Salamander
Large Elemental · · CR 5
- Elemental
- Large
- Tier 2
Salamander is a large elemental of neutral evil alignment, CR 5. Found in underground. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 5
- Type
- Elemental
- Size
- Large
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Underground
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Salamanders are native to the Plane of Fire, where they form a slave caste below efreet. They mine magma-veins for fire-opals and other elemental gems, working the heart-furnaces of efreet cities. They cannot survive long in cool environments; their serpentine bodies require constant ambient heat above flame-tolerance levels. On the Material Plane, they are encountered only in volcanic vents, fire-temples, or as bound servants of fire-themed wizards. They feed on heat itself, supplemented by burnt offerings.
Behaviour
Salamanders are sapient, proud, and resentful of efreet enslavement. Free salamanders form small bands and raid both fire-genies and material-plane settlements. They speak Ignan and a few words of Common. They are martial: trained from hatching with spear and tactics. Ritual warfare among salamander factions involves contests of heat-endurance and spear-dueling. They view humanoids as fragile, soft, and amusingly easy to char. Few salamanders ever befriend non-elementals genuinely.
Origin
Sages debate whether salamanders are natural inhabitants of the Plane of Fire or descendants of warrior-souls bound into elemental form by ancient pacts. The latter view, popular among illuminated planar scholars, holds that salamanders were once humanoid soldiers who pledged service to efreet sultans for power and were transformed into eternal warrior-serpents upon death. Their resentment of efreet, in this view, is the dim memory of being deceived by their original benefactors millennia ago.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Salamander
- What is the challenge rating of Salamander?
- The CR on Salamander is 5. That CR matches tier-2 to early-tier-3 encounter math.
- What type of creature is Salamander?
- The bestiary type for Salamander is elemental, large size.
- Where does Salamander live?
- Salamander's listed habitats include Underground.