How to Use Legendary Resistance in Your D&D Game (Plus Alternatives)

What is the Legendary Resistance rule in D&D 5e?

Legendary Resistance lets powerful creatures succeed on failed saving throws. If a creature has the Legendary Resistance feature and fails to make a saving throw against a threat, they have the choice to change it into a success instead. The creature ignores the effect of the spell or attack and continues combat. Legendary Resistance usually has a limited number of uses each in-game day. For example, if the feature lists (3/day), then the creature can only use this ability 3 times per day. Using Legendary Resistance does not count as one of the creature’s Legendary Actions, which are usually powerful abilities or attacks that can be used each round.

What creatures have Legendary Resistance?

Most Legendary creatures have the Legendary Resistance ability. Out of the 279 Legendary creatures available in the game, over 200 of them have Legendary Resistance. When you look through the D&D 5e Monster Manual or browse D&D Beyond, check for the Legendary Resistance ability listed underneath their stat block. The stat also lists how many times a creature can use Legendary Resistance during an in-game day.

How to Use Legendary Resistance as a DM

Clue your players in that a creature has Legendary Resistance. Your players may get frustrated if they cast a powerful spell and a creature blocks it with Legendary Resistance without warning. When your players go into combat with a Legendary creature, hint that something is different about the encounter so they can think of different plans for how to fight. Example: If your players are encountering a big boss battle against a dragon, you might say something like, “This dragon is renowned for defeating even the most challenging opponents, and it’s considered a local legend to the surrounding villagers.” If you want to keep it a surprise that a creature has Legendary Resistance and add more drama to your D&D campaign, then it’s okay to keep the stat a secret. Typically, players only fight 1 Legendary creature at a time so they don’t get overwhelmed. D&D experts from Legends of Avantris mention to keep in mind the balance between the creature’s difficulty and their players’ skill levels so the fight doesn’t feel impossible.

Use Legendary Resistance to add drama and challenges to combat. If a failed saving throw would knock out or incapacitate a creature early in the fight, use one of its Legendary Resistances to make the monster survive longer. If using a Legendary Resistance raises the stakes of the combat while still making it fun for your players, then it will work great in your campaign. Example: If your players are about to deal a finishing blow to a monster, you can use Legendary Resistance to block the attack so the creature can take another turn. Remember that a creature can choose when to use their Legendary Resistances, so you can pick which saving throws to turn into successes.

Describe how the creature reacts in the narrative. Rather than just saying a creature uses its Legendary Resistance ability, tie it into the story and how the creature reacts. Describe how the creature responds to the attack and how they were able to defend themselves so players feel more satisfied with the battle. Example: If you have an arrogant Lich King, you could say, “The Lich King holds up their hand and the magic absorbs into their armor without causing any damage. The Lich looks at your party and says, ‘Oh ho ho, you thought it would be that easy?’” Example: If you make a surprise attack on a dragon, you could explain, “The dragon is caught off guard, but your spells bounce off the tough scales on its underbelly. The dragon scowls in your direction, a new anger lit behind its eyes.”

Pros and Cons of Using Legendary Resistance

Legendary Resistance helps make big battles feel more challenging, but some players may not enjoy playing with them. Pros Legendary creatures that a campaign builds toward aren't taken down by a bad saving throw Combat has more dramatic tension against difficult monsters The DM has the choice when a monster uses Legendary Resistance, and can a battle easier or harder Cons Players may feel like they wasted powerful or costly spells if they are resisted The rules are unclear for inexperienced DMs who aren't sure when to trigger the ability

Alternatives to Legendary Resistance

Give creatures an advantage on saving throws. If you don’t want a creature to automatically succeed with Legendary Resistance, have the creature roll 2 d20s any time they make a saving throw. Use the higher roll for your saving throw to leave the game up to chance.

Make creatures resistant to certain types of magic or attacks. Many creatures already have resistances to magic or conditions that could weaken them, but don’t be afraid to give them more immunities. Keep in mind what types of magic and weapons your players are using, and add a couple more resistances to your creature so they’re more difficult. If one of your Rogue players uses poisoned blades to deal extra damage, give a challenging monster a poison immunity.

Assign Luck points that a creature can use to reroll dice. When you’re creating a powerful creature, give them 3 Luck points that they can use at any point during combat. Instead of automatically succeeding a saving throw, spend one of the luck points to roll another die. Choose either roll to use for the creature’s saving throw. Using Luck points still makes creatures feel threatening, but it leaves any successes or failures to chance so it feels more fair to the players.

How to Handle Legendary Resistance as a Player

Use spells that don’t require a saving throw. If you’re worried about a Legendary creature blocking one of your attacks, focus on magic that checks one of your skills instead of making the creature roll. While many of these spells are more defensive, some effective things to cast against a Legendary creature are: Bard: Heat Metal, Plant Growth, Polymorph, Animate Objects, Forcecage, Mirage Arcane, True Polymorph Cleric: Bless, Spirit Guardians, Holy Weapon, Heal, Conjure Celestial, Antimagic Field, Holy Aura, Mass Heal Druid: Goodberry, Fog Cloud, Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Conjure Animals, Sleet Storm, Conjure Woodland Beings, Transmute Rock, Antilife Shell, Conjure Fey, Animal Shapes, Shapechange Sorcerer: Fireball, Telekinesis, Wish Warlock: Eldritch Blast, Summon Greater Demon, Danse Macabre Wizard: Find Familiar, Tiny Servant, Wall of Force, Maze

Increase your spellcasting ability score when you’re able to. When a creature makes a saving throw against a spell, they need to roll higher than 8 + your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus. Raise your proficiency bonus and ability modifier by leveling up, equipping magical items that boost your stats, or selecting feats that raise the modifier used for casting your spells.