Duergar Enemies

As a follow up to an earlier post about Duergar I've taken the proposed options and created a couple of sample monsters for your players to fight. It's no good if only your players have this options.

Duergar Tunnel Dropper


The Duergar Tunnel Dropper represents the elite of their Shock Troopers. They hold the lines until bloodied, when they become the lines. Tunnel Droppers try and wedge themselves in hallways, giving enemies as little room to negotiate as possible. When they can't find a restrictive space to fight it in, they slam their mauls into the ceiling and floor, to reshape the terrain to a more inhospitable fashion.

The combination of expand and Poison Veins gives them a devastating attack once bloodied, that shows the power of these evil underdwellers.


Duergar Tunnel Dropper Level 6 Elite Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 500
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +6; darkvision
HP 168; Bloodied 84
AC 21; Fortitude 22; Reflex 15; Will 18
Immune illusion; Resist 5 fire, 5 poison
Saving Throws +2
Speed 5
Action Points 1

m Maul (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+9 vs AC; 2d6 + 6 damage
C Earth Stomp (standard; recharge 5 6) • Zone
Close Burst 1; +7 vs Reflex; 1d10 + 4  and the burst becomes a zone of difficult terrain.
 Poison Veins (minor; encounter (only when bloodied)) • Poison
The Duergar Tunnel Dropper deals an additional 1d8 damage to his next attack, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and ongoing 2 poison damage (save ends both). This effect ends if no attack is made by the end of you're turn.
 Expand (when first bloodied; encounter) • Polymorph
The duergar tunnel dropper becomes Large, occupying 4 squares instead of 1. Any creatures in the squares that the shock trooper comes to occupy are pushed 1 square. The tunnel dropper also gains reach 2 and a +5 bonus to its melee damage rolls. The tunnel dropper remains Large until the end of the encounter.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Deep Speech, Dwarven
Skills Dungeoneering +12
Str 19 (+7) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 14 (+5) Int 10 (+3) Cha 8 (+2)
Equipment Chainmail, Maul

Duergar Frontliner


The Duergar Frontliner sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. Trained to work in large groups, as a unit, and to protect the other members of their squad. They unleash a weakened version of their poison blood and then gladly sacrifice themselves.


Duergar Frontliner Level 11 Minion Soldier
Medium natural humanoid XP 150
Initiative +8 Senses Perception +9; darkvision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 27; Fortitude 24; Reflex 23; Will 20
Resist 10 fire, 10 poison
Speed 5
m Warhammer (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+18 vs AC; 8 damage
 Poison Veins (minor; encounter) • Poison
The Duergar Tunnel Dropper deals an additional 1d8 damage to his next attack, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls.This effect ends if no attack is made by the end of you're turn.
 Sacrifice (immediate interrupt; an adjacent ally takes damage)
The Duergar Frontlner instead takes the damage
Alignment Evil Languages Deep Speech
Str 21 (+10) Dex 19 (+9) Wis 18 (+9)
Con 17 (+8) Int 12 (+6) Cha 10 (+5)
Equipment Chainmail, Warhammer

Oathbound: Spellblind

I like the idea of Oaths in the DnD world having a strong bearing not just on the RP of some characters but of the mechanics. The Book of Exalted Deeds had some good ideas for this in 3rd edition. The thing about giving a mechanical benefit for an Oath, is that you really need to find balance with the sacrifice and the benefit. The Oath itself is a feature available to any class or race. It does not have any prerequisites but you may like to add some for your campaign. You gain the benefits simply by approving the Oath with your DM.

I did not specifically block arcane characters from taking these feats, to allow for characters who feel cursed by their own abilities.

The following has not been playtested fully. More options in later posts.

Spellblind


The Spellblind are a group of people not affiliated by any organization but a common philosophy. They see magic in the world as dangerous or unnatural, and would rather intelligent humanoids not use it at all. They have since sworn that they would not let the power of magic sway them in this world, relaying on ingenuity and personal strength wherever possible. Some people take this Oath to extremes, hunting down wizards and sorcerers, sometimes even priests hoping to cleanse the world. Others are peaceful monks, who travel a diplomatic world, showing themselves as an example of what could be, but never interfering directly with others. Some still keep to themselves, taking the Oath due to a personal event in their past, never mentioning to anyone the ideals they hold dearly.

Oath: You have sworn to limit your contact with the magical world. You cannot use or wield any magic items.
Benefit: At level 3, you gain a +1 Item Bonus to all defenses, and to-hit. This bonus increases by 1 every 5 levels thereafter.

Note to DMs: It should be made clear what the first part of the Oath means between player and DM when the Oath is first accepted. Can a character benefit from an allies ritual? If the main entrance into the dragon's lair is a magical lift does this character need to climb the walls instead? I suggest somewhere in the middle of the road. Remember that there is already sacrifice involved here and to keep the game fun. Whatever you decide it should be clear to the player at the start.

Remember to adjust the treasure accordingly. All the other players should not get an extra share, since this player is still getting the benefits of the most common magic items. If the player still takes his share of treasure, try to find places for him to spend that money. Maybe the players could use a base of operations? Lavish luxuries? Fund a school?

Heroic Feats


Oathbound: Spellblind
You have made a personal pledge against the temptation of magic, and your senses have become all the sharper.
Prerequisites: Spellblind Oath
You can use Perception in place of Arcana when detecting the presence of magic. You gain a +2 Insight bonus vs those who use magic as their primary source of power.

Spellblind Destroyer
You have mastered your weapon, unhindered by the crutch of enhancement. You know how to spot an opening and exploit it so that your blows strike with all the more precision.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
Once per encounter, as a free action after hitting an enemy with an attack, they gain Vulnerable 5 to all attacks from you (save ends).

Spellblind Healer
You have looked into the hearts of men and know of their inner strength.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
When you use a power that enables you or an ally to regain hit points, add your current Item Bonus from your Spellblind Oath as extra hp gained.


Spellblind Fearmonger
You enter battle with fierce determination. When your allies realize your power is not enhanced by other means, they soon learn respect.
Prerequisites: Oathbound: Spellblind
Once per encounter, as a minor action, you mark all enemies in a close burst 3. This mark ends at the end of your next turn.

DM Report 07/03/2010

I was sitting in my living room last night watching television when I began hearing fireworks. Looked out the window, and try as I might I couldn't see them, only hear their boisterous noise. This happened several times till my wife firmly declared "You can never see fireworks from here." This didn't stop me for instinctively looking out the window every time I heard the noise.

There's nothing more disappointing than non-existent fireworks.

Chris Sims recently finished up a series of posts on Critical Hits about dealing with solo creatures. One of the practices he encourages is letting people know ahead of time that there's a solo coming to help build up tension. This should make things more fun. Read his post for all his points, its a good one.

However, I'm currently running a deep points of life campaign. Its a pretty dark world where life s less than great. Sometimes, if the PCs aren't careful, they can stumble into some pretty nasty surprises completely blind. So recently the PCs accidentally angered an adult silver dragon. The fight that followed was pretty one sided. The PCs wiped the floor with him. The warden and warlord kept the guy flanked in two zones, and there was grab grass present. Each turn he could either try and reposition himself. Silver Dragons are brutes so his to-hit and defenses weren't all that great. He never got out of the zone, and was prone at the end of every round.

The odd thing is, this fight was a success. The PCs loved it. This was not their first 4e dragon and each time before they had a much tougher times, including one that could have been a TPK, where they decided the best way to fight a blue dragon was on a boat. So this time, even though it was not much of a fight, they loved it. They felt powerful, and that was fun. Its been a long road to mid paragon, and it was great for them to just be awesome. I stopped the fight at one quarter hit points none the less.

So sometimes I think its ok to hear fireworks but not see them. I'll do my best to make sure it does not happen twice in a row however.

I also played with the Oblivion Moss from the MM3. It was good fun. I took the suggestion to make the players roll for their dopplegangers. This was frustrating experience for them. I found the more I described how the Mindmasters were scanning their minds and how the other mosses were beginning to look more and more detailed the more interesting it was for the players. They don't have the book yet and they began frantically speculating what would happen if someone died.

That gives me an idea for a monster. . . 

Free Orc Friday! Orc Demon-Pacted

Some orcs worship gods of destruction, others seek primal routes but many find demons to be truly worthy of their reverence. Demons represent primal destruction and raw power. Demon worshiping orcs can sometimes be now more than a loosely grouped horde of barbarians, asking no more for their reverence than an excuse to obliterate the goodness of the world.

Others though, find themselves to be more clever. They are not content to worship the demon lords but forge pacts of power between them, granting them brief glimpses of the raw, destructive energies of the Abyss. 

The Orc Demon-Pacted can be found in both savage orc tribes and more civilized areas. They may be working with other orcs or other evil humanoids, generally plotting their destruction all the while.

Orc Demon-Pacted (Level 6 Artillery)

Medium natural humanoid  XP 250

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +3

HP 58; Bloodied 29

AC 18; Fortitude 21; Reflex 15; Will 17

Speed 6 

Standard Actions

[m] Dagger (Weapon) • At-Will

Attack: +13 vs AC

Hit: 1d4 + 5 damage

[r] Eldritch Blast (Arcane, Implement) • At-Will

Attack: +11 vs Reflex

Hit: 1d10 + 4

Minor Actions

[R] Warlock's Curse 

• At-Will

Ranged sight, nearest enemy; the target is cursed. A cursed target takes 1d6 extra damage anytime Orc Demon-Pacted deals damage with a power.

Triggered Actions 

Dark Recoil • Immediate Reaction; Recharge 5 6

Trigger: The orc demon-pacted is hit with a melee attack 

Effect: The attacker is teleported 5 squares and marked by the Orc Demon-Pacted's nearest ally

Skills Arcana +9, Bluff +9

Str 16 (+6) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 10 (+3)

Con 16 (+6) Int 13 (+4) Cha 13 (+4)

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Giant, Common

Equipment Dagger, Leather Armor

Dragonborn True Warrior

These fine fellows came up in my RL game recently where I needed strong warriors for an isolated dragonborn village, drifting between savage and civilized. 

When dealing with any kind of minion or type of intelligent humanoid thats going to be used more than once in a fight, remember its ok to break apart from the text. This may seem like old hat for some people but I find myself needing to remind myself. If there are twenty Dragonborn True Warriors coming at the PCs, and they all wield scale armor and bastard swords, your players either thinks:

1. My DM is just reading off the card or

2. This means something. Maybe they're part of a well trained unit, all under the same fighting style, or the bastard sword is important to their culture is some way.

I don't want 1. to be what they think of, because eventually its going to be important that they notice that a group of humanoids are all strangely alike.

So I'll grab some minis with different weapons and go with it, or describe some as wielding two swords or a great axe. No need to change the mechanics to create a vibrant group. Same thing with the dragonbreath. PCs know that dragonborn have several kinds of dragonbreath. They don't all need to breath fire unless theres a reason behind it.

Dragonborn True Warrior		Level 12 Minion Soldier
Medium natural humanoid		XP 175
Initiative +11                        Senses Perception +7 HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion. AC 28; Fortitude 28; Reflex 24; Will 24 Speed 5
m Bastard Sword (standard; at-will) • Weapon
+19 vs AC; +21 while bloodied; 5 damage
C Dragon Breath (minor; encounter) • Fire
Close blast 3; +17 vs Reflex; +19 while bloodied; 4 fire damage
True Warrior’s Strike
When the dragonborn true warrior hits an enemy with an opportunity attack, the target is knocked prone.
Alignment Any		Languages Common, Draconic
Skills History +9, Intimidate +16, Athletics +17
Str 22 (+12)	Dex 16 (+9)		Wis 13 (+7)
Con 19 (+10)	Int 13 (+7)		Cha 16 (+9)
Equipment Scale Armor, Bastard sword
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.