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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Foulspawn
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
I haven’t seen Foulspawn before 4e, though I suppose they could be a very late 3.x creation. Here, they’re present only on the Monster Manual.
The Lore
Foulspawn are humanoids corrupted by contact with the lovecraftian Far Realm or its energies. This warps them both physically and mentally, turning them into knife-toothed monstrosities with a hatred for the natural world and its inhabitants, and a compulsion to serve powerful aberrant creatures like aboleths, beholders, or mind-flayers.
That’s all the lore we get in the MM, though it does make room for some speculation. Deranged cultists are a traditional trope in adventures where the Big Bad is a cthulhoid monster, and foulspawn seem to be basically the end state for those cultists once they get deep enough into their trade. So their insane mindset might very well be something they already had with them when they underwent the physical transformation into foulspawn.
Does this mean you could find a foulspawn who was involuntarily transformed and still holds something of its memories to become an ally of the party? That’s interesting, so I’m saying yes.
They’d also be the terrible fate hangs over star pact warlocks who can’t cut it, mirroring the “eternal damnation” and “get turned into a mushroom” threats that hang over the other pacts.
The Numbers
Foulspawn are Aberrant Humanoids of varying size. They have low-light vision, and little else in the way of universal traits. Their magic, when they have it, tends towards psychic powers or stuff that bends time and space in that classic “non-Euclidean nightmare” style. Their typical alignment is Chaotic Evil.
Some foulspawn, but not all, also gain miscellaneous bonuses when they’re bloodied.
All of the foulspawn in this entry suffer very heavily from the damage bug, as their designer took a mistaken “naturalistic” approach when writing them up. This would probably be fine in 5e or 3.x, but here monster damage has to be purely a function of level. Making a monster’s basic attack deal 1d4+3 damage because it holds a dagger and has STR 16 makes it too weak even at level 1.
Foulspawn Grue
The one that eats you if you linger in the dark for too long. These Small Level 8 Controllers have 87 HP, and are fairly slow with Speed 4. They also have a teleport speed of 4, allowing them to come at you from unexpected angles.
They suffer quite a bit from the damage bug, as their basic claw attack is on the weak side. Its riders are pretty good, though - slow (save ends), or daze (save ends) if the target is already slowed.
Once per encounter they can infect someone with a Mind Worm (Ranged 10 vs. Will), which does no damage but inflicts a -2 penalty to Will and slows (save ends both). They can also utter Whispers of Madness (Recharge 5-6, Ranged 5 vs Will), which do a nice bit of psychic damage and have the same riders as the claw attack. Deafened targets are immune to the whispers, which might prompt some PCs to plug their ears (and become more vulnerable to the grue’s lurker buddies).
Foulspawn Mangler
This four-armed Medium terror is a Level 8 Skirmisher with 86 HP. It gains +2 to AC, Reflex and Speed when bloodied, taking its native speed of 7 up to 9.
Though the mangler is armed with four daggers its basic attack consists of a single, ridiculously weak stab (1d4+3 for a level 8 monster!). There’s a Dagger Dance ability that allows it to stab four times and shift 1 square between each attack, but that’s only usable twice per encounter.
The mangler can also throw 2 of those daggers at-will (Ranged 5/10 vs. AC), which doesn’t quite leave it weaponless because it has four backup weapons. It also deals +2d6 sneak attack damage and gains a +5 to AC against opportunity attacks from movement.
One way to bring the mangler’s damage up to speed is to simply make Dagger Dance an at-will action. Making its dagger damage something like 4d4+3 or 2d6+5 is probably still the better option though.
Foulspawn Berserker
This Medium Level 9 Soldier has 102 HP. Its projects a Berserker Aura (Aura 1); anyone within who makes a melee attack targets a random creature in their reach! You’ll want to keep your allies well away from the party’s fighter when fighting this monster. The berserker gains +2 to Fortitude and damage rolls when bloodied, is immune to fear, and runs at speed 7.
It fights with a greatsword, which once again suffers from a case of ill-thought-out naturalistic design. The berserker also deals 5 extra damage on a charge, and causes Mental Feedback on anyone who hits with a charm effect. This does 10 damage to the attacker and to the berserker, which means charm effects are actually a good choice for a PC who doesn’t mind getting a little hurt in the process.
Foulspawn Seer
This spellcaster is Level 11 Artillery with 86 HP and the Leader keyword. It projects an aura of Foul Insight out to 10 squares, giving any ally in range who can hear the seer a +2 to one roll (attack, ability, skill, or save) on their turn. It moves at Speed 6 and also has a teleport speed of 3.
Its attack powers are similarly all about warping space: the Warp Orb (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex) deals physical damage and dazes (save ends). The Distortion Blast (Daily; Close Blast 5 vs. Fortitude) does the same but is a little stronger and only does half damage to aberrant creatures. It can also teleport 3 squares as an interrupt when an attack would hit it, a defense which recharges on a 5-6.
Finally, it has a basic melee attack with its staff, which does physical damage and pushes the target 1 square on a hit.
This looks like a solid enough controller if you fix its overall low damage, as it suffers from the same “naturalistic” design flaw.
Foulspawn Hulk
This Large-sized foulspawn is a Level 12 Brute with 150 HP and absolutely nothing in the way of special attacks.
Its sole attack is a basic slam which does about half the damage it should. It becomes about 50% stronger when the hulk is bloodied, a state which also grants it +2 Fortitude.
You might as well rewrite the hulk’s stat block from the ground up - a level 12 monster who just stands there making basic attacks for the whole fight is a failure of design.
Sample Encounter and Final Impressions
The sample encounter is level 11: 1 seer, two berserkers, three grues, and a grell. That’s a lot of dazing and stunning attacks that are going to be thrown the party’s way. If the party is level 11 it’s likely not a lot of them will hit, but if this is being used as a boss fight for level 8 PCs they’re going to have a bad time.
I’m somewhat disappointed in these foulspawn. I kinda like them conceptually as the end-state for aberrant cultists. All their dreams of power and mad devotion has led them to this, and the fact that foulspawn are not all that weird or powerful leads a certain pathos to the whole thing.
Mechanically, though, they’re pretty bad for all the reasons we’ve already discussed. The Foulspawn Hulk is particularly galling for being so uninteresting.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Fomorian
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
We’ve heard a bit about fomorians back when we discussed cyclopes, and now we finally arrive at their own entry. I believe fomorians appeared in 3.x, and might date from earlier, but their lore for 4e is mostly new.
They appear only in the Monster Manual - the Monster Vault nas no F monsters at all. I believe this is a major missed opportunity on their part, since 4e fomorians are super awesome. If I had to pick a list of “essential” 4e monsters I would definitely have picked fomorians over, say, duergar or ropers.
The Lore
Creatures native to the Feywild are often more fantastical reflections of those from the world or other places. That doesn’t just apply to animals, either. The Fomorians arose as fey reflections of the Titans, those mighty creations of the primordials.
Fomorians are Titan-sized, with purple-gray skin and a horribly deformed countenance. They see themselves as the most important beings in the universe, and so pay homage to no god or primordial. They live in the Feywild’s version of the Underdark, inside huge caves lit by glowing crystals and filled with subterranean ecosystems.
In the center of these caves are majestic castles and fortresses, where the fomorians dwell surrounded by all sorts of finery. A fomorian’s clothing and equipment is always masterfully crafted, in stark contrast to the ugliness of their bodies and hearts. All of this is built by the cyclopes they enslaved eons ago.
Every fomorian has the Evil Eye: one of their eyes is much larger than the other, and its stare can cause all sorts of unpleasantness to their enemies. Rumor has it the Evil Eye is a gift of Gruumsh to allow them to inflict more pain upon Corellon’s creations, but no one knows if that’s really true. Fomorians don’t like Gruumsh any more than they like any other deity.
The Numbers
Fomorians are Huge Fey Humanoids with the Giant keyword, and their power level is indeed comparable to that of a Titan - mid-Paragon to early-Epic elites. Their signature traits are trained Perception, Truesight 6, and an Evil Eye ability that does something different for every variety of fomorian, usually complementing its other abilities. They are typically Evil.
We get two stat blocks in the MM. There are more on the MM2.
Fomorian Warrior
A Level 17 Elite Soldier with 332 HP, this fomorian wears hide armor and fights with a mace. Its basic attack has Reach 3, and deals a good chunk of extra damage against immobilized creatures. Its Evil Eye (minor action; Ranged 5 vs. Will) immobilizes (save ends), giving you an obvious combo.
Updating the fomorian warrior to MV standards would involve fixing the damage, and likely making the basic mace attack mark for a turn as an effect and giving it a reaction mace attack against people who ignore the mark.
Fomorian Painbringer
This spellcaster is a Level 19 Elite Controller with 362 HP. It wears hide and fights with a flail, with a Reach 3 basic attack.
Its Evil Eye (minor action; Ranged 5 vs. Will) makes the target take a goodly amount of automatic damage whenever it damages the fomorian. This lasts until the fomorian uses the ability against someone else. As a separate ability, the painbringer also gains +2 to all attacks made against the victim of its evil eye.
Its other abilities are Funnel Pain (Ranged 8 vs. Will), which does physical damage; and Painful Visions (Close Burst 4 vs. Will), which dazes all affected targets (save ends). That last one is an encounter power, but the others are at-will.
Sample Encounters and Final Impressions
The sample encounter is level 19: a warrior, a painbringer, and four assorted cyclops slaves. The book also says you can find all sorts of evil underground fey in their domain, as well as visiting dignitaries from the drow or other similarly inclined people.
The two stat blocks we get here seem a little underwhelming to me, given the lore, but they do their jobs relatively well. We get a much more varied selection of fomorians when we hit the MM2.
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The Only Good Metaplot
I’m not much of an “OSR” person. I started playing in the 90’s, and while I played some D&D here and there it was never my main system, and I moved away from it as soon as I found others I liked more. While I do feel some nostalgia when looking at some iterations of its rules, reading them again mostly reminds me why I stopped playing them in the first place.
There’s one specific thing that the very earliest editions of that game did that I feel should be ported to the present unmodified: the way they handled metaplot and “canonical” NPCs.
Before D&D was even published you basically had two campaigns being run using draft versions of its rules. There was Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor, and Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk. They were separate settings, but as far as I know they were run in a similar way.
Each had one main GM, and started with an “original” party of players. This original party goes on adventures, slays monsters, finds treasure. The survivors level up and become more powerful.
And then new PCs start coming in. Maybe the GM convinces another group of friends to play on a different day of the week, or the older players roll up new starting characters for a bit of variety, or maybe they begin playing their henchmen when they go out on missions of their own. It’s likely a combination of all of the above, happening over an extended period of time.
So now there are multiple PC parties having adventures in the same setting! What each party does changes the setting in ways that can be felt by the others. If a party delves a dungeon on Monday, loses a fighter to a gelatinous cube and retreats, another one might go in there on Thursday and loot the dead fighter’s cool magic sword. If the high-level originals shake the pillars of Heaven on Saturday, the Monday and Thursday parties might hear about it and feel its consequences in their games.
And that’s metaplot in its original, “platonically ideal” form. It’s what happens at the table, propagating to the other PC parties that are part of the same gaming group. This is practical because the setting is owned by a single GM or a small circle of them, who run the games for all groups involved and keep track of it all. As for “canon NPCs”, there are none. It’s PCs all the way down, though I suppose some of them might transition fully to NPC status when they retire, becoming less active in the process.
To me, an ideal setting is one that enables groups to create their very own shared world in that mold.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Flameskull
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
Flameskulls! Skulls that are on fire! I don’t know if they existed in previous editions, but the illustration makes me think of old-school demiliches a bit. They’re present only in the MM.
The Lore
Flameskulls are intelligent undead created from the skulls of spellcasters. The book doesn’t specify if they contain the soul and memories of the skull’s original owner or if they’re new individuals. It’s possible multiple versions of the ritual exist and each does something different.
One thing that is certain from the information here is that the “intelligent” part is an understatement - the standard model has Int 22 and the greater one Int 30! Not only do flameskulls speak at least 2 languages, they’re also Unaligned, meaning it’s quite possible one of them would appear as a neutral or allied NPC instead of a simple hostile monster. I think there’s at least one published 4e module or comic that does exactly that.
Flameskulls are usually created to serve as guardians, and the ritual that creates them is apparently older than recorded history, so you can find them in all sorts of forgotten places. “Younger” flameskulls might be found accompanying their creators as servants or bodyguards.
The Numbers
Flameskulls are Natural Animates with the Undead keyword. As undead they’re immune to disease and poison.
Flameskull
The standard model is Level 8 Artillery with 70 HP. It’s size is Tiny, and it flies at speed 10 (hover). It has Resist 10 fire, Resist 5 necrotic, and Vulnerable 5 radiant. It also has Regeneration 5, which means I have to explain how that works now.
Regeneration in 4e is actually similar to 3.5’s Fast Healing. Monsters with regeneration regain the specified amount of HP at the start of their turn as long as their current HP total is above 0. That’s it! Any other associated bells and whistles like those of trolls will be listed as separate traits.
Back to the flameskull: it attacks with a weak Fiery Bite in melee or a much better Flame Ray (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex) at range. Once per encounter it can use a Fireball which works more or less like the PC version: Area Burst 3 Within 20 vs. Reflex. Does fire damage on a hit, half on a miss, and the flameskull can exclude two allies from the effect.
The skull can also manipulate objects using Mage Hand, and it sheds bright light out to 5 squares, though it can reduce that to dim light out to 2 squares if it’s trying to be stealthy.
Great Flameskull
This one is either very old or made using a more powerful version of the ritual. It’s Level 24 Artillery with 174 HP and size Small. Do flameskulls grow with age, or is this something like the skull of an oni?
Stat-wise, it’s pretty much a scaled-up flameskull. Its resistances, vulnerabilities and regeneration are doubled in intensity, and it’s fireball is now a Fire Storm (Area 4 within 20 vs. Reflex) whose flames last for a turn and deal 10 damage to anyone starting their turns there in addition to their initial attack damage.
Sample Encounters and Final Impressions
There’s one sample encounter: a flameskull, 2 mummy guardians and an oni night haunter who probably created the other monsters.
I like them! I cannot help but remembering Murray from the Monkey Island games when I see the flameskull illustration, which I guess is a factor in this. The fact that flameskulls are unaligned and not necessarily hostile is my favorite thing about them. I’d have to fix their damage before using them, of course.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Ettin
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
Ettins are two-headed giants who have been a part of the game since at least AD&D 1st Edition. Capitalization is important here - ettins are giants, not Giants, in the sense that they’ve never been part of the Giant entry. They’re present in both books.
The Lore
Fourth Edition maintains the tradition of giving ettins a separate entry from the other giants, but this time it includes a bit more lore to back that decision up. Most of that would be published after the Monster Manual, and is collected in the Monster Vault.
Ettins are kin to giants in that they originate from a primordial, but their creation myth is a bit different. It happened some time after the Abyss had formed - the god Amoth (who isn’t around in the present day) fought Demogorgon and nearly cleft him in twain. The earth primordial Storralk saw that and decided to attack Demogorgon while he was weakened.
Turns out Demogorgon wasn’t very weakened at all, and defeated Storralk in combat. Demogorgon buried Storralk beneath is throne in the Abyss, and as he gazed at the pools of Storralk’s blood with his brand new two heads, the first ettins emerged from that blood.
The big D cast most ettins out into the world, reasoning that since they sprang forth from Storralk’s blood, any pain they suffered would be inflicted on the still-living primordial. The few ettins bright enough to know about this creation myth prefer to associate themselves with Demogorgon rather than with Storralk, since Demogorgon was obviously the stronger of the two and whoever is strongest is bestest. For this reason, demon-worshipping ettin aren’t all that uncommon, and you can often find ettins and demons hanging out together. One of Demogorgon’s exarchs is an ettin.
Even if they’re not demon worshippers, however, ettins are still pretty terrible. Their two heads argue constantly and struggle to take control of the body from the other, but they both tend to agree that hurting and eating people is the height of fun. As a result, ettins are typically Chaotic Evil.
The Numbers
Ettins are Large Natural Humanoids with the Giant keyword. The major ettin signature trait comes from their two heads, and is named Double Actions. Ettins roll initiative twice, and take full actions on both results. They also get two immediate actions, but only one between each of their turns. The two sets of sense organs also mean that all ettins are trained in Perception.
Some of the ettins presented here also have Dual Brain, a trait which allows them to automatically end any dazing, stunning or charm effect on itself at the end of one of its turns.
The Monster Manual has two ettin stat blocks, and the Monster Vault has four. Only one of them is present in both books, so overall you have five unique creatures here. Let’s look at they in order of level.
Ettin Thug (MV)
The classic model, this is a Level 8 Brute with 110 HP. It runs at speed 6. It has Double Actions but not Dual Brain.
Its Smash basic attack has very low damage for a level 8 brute, but that’s because the ettin is going to be making that attack twice per round due to Double Actions. As a move action it can also Kick (Melee 1 vs. Fortitude), which pushes the target 2 squares and allows the ettin to move half its speed.
Ettin Wrath Chanter (MV)
This one is likely one of those demon-worshipping spellcasters. A Level 8 Elite Controller with 184 HP, it has both Double Actions an Dual Brain.
As the name would imply, the wrath chanter constantly sings a Rage Song in battle, which works as an Aura 5 that makes everyone within angry. This gives allies a +2 bonus to attack and damage. Enemies get a -2 penalty to attack but a +2 bonus to damage.
Since it’s an elite, the chanter’s basic Smash attack deals full damage, and additionally knocks the target prone on a hit. It can also use magic to Invoke Fury, a Close Burst 5 that targets a single enemy and hits automatically. It forces the victim to charge or make a melee basic attack against a target of the ettin’s choice! At least the charge doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Against parties that include PCs with decent basic attacks (like Fighters) the war chanter will likely use Invoke Fury most often, sometimes mixing it up with Smash against a squishy to set up a particularly damaging charge. If that’s not the case, it will go the other way around, smashing most often and sometimes using Invoke Fury to screw up the party’s positioning.
Ettin Hunter (MV)
A slightly more sophisticated ettin who knows the value of killing people at range. It’s level 10 artillery with 86 HP, and it carries a brace of 10 javelins into combat. It has Double Actions but not Dual Brain.
All of the ettin hunter’s attacks are considered basic. It can use a javelin in melee (Reach 2) or throw it (Range 20). It can also throw a javelin extra hard to Pinion an enemy (Range 20 vs. AC, recharge 5-6). This does more damage than the normal throw and restrains the target until they can un-impale themselves (DC 18) or teleport away.
Ettin Marauder (Both)
A beefier take on the classic Ettin, this is a Level 10 Elite Soldier with 222 HP. It has both Double Actions and Dual Brain.
It attacks with a full damage Smash that also pushes the target 1 square on a hit and marks them for a turn. It can also Swat anyone who tries to flank it as a reaction (Melee 2 vs. Fortitude), pushing them back 3 squares on a hit.
The MM version is pretty much identical, save that its basic attack is named Club and it specifies that the ettin marauder wields a club in each hand. It’s interesting that none of the MV ettins specify this. Either the authors thought it’d be obvious and not worth the wasted space, or they’re stating ettins normally fight unarmed.
Ettin Spirit Caller (MM)
Another demon-powered spellcaster, this one a Level 12 Elite Controller with 252 HP, Dual Brain, and Double Actions. Its basic attack is a club that pushes the target 1 square. It can instead choose to spend a standard action casting the Curse of Shattered Bone (Ranged 10 vs. Will), which makes the next club attack from the spirit-talker against the target an automatic critical with 1d12 damage added on top of everything else.
The curse isn’t all that impressive - simply attacking twice might be a better bet. It would be a lot more dangerous if it made the next hit from any enemy (or even any ettin) a critical.
This ettin can also perform a Spirit Call which fills a Close Burst 5 with howling demonic apparitions. This targets Fortitude, does necrotic damage, and slides the targets 3 squares on a hit.
Sample Encounter and Final Impressions
There’s one sample encounter in the MM: Level 10, 1 ettin marauder, 2 venom-eye basilisks, and 3 barlgura demons.
I like the way ettins turned out mechanically here. The stat blocks are simple and have a strong signature gimmick. Their levels make them a good fit for an adventure that says “welcome to paragon tier! Now you’re going Against the Giants.” Ettins are weaker than hill giants in this edition, so they’re the first humanoid of unusual size the PCs are likely to fight.
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