Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

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Darkmantles feel like a very AD&D kind of monster, but I can’t find mention of them in the Monster Manuals for those editions. Either they appeared in a supplement, or they’re actually introduced in 3.x.

The Lore

The darkmantle is a creature native to the Shadowfell, which predictably means it likes hanging out in dark places such as caves and underground ruins. Being both pointy and membranous, they hunt by hanging from the ceiling disguised as stalactites and dropping on unsuspecting prey from above.

Darkmantles have animal intellect, and are about as smart as dogs. As such, they’re often tamed by shadow- and underground-themed humanoids to act as guards and/or living traps.

The Numbers

There’s only one stat block here, so we’ll get right to it.

Darkmantle Enveloper

This is described as a Large Shadow Magical Beast, though I think it should be labeled a Beast instead. Beasts “look and behave like animals”, and magical beasts “look like animals and behave like people”. Well, the label is just descriptive, so it makes no difference in the stats.

The Darkmantle Enveloper is a Level 8 Lurker with 76 HP. It has both Blindsight 8 from echolocation, and Darkvision. It emits a Shadowy Field aura (5) that reduces bright light to dim light, which I guess it only activates once its presence is known. It has ground and climb speeds of 2, and a fly speed of 6.

Its basic attack is a Tentacle Lash that does regular physical damage, but the main event is Engulf (melee 1 vs. Reflex), which does the same damage and grabs the target. The target is considered blinded until the grab ends, and the creature can spend a minor action to sustain it and deal an automatic 5 damage to the target. Only one victim can be engulfed at once.

If the victim’s buddies try to help them, the darkmantle can use a Shadowcry (close burst 3 vs. Fortitude; minor action; encounter) to keep them at bay. This does light thunder damage and dazes for a turn.

When someone manages to damage the darkmantle, it can react with a Shadowjump (recharge 5-6), which allows it to teleport 6 squares to a space in darkness or dim light. The creature arrives invisible and with its aura turned off, both of which last for a turn.

One small mechanical issue: since Engulf is not a basic attack, it can’t be used as part of a charge. This could be interpreted to say that the darkmantle can’t drop from the ceiling and use Engulf, but that’s clearly not the intention here. I’d say the attack can be used as part of a “drop charge”.

Sample Encounter and Final Impressions

The sample encounter is level 6, and feature a pair of darkmantles acting as guards for a trio of duergar.

Eh… it’s another underground ambusher that disguises itself as a rock formation. The most a darkmantle has ever interested me is when it was part of a joke about gygaxian deathtrap dungeons (“the stalactites are darkmantles; the stalagmites ropers…”).