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• Oct 4, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Ogrémoch

  

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

  Ogrémoch is another of the Princes of Elemental Evil, and first appeared alongside Imix in the Fiend Folio for AD&D 1e. He is the second, but not the last, epic campaign end boss to make an appearance on the MM3.

  The Lore

  In the beginning there was substance without form, the roiling indistinct mass of the purest Elemental Chaos. From that mass the eldest primordials arose spontaneously, and they in turn used their powers to create others. Eventually this big family decided to get together and create the middle world.

  Ogrémoch is one of these eldest Primordials. He witnessed the dawn of time, and the rise and fall of his children as they built the world and warred with the gods. Ogrémoch was among the primordials contacted by the Elder Elemental Eye, and like the other Princes he became convinced the Eye was the very first primordial. Concerned about the gods’ growing influence on the world, he decided to join the Dawn War in concert with the other Princes. Despite their atypical level of teamwork, they lost.

  Unlike Imix, Ogrémoch did not escape the gods. He was captured and chained to his own realm by Moradin. Though he cannot leave, he can still influence the world through his many cults. His goals are to free both himself and the Elder Elemental Eye, and to finish what he started during the Dawn War.

  His greater age and more stable element make Ogrémoch a more patient and wise Primordial than Imix. Where Imix is a cowardly hothead, Ogrémoch is a cryptic miser. As the Primordial of Earth, he rules over everything that is hidden underground, from metal and gem deposits to caves, ruins, and the treasures buried inside them. Ogrémoch knows many secrets that give one power over the earth and its hidden bounty, but he’s jealous of them and only gives them up reluctantly.

  It takes a lot of time and patience for his cultists to earn enough favor to learn those secrets, so earth magic is rarer among them than you would expect. It’s no unusual for a cult leader to have to rely on hired muscle to reinforce the security of their hidden shrines.

  There are many independent cults to Ogrémoch spread throughout the world, and though the details of their beliefs and practices may differ, they’re all structured like mystery cults. They thrive on the rustic fringes of “civilized” lands, tricking the innocent and ignorant into believing Ogrémoch is a benevolent power of the earth. By the time these unfortunates learn the truth, it’s too late to escape the cult’s grasp. More rarely, they attract more well-informed people who seek an alternative to the gods. While there are several deities who preside over the same concepts as the primordial, these recruits probably reason that, as the older being, Ogrémoch has more of a claim to these domains.

  At the highest levels of initiation, the differences between the many cults fall away, and the existence of the Elder Elemental Eye is revealed. These high-ranking cultists serve Ogrémoch and the Eye in equal measure, and out of all of the elemental cults they’re the most willing to genuinely cooperate in freeing their masters

  The Monsters

  We’ll start by looking at the cultists, and finish with the stats for Ogrémoch himself.

  The various cultist stat blocks represent people of various species that managed to gain power from their worship. As with Imix cultists, there aren’t enough of them to build encounter groups - they’re meant to be added to groups of other humanoids or monsters representing hired muscle or “unpowered” cultists.

  Any earth-elemental creature might be associated with a cult of Ogrémoch, including hill and earth giants. Underground dwellers like grimlocks and troglodytes are also frequently drawn to his service, as are “giantish” people like ogres or ettins. And of course, any “generic” humanoid stat block can be lightly reskinned as a cultist as well.

  Earth Cultist

  These are common servitors, largely ignorant of the deeper mysteries, serving because they know nothing else. They’re Level 8 Minion Controllers wearing leather and wielding warhammers. The scrap of primordial power within then explodes in a Petrifying Font when they drop to 0 HP: it automatically hits every enemy adjacent to the cultist and slows them (save ends). After the first failed save, this worsens to petrified (save ends).

  Yikes! These poor souls are unwitting time bombs, and quite dangerous for minions. Evil GMs would mix them in with standard Human minions and make it hard for players to tell them apart at first. Once the cultist’s capabilities have been identified, it’s best to take then out with ranged attacks.

  Fist of the Stone Tyrant

  Every dwarf culture remembers their period of enslavement to the giants as the Age of Chains. Most of them became resentful of the primordials after attaining their freedom, and turned to worship of the gods. One felt the opposite, turning away from the gods who did not help them and towards the primordials who had proven they would reward their worshippers well. The Fist of the Stone Tyrant is a champion from this culture.

  This Fist is a Level 9 Soldier (Leader) with 98 HP and a Speed of 5 (Earth Walk). They have two simultaneous auras with a radius of 1: Rotting Earth slows enemies inside, and Stone Tyrant’s Boon grants allies inside a +2 bonus to AC and Fortitude. Like any other dwarf, the Fist reduces any forced movement inflicted upon it by 1. It also gets an immediate save to avoid being knocked prone.

  The Fist’s war pick damages and marks for a turn on a hit, and if any marked enemy leaves its Rotting Earth aura the champion can shift 1 square and make a free attack against that enemy. The attack deals light physical damage, 5 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends) and immobilizes for a turn on a hit.

  Stone Thrall

  Ogres who live in hill giant territories might end up picking worship of Ogrémoch from them. Some of these ogres get drawn into the cult and infused with earth magic to act as guards and shock troops.

  Stone Thralls are Level 15 Brutes with 184 HP. They fight with Mauls whose basic attacks damage and force the target to grant combat advantage for a turn. They can use a Crushing Smash against someone granting them CA to do heavier damage, knock the target prone, and make them both immobilized and unable to stand up (save ends).

  They can also make Wild Swings, attacking up to 2 creatures with one action. A hit deals heavy damage and dazes (save ends). This is an encounter power that recharges when the ogre is first bloodied.

  Earth Weird

  Ogrémoch rarely deigns to notice individual mortals. Sometimes, though, a cultist comes along with such an aptitude for earth magic that the primordial ends up giving them a direct blessing. This turns them into earth weirds.

  The one depicted here is an earthsoul genasi, and a Level 16 Controller with 148 HP. It fights with a Morningstar that damages and pushes the target 1 square. It also uses a bunch of different earth-themed spells:

  • Quake Bolt is a basic ranged attack that damages and knocks prone.

  • Bury targets a prone enemy and does no immediate damage, but it immobilizes the target, prevents them from standing up and inflicts ongoing 10 damage (save ends all). After passing the save, the target is slowed for a turn.

  • Stoneburst is a ranged area attack that damages and created a zone of difficult terraint for a turn.

  • And finally, Earthshock is a minor action encounter power that does no damage but knocks every enemy touching a solid surface in a Close Burst 1 prone.

  The weird wants to knock you down and bury you. It pairs well with other enemies with knockdown abilities.

  Chthonic Apostle

  Most giants who serve Ogrémoch do so more out of fear than true devotion. This one is an exception, and has been rewarded for it.

  The Apostle depicted here is a hill giant, and a Level 24 Soldier with 225 HP. It fights with a giant-sized, Reach 3 greatspear whose basic attacks damage and mark for a turn on a hit. It can also use the spear to impale a marked creature, which deals light physical damage to start with and slides the creature to the apostle’s space as they slide down the length of the weapon. The target is immobilized and takes 10 ongoing damage, automatically moving when the apostle moves. The apostle can keep attacking with the spear, and every time they do so the impaled victim takes another 10 damage and becomes dazed for a turn. When they successfully save against this, they slide to a space adjacent to the apostle as they free themselves.

  When the apostle becomes bloodied, their Stone Curse begins to take effect. Their speed drops from the standard giant 8 to a 4, and they rain Resist 10 to all damage. When the apostle drops to 0 HP, they permanently become a stone statue, which counts as blocking terrain. If they have a victim impaled when that happens, the victim becomes restrained instead of immobilized. A save still frees them as above.

  Chthonic Stoneshaper

  Worship of Ogrémoch is almost as old as mortal life itself. There are profoundly ancient shrines and temples to the primordial in the depths of the Underdark. Those who undertake a prilgrimage to these sites and survive the journey are rewarded with potent magic, and by having much of their troublesome free will taken away.

  The Stoneshaper depicted here is a human who has undergone this process. It’s basically a powered-up Earth Weird, with more damaging spells. It’s Level 24 Artillery with 175 HP. They fight with Warhammers, and have several spells. First there’s Stony Embrace (Ranged 10), a basic attack that damages, restrains and inflicts 10 ongoing damage on a hit (save ends). Then there’s Rending Earth (Ranged 20), which targets enemies restrained by Stony Embrace, deals slightly more damage, and stuns then (save ends). Finally there’s Unruly Earth, a close burst 2 that damages, pushes 3 squares, and knocks prone on a hit. This only targets enemies, too, so it can be used safely in a melee.

  A “save ends” stun is extremely powerful, and though the targetting condition for Rending Earth is fairly restrictive a focused and lucky stoneshaper might be able to use it every other turn. When fighting an enemy group including a stoneshaper, follow the old Shadowrun adage and geek the mage first. The stoneshaper will make this hard because the ranges involved make it easy for the stoneshaper to stay far away and play hit-and-run.

  Ogrémoch

  After looking at the cultists, it’s time to look at the Big Rock himself. Ogrémoch’s domain is a flat-topped mountain in the depths of the Elemental Chaos. He’s bound there by chains forged by Moradin from the whipping winds that used to scoured that mountain. Though Ogrémoch is unable to leave his domain, his confinement does not prevent him from affecting the mortal world indirectly, and empowering his cultists.

  Unlike the cowardly Imix, Ogrémoch prefers to fight alone. His preferred battlefields are vast rocky plains and enormous caverns where his powers can easily shape the terrain. PCs will mostly likely fight him as a campaign end boss, either in his own domain or in another similar battlefield after he escapes his prison.

  Ogrémoch is a Gargantuan Elemental Humanoid with the Earth and Primordial keywords, and a Level 34 Solo Soldier with 1244 HP. He has a ground speed of 8 with Earth Walk, and can also burrow and climb at the same speed. His special senses include Darkvision and Tremorsense 20, and he is immune to poison, sleep and disease. He also has the best version of demon-style Variable Resistance, with a value of 20 switchable 3 times per encounter.

  The primordial has three passive traits that explain why he likes stony or earthy battlefields. The first is Jagged Earth is an aura (5) that turns its area into difficult terrain. The first time a creature enters this aura on their turn, they must pass a DC 32 Athletics or Acrobatics check or take 20 damage. Creatures with Earth Walk ignore the aura.

  The second trait is Earthbound, which allows Big O to ignore any forced movement or knockdown effects as long as he’s standing on a solid surface. And finally we have Earth Glide, allowing him to pass through earth and stone as if he had phasing.

  His attacks of course include a lot of punches and their shockwaves, but before we get to that, let’s look at the parallel minigame he’s got going with his minor actions. Encasing Shards (recharge 5+) is a Close Blast 5 that targets the Fortitude of everyone caught inside. It does no immediate damage, but is one of those very fun gradual petrification effects. On a hit the victims are immobilized (save ends), and this worsens to stunned and finally to petrified as they fail their saves. They can still roll saves to end the petrification, but those have a -5 penalty. Once Ogrémoch is bloodied, he can detonate those stony cocoons with Earthshatter. This ends the petrification and makes a Close Burst 3 attack centered on and including the victim. It deals a good bit of physical damage for a minor action.

  Ogrémoch’s basic attack is a Slam that does a big chunk of damage and automatically dazes all of the target’s adjacent targets for a turn. Ogrémoch’s Fury allows the primordial to make two slam attacks with the same action, or three if bloodied. If more than one of these hits the same target, it pushes that target 10 squares and worsens the Encasing Shards condition if they’re currently affected by it.

  Earth Smash is a Close Blast 5 attack that does about half the damage of a direct slam hit, but causes targets to fall prone and become dazed (save ends). It does half damage on a miss. And then there’s Tremendous Quake, which is a Close Burst 10 and so is likely to affect every PC. It’s an attack vs. Fortitude that does a amazing damage, slides 4 squares, knocks prone, dazes and prevents the target from getting up (save ends for these last two). Even on a miss it does half damage, slides 1 square and knocks prone.

  And he still has triggered actions! Jagged Eruption is a Close Blast 3 attack that happens as a reaction to Ogrémoch getting hit with a melee attack. Eternal Resilience is the similar to Lolth’s ability, allowing him to immediately roll a save when hit by an effect a save can end. This means such effects only have a 25% chance of happening at all.

  In summary: good luck keeping your balance or even acting at all when fighting a living earthquake that’s also trying to petrify you. This much action denial on a single monster is usually a design no-no, but we’re talking about a solo endgame boss here, so I feel it’s more than justified.

• Oct 2, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Ogre

  

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

  The ogre situation in the Monster Manual 3 is the same as the giant situation: they first appeared in the Monster Manual 1, and are about to get new and improved versions of those entries in the Monster Vault. The MM3 contains more “exotic” variants that will nicely complement the rewritten “basic” ones from the MV.

  The Lore

  Classic ogres, such as the ones that will show up on the Monster Vault, are comically stupid brutes. The ones contained in this entry break that stereotype by being significantly smarter, and capable of sophisticated tactics on the level of any other humanoid opposition. In other words, the Monster Vault will Ogre Harder while the Monster Manual 3 will Ogre Smarter.

  The extra brainpower of these ogres doesn’t necessarily make them nice - the entries here are still all Chaotic Evil, they’re just smarter about it. Nothing prevents you from Shreking it up and having ogres that are both smart and non-evil at your table, of course.

  The Monsters

  As usual, Ogres are Large Natural Humanoids with a ground speed of 8. Everything else about them varies per stat block, though their abilities tend to be styled as big smashy strikes.

  Ogre Cave Hunter

  This one is sneaky. The Cave Hunter has learned to perform stealthy raids, evade pursuers, and lure them to ambush spots disguised to look like the ogre’s home cave.

  Cave Hunters are Level 8 Lurkers with 70 HP. Like typical ogres, they wear hide and fight with ogre-sized Clubs that have Reach 2. However they can use these weapons in more creative ways beyond the usual basic attack.

  Smash and Swing does half the damage of a basic attack, but dazes for a turn and allows the ogre to slide the target up to 5 squares on a hit. It’s excellent for herding PCs together so other monsters can use area attacks, and for opening them up for the truly damaging attacks from the cave hunter itself.

  The first of these is Skull Bash, which requires a dazed target and does roughly double the damage of a basic attack. The second is Victim Shield, an interrupt that requires a dazed enemy within 2 squares and triggers when it’s targeted by a melee or ranged attack. It gives the ogre +4 to defenses against that attack, and if the attack misses the chosen victim takes its damage instead. In that case the cave hunter can also slide the victim 4 squares to another space within 2 squares of it.

  Note that the hunter doesn’t need to have dazed the victims itself in order to use these abilities, so if there are other monsters who can daze in the fight, they’ll be able to use these abilities more often.

  Ogre Ironclad

  Ogre Ironclads are smart enough to wear piecemeal metal armor instead of the more usual raw hides, and to fight using tactics that resemble cavalry, with closed ranks and powerful charges. Since their armor is still kind of improvised, being looted from smaller victims, it tends to fall off if it takes too many hits.

  Ironclads are Level 9 Soldiers with 96 HP. They wield big Mauls whose basic attacks mark for a turn on a hit. Their Ironclad Reaction gives them a free attack against a marked enemy that ignores the mark, and this attack also pushes the enemy 1 square and knocks them prone.

  While the ironclad is bloodied they take a -2 penalty to AC, but their charges allow them to make basic attacks against up to 2 targets instead of the usual single attack.

  Ogre Storm Shaman

  Storm Shamans are perhaps the only ogres in the books that have no negative modifiers in any of their mental attributes. They worship the primal spirits that symbolize the fury of the storm, and their magic can bring that fury down on their enemies.

  Storm Shamans are Level 11 Controllers with 114 HP. All of their attacks have a storm magic theme. They can cast Thunder Blasts to deal thunder damage and deafen (save ends), or Call Lightning to deal lightning damage and blind (save ends). Their melee attack is a Thunder Staff that deals thunder damage and can daze (save ends) if it hits a blinded or deafened enemy. Those ranged spells are also area attacks, so there’s a big chance that they’ll leave someone vulnerable to a daze from the staff. A second shaman in the encounter will make them both even more annoying.

  Ogre Dreadnought

  Conceptually, this is pretty much an upgraded version of the Ogre Ironclad above. Unlike the Ironclad, the Dreadnought actually uses custom-fitted gear, wearing a full suit of plate and wielding a greatsword.

  Dreadnoughts are Level 14 Soldiers with 140 HP. Their greatsword has a Threatening Reach 2, and its basic attack also immobilizes for a turn on a hit. If the dreadnought fails a saving throw, it can use Dreadnought Resolve (recharge 4+) as a reaction to immediately reroll it with a +2 bonus.

  They’re almost Brutes, in other words, since they lack a marking power. Still, Threatening Reach and immobilizing attacks make them effective at halting the PCs’ advance, so the Soldier role still fits.

  Final Impressions

  A pretty varied lineup, especially when combined with the Monster Vault ogres. It should easily allow you to build all-ogre encounters for use as the inhabitants of a lair or as a special unit in some other villainous force.

• Sep 30, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Oblivion Moss

  

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

  This based on the Obliviax, a monster that showed up in the 1e MM2. It’s completely changed for this edition, though.

  The Lore

  Oblivion moss, sometimes also known as memory moss, is a sapient predatory plant that lives in the depths of old forests. It looks like a carpet of moss, but it can perceive its surroundings and move around slowly in search of prey. The creature feeds on memories, which it strips from the brains of its victims. It derives sustenance from those stolen thoughts, and can also use them to spawn humanoid simulacra that help it defend itself and find more food.

  The memory stripping process is not actually fatal or permanent, but it’s still very traumatic. Stolen memories return at different rates. An adventurer’s knowledge of combat spells and maneuvers might come back after mere seconds, still in the middle of the fight. Important personal memories (“who am I?”) come back after a day or two, but smaller details (“what does my mother look like?”) can take weeks to be restored. Of course, the moss and its constructs are quite capable of fighting to kill, and might choose to kill a victim anyway after stealing their memories.

  Dryads and Treants cultivate patches of oblivion moss close to their own territories, as a security measure. Invaders who stumble upon them have their memories ripped away and end up turned around, leaving the forest without knowing what they were doing or where they went while inside. Even if the knowledge comes back later, very few people are keen on repeating the experience. As the book says, in places where oblivion moss grows, lost ruins tend to stay lost.

  You can turn the memory stealing around, too. The remains of a slain patch of oblivion moss retain memory fragments from its past victims, and if someone eats those bits they can acquire those memories. While the fragmentary memories of a bandit might not give you their entire guard rotation or the map of their stronghold, they might give you the combination to their main vault or to a secret door. That can be useful, though eating a sapient being presents obvious ethical problems.

  The Numbers

  We get a bunch of different stat blocks here, one for the moss itself and five for the humanoid minions it can build from stolen memories. The minions can be generated mid-fight by the moss, or they might be placed as normal monsters in an encounter with or without their master.

  Oblivion Moss Mindmaster

  This is the moss itself, a Large Fey Magical Beast (plant) and a Level 12 Elite Controller with 250 HP. It perceives the world with Blindsight 20, and moves around at a glacial ground and climb speeds of 2. It does have Forest Walk, though, so it’s not further slowed down by difficult terrain in its natural habitat.

  The moss projects a Mind Blindness Aura (1) that makes it invisible to enemies that start their turns inside until the end of the enemy’s next turn. It can defend itself in melee with a Corriding Touch that does immediate and ongoing acid damage, but it really wants to use its psychic powers instead.

  It has two basic ranged attacks: Scramble the Mind and Scour the Mind. Both to the same amount of psychic damage. Additionally, Scramble slides the target 5 squares and Scour makes the moss or one of its allies invisible to the target for a turn.

  Its ultimate attack is Absorb Memories, a ranged attack vs. Will that does no damage. A hit prevents the target from using encounter or daily attack powers (save ends). Hit or miss, the moss then creates a mossling duplicate of the target, which uses the most closely matching mossling stat block (see below). This recharges when there are no created mosslings in the field.

  The mindmaster can spend a minor action to Direct a mossling, allowing it to move its speed as a free action. And it can also Absorb Damage as an interrupt, taking into itself the damage from an attack that would hit a mossling.

  So a moss mindmaster would only be able to keep a single mossling around at a time. If you want there to be more of them, add some as part of the initial encounter makeup. Those don’t count as “created”, so the moss doesn’t have to wait to use Absorb Memories.

  Mosslings

  Mosslings are Medium Fey Humanoids, and all of them are Level 12 Minions. They’re meant to be copies of people whose memories were absorbed by the oblivion moss - the creature is smart enough to seek out competent combatants for this purpose, since they make for more powerful mosslings.

  Their signature passive trait is Mindmaster’s Thrall - if the mossling in question was created by an oblivion moss mindmaster, it acts immediately after its creator’s turn. They all have Forest Walk too, and a basic tendril attack that does minion-tier damage and has a rider compatible with their role. But the real star of the show here is the Simulacrum Attack, which allows them to copy an at-will power from a PC!

  If the mossling was created by Absorb Memories during this fight, it will be a power from the PC that attack targeted. If you’re adding the mossling as part of the encounter, pick a PC whose class is similar to the mossling’s role and give them one of that PC’s powers. The attack targets AC and its bonus is based on the mossling’s level as normal, but the damage and all other effects are identical to the PC’s, as if it was the PC who hit. Some of them copy melee attacks, others copy ranged attacks, but the match-up is not a problem because you always use a mossling archetype compatible with the power you want to replicate, not the other way around.

  The book recommends having the players themselves roll and resolve the mossling’s attacks, to reinforce the feeling that they’re fighting themselves. That’s clever!

  Here are the different varieties:

  • Mossling Guardian: Soldier, speed 6. Has an aura (1) that slows enemies. Tendril attack allows it to shift 1 square and pull an enemy into the vacated space. Copies a melee power. Use to copy PC defenders.

  • Mossling Creeper: Skirmisher, speed 8. Deals extra damage with combat advantage. Tendril strike allows it to shift 2 squares. Shifts 2 squares when missed by a melee attack. Copies a melee power. Use to copy rogues and other melee strikers.

  • Mossling Hurler: Artillery, speed 6. Explodes on death, dealing a bit of psychic damage and inflicting Daze (save ends) on a Close Burst 2. No riders on tendril attack. Steals a ranged power. Use to copy ranged strikers.

  • Mossling Grower: Controller (Leader). Has an aura (1) that grants +2 defense to plant allies. Tendril attack slows for a turn. Gives 20 temporary hit points to every nonminion plant ally within 3 squares on death. Copies a melee power. Use to copy warlords and other leaders.

  • Mossling Vinecaller: Controller. Has an aura (1) that makes the covered spaces difficult terrain. Makes a Close Burst 1 in to difficult terrain for the rest of the encounter on death. Tendril strike slides target 2 squares. Copies a ranged power. Use to copy wizards and other controllers.

  Final Impressions

  I think the mossling mechanic is really clever, particularly the bit where players roll and resolve their duplicate’s attacks. It helps ease the GM’s cognitive load a bit since mosslings are kinda finnicky even before you factor the copied attack in.

  As I mentioned above, a moss mindmaster can only keep one mossling around at a time. If you want to have more of them in play, the easiest way is to add more of them as standard minions to the encounter. In this case I guess they would have their own Initiative rolls, and would be worth XP as normal, but the mindmaster could still target them with Direct Mossling and Absorb Damage.

  Another option might be to turn the Mindmaster into a solo! Aside from the usual adjustments, you would want to make Absorb Memories at-will and remove the limit on the number of created mosslings in play. Maybe also turn Absorb Damage into a Free or No Action to make it usable as many times per turn as the moss wants.

• Sep 28, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Nymph

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

  Nymphs have been in the game since the beginning, and they were always one of its many, many “seductress” monsters. The only reason I can think for there being so many of them is that Gygax had issues.

  The Lore

  In Fourth Edition, Nymphs are fey descended from some of the oldest primal spirits: the Sisters of the Four Seasons, and the Brothers of the Four Winds. Thus they combine their mothers’ beauty with their fathers’ impulsive and fickle personality.

  After the Dawn War ended and the Four Seasons took upon themselves the work of maintaining the world’s natural cycles, the nymphs withdrew into the Feywild and spent a long time living there in harmony with nature. However, they’re not content with just staying quiet forever, so they eventually began to range further afield in search of fun.

  Nymphs just love mortals. They make such wonderful toys, you see. It’s very easy to convince them to do stuff, and to swear eternal loyalty and love. Toys sometimes break, but that’s just how things are.

  Nymphs are divided into subtypes corresponding to the four seasons, each with a different basic personality but sharing the same disdain for mortals. There’s also a fifth type that explains where dryads come from.

  The Monsters

  Nymphs are Medium Fey Humanoids with Low Light Vision and Forest Walk (meaning they ignore forest-themed difficult terrain). All of their other abilities vary per stat block.

  Spring Nymph

  

  Spring nymphs are always seeing new life appear everywhere to replace the old. They have power over flowers, and adorn themselves with them. They are the most childish and romantic of the bunch, so they enjoy seducing mortals and playing mind games with them to get those mortals to chase her and to fight each other for her favor. Spring nymphs will often ensure the prettiest mortal survives these contests, and will then permanently dominate them through constant exposure to the nymph’s psychotropic scent.

  Spring Nymphs are Level 5 Controllers with 63 HP and Speed 6. Their powers are all seduction and flower-themed, making them some of the most stereotypical nymphs.

  They have a Charmed Defense passive that gives them +3 to all defenses while adjacent to a creature dominated by them. Their basic melee attack is Passion’s Kiss, which targets Will, does low psychic damage, and dazes (save ends). Their basic ranged attack is Song of Spring, which is similar but does a bit more damage and slows instead of dazing.

  When she doesn’t have anyone dominated, the spring nymph can use Floral Perfume to rectify this situation. This is a ranged attack vs. Will that must target a dazed or slowed creature, and on a hit pulls the target 3 squares and dominates them (save ends).

  Finally, once per encounter, the nymph can use Cloud of Blossoms, a ranged area attack that targets non-dominated enemies, attacks Will, and slows on a hit (save ends). After the first failed save, the target becomes unconscious instead. So this is more of an emergency escape hatch than an opening strike.

  When building an encounter with spring nymphs, you can add any number of sapient humanoids of any species to Team Monster. These are her permanently dominated pawns, and they should definitely count as “dominated” for the purposes of Charmed Defense even if they act normally otherwise. Lacking any of these, the nymph will do her best to keep a PC dominated and stick close to them. Spring nymphs don’t do a lot of damage on their own, so they need the help of their pawns. An encounter against multiple spring nymphs is very dangerous, though, since they’ll be able to dominate multiple PCs.

  Autumn Nymphs

  

  These are the most melancholic members of the family. Autumn is the season when leaves are reaching the end of their lives and remembering their pasts. Autumn nymphs are always in that mood, and love collecting and remembering the stories of mortals’ lives. Autumn nymphs trade in secrets, one for one. This makes them good sources of information, but you have to be willing to share your own secrets in exchange. If you don’t, their vengeance can be terrible and persistent as they turn their secret-themed abilities against you.

  Autumn Nymphs are Level 8 Skirmishers with 89 HP, a ground speed of 6 and a flight speed of 6 (clumsy, like a leaf in the wind). Their basic attack is a strike with their Oaken Strength, which damages and pushes the target 1 square. Their other abilities are all secret-themed spells.

  Dark Revelation (recharge 6+) is a melee attack that causes light psychic damage and stuns (save ends). It represents the nymph using contact telepathy to fill the victim’s head with, well, fake news.

  Whisper Game is an interesting ranged attack. It inflicts immediate and ongoing psychic damage (save ends). Until the end of the encounter, or until the nymph drops to 0 HP, any time a creature saves against the ongoing damage the condition “jumps” to the nearest of the victim’s allies within 10 squares. When the nymph drops to 0 HP, whoever is suffering from this ongoing damage takes 15 psychic damage. This psychic hot potato recharges if the nymph misses with it.

  As a move action, the nymph can use Autumn Winds to either shift 1 square or move her speed, and then use Oaken Strength for free. And when an enemy misses her with a melee attack, she can use Secret of Autumn Leaves as a reaction to shift 3 squares.

  The nymph’s first priority should be to get the Whisper Game going, then stun someone with Dark Revelation whenever it’s available. After that she wants to move around and herd the PCs using Oaken Strength so all of them remain close enough to catch the Whisper Game damage. Autumn Nymphs don’t go for domination, but they can still have willing fey allies to help with all that. Multiple autumn nymphs in the same encounter means multiple Whisper Games and multiple save-ends stuns in a round, so only do that if you really want to make your PCs suffer.

  Wood Nymphs

  Sometimes, an autumn nymph’s melancholy gets the better of her. She grows tired of her games, or discovers she had actual fondness for a mortal that escaped her clutches. These nymphs cast off their humanoid guises and give themselves over to their wild natures, slowly transforming into trees. They stay for a long time in this in-between state, and some go on to become dryads. The Wood Nymph stat block represents the in-between state, where the nymph can leave its tree body to attack trespassers or despoilers, but can’t move too far away from it. This is actually closer to a mythological dryad than the D&D dryad is.

  Wood Nymphs are Level 10 Soldiers with 104 HP and speed 6. They are Treebound, which means they’ll be always encountered close to their tree. This tree occupies 1 square on the battle map. The nymph can enter it and gains full cover while inside. It also counts as an ally for the purposes of flanking. While adjacent to or inside the tree, the nymph has Regeneration 5.

  The nymph’s first priority in battle is to tag someone with Trapped in the Wood, which does no damage but teleports the target inside the nymph’s tree. This removes the victim from play (save ends). The nymph can teleport 8 squares to a space adjacent ot the tree as an effect. A successful save places the victim back on the map, adjacent to the tree.

  She can also hit a PC with her Lonely Keening, an encounter ranged attack that deals psychic damage on a hit. The interesting thing about it is its effect, though, which happens even on a miss. Until the end of the encounter, or until the nymph drops to 0 HP, the victim takes 5 damage at the end of any turn in which it’s not either adjacent to the nymph or closer to her than they were at the start of the turn. An excellent attack to use on those ranged PCs.

  Finally, the nymph can teleport up to 6 squares to a space adjacent to the tree as a move action.

  Not that the victim of Trapped in the Wood is not considered to be in the tree’s space for game purposes! They’re removed from play. Which means the Nymph can hit them with Lonely Keening, trap them in the tree, and stay adjacent to the tree to keep her regeneration while damaging the victim at the same time.

  Appropriate buddies for wood nymphs include full dryads, wood woads, and other treelike fey who are hanging around their new sister.

  Winter Nymph

  

  Winter nymphs live in cold and remote regions, and like their linked season they’re cruel and harsh. Winter nymphs are all about reveling in the survival of the strongest. They run ahead of the Wild Hunt, dressed in buckskin, their nettle hair spreading out behind them in the wind. They seek the toughest and most cunning opponents as their prey.

  Winter Nymphs are Level 15 Artillery with 116 HP, a ground speed of 7, and a fly speed of 10. Unlike their sisters, they fight with weapons. Their basic melee attack is a Hunter’s Knife that damages and allows them to shift 1 square on a hit. Their basic ranged attack is a longbow that shoots arrows laced with Winter’s Wind, doing cold damage and slowing on a hit.

  If too many enemies crowd their space, they can use a Nettling Wind (recharge 5+) to target up to 3 creatures in a Close Blast 5. On a hit, this does physical damage and immobilizes (save ends). And once per encounter they can fire a Hail of Arrows that works like like Area burst 3, Range 20 attack. It targets enemies, does physical damage, and inflicts ongoing physical damage (save ends). That’s a good opening strike.

  Appropriate companions for winter nymphs are, of course, the Wild Hunt. Paragon-tier fey hounds and perhaps some eladrin or firbolg hunters.

  Summer Nymph

  

  Spring is about the potential of the future; autumn about reflecting on the past; and summer is the present. Summer nymphs are among the eldest and wisest of the seasons’ children, for they see everything as it comes to pass. Though they love to play games with mortals just as much as their sisters, their own games are much more complex, some times spanning multiple worlds and vast stretches of time. They are the nymph’s equivalent of board game geeks, and they love playing live-action Twilight Imperium and Diplomacy. Their motivations and goals are always hidden from those she uses as playing pieces, and might look inscrutable.

  The nymph portrayed here is a legit demigodess, a Level 25 Controller with 233 HP and the Leader keyword. She is peer to elder dragons and to the greatest among angels and devils, and she could end up interacting with gods or exarchs directly. Not being an elite or solo, she’s not as individually powerful as some of those dragons and immortals, but she can command nature itself in the form of large hosts of animals, fey, and plant creatures.

  The summer nymph projects an aura of Renewing Growth (5) that makes its covered area into difficult terrain for enemies. Any enemy inside the aura who doesn’t move during their turn is slowed until the end of their next turn.

  Her attacks do below-average damage, but have powerful control effects. Her melee basic attack is Wisdom’s Touch, which damages and dazes for a turn. Her basic ranged attack is Eyes of Summer, which deals radiant damage and blinds (save ends). She can also Call Storm Winds (recharge 5+), a ranged area attack that deals lighting and thunder damage to enemies, and slides them 3 squares on a hit. The storm persists for a turn and can be sustained with a minor action, which also allows the nymph to slide anyone inside it 3 squares.

  As an at-will move action, the nymph can employ her Omniscient Strategy to shift 1 square and allow one of her allies to move their speed.

  The summer nymph is a mastermind, so PCs will likely come into contact with her minions and with the edges of her scheme long before they fight her in person. If that happens, she will certainly be accompanied by a bodyguard of similarly epic fey, including elder treants, mythical beasts, and eladrin nobles.

  She can also be used in a more ambiguous role, as a dangerous source of information. She is guaranteed to know the answer to any question about the present state of the universe, but the favors she asks in return are also guaranteed to advance some obscure scheme of hers and make pawns of the PCs.

  Final Impressions

  I’m pleasantly surprised that out of the five nymph variants we saw here, only one of them is actually a seductress. And even that one is more about floral-scented mind control than the “she’s just that sexy” trope of old D&D nymphs. As a bonus, the text never mentions the gender of the hapless mortal victims, so this is equal-opportunity mind control.

  My favorites are the winter and summer nymphs, who do the most to break that old stereotype. The wood nymph comes next for her tree-based shenanigans, though narratively she’s very redundant with 4e dryads.

• Sep 26, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Norker

  

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

  Norkers have been around since the days of AD&D, where their major mechanical distinction was that they were stronger goblins with AC 3. They play a significant role in The Forgotten Temple or Tharizdun as the rank and file of the occupying force the PCs need to clear out before they can delve the temple.

  The Lore

  Norkers in 4e are descendants of goblins who emigrated to the Elemental Chaos and sought shelter in deep caves in order to survive the harsh conditions of that plane. The earth-aspected ambient energy of their chosen habitat mutated them over generations, granting them stony skin and minor earth-based powers.

  Norker populations have since crossed back into the middle world, where they live in mountainous regions, in the Underdark, and near fonts of earth-aspected elemental power. Some sages speculate that the original norkers lived near sites of power related to Ogrémoch, the Evil Elemental Prince of Earth, because modern norkers are often found working for his cultists or those of the Elder Elemental Eye, guarding his forgotten temples in another very obvious historical reference.

  The Numbers

  Norkers retain their conceptual role as rank-and-file opposition for paragon-tier (AKA “name level”) characters, which in 4e means they’re much stronger than they ever were. Their levels range from around 12 to 15 here.

  They’re Small Elemental Humanoids with Low-Light Vision and Speed 6, with abilities combining martial training and minor earth magic.

  Norker Stone Shield

  Stone Shields look like an unruly mob at first glance, but they’re professional soldiers trained by those elemental cults and other earth-themed villains. Their training and equipment allows them to fight a bit like a roman legion, keeping tight formations, throwing javelins and them closing in to batter enemies with their short clubs and shields.

  Stone Shields are Level 12 Soldiers with 124 HP, which means a sizable group of them can eat most typical human military units for breakfast. Their basic attacks are a club and a javelin, both of which mark for a turn on a hit. If a marked enemy adjacent to the norker shifts, it can attack them with a Shield Slam vs. Fortitude that damages and knocks prone on a hit. And if someone hits them in melee they can respond with an Elemental Rebuke, a reaction that attacks AC and does some minor damage.

  Norker Grunt

  Fortunately, it seems stone shields are rarified elites. The actual rank and file of a norker force will be made of of these guys, who are far less organized and prefer to use “charging horde” tactics with their clubs. Their natural strength and toughness still makes them a very hard problem for human militaries, and even PCs don’t want to get surrounded by them.

  Grunts are Level 15 Minion Brutes, and their only active ability is their Club attack. Their Harrassing Brute trait is what makes them truly dangerous. All of the grunt’s allies get a damage bonus against enemies equal to twice the number of grunts adjacent to that enemy.

  Let’s unpack that for a moment. Let’s say 4 grunts are adjacent to the party’s fighter. Each of those grunts will get a +8 damage bonus when they attack the fighter. So will the grunt’s artillery and controller bosses who are 5 squares away from this scrum. And so on.

  Ideally, grunts want to slip past the front line and harrass the enemy squishies, but as we can see from the example above they can still do pretty well against defenders if Team Monster decides to focus fire.

  Norker Stone Walker

  Stone Walkers norkers who received proper training in earth magic, and who combine that with a mobile fighting style. They’re Level 15 Skirmishers with 150 HP. They can attack with handaxes in melee or at range, doing extra damage if they have combat advantage. They also have a +4 AC bonus against opportunity attacks.

  Magic-wise, they have the same Elemental Rebuke reaction as the Stone Shield, and they can also use Earth Glide as a move action to move their speed and phase through earth and rock during this movement.

  That last one makes them excellent additions to an underground encounter. Place a couple of them behind a thin rock wall and have them flank the PCs after the stone shields and grunts begin their frontal assault.

  Final Impressions

  Tough norkers still fill more or less the same narrative role as before, they do so in a very different way. I think my favorites are the grunts; the damage bonus they grant is both very distinctive and terrifying to players. When scaling their level, I’d probably make it +1/tier instead of a flat +2.

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