[RPG] Are there any monsters or items that can trap a person in a time loop

dnd-5emagic-itemsmonstersspellstime-travel

I'm working on a D&D campaign where a town is stuck in a time loop. my players can do whatever and the day doesn't repeat exactly; every day is a different day, the sun revolves around the planet and monday ends and tuesday begins, but the townsfolk are stuck doing the exact things they did the day they were cursed and are trapped repeating what they did over and over until the curse/enchantment/spell is broken. The townspeople are unable to interact with the players.

Is there any monster or item, homebrewed or official, that could trap a large group of people in a time loop? I've looked everywhere and I can't find what i'm looking for so far.

The players are at level 2.

Best Answer

No object or item but there is a person

That person is the DM.

It’s good to be the Dungeon Master! Not only do you get to tell fantastic stories about heroes, villains, monsters, and magic, but you also get to create a world in which those stories live.

Dungeon Master’s Guide p.4

This sounds like a really fantastic story. So tell it. Create whatever you need to make it work.

If my Wild Magic Sorcerer rolled this, I would be thrilled

While this could be a burden if it was present all the time, I see this as being a handy tool for adventurers:

Suddenly, they have a means to generate a very large amount of gold on demand. After this happens more than once, the table is probably going to want to use this to fund some of their more costly endeavors. Money is less game-breaking than it was in 3.5, but it does play a role.
The character now has a very powerful attack option for 1d12 hours, which could be the entire thing and half the trip back if it occurs during a dungeon crawl. The bulk of the CR for a Medusa is coming from her petrifying gaze, which follows comparable rules with a DC14 and this DC is higher, and now a player character has that. For further comparison, the proposed effect occurs faster and more effectively than the 6th level spell, Flesh to Stone.
The duration on the effect is extremely long when compared to other Wild Magic effects. In general, Wild Magic only has powerful, game changing effects (good or bad) over a short time period like Instantaneous or 1 Minute. Permanently turning yourself blue is a fun roleplay thing, but it generally doesn't impact combat unless you need to hide in a vat of blueberry pudding.

All in all, I think this curse is broken, but more in the sense that it's a very powerful tool more than a significant hindrance to a DnD adventuring party. Obviously, the pros/cons of the curse varies dramatically depending on the campaign, but I think most typical parties will turn this bane into a boon fairly quickly.

I would recommend following the guidance in the original table by shortening the duration, make the overall effect less controllable, base it upon something already within the game (this is off Flesh to Stone and the Medusa Gaze), and modify it such that it can do just as much good as it can do bad. In addition, I wouldn't set a DC for the save, just use the default which is the caster's DC. For example:

You are cursed with Midas Gaze. For the next minute, you automatically expend your Bonus Action to look at 1 random creature within 60 feet of you. If you shut your eyes, you are subject to the effect. That creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is petrified as they instantly turn to gold. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to gold and is restrained. On a successful save, the creature isn't affected. A creature restrained by this effect must make another Constitution saving throw at the end of its turn becoming petrified and turning to gold on a failure or ending the effect on a success. A Remove Curse ends the effect.

This is more verbose than most Wild Magic effects, but I think it strikes a balance of potentially very powerful either for your team or against it, which is in line with a lot of the 'bad' effects.

Pro-tip: Don't use Wild Magic right next to your party.

[RPG] Are there any monsters that consume a player character

The Legendary Tarrasque for one

From the MM (286):

Swallow The tarrasque makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target takes the bite's damage, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends.

Swallow and Bite

The name of the attack you'd be looking for in the D&D 5E Monster Manual is Swallow. The Giant Frog (MM 325) and Giant Toad (MM 329) also both have this attack.

Sometimes creatures of the Gargantuan size can swallow their opponents as part of another attack. For example the Kraken (MM 197):

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d8 + 10) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature grappled by the Kraken, that creature is swallowed, and the grapple ends.

Some others:

Purple Worm (MM 255)
Remorhaz (MM 258)
Behir (MM 25)

That's all of them in the Monster Manual that I know of from flipping through.

Engulf

The Gelatinous Cube has been around since the earliest days of D&D and is a staple of D&D dungeons, tales and jokes. It has a a different method of consuming opponents (MM 242):

Engulf The cube moves up to its speed. While doing so, it can enter Large or smaller creatures' spaces. Whenever the cube enters a creature's space, the creature must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw.

[...]

On a failed save, the cube enters the creature's space, and the creature takes 10 (3d6) acid damage and is engulfed.

The Shambling Mound (MM 270) also has an Engulf action as does the Water Elemental.

Homebrewing a Swallow or Engulf Action

Some main points you'd want to note for a homebrew are:

Does the opponent need to be grappled before they are swallowed?
Does the creature do damage before swallowing?
How does the swallow affect the opponent?
How does the opponent escape the swallow?