Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

Magma beasts are probably the conceptial descendants of the Magmen of AD&D 1st Edition, which later turned into Magmin during 3.x. There are likely a few other monsters that ended up in this entry as well. They appear only on the Monster Manual.

The Lore

Magma Beasts are elementals of earth and fire, obviously native to the Elemental Chaos. They seem to be a little more physical than the creatures that were listed under the Elemental entry, in that they actually have metabolisms and thus have goals other than to exuberantly rage for all eternity.

These creatures live in the most fiery patches of the Elemental Chaos, the ones that contain rivers of flowing magma, active volcanoes, or at least large amounts of ambient geothermal energy. They can be found in the world or the shallow Underdark in similarly hot places.

They sustain their mineral bodies by eating various ores and clays found in these environments, but they’re also quite capable of digesting lesser elemental creatures and even organic beings! Organics do have a lot of calcium and iron in their composition, after all.

Some magma beasts prefer an organic diet, having acquired a taste for the flavor or burned meat. That doesn’t necessarily make them people-eaters, though I guess the stupider varieties aren’t going to stop and ask their next prospective meal if it can talk. The lair of a people-eating magma beast will not be littered with the valuables of its victims - it eats those too.

Sapient magma beasts (magma brutes and magma hurlers) can be reasoned with and bribed with offers of food, so that’s one way you can find them working alongside others. They’re also able to bully their dumber relatives into obeying them.

The Numbers

Magma beasts tend to be lower level than the creatures in the Elemental entry, so they might be a good way to introduce your Heroic Tier PCs to monsters from the Elemental Chaos.

The “stupid” kinds of magma beast are Elemental Magical Beasts with Int 2, while the “smarter” kinds are Elemental Humanoids with Int 5. The lore makes me think the stupid ones should be Beasts, since they seem to behave more like animals.

All magma beasts are immune to petrification, have 10/tier fire resistance, and are slowed for a turn when they take cold damage. They have the Earth and Fire keywords.

Magma Claw

This Medium beast looks like a stinger-less scorpion. It’s a Level 4 Brute with 64 HP and training in both Endurance and Stealth. It uses the latter to disguise itself as a rock outcropping until a potential victim wanders into charge range. It moves at speed 4, but charges at speed 8.

Its basic attack is a claw that does a mix of physical and fire damage, and it can also Spew Lava at-will (vs. Reflex). A hit with this does ongoing 5 fire damage and immobilizes (save ends). I imagine the lava comes out of where the stinger would be.

Magma Hurler

This Medium humanoid is Level 4 Artillery with 41 HP. It moves at Speed 4.

Magma hurlers fight in melee with slams, and they can also form and hurl balls of magma. These have a range of 15, target Reflex, and do fire damage; a miss causes all creatures adjacent to the target to take a bit of automatic fire damage. Don’t cluster up!

Hurlers are one of the two “smart” magma beasts. If you know Primordial, you might be able to talk to them.

Magma Strider

These Large beasts look like those long-legged water strider bugs. They hunt through the same endurance-based method ancient humans used, pursuing their intended prey for hours until it becomes exhausted. They’re Level 10 Skirmishers with 105 HP who move and climb at Speed 6, so they can keep up with most terrestrial creatures.

Their basic attack is a Reach 2 bite that does both immediate and ongoing fire damage (save ends). They can often Burn Across the Battlefield (recharge 3-6), which allows then to immediately charge another target after hitting someone with a basic bite. Their Burning Mobility also causes 5 fire damage to anyone who hits them with an opportunity attack.

Magma Brute

This Large humanoid is the other “smart” magma beast. Left alone, they behave as nomadic scavengers. However, as Level 13 Brutes, they’re right at the point where they begin to bump into “proper” elementals and other more powerful denizens of the Chaos, so they often end up bullied into servitude.

Magma Brutes have 156 HP, walk at speed 4, and have a fire resistance of 20 as Paragon-tier creatures. Their single attack is a Reach 2 Slam that does physical damage plus ongoing fire damage (save ends) and is in dire need of a damage fix.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

We have two:

  • Level 5: 2 magma claws, 2 magma hurlers, and 2 fire bats. Perfect for an early fire dungeon, and likely to make your tieflings and fire sorcerers feel powerful.

  • Level 13: 3 magma brutes and 1 beholder eye of flame. Oh, so that’s who likes to bully the brutes.

I’m not terribly enthusiastic about magma beasts. However, I think it’s refreshing to see an entry about what is basically dangerous fantasy wildlife after so many instances of “kill this thing on sight” courtesy of the Monster Vault.