The Monsters Know What They’re Doing

The satyr reveler in Mythic Odysseys of Theros—not to be confused with the much more powerful satyr revelmaster in the 2025 Monster Manual—is similar to the basic 2014 Monster Manual satyr, and one of its similarities is that its distinctive Ram attack is contraindicated. Although its average damage is adequate, its to-hit bonus is +3 versus Shortbow’s +5, making its expected damage nearly a full point lower (2.7 vs. 3.6 against AC 15). The somewhat boring result is that satyr revelers, like regular satyrs, tend to keep their distance and snipe.

What makes the satyr reveler different is the Enthralling Performance trait, which has the power to charm up to four humanoids within 60 feet. The catch is that they have to listen to the satyr reveler’s performance for a 1 minute to be enthralled. Have you ever known a party of adventurers to sit still for anything for a whole minute?

Ah, but they can be tricked into it—by having the performance take place in the background of a social interaction encounter. While the player characters’ attention is fully occupied by conversation with another satyr, a nearby satyr reveler provides diegetic music for the scene. Before the PCs realize it, they’ve been tapping their feet to the music for … how long? Long enough. Time for a Wisdom save.

Minor deities and personifications of nature in Greek myth, nymphs map neatly onto the fey creature type in Dungeons & Dragons. Mythic Odysseys of Theros includes stat blocks for four types of nymph. Three of these—the alseid, naiad and oread—are straightforward nature spirits, but the lampad (directly related to the modern English word “lamp,” believe it or not) was a torch-bearer and companion of Hecate, goddess of night, crossings and witchcraft. In Theros, the god Athreos, a Charon analogue, supplants Hecate; instead of lighting liminal spaces in the world of the living, Theran lampads light liminal spaces in the realm of the dead, along with aboveground places associated with death.

Greek alseids were grove nymphs, but Theran alseids are associated with meadows, grassy plains and farmlands. They’re magical creatures with exceptional Charisma, high Wisdom and above-average Intelligence. Although their Strength is also high, neither their Dexterity nor their Constitution is particularly impressive, although their Con is slightly higher than their Dex. Having low scores in both defensive abilities makes for a highly unusual ability contour, suggesting that an alseid in a combat encounter seeks neither to absorb damage nor to avoid it but rather to get out of the encounter altogether. However, its Con being slightly greater than its Dex, when it does make offensive use of its Charisma, it does so by touch. Even more than a shock attacker, an alseid is a hit-and-run combatant—when it doesn’t just run, period.

Radiant Touch, a Charisma-based melee spell attack, fits the alseid’s ability contour to a T, but it has the disadvantage that it doesn’t allow the alseid to get away without provoking an opportunity attack. So let’s take a look at its Innate Spellcasting and see what other options we have.