A time honoured tradition for antagonists in RPGs has been the rival party. A group of characters that are comparable in power to the players and offer them a different type of tactical challenge. It’s essentially the an easy to justify version of Dark Link (The Legend of Zelda series), an evil mirror that the players can face. Unfortunatly, the D&D 5e books offer little in the way of a strong party that players can work against. So let’s make a better monster.

The enemy party is usually comprised out of four members: a leader, a tank, a thief, and either a lancer or a healer. If the enemy party does have a fifth member, then that will be an exotic. Any of these can be cut, though the higher up on the list they are the harder that is to do while still keeping the feeling of an enemy party.

We’ll discuss each member seperately but the important thing we have to remember is that each member of the party has to have a thematic element which ties them back in with the rest of their group. For the Slave Lords (In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, 1981) they had a strong stratergy in the form of their backliner spells synergising well with their frontliners fighting styles. For the unnamed rival party in Call of the Netherdeep (2022) each possessed a ruidium item which emphasised their role. The tank has ruidium armour, the thief has a ruidium harpoon, ect.

For our purposes we’ll make the party members of a secret society with a dog motif. This will let us keep a strong theme between party members, create intrigue for the players, and assist us during the design process.

Secret Society.

The Hounds of Noc’tul is a group created by the wealthy aristocracy and dedicated to watching over the people of this city. It guides the people in ways which profit the elite and ensure any who work against them are quickly removed. They enforce their will through the Shadow Hounds, a group of retired adventures that have sworn loyalty to the society.

The Leader.

Somewhere it was decided that only 2 types of characters can be the leader. They can be either veteran fighters or a charismatic spellcaster. There are no other alternatives. Obviously this is wrong, but the idea is still a good one. Usually, the leader of an adventuring party is going to be either the paladin or the high metal stat spellcaster. Statistically speaking they are the most likely to succeed in any role the leader would have to fill outside of combat. Since the party is usally very melee heavy we’ll make our leader a wizard.

Stirling Willowbrook is a male high elf trained in the arts of fiend summoning. He leads the Shadow Hounds.

Stirling Willowbrook
Medium Humanoid (Elf), Lawful Evil
Armor Class 17 (Dimensional Aegis)
Hit Points 97 (15d8 + 30)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 11 (+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 15 (+2) INT 20 (+5) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 12 (+1)
Saving Throws CON +6, INT +9, WIS +5
Skills Arcana +9, Deception +5, History +9, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances Force
Condition Immunities Paralyzed, Restrained
Senses Passive Perception 11
Languages Abyssal, Common, Elven, Infernal, Primordial, Sign Language
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Dimensional Aegis. The AC of Stirling includes his Intelligence modifier while he isn’t wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Actions
Multiattack. Stirling makes two Acid Bolt or Shocking Grasp attacks.
Acid Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 40 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) acid damage.
Shocking Grasp. Melee Spell Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d8 + 8) lightning damage. If the target is wearing armour made of metal, the attack has advantage.
Conjure Fiend (Recharge 5–6). Stirling creates a connection to the lower planes, pulling out a fiend to serve him. Roll on the table below to randomly determine which fiend he summons. This fiend persits for 1 minute before returning to its home plane.

1d4	Fiend Summoned
1	Hell Hound
2	Succubus
3	Barbed Devil
4	Barlgura

Bonus Actions
Iron Wall (Recharge 5-6). As a bonus action, Stirling can make a 30-foot long, 10-foot high, and 5-inch thick wall of iron rise out of the ground. If the wall cuts through a creature’s square when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (Stirling’s choice). The wall has 19 AC and each 5-foot square has 60 HP. Once created the wall pursists until destroyed or Stirling dismisses it as a bonus action.
Transpose. As a bonus action, Stirling can teleport to an unoccupied space he can see withing 30 feet of him. Alternatively, he can swap the positions of two willing creatures he can see that are within range.
Reaction
Contingent Escape. As a reaction, when Stirling would be reduced to 0 hit points, he can teleport to his room at the Hounds of Noc’tul sanctum. Once used, he cannot use this ability again until the next dawn.

The Tank.

The tank is the most restrictive role in the enemy party. They should be in heavy armour, carry a big weapon, and be a ‘savage’ race (ie. orc, goliath, ect.) It’s usually fun to make these types of characters a non-player race so we’re going to make them an elemental.

Ruby is an earth elemental summoned by the Hounds of Noc’tul to keep an eye on the Shadow Hounds. She acts as muscle for the Shadow Hounds.

Ruby
Large Elemental, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 20 (plate armour and shield)
Hit Points 126 (12d10 + 60)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft.
STR 20 (+5) DEX 8 (-1) CON 20 (+5) INT 9 (-1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 5 (-3)
Saving Throws STR +8, CON +8
Skills Athletics +8, Stealth +5
Damage Vulnerabilities Thunder
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Poison
Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Restrained, Unconscious
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Terran, Sign Language
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Earth Glide. Ruby can burrow through nonmagical, unworked earth and stone. While doing so, the elemental doesn’t disturb the material it moves through.
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Siege Monster. Ruby deals double damage to objects and structures.
Actions
Multiattack. Ruby makes two warhammer attacks.
Warhammer. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Petrifying Strike. Ruby makes one Warhammer attack. On a hit, the target must succeed a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, or it begins to turn to stone and is restrained until the end of its next turn, when it must repeat the saving throw. The effect ends if the second save is successful; otherwise the target is permanently petrified.
Bonus Actions
Interpose. As a bonus action, Ruby can declare one ally she can see within 30 feet to be her ward until the start of her next turn. So long as Ruby’s ward is within 10 feet of her any damage dealt to them is dealt to Ruby instead.

The Thief.

The thief is, surprisingly, the most versatile member of an enemy party. They can be almost any class and race. The only rule is that they must wear light armour and be good at sneaking.

Rinnan Blacksurge is a female dwarf that inherited a legacy of powerful spirits from her family. She acts as spy, thief, and assassin for the Shadow Hounds.

Rinan Blacksurge
Medium Humanoid (Dwarf), Neutral Evil
Armor Class 17 (+1 studded leather armour)
Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 11 (+0) DEX 19 (+4) CON 17 (+3) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 13 (+1)
Saving Throws DEX +8, CON +7, WIS +6
Skills Acrobatics +8, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +12
Damage Resistances Poison
Condition Immunities Paralyzed, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Dwarvish, Sign Language, Thieves’ Cant
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Dwarven Resilience. Rinan has advantage on saving throws against poison.
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Actions
Multiattack. Rinan makes three Viper Blade attacks. She can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Asp Blade. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60, one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) piercing damage plus 13 (2d12) poison damage. Hit or Miss: The blade magically returns to Rinan’s hand immediately after a ranged attack.
Spellcasting. Rinan casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14):
At will: charm person, disguise self, minor illusion, pass without trace, thaumaturgy.
2/day each: blink, darkness, demension door, major image, mirror image, polymorph.
Bonus Actions
Channel Spirit. As a bonus action, Renin can channel the spirits of her ancestors. While channelled, a ghostly apparition of the spirit hovers over her shoulder. There are three different she can channel: Gamgore the Black, Elyn the Red, and Thrin the White. If she channels Gamgore, the poison damage of her Asp Blade increases to 26 (4d12) poison damage. If she channels Elyn, the saving throw DC of her spells increases to DC 16. If she channels Thrin, all allies within 10 feet of her roll and additional 1d4 for all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. These effects end when Renin channels a different spirit.
Relic Snatch (Recharge 6). As a bonus action, Renin can target one magic item she can see within 60 feet. If the target is in the possession of a creature, must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, on a failed save Renin steals the magic item. She cannot steal weapons, armour, or attuned items using this ability.

The Lancer.

The lancer is the co-leader. They fill whichever role the leader didn’t take, so if the leader is a wizard, they’re a veteran fighter. The main role of the lancer is to contradict the leader in both style and approach to situations. Since they contradict the leader they are probably the only member that would try to make contact with the players.

Enden Puddlefoot is a male halfling that once worked as captain of the city guard. He now acts as the Shadow Hounds second in command.

Enden Puddlefoot
Small Humanoid, Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 17 (+2 leather armor)
Hit Points 153 (18d8 + 72)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4) DEX 19 (+4) CON 18 (+4) INT 11 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 15 (+2)
Saving Throws STR +7, CON +7
Skills Athletics +7, Intimidation +5, Stealth +10, Survival +5
Condition Immunities Paralyzed, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Halfling, Sign Language
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Opportunity Striker. Opportunity attacks do not require Enden use his reaction, meaning he can make as many in a single turn as he likes. Additionally, whenever an ally if targeted for an attack, Enden can make an opportunity attack if the attacker is within reach. Each action can only provoke an opporunity attack once.
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Actions
Multiattack. Enden makes two attacks with his glaive.
Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing damage.
Bonus Action
Lunging Style. As a bonus action, Enden can enter a stance which extends the reach of his Glaive to 15 ft. until the start of his next turn.
Haft Strike. As a bonus action, Enden can make an addtional Glaive attack.
Lockdown Style. As a bonus action, Enden can enter a stance which sweeps low and trips his opponents. Until the start of his next turn, any targets he hits with an opportunity attack has its speed reduced to 0 ft.

The Healer.

The healer is always going to be a divine spellcaster of some description. Usually they will be a dark cleric in league with an evil god, but you can use more out there class choices to base them off. Their main job however is support. They will use control spells and healing magic to ensure their party has the advantage.

Harkin ‘Duke’ Frey is a male human that grew up on the cities streets, eventually learning to bend his home to his will. Duke acts as the Shadow Hounds healer and interrogator.

Harkin ‘Duke’ Frey
Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral Evil
Armor Class 14 (hide armor)
Hit Points 154 (17d8 + 34)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 12 (+1) DEX 15 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 13 (+1) WIS 20 (+5) CHA 11 (+0)
Saving Throws INT +5, WIS +9
Skills Medicine +9, Nature +5, Perception +9, Stealth +10
Condition Immunities Paralyzed, Restrained
Senses Passive Perception 19
Languages Common, Druidic, Elven, Sign Language
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Actions
Multiattack. Duke makes three Cobblestone Swell or Cobblestone Pull attacks. He can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting.
Cobblestone Swell. Melee Spell Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and the target is pushed 15 feet away from Duke.
Cobblestone Pull. Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 90 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (7d6) bludgeoning damage, and the targets speed is reduced by 15 feet until the start of Duke’s next turn.
Spellcasting. Duke casts one of the following spells, using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17):
At will: cure wounds, meld into stone, passwall
3/day each: blight, earth tremor, faerie fire, stone shape
1/day each: contagion, insect plague, mass cure wounds
Bonus Actions
Alley Hunter. As a bonus action, Duke can transform any doorway, archway, or 5-foot wide alley into a portal. This portal can connect to any another location Duke has previously created a portal, allowing instantanous travel between the two locations for anyone that walks through it. Alternatively, he can summoning a swarm of rats from the portal. Portals pursist so long as Duke maintains concentration (as if on a spell).

The Exotic.

The exotic is an interesting addition that sometimes appears in larger rival parties. They are usually coded as eastern inspired foreigners, such as monks or samurai, but can be anything that is extremely strange for the setting.

Bella Dupont is a female changling that was the results of an experiment by the Hounds of Noc’tul to combine a humanoid with an Ooze. She acts as the face of the Shadow Hounds.

Bella Dupont
Medium Humanoid (Changling), Chaotic Evil
Armor Class 14 (Natural)
Hit Points 217 (14d20 + 70)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4) DEX 12 (+1) CON 17 (+3) INT 12 (+1) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 19 (+4)
Skills Deception +8, Intimidation +8, Persuasion +8, Stealth +9
Damage Resistances Acid
Damage Immunities Poison
Condition Immunities Blinded, Deafened, Exhaustion, Poisoned, Paralyzed, Prone, Restrained
Senses Blindsight 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Halfling, Sign Language, Thieves’ Cant
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Absorb Metal. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal that hits Bella is absorbed into her body. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to damage rolls. If this penalty drops to −5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal that hits Bella is destroyed after dealing damage. Bella can eat through 1-inch-thick, nonmagical metal as an action.
Amorphous. Bella can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Shadow Hound Mask. The shadow hounds wear matching masks shaped like a black mastiff. While wearing the mask, they can’t be targeted by effects that would instantaneously kill them without dealing damage. Additionally they are unaffected by difficult terrain, spells or effects that would reduce their speed, nor can they be paralyzed or restrained. They add double their proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks (included above). These masks only function while worn by the member they were constructed for.
Actions
Multiattack. Bella makes two Morphic Weapon attacks.
Morphic Weapon. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) acid damage. If the target is wearing nonmagical metal armour, its armour is partly absorbed into Bella and takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armour is destroyed if its AC is reduced to 10 or lower.
Fluidic Form. As an action, Bella can cast Alter Self at-will.
Bonus Actions
Iron Skin. As a bonus action, Bella can harden the metal that comprises her body. Until the start of her next turn she cannot make reactions and has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks.
Magnetic Pull. As a bonus action, Bella can magnatise her body. All unrestrained nonmagical metal objects within 30 feet of her are pulled into contact with her. Additionally she gains a climbing speed equal to her walking speed, but only on metal surfaces.