Some creatures are just angry. Most real world animals will defend themselves, or hunt and kill to survive, but there are those critters that wake up violent. Hippos, honey badgers, fire ants, they go out of their way to attack anything nearby, sometimes without apparent provocation. There’s something in their makeup that makes them mad.
The Redcap in D&D, and the Red Cap in Fantastic Beasts, are this kind of creature. Both versions are vicious to an extreme degree. The former grow from bloodstains in the Fey Realm, whilst the latter consciously choose to live in holes in old battlefields. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, the Red Cap is a bloody, barbaric beast.
Red Cap
As with most Fantastic Beasts that already have a D&D equivalent, this beast is the weaker version. “Dangerous to solitary muggles” was the line that led to downplaying the Red Cap strength. Dangerous to a commoner NPC does not scream ‘deadly encounter’. If you want a more dangerous beast, you could use the original Redcap stats, or use it like the elder Red Cap in an anger-filled tribe.
There’s also no mention of big heavy boots or a sickle, like the D&D version. So my conversion simply describes a tiny angry pest with clubs. I did add damage to surprise attacks and a burrow speed. The two versions make for very different encounters. The D&D Redcap will clomped loudly towards you swinging for your throat with a sickly. The Fantastic Beast Red Cap will suddenly spring from a hole in the ground as you trek across a field, thumping your shins with giddy malice.
Thank You For Reading
The other Beasts converted to Dungeon & Dragons are right here!
Gamer Peak 