Dretch
Small Fiend (Demon) · · CR 1/4
- Fiend (Demon)
- Small
- Tier 1
Dretch, CR 1/4, fills the small fiend (demon) role with chaotic evil disposition. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 1/4
- Type
- Fiend (Demon)
- Size
- Small
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- —
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Dretches are the lowest dwellers of the Abyss, swarming in countless masses across the layers' rotting plains. They feed on smaller demons, carrion, and one another, and reproduce spontaneously from pools of demonic ichor. On the Material Plane they appear only when summoned, and rarely survive long; the Plane's order is hostile to their fundamentally chaotic biology, which slowly destabilizes into smoke.
Behaviour
Dretches are stupid, cowardly, and cruel. They obey stronger demons through fear, screeching and gibbering when commanded, and turn on weaker fellows for sport. They cluster in mobs that cannot organize a real strategy, only mass aggression. They torment any creature smaller than themselves with mindless glee, drowning rats, mauling pets, and biting bound prisoners until forced to attack a real enemy.
Origin
Dretches form spontaneously in the Abyss from the souls of the most pathetic and selfish mortals: those whose final moments were defined by petty cruelty rather than grand evil. Each dretch is a debased echo of a mortal soul, hollowed of memory and identity. Greater demons spawn them in vats as cannon fodder, sometimes shaping them with intent, sometimes simply harvesting whatever bubbles up.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Dretch
- What is the challenge rating of Dretch?
- On the bestiary CR scale, Dretch sits at 1/4. It matches a tier-1 group in low-stakes encounters.
- What type of creature is Dretch?
- Dretch is classified as a fiend (demon) in D&D 5e, small size.