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Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Raven Roost Bandits
Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
This is a new Vale-specific faction.
The Lore
Raven Roost is an old manor located about 10 miles to the southeast of Thunderspire. It used to be the home of a local lord back in Nerathi times, and got this name because the lord had a gallows assembled at a nearby hilltop and was in the habit of keeping the bodies of executed criminals on display there. This attracted a lot of ravens, and gave the property its name.
The lord and his household are long gone, and today Raven Roost is home to a fairly sophisticated bandit gang. Their proximity to the Trade Road allows them to regularly attack travelers and traders moving between Fallcrest, Thunderspire and Hammerfast. They’re helped in this enterprise by Barton, the cheerful owner of the Fiveleague House inn near Hammerfast, who sends them advance warning of juicy targets coming from that direction.
The book also mentions the bandits also attack the King’s Road to the south, but that’s pretty far from their home base and requires them to cut through a bit of Harken forest to reach it. Harken’s Heart or the Hunter Spiders might have something to say about that if they exist in your campaign.
Banditry was always common along that stretch of road, as the nearby Harken Forest seems to offer a nice source of shelter and concealment to the deserters, cutthroats and outlaws who tend to make up these gangs. None of them ever lasted for very long, though, eventually falling prey to infighting or incurring the displeasure of the forest’s inhabitants. This changed when the three shadar-kai, disgraced former servants of the Raven Queen, arrived on the scene.
Of the three, Samminel was a warlord, Erzoun his court witch, and Geriesh his chief spy. Erzoun once predicted that Samminel would never advance in prestige and station if he remained on his Shadowfell domain, so the trio crossed into the world. Their spectacular displays of violence unburdened by compassion earned the fear and respect of all the little bands that hid in the Forest, who decided to swear loyalty to them and beg for training and leadership. Thus were the Raven Roost bandits formed.
The three leaders don’t actually work together very well, since they have a tendency to undermine each other’s authority. They know this, however, and have arranged things so that each of them commands a separate force with little direct interaction.
Raven Roost itself is an excellent home base for them. It occupies a little hidden valley in the Old Hills that’s supremely defensible and cannot be seen from the road. It’s also out of Harken Forest proper, which makes the bandits much less vulnerable to attacks by angry druids. They hide in the edges of the forest while waiting in ambush, but Raven Roost is where they rest their heads.
The bandits’ initial attacks were shockingly violent, but they’ve toned it down after their reputation began to spread. They frequently spare the lives of their victims and accept surrenders, since they know that people fight back harder when their lives are at stake. Sometimes their reputation allows them to avoid a fight entirely. Eventually, they plan to capitalize on that reputation to move from banditry to warlordism, and try to conquer and rule their own stretch of the Vale.
The Numbers
We get stats for the three shadar-kai leaders, and for the rank-and-file bandits they lead. Bandits are usually human, though you could certainly mix things a bit and add other ancestries here.
The three leaders have the Shadar-kai Shadow Jaunt encounter power, which lets them teleport 3 squares and become insubstantial for a turn as a move action. The others have no common traits.
As usual, we’ll look at them in ascending order of level, with the leaders at the end.
Raven Roost Harrier
Trained by Geriesh, harriers are Level 4 Skirmishers with 53 HP. Their short swords deal physical damage and prevent the target from making opportunity attacks for a turn on a hit. Their Crossbows have no raiders, but are decent basic ranged attacks. They can make Moving Attacks that let them move their speed, attack with the sword at any point, and move away without provoking opportunity attacks from their target.
Raven Roost Cutthroat
Also trained by Geriesh, cutthroats are Level 5 Lurkers with 49 HP. They fight with daggers and garrotes. Garrotes target Reflex and grab the target on a hit. The escape DC is a surprising 22! While the grab lasts, the cutthroat has superior cover and both it and the victim are immune to forced movement. The bandit can use an Aterial Cut on its grabbed victim, an attack that deals both immediate and ongoing physical damage (save ends), and ends the grab on a hit.
If the victim escapes the cutthroat’s grab, it can use Quick Cut to make a free dagger attack against them.
Raven Roost Grenadier
Trained by Erzoun, grenadiers are Level 5 Controllers with 61 HP. They’re armed with a Shortsword and with a large assortment of grenades. They carry 8 Fire Bombs that deal fire damage in an Area Burst 1 and knock the targets prone on a hit. They deal half damage on a miss.
They also carry a single Smoke Bomb laced with poison, which attacks an Area Burst 1 and causes the targets to become dazed and to take ongoing poison damage (save ends). This creates a zone that lightly obscures its space until the end of the encounter.
Finally, they carry a bomb that can produce an Oil Slick, which can knock everyone in an Area Burst 1 prone and as an effect make them vulnerable to fire for a turn.
Once per encounter they can also use Grenadier’s Rush to move their speed with a minor action.
Raven Roost Sharpshooter
Another Erzoun special, sharpshooters are Level 6 Artillery with 55 HP. They fight with short swords and crossbows, and as expected of artillery the latter are more accurate and damaging.
Sharpshooters can spend their move action to perform a Careful Aim maneuver. This lets them pick an enemy they can see. If they can still see that enemy at the start of their next turn, their crossbow attack will attack the target’s Reflex instead of their AC, and will deal 5 extra damage. So not only will the attack be more accurate than usual, it will also target a lower defense (often much lower for heavily armored characters).
Sharpshooters can also deploy an Archer’s Decoy as a free action, which grants them a +2 bonus to AC and Reflex for a turn. This recharges when they’re first bloodied.
Since Careful Aim is a move action, sharpshooters are quite powerful when they can remain stationary. You can help them with that by deploying them behind good cover.
Raven Roost Outlaw Veteran
Led by Samminel, veterans are Level 6 Brutes with 86 HP. They fight with bastard swordS and can do a fair few things with them.
Aside from their basic attacks, they can use Mighty Blows, which do the same damage, push the target 1 square, and let the veteran shift 1 square to follow. Their Swath of Death maneuver lets them attack twice and keeps recharging as long as at least one of the attacks misses.
They can also use a Forceful Shove as a minor action to attack a target’s Fortitude and push then 1 square on a hit.
Raven Roost Highwayman
Led by Samminel, highwaymen are Level 7 Soldiers with 77 HP. They wield the classy bandit’s choice, a rapier and a hand crossbow.
Their basic rapier attack marks for a turn, and despite carrying 10 bolts for the crossbow they have no ranged basic attack! Instead, they have a special encounter power named Bolt to the Gut. It’s a ranged attack but does not provoke opportunity attacks. It deals heavy physical damage, immobilizes, and inflicts ongoing physical damage (save ends). Even on a miss, it immobilizes for a turn.
What do highwaymen do with the other 9 bolts once they use this? They wait for a marked enemy to make an attack that doesn’t include them as a target. That lets them use Stand, You Coward as a reaction, which lets them immediately recharge and use Bolt to the Gut on the offending enemy!
Geriesh
Geriesh is a Level 6 Elite Skirmisher (Leader) with 136 HP. His sneaky leadership takes the form of a Swiftshadow Master aura (5), which gives all enemies inside a +4 to Initiative and to Stealth. Willing Prey makes any enemy marking him grant combat advantage.
The spymaster fights with katars, which deal extra damage against targets granting him combat advantage. If the attack does more than 20 damage, the target falls unconscious (save ends). This is possible if he attacks with combat advantage, since his damage is 3d6+7 in that case. That’s about a 40% chance of unconsciousness, which of course also happens if he crits because that causes max damage. His version of Double Attack allows him to perform two attacks and move up to his full speed between them.
Geriesh replaces the standard Shadow Jaunt power with Shadow Leap, which doesn’t grant insubstantial but lets him teleport his full speed of 6. Once per encounter, he can also use Dagger Flick as a minor action, which deals physical damage, immobilizes, and inflicts ongoing poison damage. Even on a miss, this grazes the target and immobilizes them for a turn.
Erzoun
Erzoun is a Level 7 Elite Controller (Leader) with 152 HP. Her witchy leadership manifests as a Quickshadow Aura (5). Any ally who shifts while inside the aura can shift 1 extra square. While the bandits under her are fairly martial sorts, she’s a proper witch and fights exclusively with magic.
Erzoun’s basic attack is a Blackfire Touch that does fire and necrotic damage on a hit, and slides 1 square as an effect. She can attack at range with a spell named Beshadowed Mind that deals necrotic and psychic damage, and makes the target unable to see anything further than 2 squares away (save ends).
She also has a host of limited spells, starting with a fun one. Witch’s Prophecy is an attack against Will that does no damage, but has a very interesting effect. If Erzoun hits, she can choose an ally within 10 squares. The target of the spell is weakened when attacking anyone other than the chosen ally. This lasts until the end of the encounter, and recharges whenever she misses with it! She’s going to use this to set up the worst match possible between a PC striker and a beefy ally who can resist their attacks.
Erzoun can also create a zone of Deep Shadow in an area burst 1. This is difficult terrain to enemies inside, and deals 10 damage to those enemies when they enter the zone or end their turn in it. It lasts for a turn but can be sustained and moved 4 squares with a minor action. It recharges when bloodied, so Erzoun might have two of these zones in play at once.
Erzoun gets the standard Shadow Jaunt power, but she also gets a Shadow Augury reaction that triggers when she’s hit in melee while bloodied. It recharges Shadow Jaunt and lets her use it immediately!
Erzoun is hard to pin down and will wreak havoc on the PC’s formations with a Deep Shadow zone and a prophecy right at the start. Once bloodied, she stays mostly stationary to sustain her two zones, relying on Shadow Augury to avoid being surrounded.
Samminel
The overall boss of the Raven Roost bandits is a Level 8 Elite Soldier (Leader) with 172 HP. He’s the more direct and martial of the trio, wielding a halberd in combat. His leadership instills his underlings with a Deathshadow Fervor (aura 5) that lets them daze any target against whom they score a critical hit (save ends).
The halberd marks for a turn, and he can also use it in a Double Attack or in a Sundering Sweep, which doesn’t mark but hits a Close Burst 2 and inflicts a -2 AC penalty (save ends).
If a marked enemy tries to ignore Samminel, he can make a basic attack against them as an interrupt, scoring a critical on a 17-20. He also gets the standard Shadow Jaunt power.
Samminel is less gimmicky than Erzoun, but is a good enabler for the sort of direct henchman he prefers to lead.
Final Impressions
It’s easy to see the word “bandits” and immediately think of the sort of generic opponent that tends to grace each edition’s first Monster Manual. Fortunately the ones we get here have fairly interesting mechanics that elevate them beyond the generic.
They all work very well together, but the structure described in the Lore encourages a story where you face each “sub-gang” in order, defeat its boss, and move up the ladder. The likely order is Geriesh, Erzoun, and Samminel. Depending on how tightly you couple the bandit stat blocks with the leaders who train them, you might need to insert some generics in here to pad out your encounters.
We don’t get an exact headcount of the Raven Roost bandits. There’s enough to give the Hunter Spiders pause and make them avoid “hunting” the same routes, which means you can use however many you need for your own story. Unlike the drow, these guys can get new recruits from the constant influx of assholes who arrive at their territory looking to join.
A final stand should definitely involve the three leaders at the same time. If anything would force them to work together again it’s a bunch of heroes who have systematically dismantled the rest of their gang.
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Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Ragewind
Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Ragewinds first appeared in Third Edition, and make their Fourth Edition debut here. They’re mostly generic, with some added hooks for the Vale.
The Lore
Also known as sword spirits, ragewinds are undead monsters that can form in battlefields. They’re made up of the spirits of despondent soldiers who believe they died for nothing. These shades are individually weak, but they have the ability to move the weapons they wielded in life. A ragewind arises when many of these indignant ghosts join to form a single composite entity.
Ragewinds can lie dormant to appear as a random pile of old weapons. When active, they assume the whirlwind form you can see in the illustration. They can understand Common and modulate their wind to speak it, but they’re true monsters and are only interested in killing living people who stray too close to them. When destroyed, they release the pent-up anger and hatred inside them, which might cause their enemies to turn against each other. These creatures carry no treasure save the weapons that make up their form. They might also be hanging around something worth digging up, acting as accidental guardians.
The Nentir Vale region doesn’t just contain the ruins of a number of old civilizations - it was also the site of many of their battles. Bloodspear Orcs against Nerathi, Nerathi against the Hill Folk or the dragons of the Dawnforges, Arkhosia against Bael Turath, elves vs. drow, and perhaps others that have been lost to time. Any of these places might house a number of very old ragewinds.
The Numbers
A ragewind is a Large Natural Animate with the Undead tag, and a Level 18 Skirmisher with 112 HP. It has an amazing ground speed of 10 and a flight speed of 5, and perceives the world through Blindsight 20.
As a literal weapon whirlwinds, a ragewind projects a Slashing Aura (1) that inflicts 10 damage on enemies caught inside, or 15 when it’s bloodied. Its All-Around Defense means it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving, and it’s under a permanent Freedom of Movement effect that ends any slowing or immobilizing effects on the creature at the start of its turn.
Its basic attack is named Weapon Fury, which does physical damage and also gives the ragewind 10 temporary HP if it’s bloodied. It can also use a Rush of Blades maneuver to shift 5 squares and use Weapon Fury at any point during the movement.
By expanding itself a bit the ragewind can make a Steel Whirlwind attack (recharge 5+), which attacks a Close Burst 1 and does more damage than a basic attack, half on a miss. If the creature is bloodied the area is a Close Burst 2 instead.
When it dies, the ragewind triggers its Death’s Rage ability, which attacks the Will of every enemy in a Close Burst 5 and, if it hits, forces the target to make a basic attack against its nearest ally.
Final Impression
These are dangerous physical combatants who are hard to pin down and can really punish PC groups who like close formations.
If the location of any of the Vale’s ragewinds was known, they’d probably be the stuff of legends told all over. It’s quite likely that they’re unknown because no one who met one has lived to tell the tale. With a speed of 10, they’re almost impossible to outrun even on horseback.
A lot of the NPC factions we saw so far have a relatively high chance of running into these things, because they spend their time digging up old ruins and battlefields: Dythan’s Legion, the Gray Company, the Hunter Spiders. Y’know, our usual suspects. I imagine this would happen as the climax of their story arcs, as they’re just about to find what they’re looking for.
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Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Phantom Brigade
Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
A new group, and a surprise lesson on Nerath’s history!
The Lore
So far we’ve only got the bare minimum of information on the history and geography of Nerath as a whole. We mostly know that the Vale was part of its northern frontier, that it did a number on the Vale’s native peoples when it moved in, and that it fell about a hundred years ago. This entry gives lots of new information because the history of the Phantom Brigade is intimately tied to that of the empire of Nerath.
The Empire of Nerath was founded in the distant south around six hundred years ago, with the establishment its capital city of Nera. It quickly spread in all directions and became a world power. Its long history starts with an early period of rapid expansion, goes through the troubled and despotic rule of Emperor Magroth, and then through a long period of hegemonic peace and stability. This peace lasted until the empire’s abrupt fall about 100 years ago.
No one knows exactly how the fall of Nerath happened (or, if they do, they’re keeping it a secret). What is known is that a combination of traumatic events that might have included both monster attacks and natural disasters left the entire imperial family unaccounted for. Nerath’s armies were left leaderless and without direction, and all the simmering conflicts between its noble houses blew up with no one to keep them in line. Soon the complex infrastructure that united all regions of the empire stopped being maintained and crumbled, turning its cities and provinces into the scattered points of light we know today.
Nerath had several knightly orders at the time of its fall, and none where more prestigious than the Knights of the Empire. Imperial Knights were paladins and rangers selected for their skill, loyalty, and nobility of character. They answered directly to the Emperor, acting as his personal bodyguards and extensions of his will. When everything went to ruin, they were one of the few groups who remained committed to defending the empire and keeping it whole. Nearly all of them died in the decade between the initial catastrophe and the day everyone finally acknowledged Nerath was no more.
This did not stop the Knights, however. The oaths that bound them to the order were more than just pretty words. They included a mysterious magical effect or curse that eventually made the dead Knights return as ghosts. This started happening decades after the fall. Though the Knights know their empire has fallen, they are still compelled to seek the honor they could not gain in life, and fulfill their oaths as best they can. They are now known as the Phantom Brigade.
The first recorded appearance of the ghost knights was right here on the Vale, when three of them were spotted racing through the Gardbury Downs. In our narrative present they can be seen anywhere the hand of Nera used to reach.
Knights look much as they did in life, though ghostly and translucent. This means you have a very important decision to make. Is the Nazgul-looking fellow in the illustration a typical Knight, or is he Sir Georg Edgelord, who is an outlier and should not be counted? Your answer will say very interesting things about Nerath either way.
Their weapons bear the emblem of the Threefold Crown of Nerath, unmistakably marking their bearers as Knights of the Empire. Those weapons and also serve as the receptacle for their souls.
Though we saw in previous entries that Nerath did some pretty horrible shit in the past, the Knights seem genuinely concerned about upholding its highest ideals and their original oaths, even though they’re ghosts. They will not attack random travelers unprovoked and will probably be enthusiastic allies in the fight against threats to the Vale if they can be convinced of the need for this alliance.
However, they can still come into conflict with the PCs if they try to trespass upon the areas the Knights still protect (which are full of juicy treasure-filled Nerathi ruins). In these cases a fight might be avoided if the PCs can present the Knights with a genuine writ of passage or Nerathi signet ring.
The Numbers
Phantom Brigade members are Medium Shadow Humanoids with the Undead tag. Most of them are former humans. They have Darkvision and immunity to disease and poison, but lack the usual resistances and vulnerabilities. They have ground speeds of 6.
As ghosts, our knights have both Insubstantial and Phasing. Only force damage will deal full damage to them, and since they don’t have additional vulnerabilities the trait can’t be temporarily shut down. They do tend to have less HP than a typical monster of their level, which somewhat compensates for it.
Their unique signature trait is Unrelenting Brigade. Whenever an ally who also has this trait drops to 0 HP within 5 squares of the knight, they gain a +2 to-hit bonus until the end of their next turn.
Every single stat block in this entry has Lawful Good as its Alignment, a rarity in monster and NPC stat blocks.
Level-wise, the Phantom Brigade can be a threat from the mid-Heroic to the mid Paragon-tier, putting them on the same bracket as, say, the Gray Company.
Phantom Brigade Squire
Squires are Level 6 Minion Soldiers. They can attack with their Soulbound Short Swords and their Spectral Crossbows, both of which deal psychic damage. If an enemy hits an ally adjacent to the squire with a melee attack, they can use Shielding Martyr to become the target of that attack instead.
Phantom Brigade Armiger
Armigers are Level 7 Brutes with 71 HP. They fight with Soulbound Bardiches that deal psychic damage, and their charges use the Charging Rebuke special attack that deals the same amount of damage, push the target 1 square, and knock it prone. They can also make Furious Sweeps to attack everyone in a Close Blast 2 for slightly less damage.
Phantom Brigade Justiciar
These Level 7 Skirmishers have 54 HP and project an aura (1) of Blind Justice that inflicts a -2 to-hit penalty on enemies caught inside. They fight with Soulbound Hammers that can be used in melee or thrown, and they can Evade and Strike at will. This ends any marks on them, lets them shift 4 squares, and then make a basic melee attack.
Phantom Brigade Banneret
Bannerets are likely minor officers, since their name means “one who carries a banner”. They’re Level 8 Soldiers with the Leader tag and 60 HP. Their phantom banner projects a Gift of Grace aura (3) that grants a +5 bonus to saves to allies inside.
The banneret fights with a Soulbound Tulwar, which does psychic and radiant damage. As an effect, it also marks and slows the target for a turn. If a marked enemy within 5 squares tries to make an attack that doesn’t target the banneret, they can use Stalwart Restraint as a reaction. This always hits! It immobilizes the target and inflicts 10 ongoing psychic damage on them (save ends
Bannerets are quite danregous. Their attacks always do something and they’re a lot more dangerous to ignore than your typical soldier monster.
Phantom Brigade Templar
These imposing undead paladins bring the Brigade into the paragon tier. They’re Level 12 Controllers with 85 HP. They fight with Soulbound Morningstars that deal psychic damage and slide 2 squares on a hit. They can attack at range with Righteous Strikes that deal cold and radiant damage, and also slow on a hit (save ends). And they can use their Frightful Majesty to attack enemies in a Close Burst 1 and daze them for a turn on a hit. This recharges when they’re first bloodied.
Phantom Brigade Knight-Commander
Knight-Commanders are high-ranking officers, likely responsible for leading all Imperial Knights in a given region. They’re Level 14 Soldiers with the Leader tag and 96 HP.
Their weapon of choice is a Keening Soulbound Backsword, which deals psychic and thunder damage and which marks the target for a turn as an effect. The sword can be used in a Soul Strike maneuver (recharge 5+) that deals more damage and gives the knight-commander 10 temporary HP. The commander can also attack enemies in a Close Burst 1 by repeating the Oath of Nerath, which targets Fortitude and deals psychic damage.
If an enemy within 2 squares that’s marked by the commander chooses to ignore the mark, the commander can use Call to Arms to allow an ally within 5 squares to shift 3 spaces and make a free basic attack against the triggering enemy.
If my assumption back in the first paragraph is correct, there’s a Knight-Commander in the Vale. The book doesn’t give any information about that individual, so you’re free to come up with their backstory and description yourself.
Final Impressions
Turns out undead in 4e don’t have to be evil! The magic binding these knights to the world could still be quite bad, but it has not affected their souls or personalities. Still, as mentioned, they might end up fighting PCs who insist on exploring former Nerathi sites the knights consider to be under their protection.
I’m very interested in what might happen if the Gray Company or one of their Nerathi revivalist rivals runs into the Phantom Brigade. I imagine that anyone who meets with the knights’ approval will have the legitimacy of their claims greatly bolstered… but I also imagine that Halvath Cormarrin would not have their approval. On the other hand, the Knight-Commander’s sword is likely the weapon Cormarrin is after, because that’s an easy and fun connection to make.
Things will turn out very differently it Cormarrin does in fact have a way to compel the Phantom Brigade to be loyal to him. This could be the thing that catapults the Gray Company into a paragon-tier threat. In that case, making the Knights turn against him would be a key step in defeating their imperialist aims.
If you want the Phantom Brigade to be evil after all, you can use their stats exactly as they are presented and only change their alignment and behavior. You can also add some Death Knights to their number, since they are also evil undead knights with their souls bound to their weapons. You might say those are members of the order who managed to retain their physical bodies after all this time.
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Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Peryton
Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
It’s possible perytons appeared in previous editions, but this is the first time I remember seeing them. I think they might be based in real-world folklore?
The Lore
Perytons are large predators that resemble big raptor birds with antlered, sharp-fanged stag heads. The feathers on the bird part are typically dark green, and the stag’s fur is blue-black. Both males and females have antlers, but males also have distinctive light blue feathers on their chests. Their shadows, interestingly enough, don’t correspond to their physical shapes and are instead humanoid. Perytons like to nest in tall mountain ridges, which in the Vale means the Cairngorm peaks and Stonemarch to the northwest, or the Dawnforge range to the east.
Some sages speculate that the first perytons were elves changed by some horrible curse, and there are enough sinister details about their behavior and lifecycle to lend credence to this even if you ignore the “humanoid shadow” thing.
Travelers are advised to keep their eyes on the sky when going through these mountainous regions, because perytons are a fairly common hazard there. Not only are they unafraid to attack people, they specifically go after humanoid prey due to a very suspicious quirk of their reproductive cycle: peryton females need to consume the fresh heart of a humanoid in order to reproduce. This will cause their shadows to reflect their true forms for a number of hours, during which they are fertile.
Perytons are classed as beasts because they look and behave like animals, but they’re also clever enough to keep victims alive in their nests until it’s time to eat, to ensure the freshness of their hearts. They can carry off victims as big as themselves and won’t generally stick around to keep fighting if they can make a clean getaway with a victim. However, they’re extremely stubborn and obsessive - once a peryton chooses someone as their prey, they will pursue and hunt that victim until they manage to kill it or carry it away, heedless of the danger and ignoring easier prey.
Peryton nests usually have an area for “storing” its captured victims, who have a hard time leaving because the surrounding terrain isn’t easy for a non-flier to traverse. These areas tend to be full of treasure in the form of former victims’ belongings, and some captives can end up finding a way to escape by using these things.
The Numbers
Perytons are Natural Beasts. Their signature traits are Peryton’s Prey, which allows them to designate a creature they can see at the start of their turn as their prey, and Unhindered, which allows it to pull any creature it has grabbed along with it when moving.
A peryton’s choice of prey lasts a turn - they must make the choice again at the start of each of their turns. It’s totally possible to keep choosing the same creature, and most perytons will do that, but if the PCs contrive to make that creature too hard to reach, they can and will make a different choice. This has no inherent effects, but several of the creature’s powers work best on its chosen prey.
Peryton
The basic model is Medium in size, and is a Level 4 Skirmisher with 54 HP. Its ground speed is a laughable 2, but its flight speed is 8. The peryton’s basic attack is an Antler Bash that knocks prone on a hit and deals extra damage to the peryton’s chosen prey. It can use it to make Flyby Attacks, flying its speed, attacking a target along the path, and not provoking opportunity attacks when it moves away.
Its other special attack is Claw Snatch, which can only target the peryton’s chosen prey, which must be Medium or smaller. The creature can fly half its speed before and after the attack. A hit deals damage and grabs the victim (escape DC 14). The grab automatically ends at the end of the peryton’s next turn, but that’s enough time for the beast to gain plenty of altitude or to fly over a convenient cliff drop. This recharges when the peryton is first bloodied.
Finally, the creature can use an encounter ability named Feast against a dying humanoid to automatically kill it and heal 15 HP. I imagine this involves eating the target’s heart. Never let these things take you to negative HP!
Peryton Elder
A larger, older, and stronger specimen, of the sort who ends up generating stories and legends about itself. It’s a Level 6 Elite Soldier with 144 HP.
The elder has upgraded versions of Claw Snatch and Feast. The first has a grab that doesn’t end after a turn, allowing the monster to carry its victim clear out of the fight if they’re unlucky in their DC 15 escape rolls. The second heals 20 HP instead of 15. It also has Antler Bash, but that’s more or less the same.
The elder also has a couple of new powers to better perform its soldierly duties. Cursed Bite is a minor action that deals physical damage and inflicts another 5 points if the target attacks a creature other than the elder on its next turn. Once per encounter, it can use Stealth Dive to charge its chosen prey if that prey makes an attack that doesn’t include the elder as a target.
Final Impressions
Despite their “natural” origin, these monsters are creepy and evocative. They’re much more threatening than their level indicates too, being one of the few creatures who will explicitly target and kill PCs who are down and out. Being carried off by an elder peryton sucks, too, but it could lead to a fun scene a captured PCs trying to improvise an escape route using the items found on the nest.
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Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Penanggalan
This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
No illustration this time. The book has one, but it’s quite gross.
The Penanggalan is a monster from Southeast Asian folklore (the name used here is Malay). It was first statted up for D&D in the Fiend Folio, and this is its 4e debut. This entry does make some effort to tie its lore to the Nentir Vale, but I still think it fits into the “generic monster” category.
The Lore
Legend has it that the first penanggalan was a young baroness in Harkenwold, who was very smart but “plain of face and scant of suitors”. She found a cache of old diabolism texts from Bael Turath one day, and decided to use them to improve her situation. She conjured a devil using the Turathi rituals, and made a deal where the devil would make her forever young and beautiful in exchange for eternal servitude.
The lady did become beautiful, but it was the sort of beauty that comes from a devil’s bargain: so beautiful she was that armies clashed for her hand, and that her father eventually decided to lock her up in a tower for protection. Alone in her tower, the baroness prayed to the gods and begged for forgiveness, swearing to do penance before them.
The devil that made the deal with her did not like this one bit, and before she could start atoning for her sins, he whispered the secret of her beauty in the ear of Harkenwold’s high priest. The priest was one of those “zero tolerance” types, so he had the lady hanged as a diabolist. Her body remained in the gallows until midnight, and then her head and entrails separated from it and went hunting.
All penanggalans have a similar origin: women who make dark pacts for immortal beauty and try to renege, but who die before completing their penance and freeing their souls. The creatures share some superficial similarities to vampires, in that they’re undead monsters who feed on the living. Some embrace their new nature, some keep trying to complete their atonement to perhaps find a cure, but all of them are afflicted by a powerful hunger for the purity that once rain in their veins. Even a penitent penanggalan can only resist this hunger for about three days before going berserk, so atonement is really hard for them.
The book doesn’t go into details on how they feed, but from what I see in Wikipedia the original legend does say they drink blood. You could interpret the book’s information to say they eat flesh instead. In either case their attacks are quite fatal because even the traditional blood drinker version spreads a wasting disease to its victims.
As long as a penanggalan’s original body is in good condition, she can squeeze back into it and disguise herself as a mortal woman. The creatures often look for jobs as midwives or nursemaids, making victims of young kids and their mothers. Others prefer seduction as a means to get potential victims alone with them in a private spot. The original legend also has this really neat (and gross) detail that the creature bathes its dangling entrails in vinegar to shrink them up and fit them through the body’s neck, but that’s not necessary in the D&D version.
If a penanggalan’s body is destroyed, the creature is forever stuck as a floating head, and usually becomes a lot more desperate and obvious in its attacks.
The Numbers
Penanggalans are Natural Humanoids with the Undead tag. Individuals with bodies are Medium while in mortal form. The floating head with trailing guts is Small.
As undead they’re immune to disease and poison, resist necrotic damage, and are vulnerable to radiant damage. They have darkvision and a ground speed of 6, as well as a flight speed of 8 in head form.
Penanggalan
The basic model is a Level 10 Elite Lurker with 162 HP. It has the Shapechanger tag and can switch between woman and head forms.
In woman form, the penanggalan can defend herself with a dagger, but she’s likely in disguise and will try to use her soothing voice to literally lull her victims into a false sense of security. This is an encounter spell that attacks the Will of everyone in a Close Burst 1, and while it does no damage it slows on a hit (save ends). After the first failed save, this worsens to unconsciousness!
I would say that Soothing Voice can be disguised as a song or conversation, since it’s supposed to be subtle. Targets might not notice something is wrong at first.
Once the jig is up, the penanggalan undergoes her Horrific Transformation, which is so gross it works as a Close Burst 2 attack vs. Will, dealing heavy psychic damage and dazing for a turn on a hit. This of course transforms the monster into its head form. The body is considered a corpse for game purposes, and the penanggalan can return to it with a standard action if it’s on the same space and the body is not completely destroyed.
In head form, the monster attacks with Bites that do physical damage and ongoing poison damage (save ends). It can also use its Grasping Entrails (recharge 4+) to attack up to two creatures at Reach 2. On a hit, this deals poison and necrotic damage and grabs the victim (escape DC 22). Targets grant combat advantage until they escape, and are exposed to Blistering Corruption (see below).
The penanggalan can use its Maleable Form as a standard action to gain phasing for a turn and shift up to its speed. If it starts its next turn hidden from all enemies, Graping Entrails recharges, and the monster can use both it and Bite in the same action when it next attacks.
Penanggalan Bodiless Head
A penanggalan who had its body destroyed a while ago and had to adapt to survive. It’s a Level 9 Skirmisher with 94 HP.
This monster attacks with bites that do physical damage, and also slow (save ends) if the target is granting combat advantage. It can also use its flailing entrails to deal poison damage and slide 1 square on a hit.
The penanggalan can perform a malleable rush with its move action, gaining phasing for a turn and shifting its speed. This recharges after it’s first bloodied. When it dies, it explodes, and the resulting Death Burst attacks a Close Burst 1, deals poison damage, and exposes victims to Blistering Corruption.
Penanggalan Head Swarm
Exactly what it sounds like, a pack of floating, starving penanggalan heads. It’s a Medium Swarm of Small creatures, and a Level 8 Soldier with 87 HP.
Its Swarm Attack aura (1) slows enemies caught inside. Its basic attack is a Swarm of Entrails that targets a Close Burst 2, deals light poison damage (or more if the target is slowed), and slides the target 1 square to a space adjacent to the monster.
Blistering Corruption
Turns out this version of the penanggalan also spreads a wasting disease. Blistering Corruption is like supernaturally-boosted measles or chickenpox, causing sores, blisters and boils to erupt all over the victim’s body. You get exposed to it through contact with penanggalan entrails, and must succeed on a save to avoid contracting it as usual.
This level 10 disease is resisted with Endurance, and has a Maintain DC of 13 and an Improve DC of 18. Its effects are cumulative. At Stage 1, it inflicts a -2 penalty to Fortitude. At Stage 2 it also halves your maximum HP (making you permanently bloodied) and healing surge value. At Stage 3, you gain an aura 2 that cannot be deactivated, and eats a healing surge from any creature that gets caught inside.
As with other diseases, you stop making recovery rolls once you hit stage 3. Blistering Corruption doesn’t kill you, but it makes you weak and unbearable to be around. Only Remove Affliction or equivalent powers can save you from this fate once you hit Stage 3.
Final Impressions
D&D’s penanggalan is surprisingly similar to the traditional story I saw on Wikipedia. The story has somewhat more varied origins for the creature, though the “woman who practiced evil magic and was cursed by it” is also there.
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