Updated 12 August 2014 (Type, Tags, Hit Dice)

This is the third in my series of conversion documents for D&D 5th Edition. (You can find the
one for Next here and the one for 3.5/3E/Pathfinder here.) I created this document by
comparing the 5E versions of monsters from the Starter Set with their 2E counterparts. I also
referred to two sources for converting monsters from 2E to 3E: Wizards official Conversion
Manual and the Dragon Magazine article How to Create a Monster.
I will once again include two warnings:
1. If you compare the 2E and 5E versions of monsters yourself, you will notice this
conversion does not produce perfectly identical results. I went for approximation, not
precision.
2. I am fallible, so there may be mistakes. If you find any, let me know.
The end of this document also explains how to adjust these guidelines for converting monsters
from 1E.
You will need access to the D&D 5E Starter Set and Basic Rules PDF to make full use of this.
Also, thanks to Russ Morrissey for a simplification on dragon AC, and the people in this
ENWorld thread for general help!

Size

5E appears to use 3.5s size ranges (slightly trimmed). These do not perfectly match 2Es size
categories, so convert them as follows:
2E Size

5E Size

Tiny (2 or less)

Tiny (2 feet or less)

Small (2-4)

Small (2-4 feet)

Medium (4-7)

Medium (4-8 feet)

Large (7-8)

Medium (4-8 feet)

Large (8-12)

Large (8-16 feet)

Huge (12-16)

Large (8-16 feet)

Huge (16-25)

Huge (16-32 feet)

Gargantuan (25-32)

Huge (16-32 feet)

Gargantuan (32 or more)

Gargantuan (32 feet or more)

You can also simply use the 2E size category as is, if you dont mind being off by a few feet.

Type
2E did not have creature types, so you will need to assign those yourself, based on the
monsters description. The types are all explained in the 5E Basic Rules.

Tags
Appended to the creature type in 5E, these can be determined from the monsters description.
The Starter Set includes the following tags: elf, goblinoid, human, orc, and shapechanger.
The Players Handbook and Hoard of the Dragon Queen expand this to demon, devil,
bullywug, cloud giant, gnome, half-dragon, half-black dragon, half-elf, high-elf, kobold,
lizardfolk, troglodyte, and yuan-ti, showing a lot of options. (Its reasonable to assume there
will also be tags for dwarf and halfling.) If your creature isnt likely to have any of the tags
above, skip this step.

Alignment

Generally, keep this the same. However, creatures in 5E may also be unaligned, meaning they
operate on instinct - so you may want to change neutral to unaligned for some creatures.

Armor Class
Its easiest to recalculate AC from scratch, based on their Dexterity bonus and any armor worn.
(Make sure to check the rules for determining AC in the Starter Set or the Basic Rules PDF.)
If the creature did not wear armor, and had an AC of 6 or below, they should have natural armor.
In that case, give them a +2 bonus to their new AC.
Dragons appear to have stronger natural armor in 5E. For now, I suggest estimating their 5E
AC by subtracting it from 19.
Example: A dragon of some sort has AC -1. Subtract that from 19: 19-(-1) = 19+1 = 20.

Hit Dice

In 5E, the type of hit die is determined by a creatures size. Tiny creatures use d4 hit dice.
Small creatures use d6 hit dice. Medium creatures use d8 hit dice. Large creatures use d10 hit
dice. Huge creatures use d12 hit dice. Gargantuan creatures use d20 hit dice.
In 2E, Hit Dice may be displayed in formats like 1-1 or 5+3. The first number is the number of
Hit Dice; ignore the later number.
Tiny creatures should keep the same number of hit dice as they had in 2E.
Small or Medium creatures should add one hit die. For example, 1d6 should become 2d6.
Large, Huge, and Gargantuan creatures should add two hit dice. For example, 3d10 should
become 5d10.
Average hit points for creatures should be recalculated as follows:
Xd4 - Multiply X by 2.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Xd6 - Multiply X by 3.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Xd8 - Multiply X by 4.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Xd10 - Multiply X by 5.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Xd12 - Multiply X by 6.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Xd20 - Multiply X by 10.5 (round down), then add their Constitution bonus, times X.
Example: A monster has 3d8 HD and a Constitution of 14 (+2 bonus). So their average hit
points are 4.5 times 3, rounded down: 13. Then you multiply their Con bonus by their HD, for a
total of +6. 13+6 = 19.
Two exceptions:
Oozes should probably keep their current hit dice.
Dragons have been upgraded a lot since 2E, so any 2E dragon converted like other monsters
is likely to be comparatively weak. But since we have only one example, I can only suggest you
convert them like other creatures of their size.

Speed
Use the 2E Movement stat, then convert it as follows for each movement type (in feet).

Movement up to 12: Divide by 3, multiply by 10, round to nearest 10.

Movement above 12: Multiply by 2, round to nearest 10.
For reference, the 2E abbreviations for special movement are Fl (flying), Sw (swimming), Br
(burrowing), Cl (climbing), and Wb (moving across webs).
Example: A creature has Movement 9, Fl 21. Its new ground movement is 9/3 = 3, 3x10 = 30
feet. Its new flight speed is 21x2 = 42, rounded to 40 feet.
A creature that can move across webs (Wb) should replace that speed with the trait Web
Walker (see the giant spider in the Starter Set).

Ability Scores

The only ability score provided in most 2E stat blocks is Intelligence. You can use this statistic
as given - if theres a range, go for the average or highest score. If only the Intelligence rating
is provided, use the below for reference:

Non- (0) [which must be increased to at least 1 for 5E]

Animal (1)
Semi- (2-4)
Low (5-7)
Average (8-10)
Very (11-12)
High (13-14)
Exceptional (15-16)
Genius (17-18)
Supra-genius (19-20)
Godlike (21+)

If you are really lucky, the monsters description may describe other ability scores. Use them as
given if they are provided, with the exception of Strength, which should be converted as
follows:
2E Strength

5E Strength

1-18

Same

18/01-18/99

18

18/00 (2E ogre)

19

19 (2E hill giant)

20-21

20 (2E stone giant)

22-23

21 (2E frost giant)

23-24

22 (2E fire giant)

25-26

23 (2E cloud giant)

27-28

24 (2E storm giant)

29

25

30

For any ability scores missing at this point, you will need to choose a reference monster. This
is an existing monster similar to the one youre converting. (For example, a skeletal undead
could use the skeleton as a reference.) You should use the ability scores of the reference

monster to fill in any blanks, possibly tweaking them as needed to fit the monsters concept or
known ability scores.
When choosing a reference monster, use these sources, in this order of preference:
1. The D&D 5E Starter Set.
2. Monsters from D&D Next material.
3. D&D 3.5s Monster Manual. You can use this site as a quick reference:
http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm
4. The How to Create a Monster article (linked above).
Note that in 5E, creatures always have all six ability scores. If you use a 3.5 reference monster
and it is missing any of these, you should look at the next closest Next or 5E monster, or use the
guidelines for filling in blanks from my 3.5 conversion document.
Alternatively, the 2E sourcebook Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns provides a
method for determining monster ability scores, if you want to fill in the blanks from the 2E side.
They recommend rolling randomly and consulting a table, but I would use the average result on
the table instead (results 9-12). Another 2E resource to consider is The Complete Book of
Humanoids. Note that any resulting Strength scores would still need to be converted to 5E.

Proficiency Bonus
For monsters, this is a bonus which can be applied to Saving Throws, Skills, and to hit
bonuses for Actions and Spellcasting. (The Basic Rules PDF explains this further, and
provides bonuses up to level 20.) Apparently, monsters in 5E get the proficiency bonus for a
character equal to their Challenge rating - however, there is no reliable way to calculate
Challenge at this time (see Challenge below for more details).
A creature should have at least a proficiency bonus of +2. We only have one example so far that
appears to have +3, the young green dragon (Challenge 8), but you can probably give stronger
monsters a +3 as well.
However, if you think a higher bonus (+4, etc.) would make sense, and youre willing to risk
being very wrong, I have a possible conversion in Appendix 2.
If a monster is described as having levels in any class or equivalent, that could also be used as
a level for their 5E proficiency bonus.

Saving Throws
Ignore the 2E rules for monster saving throws. In 5E, saves are associated with each of the six
ability scores, so most creatures just use their ability bonus for saves.

However, a few 5E monsters do appear to apply their proficiency bonus to these saves. You
may wish to do the same for your converted creature, if their 2E description suggests it should.
In most cases, though, you should probably pass on giving your creature proficiency with saves
- its much easier without it.

Skills
The majority of monsters will have few or no skills, especially monsters driven by instinct.
Consult the 2E monsters description to see if it has any talents that might match a particular 5E
skill. For reference, the 5E skills are:
Athletics (Strength)
Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth (Dexterity)
Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion (Intelligence)
Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival (Wisdom)
Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion (Charisma)
Full descriptions of the skills can be found in the Starter Set or Basic Rules PDF.
If a creature has proficiency in a skill, their bonus with that skill is equal to the relevant ability
bonus, plus their proficiency bonus.
Example: A monster has a Dexterity of 15 (+2 bonus) and proficiency in Stealth. This means
that they should have a +4 bonus with Stealth (Dexterity) checks. If they are a more powerful
creature, they may have a +5 bonus instead.
If a creature is hard to surprise, it should probably have proficiency in Perception (Wisdom). If
the creature is good at surprising enemies, it should probably have proficiency in Stealth
(Dexterity).
Some creatures seem to have a higher proficiency in one skill than the others, typically double
their normal proficiency bonus (+4 or +6). For example, doppelgangers have a +4 on Deception
(Charisma) checks. You may wish to do the same with a creatures signature skill.

Vulnerabilities, Resistances, Immunities

Look at the 2E creatures Special Defenses and description - this should give you an idea what
the creature is vulnerable against (listed under Damage Vulnerabilities in 5E), what the
creature is resistant against (listed under Damage Resistances), and what the creature is
immune against (listed under Damage Immunities or Condition Immunities).

Some 2E creatures can only be harmed by magical weapons of a certain bonus (+1, +2, etc.).
This should be listed under Damage Resistances as follows:
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
If the creature can only be harmed by some other material, add the following:
...nonmagical weapons that arent (silvered or adamantine or [other substance])
Modify the above as needed for other resistances.
When you note Condition Immunities, remember that they may overlap with resistances or
damage immunities. For example, a creature immune to poison damage should also note that
they are immune to the poisoned condition.

The innate immunities of undead in 5E are:

Damage Immunities: poison
Condition Immunities: poisoned
Only add other immunities to an undead creature if they are separate from its undead nature.

Incorporeal creatures should probably have the following resistances and immunities:
Damage Resistances: acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities: poison
Condition Immunities: grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained

Magic resistance has also been simplified, and is now listed as a trait - see the flameskull for
an example.

Senses
There are only three senses established in 5E at this point: blindsight, darkvision, and
truesight. 2Es infravision, ultravision, and similar senses are equivalent to darkvision. Any
non-visual replacement for sight should be blindsight. Any creature with innate true seeing
should have truesight.

Also, all creatures have a passive Perception score. This is equal to 10 plus their total bonus to
Perception (Wisdom) checks.

Languages
Refer to the Basic Rules PDF for the known languages in 5E. If no language for your creature is
listed there, give them the native language provided in their 2E description.

Challenge
There is no reliable way to calculate Challenge for 5E monsters, let alone for converted
creatures from 2E. If this is a creature from a module, however, its probably fine.
That said, I did find a few repeated equivalencies, which I can extrapolate into a partial
conversion table. This is likely to be highly inaccurate, so use the below at your own risk:
2E XP Value (equivalent HD value)

5E Challenge

35 or lower (2 HD or less)

(25)

65 (2+1 to 3 HD)

(50)

120 (3+1 to 4 HD)

(100)

175 (4+1 to 5 HD)

1 (200)

270 (5+1 to 6 HD)

2 (450)

420 (6+1 to 7 HD)

3 (700)

Traits
To determine a creatures Traits, look at the 2E monsters description. When possible, you
should use equivalent traits from the Starter Set monsters; if this is not possible, either base the
converted trait on a similar 5E trait, or simply use the original text as is.
The Starter Set includes descriptions for the following Traits:
Aggressive (Orc)
Ambusher (Doppelganger)

 Amorphous (Ochre Jelly)

Amphibious (Young Green Dragon)
Brute (Bugbear)
Devotion (Cultist)
False Appearance (Twig Blight)
Fey Ancestry (Nezznar the Black Spider)
Hover (Spectator)
Illumination (Flameskull)
Incorporeal Movement (Mormesk the Wraith)
Innate Spellcasting (Nezznar the Black Spider)
Keen Hearing and Smell (Wolf), Keen Sight (Nothic), Keen Sight and Smell
(Owlbear)
Magic Resistance (Flameskull)
Martial Advantage (Hobgoblin)
Nimble Escape (Goblin)
Pack Tactics (Wolf)
Rejuvenation (Flameskull)
Shapechanger (Doppelganger)
Stone Camouflage (Grick)
Special Equipment (Nezznar the Black Spider)
Spellcasting (Evil Mage, Flameskull, Nezznar the Black Spider; more on this
below)
Spider Climb (Giant Spider, Ochre Jelly)
Sunlight Sensitivity (Mormesk the Wraith, Nezznar the Black Spider)
Surprise Attack (Bugbear, Doppelganger)
Telepathy (Spectator)
Undead Fortitude (Zombie)
Web Sense, Web Walker (Giant Spider)

Spellcasting is a special case. In addition to being used for 2E monsters with levels in a
spellcasting class, lists of spell-like powers also tend to be translated as Spellcasting. (The only
exception should be specific spell-like powers which are really important to a creatures concept,
in which case they are either listed as Innate Spellcasting or broken out as individual traits,
actions, or reactions.)
If the creature lists a caster level, use that. If no caster level is provided, use their 2E Hit Dice.
Make sure to use the 5E rules for spellcasting, and replace spells with closest equivalents if
necessary; refer to the Starter Set or Basic Rules for more details. (For Innate Spellcasting, the
spellcasting ability appears to be Wisdom.)
Note that outside of a Spellcasting trait, the effects of a spell are generally described in a
monsters stat block in 5E. But you dont have to do this if you dont want to.

Actions with an Attack Roll

Actions should be taken from a 2E creatures normal attacks, Special Attacks, or description.
You need to convert three things to make these into 5E actions - the to hit bonus, the damage
inflicted by elements of the attack, and any saving throws required.
To Hit
Ignore the THAC0 and recalculate this from scratch. In 5E, the to hit for an action seems to be
based on the proficiency bonus. This is combined with the relevant ability bonus (usually
Strength or Dexterity).
Note that most natural attacks (claw, bite, etc.) appear to be finesse attacks, meaning they can
use either Strength or Dexterity with attack rolls. Unless you think your creature should be a
weak melee combatant, you should choose the highest of either Strength or Dexterity for to hit
with natural attacks.
Unusual attacks like the wraiths Life Drain appear to either have a higher bonus, or are using
something other than Strength or Dexterity. I dont have any specific recommendations for this
right now, but feel free to experiment with other ability scores (like Constitution or Charisma) if
that seems appropriate. Youre probably safer avoiding that, however.

Damage
In 2E, damage is often expressed not in dice, but as a range, like 1-6, 3-12, or 2-5. In such
cases, you will have to figure out how many dice that is before converting. (In the above cases,
its 1d6, 3d4, and 1d4+1.)
For attacks that use a weapon, refer to the damage listed in the Basic Rules PDF or Starter
Set. If the creature is large, increase the weapons damage die by one (i.e. 1d6 becomes 2d6).
If the creature is huge, increase the weapons damage die by two (i.e. 1d6 becomes 3d6).
Some especially huge creatures, and gargantuan creatures, may increase the damage die by
three (i.e. 1d6 becomes 4d6), but you may be safer sticking with two.
For natural attacks by tiny or small creatures, you should probably leave the damage dice
alone. However, the minimum damage die appears to be 1d4, so any weaker attacks should
probably upgrade to that. (The same goes for damage dice below 1d4 for other creatures.)

For natural attacks by medium or larger creatures, use the following table:
2E Damage Dice

5E Damage Dice

1d4

1d6 (or 2d4)

1d6

1d8 (or 2d6)

1d8

1d10 (or 2d8)

1d10

1d12 (or 2d10)

1d12

2d8 (or 2d12)

If an attack inflicts more than one die of damage, increase the 5E damage die by that number.
For example, 2d4 should become 2d6 (or 3d4).
Some creatures strongest natural attacks seem to add both one die of damage and increase
the die type by one - for example, 1d6 becoming 2d8. This should be used carefully, however,
and shouldnt be used on more than one attack.
Dont forget to add the monsters Strength bonus to melee damage and Dexterity bonus to
ranged damage. You can calculate average damage through the method above under Hit Dice.
Other types of damaging attacks (like the flameskulls fire ray) seem to be treated much like the
strongest natural attacks above, but there arent many examples yet. Still, that guideline may
work for now. Dragon breath weapons are upgraded much more than that, but until we have
more dragons, Im reluctant to recommend any guidelines there.
Saving Throws for Actions
5E saving throws are very different from 2E. They should probably be converted as follows:
2E Saving Throw

5E Saving Throw

Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic

Constitution

Rod, Staff, or Wand

Wisdom (or Dexterity)

Petrification or Polymorph

Constitution (or Wisdom)

Breath Weapon

Constitution (or Dexterity)

Spell

Wisdom

Feel free to substitute a different ability score for the save, if it seems more appropriate.

The average Difficulty Class (DC) for saves in 5E seems to differ by the type of action:
Type 1: If the action involves an attack roll, the DC seems to be 10 + the ability
bonus of the creature for the relevant save. For example, a creature with Constitution 13
(+1 bonus) that inflicts a Constitution save effect should require a DC of 11 (10+1).
Type 2: If the action is a ranged effect with no attack roll, the DC appears to be
10 + Challenge rating. If correct, this is inconvenient, since we dont have a good way to
determine Challenge. For now, I recommend calculating weaker effects as Type 1 and
stronger ones as Type 3, but you can use the rough XP conversion table above to
determine Challenge if you wish.
Type 3: If the action is an area effect with no attack roll, the DC appears to be 10
+ the ability bonus of the creature for the relevant save + proficiency bonus. (We only
have one example of this, however.)
The Starter Set includes descriptions for the following Actions requiring a saving throw:
Bite plus knocked prone (Wolf) [Type 1]
Bite plus poison (Giant Spider) [Type 1]
Claws plus paralyzed condition (Ghoul) [Type 1]
Eye Rays (Spectator) [Type 2]
Life Drain (Mormesk the Wraith) [Type 1]
Poison Breath (Young Green Dragon) [Type 3]
Rotting Gaze (Nothic) [Type 2]
Web (Giant Spider) [Type 1]
The wraiths Life Drain should be used in place of 2Es energy drain attack.

Recharge
Some actions also have a recharge, which is explained in the Starter Set. Two examples are
the giant spiders Web and the young green dragons Poison Breath, which both have a
recharge of 5-6.
Recharge seems to cover strong effects that, in 2E, could only be used a limited number of
times per day, or required a number of rounds between uses. The Starter Set goes on to
describe effects that can only be used a specific number of times per day as well, although no
examples are provided.
My recommendation is to use Recharge 5-6 for most limited-use actions, and keep X per day
for especially strong attacks that should only be used once in a battle.

Actions without an Attack Roll

Several 5E creatures - the doppelganger, flameskull, grick, nothic, owlbear, and young green
dragon - have Multiattack, allowing them to take more than one action per turn. If your 2E

monster could attack more than once, you should probably give them Multiattack in 5E. Note
that most creatures can only make two attacks - the only exception is the young green dragon,
which can make three.
There are also a few creatures that can take actions not requiring an attack roll or saving throw.
If your monster could do this in 2E, you can probably use them as is in 5E.
The Starter Set includes descriptions for the following Actions of that type:
Create Food and Water (Spectator)
Read Thoughts (Doppelganger)
Weird Insight (Nothic)

Reactions
Anything that could be converted into an Action, but requires some sort of trigger, should be
categorized as a Reaction. Otherwise, they should be converted like other Actions.

Final Notes
Everything not mentioned above, like Morale, should probably be dropped in 5E. Of course, if
you feel its very important to the creatures concept, feel free to port it over anyway.
Appendix 1: 1E
While there were several underlying changes between 1E and 2E, the monster statistics can be
converted more or less the same as 2E creatures. There are a few differences, however, which
are mostly cosmetic.
Movement rates are the same as 2E, but they are usually displayed in the following format:
[normal]
/[flying]
//[swimming]
([burrowing])
*[web]
@[climb]

1E only recognizes three size categories: S (small), M (human-sized), and L (large). M is

defined as 5-7 feet; S is anything smaller than 5 feet; L is anything larger than 7 feet. If a
specific size in feet is given, you may use that number with the 2E size conversion; if not, you
will have to choose an appropriate size yourself, based on the creatures description.

XP Value is calculated differently from 2E. Most monsters were eventually assigned Monster
Levels, as well. Neither seems to correspond well enough to determine any equivalent
Challenge for 5E, though Monster Levels I-IV do roughly overlap with Challenge 3 and below.
(Note that the original 1E Monster Manual does not provide Levels or XP Values at all; you have
to refer to the 1E Dungeon Masters Guide and determine it yourself.)

Psionic Ability is listed for many 1E monsters (as well as a smaller number of 2E monsters).
Psionics rules are beyond the scope of this conversion, but you may wish to import any
described psionic powers as traits, actions, or reactions as appropriate.

FYI, the 1E Monster Manual II has a list converting the damage ranges (2-8, etc.) to dice rolls,
which may come in handy for both 1E and 2E conversions.
If you want a higher proficiency bonus than +2 or +3 for your 1E monster, I have a very loose
way to guess what it might be in Appendix 2.

Appendix 2: Alternate Proficiency Bonus

Combining together what I discussed under Proficiency Bonus and Challenge, you can use
the following table as a way to guess at a 2E monsters proficiency bonus in 5E.
One last warning - this has a fairly good chance of being wrong.
2E XP Value (equivalent HD value)

5E Proficiency Bonus

Up to 650 (8 HD or less)

+2

975 to 3000 (8+1 to 13 HD)

+3

4000 to 7000 (14 to 17 HD)

+4

8000 to 11,000 (18 to 21 HD)

+5

12,000 or more (22 HD or more)

+6

For 1E, I have an even shakier conversion you can try, which relies on me conveniently ignoring
the differences in how XP is calculated between 1E and 2E:
1E XP Value (Basic XP Value equiv. HD)

5E Proficiency Bonus

Up to 375 (8 HD or less)

+2

375 to 600 (8 to 8+1 HD)

+2 or +3

600 to 1800 (8+1 to 13 HD)

+3

1800 to 3000 (14 to 17 HD)

+4

3000 to 5000 (18 to 21 HD)

+5

5000 or more (22 HD or more)

+6