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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Nerra
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
This is the first I’ve heard of Nerras, though it’s possible they originated in a previous edition. If they did, their lore was completely different.
The Lore
Many ages ago, a sect of mortal invokers called the Sect of Seventy came to believe that the gods had grown too detached from the middle world in the aftermath of the Dawn War. They had become incapable of defending it from the many threats and hazards that lingered from those terrible battles.
The Sect of Seventy decided to claim for themselves the role of protectors of the middle world, and set about building a grand work that would allow them to keep watch over all reality. They used their divine magic to build an astral dominion they named The Constellation of Eyes. Located far from all the other known dominions, it consisted of a central reflective crystal sphere around which orbited uncountable mirrors that reflected different parts of the universe and could be used as portals to reach those places.
In other words, the Constellation is the ultimate panopticon, capable of maintaining surveillance over the entire universe and allowing its owners to instantly deploy to places of interest. The Sect intended it to be the perfect “superhero base” from which they would keep watch over reality, but other interested parties had far more nefarious uses in mind.
The Sect was unknowingly infiltrated by a small group of priests of Asmodeus, who intended to seize it for themselves and use it to open a permanent portal to the Nine Hells that would give devils free access to the rest of the multiverse. The invokers only managed to discover this after the final ritual had already began. The ensuing battle was every bit as epic as you imagine, and the resulting flare of divine energy from both sides was strong enough for the other gods to notice and send their angels to investigate.
The angels would have been a great help, but they arrived too late. As far as they were able to determine, the invokers realized they were losing the battle, and enacted a desperate ritual of their own that would bring terrible ruin upon all that were in the Constellation of Eyes. The ritual worked. It turned both the invokers and the Asmodean priests into the creatures now known as Nerras.
These mirrored crystaline humanoids still dwell in the Constellation of Eyes. With no apparent memory of their previous lives, they spent the following eons acting as dispassionate observers of the multiverse. Their observations are recorded in specially constructed glass tablets that can only be read from a slanted angle, and their collected store of information is one of the greatest in existence.
Relatively recently, though, the nerras have changed their behavior and become more proactive. They’ve taken to crossing their mirror portals and kidnapping certain powerful and influential individuals. Back at the Constellation, the nerras use their magic to create a perfect duplicate of the subject, with a diametrically opposite moral outlook. Then they send both back home. This predictably causes a lot of problems.
Nerras target both terrible villains and virtuous heroes in equal measure. Those scholars aware of their history theorize that ancient memories of the nerras’ former lives are resurfacing and causing divisions among them, and that their new activities are an experiment to see which between good and evil is stronger.
Nerras also travel to places they consider interesting to monitor things from up close, and sometime they interfere in local events for inscrutable reasons. Sometimes their interference ends up causing wars and disasters, some times they prevent them.
Nerras despise demons, devils, and creatures of the Far Realm, but they ally with other creatures when their goals happen to align. Even their occasional allies have little insight on their true motives, which they keep to themselves.
The Numbers
Nerra are Medium Immortal Humanoids, with Speed 6 and human-standard senses. Their signature ability is Mirror Step, an at-will move action that allows them to teleport 5 squares to a space adjacent to a mirror or to another nerra. This means a group of nerras finds it very easy to maintain a cohesive formation, and that their preferred battlegrounds have lots of mirrors that they can use for extra mobility. All of the ones we see here are Unaligned, and they speak Supernal.
All of their other abilities vary per stat block, though they all tend to share a strong “mirror” theme. Their levels cover the mid-to-late Paragon tier.
Varoot Nerra
Varoots are elite scouts and spies. They’re the first to venture forth from the Constellation of Eyes to lay the groundwork for a nerra expedition. Their ability to copy the appearances of others makes them great infiltrators.
Varoot Nerras are Level 16 Lurkers with the Shapechanger keyword and 116 HP. Their main weapon is a shard blade similar to a longsword. Their Reflection Theft ability allows them to perfectly duplicate an enemy within 10 squares of it. The effect lasts until the end of the encounter, or until the varoot attacks. If the varoot is adjacent to the copying enemy, it gets to roll a save against any melee or ranged attack that targets it, with a success forcing the attack to target the copied enemy instead. It also gains a +2 bonus to attack and a +5 bonus to damage against the copied enemy.
Its last ability aside from Mirror Step is Mirrored Grasp, a minor-action power that lets the nerra teleport an unattended object of up to 20 pounds / 10kg that’s within 10 squares and line of sight to its hand.
In combat, the Varoot does it’s Lurker routine by “hiding” next to a PC it’s copying, attacking the copied PC with a damage bonus, and teleporting away using Mirror Step so it can transform and try again.
There’s no way to pierce the varoot’s disguise with a skill check, at least in the ability’s combat form. It would make sense to rule that outside of combat this works like a doppelganger’s transformation: it lasts a long time and can be contested with Insight vs. the nerra’s Bluff of +20.
Meerak Nerra
Meeraks are the rank and file of a Nerra strike force. They charge into the enemy to cut it up with their spiked, jagged bodies, softening them up for the more powerful individuals that always follow close behind them.
Meeraks are Level 18 Minion Soldiers. Their Mirror Slash basic attacks mark on a hit, and their Mirror Defense ability is an interrupt that triggers when they’re hit by a melee attack and deals 10 damage to a different enemy within 10 squares. The meerak is still going to die from the hit, but not before reflecting some damage to a PC.
Kalareem Nerra
Kalareems are elite knights among the nerra. Unlike a lot of their crystalline relatives, they look like they’re made out of mirror-smooth liquid metal. This makes them hard to hurt, and they can also briefly solidify parts of their bodies to launch a spray of deadly metal shards.
Kalareem Nerras are Level 19 Soldiers with 175 HP. Their liquid metal construction doesn’t translate to specific abilities but it’s a nice in-character explanation for the high defenses and HP a level 19 Soldier has. Their basic attack is a Shard Blade that damages and marks on a hit, as do the Shard Blasts they can fire at-will in a Close Burst 3 pattern.
Aside from the standard nerra Mirror Step, they also have two other mirror-themed abilities that make them good bodyguards. Mirror Image is an interrupt that triggers when a marked enemy makes a melee or ranged attack that doesn’t include the nerra as a target. It makes the enemy target the nerra instead. Mirror Defense is another interrupt that triggers when the kalareem is hit by a melee attack. The creature can then make an attack against the Will of the triggering enemy, which on a hit deals the same damage inflicted by the triggering attack. This is an interrupt, so the attacker gets damaged before the nerra, and if they get reduced to 0 HP the kalareem wouldn’t suffer the damage.
Sillit Nerra
Sillits are nerra spellcasters, who often act as field agents and mystically-oriented scouts. Like other spellcasting monsters, out of combat they should have access to whatever rituals are required by the story. In combat, they use mirror-themed spells and specialize in forcibly teleporting enemies.
Sillits are Level 19 Controllers with 181 HP. Even their basic attack is a Mirror Portal that targets Will, and on a hit damages and teleports the target adjacent to one of the sillit’s allies within 10 squares. Their basic ranged attack is Warped Image, which targets Fortitude and on a hit damages and teleports the target 3 squares.
Their special attack is Captured Image (recharge 5+), a ranged power that targets Will. On a hit it removes the target from play (save ends), trapping it within the mirrors that make up the sillit’s body. While the target is captured, it takes 20 damage whenever the sillit is damaged. The effect ends when the target successfully saves, or when the sillit is reduced to 0 HP. When this happens the target appears on a square of the sillit’s choice within 5 squares of the sillit itself. Yes, it’s entirely possible that a sillit who gets lucky with its recharge rolls will manage to capture multiple targets at the same time.
Sillits have the standard Mirror Step power, and the same Mirrored Grasp power of the Varoots.
Judging from their powers, Sillits love to fight in maps containing plenty of hazardous terrain, and accompanied by bruiser allies. They’ll use Captured Image as soon and as often as they can, and then move to the front lines to dare PCs to attack them. Inconveniently strong melee PCs can be teleported next to the bruisers with Mirror Portal, and Warped Image is good for disrupting the remaining PCs if no other opportunities arise. Hazardous terrain on the battlefield makes those forced teleports more dangerous.
Delphar Nerra
Delphars are the officers and commanders of nerra forces. They’re similar to kalareems in their training, but they’re much larger and their mere presence has bolstering effects on the abilities of their allies.
Unlike other nerra, delphars are Large and have Speed 8. They’re Level 20 Soldiers with 187 HP and the Leader tag. They project a Mirrored Rampart aura (5) that extends the range of other nerras’ Mirror Step to 10. They fight with a Shard Blade and Shard Blasts that have the same effects as those of kalareems, with slightly higher numbers.
They have a different way of punishing marked enemies, though: Mirrored Grasp triggers when a marked enemy within 10 squares ignores the mark, and teleports the enemy adjacent to the delphar.
Teltarym Nerra
You would expect the strongest monster in the entry to be some sort of dread overlord, but we’re talking about topsy-turvy mirror people here. Teltarym are the nerra’s manual laborers, joining the fight either because they must defend themselves or because they were ordered to. Despite not being formal combatants they’re very strong and aggressive, charging in to smash enemies with their huge fists, and reflecting their own wounds back at their attackers.
Teltarym are Level 21 Brutes with 237 HP. Like delphars, they’re Large and have Speed 8. Their basic attack is a Hammer Fist that damages and pushes 1 square, and they can use it twice in the same action. Reflected Pain is a reaction that triggers when they’re hit by a melee attack, and which inflicts half the damage they suffered to the attacker. This recharges when they’re first bloodied. Their last ability is Mirror Step, so like most brutes they’re fairly simple to run.
These are the perfect bruiser allies for Sillits!
Final Impressions
I like the lore of the nerra quite a lot. It’s nice and epic and introduces a new and interesting location on the Astral Sea. I also like how they’re depicted as enigmatic instead of evil. A campaign against nerra is one where violence might be necessary to drive them off, but where true victory can only be achieved through unraveling their mysteries.
Mechanics wise it seems varoots are a bit too low level to hang out with their nerra buddies, so you’re going to meet them alone at the start of a nerra-focused story arc. They might be accompanied by local agents or mecernaries. The others are all of a level range where you can use them to build all-nerra encounter groups.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Nagpa
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Back in 1982, there was a movie named The Dark Crystal. It introduced these cool villainous vulture people called the Skeksis, which became kind of iconic. D&D wanted in on some of that action, so it added a species called the Nagpa to Mystara. Nagpas are to Skeksis what Halflings are to Hobbits, which means that they started out just barely different enough to avoid a lawsuit and got significantly changed in each subsequent edition. This is their 4e debut.
The Lore
Once upon a time, during the Dawn War, the Primordials realized they needed servitors that could act as special forces. They already commanded uncountable hordes of elementals, but they were mostly dumb as rocks and only good as shock troops. Giants and djinns were smart and individually powerful, but too few in number.
So they decided to take a page from the playbook of the gods and create a servitor species they named the nagpas. Created to be as beautiful as nymphs and as clever as devils, the nagpas readily took to their new role and proceeded to wreak havoc on the armies of the gods for a time.
However, when the Dawn War was nearing its end, the nagpas were clever enough to realize that their side would lose. And so it was that they made a deal with the gods to betray their masters. However, they were caught, and the primordials cursed them.
The curse took away the beauty of the nagpas, turning them into horrid vulture-like beings. It also doomed them to never touch that which they desired the most. A nagpa who loved fine food and wine would always taste foulness when he tried to eat or drink. One who loved art would see it crumble at a touch.
Nagpas were either already immortal, or were made so by the curse. Even when slain, they reincarnate within a few decades with all memories of their previous lives and deaths. Every nagpa alive today remembers their life before the curse, and is obsessed with those things it cannot have. They tend to destroy mirrors or any other surface that can show them their own faces.
The primordial curse angle is interesting. Without it, you could argue that their vulture-like appearance is a subjective thing. Some people think they’re ugly, they themselves like it just fine. But a curse might make them “axiomatically” ugly: not only are others unable to see beauty in them, they are incapable of seeing it in themselves.
The Monsters
Nagpas are Medium Elemental Humanoids with Low-Light Vision and a speed of 6. Everything else comes from training and varies per stat block. The two stat blocks here have a wizardly bent, and use magic with a corruption and decay theme.
Nagpa Corruptor
The Nagpa Corruptor is given as an example of an art-loving nagpa. Its lair looks like a museum, with cordoned-off works of art on display (but no reflective surfaces!). It employs a large number with a similarly evil disposition to protect its collection and acquire more pieces for it.
Corruptors are Level 9 Controllers with 97 HP. Their basic attacks are a withering staff that deals necrotic damage and pushes 2 squares, and a ranged Withering Blast that deals necrotic damage and immobilizes (save ends).
They can also use a ranged Devouring Fire (recharge 5+) spell that deals fire damage and ongoing fire damage (save ends). Each failed save also deals a bit of fire damage to up to 3 enemies adjacent to the target. The text says “each ally” but I’m interpreting that to mean “each ally of the target”.
Their strongest attack is an encounter power named Corrupting Curse, a close blast 5 that deals necrotic damage and creates a zone that prevents enemies inside from regaining HP. It lasts until the end of the encounter. Their other encounter power is an Enervating Blast. It’s another close blast 5 that can be cast as a minor action, deals no damage and weakens those it hits for a turn.
Corruptors let their hired muscle do most of the fighting, hitting their enemies with opportunistic spells from afar. They’re one of the rare monsters that include more specific “director’s notes” in their text, though: if the fight happens inside the corruptor’s lair/gallery, PCs should be able to its beloved art objects. The first time one is destroyed, the corruptor becomes dazed for a turn.
Nagpa Carrion Lord
This one is a gourmand who loved good food and drink, but who is cursed to only taste ashes and filth when it eats. It still likes holding feasts, but its inability to enjoy them fill it with rage and frustration, which it takes out on any nearby PCs.
The Carrion Lord is a Level 14 Artillery monster with 111 HP. All of its abilities have a “rot” theme, starting with the Rotting Staff basic melee attack that targets Fortitude and does necrotic damage. Its basic ranged attack is the Bolt of Putrescence, targetting Reflex and doing, you guessed it, necrotic damage.
Hand of Ruin (recharge 5+) is a ranged attack that changes things up a little and does acid damage. Consuming Shadows (encounter) is a ranged area attack that deals immediate and ongoing necrotic damage, and creates a zone that blocks line of sight to the carrion lord’s enemies. Its allies can see through it just fine, though. It lasts for a turn and can be sustained with a minor action. The lord’s last encounter power is Ghostly Escape, a minor action that gives it insubstantial and phasing for a turn.
The Carrion Lord likely opens the fight with Consuming Shadows, and then keeps using its two ranged attacks from beyond the sight of the PCs while its melee-oriented bodyguards keep them pinned in place. Ghostly escape is reserved for doing what its name says, and letting the nagpa get away after it sees the fight is lost.
Final Impressions
I’m going to say the same thing everyone who has reviewed a Nagpa entry always says: they’re skeksis. The way in which they’re skeksis tends to vary with the edition, though. I think the ones from the source material were pursuing immortality. These ones achieved it, but found that it brings them no joy.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Minotaur
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Minotaurs made their 4e debut right in the first Monster Manual. They’d also appear in the Monster Vault. As it happens with a lot of other monsters in the same situation, the MM3 gives us a set of minotaur stat blocks that complements the ones from the MV.
The Lore
Minotaurs are a playable option as of the PHB 3, so their basic lore is quite a bit more lenient with them than that of other “monstrous humanoids”. The MM3 innovates here by presenting us with a specific organization of evil minotaurs rather than trying to describe the whole species again.
This organization is called the Blood League. Its members have invented rituals that allow them to steal the power of another creature by eating its still-beating heart. They like to capture potential targets and release them into a special labyrinth they control, hunting the victim to the limits of its endurance and only then making the kill. They often work with worshippers of Torog and Baphomet, who share aspects of their worldview and tastes. They also work with mind flayers, who get to eat the victims’ brains after the Blood League is done with them.
The Numbers
This entry presents several Blood League minotaurs that take their powers from a variety of creatures. They’re all early Paragon threats. All of them are Medium Natural Humanoids and have a Goring Charge attack that does heavy physical damage and knocks prone on a hit. They also have a Ferocity trait that gives them one final basic attack when they’re dropped to 0 HP, with an additional rider that varies per stat block.
The novel thing here is the Heart ability each minotaur gets. This is something thematic to the creature they killed to gain their powers. It’s usually an encounter or recharge power.
Pale Bloodfiend
This one has eaten the heart of a vampire, proving that “still-beating” is a poetic flourish and not a requirement. It’s a Level 12 Brute with 140 HP.
The bloodfiend gained most of a vampire’s cool powers without any of the disadvantages, much like Marvel’s Blade. It has a Speed of 8, Darkvision, claws, and a blood-draining bite.
The Claws are a basic attack, and can be used twice in a Double Claw maneuver. If both attacks hit, the bloodfiend grabs the target. It can then use Heart of the Vampire against the grabbed victim, an attack vs. Fortitude that deals a light physical damage, dazes and weakens (save ends both). A hit also heals the bloodfiend for 20 HP. This is an encounter power that recharges on a miss, and likely represents some sort of blood-draining bite.
The Bloodfiend’s Ferocity makes its final attack daze for a turn on a hit.
Cinderhoof Trampler
This one has eaten the heart of a nightmare. It’s a Level 13 Skirmisher with 132 HP. It smells of brimstone and burnt hair. It runs very fast, and gains a few fire- and trample- based powers.
Its speed is 8, and it has Resist 10 Fire. When it hits a target granting combat advantage to it, it inflicts ongoing 10 fire damage (save ends). It’s basic attack is a Gore, and its special ability is Heart of the Nightmare (recharge 6+). This allows it to move its speed and enter enemy spaces during this move. Anyone that hits the trampler with an opportunity attack during the move takes 10 fire damage, and any creatures whose space it moves through are targeted by an attack vs. Reflex that deals heavy physical damage and knocks them prone.
The Trampler’s Ferocity pushes the target 2 squares and knocks it prone on a hit.
Ironskin Warrior
This elite Blood Leaguer has eaten the heart of a gorgon, one of the metal-skinned gas-breathing bulls of D&D. It’s a Level 14 Soldier with 140 HP, and has Resist 10 Poison.
As the name implies, the ironskin warrior has metal skin, but that’s rolled into its Soldierly high AC. It fights with a greataxe that damages, slows and prevents shifting (save ends both). The Heart of the Gorgon encounter bility is a poison breath attack (close burst 5 vs. Fortitude). A hit deals poison damage and slows (save ends). This worsens to immobilization on the first failed save, and to full petrification after the second failure. Petrification is permanent and requires magic to reverse. It’s a good fight opener, because it has the chance to take an unlucky PC out of the fight completely.
The Ironskin’s Ferocity immobilizes the target for a turn on a hit.
Shardhorn Hunter
This fearsome assassin has eaten the heart of a unicorn and made a dagger out of its horn. Just in case you doubted the Blood League was evil. It’s a Level 15 Lurker with 116 HP.
Its horn dagger can be used for basic attacks, and it can also backstab an enemy granting combat advantage to the hunter. This deals the same damage as the basic attack, plus ongoing 10 damage (save ends). Heart of the Unicorn helps with this: it allows the hunter to teleport 6 squares and turn invisible for a turn or until it attacks. It recharges when the hunter uses Backstab (hit or miss).
The Shardhorn’s Ferocity dazes for a turn on a hit.
Final Impressions
Here’s a specific evil organization with specific methods and goals, and a nice set of thematic powers. It’s not something that would have flown in the first Monster Manual (which needs to be more generic), but it’s very welcome in a subsequent supplement like this one. I want more of this!
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Mind Flayer
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Mind flayers made their 4e debut back in the first Monster Manual. This entry adds more lore to them, and more stat blocks.
The Lore
Mind flayers maintain one of the most evil civilizations in the Underdark, and that’s saying something. Illithids are aggressive supremacists who prefer to engage with even drow and duergar through slave-taking raids rather than anything resembling diplomacy. Their settlements consist of a large population of permanently mind-controlled thralls from every other sapient species in the Underdark, supporting a small collective of illithid masters, who in turn might be led by an Elder Brain.
Elder Brains live in special life support vats, and are psionic powerhouses. Third Edition had Elder Brains as deceivers who absorbed the knowledge and power of deceased illithids. Fifth Edition would make mind flayers into a full-on hive mind centered on the brains. Here in Fourth they’re neither of those things. Instead, they are revered leaders and masterminds. They form the center of a telepathic network linking all the illithids in the collective, who can communicate and share information instantly through it while retaining their individuality.
When an illithid collective passes a certain threshold of size and combined power, it performs a specific procedure on its wisest and most respected member. The volunteer’s head is severed and placed in the support tank, where it is kept alive. The other mind flayers then focus their psionic energy on the head over an extended period of time, causing it to grow in size and power until it becomes an Elder Brain.
As mentioned before, mind flayers don’t really “do” diplomacy. Their non-illithid allies are almost all slaves and mind-controlled thralls. They usually come from some of the other sapient people of the Underdark, though a mind flayer with access to the surface will happily enthrall surfacers as well. Occasionally you’ll find other aberrant monsters working alongside them, either as thralls or as allies of convenience in a symbiotic relationship.
Lone illithids might end up making actual alliances with other villains, though they only cooperate on their own terms even then.
The Numbers
As before, mind flayers are Medium Aberrant Humanoids with Darkvision and Speed 7. All of them have psychic powers and something that lets them mess with other people’s brains, but the specifics vary per stat block. The entries in the MM1 and Monster Vault focus on the mid Paragon tier. These show stronger individuals in the early Epic tier.
Mind Flayer Inquisitor
As the name implies, inquisitors are strong telepaths. The flavor text describes one of them hiding in abandoned tunnels and kidnapping nobles and sages to feast on their brains and memories.
Inquisitors are Level 20 Controllers with 190 HP. Their basic melee attack are the classic grabby tentacles, which target Reflex. A hit damages and grabs the victim (Athletics DC 31 or Acrobatics DC 33 to escape). Once the inquisitor has grabbed a victim, it can use Implant Delusions on them. This targets Will, does psychic damage, and inflicts the custom “delusions” condition (save ends). Victims suffering from delusions inflict a -2 penalty to all attacks and defenses of adjacent allies.
Their ranged powers start with the classic mind blast (recharge 5+) that inflicts psychic damage and dazes (save ends). A miss does half damage. Their Own Worst Enemy ability is an Area Burst 2 with a range of 10 squares. It hits automatically and forces every enemy in the area to use an at-will power of the inquisitor’s choice against themselves! Thankfully it’s an encounter power that recharges when the inquisitor is first bloodied, but it’s still rough on those Essentials martials.
As a minor action, the inquisitor can force an Unwilling Confession from an enemy within 10 squares. This is an attack against Will, and though it does no damage it prevents the victim from being affected by healing and by powers that grant saves (save ends).
And finally, when the inquisitor sees an enemy succeed at a saving throw, they can use Forceful Submission to force them to re-roll that save with a -2 penalty.
Inquisitors work well with a solid frontline of brutes or soldiers who can keep them safe and isolate possible victims for melee attacks. They also pair well with other monsters loaded with save-ends powers.
Mind Flayer Scourge
The flavor text here tells the story of how early surface psionics honed their abilities by raiding mind flayer lairs and trying to steal their secrets. The discipline of the mind flayer scourge was developed in response to these raids.
Scourges are Level 21 Skirmishers with 199 HP. They have Resist 10 Psychic, which does help a lot against most psionic PCs.
They have the usual grabby tentacles and dazing mind blast (recharge 5+). Their tentacles also daze the grabbed victim while the grab lasts, and the Mind Leech passive trait allows them to make an extra saving throw or recharge roll while grabbing a victim. They can even recharge their Psychic Assault encounter power with a roll of 6+.
Psychic Assault targets the grabbed victim’s Will. On a hit it deals a bit of psychic damage and dominates the victim (save ends, but with a -4 penalty). On a miss, it deals half damage and still dominates the victim (save ends). As mentioned above this is an encounter power but the scourge can recharge it with Mind Leech. It’s extremely bad news for the PCs. Scourges prefer to use it on spellcasters or psionics.
If surrounded, they can use Alter Reality as a minor action to teleport an adjacent enemy 2 squares, allowing them to potentially disengage from a defender without triggering any reactions.
Thoon Hulk
Mind flayers aren’t a very religious lot, but there is at least one entity they speak of with the reverence others would reserve for a god. Its name is Thoon, and that’s pretty much all non-illithids know about the subject. Whatever relationship Thoon might have with these brutish monstrosities remains a mystery, but they do show us that mind flayers have no problem performing horrific experiments on their own.
Thoon Hulks are much stronger and less intelligent than a typical mind flayer, but they still retain their psionic powers. They’re found as servants to “baseline” mind flayers and to other powerful aberrants like aboleths. They’re Level 22 Brutes with 255 HP.
The hulk’s basic attack is named Eviscerate, and uses its giant axe hands. This deals extra damage against creatures grabbed by the hulk. It can still grab using tentacles, which do no damage but are a minor action. This means it can grab and eviscerate on the same turn. Its mind blast is the usual psychic damage + daze combo, but it happens a little less often (recharge 6+). Once per encounter it can focus its powers and issue the Call of Thoon (ranged 10 vs. Will), which does heavy psychic damage and pulls the target up to 10 squares so it ends up adjacent to the hulk.
When the hulk dies, it triggers a Psychic Explosion, which covers a Close Burst 2 and inflicts ongoing 15 psychic damage (save ends).
Hulks are excellent front-liners, and the Call of Thoon also allows them to pull a PC squishy into Eviscerate range.
Elder Brain
As mentioned above, Elder Brains are the big bosses of a medium-to-large illithid enclave. They rule with absolute authority and live in ooze vats that amplify their powers and allow them to communicate with their subjects over vast distances.
Getting to an elder brain’s vat is an adventure in itself, since it will inevitably be in the most secure and heavily guarded part of a sizable illithid enclave. Once there, the PCs will have to contend with the brain itself and with whatever bodyguards are in the chamber with it. Elder Brains are usually too arrogant to run away from a fight, though they may change their tunes after their bodyguards are taken down and they’re reduced to low HP. However, getting there is harder than it looks, because not only can the brain fight, it can also move.
Elder Brains are Large Aberrant Magical Beasts with the Blind keyword. They have Blindsight 10 and are immune to the blinded condition and to gaze attacks. They have a ground speed of 2 and a teleport speed of 6, which I think is a first in the game - earlier edition brains were pretty much confined to their vats.
Brains are Level 23 Elite Controllers with 436 HP. They start off with a host of passive traits. The first, Warp Reality is an aura (5) that deals 10 damage to any enemy that teleports while inside. The second, Absorb Thoughts, grants the brain a saving throw or recharge roll whenever a non-minion ally drops to 0 HP within 10 squares. And the third, Unseeing Telepathy, allows it to communicate telepathically even when it doesn’t have line of effect to the other creature.
Warp Reality’s effect doesn’t care whether it was the enemy who initiated the teleport, or if someone else teleported the enemy. Damage happens either way. This is important because most of the elder brain’s attacks teleport the target.
The basic melee attack is a Reach 3 Tentacle Warp, which does light physical damage, teleports the target 3 squares, and immobilizes them for a turn. Flailing Warp allows them to make three such attacks in a single action, each against a different target. Instead of a mind blast, they have a mind burst (recharge 5+), which targets all enemies in a Close Burst 5 with the usual effects.
They can also use Sensory Overload as a minor action, which works almost identically to the mind burst. It does a little less damage, and instead of dazing it blinds and deafens for a turn and teleports the target 3 squares.
Finally, every time the elder brain successfully saves against an effect, Baleful Transfer automatically afflicts an enemy within 5 squares with the effect the brain just saved against.
These stats seem to reward aggressive tactics. All of the brain’s attacks have a range that’s equal or less than that of its aura, so it wants to fight from close range. It will probably try to teleport to be near the PC’s squishier back line, using Tentacle Warps to keep them close and to keep defenders away. It also has enough melee reach to fight from behind a wall of soldiers or brutes, and pairs well with other enemies that inflict forced teleports.
Final Impressions
All the mind flayers here have interesting mechanics, and I particularly like this edition’s take on the elder brain as a highly mobile close-range combatant. It’s probably the last thing your players will expect if they’re used to the more static depiction from other editions.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Mimic
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Mimics have been in the game since its beginning, and are are one of D&D’s most iconic monsters. They’re also notable for originating within D&D and “breaking out” to become a popular monster in other games and media.
The Lore
The image of a trasure chest growing teeth and eating the hapless adventurer trying to open it is a popular classic even within D&D’s own implied setting. Everyone knows it, and most think it’s a pretty funny joke. Everyone but those who have actually gone through this and survived the experience.
Mimics are highly intelligent creatures originating from the Far Realm. Despite their intelligence they don’t seem to be interested in friendly relations with other sapients, and are mostly interested in using their smarts to fool and eat them.
Fourth edition mimics also take over the “murderous alien shapeshifter” role from doppelgangers, which as we saw before are now mostly just people. You see, the classic chest mimic is actually a juvenile individual. As it matures, it gains the ability to absorb the memories of the people they devour and to take their shapes. These impersonator mimics infiltrate mortal society, moving around and taking different shapes as they feed. They reproduce by budding. Their spawn spend a time joined to the mass of their parent before setting out on their own as object mimics. In an emergency, the parent can reabsorb them for a quick burst of energy.
Mimics rarely seek out alliances, but they often enter a symbiotic relationship with inedible monsters like constructs or incorporeal undead. The mimic will lure victims to the other monster’s lair, and help with the fight so it can eat the bodies later.
The Numbers
Mimics are Medium Aberrant Magical Beasts. They have Resist Acid 5/tier, Darkvision, and Tremorsense 5. Their signature ability, of course, is Shapeshift.
The ability allows a mimic to switch between Ooze and Object forms. In Ooze form, it gains the standard Ooze ability to ignore all penalties for squeezing through small spaces. In object form, it can’t attack but gains Resist 10 to all damage and others must succeed at a Perception check to notice it’s a mimic. The DC varies with the individual.
Object Mimic
As mentioned above, this is a junevile of the species and the one PCs are most likely to meet first. It’s a Level 8 Lurker with 71 HP, Speed 5, and all standard traits listed above.
These mimics have an Ambush trait that gives them 2d6 bonus damage on all attacks against surprised victims. The creature has two attacks beyond its basic Slam. Crushing Tendrils do light physical damage, grab the target (with a -5 penalty to escape) and inflict ongoing 15 acid damage while the grab lasts. Ravening Maw (recharge 5+) does heavy physical damage and slows (save ends).
Either of these special attacks would make a good opener against a surprised victim, benefitting from combat advantage and from bonus Ambush damage. The Perception DC to pierce the mimic’s disguise is 24. They usually take forms that are enticing to their potential prey - a treasure chest is a classic for luring adventurers, but any other Medium object will do. Berry bushes, fancy statues, comfy chairs…
Impersonator Mimic
This is an older specimen that specializes in impersonating its victims and infiltrating mortal society. Unlike the monstrous doppelganger of editions past, impersonator mimics are more interested in food than in political power. Their main goal at any given time alternates between staying hidden and luring their next victim to an isolated spot. They can use psychic powers to help with those goals, in addition to their shapeshifting and mundane deception.
Impersonator Mimics are Level 16 Controllers with 160 HP. The impersonator’s Shapeshift ability allows them to take humanoid form in addition to the two standard ones. This form gives them a +4 bonus to Bluff and allows them to use all languages known by the last person they killed. The DC to pierce any of the impersonator’s disguises is 31.
Its attacks are the usual Slam, and a pair of psychic powers. Forcible Conversion (recharge 5+) is a non-damaging melee power that attacks Will dominates its target (save ends). Call to Harvest (minor action) is a non-damaging ranged power that also attacks Will. On a hit, it slides the target 4 squares and makes it grant combat advantage for a turn. Finally, as a free action, they can Absorb a mimic spawn that’s adjacent to them or occupying their space. This kills the spawn and gives them 1 Action Point. This does make it one of the few regular monsters with access to action points.
Note that only the object form forbids the mimic from attacking - they can use all of these abilities in humanoid form without having to shapeshift, and they can Absorb in any form.
Mimic Spawn
A very young mimic that hasn’t left the “care” of its parent yet. It can already shapeshift into objects, and it can also meld into its parent’s form for protection and increased stealth. This does make it susceptible to being re-absorbed.
Spawn are Level 16 Minion Lurkers, which make them suitable for hanging out with impersonator mimics. Not every impersonator will have spawn, but those who do will be a bit more dangerous.
The One With Master trait represents the spawn’s ability to merge with its parent. A merged spawn occupies the same space as the parent, cannot attack, and cannot be targeted or take damage. Up to four spawn can meld to a single impersonator. Their only attack is a Slam that does average damage for a minion of this level. The DC to pierce their object disguise is 31.
Final Impressions
You just gotta have mimics available in a D&D game. I don’t think I’ve ever used one, but I feel good just knowing that they exist. I guess it took the authors a long time to come up with cool mechanics for their shapeshifting, which is why it took a while for them to asppear appear in 4e.
The level mechanics make it seem that mimics start their lives pretty good at shapeshifting and get worse at it for a while before reaching their former level of skill, but that’s just a mechanical artifact. Levels can be adjusted freely - you could easily have lower-level spawn and higher level object mimics.
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