a spellcaster who lives with them: a hag, a druid NPC, or a necromancer in a ruined tower. The ravens pin down one character while the caster works. Raise the count only if the party has no area damage at all; four 2014 swarms with 24 hit points each, against a party of weapon users, is a long, grinding fight.
How Players Beat a Swarm of Ravens
•Area spells finish 2024 swarms. At 11 hit points, a 2024 swarm dies to Burning Hands (3d6) on a failed save half the time, and to Shatter (3d8) about three times in four. The 2014 swarm's 24 hit points need something bigger, such as Fireball.
•Hit its Constitution or Strength. The 2014 swarm has Constitution −1, and both versions have Strength −2. Thunderwave (Constitution) is a good opener when ravens cluster around the wizard.
•Don't run. A fly speed of 50 catches anyone on foot. Fight from a doorway or under cover where the ravens have to come in one at a time.
•Be ready for Cacophony (2024). Deafened doesn't stop spellcasting, so a caster using saving-throw spells loses less than an archer does. A character with a good Wisdom save is the best one to stand in a swarm.
•Talk to them. Ravens are Beasts. Speak with Animals on a single raven nearby can reveal who the flock serves and what they've seen in the last day.
•Get under a roof. Indoors, in low tunnels or under a dense canopy, the swarm can't use its 50-foot fly speed to stay out of reach or pick its angle, and it can't spot the party from above.
Swarm of Ravens Encounter Ideas
Gallows hill. The road into town passes a hill of old gibbets, and the ravens there have grown bold. Two swarms harass anyone who stops. The real story: the town's hangman feeds them, and he uses them to watch the road for a smuggler's signal. A captured raven can be questioned with Speak with Animals.
The hag's eyes. A green hag keeps a flock that watches every path through her marsh. The first time the party enters, they just see ravens. The second time, the hag is waiting: she watched the flock lift off the path. Two swarms open the fight by flying onto the party's spellcasters.
The battlefield after. A week after a skirmish, the field is covered in carrion birds. The party is hired to recover a banner from a fallen captain. Three swarms of ravens defend their feast, and the field has zombies that rise when the ravens' noise draws attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a swarm of ravens?
CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both editions. The 2014 swarm has 24 hit points; the 2024 swarm has 11. Both have AC 12 and a fly speed of 50 feet.
What does Cacophony do?
In the 2024 rules, Cacophony (Recharge 6) forces one creature in the swarm's space to make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it has the Deafened condition until the start of the swarm's next turn and Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while Deafened.
Can a swarm of ravens blind you?
Not by the rules. Neither the 2014 nor the 2024 stat block has a blinding effect; the beaks deal piercing damage. The 2024 Cacophony deafens instead.
How is a swarm of ravens different from a single raven?
A raven is a CR 0 Tiny beast that mimics sounds and deals 1 damage. A swarm acts as one Medium creature with far more hit points, resists weapon damage, can share a creature's space and deals real damage each round.
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.