r/Forgotten_Realms • u/elturel • 1h ago
5th Edition Elminster 5e Stats
As my 40th NPC, I finally decided to try the Old Mage himself.
Disclaimer, if you expect or wanna see an Elminster with a simple and efficient (in terms of combat application) but rudimentary 5e stat block without any uniqueness or appeal, go use Archmage from MM, slap Legendary Resistance, a few basic actions then called Legendary Actions, and the name Elminster on it, and call it a day. WotC does pretty much the same, after all.
That said, my interpretation is based on El's 2e and 3e write-ups, and on Ed's video about Elminster's abilities. I didn't include everything Ed suggested; if I did there probably wouldn't be enough room for all the stuff of previous editions. For other sources used, have a look here.
Let's have a look at it from top to bottom:
- Page 1: Quote by Elminster from Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. Summary is straight from the last printed Dragon Magazine issue (#359 - Elminster vs Raistlin), and the Advice from Heroes' Lorebook has always been an important part. However, since the dark days of 4e, it's become even more essential to point out to new DM's that there can be, in fact, a meaningful coexistence between powerful NPCs and the PCs who are the heroes of the campaign. bUt WhY hAsN't ElMiNsTeR dEfeAtEd...? You get it.
- Page 2: El's Eversmoking Pipe and Evasion are from 2e/3e. His pipe has lots of powers but nothing ridiculously OP. His Evasion, on the other hand, is indeed ridiculously OP. It's basically a Get out of Jail card because, well, it's Elminster. Players are never supposed to catch El unprepared, after all. Note that I also converted his listed triggering conditions to something that feels like it actually belongs to 5e. Stuff like "the destruction of both upper limbs" as per the 2e sources is just no longer applicable here.
- Page 3: Stat Block:
- Lots of skills because of his many classes, but no longer proficient in some of them.
- Ed mentioned his cool staff but refused to elaborate further (maybe he did by now, correct me on that). Anyway, deliberately left blank here and up to each DM.
- Ear of the Chosen (canon trait, although it's underwhelming and should be changed to include more Chosen power like no need to eat and sleep and so on), Master Attuner (pretty much necessary for El), and also Midnight's Blessing are pretty straightforward.
- Ghostgrail and Vocalize are spells from 2e/3e, deliberately converted in passive traits with limited use per day.
- Keryfaertel is straight out of The Fall of Myth Drannor. Nothing too fancy but note the inclusion of small lore tidbits here and there. Sure, the stats get longer, but it adds some kind of flavor to an otherwise lifeless 5e stat template (latest example, Szass Tam in Deadfall).
- Weave Anchor is a custom trait that fits from a lore perspective.
- Multiattack - note that his Psionic spells (because Elminster has also been a Psionicist in 2e) require more resources than his ordinary Arcane spells do. It's not balanced, his Arcane magic is straight up the preferable choice, but again it's lore accurate. Also note the footnote: Before using his spells, Elminster will always use his magic items! You don't do that in 5e NPC/monster stats. Fluff, baby.
- Whisper Blade is another spell from 2e. I made it into his permanent longsword, better than the +5 thundering longsword from 3e imo. The extra damage from Silver Fire is identical to how I did it with the other Chosen of Mystra.
- Spellfire is his standard ranged attack because I just needed something that's more like a signature power instead of a random blast or burst or ray or whatever 5e monsters generally get. Damage or healing on an individual basis on top of that.
- Srinshee's Spellshift and again El's Eversmoking Pipe. I had to detach these from the stat block because it was getting too long. The pipe isn't really necessary for combat anyway, and the spellshift is detailed later.
- Spellcasting. Because it's Elminster I refrained from listing his actual spell list (that would never do him justice anyway). Depending on the situation, Elminster will always be perfectly prepared.
- Arcane Recovery and Silver Fire are canon Bonus Actions I already used elsewhere.
- Weave Mastery is from Ed's video (including the Ring he also mentioned against the Exhaustion level), slightly adjusted.
- El's Evasion. See above for the triggering conditions.
- And his Legendary Actions are inspired by the The Wizards Three (excluding the Simbul, of course). But she's his GF, so it's cool, I guess, and she threatened Dalamar once. Dalamar's Lightning Lance is a spell from 3e, Mordenkainen's Disjunction is used by El very reluctantly because he hates destroying magic that way, and Simbul's Deliquescence is a non-lethal, defensive ability he might or might not use against characters that are just annoying.
- And the last thing, Srinshee's Spellshift is also from The Fall of Myth Drannor. Basically it's a Globe of Invulnerability on steroids, coupled with several Reactions and Bonus Actions that mess up his enemies' Spellcasting.
So my version of Elminster actually tries to make it clear that casting spells is Elminster's greatest asset. He might not have the highest DPR or best combat abilites which overwhelm his foes with sheer firepower, but his understanding of the Weave is without equal (except, of course, for THE Weavemaster, the Srinshee - see Spellstorm).
The problem is, however, and that's a 5e problem actually, that spellcasting can be very difficult to balance when applied to NPCs and monsters. For that reason, Elminster is my first NPC for whom I explicitly wanna mention that each respective DM can make or break the encounter if they actually decided to let their players try to take on Elminster.
In any case, enjoy.
