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Temple Dog

Medium · Celestial · CR 5 · Good

Source. Tome of Beasts

15 (natural armor)

97 (15d8+30)

Ability Scores

Core attributes and their modifiers.

STR

DEX

CON

INT

-1

WIS

CHA

Overview

Category Monsters

Size Medium

Type Celestial

Alignment Good

XP 1800

Initiative Bonus +2

Movement

Walk 30 ft (9.1 m)

Swim 15 ft (4.6 m)

Climb 15 ft (4.6 m)

Crawl 15 ft (4.6 m)

Senses

Darkvision 60 ft (18.3 m)

Passive Perception 15

Saving Throws

Strength +7 Constitution +5 Intelligence +2 Wisdom +5

Skills

Perception +5

Languages

understands Celestial and Common but can't speak

Resistances & Immunities

Damage Resistances

bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Environments

Arctic or Tundra Caves Coast Desert Forest or Jungle Grassland or Plains Hills Laboratory Lake Mountain Ocean Ruins Sewer Shadowfell The Abyss Astral Plane Elysium Ethereal Plane Feywild Hell Material Plane Plane of Air Plane of Earth Plane of Fire Plane of Water Swamp or Marsh Temple Badlands Tomb Underworld Urban

Traits

Magic Resistance

The temple dog has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Protector's Initiative

If the temple dog is entering combat against a clear threat to its temple, it has advantage on its initiative roll.

Rushing Slam

If the temple dog moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then makes a slam attack against that target, it can make an additional slam attack against a second creature within 5 feet of the first target as a bonus action.

Actions

Bite

+7 to hit, reach 5 ft (1.5 m). Hit: 3d8 bludgeoning damage.

Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 14). The target must also make a successful DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.

Slam

+7 to hit, reach 5 ft (1.5 m). Hit: 3d6 bludgeoning damage.

Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and pushed 5 feet. The temple dog can immediately enter the position the target was pushed out of, if it chooses to.

About Temple Dog

Temple Dog is a medium celestial with a Challenge Rating of 5. It has a good alignment.

In combat, this creature maintains an Armor Class of 15 and possesses 97 hit points (derived from 15d8+30).

Temple Dog has communication capabilities including understands Celestial and Common but can't speak. This allows it to interact verbally with various creatures and characters.

GM Tips: Using Temple Dog

2 tips available

When using Temple Dog in your D&D 5e campaign, consider these tactical approaches:

Significant Threat: Challenging for parties of levels 5-10
Epic Potential: Consider legendary actions for memorable battles

Player Guide: Facing Temple Dog

2 strategies available

When your party encounters this creature, keep these strategies in mind:

Significant Threat: Prepare spells and resources
Team Coordination: Coordinate attacks and defenses

Encounter Building Calculator

Standard Party Encounter (4-5 characters):

This creature is a medium encounter for a party of 4 characters of level 5.

Solo Encounter:

A single character of level 7 (up to level 20) can face this creature in a medium to hard encounter.

Experience Point Thresholds:

Medium: 3,000 XP
Hard: 4,500 XP
Deadly: 6,000 XP

Based on D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Guide encounter building guidelines. CR roughly equals party level for medium encounters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the challenge rating of Temple Dog?: Temple Dog has a Challenge Rating of 5, making it appropriate for parties of level 5.0.
What type of creature is Temple Dog?: Temple Dog is a Medium Celestial, which affects how certain spells and abilities interact with it.
What languages does Temple Dog speak?: Temple Dog can communicate in understands Celestial and Common but can't speak.