Best Creatures In The 2025 MM For A TPK In DND

Summary

• Balors and Pit Fiends can create a TPK due to their high CR and powerful abilities.
• Liches, Elemental Cataclysms, and Blobs of Annihilation have unique abilities for a grueling fight.
• Colossuses and Tarrasques are nearly impossible to defeat due to high HP and resistances.

TPKs, or total party kills, are something that most Dungeon Masters try to avoid during their Dungeons & Dragons campaign. However, if the table needs to be punished, or you’re just looking to shake up a campaign, burn it all down, and build something better from the ashes, a TPK is a good way to do so.

But, what monsters should you use to achieve a TPK? You’re going to want to look at creatures with a high challenge rating in the 2025 Monster Manual. We’ve organized these creatures and made this list of the best monsters for a TPK in D&D.

10

Balor

Balors are powerful fiends with terrifying visages. Beyond just a substantial pool of hit points and a sturdy armor class, their abilities are incredibly tough to deal with, even for the most seasoned of players.

Their standard melee attacks are powerful enough and capable of dealing hefty amounts of damage, but the balor also has resistance to magical effects and spells. Plus, when the balor is defeated, it explodes, unleashing 18d6 combined fire and force damage in a 30-foot emanation.

9

Pit Fiend

Similar to balors, pit fiends are large demonic creatures that are nearly immortal unless destroyed within their home realm: the Nine Hells. Plus, pit fiends are hard to contend with at melee range thanks to their Fear Aura, which unleashes a 20-foot emanation that causes anyone who enters it to make a DC 21 wisdom saving throw or take the frightened condition.

Beyond that, pit fiends have a wide array of different melee attacks, and the ability to cast spells like Fireball or Wall of Fire. Plus, thanks to its truesight ability, you can’t really sneak up on these monsters.

8

Solar

While these creatures are lawful good in terms of alignment, and therefore not likely to play aggressively against your party, if the solar senses that you might have devious intent, you’re not going to want to get into a fight with this creature.

Solars can blind creatures in a 120-foot radius, have four legendary resistances, and general advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Plus, its sword and bow attacks are quite powerful. Its ranged attack can shoot creatures at 600 feet, and if you fail a DC 21 Dex save and have 100 hit points or fewer, you die instantly.

7

Lich

Liches are a classic Dungeons & Dragons monsters that are perfect for TPKs and final boss fights. With five legendary resistances while in its monster lair, liches are highly formidable. Plus, liches have a varied host of spells they can cast, including Chain Lightning, Power Word Kill, and Dimension Door.

Plus, liches have an array of legendary actions at their disposal that are not to be trifled with. Because these actions recharge at the start of their next turn, there’s no way to fully take abilities like Disrupt Life (which can cause upwards of 9d6 necrotic damage) off the playing field.

6

Elemental Cataclysm

Elemental cataclysms are highly singular beasts that should only be touted for a climactic, final encounter. The most terrifying aspect of elemental cataclysms is that they are immune to nearly every condition, meaning the only way to take them out is by reducing their HP to zero.

The other most powerful aspect of these creatures is their Cataclysmic Event abilities, which recharge each round on a d6 roll of 4+. These effects range from filling the space with a raging tempest, or swallowing creatures whole and suffocating them alive.

5

Kraken

Perfect for a nautical adventure, krakens are gargantuan monstrosities that have a fun stat block for Dungeon Masters to work with. Like liches, these creatures gain five legendary resistances when they’re in their lair. They can swallow creatures whole, cause lightning strikes, and inflict blindness or poison on creatures.

One of the most jarring elements you’ll notice as a DM in their stat block is their melee attack roll, which is a staggering +17 to hit. Unless the party is highly leveled, and able to stay out of the kraken’s 30 foot range, its likely they’re going to take some substantial damage quickly.

4

Blob of Annihilation

These creatures are terrifying oozes that can ravage entire settlements in a matter of minutes. Beyond legendary and magic resistance, devastating melee attacks, and the ability to engulf creatures whole, the blob of annihilation has one key wrinkle in its stat block that can make for a horrifying TPK.

Any creature that is inside the blob when its reduced to zero hit points suffers from its Astral Implosion, in which the creature implodes and ejects any creatures inside straight into the Astral Sea, no saving throw necessary. The blob also reappears in 1d20 years, no matter what.

3

Ancient Gold Dragon

Like solars, ancient gold dragons are lawful good, and therefore not necessarily aggressive. But, you’re not going to want to get on its bad side, lest you prepare for a challenging and grueling combat encounter.

Ancient gold dragons have innate spellcasting, and the ability to weaken enemy combatants’ attacks thanks to its Weakening Breath ability. Plus, the ancient gold dragon can cast Banish at will with a DC 24 to save. In this manner, they can split the party easily and take them out one by one, while banishing allies to demiplanes all over the multiverse.

2

Colossus

As one of the largest creatures on offer in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, a colossus is a formidable foe that should not be taken lightly. Most of the colossus’ abilities aren’t necessarily that destructive, but the reason this creature is so right for a TPK is because it’s nearly impossible to take down.

With well over 500 hit points, magic and legendary resistances, and a magic beam attack, combat encounters with a colossus are long, and the party will have to make sure they’re able to stay up long enough to eventually erode this creature’s health.

1

Tarrasque

The tarrasque is the classic D&D TPK encounter. In some ways, many Dungeon Masters view this creature as a joke to throw at your party. With nearly 700 hit points and one of the most dastardly stat blocks on offer, the tarrasque is a surefire way to TPK any party that’s not all level 20.

The most iconic element of the tarrasques stat block is its Reflective Carapace. If the tarrasque is targeted by any spell that requires a ranged attack roll, the DM rolls a d6, and on a roll of 1-5, the tarrasque is automatically unaffected. If the DM rolls a 6, the spell is reflected back to the target. This means spellcasters have to be careful about which spells they cast on this creature.