The Sphinx: A Versatile Creature in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

The Sphinx, a creature blending various mythological interpretations, presents a unique challenge in D&D 5e. Its portrayal can range from the enigmatic riddle-poser of Greek lore to the benevolent guardian of Egyptian mythology. The updated Monster Manual further complicates this, establishing many Sphinxes as celestial beings, capable of serving as familiars or powerful adversaries. This guide explores how to effectively utilize the Sphinx as both a dungeon boss and a long-term campaign antagonist.

The Revised Sphinx (2025): Key Changes

The 2025 Monster Manual reclassifies the Sphinx from a monstrosity to a celestial creature, emphasizing its divine origins. While its resistance to non-magical weapons has been removed, it retains resistances to necrotic and radiant damage and immunity to psychic damage and effects. This necessitates strategic player choices and potentially necessitates providing alternative avenues for player contribution in combat. The expansion of the Sphinx family includes non-legendary variants for lower-level encounters, such as the Sphinx of Secrets (possessing core abilities of stronger Sphinxes at a lower CR) and the Sphinx of Wonder (designed as a Warlock familiar). The Sphinx of Wonder, despite its low combat prowess, offers valuable support through ally bonuses.

Utilizing Legendary Actions

The Sphinx's legendary actions have been streamlined. Both the Sphinx of Lore and Valor share the following:

• Arcane Prowl: Combines teleportation with a melee attack, enabling strategic repositioning and flanking maneuvers. This allows the Sphinx to avoid traps and target vulnerable players.
• Weight of Years: Inflicts exhaustion on failed Constitution saving throws. Targeting players with the lowest Constitution modifier is a tactical advantage.

Note that Weight of Years is a single use per round, prioritizing Arcane Prowl for most of the Sphinx's legendary actions. Its unique roar action (affecting Wisdom saving throws and inducing conditions like incapacitated or paralyzed) can be used without sacrificing a multiattack, setting up advantageous follow-up attacks.

Lair Actions: Strategic Deployment

While the Sphinxes of Valor and Lore lack the lair actions of their predecessors, these could be reintroduced for added complexity. These actions, unlike typical giant monster lair actions, don't inflict direct damage but offer unique tactical twists:

• Initiative Reroll: Disrupts player strategies reliant on specific initiative order.
• Temporal Manipulation: Shifting time forward or backward (aging or de-aging creatures) can be a powerful but potentially unfair ability, best used judiciously. A single application might incapacitate or even kill a character.
• Planar Shift: While a potent ability, it can be frustrating if players lack countermeasures.

Remember, each lair action is a single use per encounter.

Resolving Combat: Beyond a Simple Fight

Given the Sphinx's lawful celestial nature, outright combat is rarely the ideal resolution. Instead, frame the encounter as a test of the party's capabilities. Victory could be achieved through inflicting significant damage, successful negotiation, or solving a puzzle. This approach is particularly beneficial when using older versions of the Sphinx, avoiding potentially unfun tactics. A Greek-style Sphinx might offer magical secrets in exchange for the party's retreat.

The Sphinx as a Long-Term Villain

Beyond a single encounter, the Sphinx's unique abilities make it a compelling long-term antagonist:

• Divination Immunity: The Sphinx is immune to divination spells it doesn't consent to.
• Spellcasting Prowess: It can cast powerful spells without material components.
• Temporal Control: Its lair actions (if used) allow manipulation of time.
• Area-of-Effect Influence: Its regional effect has no target limit.

The table below illustrates potential roles for the Sphinx as an indirect antagonist: