Cloaker (Dungeons & Dragons)

Overview

A cloaker turns apparent equipment into an ambush. The legacy fifth-edition profile makes a motionless creature indistinguishable from a dark leather cloak only while its underside is concealed. It flies, strikes with a tail and attaches through its bite. An advantaged bite can cover the head, preventing vision and breathing. While attached, damage to the monster is shared with the captive, so an indiscriminate rescue attack can harm its intended beneficiary.

Its moan frightens hearing creatures other than aberrations. Phantasms produce three illusory copies outside bright light; bright illumination removes them and also impairs the creature's attacks and sight-based perception. The legacy languages are Deep Speech and Undercommon.

The reproduced revised third-edition SRD supplies another hunting picture. Ivory claws resemble clasps when the body rests. Individuals choose engulfing against one opponent and combine tail attacks, sound and shadow manipulation against groups; several cloakers can divide those functions. Its moan has multiple effects, including panic, nausea and stupor, while shadow abilities include concealment and images. That wider repertoire is not silently added to the 2014 fear effect.

The 2025 official errata corrects a reference inside the newer Attach action, replacing an obsolete Bite label with Attach. This establishes a particular textual correction, not proof that the entire revised procedure matches legacy attachment. The comparison retains distinct edition procedures and does not convert forum suggestions about friendly pets or encounter difficulty into published lore.

First appearances & development

The earlier 2000 manual remains historical bibliography; newly inspected older mechanics come from the revised third-edition SRD reproduction, not a reread of that original manual. Legacy fifth edition and the 2025 correction are separate witnesses. No exhaustive debut history or complete current-manual survey is supplied.

Canon & continuity

The complete official legacy block and reproduced older SRD entry were read, alongside the relevant official 2025 correction. Attachment, sound and shadow effects are attributed by version. The correction alone does not supply the complete new stat block. Reader comments, artwork and optional pet interpretations are excluded.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Monster Manual (2014)

   Wizards of the Coast · 2014

   Fifth-edition legacy lore and creature descriptions; no 2024 rules claim.

2. 02

   Monster Manual (2000)

   Wizards of the Coast; Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet and Monte Cook · 2000

   Third-edition creature treatment; included for historical comparison, not as the source of fifth-edition mechanics.

3. 03

   Revised third-edition System Reference Document

   Wizards of the Coast · 2003

   Selected cloaker entry through the labelled v3.5 reproduction.

4. 04

   Monster Manual (2025) Errata, version 1.0

   Wizards of the Coast · 2025

   Page 73 corrects the newer action label.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. OfficialCloaker (Dungeons & Dragons) — official franchise guideResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. ReferenceCloaker: reproduced v3.5 SRDResearch access: 2026-10-05
3. OfficialMonster Manual 2025: errataResearch access: 2026-10-05
4. Primary workMonster Manual 2025: errata PDFResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.