Living Wall: The D&D Monster That Can't Move

oh hey bill how's it going oh hey  frank you know just another day of   endless pain trapped in this here wall is  that frank right here over there hey frank   how's it going oh you know it's going  hang on i think someone's coming shh what the hell is going on in here did you  hear that hello and welcome to monster of   the week this week we'll be taking a  look at what is truly one of the most   unsettling creatures i've come across in quite a  while not since the erna curse has something so   vile come across my desk and today i'm going to  be telling you all about the living wall yes this   week's monster is literally a wall and yes i  think it is an incredible creature in a really   [ __ ] up sort of way as always my objective here  today is to go over this monster's in-game lore   its publication history as well as provide you  with an updated 5th edition stat block and a   few potential encounter and story ideas so what  exactly is a living wall well for starters the   name is a bit of a misnomer as the living  wall is actually not alive but a type of   undead semantics thrown out the window though  essentially a living wall is a wall built   entirely out of flesh and bones which are all  harvested from living creatures it should also   come as no surprise that the living wall got its  start in the horror-centric setting of ravenloft   specifically in the book of crips which was  a 1991 publication for advanced dungeons and   dragons second edition this book included nine  new adventures which were all set in ravenloft   to accompany these adventures four new monsters  were included by the way of the irmor denugg or   mordenugg what the f what the [ __ ] is that the  doll and bone golems and of course the living wall   the wall would later be updated into third  edition as part of dragon magazine issue 343 in   may of 2006 which to be honest kind of butchered  the art and just the monster's entire concept   but that's just my opinion now to create a living  wall any number of creatures are fused together   in a profane necromantic ritual that traps them  in a horrible new form once trapped in this new   grotesque form the living wall reaches out using  limbs of those fused into it to attack with claws   and swords and spells and ultimately drag other  creatures into the wall being fused into the wall   of course kills the creatures used to create it  but as star wars has taught us time and time again   no one's ever really gone the creatures grafted  into the wall are thus reborn into undead versions   of themselves which are also fused into the  wall and this is where things get a little bit   confusing but stick with me the living wall itself  is one singular creature at least for statistical   purposes it has one stat block and it gets one  turn in the initiative order but it is made up of   multiple creatures try to think of each victim who  has been trapped in the living wall the same way   you might think of individual bricks that make up  a normal not horrible wall anyone who is absorbed   into the wall loses a lot of themselves in the  process and typically goes quite mad but there are   still little remnants of the original creature  trapped inside that are desperate for escape   see when a creature is forced to become part of a  living wall that creature's soul becomes trapped   as well this of course prevents them from moving  on to the afterlife much like signing on to an mlm   the only way out is to achieve true death which of  course means that every individual trapped within   the wall would likely love to see the wall's  destruction but it's not quite so simple the magic   which created the wall itself twists its victims  and forces them to lash out at any potential   threat the wall is not simply compelled to just  attack every john jerry and jane that comes within   striking distance however only when someone  actually hits the wall or does something which   could be considered a threat is the wall compelled  to actually defend itself so basically if you end   up fighting a living wall you are battling a  swarm of appendages while also trying to ignore   all the cries and pleas for help from the victims  trapped within but of course there is ever more   body horror on the horizon today because if  someone dies while within 300 feet of the wall the   wall is able to raise that creature as a zombie  and compel them to walk over to it at which point   they become incorporated into its form if this  is all starting to sound pretty horrific to you   that's because it is as the wall absorbs more and  more bodies the cacophony of trapped creatures   desperate for release from this fleshy prison  grows and so too does the wall itself what might   start as a pretty small structure can grow to  tremendous size as it absorbs more and more   creatures but as the wall sucks in more victims  its size is not the only thing that changes the   wall gains access to any equipment racial traits  attacks or spells the new member of its body   possessed at the time of their absorption for  example a fighter wielding a great sword will   give the wall a great sword attack a wizard who  had fireball and cone of cold prepared will give   the wall the ability to cast each of those spells  once per day a fire janasi who gets absorbed   will give the wall fire resistance and access to  the produced flame and burning hand spells what   this means is that every living wall can be vastly  different depending on what creatures are used in   its original creation and what creatures it has  absorbed since it was born as you can probably   imagine that made it very difficult to create  a 5th edition stat block for this monster but   more on that later something we also need to talk  about is the living walls built in illusion magic   see at first the wall itself at a glance doesn't  appear to be anything more than your standard   stone or brick wall this illusion cast on the  creature doesn't do anything about the screams   of the damned which are literally emanating from  the thing at all times but it does create a bit   of a mystery i think the original flavor text for  the creature says it best this stone wall appears   normal but moans of pain horror and sorrow emanate  from it although the wall is still there is a   sense of chaotic motion within it this illusion  adds a real element of intrigue to the creature   that i think is pretty understated despite the  fact that we're talking about a literal wall   which literally has a movement speed of zero i  think there are a ton of ways we can use this   monster some of which are a little outside of its  conventional purpose so if you'll continue on this   journey with me the next thing we're gonna talk  about is its actual in-game statistics and how   they work as well as how i interpreted them into  5th edition dnd and then we're going to talk about   plot hooks and story ideas also if you find these  videos useful or just entertaining please leave a   like or a comment it helps the channel out a ton  and i also just like hearing what you guys have to   say about the monsters that we cover now i hope  you have a gem of seeing because it is time for   so there is actually a surprising amount of stuff  to talk about when it comes to the living wall   and its stats the original living wall from a  d and d was sort of a template that you would   apply to as many creatures as were incorporated  into the wall itself 5th edition dnd really stays   away from templates when compared with other  versions of the game at least we definitely   still have a few like the half dragon or the  draco lich but overall templates are way less   prominent than they once were and in my opinion  a little bit hard to use i mean maybe they're not   hard to use and i'm just lazy but i don't like  doing a ton of prep work for my prep work for   my conversion of this monster i wanted to give  you guys something that is easy to look at and   easy to use and that falls in line with d d 5th  edition's design philosophy so the stat block that   i came up with is basically a simplified version  of the wall that can cast a couple spells use a   great sword attack and chuck javelins because the  biggest thing we actually need the stat block for   isn't its attacks but how its ability to absorb  other creatures works mechanically and i think   you'll find that my version is nearly a one to one  conversion of the old school ravenloft stat block   basically in addition to the other simple attacks  there i gave it an attack that allows it to do   a small amount of damage as well as grapple the  target called grasping hands i wanted our living   wall to still have that ability to forcibly pull  people into its form but we also don't want it   to be a simple case of oops you failed the saving  throw and now you're dead so this attack works in   tandem with the wall's absorption straight which  states that at the beginning of the wall's turn   if it is grappling someone that creature becomes  restrained and then if we go through another full   round of combat at the start of the wall's next  turn if it has someone restrained that creature   is then pulled into the wall which kills them and  incorporates that creature into its form this is   still really deadly and that means the wall can  still suck people in but there are a few stop   gaps in place so that it isn't completely unfair  to the players i mean come on you don't want to   miss out on that dramatic moment of them trying to  pull their friend out who's being gradually sucked   into this wall right oh my god other than that  the stats are basically there to just explain in   game terms how the absorption of another creature  actually benefits the wall how it grows and how   its new acquired abilities work something else  i want to briefly touch on too is that in 5th   edition we don't really have rules for how long  creatures work the wall for example is a huge   sized creature but it doesn't necessarily occupy  a 15 by 15 foot square space i mean it's a wall   so it's not going to be built in a square it's  going to be like 15 feet long but maybe only three   feet thick or something like that this is just  something to keep in mind because there aren't   really specific rules in fifth edition at least  not that i'm aware of to codify something like   that but i mean you guys know what a wall looks  like so i'm assuming no one was gonna look at   that and be like oh why is it a big square anyways  just something to keep in mind when it comes to   actually fighting this thing the living wall in  almost every case is gonna serve as an obstacle   for the adventuring party to overcome once again  it literally is a wall which means that the party   can leave anytime they want it's not gonna chase  them it's not gonna hunt them down it's gonna be   just there doing its thing if they choose to  simply fight it in toe-to-toe combat that's   pretty risky but they are definitely welcome to  do so the basic version of the wall assuming you   haven't added any other actions or abilities to it  is going to be able to fight in melee and from a   range but i also really want to make it clear that  you can make this encounter a lot harder or a lot   easier for your group depending on what your needs  are you can give it access to any weapon or spell   that may have belonged to a creature it absorbed  so get creative with it as an example i personally   love the idea of giving the wall the telekinesis  spell so that it can pull people towards it and   then grab them but maybe that's a little mean it's  perfect something else to keep in mind is that the   wall can and will absorb any useful equipment  being worn by those who it sucks in so if some   unfortunate soul wearing a ring of fire resistance  was absorbed the wall just now has fire resistance   but also keep in mind the more cool magic items  you give your wall the deadlier it's going to be   and the more treasure your players will get  when they ultimately destroy it if they can   manage to topple the thing neither of which  are necessarily bad things just something   to think about now i'm sure by this point you  get it you understand the concept but there is   still one very important thing we need to talk  about which is just exactly how to effectively   use the living wall in a story this thing  can be a pretty compelling part of any tale   and i have a few ideas for how we might actually  use it so let's move on and chat about a few so immediately i think it goes without saying  that the wall is a potent tool a necromancer   is liable to use to block off part of their  lair that was definitely the purpose behind   its creation and in fact the adventure the living  wall was originally used in describes exactly this   scenario the adventure is literally called the  living crypt in this adventure the party goes out   in search of some missing townsfolk tracking them  down to a mysterious cave that seems to be walled   off a few feet in at the base of the wall are a  bunch of clothes coins pieces of armor and other   mundane items the wall here of course is a living  wall and all that stuff on the floor is stuff that   the absorbed victims had on them which the wall  didn't deem useful enough to actually incorporate   something actually really interesting here is that  in this scenario the wall has a few bite attacks   as it has absorbed a few wolves who pass into  the cave as well so definitely don't just limit   yourself to humanoid creatures in any case the  local necromancer and his minions have been   kidnapping people and feeding them to the wall  to strengthen their fortress only by destroying   the wall can anyone actually get past the main  entrance there is a lot you can do here as an   enterprising necromancer because even though most  people won't be able to see the wall's true nature   the fact that it's going to be constantly wailing  in agony is likely to turn any travelers away   even your most curious townsfolk are not going to  want to touch that with a 10-foot pole most people   are likely to just think the area is haunted which  it is just not in the way that they think it is   in fact that could make for a pretty good story as  well the group of adventurers might be tasked with   investigating a nearby haunted ruin only to find  out that there is a living wall blocking the way   once they manage to take it down and get past they  may stumble upon a necromancer's lair and unwrap   some horrible scheme that is much larger than they  originally thought what started as a simple ghost   hunt may very well end in the player saving  an entire town from being turned into ghouls   but let's take things in a slightly different  direction for a moment perhaps your necromancer   isn't one for subtlety maybe they are much much  more accomplished achieving some sort of dark lord   status this necromancer has a castle a black iron  fortress which is guarded by an army of the undead   i'm talking about some high level epic tear lord  of the rings kind of [ __ ] now imagine if this   necropolis of evil is not surrounded by a  standard spiky wall of metal but a living wall   of flesh i mean something tremendous in size that  wraps around for miles a living wall crafted from   thousands of creatures who dared to defy the  necromancer's ambitions now sure most people who   formerly lived in the land were doomed to become  zombies in the necromancer's army but those who   really pissed him off ended up as part of the wall  damned to eternal torment and force to oversee the   lands they once ruled now corrupted by evil in  this case the necromancer probably wouldn't even   bother with the illusion of stone but just  rather let the world see and look upon what   happens to those who defy the dark lord if you  were gonna go for something this large in scale   it would definitely make no sense for the living  wall to have one singular hit point pool in this   case i would recommend making every 30 foot  section of the wall its own stat block but   of course for narrative purposes it's all just  one giant thing even if the players don't end up   fighting the wall it would still make for an  excellent set piece and if they do choose to   engage with it you've got the mechanics to back  it up i imagine the screams and moans of horror   would echo for miles as the player's approach and  once they actually see the source of all the noise   it's likely gonna be pretty impactful you could  even have the necromancer's entire layer be built   out of living walls if you really wanted to maybe  the party has to find a specific npc buried in the   wall somewhere and ask them a question or get some  piece of really important information from them   perhaps the former king of the land is entombed  deep within the necromancer's lair melded into   a wall of flesh kept in a specific spot so the  necromancer can come by and torment him from time   to time and the players have to get there and  learn the secret location of some mcguffin that   might be able to stop the necromancer who knows  but anytime there is a quasi-sentient meat wall   involved it's gonna be memorable one final detail  i really need to note here because i think it's   really incredible is the living wall's hatred  specifically for the one who created it   while the living wall might be bound to the  necromancer that crafted it in the first   place every creature inside that wall wants  nothing more than to destroy the bastard   so if the creator of the living wall ever dies  close enough to it that the wall can absorb them   it will 100 do so and immediately after the  necromancer is absorbed according to the raven   loft book the wall will then expel all other  corpses and spirits trapped inside of it finally   allowing them to die and rest in peace the wall's  creator however is now permanently trapped within   a wall of their own creation forever sealed in the  stone never to be heard from again the wall then   loses all of its necromantic powers and they  are simply stuck there forever and if that's not   justice then i don't know what is in the grand  necromancer campaign idea i was talking about   before i imagine it would be a very fitting end to  have the villain slain leaving the party to watch   as the massive flesh walls tumble all around them  the tortured souls finally set free in terms of   less epic and over-the-top applications including  a living wall as just part of a dungeon or as a   simple wall in the basement of some cultists  can also be really effective something else   mentioned in the ravenloft book is that there is  precedent for a wall coming about naturally sort   of by naturally all i really mean is without the  intervention of a magic user the specific instance   it describes in the book is that if someone is  sealed away in a wall or tomb of some kind while   they are still alive the sheer anger fear and  dismay attached to their death might cause them   to actually become a living wall in this kind  of scenario the party might end up fighting a   living wall only to realize that it came about as  the result of a murder and the murderer hid the   body in some building perhaps or maybe they just  straight up killed them by sealing them inside   i could see a murder mystery playing out around a  newly constructed building with a haunted basement   where someone killed a rival and thought they hid  the body expertly to be fair the inside of a wall   is a pretty good hiding place regardless of the  setup though it's likely any good characters will   likely want to tear down this wall and whether  it's a simple task or a tricky one the end result   is bound to be impactful if you like this monster  and you think you might want to use it but you're   not playing a d and d or 3.5 as always there is an  updated 5th edition stat block in the description   below and if you are one of my lovely patrons you  will of course find the 5th edition monster manual   style stat block over on the patreon page which  is also linked down below if you're not a patron   please consider checking it out because i'm trying  to make youtube my full-time gig and it is pretty   intense so i appreciate the support  tremendously and speaking of patrons   it's time for patron of the week this week's  randomly selected patron is claire mcquillen   thank you so much for the support claire it's  very mcchillin of you to be here and thank you   for watching if you have a monster you'd  like to see show up on monster of the week   let me know in the comments on twitter over  on discord or by carrier pigeon whatever   you might use to contact me let me know i  will add it to the list i will check it out   and you just might see it show up on the channel  but that's all for today until the next one butts and balls and bald  butts busting balls and balls

Channel: Dungeon Dad

Views: 247,718

Keywords: How to play Dungeons and Dragons, dungeons and dragons lore, dungeons and dragons combat, d&d lore, d&d story, d&d online, d&d basics, d&d battle, dnd monsters, d&d monsters lore, dnd monsters explained, dnd monsters for level 1, d&d game breaking monsters, best d&d monsters, d&d cool monsters, creepy d&d monsters, d&d 5e custom monsters, classic d&d monsters, Dungeon Dad, Monster of the Week, D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons 5E, aj pickett, mr rhexx, D&D explained, homebrew

Id: K-vg3NZbuDo

Length: 22min 27sec (1347 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 28 2022