Best Exotic Mounts In DND

Summary

• Dungeons & Dragons offers a wide variety of mounts, including camels, giant lizards, elephants, and more.
• Some mounts have unique abilities, such as swimming, climbing, or flying, making them ideal for different types of terrain or situations.
• Acquiring and training these mounts can be time-consuming and expensive, so players should be prepared to invest in their trusty steeds.

The world of Dungeons & Dragons is home to a menagerie of wondrous animals. While these worlds are also home to plain riding horses, why would anyone want to mount up on a riding horse when you’ve got so many other fantastic options? Leave riding on horses for the real world. We’re playing a classic tabletop game here, not a historically accurate medieval simulator.

There are tons of awesome options for mounts, whether your character is good, evil, or somewhere in between. That being said, the most attractive of them come with a hefty price tag and, usually, a lengthy time investment. So be prepared to pony up for your local dungeon master.

Updated on January 7, 2025, by Alfredo Robelo: Mounts are crucial to most Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, since characters need to be able to make it to their destinations in a timely manner. They are also important for how much players love to acquire them, hence why we have updated this article with even more exotic mounts, letting your players ride with style.

21

Giant Ant

Having a giant ant as a mount is just as good as having any non-flying giant insect, since most of them come with a climbing speed that lets them get to most places with ease. This makes dungeon crawling a breeze, letting you use the ceilings of cave structures to avoid most traps.

Ants in particular, however, come with an added roleplaying flavor. If the ant you are using as a mount is native to your surroundings, that means that there is a giant ant colony nearby, possibly spanning the entire underdark with tunnels that connect more cities than you can imagine.

20

Peryton

The peryton can be a creative mount for certain evil campaigns, as long as your Dungeon Master allows the usage of it. At first glance, the clear benefit of the creature is that it can fly, but some editions give the creature special abilities related to its shadow, making it take the shape of the last creature it ate.

This can be ideal for luring others into traps, making them think they are chasing some humanoid that has got lost. Of course, you will need to keep the size of the peryton in mind, since the lower level version of the creature is medium instead of large.

19

Apparatus Of Kwalish

While the Apparatus of Kwalish doesn’t function like a normal mount, it can still serve as a vehicle to take your party wherever they might need to go, be it on land or traversing the underwater depths. It also comes with offensive abilities, letting it crush your enemies with its claws or grab them to neutralize threats.

It can even be hidden as an unassuming, giant barrel. This can let you park the Apparatus near a dungeon, leave your valuables inside, and not worry about anyone coming near to steal the things inside; they can, however, pass an Intelligence check to find the hatch that opens the thing.

18

Camel

The desert dwellers go to this steed. Camels may not be the flashiest option on the menu, but they are exotic in their own right. More than that, they are cheap with a usual price of 50 gp. Their speed of 50 feet is only ten feet slower than a riding horse, and they can carry just as much weight.

Whether you’re not in any special hurry or you’re traversing a deadly dry environment, camels are the most practical of exotic mounts. Besides, who would ride a horse when you can ride a camel for cheaper?

17

Giant Lizard

This flashy and colorful mount can swim, climb, and breathe both water and air. Thus, the giant lizard is an ideal choice for adventurers covering a wide variety of terrain. Classes that lean towards stage presence, like Bards or Warlocks, would also appreciate this mount for shock value alone.

Lizards have darkvision out to 30 feet. They can also help you in combat with a nasty bite that has a +4 bonus to attack and does 1d8+2 piercing damage.

16

Elephant

Here’s a proper combat monster. If you’re looking for something to help you crush your enemies, the elephant will likely be the most readily available exotic option. The Player’s Handbook (PHB) recommends a cost of 200 gp, though. Furthermore, the elephant’s enormous size prevents it from coming along in any cramped dungeon corridors.

Deficits aside, the elephant does have 76 hit points and a melee attack with a +8 to hit that deals 3d10 + 6 bludgeoning damage. In other words, you probably won’t have to worry about road bandits.

15

Worg

If you’re looking for a conversation partner, the Worg will serve you well. There are a couple of caveats, though. Firstly, most of them only know Goblin. Second, they have an evil temperament and are quick to turn on you if they feel they’ve been mistreated.

Since they are evil creatures, mistreatment could be something as minor as not allowing the Worg to feast on the lifeless bodies of your enemies. These things aside, the Worg serves well as a mount. Its bite attack can knock creatures prone, and it has advantage on perception checks involving hearing or smell.

14

Hippogriff

While its origins may have been lost to time, the hippogriff is known by many as a capable mount and trustworthy ally. With the legs of a horse and the wings and forelimbs of an eagle, the hippogriff is a magnificent creature to behold. Hippogriffs are the easiest flying mount to train in the game, assuming you can find one.

The creatures are incredibly rare and a favored meal for dragons, wyverns, and griffons. Despite its rarity, the hippogriff does not serve well as a combat mount due to its low hit point pool and AC. However, its flying capabilities and advantage on perception checks using sight make it the perfect mount for scouting ahead of the party.

13

Warforged Charger

The addition of the Warforged in the Ebberon campaigns has created new possibilities for more than just playable races. The Warforged Charger is designed for the battlefield and has some combat abilities.

They are built more like bulls than horses, with short thick necks and broad foreheads that can be used to clear or crush incoming foes. They have hands and feet and can stand upright as much as they can run on all fours. A creature like this can be a member of the party as well as a mount, but is only available in certain modules.

12

Phase Spider

This particular species of spider makes for an interesting mount thanks to its magical ability to enter the Ethereal Plane once per turn as a bonus action. In other words, this mount can appear and disappear during combat as though the Blur spell had been cast on it.

This might not make for the best riding mount, as the spider will constantly be leaving the battlefield, but it does give it a level of survivability that just about every other exotic mount doesn’t enjoy. The phase spider also comes with all of your other typical spider goodies, including web walking, a climbing speed, a poisonous bite, and a high stealth ability modifier.

11

Shark

It would be so cool to ride a shark, and that’s why it’s a situational thing in D&D. The shark can only be used by aquatic creatures in nautical environments, but if you’re headed for the briny deep anyway or a place like Saltmarsh, it could make perfect sense.

Sharks come in a variety of sizes, starting with medium and going all the way up to giant, depending on the size of your character and how much your DM will tolerate. They have skills like Keen Sense and Alertness and a nasty bite attack, depending on the size.

10

Giant Scorpion

The giant scorpion is kind of like a land shark as far as mounts go. Its claw attacks grapple opponents upon successfully landing, and since it has two claws, it can grapple multiple creatures at once. Blindsight also makes the scorpion immune to common status conditions like blinded as well as spells like darkness that impair vision.

Finally, the scorpion’s stinger is filled with a poison that packs a walloping 4d10 poison damage on a failed DC 12 Constitution save, and creatures that succeed the save still take half damage. By the way, this creature gets to attack with all three of these weapons every turn, making it highly likely that it’s going to inflict some kind of pain on your enemies every time it crawls up to the combat plate.

9

Griffon

If hippogriffs are the prey of the skies, griffons are the predators. Griffons share the same eagle-like forequarters of hippogriffs, but their hindquarters are composed of the muscular body of a lion. If you’re interested in a flying mount that will serve you in battle, the griffon is your first option. They have nearly 60 hit points, a flying speed of 80 feet, advantage on perception checks, and a savage multi-attack.

Unlike hippogriffs, however, if a griffon is to be used as a mount, it must be trained from birth. Wild griffons are far too bestial in nature to obey the commands of another. As a result, obtaining a griffon mount is both expensive and time-consuming. However, it’s certainly worth the wait.

8

Unicorn

The well-known ivory-horned unicorn lays claim to domains such as an enchanted forest, abandoned ruin, or serene pond. The gods placed unicorns on the material plane as guardians of their secrets, combatants of their enemies, and agents of their miracles. As a result, any unicorn you encounter is likely to already have its own purpose.

Convincing it to become your trusty steed is about as likely as defeating a dragon with your bare hands. It’s also limited to gender and race. Only human or elf females can ride a unicorn.

7

Catoblepas

You can find the Catoblepas in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. It is a truly horrific creature that blends warthog, hippopotamus, buffalo, and dinosaur parts together. Any body of water in which a Catoblepas makes its home becomes a breeding ground for rot, decay, and disease. The creature’s stench alone is enough to poison most people, and one glare from its baleful eyes can end a life as simply as blowing out a candle.

On top of all this, a blow from the club at the end of its tail is capable of stunning the most stalwart foes. The Catoblepas only has a speed of 30 feet, so it won’t get you anywhere fast. Rather, your foes will be running from it. The keys to taming such a vile creature as a mount are held only by the minds of those who share an equally sinister nature.

6

Tyrannosaurus Rex

The tyrant king of lizards is a creature that won’t be featured in every campaign setting. However, settings that do have dinosaurs provide an awesome opportunity for player characters to acquire one of the arguably coolest mounts in Dungeons & Dragons.

The T-rex has a speed of 50 feet, making it great for transportation, an incredibly high hit point pool, and a bite attack that deals 4d12 + 7 piercing damage and both grapples and restrains enemies hit by it. This is one of the best combat-focused mounts in the game, but its huge size and inability to fly limits its usefulness.

5

Shield Guardian

Provided that you possess the proper amulet and the guardian doesn’t serve another master, it can serve as a mount. They aren’t explicitly listed as mounts, however, so this might depend on the environment and, ultimately, the DM.

The Shield Guardian can perform a variety of functions alongside being a mount. It can open doors, carry or move heavy objects, and perform other uncomplicated tasks. In addition, a shield guardian can store a spell up to fourth level that triggers when you command or based on parameters you’ve already set in the same manner as the Contingency spell.

Shield guardians are also incredibly durable thanks to a high AC (Armor Class), high hit points, immunity to charmed / frightened / paralyzed / and poisoned, and a regeneration ability that restores ten hit points every turn. Lastly, they have a reaction that can boost your AC by two as long as they are within five feet of you.

4

Pegasus

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Pegasus is a creature born of the gods. Furthermore, they share in the intelligence and sentience of humanoids, making them incapable of being tamed in the traditional sense. Instead, a pegasus chooses its own master, though they aren’t above being persuaded by those pure of heart and deeds.

If you succeed in such an effort, congratulations. Pegasi swear a life-long bond of companionship with any master they deem worthy. The Pegasus is the fastest flying mount in the game, with a flying speed of 90 feet.

3

Nightmare

A pegasus put through the torture of having its wings sheared from its body during a ritual suffused with dark magic is transformed into the dreaded Nightmare. The Nightmare retains its 90 foot flying speed while also having fire resistance as well as the ability to confer this resistance to anyone riding it.

Furthermore, the nightmare’s attacks deal an extra 2d6 fire damage, and it is capable of traveling into the ethereal plane in an instant. Only the most loathsome of people would use such a twisted monster as their mount. Perhaps one of them plays in a D&D group near you.

2

Wyvern

If you’ve ever wanted to mount a dragon, a wyvern is the closest you’ll get to doing so. Though they may not share the humanoid intelligence of their dragon cousins, this is exactly what makes wyverns perfect candidates for being tamed as mounts. While training a wyvern from the egg is likely to yield the best results, wyverns can be tamed when fully grown.

The wyvern’s deadliest feature is the stinger at the end of its tail. This stinger can deliver a deadly poison that deals 7d6 poison damage on a failed DC 15 Constitution saving throw. If you also take into account the wyvern’s 80-foot fly speed, it’s clearly the best mount for the hybrid use of combat and transportation. They do share blood with the all too egotistical dragons, though, so don’t be surprised if you’re ever betrayed.