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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Eladrin
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
I’ve already talked about eladrin in passing when discussing drow, and now I’m going to get into more detail on them. They’re present in both books, though they’re mixed into the general “Elf” entry on the Monster Vault.
“Eladrin” is one of those names that used to refer to something else entirely in previous editions. In this case, the name belonged to a set of Chaotic Good Outsiders from Arcadia, only some of whom resemble elves. Now it belonges to a playable race that has its roots in the Feywild.
While no D&D player expects elves to be Santa’s little helpers, there are several competing visions of what a “proper” elf should be. Woodsy archers who wear earth-toned cloaks and shoot bows really well, like Legolas? Ethereal fey wizards who live in resplendent silver cities, like Galadriel? Several of the game’s settings in previous editions made attempts to accommodate both concepts, and Eladrin are part of 4e’s own effort.
In short: Legolas is an elf, Galadriel is an eladrin.
The Lore
As we saw with drow, back in the dawn of time there was only a single “proto-elven” fey people, created by Corellon the god of magic and beauty. They lived in the Feywild, where they built fantastic empires powered by arcane magic.
Over time this ancient people underwent something of a diaspora, with part of them migrating to the world and adapting to its local conditions, becoming the elves we know today. Some of those would in turn convert to the worship of Lolth and get driven into the Underdark, becoming the drow.
Those who stayed in the Feywild are known today as the Eladrin. Are they still the same ancestral fey of legend, or have they undergone changes of their own? Only your GM can tell.
Eladrin and elves still look somewhat similar, but still have some obvious visual differences that make distinguishing the two easier. The most striking of those are the eyes, which are solid orbs of blue, green or violet. Eladrin hair also tends to be a brilliant white, or a metallic color like silver or gold. Their skin can be of any tone found in humans, but the lighter tones are more common. Less obviously, eladrin also tend to be a bit taller than elves, and they’re longer-lived.
Most eladrin live in those fabulous Feywild cities, which are usually built in places that touch the world with some frequency. Thus they’re a common enough sight in the world to justify their inclusion as a playable character option.
Your typical eladrin citizen has a somewhat detached view of the world, particularly since their cities weren’t affected by any of the bad stuff that took down Nerath. Still, that typical citizen is still pretty relatable all things considered.
The higher-up an eladrin is in their society, the more magically powerful and weird they tend to be. Eladrin nobles are fully involved with the Fey Courts, taking titles relating to the seasons or other abstract concepts. The most powerful among them are quite likely to have become true fae and be the sort of entity who makes pacts with warlocks.
The Numbers
The Monster Manual and Monster Vault give us four eladrin stat blocks each. Two of them (the Fey Knight and Twilight Incanter) appear in both books. The ones in the Monster Vault are clustered around the late-Heroic tier, but the ones in the MM start there and go all the way to epic. All the MM ones have an alignment of “Any”, while the MV ones are listed as unaligned. In either case this means they can be either enemies or allies depending on the specific individuals that appear in your stories.
All eladrin are Medium Fey Humanoids, and their most famous signature trait is Fey Step, an encounter power which allows them to teleport 5 squares as a move action. They also have low-light vision, and a +5 bonus to saves against charm effects.
Eladrin Bow Mage
The bow mage is Level 7 Minion Artillery. It has Speed 6, is trained in Perception and carries a magic bow that fires Force Arrows: Ranged 20 vs. AC, a hit does force damage and pushes 1 square. These wouldn’t be stealthy tree-climbing snipers, but rather battlefield archers that fire in formation. You’ll want to have then in a loose formation, though, to avoid those area-effect attacks.
Eladrin Fey Knight
This one exists in both books. It’s a Level 7 Soldier with 77 HP. It wears mail, and wields a light shield and a longsword. The MV version is clearly the best of the two, so let’s start with that.
The fey knight cuts a striking presence in the battlefield, projecting a Feywild Tactics aura in a 5-square radius that allows allies in range to score criticals on a roll of 19-20 rather than just on a natural 20. There are very few abilities in 4e that mess with critical range - IIRC this is the first one I’ve seen on this Let’s Read.
Beyond the basic longsword attack, the fey knight can also attack with a Stab of The Wild: Recharge 5-6, Melee 1 vs. AC, a hit does more damage than the basic attack and restrains the target for a turn with what I assume are entangling vines. As a minor action it can issue a Feywild Challenge to mark a target within a Close Burst 5. It’s kinda like a paladin mark, lasting until the end of the encounter or until the knight uses the challenge again, and dealing a bit of radiant damage to the target when it doesn’t attack the eladrin on its turn.
The fey knight can also protect its allies with Harvest’s Sorrow, an immediate interrupt that allows it to take half the damage of an attack directed at an ally within 5 squares. It of course also has Fey Step.
The MM version is similar but a bit clunkier aside from the damage bug. Stab of The Wild works the same but the knight can’t use its sword while a target is entangled. Feywild Challenge has a range of 10 but is an encounter power. Use the MV version if possible.
These are knights, so you can probably give them some sort of gallant fey steed if you need to. They’re the ones fighting at the front and protecting that unit of bow mages, and also make up the core of a noble’s guard detail.
Eladrin Twilight Incanter
This wizard is a Level 8 Controller with 82 HP, present in both books. It wields a spear in combat, and its strikes slow the target for a turn in addition to doing damage. Since the incanter is a Controller, its spear attack actually has decent accuracy and damage!
The incanter is also dangerous at range, with a suite of spells. Binding Bolt (Ranged 5 vs. Reflex) does force damage and immobilizes for a turn. On a miss, it instead slows for a turn. Teleporting Bolt (Ranged 5 vs. Reflex) does force damage and teleports the target 3 squares on a hit. On a miss it still teleports the target 1 square. Its final spell is Dazzling Blast (recharge 5-6, close blast 3 vs. Will), which does radiant damage and blinds for a turn on a hit.
The MM version has Range 10 on the bolt spells, and specifies that Teleporting Bolt can’t teleport someone to an unsafe square. That’s just no fun, so I see why it’s gone from the MV version. I suppose the teleport victim can still roll a save to throw itself at an adjacent safe square at the last minute, as standard for forced movement.
Eladrin Battle Dancer
This is a MV-only Level 9 Skirmisher. It has speed 6 despite wearing mail, and fights with a longsword. The basic sword attack, named Dancing Blade, causes the battle dancer to become invisible to the target for a turn! It also has a Battle Dance encounter power that allows it to shift its speed and perform a basic attack against any enemies it passes adjacent to.
It seems the Battle Dancer has also put some extra practice into its teleportation, for it replaces the usual Fey Step with a Surprise Fey Step. The range is the same, but it recharges on a 3-6 and grants the dancer combat advantage against every enemy it appears next to.
Bralani of Autumn Winds
The MM sends us right into the late Paragon tier! A bralani used to be a type of outsider in 3.x, but now it’s apparently a rank in the fey courts. This wind-themed noble is a Level 19 Controller with 180 HP. It has Resist 20 Radiant and is vulnerable to necrotic damage, which slows it for a turn. The bralani is surrounded by the Cloak of Autumn Winds, an aura 5 that makes its enclosing volume difficult terrain for enemies - even if they’re flying.
Its basic longsword attack does nothing special aside from the damage, but once per encounter the bralani can curse someone with Autumn Chill (Ranged 5 vs. Will), which weakens the target until the end of the encounter! It can also use an at-will Whirlwind Blast (Close Blast 5 vs. Fortitude). On a hit this does thunder damage and pushes targets 2 squares (3 on a critical). On a miss it still does half damage.
Ghaele of Winter
A bit higher up in the totel pole is the Ghaele of Winter, Level 21 Artillery with 134 HP. It has 25 cold and radiant resistance, and the same necrotic vulnerability described for the bralani. This ghaele is, well, an Elsa. Its basic attack is Winter’s Touch, which does cold damage. It can cast Freezing Rays (Ranged 12 vs. Reflex) that do cold damage and slow (save ends).
It can create bursts of Chilling Defiance (Close Burst 3) at will, which hit automatically, do a flat 10 cold damage and slow for a turn. For each target that takes damage from this, the ghaele regains 2 HP. It can also command someone to let it go with its Imperious Wrath (minor action, Close Burst 3 vs. Will), which dazes targets until the end of the encounter. This recharges whenever the ghaele regains 4 HP or more from a single casting of Chilling Defiance. Fey Step rounds out its abilities.
So yeah, this is an artillery monster you do not want to go near.
Sample Encounters and Final Impressions
There is one sample encounter here, but thematically, it’s a doozy: Level 21, 1 ghaele of winter and 4 wild hunt hounds. Yup, the Wild Hunt exists in this setting, and it’s run by and for the less friendly sort of epic-level eladrin.
As far as attempted solutions to Elf Overload go, I like eladrin a lot. Their name doesn’t include the word “elf” anywhere, making it a bit easier to remember which is which. They’re an entirely different race mechanically, which is a better solution than others I’ve seen that ended up loading up a single “elf” race with bonuses related to both concepts. They’re also really atmospheric on their own, of course, and allow players to portray genuine fae folk from level 1 if they so choose.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Eidolon
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
I hadn’t heard of eidolons before Fourth Edition, but I seem to recall the word was used in 3.x too. They are only on the Monster Manual.
The Lore
Eidolons are intelligent constructs created through divine magic. The ritual for their creation involves a crystalized spark of divinity which is buried deep into the eidolon’s structure. While the one from the illustration is a somewhat abstract humanoid, I imagine they’re frequently built in the shape of the deities their creators worship.
Eidolons are considered more than simple tools - they also serve as a symbol of their creator’s devotion. Sometimes, though, that spark of divinity inside the eidolon goes bad, which causes the creature to suffer from delusions of godhood and to act with murderous intent towards anyone who disagrees.
If all of this sounds familiar it’s because it’s somewhat similar to the lore for D&D clay golems - constructs created by divine magic who sometimes go berserk and turn on their creators. The main difference here would be one of purpose. While clay golems are traditionally mindless solitary guardians, eidolons are built to support and inspire their correligionists, and so are always found among the faithful. It also helps that clay golems are absent from this book.
The Numbers
Eidolons are Large Natural Animates with the Construct keyword, and Level 13 Controllers (Leaders) with 132 HP. They project an aura of fearlessness out to 5 squares, rendering any allies within immune to fear. As constructs, they are themselves immune to fear, disease, and sleep. They walk with speed 5.
Their basic attack is a slam, but it’s not the main thing Eidolons do. They’re all about divine pyrotechnics. When one of their allies is slain in the eidolons’s line of sight, they lash out with Vengeful Flames as a reaction. This is a Ranged 10 attack that targets Reflex and does both immediate and ongoing fire damage. It does not provoke opportunity attacks.
As a standard action the eidolon can assume a Hallowed Stance, which I guess makes it look like a normal idol statue. While in this state it gains resist 20 to all damage, and any allies in its line of sight gain +1d8 damage to all their attacks. The stance lasts for a turn and ends immediately when the eidolon moves. That last bit is just another way to say it can keep Hallowed Stance up indefinitely as long as it remains perfectly immobile and does nothing else.
If anything attacks the eidolon while it’s maintaning Hallowed Stance, it smites the offender as a reaction with Divine Retribution which has Range 20, targets Reflex and does radiant damage (half on a miss). Like Vengeful Flames, it does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Sample Encounters
There are two:
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Level 11: 1 eidolon and 4 githzerai cenobites. I guess it’s a statue of Zerthimon.
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Level 13: 1 eidolon, 2 grimlock berserkers and 1 medusa warrior. I got nothing on this one.
Final Impressions
Surprisingly atmospheric! Despite the similar lore, eidolons play very differently from clay golems. Golems are agressive bruisers; eidolons want to remain completely still during the fight and let their reaction and passive powers do the work. It’s quite possible for the party to not realize they’re dealing with an eidolon until the Vengeful Flames begin to kick in when the other monsters drop.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Efreet
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
Efreets are drawn from Middle Eastern mythology and Islamic tradition, which say they’re a type of djinn often depicted as evil and associated with death. They’ve been in D&D at least since the days of First Edition as the official fire genies (other elements have their own genies as well). They’re present both on the Monster Manual and on the Monster Vault.
The Lore
Like in most editions, the Efreets in Fourth are fire genies, and are usually evil antagonists. They come from the Elemental Chaos, where their civilization is one of the most ordered things in that chaotic plane.
Efreets are giant-sized humanoids with powerful builds, red skin, and curved horns, part flesh and part smokeless fire. They claim they are the firstborn of the Primordials and as such are the rightful heirs to their domains and creations. That doesn’t mean they worship the Primordials - Efreets don’t really worship anyone but themselves and intensely dislike being placed in any position that even resembles servitude.
There is no such thing as an “efreet commoner”. Every single one of them is a noble with their own title, holdings and multitudes of servants and slaves. Though the number of existing efreets is on the small side, they project an incredible amount of power from their citadels spun from fire and metal. The greatest such settlement is the City of Brass, an oasis of stability in the Elemental Chaos that has stood unchanging since the dawn of time. From there, the Lord of All Efreets rules their civilization.
Efreet houses constantly scheme against each other, and when one of them wins such a dispute they usually take a member of the losing house as a servant and hostage - a fate Efreets consider worse than death. Though they despise servitude, they’re still smart enough to bargain with mortals when doing so brings them some advantage. That’s where the “genies grant wishes” myth comes from!
You see, Efreets don’t actually have the ability to grant reality-bending wishes. They are however fantastically rich potentates with access to large multiversal organizations and epic-level magic, which makes the distinction moot for most mortals.
These elemental nobles also like to organize hunting expeditions to other planes, going after big game such as dragons or other equivalent creatures just for the fun of it. It’s like a British fox hunt on a grand scale, particularly when you remember that fox hunters basically acted like raiding hooligans who wantonly trespassed on people’s properties, trampled their livestock, and threatened complainers with violence in the name of a jolly good bit of sport.
I find the official illustration above to be somewhat innacurate. These efreets should be wearing fantastic fireproof finery instead of these drab loincloths and plain mail.
The Numbers
Most Efreets are early-Epic threats, with some of them going upwards to late-Epic. They’re Large Elemental Humanoids (fire), and they signature traits are a complete immunity to fire and a Blazing Soul aura 1 increases the ongoing fire damage taken by any enemy within. They can also fly and hover. The MM versions have no particular vulnerability to cold, but the MV versions are slowed for a turn when they take cold damage (a trait called Frozen Fire).
Efreets are all highly intelligent and speak Primordial as their primary language. They’re also trained in all the skills you’d expect a society of magically-potent nobles to know.
Let’s look at them in the order they appear on the Monster Manual.
Efreet Fireblade
This Level 22 Soldier has 206 HP. Present in both books, the MV version has a Blazing Soul aura that increases ongoing fire damage by 5, and Frozen Fire. The MM version lacks both of these traits but is still immune to fire. It runs with speed 6 and flies with speed 8 (hover).
In both versions the Fireblade wields a scimitar. Its Reach 2 attacks mark the target for a turn on a hit. It can also throw the scimitar, Jedi-like, as a Ranged 10 attack that can target 2 creatures within 5 squares of each other before returning to the efreet’s hand, marking each of them for a turn on a hit. This recharges on a 4-6.
Finally the Fireblade can execute a Whirling Fireblade Strike that recharges on a 5-6, and targets all enemies on a Close Burst 2. It does scimitar damage plus 10 ongoing fire damage to anyone it hits (save ends).
This monster wants to start its fights by keeping at range and hurling the scimitar, but it can deal with people in melee just fine.
Efreet Cinderlord
The Cinderlord is Level 23 Artillery with 169 HP. It has all standard efreet traits in both versions. Visually the Cinderlord isn’t much different than the Fireblade: a lavislhy-dressed efreet noble with a scimitar. Its powers, however, are quite different.
That scimitar attack is weak for its level even on the MV, but it does ongoing fire damage. Its main ranged attack is a Fire Bolt (range 10 on the MM, 20 on the MV) that does fire damage and ongoing fire damage. It can follow that up with Fan the Flames, a ranged 20 attack that targets someone taking ongoing fire damage. It does a bit of automatic fire damage to the target, and triggers a Close Burst 1 attack centered on the target that target the Reflex of any nearby bystanders and deals fire damage to those it hits.
Finally there’s the Curse of the Efreet, an encounter power that recharges when the Cinderlord is first bloodied. It’s a Ranged attack 10 that somehow targets AC. On a hit it does both immediate and ongoing fire damage (save ends), and strips the target’s fire resistance completely until the end of the encounter (no save!). This targetting AC is an interesting detail. Do the cinderlord’s words of malediction take physical form and stab at you?
Curse of the Efreet makes the cinderlord an excellent addition to any party of all-fire monsters.
Efreet Flamestrider
This Level 23 Skirmisher has 217 HP and all standard efreet traits. The MM version uses a scimitar and the MV version a quarterstaff, but they have similar abilities.
The basic melee attack does physical damage and ongoing fire damage (save ends). It can also use Firery Grasp, a ranged attack that causes a fiery hand to appear and hold the target in place. This targets Reflex, and does both immediate and ongoing fire damage in addition to immobilizing the target (save ends both). The MV version has Range 5, while the MM one has Range 20! This is an at-will power, so I think the MV version is more appropriate for a skirmisher.
The Flamestrider takes its name from its ability to vanish in a puff of smoke and teleport up to 20 squares to appear next to another fire creature. It can do this at-will.
Efreet Pyresinger
We’re climbing up the ranks of efreet nobility here! This MM-only monster is a Level 25 Controller with 233 HP. It has all the standard efreet traits, with its aura increasing ongoing fire damage by 10 instead of 5.
It attacks with a scimitar that also does ongoing fire damage, and Range 10 Fire Bolts that target reflex and do the same. Its Fiery Chains are basically a more powerful version of the Flamestrider’s Fiery Grasp, with Range 10 and the ability to restrain instead of just immobilizing. As a move action, the pyresinger can then slide the restrained target 1 square. This attack recharges on a 4-6.
The pyresinger’s last power is Sheets of Flame, which sings a pyre into being in an Area 3 within 20 squares. The 20-foot tall sheets of flame block line of sight and cause 10 fire damage to anyone who enters or starts their turn in the area. No duration is given, which I think means they last the whole fight. The power recharges on a 4-6, which means there’s a good chance multiply such pyres will litter the battlefield.
As an immediate interrupt, the pyresinger can interpose a Fiery Shield between itself and a ranged attack, taking only half damage from it. The “immediate interrupt” bit means this only happens once per round.
The pyresinger pairs very well with the flamestrider or other similar enemies that can ignore the Sheets of Flame and keep moving through them.
Efreet Karadjin
This big shot is a Level 28 Soldier with 260 HP, present only in the MM. It lacks the Blazing Soul aura, an oversight that can be easily corrected. It’s also not vulnerable to cold.
The karadjin fights with a Scimitar of Horrendous Flame, which does both physical and fire damage alongside a heap of ongoing fire damage and immobilization (save ends both). There’s also an ongoing fire damage aftereffect, which means it takes one save to end the immobilization and two to end the damage. All saves against both effects are at -2. This is the karadjin’s basic attack! Yikes!
As a reaction, the karadjin can perform the above attack against someone who just hit it with a melee attack. And as a minor action, it can order an elemental ally it can see within 10 squares to shift.
Sample Encounters
The Monster Manual has no less than four encounters involving efreets:
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Level 22: 2 fireblades, 1 flamestrider, and 1 glabrezu. Yes, efreets are exactly the kind of epic spellcaster that would summon and bind high-end demons.
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Level 23: 1 cinderlord, 3 blood fiends, 1 fire titan. Just make blood fiends demons already! Fire titans might be among the only elemental creatures efreets might respect. A tiny bit.
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Level 25: 1 pyresinger, 1 great flameskull, 1 marilith, and 2 fire titans.
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Level 27: 1 efreet karadjin, 1 pyresinger, 1 glabrezu, 2 dragonborn champions, 2 great flameskulls. Wow, someone seriously pissed the Lord of All Efreets off enough for him to send his personal hit squad.
Generally, efreets can be found alongside almost any high-level elemental creature, many of which they keep as slaves. Even before the PCs hit the epic tier, they can find themselves facing the lower ranks of an efreet’s forces.
Final Impressions
I’m sure these details on efreet culture were present in previous editions but this was my first time being exposed to them. I quite like the whole.
I’m also sure someone already made jokes comparing them with devils too, since they have red skin, horns, like fire, and are evil. However, it seems to me that the evil of an efreet is not the cosmic evil of a devil. Rather, it’s the evil of a fantastically wealthy person whose culture prevents them from developing empathy with anyone from a lower social class.
Mostly you still have plenty of reason to punch them, but this opens the possiblity that there are efreets out there who managed to turn out Good anyway, possibly due to converting to worship of a good god. This is both an interesting development and true to the original stories, which often features djinns of all kinds who turned good because they converted to Islam.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Duergar
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
Duergar don’t feature in the first Monster Manual, being MM2 monsters, but they do feature in the Monster Vault, so we cover them here. Technically their entry comes before the one for dwarves, but I’m posting them afterwards because basic dwarves provide some important context.
Between the two books we have quite a lot of duergar stat blocks, so I’m making an executive decision to only cover the ones that appear in the MV in this post. The rest will be covered when I get to the MM2.
Duergar have been a part of D&D since at least the 1st Edition days. Basically, duergar are to dwarves what drow are to elves: the evil version that lives in the Underdark.
The Lore
When we looked at the Azer a while ago, we saw that not all dwarves managed to free themselves from their giant masters. Duergar history also tells us that not all dwarves who escaped found their freedom. Some of them Delved Too Deep (TM) and were re-enslaved by mind flayers, who I’m sure made the giants look like kind and caring masters.
It got so bad they came to believe Moradin had forsaken them, and started making deals with devils in order to attain freedom from the flayers. The devils delivered, and today’s duergar are the result of a centuries long mutually beneficial arrangement between these former slaves and the forces of Hell.
Duergar are about as nice as you would expect given their history. Their civilization is authoritarian, militaristic, and built on the backs of slaves. Isn’t it ironic? They still retain the dwarven knack for engineering and metalsmithing, but their long association with devils has given them several infernal mutations that somewhat resemble those undergone by tieflings in theme if not in their exact mechanics. Most prominent are the graphite-toned skins and the angry red poisonous quills sprouting from their beards and hair.
Duergar raid the surface from “shallow” outposts in search of loot and strong slaves, but the true centers of their civilization are large fortified cities deeper in the Underdark. Devils are a common sight in these cities, some of which house embassies of Hell and/or have devils as prominent members of their domestic power structures. Duergar leadership routinely consorts with devils, in all meanings of the word.
The Numbers
The duergar stat blocks in the MV and MM2 go from mid-Heroic to late-Paragon tier, with most of the later being in the MM2. Duergar are Medium Natural Humanoids. The MM2 gives them the Devil keyword, but the MV doesn’t. In both books, duergar have a few signature traits:
First, they have 5 resistance per tier to poison and fire; second, they can flex their face/head muscles and launch those poisonous quills a short distance as an minor-action encounter power. This is Ranged 3 vs. AC, and deals immediate physical and ongoing poison damage along with a -2 penalty to attacks (save ends both). Their usual speed is 5, like dwarves, and as Underdark dwellers they all have darkvision too.
Duergar Scout
An evil counterpart to the Dwarf Bolter or Warrior, this is a Level 4 Lurker with 48 HP. It’s trained in Dungeoneering, Perception and Stealth, and has all common duergar traits. It’s present in both books.
The scout is armed with a warhammer and crossbow, and has a Shadow Attack trait that makes both deal extra damage when the target can’t see the duergar. That can happen because of Underdark Sneak, which makes it invisible for a turn or until it attacks. Like all duergar, it can also launch its quills.
In the MV version, Underdark Sneak is a standard action, meaning the scout uses the lurker pattern of hide/big attack/rinse/repeat. The MM2 version has it as a minor action, but makes it less magical by requiring that the scout be in dim light or darkness and next to cover. Its Shadow Attack also does half the damage of the MV version’s.
I would recommend always using the MV version. You want at least two scouts who set up at opposite ends of the battle area and take turns sniping at the PCs while their frontliners keep the adventurers tied down.
Duergar Guard
These would be the afore-mentioned frontliners, counterparts to the Dwarf Hammerer or Clan Guard. They are Level 4 Soldiers with 58 HP who wear mail and wield warhammers two-handed. It’s present in both books.
The two versions are mostly alike, with the main difference being that the MV version’s basic warhammer attack marks for a turn as an effect. As a minor action they channel their Infernal Anger for a turn, adding 4 fire damage to their attacks and gaining the ability to shift 1 square as a reaction to an adjacent enemy moving. This recharges on a 5-6. There’s also the quills.
The MV version is preferrable both because of the basic math fixes and because it can actually do its soldierly job.
Duergar Thug
Basically a minion version of the Guard, present only in the MV. It’s a Level 4 Minion Brute with the same gear as the guard, and whose quills don’t inflict an attack penalty but can still cause a bit of ongoing damage.
Feel free to throw hordes of these at a a party who triggers an alarm while sneaking through a duergar fortress, and compare them with the Devil-Bred Duergar at the end of the post.
Duergar Raid Leader
This Level 5 Artillery Leader has 51 HP and equipment similar to that of a scout. In addition to attacking with its warhammer and crossbow, it can use a Raid Leader’s Command to have an ally within 5 squares make a basic attack in its place. And there’s also the quills.
The raid leader pairs well with the other duergars we saw so far, particularly the guard with its marking basic attack. It also goes well with hard-hitting brutes.
Duergar Infernal Consort
We skip right to the big leagues here. The Infernal Consort is a Level 17 Controller with 164 HP and all common duergar traits. In case the title misleads you, it’s worth clarifying that consorts can be of any gender.
The infernal consort fights with a warhammer, whose attacks push the target 3 squares and slow them for a turn on a hit. It also has a ranged basic attack named Devil Possession (Ranged 3 vs. Will, recharge 5-6) that does exactly that. Targets hit by it are dominated for a turn and cause 10 fire damage to any ally that ends their turn next to them. At the start of the target’s next turn, the consort can slide them 3 squares as a free action.
The consort can also perform an Infernal Summons (Area Burst 1 within 5 vs. Reflex) that brings a literal slice of Hell into the battlefield. This at-will attack does sizable fire damage and creates a zone of difficult terrain that lasts for a turn and does 10 fire damage to anyone who enters it or starts their turn there.
The Infernal Consort is meant to be encountered amid a group of devils of similar level, all of which have enough fire resistance to not worry about its attacks. The consort’s own tactics would involve keeping at least one Infernal Summons zone active at all times and using Devil Possession to drag more people into it.
Devil-Bred Duergar
You’ve met the consort, now meet the kids! Technically, every duergar we saw so far is “devil-bred” to some extent - that’s where the quills and such come from. I guess they figured this was as good a name as any for the “high-level minion” version of the Duergar Guard.
Devil-bred Duergar are Level 18 Minion Soldiers, wearing mail and wielding warhammers. They use basic warhammer attacks to fight, and can also use it to hit any adjacent enemy that makes an attack that doesn’t include them as a target (Punishing Hammer; Melee 1 vs. AC). This does fire damage on a hit.
Strangely, this is the only duergar without a quill attack. For a non-minion version you can level up the Duergar Guard and give it the Punishing Hammer ability.
Final Impressions
In my experience, duergar never did have much success in the crowded “evil underground civilization” space, being at best a third choice behind drow and mind flayers. This version of them seems to have a more consistent flavor and a level spread that means they’ll be the first things from the Underdark a PC party is likely to encounter in their careers.
There are enough stat blocks here for you to assemble all-duergar encounters, and you can also add imps or legion devils as reinforcements or other humanoids as slaves. The late-Paragon entries are tailor made for pairing with devils.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Dwarf
Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.
Anyone reading this will know dwarves have been playable characters since the earliest days of D&D, and that they’re largely inspired by Tolkien’s works. As with dragonborn, this entry is for dwarves that can serve as opposition or allied NPCs. They’re present in both the Monster Manual and the Monster Vault.
The Lore
For decades, D&D has set the standard of what fantasy dwarves look like. If a piece of media features fantasy dwarves and wasn’t either written by Tolkien or adapted from one of his works, it’s probably taking inspiration from D&D’s dwarves. Even authors who want to make their dwarves “special” measure this specialness by how much their dwarves differ from D&D’s.
Because of this, I’m not going to waste too many words describing what present-day dwarves look like in Fourth Edition’s implied setting. Beards, axes, fake Scottish accents, quality engineering, love of gold. One new thing about their aesthetic that I liked very much is that dwarf-made armor is sloped like a tank’s, and their weapons have the same angular quality to them.
In Fourth Edition’s implied setting, recorded dwarf history pretty much begins with a centuries-long period of enslavement to the giants, and the process by which they rebelled against their masters with the aid of the forge god Moradin shapes their culture to this day. So yeah, while these dwarves still distrust elves and constantly fight goblins and orcs, it’s the giants they really hate.
The Numbers
The iconic dwarf trait is the same one PC dwarves get: Stand Your Ground, which allows them to ignore 1 square of forced movement if they wish, and to make a save to avoid falling prone against attacks that would knock them down. They also have low-light vision and a natural Speed of 5 that doesn’t get reduced by encumbrance or heavy armor.
As you’d expect, all dwarves are Medium Natural Humanoids. We’ll look at the provided stat blocks by order of level:
Dwarf Warrior
Present only in the MV, this is a Level 1 Artillery Minion. It wears chain and carries a warhammer, a crossbow and 20 bolts. In addition to the usual dwarf traits, it has Dwarf Solidarity, which gives it a +4 bonus to AC and Reflex when adjacent to other dwarves.
The warrior’s warhammer attack does a bit more damage if it’s adjacent to other dwarves, and its crossbow does a bit more damage against targets that don’t have cover.
So the proper way to use these warriors is to form them up in a large firing line overlooking an open killing field. They can still hold their own in melee, too, so you can also have them in a square Roman-legion like formation that slowly walks up to the enemy while shooting them before engaging with the hammers. That last bit works better if the opposition doesn’t have any area attacks, but Dwarf Solidarity ensures they have some extra protection from many of those as well.
Dwarf Clan Guard
This MV-only entry is a Level 1 Soldier with 33 HP. It wears plate, wields a warhammer and a heavy shield, and carries 4 light hammers for throwing. It possesses all the usual dwarf traits.
The warhammer basic attack also pushes the target 1 square on a hit, and allows the clan guard to shift 1 square to follow. The throwing hammer has range 10, and both it and the warhammer mark the target for a turn on a hit.
The Clan Guard can keep foes on their toes with a Double Hammer Strike, which allows it to attack with the warhammer and a throwing hammer without provoking opportunity attacks. This recharges on a 3-6, and should allow the guard to keep both the foe it’s engaged with and someone further away marked at the same time.
Clan Guards want to rush ahead of that massive crossbowdwarf formation and keep their enemies from closing in. Their own formation is likely to be looser, with each one aiming to tie as many foes down with marks as possible.
Dwarf Bolter
This MM-only entry is basically a non-minion version of the Dwarf Warrior, being Level 4 Artillery with 46 HP. It too can attack with a warhammer and a crossbow, and the crossbow gets +2 to attacks and +1d6 to damage against targets without cover.
Dwarf Hammerer
A stronger version of the Clan Guard, present only in the MM. This Level 5 soldier has 64 HP and pretty much the same gear as the clan guard.
Its basic warhammer attack has no special effects aside from its damage, but it can use a Shield Bash that targets Fortitude, does more damage than the warhammer, and either pushes the target 1 square or knocks it prone (dwarf’s choice). This recharges on a 5-6.
The hammerer can also make a free warhammer attack against anyone who tries to push it or knock it prone. None of its attacks apply marks.
Sample Encounters and Final Impressions.
The one in the MM is level 4: 2 hammerers, 2 bolters, and a cavern choker who likely uses the fight as an opporunity to ambush the PCs.
The contrast between the two books is interesting here. The MV dwarves are all strictly level 1, and “Clan Guard” implies some sort of elite unit, which means the vast majority of a dwarf hold’s defenders would be level 1 minions. Their most common enemies would be goblins and orcs, whose levels hover around 2 or 3 for the most part and which are implied to include a lot more regulars. So according to the MV, the typical dwarf settlement is in trouble and could really use some outside adventurer help!
The MM entries are level 4-5 regulars, which would mean that typical dwarf settlement can hold its own against orcs and goblins unless the other side has a crushing numbers advantage.
As for compatibility, I think the Bolter can be used as-is to represent a veteran dwarf warrior, but you can entirely replace the Hammerer with an up-leveled Clan Guard.
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