Shapechanger. The mimic can use its action to polymorph into an object or back into its true, amorphous form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Adhesive (Object Form Only). The mimic adheres to anything that touches it. A Huge or smaller creature adhered to the mimic is also grappled by it (escape DC 13). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have disadvantage.
False Appearance (Object Form Only). While the mimic remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary object.
Grappler. The mimic has advantage on attack rolls against any creature grappled by it.
Actions
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the mimic is in object form, the target is subjected to its Adhesive trait.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) acid damage.
How mimics fight
A mimic spends its life pretending to be an object, usually a treasure chest, a door or a piece of furniture. While it stays still it’s indistinguishable from the real thing, so the first sign of trouble is usually a character’s hand stuck to the lid. In object form, anything that touches it sticks, and a creature stuck to it is grappled (escape DC 13, with disadvantage on the check).
It makes only one attack a turn, but it makes it count. The pseudopod glues its victim in place, and the mimic has advantage on attacks against anything it’s grappling, so the next turn it bites with advantage for 1d8 + 3 piercing plus 1d8 acid. With 58 hit points and immunity to acid, a single mimic is a real threat to a 1st- or 2nd-level party.
Running a mimic at the table
Put it where treasure belongs. A chest at the end of a corridor, a door the party has to open, a stool in the tavern cellar. The best mimic is the object players want to touch.
Stay in object form. Changing shape takes the mimic’s action, and its Adhesive only works in object form. A mimic that stays a chest keeps gluing people to itself.
Hold on to one victim. The grapple and advantage go together: keep the same character stuck and keep biting.
Let clever players win. Poking every chest with a 10-foot pole, throwing a rock at it or asking a familiar to touch it first are all good ways to find a mimic, and they should work.
Common questions
How do you spot a mimic?
While it doesn’t move, you can’t by looking: False Appearance makes it indistinguishable from an ordinary object, so no Perception check reveals it. Touching it from a distance, with a pole or a thrown object, will. Truesight shows a shapechanger’s true form, and a mimic isn’t magical, so Detect Magic won’t find it.
How do you escape a mimic’s grapple?
Use your action for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 13, with disadvantage because of the Adhesive trait. Killing the mimic, or anything that moves you out of its reach like Misty Step, also frees you.
Does a weapon stick to a mimic when you hit it?
The Adhesive trait says the mimic adheres to anything that touches it, so many DMs rule that a weapon that hits it in object form sticks too. The stat block only spells out the grapple for creatures, so it’s the DM’s call.
How many mimics for a party of four?
A mimic is CR 2, worth 450 XP. By the Dungeon Master’s Guide’s encounter math, one mimic is a Deadly fight for four 1st-level characters, Medium for 2nd level and Easy for 3rd.
Is a mimic immune to acid?
Yes, and it can’t be knocked prone. Its bite deals acid damage too.
Can a mimic look like anything?
It can polymorph into an object, and it keeps the same statistics, so it stays Medium sized. It can’t pretend to be a creature.
CR 2. A transparent ooze that fills a corridor and engulfs whoever walks into it.
How many mimics for a fight?
A mimic is worth 450 XP. Using the 2024 encounter budgets (SRD 5.2), this is how many mimics fit each difficulty for a party of four characters of the same level. A dash means even one would be over the budget.
Party level
Low
Moderate
High
2nd
—
1
1
3rd
1
2
3
4th
2
3
4
5th
4
6
9
6th
5
8
12
7th
6
11
12+
8th
8
12+
12+
9th
11
12+
12+
Budgets add up every monster’s XP, so you can swap some for other creatures of the same total. Try other party sizes and mixes in the encounter calculator.
How the mimic compares at CR 2
Against the 42 other challenge 2 monsters in the SRD 5.1, the mimic has more hit points than 30 of them, which makes it tougher than most at its CR. See every CR 2 monster.
Statistic
Mimic
CR 2 average
Armor Class
12
13
Hit points
58
46
Best attack bonus
+5
+5
Mimic 2024 stat block
The 2024 Monster Manual revised the mimic, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new stat block. What changed:
Speed: 15 ft. → 20 ft..
New in its stat block: Shape-Shift.
Gone from it: Shapechanger, False Appearance and Grappler.
Adhesive (Object Form Only). The mimic adheres to anything that touches it. A Huge or smaller creature adhered to the mimic has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have Disadvantage.
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +5 (with Advantage if the target is Grappled by the mimic), reach 5 ft. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) Piercing damage—or 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing damage if the target is Grappled by the mimic—plus 4 (1d8) Acid damage.
Pseudopod. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) Bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) Acid damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have Disadvantage.
Bonus actions
Shape-Shift. The mimic shape-shifts to resemble a Medium or Small object while retaining its game statistics, or it returns to its true blob form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed.
