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• Jun 5, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Human

  

  This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

  Humans are obviously inspired by the real world, and have been an integral part of the game since its very beginning. Humans as playable characters are covered by the Player’s Handbook, with both of the books we’re covering having entries for humans as opposition.

  The Lore

  Like in pretty much every edition of D&D, humans are described as being a very diverse lot. 4e goes a bit beyond this traditional description, though, and ascribes a few extra traits to them.

  These mostly come from looking at humanity from the perspective of the other races: humans are incredibly ambitious and intense, always aiming to achieve great things in their short lifetimes. While only a few truly manage it, they tend to leave profound marks in the world and its history. Collectively, all of this passion has also led them to spread further than any other “civilized” people. You can find humans in any environment, and in greater numbers than almost anyone else. When they work together, they can easily form grand organizations or empires that vastly outlive its individual members. Nerath is only the most recent of those, and there’s at least one more: ancient Bael Turath.

  This combination of ambition and the willingness to serve causes greater than any one individual also makes humans incredibly succeptible to corruption. When some elves pledge allegiance to evil and move underground, it’s an event of mythical proportions! When a group of humans does the same thing, it’s a Tuesday. Nerath fell because it became too decadent to protect itself, and we’ll get into what happened to Bael Turath later.

  The Numbers

  The signature human trait is that they have no signature trait! Each book has 6 stat blocks, and they have little in common aside from the words “Medium Natural Humanoid” and their native speed of 6.

  As it happens with all playable races, every stat block has an alignment of “Any” or “Unaligned”, and is meant to represent either enemies or NPC allies.

  Human Minions (Both)

  Our minions are a bunch of schlubs with clubs. They come in two power levels: 2 and 7.

  The level 2 variety is called “Human Rabble” in the MM and “Human Goon” in the MV. In either case they’re Minion Soldiers that have a basic club attack and a trait named Mob Rule, hich gives them a +2 to all defenses if they have at least two other goons are within 5 squares.

  The Level 7 variety is called “Human Lackey” in the MM and “Human Thug” in the MV. Lackeys are brutes and also get Mob Rule, while Thugs are skirmishers and get Rush Into Battle: if they hit with a charge attack, their target grants combat advantage for a turn.

  Basically, if the PCs manage to rile up a classic torches-and-pitchforks mob, or piss off a tavern-full of unsavory drunks, it will be made up of these people. They’re also good to represent low-ranking cultists, or peasant allies.

  Human Bandit (Both)

  Called a “Common Bandit” in the MV, this Level 2 Skirmisher is another classic. It has 37 HP, wears leather, and fights with a mace and a brace of throwing daggers. It’s trained in Stealth, Streetwise and Thievery.

  Mace attacks allow the bandit to shift 1 square on a hit. Once per encounter they can perform a Dazing Strike that works as a mace attack and also dazes for a turn. Finally, they deal a bit of “sneak attack” damage if they have combat advantage.

  Bandits are fond of ambushes and tend to retreat if bloodied. All of the usual historical considerations about why someone would become a bandit apply here. A large bandit gang will likely be mostly made up of Goons, with these guys representing their veterans.

  Human Guard (Both)

  Called a “Town Guard” in the MV, this is a Level 3 Soldier with 47 HP. Guards wear mail (which reduces their speed to 5) and carry both halberds and light crossbows.

  Their basic halberd attack has Reach 2 and also marks the target for a turn on a hit. Every so often they can make a Powerful Strike (recharge 5-6) which does more damage and knocks prone on a hit. Their crossbows have Range 20, which is pretty good.

  These stats also seem appropriate for soldiers on a battlefield. In both cases a squad made up entirely of Town Guards is a pretty versatile threat, since they can attack both at range and in melee. It could act as a sort of “pike and shot” unit, keeping a tight formation and marching towards the enemy. The front ranks would wield their polearms all the way through, and the ones towards the back would switch weapons whey the front ranks engage the enemy.

  Human Berserker (MM)

  Berserkers are actually an extremely traditional “monster”, with their first appearance being in OD&D. Here, they are Level 4 Brutes with 66HP. Berserkers run at speed 7, wear hide, and fight with axes.

  Their greataxes are a High Crit weapon, and they can also throw handaxes if they can’t reach someone for melee combat this turn. When first bloodied, they use an attack named Battle Fury (free action; encounter), making a basic attack at a +4 attack bonus and a +1d6 damage bonus.

  As expected, they are likely to fight to the death, and their tactics can be summed up as “Chaaaarge!”.

  Human Mage (MM)

  These spellcasters are Level 4 Artillery and have 42 HP. They wear robes and wield a staff that’s nothing special in melee, and their main weapon is magic.

  As a ranged basic attack, they can cast Magic Missiles of the kind that deal a nice bit of force damage and require an attack roll (Ranged 20 vs. Reflex).

  Once per encounter, they can use Dancing Lightning (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex), which targets up to three enemies and does lightning damage.

  Also once per encounter, they can use Thunder Burst (Area burst 1 within 10 vs. Fortitude), which deals thunder damage and dazes (save ends).

  These wizards seem to be somewhat storm-themed, but aside from this there’s no restriction on what sort of person they represent. You could find them as members of a town guard, bandit gang, sinister cult, witch coven, and so on.

  Human Transmuter (MV)

  This one is actually an update of the Human Hexer from the MM2, which has a bunch more human opponents of varied levels. It’s a more powerful spellcaster than the MM Mage, with a transmutation theme. This Level 7 Controller has 77 HP and the usual staff and robes outfit.

  Being a MV controller, its staff actually does respectable damage in melee. The transmuter’s at-will ranged attack is Capricious Earth (Area Burst 2 within 5 vs. Will; enemies only) which does damage and slides the targets up to 3 squares. This is a charm effect, so I guess that it only makes the targets think the earth is pushing them around.

  The transmuter can also resort to the Beast Curse (Ranged 5 vs. Fortitude; recharge 4-6), which turns the target into a Tiny animal like a frog or rabbit for a turn. While thus polymorphed, the target can’t use powers or attacks.

  As a minor action, the transmuter can Hex someone (Close Burst 5 vs. Will; one enemy in burst). The hex lasts a turn and gives the target a -2 penalty to attack and damage rolls against the transmuter. As a move action, the transmuter can use Hex Jump once per encounter to switch places with a hexed target.

  As befits a controller, the transmuter is a lot trickier than the standard mage. Ideally it will be able to keep someone squishy locked down with Beast Curse and use Capricious Earth to prevent the fighters from forming up properly. Hex should be applied to someone as far away as possible to allow an easy escape from being surrounded.

  Human Duelist (MV)

  This one seems to be entirely new. Duelists are Level 8 Soldiers with 85 HP, wearing leather and carrying a longsword.

  Their longsword attacks mark for a turn, and Advantageous Jab allows them to attack as an interrupt anyone who attempts to ignore the mark. Hit or miss, the target takes a -2 penalty to their attack.

  Duelists also have a trait named Duelist’s Poise that gives their attacks an “immobilization for a turn” rider if they have combat advantage against the target.

  This stat block also looks like a good stand-in for a military officer or the like. They combo rather well with skirmishers.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  The MM gives us no less than three encounters:

  • Level 3: 1 berserker, 2 guards, 2 spitting drakes. A guard patrol where one of them is a loose cannon who doesn’t play by the rules.

  • Level 4: 1 mage, 2 bandits, 3 gravehound zombies, 3 zombie rotters. A necromancer and their lackeys, out for a spot of grave-robbing.

  • Level 5: 2 mages, 6 human lackeys, 1 evistro. And here’s your standard entry-level demonic cult.

  Humans are of course one of the most important building blocks of any D&D setting. Sure, you can write up a setting that has no humans in it, but that’s the sort of decision that tends to ripple outward to become one of that setting’s main traits. They’re significant even in their absence, because they’re pretty much everywhere else.

• Jun 1, 2020

  Alternative Dungeon Fantasy Reward Systems

  

  For a lot of players, a big part of the fun of playing in the Dungeon Fantasy genre comes from the rewards their characters acquire in play. And these in turn fall into two main categories: treasure and experience.

  In GURPS, “experience” means Character Points, which are usually obtained for successfully completing adventure goals and can be directly used to improve characters. “Treasure” in a Dungeon Fantasy context can be split into magic items and “monetary” treasure (i.e, coins and stuff you end up selling in town).

  By default these two reward types are mostly unrelated. Going by the experience rewards scheme on p. 92 of DF: Exploits, a party could enter a dungeon, win lots of battles, find a secret area or three, and win plenty of experience even if they never find a single coin’s worth of treasure.

  Depending on the exact nature of your campaign, you might want to mess with this reward scheme. Here are two possible ways to do that. In both, magic items remain pretty much as written, but a stronger relationship is established between experience and monetary treasure. They replace the standard system from DF: Exploits entirely.

  Old School: Money Is Experience

  When the party returns to town, add up the total value in $ of all the monetary treasure they acquired. As usual, coins contribute their full value. Other items contribute their sale value, but only if the PCs sell them. Those items they decide to keep should be excluded from this calculation.

  This total should be divided among the PCs. If your party is an anarchist commune that keeps all money in a collective pile (like mine are!), then assume an equal split for experience purposes. Most other parties probably also split their take evenly, though if they’re really into that old-school vibe they might have a complicated scheme set up that includes henchmen with half-shares, seniority bonuses, and thieves who steal from the other PCs.

  The PCs who survived the process of splitting the loot get to earn XP from it. Divide each PC’s share by $500: that’s how many points they get. This is the exact same exchange rate they’d get from converting character points to money during character creation. Depending on how much treasure your adventures feature, you might want to adjust the rate! For example, a PC in a campaign that follows Petter V. Del’Orto’s suggested house rule would earn one point for every $5000 they earned.

  Example: Let’s say we have a party of 5 PCs that agree to split their loot evenly. They meet a dragon shortly after they enter a dungeon, and are forced to retreat having only found a small coin stash worth $1500. That comes out to $300 per PC, which is not enough for them to earn any points from this delve.

  The PCs prepare themselves better and try again, and this time they’re able to kill the dragon and loot its hoard, which contains $25000 in monetary treasure and several magic items. The magic items don’t enter into this calculation, so each PC ends up with $5000 and earns 10 character points from it.

  Dungeon Souls: Experience is Money

  Some campaigns take place in settings where money is worthless. One example is the Havens and Hells setting presented in Pyramid #3/89. Another is the Dark Souls franchise. This alternate system is inspired by the latter, taking the usual “battle experience” mechanics and making them into an in-character concept.

  The metaphysics of the world are such that when you defeat a monster in battle, you siphon off a little of its life force! Depending on the setting this might require killing the monster, but it could also involve simply defeating it in combat and performing a small ritual.

  In either case, people in the setting can use this accumulated “soul energy” for all sorts of purposes, and it can be voluntarily transferred. So it becomes the de-facto currency in a setting that has no use for mundane money.

  The simplest way to implement this is to say that victory in battle is worth 500 “soul points” for every character point it would have been worth according to p. 92 of DF: Exploits. This means a battle against a small amount of fodder is worth nothing, and a big boss fight with lots of extra henchthings thrown in might be worth 1500 SP. Again, this is the same exchange rate you use to convert points into money during character creation, and you can vary it to suit your preferred pace of advancement.

  A more detailed way to model it is to use the optional rules on the It’s a Threat! article on Pyramid #3/77, and say that a slain monster is worth soul points equal to its Combat Effectiveness Rating. This method is a bit math-intensive: the article has a table with values for a few published monsters, but for anything outside of that you’ll have to calculate it.

  No matter which method you’re using, an important decision you must make is whether the “soul points” from a battle must be split among the PCs or if each PC gets the full amount when the fight ends. The former setup results in much slower advancement than the system in Exploits, while the latter more or less keeps pace with it as far as combat experience is concerned. I do not recommend fully copying Dark Souls and giving soul points from a monster only to the PC who dealt the last blow: that works in a solo campaign, but nowhere else.

  “Treasure” might still exist in this model in the form of dead adventurers with residual soul points still present in their remains. This could lead to entertaining scenes such as the party slaying a dragon and leaving its piles of gold behind in favor of searching for the corpses of the previous parties that failed to defeat it. And of course, if you’re using Havens and Hells then Souls-like corpse runs are totally a thing that happens in that setting.

  Using soul points for advancement is a matter of converting them in town using the reverse exchange rate: 500 SP for 1 character point. They can also be used to buy stuff, in which case 1 SP is worth $1. So characters must choose between buying equipment or upgrading their abilities, which will end up slowing advancement overall and making looted gear that much more desirable. A suit of fine armor you find in the wild is one you don’t have to spend Soul Points on!

• May 30, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Hound

  

  This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

  D&D has historically featured a whole bunch of dog-like monsters in its bestiaries, and Fourth Edition is no different. This Monster Manual entry collects a bunch of them.

  The Lore

  The monsters in these entries are basically large dogs with various supernatural powers, so you already have a good idea of what they look like and what they’re used for: pets, guard animals, trackers, and so on.

  In the implied Fourth Edition setting, mundane dogs kind of compete with drakes in the roles I mentioned above. The supernatural powers of these monstrous hounds make them more powerful than a typical drake, though.

  First we have Hell Hounds, who have the ability to both resist and breathe fire. Despite the name, they originate in the Elemental Chaos, being one of the early creations of the primordials. Fire giants have been breeding hellhounds for millennia, and their efforts result in larger and more powerful specimens than can be found in the wild or in the service of less experienced breeders.

  Next we have Shadow Hounds, native to the Shadowfell and embodying many of the real-world myths of spooky black dogs that foretell your death or simply attack you while you’re out in the moors.

  And finally, we have the Hounds of the Wild Hunt, the favorite pets of those epic-tier Eladrin and fey nobles. Their vigor is boundless, their strength unmatched, and their intelligence super-canine.

  The Numbers

  Though the doggies in this entry are quite diverse, they do have a couple of traits in common. They’re Medium Beasts, they generally run fast, and they have trained Perception. Everything else varies.

  Hell Hound

  Hell hounds are Medium Elemental Beasts (fire), and Level 7 Brutes with 96 HP. They have Resist 20 Fire, run at speed 7, and are surrounded by a fiery aura 1 that does a bit of fire damage to anyone caught inside.

  Their main attack is a bite that does a mix of physical and fire damage, and they can also breathe fire (Close Blast 3 vs. Reflex, recharge 4-6).

  Simple and direct creatures, you only need to fix their damage before adding them to your game. A pack of hell hounds doesn’t need to worry about friendly fire if they surround the PCs, and they can pair well with ranged monsters or with other fire-resistant frontliners.

  Firebred Hell Hound

  The variety bred by fire giants is also a Medium Elemental Beast (fire), but it’s considerably stronger: a Level 17 Brute with 205 HP. The fiery aura does a bit more damage, its fire resistance is 40, and its ground speed 8.

  Firebred hell hounds have the same attacks as the basic model, plus a Fiery Burst (Close Burst 3 vs. Reflex, recharge 6) that gives then more options for dealing area-effect fire damage.

  Shadow Hound

  These are Medium Shadow Beasts, and Level 6 Skirmishers with 70 HP. They run at speed 7, and have a teleport speed of 7 as well. They’re surrounded by a Shroud of Night (aura 5) that makes all light within one step darker, and have Vulnerable 5 Radiant. Obviously, they also have darkvision.

  The shadow hound’s basic attack is a bite, which does extra sneak attack damage and combat advantage if used right after the monster teleports adjacent to its target. They can bay as a minor action (Close Burst 5 vs. Will; Fear, sound-based; recharge 5-6) to inflict a -2 penalty to all defenses of anyone they affect, lasting for a turn.

  In combat they’ll keep bouncing between PCs, to get that sneak attack damage, and will bay whenever possible to keep their defenses lowered.

  Wild Hunt Hound

  These good boys are Medium Fey Beasts, and Level 21 Skirmishers with 205 HP. They have low-light vision, speed 10 on the ground and in the air, and their Menacing Growling acts as an Aura 10 that inflicts a -2 defense penalty to all enemies within.

  These hounds also get +2 defense against opportunity attacks, and cause extra “sneak attack” damage when they have combat advantage. Their bite does even more bonus physical damage against immobilized targets. The first time they hit, the target is also slowed and prevented from teleporting; the next hit after that will immobilize instead. A save can end these conditions.

  Finally, Wild Hunt Hounds can execute a Mobile Melee Attack at will, moving 5 squares without provoking opportunity attacks and biting someone at any point along the movement.

  These things are terrifying when accompanied by a band of epic-level wild hunters (like the Ghaele of Winter or equivalent fey).

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Each hound type gets a sample encounter:

  • Level 6: 2 shadow hounds, 2 shadar-kai gloomblades, 1 shadar-kai witch.

  • Level 17: 2 firebred hellhounds, 2 azer beastlords, 1 azer taskmaster.

  • Level 20: 4 wild hunt hounds, 1 bralani of autumn wilds.

  Hell hounds are a classic, and I like that they took some strong mythical figures for the other entries. Despite the usual damage bugs the stat blocks themselves also seem fairly simple and effective in a fight.

• May 28, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Horse

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Horses are a real-world animal, so you likely have a good idea of what they’re like. They’ve been in the game since the very beginning, and here they have their own entry in the MM and are part of the animal appendix on the MV.

  The Lore

  They’re horses! Herbivore ungulates widely used as mounts and beasts of burden by any society that managed to develop animal domestication. You can still find wild herds running through the plains of the world and the Feywild, but most horses the PCs are likely to meet in their adventures will be acting as someone’s mount.

  Unlike in the real world, horses are far from the only choice of mount for your typical D&D society. There are plenty of other, more fantastic beasts that can do the job just as well. If that job is “war mount”, they can likely do it better. Yeah, warhorses are still a thing here, but the same amount of work that goes into training one can instead get you a dire boar, hippogriff, or some kind of drake. I think this is the first setting I see where a warhorse is the animal you ride into combat when nothing better is available.

  There’s a breed of horse that’s a potential exception to this: the celestial charger, which is infused with divine energy and typically used as mounts only by noble warriors and champions of justice. A Paladin PC might get one of these as a reward for service to their kingdom, for example. They’re much more powerful and intelligent than a typical horse, though they’re still animals.

  The Numbers

  Horses are Large Natural Beasts with the Mount keyword. They have low-light vision, trained Perception and high ground speeds. We get three different stat blocks.

  Riding Horse (MM)

  These are meant for transportation, not battle, and are as close to a non-combatant as you can be while still having a stat block. They’re here because they’re likely to be the first rides your PCs get in their adventuring careers.

  They’re Level 1 Brutes with 36 HP and can run at speed 10. Their usual strategy when in combat is to run away! Their only attack is a basic Kick they’ll only employ when trapped or startled. The only reason these aren’t minions it’s because have your horse one-shotted out from under you is no fun.

  Warhorse (MM)

  A larger, stronger horse trained to be ridden into combat and fight alongside its rider.

  It’s a Level 3 Brute with 58 HP and a ground speed of 8. Its basic attack is still a Kick, but it can also Trample. We saw this one before: it allows the warhorse to move its speed, go through enemy spaces (while drawing opportunity attacks) and make an attack against any enemy whose space it crosses. This attack is a bit stronger than the kick, and knocks prone on a hit.

  Warhorses also have a Charger passive trait, which gives their riders a +5 damage bonus on charges.

  Horse (MV)

  The “generic” horse in the MV animal appendix is actually an updated warhorse despite being a Level 1 Brute with 36 HP. The damage of its attacks has been fixed, so they’re actually stronger than the MM warhorse’s despite the lower level. The Charger trait is still here, though it only gives a +3 damage bonus in this version.

  Celestial Charger (MM)

  Celestial Chargers are Large Immortal Beasts with the Mount keyword, instead of being Natural like other horses. They’re Level 10 Soldiers with 111 HP, a +5 bonus to saves against fear, and Speed 8.

  Celestial chargers kick and trample like warhorses, though their damage could use a serious boost. They have two supernatural passive traits: Zephyr Footing allows them to ignore all difficult terrain and move across any solid or liquid surface; and Celestial Charge gives a +2d6 radiant damage bonus to their rider’s charges.

  I think these might be like the magic horses from Krull, or Gandalf’s Shadowfax.

  Final Impressions

  No sample encounters here, but as I said almost any sapient humanoid could be found riding horses.

  I would normally say you gotta have horses in your medieval-ish setting, but we’ve seen so many other awesome mounts already that I think they might actually be somewhat redundant. A setting with no horses but all sorts of other mounts might look a bit like Final Fantasy. A few other possibilities present themselves as well:

  • The setting has no horses and everyone uses other mounts, but then it gets invaded by an interdimensional army and the invaders use horses, which would make them the exotic and alien mount.

  • The setting has no mundane horses, but one or more gods send celestial chargers to their chosen champions as a sign of their favor. They’re seen as this powerful divine beast without an eartlhy equivalent, in another neat role inversion.

• May 27, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Hook Horror

  

  This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

  Hook horrors definitely look like something that’s been around since AD&D. My first contact with them was in Neverwinter Nights, which used a model for them that was nearly identical to that of vrock demons. The chunky fellow above is quite different from those and much easier to tell apart. They’re only on the MM.

  The Lore

  Hook horrors are yet another example of predatory Underdark wildlife, adapted to hunt in total darkness by clinging to a cave ceiling and dropping on its victims. Unlike a lot of other Underdark wildlife we’ve seen so far, they’re Natural, not Aberrant, which means they evolved down there on their own instead of immigrating from the Far Realm.

  Hook horrors are omnivorous, but prefer meat and are rumored to like drow meat more than other kinds. They live in total darkness and use echolocation to perceive their surroundings, though they have functional eyes to see in brighter environments. The clicking noises they make are also used for communication, and smart explorers can listen for those to see if hook horrors are nearby.

  A group of hook horrors is called a “clan”, and is led by its strongest egg-laying female. It ranges widely in the Underdark, with its members forming smaller packs to hunt. Drow tend to kill adult hook horrors on sight and steal their eggs to raise the hatchlings as attack animals.

  The Numbers

  There’s only one stat block, so we’ll get right on it. Hook Horrors are Large Natural Beasts, and Level 13 Soldiers with 137 HP. They have Blindsight 10 to represent their echolocation, and a relatively slow ground speed 4. They can also climb at speed 4.

  Their basic attack uses those hooked forelimbs, dealing damage and pulling the target 1 square on a hit. They can choose to attack twice at a -2 penalty to each attack, and if both hit they deal some extra damage and grab the target until escape. They can keep making hook attacks against grabbed victims, and can also bite them as a minor action (which does slightly less damage).

  They can also use their hooks to Fling a target. The book doesn’t say whether this only works on a grabbed target or on anyone. It’s an attack vs. Fortitude that rercharges on a 6, does more damage than the basic hook attack, slides the target 3 squares, and knocks them prone.

  I imagine you can make different hook horrors by giving them the same blindsight as this one and a few hook-based attacks that do different things.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  We have two:

  • Level 13, a balhannoth and 3 hook horrors. Looks like the ninja slug is opportunistically following the horrors around.

  • Level 13, a hook horror, 2 grimlock berserkers and 1 beholder eye of flame. A beholder and its retinue.

  I’m indifferent to hook horrors. I suppose a large variety of Underdark predators is good, but since they all fulfill more or less the same dramatic role they tend to leave me cold.

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