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• May 13, 2023

  Let's Read Neverwinter: Pack Outcast

  

  This is the other half of the barbarian plotline!

  The Gray Wolf are another Uthgardt tribe. They share a lot of the same base culture, but also have several important differences. Namely, they’re werewolves! The condition has been with them since they were Netherese refugees, and by now it’s quite well-integrated into their culture. Until very recently, they behaved like your typical Uthgardt tribe: violent, yes, but turning that capacity for violence only towards those who invaded their territory.

  This changed with the latest generation of leaders, which have been taking the tribe in a more aggressive direction. They’ve become raiders, killing for material gain and sometimes even for sport. This got worse when a bunch of mysterious shadow-people approached those leaders and filled their heads with dreams of glory and of becoming part of a reborn ancient empire. The Grey Wolf have stopped fighting for themselves and have begun fighting for lost Netheril. They’ve kind of become a neo-fascist gang.

  A PC with this theme is a member of the Grey Wolves who took a stand against this early in the process, and was exiled. Rumors have reached them that the leaders of the Grey Wolves have switched to executing dissidents, and this has driven the PC to act. Their goal is now to drive the shadows of Netheril from the region and cleanse the tribe of their influence, getting them back on the right track. They see the other PCs as a “temporary pack” that will help them achieve this goal. Lone wolves are a myth, after all.

  The Pack Outcast can belong to any class. The Gray Wolves also dislike arcane magic, but there was no one around to prevent the outcast from learning it if they so choose. Still, melee weapon users are going to benefit much more from it.

  Most Grey Wolves are either humans or shifters.

  Features

  You’re a werewolf!

  At level 1, you gain Body of the Wolf. This is an at-will power that lets you turn into a wolf (or back) with a minor action. When you transform, you can also shift 1 square. The character retains their stats, and gains a +1 bonus to Speed. All equipment melds into their form and provides its passive benefits (unless it’s a shield). The character can’t use item powers or access containers, but gains a wolf bite attack and becomes proficient with it. This counts as a melee weapon with a +3 proficiency bonus, 1d8 base damage, and the same magical enhancement as the character’s primary weapon.

  This bite is much better than the one the Dead Rat Deserter gets at level 10! Its main advantage is counting as a magical melee weapon instead of being a specific power. This lets the PC use any of their weapon powers while in wolf form, meaning anyone that relies on this type of power benefits from it. This means all melee martials both from the PHBs and from Essentials material, as well as characters like wardens, barbarians, paladins, and even the Warpriest (Essentials cleric).

  The bite is still useless for characters who rely on implements, and the book doesn’t say anything specific about whether implements work while melded to the animal form. A generous GM might interpret “You continue to gain the benefits of the equipment you wear” to say that they do work, giving you a spellcasting wolf.

  Starting at level 5, enemies adjacent to you grant combat advantage to you and to all allies who are also adjacent to those enemies. You don’t need to be in a flanking position, any adjacent space will do. Also, you get CA even if you’re the only PC adjacent to the enemy. This is super useful for melee combatants.

  At level 10, you gain a +2 power bonus to Athletics and Intimidate, which is kinda underwhelming after the two other skills but can still be useful.

  Optional Powers

  You can get even more werewolf-y!

  Bite of the Wolf is a level 2 encounter power that can be used when you hit an enemy that grants combat advantage to you with a melee attack. This knocks the enemy prone. Despite the name, you don’t need to be in wolf form to use it. And remember that after level 5 every adjacent enemy will grant you CA.

  Blood of the Wolf is a level 6 daily power that can be activated with a minor action and gives you regeneration equal to (1 + CON Mod) while you’re bloodied. Like a werewolf’s regeneration, it shuts down for a turn if you’re damaged by silver.

  Soul of the Wolf is a level 10 daily power that lets you assume a hybrid form. You retain all of your equipment, armor and weapons, and can use them normally. You also gain the same bite attack as in the level 1 power, temporary HP equal to (10 + CON Mod), and a +2 power bonus to Speed, Fortitude, Athletics, Intimidate, and damage!

  Impressions

  If there’s a Dead Rat Deserter in the party, they’re going to spend most of their time looking with envy at the Pack Outcast. This is a theme that greatly boosts melee weapon users and has a spectacular level 10 power. Even if such a character already has something equivalent to one of its features and powers, they’re unlikely to have all of them, so there’s something here for everyone. Plus, you get to say you’re a werewolf!

  The Pack Outcast and the Uthgardt Barbarian are going to get along like a house on fire, and having both in the same party will let you “speedrun” the first couple of milestones of the barbarian investigation plotline. And just like that other theme, this one can also be used for multiple PCs without any convoluted explanations. An all-Pack Outcast game is a Werewolf: The Forsaken campaign using 4e rules.

• May 11, 2023

  Let's Read Neverwinter: Uthgardt Barbarian

  

  The Uthgardt are the barbarians of this Frozen North, more Conan-like than Viking-like. They’re one of the many people descended from the citizens of the human empire of Netheril, which scattered in a lot of different directions when that empire fell overnight. The ancestors of the Uthgardt stayed in the region when one of the Netherese flying islands fell here, and learned how to live off the land. They take their name from Uthgar, a mythical ancestor who was so badass he ascended to godhood and became one of the exarchs of Tempus, the FR god of war. There are many Uthgardt tribes today, each one named after a different kind of animal they admire and try to emulate. All of them venerate Uthgar along with a series of tribe-specific primal spirits, and don’t pay much attention to other gods.

  A PC with this background belongs to the Thunderbeast tribe, who lives in the High Forest way to the east of our regional map. A bit before the campaign started, the tribe engaged in their annual custom of the Runemeet, when all of them travel to their ancestral holy site to worship the spirits and perform several important rites. The Thunderbeast’s site is a burial mound in Neverwinter Wood, the resting place of one of Uthgar’s companions. The skeleton of a great thunderbeast (which I guess is a type of dinosaur?) rests atop this mound.

  Or at least it used to. This year, the tribe found the mound dug up - whoever did it carted off both the skeleton and the contents of the tomb beneath. The PC was supposed to perform a sacred hunt as their coming-of-age ceremony, but the elders decide to change their plans and charge the PC with a different quest: find out who did this, make them pay, and restore the mound.

  The tribe returns home, but the PC stays to await the return of the Grey Wolf tribe, who lives nearby and who left for their own Runemeet elsewhere. They should know who the desecrators are… and if it turns out they are the desecrators, then the PC has another target for their hunt.

  The Uthgardt disdain arcane magic, so most Uthgardt PCs will belong to martial, divine, or primal classes. Still, there are no hard restrictions and you could be a secret arcanist if you want added complications. The same goes for characters who worship anyone other than Uthgar and the primal spirits.

  Similarly, Thunderbeast Uthgardt are all human, and you need a good reason to be something else (i.e, you or one of your parents was adopted into the tribe).

  Features

  At Level 1, they gain the Thunderbeast Stomp encounter power. Stomping is a minor action, and the resulting shockwaves act as an aura (2) that prevents enemies inside from making opportunity attacks. It lasts for a turn, which is enough to let the character run right past a defender line and charge the enemy squishies.

  At level 5, the PC gains a +4 to Perception checks made to find tracks, and a +4 to Insight when dealing with beasts and other Uthgardt. The bonuses are specific, but also untyped, which is good.

  At level 10, the character’s reputation as a barbarian hero gives them a +3 power bonus to Intimidate.

  Utility Powers

  These powers center on communion with primal spirits.

  Spiritual Guidance is a level 2 daily power that lets the PC reroll a Nature, Religion, or History check they dislike with a +5 bonus. The spirits of the ancestors chime in to help you.

  Strength of the Beast is a level 6 daily power that gives the PC a +4 power bonus to Athletics and Strength checks until the end of the encounter. Good for skill challenges or feats of strength during combat.

  Spirit Swarm is a level 10 power that directly summons the PC’s ancestor spirits to help in combat. This minor action creates a zone in a Close Burst 2. Enemies inside the zone cannot regain HP or gain temporary HP. Allies who enter or end their turns in the zone gain 5 temporary HP.

  Impressions

  This theme can make characters of any class feel like Barbarians, and any actual Barbarians will be Barbarier-than-thou. There’s little to aid in combat here, but the skill bonuses will go a long way in the appropriate campaign.

  Looks like the typical Uthgardt has a hard time relating peacefully to people outside their culture, so a PC in a mixed party is a somewhat atypical individual by definition. Multiple PCs could easily take it in the same party with the simple explanation that the tribe left behind a team instead of an individual. A party where everyone has this theme would be extremely uninterested in the fate of Neverwinter, and would single-mindedly pursue their quest.

• May 9, 2023

  Let's Read Neverwinter: Iliyanbruen Guardian

  

  Okay, so back in Olden Times there was an elven empire named Illefarn that reached as far as the North. Over the course of history this empire broke up into three successor states. The one that covered our current region of interest was named Iliyanbruen. This is important because if you get the two confused the surviving eladrin of Iliyanbruen will tut-tut at you.

  You see, when Netheril’s magic winked out, one of their floating islands fell on the Neverwinter Wood. This was a disaster for both the humans living on the island and the nation of Iliyanbruen that happened to be beneath it. Many of its inhabitants decided to call it quits and move to Evermeet, which means more or less leaving the world behind for good. Others decided to try and preserve their culture, and enacted a ritual to move their capital city of Shandarar to the Feywild.

  Their new home was anything but safe, though, as a lot of the same beings who had driven the original elves away from the Feywild at the dawn of time were still there and they didn’t like the arrival of these invaders one bit. After a period of strife, though, the elves managed to re-establish their nation there.

  Iliyanbruen still exists in the modern day, its borders a ways away from the place where Shandarar used to be. With the coming of the Spellplague, the world and the Feywild began to enter in conjunction, which made the crossing once again possible. After a lengthy battle to drive a covey of hags away from Shandarar, the eladrin managed to send scouts and explorers though to the world.

  As a side note, I don’t know if the people of Iliyanbruen became eladrin after millennia of living in the Feywild or if they were already a type of elf that got recast as eladrin when the editions changed. We’ll be looking into some of those later.

  Anyway, upon arriving at the world, the eladrin of Iliyanbruen were horrified to learn the old ruins of their empire were not only in a state of disrepair but had also been looted and plundered. They were quite mad about it. You leave your stuff lying around for a mere three thousand years and these uppity mortals think they can come and take it. What an outrage!

  The eladrin of New Shandarar began debating what to do and soon fell into two distinct camps. One faction wants to invade the world in force and rain vengeance upon anyone who lingers near the ruins of Iliyanbruen (i.e, everyone in our regional map). The other also wants to restore the old cities to their glory, but only wants to take revenge on the people directly responsible for the thefts. This does require learning who these people are.

  The PC is one of the investigators responsible for finding this out. They helped retake Sharandar from the hags, were among the first to arrive on the world, and decided to make it their home as they try to reconstruct the history of the ruins and find the thieves. They belong to the moderate faction, and as the campaign starts they’re getting desperate for results because the firebrands back home are about to win the debate. They need concrete results, and fast, if the world is to avoid an eladrin invasion.

  Even worse, the main obstacle to their investigation isn’t the ludicrously large time scale. No, it seems there’s someone out there actively trying to prevent eladrin investigators from finding anything out, usually by murdering them. It’s dangerous to go alone.

  This theme is open to eladrin PCs of any class. Not all inhabitants of modern Iliyanbruen are eladrin, but all of the features and powers here are aimed at powering up their Fey Step.

  Features

  At level 1, PC can take one adjacent ally with them when they use Fey Step. The ally also appears adjacent to the PC.

  At level 5, they gain a +2 power bonus to History and Nature checks.

  At level 10, they can use Fey Step as a minor action instead of a move action.

  Optional Powers

  Most of these are yet more teleport-related power-ups.

  Blink Away is a level 2 encounter power that lets the PC teleport 2 squares as a reaction to an enemy ending their turn adjacent to the PC.

  Evasive Step is a level 6 daily power that lets then use Fey Step as an interrupt if an enemy attacks them while Fey Step is unexpended.

  Feywild Will is a level 10 daily power that gives the PC a +2 power bonus to Will and to saving throws until the end of the encounter. Whenever the PC succeeds at a save while this is active, they gain 5 + WIS Modifier temporary HP.

  Impressions

  Peeking ahead a bit I see Forgotten Realms’ Moon and Sun elves are eladrin variants in 4e. I remember they were both huge assholes, so it’s not a surprise the eladrin of Iliyanbruen are just as unpleasant even if they’re only their distant relatives.

  Most other PCs would be very interested in preventing an invasion from Iliyanbruen from adding to their troubles, so they’re natural allies of the moderate Guardian. And this is another one of those themes that easily supports multiple PCs, or even a whole mono-theme party (it’s a team of investigators). Such a party would be mostly uninterested in Neverwinter’s political woes, except where they intersect with their quest.

  If you want to optimize for the ability to do Teleport Shenanigans, this is the theme for you. Little could stop a whole party of them from getting to where they want to go. For other campaigns, it would also be relatively easy to strip the standard Iliyanbruen backstory and just say a PC with this theme is a native of the Feywild who moved to the world.

• May 6, 2023

  Let's Read Neverwinter: Dead Rat Deserter

  

  Luskan is a coastal city a ways north of Neverwinter. In the games, it was a pirate and thief-infested cesspool secretly ruled by a cabal of evil wizards. The evil wizards were defeated in a novel before the start of the events in this book, so now it’s just exactly what it always appeared to be.

  The Dead Rats are currently the most successful thieves’ guild in Luskan. They have this name because their senior members are wererats, and their initiation ceremony involves a ritual that imparts some wererat powers to the initiate. Their leader is a halfling bard named Toytere, also known as “King Toy”, who seems to have the power to see the future and uses it to foil the many assassination attempts made on him.

  A PC with this background used to be an average member of the Rats until they were brought in before King Toy, who proclaimed the PC was destined to lead a mutiny against him and ordered their execution. This was news to the PC, who barely made it out of the room alive and managed to abscond to Neverwinter.

  Their original goal here was to build enough wealth and power to return to Luskan and take revenge on those who wronged them, but this might have changed by the time the campaign starts.

  Dead Rat Deserter PCs are usually shifty and shady types, though they’re loyal to their friends (who include the other PCs). While rogues are the first to come to mind, there aren’t any class restrictions. Characters should be either humans, half-elves, or halflings, since those are the majority ancestries in Luskan and make up all of the Dead Rat membership.

  The background skills for this theme are Intimidate, Stealth, and Thievery.

  Features

  You don’t need a theme just to make a shifty character with a shady criminal past, so why choose this one? Because it also lets you be a wererat!

  The level 1 feature is Body of the Rat, an 1/round minor-action at-will power that lets the PC assume the form of a Tiny rat. The same power also lets them change back, and whenever they change shape they can also shift 1 square. In rat form, the PC can’t attack but gains a climb speed equal to half their ground speed and a +4 to Stealth checks. The PC’s equipment melds into the rat form, and continues to provide all of its passive benefits. There are a few exceptions: they don’t get AC bonuses from shields, can’t use active item powers, and can’t access any containers (like bags or potion vials). On the other hand, their equipment can’t be removed in any way while it’s part of the rat form.

  At level 5, the PC gains a +2 power bonus to Stealth and Bluff. This is useful for a rogue-type, but would be much better if it was untyped.

  At Level 10, Hybrid Bite lets the PC assume the classic hybrid wererat form. Changing back and forth is an at-will minor action, like above, and the character retains all their equipment and can use it normally. The hybrid form has the same size as the character. The character also gains a bite attack. The attack bonus for this is (STR or DEX modifier)+4, and the damage is 1d8+(same modifier) plus 5 ongoing damage (save ends). The bonus increases to +6 and the damage to 2d8 at level 21.

  This attack is a little underwhelming, I think. If Strength or Dexterity is your main attack stat, it’s going to be about on par with a +2 weapon with a +2 proficiency bonus, which means it’s less accurate than the characters’s actual main weapon if any of those stats are better on it. Ongoing damage on an at-will is good, but also maybe not as good as the bonuses of a level 10’s character main weapon and class powers. If you use anything other than STR or DEX to attack, this power is useless.

  Utility Powers

  The optional powers here are all about tapping into your inner rat.

  Savage Hiss is a level 2 encounter power that helps intimidate enemies in a fight. When the PC scores a critical hit, they can use this power to inflict every enemy within 5 squares with a -4 penalty to attack the PC for a turn.

  Dead Rat Stealth is a level 6 daily power that takes a minor action and gives the PC a +2 power bonus to Stealth and Thievery for the rest of the encounter. If the PC dislikes a roll for one of these skills, they can end the effect and reroll it with a +5 power bonus.

  Intuitive Leap is a Level 10 daily power that represents the PC inheriting some of King Toy’s prophetic abilities. The PC can use it when it’s time to roll initiative, gaining a +4 power bonus to the roll and being able to stand up or move their speed for free at that point.

  Impressions

  Mechanically, this theme suits high-Dex characters the best, since it boosts Stealth and Thievery and might let a character who lacks both to get access to one of them. Being able to turn into a normal-looking rat can enable all sorts of shenanigans, especially out of combat, but the hybrid form and bite attack are of dubious utility at best. This is not a theme that will do a lot to boost your damage output.

  Story-wise, I haven’t gotten far enough into the book to see whether Luskan and the Rats influence Neverwinter in any significant way. It’s possible a Rat would just be along for the ride if they’re the only one in the party. An all-Rat party would result in a significantly different path than those implied by the other paths we saw so far. They all got set up together and would still retain their goal of getting rich and powerful enough to return and get some revenge, likely causing a lot of chaos in Neverwinter in the process.

• May 5, 2023

  Let's Read Neverwinter: Harper Agent

  

  From what I remember, the Harpers used to be a “good conspiracy” back the “old days” of the Forgotten Realms. A secret society dedicated to doing good, fighting for freedom, and keeping the many evil factions of the setting in check. Elminster was a big fan, and several of the setting’s iconic NPCs were members.

  Those Harpers got destroyed during the Spellplague, but sixty years before our narrative present a new group took up the name. This incarnation of the group is mostly focused on stopping the machinations of those Netheril survivors who came out of the Shadowfell, though they also have their fingers in other pies.

  A PC with this background has a very specific and rather tense backstory. They always dreamed of joining the Harpers, and traveled to Everlund to apply. They were given a trial mission - to go to Neverwinter and link up with a woman named Cymril. Cymril was not only a fully-fledged Harper Agent but also the leader of the Sons of Alagondar. The Sons are a group of rebels who opposes Dagult Neverember, and who fight for an independent Neverwinter.

  The PC gets included in night-time recon mission led by Cymril herself, and their group gets ambushed by a force of Neverember’s mercs. In panic, the PC hides, and then gets to witness as the rebels are massacred. The thing is, Cymril herself turned coat as soon as the fight started, and began killing her own underlings! In the end, the hidden PC is the only survivor on the rebel side: Cymril gets taken out by one of her lieutenants, who in turn dies to the mercenaries. They leave the rebels’ bodies on the street as a warning. Our PC as the foresight to steal Cymril’s Harper pin before absconding.

  So the title of “Harper Agent” is kind of misleading. The PC is actually a rogue agent, sympathetic to the organization’s ideals but operating without their official support. The PC can’t let it become known that they’re not a real Harper, and even without that secret coming out they’re already facing suspicion from the very rebel group they were supposed to help, for being the only survivor of the ambush that killed Cymril.

  A PC with this background wishes to discover the truth behind that massacre, prove their innocence, and fulfill their original mission of preventing Neverember from becoming the cutthroat merchant-king he wishes to be. This theme brings even more intrigue and spy games into the game than the Neverwinter Noble.

  There are no class or race prerequisites, though the book recommends Harper characters be good at subterfuge and say many of them multiclass into bard, rogue, ranger or wizard.

  Features

  This class gains only a single feature: that Harper Pin pried from Cymril’s corpse. It marks the bearer as a member of the Harpers, brings with it a blessing from one of their patron goddesses, and can be used as a key to secret Harper hideouts and caches.

  Mechanically, it’s a Rare Level 3 Wondrous Item, which means it doesn’t take up any slots and can’t be bought in stores. The PC chooses one of three possible blessings at character creation, and this becomes the pin’s item encounter power. Llira’s Grace lets them roll 1d6 and add it to an attack roll they just missed, potentially turning it into a hit. Mielikki’s Endurance lets them reduce incoming damage from an attack by 5 + half level. And Tymora’s Luck lets them re-roll a save with a +2 bonus to the new roll.

  Utility Powers

  This class’s optional utility powers continue to follow the themes of the divine blessings above.

  Harper’s Healing Boon is a level 2 daily power that can be used as an interrupt when the PC is hit by an attack. They take only half damage from the attack and can immediately roll a save.

  Unexpected Ally is a level 6 power that represents the PC use fast-talk to trick an enemy into believing the PC is a secret ally of theirs. This means the enemy can’t make opportunity attacks against the PC and grants combat advantage to them. The effect ends when the PC attacks the fooled enemy.

  Resourceful Dastard (yes, with a D) is a level 10 daily power. It’s a stance that gives +4 to all defenses when the PC has cover or concealment, and lets them ignore all difficult terrain when shifting.

  Impressions

  This theme is very strongly oriented towards rogue, bard, or even ranger PCs, I feel. Its blessing and utility power can help make these characters less fragile and more mobile.

  A criticism I’d make is that this one is a lot less generic than the other themes we saw so far. With a background like that, it’s a bit hard to make the PC anything other than a rogue Harper in the Neverwinter region of the Forgotten Realms. It’s also almost impossible to have more than one Harper Agent in a party unless you change that very detailed background and come up with another reason why they can’t contact out-of-town Harpers for support.

  A Harper Agent in a party has reasons to cozy up to and aid the Neverwinter Noble, and provides a good hook for the GM to introduce the group to the Sons of Alagondar (or what’s left of them). Cooperation would not be automatic, since the Sons distrust the Harper, but it would be a start. The Agent would also try to convince any other neutral PCs to oppose Neverember.

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