Rakshasa 5e
Guide by Sam West, @CrierKobold
Ah, Rakshasa- the D&D tiger demon with backward thumbs. It's a monster that started being plucked out of mythology but today is close to unrecognizable when stacked against its originator. Outside its historical contexts, I think Rakshasa can make superb mid-tier villains for your D&D campaign. They’re built to plot behind the scenes, using their deep well of magical spells to snoop around the underworld and acquire knowledge. When threatened directly, they bring that underworld overlord vibe to the fight and cut at the player’s resources with cursed claws, mind control, and a myriad of ways to get out of danger once the tide turns against them.
Running a Rakshasa
These aren’t monsters you probably want to include on a random encounters table for quick combats. Their CR is misleading, and their weapon immunity and magic immunity profile sets them up as monsters only mid-tier parties typically can deal with.
Rakshasa want to be set up; they are a villain that rises in power through their charm, wits, and mind-altering spells.
Player Level
In a fight, Rakshasa is kind of a pushover on its own. They’ve got Dominate Person; after that, they’re multi-attacking with the equivalent of a greatsword. Independently, if the group has magic weapons and can hit it, they’ll likely shred it down. The repercussions of the fight may leave them seeking Remove Curse (which any 5th level or higher Cleric can just prepare).
I’d expect 5th-level or higher heavily martial groups (with magic weapons) could easily survive an encounter with one and even may sneak a kill in if they all can put out 20+ damage a round or lock it down with a save or die assuming they can beat the save against the Dominate Person.
If Dominate Person hits a critical party member, all of a sudden this can become a dire fight the players have no chance of besting if they can’t get over the DC 18 save. This leaves Rakshasa in a weird place where they’ll either feel completely inconsequential and get steamrolled and have to flee, or they’ll feel like frustrating masterminds that thrash parties with their strongest party member.
Additionally, a group composed of mainly 5th-level or lower spellcasters will be helpless against them, as they ignore all spells 5th-level or lower they wish to be unaffected by.
Rakshasa aren’t the kind of monster you just drop at a table as a neat challenge- their entire identity revolves around narrative and social interaction leading to an ultimate confrontation the players can prepare for. Most prepared 9th-level and higher groups will likely be able to deal with it.
Defining Gameplay to Work With
The only unique elements of Rakshasa is their Limited Magic Immunity and Claw that prevents rests. Outside of that, they’re an enchanter with a set spell list.
This leaves them as monsters that need environmental interaction to flourish. If they can’t actively use their espionage tools alongside besting magical detection, they’re hollowed out to Dominate Person and extra attack.
I’d expect a Rakshasa would show off powerful magical items it sought out to defend itself; things like a Brazier of Commanding Fire Elementals add a ton to combats against them.
Mentality and Tactics
Rakshasa are schemers. They’ve got everything they need to seamlessly meld into a population and do their own recon, besting both magical detection and mundane observation. I’d expect a Rakshasa to have leverage over the party members the first time they meet face to face prior to having interacted with them without them ever knowing.
Once they’re in combat, they want to win the fight with Dominate Person while being ready to get out should things start to turn worse for them with Invisibility, Suggestion, and Plane Shift.
Combating the Monster
Facing a Rakshasa who knows what it's doing can feel… challenging. They seamlessly blend into society, hiding among the masses in a city, impossible to find if they don’t want to be observed. The majority of the battle should be happening outside of initiative.
Methods of Engagement
Engaging these monsters socially usually means compelling them to reveal themselves- beyond that, you’ll need a direct and confrontational approach to nail it down. They can be invisible and undetectable by 6th-level and lower spells. Disguise Self gives them a tool to look like anybody. Some may opt to keep their inverted thumbs, but that’s not guaranteed.
You’ll need information about them prior if you want to get it out in the open and slain, namely what provokes it. Getting it to physically attack you is often going to be your best bet- doing so when its isolated from allies is going to be a lot harder.
Elements to Target
We need more monsters with vulnerabilities like Rakshasa. They have a clean, simple vulnerability: they take double damage from magical piercing weapons held by good people. While alignment may be on its way out of core rules, this general principle lets players plan and target their weaknesses deliberately.
Seeking out a magical rapier or arrows for your longbow will enable the best of your group to strike this thing down swiftly. It only has 110 hit points, which go fast when doubling the incoming damage.
Beyond getting their vulnerability covered, you’ll likely want some way to prevent them from escaping via Plane Shift. That can be coordinated attacks that rapidly reduce its hit points, but more likely you’ll want to prepare ways to interrupt its spellcasting by preventing the verbal, somatic, or material elements from being able to work.
Classes That Shine Against It
Good-aligned rogues and sharpshooters can deal massive damage to it when spotted. Heightened mundane means of detection, such as expertise in Investigation or Perception, can additionally help lock it down and attack it, once again highlighting common rogue skills.
Martial characters honestly can best it in one-versus-one combat a lot of the time. They don’t hit that hard, nor that well.
Magical characters have to focus on supportive spells that empower martial characters; Haste and Bless come to mind as great spells against them, as Rakshasa don’t have easy means of getting to the backline and ending the concentration, and the effect empowers martial characters to perform mundane maneuvers that circumnavigate its defenses.
The World Around It
Rakashas make such great villains because they’re built to excel in social environments. +5 Charisma, at will Detect Thoughts and Disguise Self, and ample illusions and charming effects place them at the head of critical political or economic organizations. Power is the name of the game for Lawful Evil- they want control, and don’t care who they hurt to get it.
As the Main Antagonist
These are built to be mid-tier main antagonists. They can put themselves at the heart of institutions that many rely on, abusing this to grow and gain more and more. Their underlings often won’t know their true nature, with only a handful of trusted advisors possibly understanding their true nature.
When they have the power, their Detect Thoughts can insulate them with only truly loyal servants. Dissenting thoughts can result in your outsing, making them feel impossible to get close to, and thus insurmountable to take down politically.
Underlings
Rakshasa can turn anything into a subordinate with its charm and charms. They’ll usually have wealth, and with wealth comes bargaining power. When you stack that on top of at-will Detect Thoughts you’re left with a monster that can be selective with their lackeys, and one that knows how to get the most out of each of them by pressing pain points and offering them whatever their mind comes up with.
Environments
Given their aptitude for intrigue, densely populated regions are your best friend. Cities and markets are their hunting ground. The more people, the better. If you’re doing basic high fantasy, this kind of environment should work fine.
To take it up a notch, Plane Shift makes them superb recurring villains in Spelljammer or Planescape games. They bob and weave around the universe, setting their roots in cities all across time and space, slowly amassing more and more influence and power.
Quest Hooks
Rakshasa quest hooks tend to reflect who it's ousted as it rises to power. Some quests might be dealing with seemingly mundane thievery or bribery. What hints that a Rakshasa is involved is a refusal to admit who they’re working for, or more specifically, fear of their patron, namely fear of needing to interact with them again.
These hooks paint a picture of the Rakshasa’s long-term plans- roughing up some miners with brigands may seem to be petty theft at first, only to later be revealed that the Rakshasa villain has weaseled its way into a position of power over local mercenaries, and wants to strong-arm the mine into paying for protection.
Higher-level quests aimed directly at a Rakashasa often are about uncovering the truth. Their actions set people out following Suggestions, like buying and delivering expensive magic items to odd locations, never to be seen again. These lead back to a mysterious figure, or more likely, a group of wildly different benefactors that the Rakshasa uses to imply a shadow council when in reality it's the lone mastermind pulling the strings using a dozen different faces.
Associated Loot
Taking down a Rakshasa leaves behind wealth. A lot of it. Their identity is tied to loot you can pool almost anything from the Dungeon Master’s Guide magic item-wise and I’d expect a Rakshasa to seek it out. Some stand out more than others, though, especially as tools they’d regularly use for their machinations.
Rakshasa Loot
| d8 | Magic Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Cape of the Mountebank covered in Rakshasa fur |
| 2 | A Cloak of Displacement |
| 3 | The Bird form of the Feather Token |
| 4 | A packed Handy Haversack full of odd uncommon magic items |
| 5 | Three pots of Marvelous Pigments, barely used |
| 6 | A Wand of Binding, for disciplinary actions against subordinates that disobey orders |
| 7 | A Helm of Brilliance (if you really want to turn an encounter lethal) |
| 8 | A well-used Amulet of the Planes |
Masters of Disguise
If you haven’t done a big intrigue game yet, Rakshasa are fantastic villains to set them in motion, and absolutely worth trying out. They won’t be the perfect fit for some tables, as they require a lot of investment in narrative and a level of seriousness some tables don’t tend to reach. If you’re at a table that likes engaging with the society and NPCs of the world, I can’t recommend these devious devils enough. They’re a blast to run.
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