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Let's Read the 4e Creature Catalog: Sand Bride
A sand bride, which looks like a pretty lady lounging in an illusory oasis that hides a sandstorm. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
This wouldn’t be a proper D&D monster book without at least one vile seductress that tries to lure in unsuspecting adventurers with her womanly wiles.
Sand Brides are basically Darker and Sunnier Nymphs. More specifically, they are the things this world’s surviving nymphs turned into when the ecosystem went to shit and the Feywild was mostly destroyed. Like a lot of other Athasian fey, they blame all intelligent natural creatures for their corrupted state, and try to victimize them as an act of vengeance.
Their preferred tactic is to build traps and ambush spots out in the desert and use their illusion powers to disguise them as safe places like oases, sheltering ruins, or caravan rest stops. Then they disguise themselves as harmless humanoids and try to lure their targets to the ambush. The illustration and some of the descriptions imply these “harmless humanoids” are pretty ladies, but they don’t have to be.
Once the victims are at the intended spot, the ambush is sprung, and the sand bride will use her sand-bending powers and dehydrating touch to kill the victims, leaving only dried husks behind.
The Numbers
Sand Brides are Medium Fey Humanoids and Level 10 Elite Controllers with an even 200 HP. Despite being living beings they have Darkvision and are immune to disease and poison, traits commonly found in undead. Their ground speed is 8, and they have a burrow speed of 6. This doesn’t say it’s for loose earth only, so they could theoretically tunnel through rock.
Their Sandform Body lets them ignore all difficult terrain, tough they’re less diffuse than the dune constructs we saw previously. They attack in melee with a Dehydrating Touch that deals necrotic damage and inflicts -2 to all defenses for a turn on a hit. At range, they use Sand Blasts that deal physical damage and push 4 squares. Double Attack lets them make two melee attacks per action.
They can also employ a Sand Drown power (recharge 5+) if the PCs bunch up too much. This is an Area 1 Within 10 attack, dealing heavy physical damage and restraining on a hit.
Its ability to create illusory terrain is weaponized as an Insidious Mirage (Encounter), which lets the Sand Bride create a zone 4 squares on a side that lasts until the end of the encounter. This counts as difficult terrain for enemies, lets the bride slide enemies who end their turns inside by up to 2 squares as a free action, and can be moved by up to 4 squares as minor action.
And finally they have Deceptive Veil, allowing them to appear as a humanoid of any species. Piercing the illusion requires an Insight contest against the bride’s Bluff skill of +15. This doesn’t have to be a pretty lady, but it’s apparently traditional. The bride’s stats remain the same while disguised, and she can attack without dropping the illusion.
Encounters and Final Impressions
Sand brides target groups of travelers The creatures are fairly social with each other and will organize in groups. They can probably ally with other fey too, or have some Athasian beasts under their control ready to attack.
I’m not overly fond of vile seductress monsters but sand brides seem easy to reskin into something less cliche while keeping the same tactics.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Rampager
A rampager, which look like a big green kaiju with a human-like face. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
These creatures were known as so-ut in olden times, but most people found that name wasn’t very descriptive, so now they’re known as Rampagers. And they do what it says on the tin.
True, that doesn’t narrow it down by a lot given that we just looked at Nightmare Beasts, which are also big rampaging monsters. But there are some important differences: Nightmare Beasts are hateful monsters twisted by the energies of the Gray who hate all living things; Rampagers are hateful monsters twisted by vengeful primal spirits who hate all artifice.
Sure, they’ll kill anything that gets in their way, but the thing they really hate are buildings and other constructed signs of civilization. The cloud of angry elementals that constantly surrounds these creatures fills them with rage and drives them to seek these things out and utterly destroy them with their acidic claws. Ruins or new buildings, it doesn’t matter. They will all be razed to their foundations.
Those who can’t take on a Rampager in direct combat (i.e, most Athasians) might have a chance to avoid a deadly confrontation by placating the immaterial spirits that surround the creature via rituals or diplomacy, convincing them to direct their weapon elsewhere.
The Numbers
A Rampager is a Large Elemental Beast and a Level 21 Solo Brute with 800 HP. It has Darkvision and a ground speed of 7.
The angry spirits surrounding the so-ut aren’t modeled as separate creatures and cannot be targeted in combat, but I think they might be the source of its Entropic Presence aura (2), which strips immunities and resistances from all creatures and objects within. I believe that does include most of the inherent immunities objects have (such as to poison and necrotic damage).
The Rampager also has two other passive traits: Destruction’s Storm boosts its damage while bloodied, and Soul of Destruction boosts it even more against constructs, objects, and structures.
Its active attacks start with acid-laced Reach 2 Claws, which deal a hearty blend of physical and acid damage and penalize AC by -1 until the end of the encounter on a hit. This accumulates to a maximum of -5. And to top it off they have the High Crit property.
The Bite is Reach 2 and targets Reflex, and seems weak at first, but that’s just the primary attack. If that hits, the creature makes a secondary attack against the target’s Fortitude, which weakens and inflicts 30 ongoing poison damage on a hit (save ends). Entropic Presence makes this as effective against structures and objects as it would be against flesh and blood enemies.
Our last attack is the one that gives the Rampager its name: Destructive Rampage is an at-will power that lets it make three claw and one bite attack in any order. At most 2 attacks can be directed at the same target, and the monster can shift 2 squares after each one as an effect.
When the Rampager is first bloodied, and again when it drops to 0 HP, it can use Destructive Rampage as a free action.
Encounters and Final Impressions
Overall I wasn’t as impressed by the Rampager’s lore since it comes right after the Nightmare Beast and the Psurlon, but it’s very in theme for Athas. You could also easily reskin it as a sort of tarrasque spawn, since both follow similar themes.
Mechanically, I think all the mechanics that combine to make it a menace against constructs and structures are really cool. I can easily see an adventure where PCs must somehow direct a rampager to fight something like the Dark Sun version of the Wandering Tower (originally from Threats to the Nentir Vale). And of course, if this thing ever meets a Nightmare Beast meet, they’re going to fight, and while the Rampager as written might not win that one without PC help it can serve as an important distraction.
The book clearly intends for Rampagers to be found alone, since as mentioned above the spirit cloud is more of an special effect than a separate creature, mechanically. Nothing stops you from adding some actual epic level elementals to the encounter if your PCs are higher level, though.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Psurlon
A psurlon, which look like a gray-skinned centipede centaur with scythe-like forearms and a xenomorh-style head. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
A long time ago, in a world far, far away, there was a civilization whose mastery of psionics was so complete they decided to merge their entire population into a single collective god-mind. They failed, and the backlash destroyed their planet.
The survivors managed to escape to the Astral Sea, but only as disembodied consciences. There, they came upon another world that radiated vast amounts of psychic energy, comparable to their old home. The survivors were drawn to it like moths to a flame, piercing the barriers that surrounded this new world and taking over a species of worm that turned out to be particularly receptive to their minds.
Over the following generations, these planar refugees would shape their hosts to be more useful to their mysterious purposes, and would come to prefer their new bodies over their old humanoid forms. And this is how the psurlons came to be, though no one in Athas really knows the whole story.
Some psurlons reside in the Gray, amid the graves of the gods. Many others live in Athas itself, where they often take human form to infiltrate and spy on the city-states of the sorcerer-kings, working towards some mysterious goal of their own. Psurlons are an old people with long memories and extremely advanced psionic skills, so sometimes they’ll be sought out by powerful psychics, spellcasters, and historians willing to risk their lives to bargain for knowledge.
The Numbers
Psurlons are Medium Aberrant Magical Beasts. They have resistance to psychic damage, a burrow speed, and Tremorsense, though the exact values on these traits vary per stat block. Their signature ability is Armored Mind, a passive trait that lets them roll saves against domination both at the start and end of their turns, even if the condition doesn’t normally end with a save.
Psurlon Dustworm
Dustworms are specialized infiltrators, disguising themselves as humanoids to spy on the city-states and on the comings and goings of the sorcerer-kings. They’re Level 17 Skirmishers with 164 HP. Their ground and burrow speeds are 8, and they have 5 psychic resistance and Tremorsense 10.
The dustworm can Change Shape as a minor action to appear as a humanoid. Others need to pass a DC 36 Insight check to detect the deception. Most dustworms encountered by PCs will start out disguised, and will do their best to maintain cover until there is no other alternative. Then, they take their natural shapes and fight, likely attempting to escape.
In addition to Armored Mind, they also project a Psychic Deadpool (aura 5), which inflicts -2 on enemy saves against ongoing psychic damage. They can attack in melee with their Claws, which damage and deal ongoing 5 psychic damage (save ends). At range, they fling Mindknives which deal psychic damage and forbid the target from making opportunity attacks for a turn.
Both of these attacks can be boosted by Psionic Augment, which triggers after one of them hits and lets them deal an extra 2d6 psychic damage. This recharges when the dustworm takes psychic damage.
They can use a Burrowing Attack to burrow half their speed, attack someone with a claw, and then burrow the other half of their speed. This is strangely precise phrasing compared to the other “moving attack” skills we have seen so far.
Psurlon Warworm
Warworms cannot change shape, possibly because they’re Huge instead of Medium. They defend psurlon settlements and stay hidden underground near infiltrators, waiting to burst out when things go pear-shaped. They’re Level 18 Elite Brutes with 424 HP. Their ground and burrow speeds are 6, their Tremorsense is 20, and their psychic resistance is 15.
Their bite deals heavy damage and inflicts ongoing 5 psychic damage (save ends), and Double Attack lets them bite twice per action. Once per encounter, they can let out a Mind Scream that attacks enemies in a Close Burst 2. A hit deals heavy psychic damage and stuns for a turn. Nasty! A miss deals half damage.
Psurlon Mindworm
Mindworms are powerful seers, able to see many futures at once. They guide their fellow psurlons to the ones most favorable to their secret objectives. Mindworms are Level 19 Controllers with 181 HP. Their movement speed is 6, they have 10 Psychic resistance, and Tremorsense 10.
Their additional passive is a Whispering Meme aura (5) that lets the mindworm slide enemies that start their turns within 1 square. I guess the mysterious whispers of “this is fine” and “always has been” drive enemies to distraction.
A mindworm will probably start the fight at range and attempt to use Ego Control (recharge 5+) on a PC. This deals a sizable chunk of psychic damage and dominates on a hit (save ends). Then they’ll close in to melee range and alternate between Referred Pain and their Psychic Claws. The first power is a Close Burst 2 that deals psychic damage and slows for a turn; the other is a basic attack that deals a mix of psychic and physical damage and inflicts -2 to AC for a turn.
Mindworms can also Change Shape and use Psionic Augment, both of which work just like the dustworm’s, but with higher numbers.
Encounters and Final Impressions
There’s a lot here that reminds me of mind flayers, but I think I actually like psurlons better. With mind flayers, you know they want to eat your brain, and most PCs will start drawing their weapons as soon as they spot one.
Psurlons have a much more mysterious goal, so they can more easily fill the “mysterious but dangerous stranger” role instead of always being overtly hostile. Heck, PCs might want to ally with them against a sorcerer-king.
That said, they do employ a lot of the same tactics as flayers, including keeping large groups of dominated thralls around to help compose mixed encounter groups.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Nightmare Beast
A rampaging nightmare beast with a doomed human spearman for scale. The spearman looks tiny. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
Nightmare Beasts are among the most feared horrors to walk the surface of Athas, second only to the Dragon of Tyr itself. The mere presence of a nightmare beast poisons the surrounding land and contaminates its water. This seems to be a continuous defiling effect - and the beasts can defile further to fuel their powers. The description also makes me think they might be radioactive, if you want to inject some science fantasy into your campaign.
Sages can only speculate as to their origin. The leading theory is that they were summoned from the Gray by powerful defilers during an age in the distant past where war raged all over the world. Fully grown beasts are solitary, but smaller versions can be seen hanging out in packs with each other or with other predatory animals. Those same sages theorize these are young beasts, born through natural reproduction.
Everything about the preceding paragraph is wrong, however. Nightmare beasts form when one of the many natural predators of Athas consumes too much prey from areas tainted by the Gray or marked by heavy defiling. The creature begins to slowly mutate. It acquires intelligence, power, and a hatred for all living things, becoming a nightmare beast when the metamorphosis is complete. The “spawn” are merely beasts whose transformation is still ongoing. Fully transformed beasts are solitary. Partially-mutated spawn still display behaviors reminiscent of their previous form, which is why they can be found in packs.
Nightmare beast lairs tend to be pretty obvious and imposing landmarks at the center of a horribly corrupted region.
The Numbers
Nightmare Beasts are Shadow Magical Beasts with Darkvision. We get stat blocks for both spawn and fully transformed specimens. Both can invade people’s dreams and use magical black lightning as a weapon, in addition to having very large and sharp tusks, but the effects of all of these vary per stat block. We’ll see them from weaker to stronger.
At the GM’s option, beasts poison the area around them when they die. The area within 10 squares of a full beast’s corpse become Defiled Terrain (a hazard described at the end of the book). Spawn also do this, but the area is only 5 squares in radius.
Nightmare Beast Spawn
As mentioned above, “spawn” is a misleading name. This Large creature was formerly a more mundane Athasian predator who is currently in the process of mutating into a nightmare beast. It will kinda resemble the animal it once was, but is already clearly unnatural. Spawn are Level 16 Elite Artillery with 244 HP. Their ground speed is 8 and they also have Burrow and Climb speeds of 4. Maybe this was a megapede?
The creature’s basic melee attack uses its Tusks (Melee 2), which damage and slide the target 2 squares on a hit. Its favorite tactic, however, is to hang back and rain Black Lightning (Ranged 20) upon its foes. This attack vs. Reflex targets one or two victims. On a hit it deals “lightning and necrotic” damage, and ongoing 5 necrotic damage (save ends). This worsens to 10 ongoing on the first failed save, and to unconsciousness (save ends) on the second.
The spawn can further torment its unconscious victims with Horrid Nightmares (minor action, recharge 6+, Ranged 10), which deal psychic damage and prevent the target from rolling saves for a turn on a hit. Yeah the spawn can potentially lock a PC down once they’re unconscious from Black Lightning. This also works if they manage to sneak up on their victims while they sleep, though the spawn might not yet be clever enough to think of this.
If a target steps into the spawn’s melee reach, it can use its Barbed Tongue (Melee 3) as a reaction. This attack vs Fortitude deals necrotic damage on a hit and prevents the target from regaining HP for a turn.
Nightmare Beast
The fully mutated beast is size Huge, and a Level 25 Solo Controller with 928 HP. In other words, it’s a kaiju. This specimen is stronger than the spawn in every way, from physical weapons all the way to psychic and magical powers. Its ground speed is just 6, though, with no other movement modes. It likes to use its magic to torment its victims, but once it gets injured it will drop the mind games and get physical.
The beast has no less than three basic attacks, all Melee 3 and each with a different rider: Claws that slide 3 squares, Tusks that knock prone, and a Bite that grabs the target if the beast hasn’t grabbed anyone yet. Each of those of course also does respectable damage. Double Attack lets the beast pick any two of those to use on the same action.
Bloodied Fury (recharge 4+) becomes available while the beast is bloodied. It lets the creature move its speed and use a claw/claw/tusk/bite combo at any point along the movement, using up to two attacks against each target.
While the beast is not bloodied, it can instead use its Black Lightning (recharge 4+). This version targets 1 or 2 creatures in a Close Burst 5, and on a hit inflicts ongoing 30 lightning and necrotic damage (save ends). Each creature adjacent to one of the targets takes 20 lightning and necrotic damage when the target is hit, as well. The targets fall unconscious right on the first failed saving throw.
If the beast misses a target while using Black Lightning, it can use its Hideous Defiling to attack every enemy in a Close Burst 2, dealing a chunk of necrotic damage on a hit. A hit also allows it to reroll the missed Black Lightning attacks.
Whether bloodied or not, the beast can inflict Horrid Nightmares on unsconscious targets just like its less-developed counterpart, with better damage. It can also use Dream Step at will, teleporting 15 squares to a space adjacent to an unconscious creature!
Encounters and Final Impressions
Full beasts will usually be found alone, as they kill anything else they can perceive. A GM who wishes to add more spice to this solo encounter could add powerful undead minions. The beast might tolerate their presence since they aren’t living creatures.
Spawn could be found in groups, either with each other or still hanging around their packs as the transformation proceeds. Eventually the day comes when they complete the transformation and slay their packmates.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Mul
A mul rebel about to bash some slaver's skull in with a rock. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The text for this entry sounds really fucking racist. It can’t decide whether to talk about muls as if they were non-sapient animals or whether to stick to the old “stupid and brutal savage” cliches. Therefore, I’ll paraphrase and summarize it more aggressively than I do most other entries, and also pull stuff from the much more even-handed text in the Campaign Guide.
The Lore
Muls are half-dwarves, born from the union of a human and a dwarf. They’re taller than humans on average, and combine dwarven strength and endurance with human physical and mental agility. Most muls are born into slavery, as they were originally a sorcerer-king eugenics project.
Muls resent slavery just as much as anyone else, and their strong wills and bodies usually often put them in a position to do something about it. They often rebel and turn on their oppressors, and you can find communities of free muls making a life out in the wastes and organizing to strike back at the sorcerer-kings.
Despite their aptitude for resistance, muls are popular as gladiators, which means a lot of them receive combat training from their enslavers. Most muls the PCs encounter will have some degree of skill at fighting, and free individuals often go on to work as mercenaries and bodyguards because of this.
The Numbers
Muls are Medium Natural Humanoids with a ground speed of 6. Their signature trait is the same Incredible Toughness mul PCs get. Once per encounter, at the start of their turns, they can automatically end a ongoing damage effect or the dazed, slowed, stunned, or weakened conditions. This applies both to (save ends) effects, and to those that would last until the end of the turn, which makes this ability really useful.
Mul Gladiator
Trained and forced to fight in the arena, the mul gladiator is head and shoulders above his human rivals both literally and in terms of skill. He’s a Level 4 Elite Soldier with 112 HP. He wields a warhammer and can use a Double Sweep maneuver to attack twice in the same action, knocking the target prone if both attacks hit. If an adjacent prone enemy stands up, the gladiator can use a Pursuing Shove to attack their Fortitude. On a hit, he pushes the target 3 squares and shifts 3 squares to follow.
Mul Chainfighter
This could represent a more experienced gladiator or bodyguard, or a free agent like a mercenary. It’s a Level 8 Brute with 106 HP.
The chainfighter wields a Cahulaks as their main weapon. This is a Dark Sun weapon introduced in the Campaign Guide: a length of chain with barbed grappling hooks on either end. Its attacks have Reach 2, or Reach 1 if the chainfighter has a creature grabbed.
Grabs happen via the Ensnaring Tines maneuver, a Reach 2 attack that pulls the target 1 square and grabs them if they end up adjacent to the mul, who can grab at most one victim at a time in this way.
If the grabbed victim attempts to escape and fails, the chainfighter can use Wicked Ensnarement (vs. Fortitude) as a reaction. On a hit, this deals a bit of damage and knocks the target prone.
Mul Savage
This unfortunately-named stat block is meant to represent a free mul that is used to surviving in the wastes. It’s a Level 9 Brute with 120 HP and the Leader tag.
The tag is justified by the Furious Inspiration aura (5) projected by the mul. Whenever an ally inside the aura becomes bloodied they can make a melee basic attack as a free action.
This warrior fights with a Bone-Studded Greatclub, whose attacks damage and knock prone on a hit. When first bloodied, his Bloodied Fury lets him make the same attack against every enemy in a Close Burst 1, additionally pushing them 2 squares on a hit.
Mul Champion
A prominent figure in the rebel movements against the sorcerer-king, champions inspire others to take up the fight through their deeds. Like the chainfighter, the champion wields cahulaks, but they’re a lot more skilled with the weapon. Champions are Level 17 Soldiers with 167 HP.
Their basic Cahulaks attack works exactly like the chainfighter’s, with better numbers. Their Snagging Tines maneuver is Reach 2 and grabs on a hit, but it doesn’t pull: the champion can maintain a grab at up to Reach 2. Swinging Hook (Encounter) lets them slide a grabbed target 4 squares as an effect, maintaining the grab if the target is within 2 squares of the champion at the end of the movement. At the end of the movement the champion makes an attack both against the grabbed target and an enemy adjacent to that target, damaging and knocking them prone on a hit.
As a minor action, the Champion’s Gaze marks every enemy in a Close Burst 2 for a turn. If a marked enemy makes an attack that doesn’t target the champion, they open themselves to a Wicked Parry, a reach 2 interrupt that damages and inflicts a -2 penalty to the triggering attack.
Encounters and Final Impressions
The book completes its collection of fantasy racism cliches by stating that neither humans nor dwarves like muls very much. Nevertheless, they can be found in Mixed Groups of People as bodyguards, enforcers, and so on.
I liked the stat blocks because they’re relatively simple and each has One Neat Trick. Shame about the fluff, but as you saw it’s relatively easy to fix.
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