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• Dec 31, 2022

  Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Felldrake

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Felldrakes are a Vale-specific new addition to the game.

  The Lore

  Shortly after signing the pact that transformed them, the ruling nobility of Bael Turath set about applying their newfound infernal power in several ways they felt would benefit the empire. One of the things they did was magically alter the many breeds of drake the Turathi already employed to make them stronger and more vicious. These magically altered breeds became known as felldrakes.

  Though felldrakes are considered natural animals, they’re much more aggressive and territorial than other species and are susceptible to control via old Turathi techniques and infernal magic. The Fell Court from our previous entry was taught the secret of controlling these creatures by their diabolical patrons. It’s possible other groups have learned it as well.

  The Numbers

  Like other drakes, these are Natural Beasts. They’re a varied lot, though, and their abilities are specific to each stat block.

  Leaping Felldrake

  This Small drake looks like a green-scaled lizard. As the name implies they’re capable of long flying leaps, but they’re also pretty good at lying in ambush. Their jaws are very efficient at biting the necks of their victims, and their saliva contains a weak venom that turns the flesh around the bite mark blue. They were used to protect homes and vaults from burglars, and those blue marks aided in tracking any culprits that escaped.

  Leaping Felldrakes are Level 1 Lurkers with 26 HP. They have ground and climb speeds of 6. Their basic bites are a little weak, but they can use Neck Bites against targets granting them combat advantage. This deals about double the damage of a basic bite and allow the drake to grab the target (escape DC 12), dealing them ongoing 5 damage while the grab lasts.

  The drake’s Flying Leaps allow them to fly 3 squares without provoking opportunity attacks. If they have cover, concealment, or no enemies within 5 squares, they can use Instant Camouflage to become effectively invisible until they attack or cancel the effect. That’s how it gains combat advantage in most situations, though flanking also works fine in a fight against multiple monsters.

  Crested Felldrakes

  These Small drakes are kinda like a cross between a standard guard drake and a Jurassic Park raptor. They’re pack hunters like unmodified guard drakes, but they’re stronger and smarter than then. Crested felldrakes have been known to climb on top of one another to reach high places, or to open doors with their claws to get at victims on the other side.

  Crested Felldrakes are Level 2 Skirmishers with 39 HP. They have a ground speed of 8 and their Pack Frenzy trait gives them +1 to hit and +2 to damage when adjacent to a felldrake ally. Their bites damage and allow a felldrake ally within 2 squares of the attacker to shift up to 2 squares as a reaction. When hit by an opportunity attack, they can automatically shift 2 squares. This doesn’t negate the damage from the attack, but it also doesn’t use up an action, so it can be done as often as you like. The more you hit them, the more mobile they are.

  Hissing Felldrake

  Another Jurassic Park-inspired monstrosity, this is a Medium drake with a large folding frill around its neck and the ability to spit a corrosive venom laced with soporific chemicals. It’s Level 3 Artillery with 38 HP.

  They can bite but the star of the show is clearly their Fell Spit, a ranged attack that targets Reflex and deals acid damage. If the target is bloodied, they become slowed for a turn. If they’re already slowed, they instead become dazed (save ends).

  Tri-Horned Felldrake

  The larger and most aggressive of the felldrake subspecies, but also oddly enough the easiest to domesticate. The Turathi enforced an instinctive pecking order with tri-horns at the top, so they have some ability to control other felldrake species.

  Tri-horns are Medium Level 4 Soldiers with 58 HP. They have a speed of 5, are immmune to fear, and gain a +3 to damage when charging. They can bite and also perform challenging gores that deal about the same damage and mark for a turn. If a marked target makes an attack that doesn’t target the drake, it can use a melee reaction to automatically deal light damage and knock them prone.

  Final Impressions

  The origin of the felldrakes gives you ample excuse to have a wild pack of them that attacks on sight and fights to the death, unlike most natural beasts. However they really come into their own as pets to the Fell Court or to other similar groups that know how to control and boost them in the same way.

  They could also be used as additional Dark Drake species to go with the Dark Drake of the Moon Hills. Maybe the Dark Drake is a supernaturally powerful felldrake who survives since the days of Bael Turath?

• Dec 28, 2022

  Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Fell Court

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  We just looked at a faction of Arkhosian revivalists, and now we’re looking at an example of their Turathi counterparts.

  The Lore

  Even long after the fall of Bael Turath, tieflings still have to contend with the suspicions and prejudice of others. You could argue such suspicion was warranted right after that fall, since the people who became the first tieflings had all been members of the Turathi elite, and therefore quite nasty slave-holding diabolists. Their descendants however were just born that way and are as varied in their moral outlook as any other sapient people. It is wrong to expect them to be scheming diabolists just because of their looks.

  And then you have people like the Fell Court, who keep the stereotype alive by living up to it. They’re a group of tieflings based on Fallcrest who want to Make Bael Turath Great Again. Their leader is one Melech Ambrose, a self-proclaimed general and visionary who can trace his ancestry very precisely to a specific noble lineage.

  Despite all his claims, Ambrose acts more like a petty crime lord than as a would-be ruler. His group’s current activities are all aimed at filling their “war chest” so the “real” takeover can begin. They have only recently stepped up their operations, and though the Lord Warden of Fallcrest has heard rumors, his men have so far failed to turn up any concrete information about the Court.

  Ambrose himself has a public life as a successful trader and contacts among several members of Fallcrest’s high society. He uses this as cover to run a modest black market operation that enjoys the favor of many of the city’s poorest residents, since they operate in the slums and provide some of the support and security the city’s government can’t or won’t get them.

  Most of the Court’s operating budget comes from Melech Ambrose’s criminal enterprise. They’ve stepped up their recruitment efforts, and are setting up caches of weapons and supplies for a future takeover of Fallcrest. The money also sees good use gathering information about the city’s defenses and blackmail material for use against its officials.

  As you would expect from such a fan of old Bael Turath, Melech is a diabolist, and his dealings have got him a measure of supernatural support from infernal patrons. This include control over a large pack of Felldrakes, a species of vicious drakes that used to be bred in Bael Turath.

  Recruitment happens through a couple of layers of deception. The Court stages a “false flag” attack on a potential candidate, and then swoops in for the rescue. A member of the “rescue team” befriends the target and then the Court slowly brings them into the group while probing their potential and loyalty to the Turathi cause. A member who looks like a good fit gets contacted by an underboss, who gives them a “trial by fire” mission that consists of committing a crime suited to their abilities that also advances the interests of the Court. Those who prove the extent of their skill and loyalty by successfully performing this mission are made full members of the Court. Those who reveal themselves incompatible end up murdered in a way that points to one of the Court’s rivals.

  All of that is for tieflings. Non-tieflings never really progress beyond the stage of “disposable tool”.

  Melech has also heard of the Iron Circle, an Asmodeus-worshiping mercenary company from the south who is entering the Vale through the Harkenwold region. He believes he can enter an alliance with them, offering his Fell Court’s services as spies and saboteurs and using the Circle’s military might to conquer the Vale so they can rule together. Though he has yet to hear back from them after making his initial diplomatic overtures, he’s absolutely sure they will be successful. This belief may lead him to act rashly.

  The Numbers

  All of our stat blocks here are for tiefling members of the Fell Court. As such they all have Low-Light Vision and Resist Fire 5. They tend to me at low-to-mid Heroic levels, making them appropriate as your group’s first “urban intrigue” antagonists in Fallcrest.

  Let’s look at them in order of level.

  Fell Court Ruffian

  Ruffians are the some of the lowest-ranking members of the Court, individuals who probably have not undergone their trial by fire yet. They’re Level 2 Minion Brutes. They fight with clubs that deal half damage on a miss, and have a Dances with Drakes ability that allows them to make a free attack against an enemy that has just been hit by a drake ally.

  Fell Court Creep

  The same ranking as a Ruffian, but sneakier. Creeps are Level 3 Minion Skirmishers. Their basic attack is a Dazing Dagger that damages and dazes for a turn, and when they’re missed by an attack Fiendish Shift allows them to shift 1 square and deal 3 fire damage to the target.

  Fell Court Blackheart

  A seasoned Court operative, combining mundane stealth training with a side of infernal magic. They’re Level 2 Lurkers with 37 HP.

  Blackhearts fight with Deadly Sickles that deal necrotic damage, and can spend their action to assume a Smoke Form instead of attacking. While in smoke form, they can’t attack or be attacked, and can pass through and occupy other creatures’ spaces. It can revert as a free action, or when it drops to 0 HP (from ongoing damage or something).

  If the blackheart starts its turn in smoke form, it can use a Sly Attack to target Reflex and deal about double the damage of a basic attack, half on a miss. It can also use this power without turning to smoke, but it doesn’t do double damage then.

  They can use the tiefling’s standard Infernal Wrath power to inflict a bit of fire damage on someone who just hit them, and when they’re reduced to 0 HP they can delete a healing surge from an enemy they can see before dropping.

  If the blackheart damages an enemy that was granting combat advantage to it, they stop that enemy from spending healing surges (save ends).

  Fell Court Underboss

  This veteran Court member has proven to be loyal enough to be promoted, and is now in charge of recruiting new members and sending them on jobs. It’s a Level 3 Soldier with 47 HP and the Leader keyword.

  The underboss is a Drake Wrangler, and gives Resist Fire 5 and a +2 bonus to the AC of any drakes adjacent to it. It also projects a Hellbound aura (1) that deals 5 fire damage to any creature that leaves it. Its bastard sword strikes kind of skip the whole marking business. A target hit by the sword suffers 5 fire damage if it doesn’t target the underboss with an attack during their next turn.

  They can also use the sword in a Diabolical Strike that deals fire damage and, if the attack was made with combat advantage, prevents the target from shifting for a turn. Infernal Wrath rounds out the tiefling’s arsenal.

  Underbosses will always be in a tight formation with a pack of drakes, and will seek to stay adjacent to a PC. Scattering those drakes might be a useful tactic, since they’d take damage from Hellbound.

  Fell Court Hellmage

  An underboss-rank Court member who prefers to rely more on magic than on swords. It’s Level 4 Artillery with 42 HP and the Leader keyword. Its aura of Drake Regeneration (3) causes any bloodied drake ally inside to recover 5 HP at the start of their turns if they have at least one HP left.

  Hellmages fight with daggers in melee and shoot Infernal Bolts at range. These deal both immediate and ongoing fire and radiant damage. Infernal Wrath works as standard for them, and when they drop to 0 HP they use See you In Hell to fire off one last infernal bolt without provoking opportunity attacks.

  Melech Ambrose

  The big boss is a unique Level 5 Skirmisher with 68 HP and the Leader keyword. As a regular, Melech will always have plenty of bodyguards and felldrakes with him. He projects two auras: Bloodthirsty (radius 1) makes all enemies inside grant combat advantage; and Drake Fervor (radius 3) gives drake allies inside a +2 bonus to damage and to saves.

  Melech himself fights with a scimitar, which can be used for basic attacks or Fiendish Strikes that allow him to shift 2 squares before or after the attack, and, if made with combat advantage, daze for a turn. He can also hurl flame to strike at range, dealing fire damage. Infernal Wrath works as normal for him.

  Final Impressions

  I think it’s a bit unfortunate that the Fell Court lives up to the bad reputation tieflings have, but it does give heroic PC tieflings an extra reason to fight them. The first time I read this entry, I thought it was odd that they went into that much detail about their recruitment process, but it’s a perfect ready-made story hook to get one of those heroic PC tieflings involved with them.

  Any fight against Fell Court members should absolutely include a couple of fell drakes at least. Another thing I hadn’t noticed until now is how central drakes are to their whole flavor - every stat block here has some interaction with drake allies. A “final battle” encounter against Melech, an Underboss, a Hellmage and a troop of drakes will have the latter punch above their weight class with bonuses to AC, damage, saves, and regeneration.

• Dec 26, 2022

  Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Dythan's Legion

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  This is another setting-specific group.

  The Lore

  Dythan’s Legion is a large all-dragonborn military organization. As the name implies, their leader is Legatus Dythan, an ambitious and charismatic leader who dreams of seeing Arkhosia restored to its ancient glory, presumably with him at the top.

  The Legion uses the same ranks and organization as the ancient armies of Arkhosia, and numbers about 500 members in total, usually operating in platoons of 20 to 24 people. These are supported by war-trained drakes and behemoths, and sometimes even by salvaged Arkhosian battle constructs.

  Upon admission into the Legion, every member is branded with a symbol that used to be a Turathi slave marking. Dythan’s ancestors in the Drakerider clan used to live in the border between Arkhosia and Bael Turath, and were taken captive in a Turathi raid. After they were freed or escaped their enslavement, they took the mark for their own as a reminder of what Arkhosia was fighting against, and passed it onto their descendants. Dythan himself bears such a mark, and makes sure his soldiers remember as he does.

  Though the Legion usually operates far south of the Vale, a contingent of them arrived here recently looking for ruins of Arkhosian outposts that are said to have been here back in the old days. One of them, Rolaz-Gaar, is somewhere along the shores of Lake Nen (in the NE corner of the Vale). Another might be somewhere beneath the Ogrefist Hills near the Vale’s western border. The Legion detachments concentrate in these two locations.

  Despite being fairly small when compared to those ancient imperial armies, the Legion is still a large force by the standards of our narrative present, and its members are well-trained and well-equipped professionals. They’re not interested in conquering the Vale, but they’re unlikely to be very nice to anyone who stands in the way of their search. It’s unclear from the text whether Dythan himself is in the Vale at the moment. If the GM judges the ruins contain something really important, then he’s likely to be here overseeing the searches personally. If he’s not, a sufficient challenge to the Legion’s operations in the area might result in him appearing with reinforcements.

  The Numbers

  The actual people who make up the legion are all dragonborn, and their elite training places them as early Paragon threats. We also get stats for their salvaged Arkhosian siege towers, and for the Liondrakes they use as mounts. They use other drakes and behemoths in various roles, but those use the base stats for these creatures, perhaps leveled-up to match their handlers.

  As dragonborn, all members of Dythan’s Legion can use Dragon Breath, which like the PC version is an encounter power that lets them breathe energy in a Close Burst 3 vs. Reflex. The damage type varies per stat block, and can be changed to match specific individuals. They also have Speed 6, and the non-minions have the PC trait that gives them +1 to hit while bloodied.

  Alignment-wise, every dragonborn here including Dythan has the Evil alignment, which paints us an interesting picture combined with the slave marking story in the Lore section. You could perhaps see them as greedy and ruthless imperialists who are nevertheless vehemently against slavery in all its forms. It would also be relatively easy to say they focus on the less-bad parts of Arkhosia’s past and make them Unaligned. Making them actively heroic is more of a stretch, I feel, and would require bigger changes to their background.

  Like we did with the Daggerburg goblins, we’ll look at them in order of increasing level.

  Dythan’s Legion Warrior

  The rank and file of the Legion is made up of these veteran soldiers. They’re Level 10 Minion Skirmishers wearing leather armor and carrying heavy shields. They fight with spears in melee, and can throw javelins at range.

  Their Phalanx Formation trait gives them an extra +1 AC per adjacent ally, up to a maximum of +4. This would be a big no-no on a regular monster (remember MM1 hobgoblins?) but it’s OK to have on a minion since you only need to hit them once.

  The Spear Attack deals a bit of extra damage when they have combat advantage, and allows the warrior to shift 1 square before or after the attack. The Javelin is a standard ranged attack. Their breath is lightning.

  PCs are unlikely to meet legionnaires in numbers smaller than a platoon, and this stat block helps fill out those numbers without making the encounter impossible. They can be easily made into regulars if you need more powerful infantry for an encounter.

  Dythan’s Legion Archer

  These are battlefield archers, so they’re trained to put a lot of arrows into a group of clustered targets. They’re Level 10 Artillery with 84 HP. The short sword and Longbow basic attacks are solid, with the latter being the better option. They can also fire an Arrow Volley (recharge 4+) that targets enemies in an Area Burst 1 within 20 squares and does light physical damage to each one it hits.

  Their dragon breath deals cold damage and also pushes 1 square on a hit, making it a good “keep-away” emergency power.

  Dythan’s Legion Vanguard

  Vanguards march into battle at the front of the Legion’s infantry formations, engaging the enemy directly to give space for the mobile Warriors to flank them. They’re Level 11 Soldiers with 111 HP, wear plate, and carry swords and heavy shields.

  They have the same Phalanx Formation trait as the Warriors, which means they punch above far above their weight as far as AC is concerned. If you can’t isolate them from their allies, hit them in the non-armor defenses!

  Their basic Longsword attack marks for a turn on a hit, and they can use minor actions to shield bash marked targets. This does no damage, but dazes for a turn. Vanguard’s Mark (recharge when first bloodied) allows them to mark a target that’s up to 5 squares away with a minor action. If the marked target doesn’t end their next turn adjacent to the vanguard, the vanguard can charge it as a free action that doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. This makes the power an excellent way to hit the PC’s squishies.

  Their Dragon Breath does poison damage.

  Dythan’s Legion Dragoon

  Real-world dragoons were so named because they were cavalry that carried firearms (so their weapons “spat fire”). The dragoons of Dythan’s Legion got this name from the fact that they ride the next best thing to an actual dragon.

  Dragoons are Level 12 Controllers with the Leader keyword and 119 HP. They wear leather like the infantry, and carry lances into combat. Most of their abilities are related to mounted combat. The Masterful Rider trait negates 1 square of all forced movement imposed upon them if they’re mounted; the Incensed Mount reaction allows their mount to make a free basic attack against an enemy who damages the rider; and even their basic lance attack knocks prone on a hit if the dragoon is mounted.

  Their Battlefield Mastery power (recharge 4+) is a minor action that allows every ally in a Close Burst 2 to shift 1 square. And yeah, the mount is an ally. Their Dragon Breath does acid damage.

  Dragoons are quite dangerous when mounted! Canny PCs will seek to knock them down and prevent them from remounting again.

  Liondrake

  Captured young in the distant deserts of the south, these Large Natural Beasts are the mount of choice for Dythan’s Dragoons. They look a lot like dragons, and have many of the same attacks, but are not sapient and lack breath weapons. The specimen statted up here has been trained as a war mount and is a Level 12 Skirmisher with 122 HP. It has a ground speed of 7, a fly speed of 10, and Darkvision.

  The drake’s Fierce Mount trait gives both it and its rider a +4 bonus to defenses against opportunity attacks. It has both a bite and a claw as basic attacks, and can perform Battle Leaps that allow it to shift up to 4 squares and then either bite once or claw twice. It has a Terrifying Roar encounter power that is kinda like dragon breath, targeting a Close Blast 5, doing thunder damage, and dazing (save ends).

  Liondrakes are dangerous even on their own, but they synergize very well with Dragoons. They also make great mounts for other kinds of paragon-tier “rider” opponents.

  Arkhosian Siege Tower

  

  These are ancient constructs built by Arkhosia and salvaged by the Legion. They were either brought to the vale from the South, or salvaged from local Arkhosian ruins depending on how you want to play it in your campaign. They are 30-foot tall and 15-foot wide stone towers that move on 10-foot tall granite rollers.

  A tower can transport troops in its two internal floors, allowing them to disembark on enemy battlements. On top of it is a sculpted dragon head that can swivel in a 360-degree arc and shoot fireballs at enemies. Being a construct, the tower is capable of driving and shooting by itself, though if it gets too damaged its occupants will dearly feel the lack of internal safety equipment.

  Arkosian Siege Towers are Huge Natural Animates with the Construct keyword and 336 HP. They’re immune to charm, disease, and poison, and have Resist 15 to all damage originating from outside themselves. The rest of their stat block really stretches the format in an attempt to model all they can do, starting with a trio of very interesting traits:

  All-Around Vision means they don’t grant combat advantage when flanked; Juggernaut means it ignores difficult terrain and doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks, but it also can’t squeeze, make OAs, or grab creatures. Living Building has a list of effects as long as my arm:

  • The tower can occupy other creature’s spaces, and other creatures can end their movement in its spaces. That’s rules-talk for “it can fit people inside itself”. When it moves, creatures inside move along with it as if it was a vehicle.

  • The tower is 30 feet tall and has two internal 15-foot tall levels. The Athletics DC for climbing it from the outside is 20.

  • The lower level has two iron double doors (break DC 25) that it can open and close as a free action. When the doors are closed, there is no line of sight or effect between the inside and outside.

  • The upper level has arrow slits that allow occupants to shoot outside. It’s linked to the lower level by 2 ladders.

  Finally, the Rough Ride trait models how damage impacts the tower. While bloodied, the tower is slowed and inflicts a -2 penalty to attacks on all its occupants.

  As a construct, the tower has two attacks. The Dragon’s Head shoots fireballs (Area 1 within 20) that deal immediate and ongoing fire damage, half on a miss. And it can Crush with its move action, which allows it to make attacks against any creatures whose spaces it enters during the move.

  When the tower drops to 0 HP, it Collapses, making an attack vs. the Reflex of every occupant that deals heavy damage and knocks them prone on a hit. The tower’s space becomes difficult terrain (a giant pile of rubble!).

  The stats make no mention of a disembarking ramp on the second level, but it’s easy to say there is one there. It’d be as sturdy as the ground floor doors, and controlled in the same way.

  The best way to fight a siege tower is from inside, where you can bypass its DR and “only” have to contend with its occupants. These are likely to be a combination of vanguards and archers.

  Legatus Dythan

  Dythan is big and imposing even for a Dragonborn. He wears an ornate suit of plate adorned with Arkhosian heraldic devices done in gold inlay. He’s not just a competent general, but an extremely skilled combatant as well.

  Dythan is a Level 15 Elite Soldier with 290 HP and the Leader keyword. He wears his nifty armor suit and carries a shield, a sword and a brace of javelins into battle. He has the same Phalanx Formation trait as his vanguards, and projects a Last Stand aura (5) that gives allies inside a +2 bonus to damage while they’re bloodied. He also gains at +2 to hit while bloodied himself, instead of the usual +1 for dragonborn.

  Dythan might be a Soldier but he doesn’t mark anyone. Instead he wants the PCs to mark him! His longsword deals bonus damage if the target is marking Dythan or has an active defender aura. If an enemy marks an ally within 5 squares of Dythan, he can use Dythan’s Challenge to transfer the mark to himself.

  As a minor action he can perform a Shield Bash, which damages, pushes 1 square, and allows the legate to shift 1 square to follow. This is a full attack with standard damage because he’s an elite. Those javelins are Shock Javelins that deal lightning damage. And finally, his Dragon Breath is the traditional fire.

  Final Impressions

  I really like Dythan’s Legion. They’re a major threat compared to almost everything else in the Vale, but they’re focused on doing their own thing and have no reason to be immediately hostile to the PCs.

  Depending on how villainous you want to make them, they might make a good late-game antagonist faction when they find those ancient ruins and start bringing in their full numbers to the Vale looking to conquer it and make it their new base of operations. They might also work as uneasy allies against other Vale-wide threats, like a full-scale Bloodspear invasion or one of the big dragons.

• Dec 22, 2022

  Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Dark Drake of the Moon Hills

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Another original monster!

  The Lore

  The largest human settlement in the Vale in our narrative present is the city of Fallcrest, which is more or less exactly in its center and connected by roads to the other major towns. It’s a big point of light, but the darkness starts just beyond it. Those roads are dangerous, and even the areas just outside the city’s walls contain their own threats.

  Take the Moon Hills, for example, which are just to the south of the city. On the blackest of nights, a fearsome beast is said to roam the hills and moors of that region, hunting the unwary. No one has ever seen the Dark Drake and lived to tell the tale - its existence is only known by the gruesome remains it leaves behind.

  The Dark Drake is in some ways Fallcrest’s pet monster, as it features in many stories told in taverns or to children. These tales attribute all sorts of weird abilities to it, and also talk about its extensive brood. These “lesser” drakes have been frequently spotted in the area, and they’re also clearly more dangerous and malignant than simple natural animals, but the Dark Drake itself has remained elusive for decades, evading even experienced monster hunters. Serious scholars dismiss it as just a myth. It doesn’t help that opportunists from Fallcrest sometimes stage hoaxes to make a buck or cover up a more mundane murder. Nevertheless, these smaller drakes and hoaxes can’t explain all the bodies found on the Moon Hills.

  The Numbers

  The entries below assume that the Drake does indeed exist, and that it has some connection to its “brood”. You are likely to find them together. They’re all Natural Beasts with the Reptile keyword. As a reminder, “Natural” only means it’s native to the middle world, and “Beast” means it looks and behaves like an animal. We’re still dealing with a weird mystical creature here.

  Dark Drake of the Moon Hills

  The Drake itself is Large, and a Level 8 Elite Lurker with 148 HP. That’s a hell of a thing to meet just outside the Vale’s premier “starting town”. It has Darkvision and a speed of 6. Its basic Bite is quite strong for a lurker, and it can use Double Attack to bite twice in an action. Instead of biting, it can use the Ghost Drake ability to gain insubstantial and phasing for a turn, move its speed, and then become invisible until the end of the encounter or until after it makes an attack.

  Being invisible allows the Dark Drake to use its Unseen Killer power, a melee attack that targets Will and does heavy psychic damage - about double that of a bite. It can also use its Terrible Aspect as a weapon, a minor-action melee attack against Will that pushes the target 1 square and immobilizes them for a turn. This recharges whenever the drake hits with any of its other attacks.

  The Dark Drake can sustain the same damage output whether it decides to stand and fight or to employ the more lurkerish tactic of alternating Ghost Drake and Unseen Killer. The latter is still a bit better since as a lurker its defenses and HP are a bit low for its level.

  Hellghost Dark Drake

  One of the two “dark brood” stat blocks we get in this entry. Hellghosts are Large Natural Beasts and Level 6 Brutes with 85 HP. It has Darkvision, a Speed of 8, and Fire Resistance 5. It projects an aura of Ghostfire Radiance (1) that makes creatures inside Vulnerable 5 to fire. I wonder how that interacts with a tiefling’s natural resistance.

  The creature uses a Fiery Bite as its basic attack, which deals heavy fire damage even before you account for the aura. Once per encounter it can use Ghostfire Rampage, which is a standard “trample” ability: the drake moves its speed and can cross enemy spaces. Every time it does so, it makes an attack against that enemy. On a hit, it deals fire damage, knocks prone, and inflicts ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends).

  Also once per encounter, when the drake is immobilized, restrained, or stunned, it can use Pulsing Ghostfire to attack a Close Burst 2. On a hit it deals fire damage and knocks the target prone, on a miss it still deals half damage.

  Adderbrood Dark Drake

  This one is highly venomous. It’s a Medium Natural Beast, and a Level 7 Skirmisher with 79 HP. Its bite deals poison damage and slows for a turn. It can attack these slowed targets with a Venomous Strike that deals the same amount of poison damage and inflicts ongoing poison damage (save ends). After the first failed save, the victim also becomes immobilized. A successful save clears both this and the ongoing damage.

  Adder’s Mobility ensures that enemies slowed or immobilized by the drake cannot make opportunity attacks against it, and that the drake can enter their spaces. So it can, say, bite a defender and move through them to reach the squishies.

  Final Impression

  The Drake’s lore sounds a bit commonplace at first, and its stats while mechanically interesting are far from the most powerful thing we’ll see even in this book… but the full impact of it all hits when you look at a map of the Nentir Vale.

  If you’re starting a campaign in the Nentir Vale, there’s a very high chance that Fallcrest will be your PC’s starting home base. It’s big enough to offer all the standard services, and it’s centrally located so they have plenty of choice of where to adventure. The only reason not to start here is if the GM has a more specific campaign or module in mind.

  And the Moon Hills are right beside it, to the south. The road connecting Fallcrest and the Harkenwold goes through them! If you still hold any notion of D&D being “like a MMO” that demands every fight be “fair” after reading this far, this is where you drop them. A MMO would surround the starting town with low-level trash enemies you can grind for levels. This book puts a level 8 elite newbie-killer where those would be.

  If deployed by a cruel GM against Level 1-2 players, the Drake is a terrifying threat they must escape from. It can kill a PC in one round of attacks no matter which approach it chooses. Against a party of experienced monster hunters who are closer to it in level, you’ll want to deploy the Drake alongside some of its brood to make a proper boss fight.

• Dec 20, 2022

  Let's Read Threats to the Nentir Vale: Daggerburg Goblins

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Goblins have always been in the game, as we already know. This is a specific group of them operating in the southern regions of the Vale.

  The Lore

  Between the Witchlight Fens and the Harken Forest, roughly on the south-central region of the Vale, there is a hidden fort named Daggerburg. It belongs to a large band of goblin brigands, who ride out of it to raid and pillage the surrounding area. Their operation is quite successful because they’re far away from the territories of more powerful monsters, and because their very diverse membership has been extensively trained in guerrilla tactics by their leader Delderosh.

  The band also includes a number of remarkable individuals beyond Delderosh himself. There’s Kabo Bomble, a massive bruiser nearly twice the size of a typical goblin; and there are the Mistmane Bugbears, a cult who trains in a fighting style that combines unarmed combat and necromantic magic.

  Delderosh really hates enemy spellcasters and likes collecting their eyeballs as trophies. He likes spellcasters just fine when they’re working for him, though, which is why he’s allied to the necromancer Gokof (from the Cadaver Collector entry) and has several war mages on his payroll.

  The Daggerburg goblins have become more daring of late, and have been pushing deeper into the Harkenwold region north of the Harken forest, even going so far as to raid settlements. However they haven’t yet worked up the courage to strike at the Woodsinger elves who also live in the same region.

  The Numbers

  The Daggerburg gang tends to be a cut above your standard MM/MV goblins, their levels covering the latter half of the Heroic Tier instead of the earlier one. Most of them also have at least one of the following signature abilities representing their training:

  Combat Adept gives them a +1d10 damage bonus against enemies who haven’t yet acted this combat. Anyone with this trait really likes rolling high for initiative.

  Daggerburg Tactics replaces the generic Goblin Tactics trait. When a creature with this is missed by a melee attack, the attacker grants combat advantage to them in this next turn.

  Battle Worg

  The Daggerburg goblins raise a distinctive breed of giant wolf for use as mounts in battle. Despite being called “battle worgs”, they’re not sapient like standard worgs, and are a little weaker. Their mechanics are still similar, though.

  Battle Worgs are Large Natural Magical Beasts and Level 5 Brutes with 78 HP and a speed of 8. Their Frigthful Growls acts as an aura (1) that inflicts a -1 to-hit penalty on enemies caught inside. Their mount trait is Slavering Lunge, which lets the worg move half its speed as a free action when their rider rolls initiative. Their reach 1 Bite damages and inflicts ongoing 5 damage (save ends).

  A lot of the people who could use battle worgs as mounts in this entry are higher level than them, but it’s a simple enough task to level up the worgs to match their riders if you want them to last longer in the fight.

  Daggerburg Ruffian

  An experienced raider, this goblin is a Level 4 Soldier with 58 HP and a speed of 5. It’s armored in mail, wields a light shield and spear combo in melee, and a light crossbow for ranged combat. It has both Combat Adept and Daggerburg Tactics.

  The spear and crossbow are used in basic attacks, and the spear can also trip up an enemy, doing the same damage as a basic attack and knocking the target prone.

  Ruffians are perfect riders for the battle worgs we just saw.

  Daggerburg Theurge

  Theurges seem to be goblin spellcasters with a witchy theme. They’re Level 5 Controllers with 64 HP and both signature traits. They’re listed as Medium, but should be Small instead.

  They fight in melee with spiked clubs, and once per encounter they can call down a Brimstone Rain that works as an area burst 2 attack. It deals immediate and ongoing fire damage (save ends), half on a miss.

  Their most fun power, however, is the at-will Slimy Transformation. Ranged 5 vs. Fortitude, does no damage, but turns the target into a frog (save ends)! This is a mundane Tiny frog, not a giant variety. Frogged targets are considered slowed, and can’t use powers - not even basic attacks. The only limitation here is that the theurge can’t cast this on someone who’s already transformed by it.

  So yeah, they are sure to open up with Brimstone Rain and then stay away applying the Transformation to as many PCs as possible while their buddies do the actual damage.

  Daggerburg War Mage

  Another mage, this one a more straighforward hobgoblin elemental adept. It’s Level 6 Artillery with 58 HP. They have Combat Adept but not Daggerburg Tactics.

  War mages fight with their staffs, which also work as implements. At range they can hit you with an at-will Stabbing Flame that does immediate and ongoing fire damage, or with a recharge 5+ Icy Stream that does cold damage and slides the target 3 squares.

  Daggerburg Slayer

  A beefy hobgoblin with a big axe. It’s a Level 6 Brute with 85 HP. It has Combat Adept but not Daggerburg Tactics. Their greataxe is their sole attack, but it has some riders: it deals +5 damage while the slayer is bloodied, and it deals another +5 damage if the strike bloodies the target.

  Once per encounter the slayer can use its Hobgoblin Resilience to immediately roll a save against an (save ends) effect as a reaction.

  Daggerburg Zealot

  A bugbear trained with the glaive. Not one of the Mistmanes, those are below. Zealots are Level 7 Skirmishers with 78 HP. They have Combat Adept.

  The glaive is a solid Reach 2 basic attack and their Mobile Attack ability allows them to shift half their speed and make a glaive attack at any point during the movement. Once per encounter, when an enemy within 5 squares of the zealot attacks one of its allies, the zealot can use Dagerburg Zealotry shift up to 5 squares and hit the attacker with its glaive as a reaction.

  A very mobile combatant with a reach weapon, who will use both of these things to get at the party’s back lines and mess up their squishies.

  Daggerburg Captain

  This hobgoblin officer probably serves directly under Delderosh. It’s a Level 7 Soldier (Leader) with 78 HP. The captain is clad in mail and wields a bastard sword and a shield.

  The bastard sword makes attacks that damage and mark for a turn. While the mark persists, the target also grants combat advantage. Once per encounter, and once again after it’s first bloodied, the captain can yell Follow Me! and charge an enemy. Two allies within 5 squares of its starting position can then make a free charge against different enemies.

  The captain has none of the signature traits from the start of this section. Instead, it has an improved version of Hobgoblin Resilience named Daggerburg Resilience, which works the same but can be applied either to the captain or to an ally within 5 squares of it.

  Daggerburg Reaper

  A hobgoblin who specializes in the use of the scythe. It’s a Level 7 Lurker with 64 HP. The scythe can make decent basic attacks, and once per encounter the reaper can use a Blinding Sweep that targets a Close Burst 1, deals heavy damage, and blinds for a turn on a hit. A miss does half damage.

  As a move action, the reaper can Stalk, which allows it to shift 1 square and then move its speed. If it ends in a space at least three squares from any other creatures, it becomes invisible until the start of its next turn or until it makes an attack.

  These abilities are interesting but the reaper has no powers that specifically exploit them. It’s a very skirmishery lurker.

  Mistmane Bugbear

  These bugbear adepts received their name from the constant misty aura they project, which disrupts teleportation and can confuse enemies’ minds. Their claws are laced with necromantic energy. They’re Large Natural Humanoids and Level 8 Elite Soldiers with 172 HP.

  They have Combat Adept, and their Arcane Mist aura (2) prevents creatures from teleporting as mentioned above. Their basic attack is a Rake with their claws, which damages and marks for a turn. If a marked enemy makes an attack that doesn’t target the bugbear, they take 5 necrotic damage. As elites, they can use this for Double Attacks.

  Once per encounter as a minor action they can use the Bewildering Mist ability, attacking the Will of every enemy in a Close Burst 1. A hit dazes the target for a turn.

  Mistmanes are excellent front-line fighters, able to keep two PCs marked at once.

  Kabo Bomble

  One of the Daggerburg gang’s champions, Kabo Bomble is a giant of a goblin, twice as tall as the typical member of the species. This puts him well into Medium size. He fights with a morningstar in one hand and a spiked gauntlet in the other. Kabo is a Level 9 Brute with 116 HP. He has both Combat Adept and Daggerburg Tactics.

  Kabo’s morningstar and gauntlet do about the same damage, with the first being a basic attack and the second targetting Reflex and dazing for a turn on a critical hit.

  Twice per encounter, Kabo can use a Furious Attack ability to attack with both weapons in a single action. If both hit the same target, it is dazed for a turn.

  Once per encounter, Kabo Bomble can Roar as a minor action, attacking the Will of all enemies in a Close Burst 2 and inflicting a -2 defense penalty on a hit (save ends).

  Warlord Delderosh

  

  Delderosh is the leader of the Daggerburg Goblins, and is likely to be found leading their biggest raids or at the center of Daggerburg itself surrounded by his personal guard. This hobgoblin is a Level 10 Skirmisher (Leader) with 200 HP.

  Delderosh’s custom traits are Ambush Leader, which gives a +5 to the Initiative rolls of every ally within 5 squares of him at the start of the fight; and Combat Advantage, which gives him some bonus damage when he has that against a target.

  Delderosh carries a spear for fighting in melee and a shortbow for ranged attacks. The spear attack allows him to shift 1 square as an effect and it can be used to Skewer (recharge 5+), which deals the same damage as a basic attack and inflicts ongoing 10 damage (save ends). As an effect, it also makes the target grant combat advantage for a turn.

  Finally, he has the same Daggerburg Resilience reaction power as the Captains working under him.

  The warlord is depicted riding a battle worg here and he would certainly benefit from the thing’s traits, but you’ll likely need to increase the level of his personal mount from the base 5. Everyone else in the encounter where he appears should have Combat Adept to maximize the benefit they get from his initiative bonus.

  Final Impressions

  The Daggerburg goblins don’t differ much in concept from the “generic” band of goblin brigands, but they’re a very nice worked example of the trope, with several memorable named NPCs. They also show us how to stretch classic goblinoids into a threat that can keep PCs occupied for the whole of the heroic tier.

  The band might get involved in factional conflicts with the Iron Circle, a foreign mercenary army that has been moving into Harkenwold. And the druids of Harken’s Heart would be among the groups they avoid. Both of these get their own entries later on.

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