Manticores were introduced to the game in Original Dungeons and Dragons in the second book entitled Monsters and Treasure in 1974. Of course, Manticores have existed, in Persion mythology far longer than Dungeons and Dragons has been around. in 222 AD Claudius Aelianus (usually referred to as Aelian) wrote a work called “The Characteristics of Animals” which had a detailed section on the Manticore. He describes a four legged creature with the face of a man and the feet and claws of a lion with a tail that is full of stings. These stings can be fired like arrows.
Manticores in Original Dungeons and Dragons
Original Dungeons and Dragons refers to the Manticore as a lion bodied beast . It is huge and has a mans face. It also has dragon wings and a tail full of iron spikes. It has 24 of these spikes and six can be fired at one time with the accuracy of a crossbow. It’s favorite target is man.
From one to four could be encountered at one time. Twenty five percent of the time it would be encountered in a lair. It had 6+1 hit dice and an armor class of 4. The creature could move 12/18 (walking/flying) feet in a round.
The Manticore in Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition
The statistics for the Manticore from Original Dungeons and Dragons to 1st Edition changed very little. It has 6+3 hit dice but the same armor class of 4. The numbers that could be encountered stayed the same but the percentage chance to find them in lair dropped to 20%. It now had three attacks per round. It could still fire a volley of six spikes for 1D6 damage per spike. It could fire four such volleys.
First edition, however, states that the Manticore prefers dismal lairs. They are typically found in caves or underground. They live in all climates but seem to prefer warm places more than cold. When encountered outside of their lair they are usually hunting for human victims.
Manticores in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
Fifth Edition states that the Manticore has a vaguely humanoid head, the body of a lion, and the wings of a dragon. They are fierce predators and hunt wide distances for prey. They will work cooperatively (with others of their kind) to take down dangerous enemies. They will even share their meal when the kill is over. When outnumbered, or in danger, it will use it’s wings and fight from the air. It will fire it’s volley of spikes until it’s supply of them has run out.
The Fifth Edition version of the Manticore likes to smack talk it’s foes. It will converse with foes and may even offer to kill them swiftly if they beg for their lives. Unlike the early edition Manticores the Fifth Edition variety might even spare a victim if it sees a profit in doing so. The Fifth Edition variety may also work cooperatively with other creatures.
The Manticore competes with other aerial creatures for territory. The possible competitors might include:
- Chimeras
- Perytons
- Griffons
- Wyverns
- Dragons
The Manticore in Fifth Edition has an armor class of 14 and 68 hit points (8D10+24). It moves 30 feet per turn on land and can fly 50 feet in the same amount of time. It speaks the common tongue. It has darkvision up to 60 feet. It makes three attacks in a round. Two of these attacks are claws and the third is a bite attack. Like the earlier versions it can fire volleys of spikes from the tail. It can fire these at one target.
Tactics of the Manticore in Dungeons and Dragons
As the Manticore is a creature capable of flying it will use this ability to it’s advantage when possible. It can fire it’s spikes from a great distance away and since this volley does a lot of damage (especially in the earlier editions) this seems like a logical choice for the creature. It can fire four of these volleys so why not do so at a safe distance?
Manticores are not very bright. But they are not totally without cunning. They are certainly aware of danger. And they definitely understand their own strengths. They will probably not, however, be very discriminating in their targets. A smarter creature might want to eliminate the source of that magic that is harming them before hitting that thief cowering in the shadows. But the Manticore might attack that thief first if it has a mind to.
The Fifth Edition version of the Manticore has darkvision. It’s earlier edition counterparts did not. So the 5E version may use this ability to ambush victims in the dark.
Manticores in Dungeons and Dragons are a classic encounter
As the Manticore is a creature based upon mythology they are widely known beyond the game of Dungeons and Dragons. This makes them a classic encounter as even new players are likely to have heard of them. An encounter with one of these creatures is likely to be memorable. A Manticore is capable of doing quite a bit of damage to a party of adventurers. It is likely to be an epic battle long remembered.
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