Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing

Varan-dent the Mawed Toxosaur

Tales from old miners tell of a many-eyed lizard that split its jaw to swallow a man whole. Miners leave votive piles of rusted tools in tunnels as offerings to ward it off. Some superstitious groups believe the varan is a guardian spirit corrupted by mine spirits and greed.

Monsters
Large monstrosity · CR 5 · Uncommon

Varan-dent the Mawed Toxosaur

A komodo-like subterranean predator with a multi-part jaw, barbed twin tongues, dozens of eyes, and a potent secreted toxin; it haunts abandoned mines and dungeons and ambushes explorers.
AC15
HP85/85
CR5
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 15 · HP 85 · CR 5

Varan-dent the Mawed Toxosaur

Large monstrosity (beast), neutral evil
Armor Class15 (natural armor)
Hit Points85 (10d10 + 30)
Speed
Walk 40 ft,
Climb 30 ft,
Burrow 10 ft
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsStrengthConstitution
SkillsStealthPerception
Damage Resistances
Poison damage
Weaknesses
Vulnerable to cold damage,
Toxin potency is reduced by exposure to fire or intense heat
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft,
Blindsight 10 ft,
Passive Perception 14
Languages
—
Challenge5
Multi-Jawed. The varan's mouth can split into three hinged maw-segments. While the maw is split it has advantage on bite attack rolls against creatures that are grappled by it. The maw closes automatically if the varan is stunned or paralyzed.
Secreting Toxin. The varan secretes a persistent toxin onto its fangs and tongues. Any creature that is coated by the toxin and hits with a melee attack must make a Constitution saving throw or take 7 () poison damage and be poisoned until the end of the varan's next turn.
Maw Split. Recharge 5-6. The varan unfolds its multi-jawed maw to make three Bite attacks in immediate succession. Each attack follows the normal Bite attack rules. Using this ability uses the varan's Action.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 15 () piercing damage. The bite deals an additional 10 () poison damage on a failed Constitution saving throw, or half as much on a success. On a failed save the target is also poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Rasping Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. Hit: 10 () slashing damage as the varan lashes its rasping tongue and drags the victim against rough, toothlike barbs. If the target is a creature grappled by the varan it takes an additional 7 () piercing damage. If this attack hits the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be coated with the varan's toxin and suffer 7 () poison damage and be poisoned until the end of the varan's next turn.
Tail Slam. The varan slams its heavy, barbed tail. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. Hit: 12 () bludgeoning damage and the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Reactions

Reactive Tail. If a creature misses the varan with a melee attack while within 10 feet, the varan can make a Tail Slam attack against that creature.
Role
Skirmisher and ambush predator
Built for
4-6

Notes for the game master

Challenge 5 should provide a significant but manageable threat to a party of four level-5 characters.
Toxin DCs are 14, based on monster proficiency +3 and CON modifier +3.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Ambushes from darkness or overhead galleries. From cover it lunges with a Bite then uses Rasping Tongue to coat another target. If discovered it moves to pinch the party into chokepoints.

  2. Mid-fight

    Focuses the toxin on lightly armored or clustered targets, using Rasping Tongue to coat victims then finishing with powerful Bites. Uses terrain and narrow tunnels to limit the party's mobility.

  3. End of the fight

    If reduced below half its hit points it attempts to isolate one or two foes with tail slams and tongue coatings, finishing them while poisoned and then slipping back into tunnel shadows to ambush stragglers.

  4. Retreat

    When strongly threatened it will try to disengage into tunnels and collapse rock to block pursuers. If its young or lair is threatened it fights to the death.

How it fights

Ambush in narrow passages to deny movement and split the party.
Prioritize coated or isolated targets to maximize toxic effects.
Use Burrow and Climb to reposition and avoid area spells.

Who it attacks first

Wizards and clerics who can remove conditions
Lightly armored rogues and scouts
Support casters and ranged fighters

Works well with

Paired with ranged archers to exploit choke points, or with small swarms that distract foes while the varan ambushes.

How to beat it

Cold and freezing effects that slow its metabolism and reduce toxin potency.
Ranged hit-and-run tactics to avoid narrow-chamber grapples.
Area-of-effect spells to flush it from ambush with radiant or fire damage that cooks toxin residue.

Ways to avoid a fight

Sturdy barriers, smoke, or flashing lights can drive it off without killing it.
Baiting it with meat and retreating can lure it away from tunnels.
Treating toxin-coated surfaces with cold or heavy salt can neutralize residue over hours.

Ecology

Enormous and low-slung like a komodo, the creature has a long muscular body covered in matte, slate-green scales. Its head splits into overlapping plates that can part to reveal three smaller hinged jaws. Dozens of small, lidless eyes ring its skull in irregular rows, and two great rasping tongues, each fringed with barbs, flick constantly. Yellow-green toxin beads along its fangs and drips from its tongue.

Behavior

Solitary ambush predator. It is patient and cunning rather than mindless; it studies patterns of adventurers and lays traps of collapsed rock and slick toxin to funnel prey. It is not avaricious but will drag valuables into crevices to line its lair.

How it lives

A top subterranean predator in abandoned workings. It feeds on miners, beasts, and the occasional unlucky humanoid. The toxin it secretes evolves to incapacitate burrowing or cave-adapted prey and can persist on surfaces, making certain corridors dangerous even if the creature is absent for days.

Lair

A maze of sidings and choked shafts. The varan marks its lair with patches of slick toxin on walls and low hanging carcasses to lure scavengers. Areas near its nest are prone to cave-ins the varan engineered to pinch and slow pursuers. It keeps shallow pits lined with barbed roots to snag boots and cloaks.

Habitat
Underground, abandoned mines, natural caverns, ruined dungeons

Signs that it is near

Glossy green toxin droplets or smears on walls and floors
Scattered bone fragments with chew marks
Bundles of tattered cloth tangled in barbed roots

Tags

reptile,
venomous,
ambusher,
underground

Lore

Tales from old miners tell of a many-eyed lizard that split its jaw to swallow a man whole. Miners leave votive piles of rusted tools in tunnels as offerings to ward it off. Some superstitious groups believe the varan is a guardian spirit corrupted by mine spirits and greed.

What drives it

Survival, territory defense, and the protection of its hidden brood chambers. It is attracted by movement, heat, and the scent of fresh blood or new diggings.

After the fight

The bodies of those killed by the varan rot quickly and bear telltale toxic blisters. Any gear left in its lair is often stained with a faint green residue. Corpses and bedding found in its lair may be contaminated; exposure to open wounds or mucous membranes could require a Constitution save or minor poisoning.

“Miners leave votive piles of rusted tools in tunnels as offerings to ward it off.”
From its lore

Variants

Young Varan-dent: Medium size, lower HP (45), same abilities with reduced damage and Maw Split usable only once per long rest.
Brood Matron: CR 8 variant with higher HP, stronger toxin (DC 16), and the ability to call juvenile varans.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A local mine reopened and workers started disappearing; the company wants the beast removed quietly.
A valuable relic lies in the varan's lair; the party must retrieve it without collapsing the shafts.
The toxin is a component for a rare antidote; a healer hires the party to harvest glands from a live specimen.

How to use it

Ambush in narrow tunnels or collapsed galleries.
Guardian of a small hoard in a flooded shaft or old miners' camp.
Solo lair encounter with environmental hazards like slick toxin patches and unstable rock.

Treasure

A small cache of mining tools, a coin pouch worth 50 gp, and a curious rusted locket lodged in its lair.

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn Varan-dent the Mawed Toxosaur into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.