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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Kank
A jhakar, a stocky dog-lizard hybrid with a pug-like face. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
Kanks are giant, beetle-like hive insects. A wild hive will viciously attack strangers and intruders, but they’re actually relatively easy to domesticate: just start feeding them. After a while, the kanks will start seeing those who bring them food as members of the hive.
Each hive has a queen that does little more than continuously lay eggs. The larvae that hatch from these eggs can specialize in one of two ways:
Kank spitters are the hive’s workers. Their duty is to forage for any sort of organic matter and process it into a nutritive nectar that is used to feed the hive (and extracted to feed people). They can store the noxious byproducts of this processing and spit them at intruders as a form of defense, hence their name.
Kank soldiers are very straightforward: they’re big, they’re strong, they have huge mandibles. Their duty is to protect spitters from threats. When properly trained, they’re also extremely popular war mounts.
The Numbers
Kank queens are too immobile to get combat stats, but we do get stats for the other two types. Both are Natural Beasts with a ground speed of 8 and Resist 5 Acid and Poison.
Kank Spitter
Spitters are Small but not defenseless. They’re Level 2 Artillery with 30 HP. Their bites do a mix of untyped and acid damage. Their Kank Spit has range 10. On a hit it does a little bit of physical damage, inflicts ongoing 5 acid damage, and slows (save ends). If the target was already slowed, it is immobilized instead.
Kank Soldier
These Large kanks are Level 4 Soldiers with 54 HP and the Mount tag. Their bite is rather weak to start with, but it grabs on a hit. Once the soldier has a grabbed victim, it can only bite that victim, but its bite attack gains +2 to attack and +10 to damage.
The soldier can instead choose to inject the victim with Kank Venom (recharge 5+), an attack that targets Fortitude, slows, and deals ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends both). After the first saved throw, this worsens to immobilized.
If serving as a mount, their benefit is Grabbed Advantage: this gives their rider combat advantage against the kank’s grabbed victim.
Kank soldiers don’t have marking mechanics, but they don’t need them. They’ll focus on a victim and try to keep it grabbed by their mandibles, using the venom as a parting shot if they have reason to release the grab.
Encounters and Final Impressions
I keep hearing about kanks in other Dark Sun Let’s Reads, so it’s nice to finally put a (bug) face to the name, so to speak. They feel more interesting to me than crodlus, both because they’re beetles and because they have a use other than “war mount” to their humanoid caretakers.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Jhakar
A jhakar, a stocky dog-lizard hybrid with a pug-like face. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
Described as “small, squat, and pugnacious”, these round boys are reptilian dog equivalents with keen senses and a vicious streak. On the wild they follow your standard pack hunter structure, but they’re also frequently “tamed” by people for use as combat, guard, and tracker animals.
“Tamed” is in quotes here because jhakars don’t form bonds of loyalty with their handlers. They respect strength and pain, but they also nurse grudges. So the process of training a jhakar is quite cruel and results in a creature that’s likely to turn on their handler as soon as it sees a chance. Ironically, because of this owning a trained jhakar is seen as a sign of strength.
The Numbers
Jhakars are Small Natural Beasts with the Reptile tag. They have a ground speed of 6 and Low-Light Vision. Their signature ability is Uncanny Senses, which makes their attacks ignore concealment.
Jhakars don’t have supernatural tracking abilities like some of the monsters we saw before, but you can probably consider them as good at it as a trained mundane hound.
Jhakar Tracker
This specimen is a Level 1 Skirmisher with 28 HP and all standard jhakar traits. As mentioned above, it’s probably as good at tracking as a mundane dog, but its stat block focuses more on what it does once it finds its prey.
The tracker’s bite does standard damage with a sizable bonus against targets granting combat advantage to it. The attack also lets the tracker shift 1 square as an effect.
Once per encounter the tracker can use an Opportunistic Chomp as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 2 squares. It lets make a free bite attack with the damage bonus.
Trackers are unlikely to stay in one place for very long. Their free shift with a bite lets them move in, bite, and then dart away.
Jhakar Trapjaw
This beefier specimen is a Level 3 Soldier with 47 HP. Its Bite is a bit stronger, grabs on a hit, and lets the trapjaw make a secondary attack against Fortitude. If that one hits, the grabbed victim takes 5 ongoing damage until the grab ends.
The trapjaw can also Drag Down a grabbed victim, attacking their Fortitude. If they hit, they deal heavy damage and knock the target prone. It can’t get up until the grab ends either! This recharges when the creature is first bloodied.
Unlike trackers, jhakar trapjaws are set up to choose a PC and make their day extremely bad. They’ll do exactly that, positioning themselves as the center of attention to let their quicker buddies attack the party while they’re distracted. This works no matter who those allies are, so it’s appropriate for both wild and domesticated jhakar.
Encounters and Final Impressions
This entry is short and to the point, just like the creatures it describes. You’ll never ever need to include normal dogs or wolves in our Dark Sun Campaigns if this book has anything to say about it.
An encounter group of wild Jhakars will probably include one or two trapjaws with trackers making up the rest of the numbers. And of course any of the other doglike creatures in this or other books could be reskinned as a jhakar. They also work in any mixed encounter as trained beasts, as they are fairly common in that role.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Inix
An inix, a yellowish giant lizard with a brown beak and carapace. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
Unlike most of the Athasian fauna we saw so far, these giant lizards are fairly docile omnivores. They mostly eat plants and roots, though they’ll also feed on carrion and small animals. They only attack people if directly threatened.
Inixes are widely domesticated for use as mounts, draft animals, and livestock. Some people like to keep juveniles as pets. In the wild, they roam in small bands. Inix females lay eggs once a year, and are capable of producing viable eggs even without a male.
The Numbers
Inixes are Natural Beasts, with the Reptile tag. When forced to fight they attack with bites and with swipes of their large and powerful tails.
Inix Juvenile
Inix juveniles are only about half the size of adults, which means they’re Medium. This slighter build makes them faster than adults. Juveniles also have venom in their bites, which they lose as they grow up. They’re Level 4 Skirmishers with 57 HP and a speed of 8.
As mentioned above, their bite is venomous, dealing a mix of physical and poison damage. As a minor action they can attempt a Tail Trip, which attacks Fortitude. On a hit, the inix knocks the target prone and can shift 1 square.
Inix Adult
Adults are size Large, and Level 9 Brutes with 120 HP and a Speed of 6. They’ll probably open the fight with a Tail Slap that attacks the Fortitude of enemies in a Close Blast 2. On a hit it deals standard physical damage and knocks the targets prone.
Next, it’s time for the bite, which deals standard physical damage. When it hits a prone target, the bite deals extra damage and grabs that target. The victim can only try to stand up after the grab ends, and the inix can keep making bite attacks against it (but not against others while the victim remains grabbed).
If the inix is serving as a mount, it can use the Warding Tail ability. This triggers when the rider is hit by an opportunity attack provoked by making a ranged or area attack, and lets the inix use Tail Slap against the triggering creature as a free action. This makes them a fine mount for artillery monsters!
Encounters and Final Impressions
A short and sweet entry. It’s always good to see another member of the club of Athasian creatures that are not suicidally aggressive predators.
Encounters with domesticated inixes tend to be much more interesting than those with wild ones, as they can feature more varied encounter groups. As mentioned above, adults are awesome mounts for artillery and controller riders. They’re also fun to have as the draft animal for a “runaway wagon” scenario, as they tend to be much harder to physically stop than horses.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Id Fiend
An id fiend, a big toothy lizard, hanging out on a rock outcropping. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.
The Lore
Id fiends are big toothy lizards with psionic powers of fear manipulation, which they use to hunt their preferred prey. Which is, of course, people.
As reasonably smart magical beasts, they are capable of making alliances with other creatures, though these tend to be strained at best. More often, an id fiend might craft fearful illusions to manipulate those creatures into helping it attack others. When that happens, the best tactic is to focus on the id fiend - when it dies, its control ends.
Id fiends are a major threat to civilians, but a favorite target of seasoned monster hunters. The House of the Mind in Draj pays generously for live specimens, whose fresh organs and fluids go into making alchemical potions meant to awaken someone’s psychic potential. Many of those are dubious at best, but at least some of them have real effects. The book mentions “terror ichor” by name - this is a consumable reagent that can be used to enhance fear-based powers.
The Numbers
If Fiends are Large Aberrant Magical Beasts with the Reptile tag. This probably makes them the most mundane-looking aberrants we saw so far. Just a big lizard, not a tentacle in sight.
Mechanically, they end up filling the empty niche left by absence of low-level dragons in Athas. They’re Level 1 Solo Controllers with 120 HP, Darkvision, a Speed of 6, an immunity to Fear and Resist 5 Psychic.
A fiend can attack with a quick slash of its claws, which deals light physical damage and lets it shift 1 square; with a bite of its Snapping Jaws that deals more damage and slides the target 1 square; or with a Double Attack that uses both.
Instead of a breath weapon, it has the Manifest Fear power (recharge 4+), which affects enemies in a Close Burst 5. Those hit by it are dazed for a turn as they see a vision of their worst fears becoming reality.
Once the fiend dazes a few enemies, it will use the Fearful Torment power, a minor-action ranged attack that targets one or two tazed creatures. A hit deals psychic damage, immobilizes, and inflicts a -2 penalty to attacks for a turn. I guess this means it makes the vision of fear worse.
Once the fiend is first bloodied, Manifest Fear recharges and it can use the power immediately as a free action.
Looks like id fiends prefer to use their fear powers to kill their victims if possible, though they’re also perfectly capable of physical fighting as seen above.
Encounters and Final Impressions
A single id fiend makes a fine boss battle for beginner PCs. Once they gain a level or two, you can begin to add thralls enraptured by visions of fear, and fooled into thinking the PCs are monsters to be slain. As the book says, killing the fiend will likely free the thralls.
It’s an interesting monster, I think. Effectively a low-level dragon that breathes fear. You can level it up a bit to make it more challenging for mid-Heroic PCs, but I’d probably set that as the upper bound of their power.
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Let's Read the 4e Dark Sun Creature Catalog: Human
The Lore
Remember how I keep mentioning Mixed Groups of People as possible encounter groups? How they can be anything, allied or hostile, made up of free or enslaved individuals, working for any one of the setting’s factions or none at all?
That’s exactly the kind of description you get for humans in this entry. They are the most numerous humanoid species on Athas, they are infinitely varied and adaptable, and all the other stuff you have read about them a thousand times in other places. What this tells me is that those Mixed Groups of People will be mostly made up of humans.
The Numbers
Humans in Athas are mechanically identical to humans elsewhere. Medium Natural Humanoids with Speed 6, and with absolutely everything else determined by training in each specific stat block.
Any of these stat blocks can easily be adjusted to represent a member of another species by adding that species’ signature traits o it.
Human Slave
If humans make up the bulk of those Mixed Groups of People, then it’s logical to assume they also make up the bulk of Athas’ enslaved population. You’ll see them in large numbers while walking down the street of any of the sorcerer-kings’ city states.
The Human Slave is a Level 1 Minion Brute, armed with a club that’s likely improvised. They gain +1 bonus damage for each ally adjacent to their target, and Laborer’s Resilience make them stay up for an additional turn after being reduced to 0 HP.
As you can see, they’re quite bad at fighting, and will likely only do so if they have no other choice. Only their large numbers make them a threat to PCs.
Human Wasteland Raider
This is a typical member of those hostile Mixed Groups of People who attack you while you’re traveling the wastes, intent on either killing you, taking your stuff, or both. They’re Level 2 Soldiers with 40 HP.
The most striking thing about this stat block is the big editing error right in the middle, a barbed spear attack that has no listed damage and should be ignored. The raider’s actual weapon is a Dagger that does standard physical damage and can be used in a stronger Gutting Dagger attack against someone grabbed by the raider.
Maybe the spear was supposed to be the attack that grabbed the target? As it is, the raider has to use the default rules and perform a Grab action to do it. My suggestion here would be to replace the dagger basic attack with a Barbed Spear that does the same damage, grabs on a hit, and cannot be used against other targets while the raider has a target grabbed. Gutting Dagger would then turn into Gutting Spear, with the same effects.
Human Dune Trader
I remember disliking the emphasis the book put on elven traders being unreliable and dishonest, but it looks like it doesn’t have much better to say about the human ones. This one is described as being flanked by burly bodyguards as he cheerfully lies about the price and quality of his goods.
Dune Traders are Level 4 Controllers with the Leader tag and 55 HP. They’re armed with hatchets that do physical damage and cause the target to grant Combat Advantage for a turn.
While unbloodied, they can spend minor actions on Goading Commands that let one ally within 6 squares move their speed as a free action. While bloodied, this changes to a Furious Glare, a standard action that attacks the Will of enemies in a Close Blast 3. It does no damage, but immobilizes and makes the targets grant combat advantage on a hit (save ends both).
Human Gladiator Novice
Those gladiators who managed to survive their first few fights can go on to achieve fame and greatness… but this one is still figuring out the surviving part. There are many like him on every arena. He’s a level 4 Soldier with 55 HP.
The gladiator novice fights with a short sword that damages and marks on a hit, and can perform a hamstring cut that does the same damage, knocks prone, and slows (save ends). If an adjacent enemy stands up, the novice can use Stay Down! as a reaction to attack their Reflex and knock them back down on a hit.
The book remarks that gladiators are one of the opponent types that have in-character reasons for picking less than optimal combat options during a fight, as long as they make for a better show.
Human Overseer
Our first explicitly Evil stat block in this entry. The things they oversee are the sale, transport, and daily (mis)treatment of slaves. Whether they display malicious glee or banal apathy towards the cruelty that surrounds them, it remains true that their job is to perpetuate it. They’re Level 9 Controllers with the Leader tag and 96 HP.
Overseers are armed with Obsidian Swords, and they have extensive training in psychic powers that assault and dominate the mind because of course they do. They project a Mental Mire around themselves (aura 2) that slows enemies who starts their turns inside. Not So Fast! is a ranged attack that deals psychic damage and pulls 3 squares. And Do My Bidding targets one slowed creature within 2 squares and dominates it for a turn on a hit. This one is thankfully not at-will - it recharges when the overseer is bloodied.
Human Slavehunter
Another Evil entry. Slavehunters do what it says on the tin, roaming both the wilds and the streets looking for new people to enslave. Anyone who looks like they’d fetch a good price and won’t put up much of a fight is fair game. They’re Level 10 Skirmishers with 103 HP.
This villain is armed with a Mace and a Obsidian-toothed Whip. A hit with the mace lets them shift 1 square. A hit with the whip pulls the target 1 square and knocks it prone. As minor actions, they can use Swift Pursuit to shift 3 squares (recharges when bloodied) or Cutting Lash to inflict ongoing 10 damage (save ends) on a prone creature as an encounter power.
The book mentions a power named “Face Smash”, but this isn’t present on the stat block. I guess there were some editing hiccups, and it was replaced by Cutting Lash without any changes to the surrounding text.
Human Templar of Tyr
Fourth Edition Dark Sun is set right after the sorcerer-king of Tyr was deposed and killed in a violent revolution, and this book describes the city’s templars as being “cast adrift” and only relying on “themselves and each other” to impose their will.
This seems to me like a fancy way to say they immediately pivoted to being a crime syndicate after losing their official authority, though I remember something in the older 2e books about Tyr still having some templars in its government. This stat block is Evil, so I’m guessing it represents a “loyalist” templar who is now a mobster.
This templar is a Level 10 Controller with 106 HP. It fights exclusively with Force magic. Its basic melee attack is an Eldritch Spear that does force damage and slides targets 1 square on a hit. The basic ranged attack is an Eldritch Bolt that does the same amount of force damage and pushes 2 squares. Eldritch Cage (recharge 5+) is an Area Burst 2 spell that attacks all creatures in the area. On a hit it restrains and deals 10 ongoing force damage (save ends). The book says the templar is not shy about including some of its own allies in the area if it will help them get more PCs.
None of the templar’s powers explicitly mention defiling, but you could give them a version of the next stat block’s passive trait if you wish.
Human Defiler
In Athas, despoiling an already ravaged ecosystem is a big taboo that’s sure to draw the ire of those who see you do it… unless you’re a sorcerer-king or a templar, I guess. The defilers represented by this stat block are neither, but they really want to be and think the scorn of the ignorant masses is a light price to pay for Ultimate Cosmic Power. You could also uses these stats for a higher-ranking templar.
The Human Defiler is Level 14 Artillery with 108 HP (and also Evil). It has the Defiling passive trait, which deals 5 necrotic damage to all enemies within 3 squares whenever the defiler uses an implement power.
Its only non-implement power is a staff bonk that causes a mix of physical and necrotic damage. The templar prefers to fight from a distance with lightning spells. Lightning Lance is a basic ranged attack that does lightning damage, and Lightning Serpent, an encounter power that does a bit less lightning damage but also inflicts ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends). Once per encounter, the Defiler can use Dimension Door to teleport 10 squares, something it will probably use as an emergency escape measure.
When an enemy within 10 squares of the defiler spends a healing surge, it can use Defiling Serpent as a free action to regain HP equal to half the value of the triggering surge and recharge Lightning Serpent.
Human Mind Adept
We’re out of the Evil Zone again. This is a powerful human telepath that can be cast in any role, friendly or not: a Level 15 Controller with 145 HP.
Mind adepts rely solely on their powers (and on their teammates, of course) for defense. We start with an aura (2) of Overwhelming Thoughts that makes it so any enemy that ends their turn inside cannot target the adept with an attack until the end of their next turn. This means melee-based PCs will only be attacking them every other turn.
Pretty much all of the adept’s attacks are psychic powers that target Will. For melee, we have the Mind-Wracking Touch dealing psychic damage and making the target grant combat advantage for a turn. For greater ranges we have the at-will Paralyzing Blast (close blast 5) which targets enemies, deals light psychic damage, and immobilizes for a turn on a hit.
The adept’s ultimate technique is Will of the Master, a ranged attack that deals no damage and dominates (save ends). While the target is dominated, it emits harmful psychic waves: any enemy that starts their turn within 2 squares of the target takes 5 psychic damage and is immobilized for a turn. This is an encounter power that recharges whenever it misses.
When the adept is reduced to 0 HP, it causes Mental Overload in a Close Burst 1. This targets enemies and on a hit deals psychic damage and stuns for a turn.
Human Blade Noble
A red-haired woman human wearing leather armor and holding a sheathed sword. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. The most powerful human in this entry is not a wizard or a psychic, but someone who is Just That Good with a sword. Or in other words: Hello, Ms. Malenia! Fancy meeting you here. This is a Level 17 Controller with 163 HP.
The blade noble has a trait named Unpredictable Flank that gives them combat advantage against any enemy adjacent to one of their allies. No need to setup a by-the-book flanking position.
They fight with a Duelist’s Blade, which given the context is probably one of the few magical steel swords that still survive in Athas. Its basic attacks do physical damage and slide the target 1 square.
Dance of Blades (recharge 6+) is the technique that reminded me of Malenia: it attacks enemies in a Close Burst 2, deals the same damage as a basic attack, immobilizes, and inflicts ongoing 5 damage (save ends). On a miss it still does half damage, which is a rarity on a rechargeable attack. The noble can shift 2 squares as an effect as well.
For triggered actions we have Whirling Parry, an encounter power that triggers when an ally of the noble’s within 2 squares is hit by a melee or ranged attack. As an interrupt, the noble shifts 2 squares to be adjacent to the ally and rolls an attack using its standard bonus vs. AC. If that’s higher than the triggering attack roll, the triggering attack misses.
Encounters and Final Impressions
The individual stat blocks are pretty cool, but the lore is your standard Humans Are The Most Generic thing. In the end this ends up being a very ecletic set of People that you can reskin as any species and any narrative role that best fits your specific campaign.
I know some more recent games have explicitly gone this route for pretty much every humanoid NPC, giving us stat blocks based on narrative or mechanical role (“Bandit”, “Guard”, “Brute”, “Wizard”) and then letting us assign any species as necessary. D&D 4e wasn’t quite there yet, but ended up doing it by accident on this entry.
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