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• Sep 10, 2022

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

  

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

  This is the first time I’m seeing this monster, but it’s been around since the 1e Fiend Folio. Most iterations kept the same haircut.

  The Lore

  A long time ago, a certain city was ravaged by a plague. Many died from both the disease itself and from the violence that erupted as starvation, terror and rage gripped the citizens. When everything seemed to be lost, those that were still alive heard a soothing voice in their ears. It said:

  “Your gods have fled this place. The spirits of the world no longer walk with you. Your mages’ spells have failed you. In your hour of need, I alone hear your pleas.” This entity proposed a simple bargain. The people of this city would swear fealty to it, and in exchange the plague would cause no more deaths and they would enjoy limitless food forever more. Out of carelessness or desperation, the people accepted.

  Turns out the soothing voice belonged to Baalzebul, the archdevil ruler of the seventh hell. And as in any devil’s bargain, he fulfilled his promises to the letter. His new servants no longer died from the plague, but they still caught it and suffered from the weeping sores and endless hunger that were its hallmark symptoms. The only thing that could nourish them and quell this hunger was the flesh of other sapient beings, which technically counts as a “limitless” source of food if you tally the world’s population.

  These wretched creatures soon left their original city and spread through the world, to fulfill the will of their new master and to look for new food sources. They became known as Meazels.

  Meazels rarely work with other sapients, because they can’t resist their hunger for long. They prefer to work with trained or magically controlled beasts, and their spellcasters can also summon and bind elementals. Some groups of Meazels leave Baalzebul’s service and pledge allegiance to others who promise to rid them of their curse. Most of these end up being Baalzebul’s rival devils.

  The Numbers

  Meazels are Medium Natural Humanoids, usually former humans. They have a ground speed of 6 and Darkvision. They’re immune to disease, but suffer from an infernal curse that mimics the symptoms of that original plague. This manifests as the Wretched Curse of Baalzebul, their signature ability. It’s an aura (1) that inflicts the same symptoms on any enemy inside.

  Afflicted enemies take a -2 penalty to all defenses and become vulnerable 5 to all damage while inside the aura. They also inflict the same effects on any of their allies who are adjacent to them but outside the aura. Auras from multiple meazels don’t stack.

  Their other abilities all come from training, and vary per stat block.

  Meazel Bravo

  These are rank-and-file frontline fighters. Their tactics are straightforward - charge in and hit the enemy until it stops moving. Their curse aura makes them extra-effective in close quarters, and they love narrow terrain that leaves their enemies little room to maneuver.

  Bravos are Level 11 Brutes with 136 HP. Their basic attack is a Morningstar. They can also use a Gut Shot maneuver (recharge 5+), which does slightly less damage but weakens the enemy for a turn.

  Note that neither attack takes the aura into account in their damage formulas, which means they hit even harder than standard Brute of their level. Anyone in reach of either attack is also inside the aura!

  Meazel Hunter

  Hunters are archers that like to coat their arrows in their own cursed blood. Their preferred tactic is to snipe at their targets from behind a wall of bravos.

  Hunters are Level 12 Artillery with 88 HP. They fight in melee with Spears that benefit from their aura, but prefer to stay back and use their Longbows. Their basic ranged attack damages and slows for a turn on a hit. They can use a Distracting Shot instead, doing the same amount of damage and forcing the target to grant combat advantage for a turn. Once per encounter they can do the blood-dipping thing and fire a Plague-Tainted Shot that does the same damage and inflicts 10 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends). While this effect remains, any of the target’s allies that starts their turn adjacent to them takes 10 necrotic damage as well.

  The plague shot is an interesting way to disrupt PC formations, since anyone adjacent to a stricken victim will have an incentive to move away.

  Meazel Strangler

  While bravos and hunters do the obvious battling, stranglers sneak around the edges of the fight looking for isolated enemies they can drag away. They’re Level 13 Controllers with 125 HP.

  All of their attacks are Reach 1, so they all benefit from the aura. The basic attack is a short sword, but the real star of the show is the Garrote. Its intiial attack is weaker, but it grabs the target on a hit. (Athletics DC 24 or Acrobatics DC 26 to escape). In subsequent rounds the Strangler can spend a standard action to sustain the grab and deal a heavy chunk of physical damage to the target.

  Once per encounter they can use a Plage Touch that targets Fortitude, does immediate and ongoing necrotic damage, and blinds (save ends both). It’s a good opener to make that wizard easier to strangle.

  As a move action, the strangler can use Drag to the Feast, which allows it to move its speed and pull the grabbed victim along without provoking opportunity attacks from them. Other PCs can still make OAs against the meazel, but any that miss damage the grabbed victim instead.

  Final Impressions

  The history of the meazels is the story of a bunch of people who, when faced with the spread of a dangerous disease, chose to abandon science and put their faith in an instant cure sold by a charlatan. They suffered the consequences and still decided to double down.

  I will note that this entry was written way back in 2010. Any similarity between meazels and anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, and chloroquine/ivermectin enthusiasts is mere coincidence. Mechanically, they’re okay. The aura makes for some nice synergies with their other abilities.

• Sep 7, 2022

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

  

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

  Lolth is likely to be among the very first Big Bads of D&D. I think her first officially published mention was in The Village of Hommlet, an adventure published in 1979 featuring one of her priests as the final antagonist. Since that adventure and the Temple of Elemental Evil that follows it were all based on Gary Gygax’s original campaign, there’s a chance Lolth was was a thing for a few years before that even though she doesn’t appear in the first Monster Manual.

  She would make a personal appearance in 1980’s Queen of the Demonweb Pits, where she officially became the patron goddess of the drow and started getting a lot more publicity. The drow and their goddess would get plenty of spotlight time in that edition and all subsequent ones, for good and ill.

  By the time we get to this entry in the MM3, we’ve already seen most Lolth-associated monster make their appearances, populating the entire range from heroic to epic tier. We also heard a lot about Lolth herself as a goddess in other supplements. This is where we finally get her stats. She is the second “epic end boss” to make an appearance in this book, but not the last.

  The Lore

  Lolth is described by the DMG as the goddess of shadows, lies, and spiders. As we saw in the various Drow entries, back in mythic times she led a major uprising against the other elven gods. Her defeat in that civil war saw her and her proto-elf fey followers banished from the Feywild. Her followers moved to the Underdark, where over time they evolved into the drow. Lolth herself took up residence in the Abyss, crafting a whole layer of it into her personal domain.

  If I remember correctly, some of the divine-oriented supplements hint that Corellon wasn’t entirely innocent in all of this, and that the reason Lolth rose up against him is that he committed a great injustice against her. It wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that she wasn’t evil back then, and that it was either the trauma of this first betrayal or a few aeons of living in the Abyss that made her so.

  Regardless of her past history, the Lolth of today is certainly Chaotic Evil. Her followers organize themselves into strict hierarchies whose goal is to enable an endless cycle of bloody betrayal: the powerful are free to abuse the weak, and the weak are encouraged to rise in power by murdering their rivals and superiors. Lolth herself doesn’t much trust her followers as we’ve seen in past entries: she created at least two monsters whose main purpose is to infiltrate those hierarchies and keep an eye on their members.

  So, in a way, you could say Lolth is the goddess of the cycle of abuse. She inflicts on her followers the same suffering she went through long ago, and encourages them to do the same to their subordinates.

  Her dominion is the sixty-sixth layer of the Abyss, a place known as the Demonweb. As the name implies it’s a gigantic web strung across a series of titanic pillars. On its strands rest many relics stolen from other worlds, ranging from standard magic items all the way up to entire ruined cities. Beneath the Web is a black void, and at the bottom of this void are the Demonweb Pits, Lolth’s true headquarters. Here is where she holds court.

  The Pits contain a multitude of portals to other layers of the Abyss and to other planes entirely, and they’re one of the reasons why Lolth’s machinations have such a large reach.

  The Monsters

  This entry contains stats not only for Lolth, but also for her Aspect and her Exarch. We’ll describe them in order of level, like we’ve been doing for the other big shots in this series.

  There are no entries for Lolth’s cultists. Most of them are the drow described in the other monster books, as well as the Abyssal Drow and the Chitine from this one. Like the other big bads, Lolth can certainly have cultists from other species as well, using “generic” stat blocks.

  Aspect of Lolth

  Aspects are fragments of a deity’s power and mind. They share the original deity’s personality and goals, but their existence is independent. Though they’re never as powerful as the original deity, they’re still epic-tier. These used to be called “avatars” in previous editions.

  Most gods send their aspects to aid their most favored mortal servants, usually in response to a ritual requesting this aid. Lolth is an exception. Anyone who would have the power to call an aspect of Lolth is sufficiently initiated into her mysteries to know that this is a very bad idea. Instead, they spend their effort making sure she never has cause to send one.

  The reason for this is what Lolth sends her aspects as infiltrators whose goal is to influence drow society in ways that align with her goals. The aspect’s natural form is that of a giant demonic spider, but it can assume the form of a drow. It’s usual MO is to kill and replace an authority figure, and use the victim’s power and influence to fulfill its mission. When forced to fight, it reverts to its true form and “generously” spends the lives of its underlings to buy victory, or at least survival.

  Aspects of Lolth are Level 25 Elite Lurkers with 368 HP. They’re Large Immortal Magical Beasts in their natural forms, but shrink to Medium size when disguised as drow. They have ground and Spider Climb speeds of 6, Darkvision, and Blindsight 5. They have Resist 30 Poison.

  When an aspect hits a creature granting Combat Advantage to it, that creature is weakened and takes 20 ongoing poison damage (save ends both) in addition to suffering all the standard effects of the attack.

  Its basic attack is a bite. It can also shoot Acid Webs (recharge 5+) in a Clost Blast 5. This deals acid damage and slows (save ends). On the first failed save, the target also begins taking 20 ongoing acid damage until they pass a save.

  They also have a nasty power named Worthy Sacrifice, an area burst attack centered on a non-minion drow, spider, or demon ally. This causes the ally to explode into gory webs, reducing it to 0 HP, and attacks the Reflex of every enemy in the blast area. This attack doesn’t damage enemies, but immobilizes all those it hits (save ends). It also creates a zone of webbed gore that lasts until the end of the encounter and immobilizes any non-spider who ends their move inside (save ends). This recharges when the Aspect is first bloodied.

  As minor actions, the aspect can create a Cloud of Darkness that blinds and blocks line of sight for anyone but itself; and Change Shape to appear as a Medium drow. The Insight DC to pierce the disguise is 43, hard even for someone who min-maxed their Insight.

  If anyone moves adjacent to the aspect, it can use its Impaling Legs as an interrupt. This is an attack that deals physical damage and grabs the target. Grabbed targets take 10 ongoing poison damage until they escape.

  Being immobilized doesn’t actually make you grant combat advantage, but being blinded does. The Aspect should fight alongside allies who can flank the immobilized PCs. Worthy Sacrifice should be reserved to use on an ally who’s about to die anyway.

  Eclavdra, Exarch of Lolth

  

  Eclavdra has an interesting publication history. Turns out she is the actual final boss of the GDQ series, the one who used to be behind the giant attacks and everything. And she’s not even a Lolth worshipper there! Facing Lolth in those modules is more of a weird detour than the actual thing that solves the problem. A reference to this makes it into her description here.

  Eclavdra is described by the book as the “quintessential drow”. Another way of putting it might be that no one in the universe has a deeper understanding of Lolth’s mysteries aside from the goddess herself. This means Eclavdra is both Lolth’s greatest ally and her most dangerous enemy.

  Eclavdra has tried to betray Lolth not once, but twice. The first time she worked with the Elder Elemental Eye (that’s the GDQ adventures), and the second she worked with Graz’zt. She still carries a relic of the Eye, the Tentacle Rod, and uses it as her main weapon and implement.

  Despite these previous betrayals, Eclavdra has not only remained in Lolth’s good graces, but her standing seems to have improved. Maybe the Lady of Spiders admires her audacity. When roleplaying Eclavdra, it would not be out of place to take your cues from Vriska and Starscream.

  Eclavdra is a drow, and thus a Medium Fey Humanoid. She’s also a Level 28 Elite Soldier with the Leader keyword. She has the drow’s Speed 7 and Darkvision. She has no special resistances, even to poison, because Lolth is not stupid.

  As she is the Spider Queen’s Emissary, any demon, drow, and spider allies within 5 squares of Eclavdra have a +2 bonus to attack and can shift 1 square as a minor action. Her Tentacle Rod is stretchy and has Reach 3. It can be used in a few special maneuvers in addition to giving her a basic attack.

  Tentacle Lash has the same reach and damage as a basic attack, but on a hit it also strips all poison resistance or immunity from the target for the rest of the encounter. The target is also slowed (save ends). This is an at-will power!

  Insidious Offer is a ranged spell that deals very weak psychic damage for its level… but on a hit it forces one of those interesting choices I like so much. The target must choose between taking an extra 30 psychic damage from the attack, or becoming dominated (save ends). That’s very in theme - it’s not “real” betrayal if it’s not a choice.

  Eclavdra’s minor-action attacks are an unfortunate throwback to the “sexy dominatrix drow” days. Entrancing Beauty is a Close Burst 5 that targets all enemies, deals light psychic damage, and pulls then 2 squares on a hit. On Your Knees is a non-damaging attack with the tentacle rod that makes the target fall prone and prevents them from standing up (save ends).

  Finally, Blinking Escape allows Eclavdra to teleport 6 squares and gain concealment as a reaction when she’s hit by a close or area attack.

  Eclavdra is loathe to risk her own life. She will make use of guile and manipulation to prevent hostilities from initiating, and when they do she will use her underlings as shields. When the tide of battle turns against her, she will attempt to run away.

  Lolth, The Demon Queen of Spiders

  There’s no need to repeat the lore of Lolth here - it’s all up at the start of the article. Mechanically, she is notable for being the first official two-stage boss I’ve seen. I believe she’s also the first actual god to get stats in this edition, and the most powerful endgame boss so far.

  This means she has two stat blocks! The first is her drow form, in which she is a Level 35 Solo Lurker with 634 HP. When she hits 0 HP in this form, she becomes a Huge demonic spider who is a Level 35 Solo Brute with another 634 HP.

  In both forms Lolth has ground, climb, and teleport speeds of 8. She also has Darkvision, Blindsight 20, and is immune to poison. Her remaining abilities are entirely different in both forms.

  In her drow form, Lolth fights with a Scourge, a multi-tailed whip. Its attacks are Reach 3, do some light physical damage, and slide the target 3 squares. They also inflict ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends).

  She can use the Insidious Poison ability (recharge 4+) to automatically force an enemy that’s taking ongoing poison damage to attack an ally. That attack deals a lot of extra poison damage as well.

  She has three minor-action attacks. Lolth’s Kiss is a Reach 1 melee attack that deals a bit less damage than the scourge, but inflicts the same amount of ongoing poison damage. Poison Strands is a ranged attack that deals no immediate damage but immobilizes (save ends). After the first saved throw, this worsens to Restrained. After the second the target begins taking 50 ongoing poison damage until they pass a save to end all of this at once. That’s the deadliest poison in existence! And yeah, both of these are at will.

  The third is an encounter power: Impenetrable Darkfire is a Close Burst 5 that targets enemies. It blinds, inflicts 20 ongoing fire damage, and makes it impossible for them to benefit from cover or concealment (save ends all). It also creates a zone that lasts for a turn, blocks line of sight for everyone but Lolth, and blinds anyone inside who is not Lolth.

  When an enemy hits Lolth, she can use a Dominating Rebuke as a reaction to automatically dominate them for a turn. And as a deity, her Immortal Resilience allows her to immediately roll a save when she is inflicted by any effect a save can end. This is a “No Action” effect, meaning it always happens, giving her a 75% chance of ignoring all save ends effects outright.

  The transformation that happens when Drow Lolth hits 0 HP is also an attack. It targets all enemies in a Close Burst 10. On a hit they become vulnerable 20 to all damage, and are stunned (save ends both). As an aftereffect after passing the save, they’re pushed their speed away from her and are dazed for a turn. After this resolves, Lolth assumes her spider shape, and uses that stat block going forward.

  Lolth the Spider Queen is, as mentioned, a Huge spider and a Level 35 Brute. Her basic attack is now a Bite that deals much stronger base damage and still inflicts 20 ongoing poison damage. Insidious Poison is still here and work the same, but the damage bonus is bigger.

  As a minor action she can spray Burning Webs in a Close Burst 5 that deal acid damage and immobilize (save ends). After failing the first saving throw, victims are restrained instead and take 30 ongoing acid damage.

  Immortal Resilience is still here and works the same. She also has Impaling Legs like those of her Aspect, but they’re Reach 3 and trigger when an enemy moves into reach. A target hit by the attack is restrained and begins taking ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends both).

  Finally, when Spider Lolth is first bloodied, she uses Divine Discorporation to escape. This works automatically, and causes her mind to leave her body and be unable to assume physical shape for a while. This period can last several years, and while Lolth’s power will be greatly diminished during this time she’s still alive and can direct her forces. A bit like Sauron in Lord of the Rings.

  To truly kill Lolth, the PCs must fulfill a condition or complete a quest that’s specific to her. If this happens, then she’s prevented from discorporating and can be fought until truly killed. The book presents three example quests, and the GM is encouraged to come up with something that fits their specific world and campaign.

  The example quests are:

  • The Loom of Fate, an artifact hidden deep within Corellon’s palace in Arvandor. It was once used by Lolth, and it can be used by the PCs to rearrange the threads of her fate and make her defeatable. Corellon knows this but fears to use it. What doesn’t he want you to know?

  • The Egg of Lolth, a mysterious artifact that can be destroyed to seal the gates going out of the Demonweb Pits and thus prevent Lolth’s escape. But then how do you get out?

  • Lolth’s Prison, a demiplane beyond even the Demonweb Pits, where a dread Bone Colossus guards the Pendant of Truth. Brandishing the Pendant before the goddess of lies prevents her from discorporating. How will you get there, and what truths will you find within?

  Final Impressions

  All of these enemies are quite interesting mechanically. I particularly like Lolth’s two-stage-boss design. Her drow form is all about the insidious poisoning of mind and body. Her attacks deal little immediate damage, and the riders are what kills you. The spider form is a lot more direct.

  As a Level 35 monster, a max-level party is going to have some trouble hitting Lolth and avoiding her strikes. This fortunately doesn’t affect saves, but even so the PC’s leaders should have plenty of save-granting abilities and items on hand, because failing those saves has dreadful consequences. Conversely, offense should focus on abilities that deal direct non-poison damage and whose riders are either immediate or last a turn, because she’s almost immune to anything that requires a save.

  I also love Eclavdra’s description as a Starscream figure. That even works as a proper elven surname if you want it to be really on the nose.

• Sep 5, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Kuo-Toa

  

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

  Kuo-toa made their 4e debut in the Monster Manual, and would get a MV style upgrade in Dungeon 193. This entry gives us extra stat blocks that don’t overlap with either, even though it came out months before the Dungeon update.

  The Lore

  Kuo-Toa basic lore remains the same. They’re the spear-wielding fish people that live in the Underdark and worship aboleths and other aberrant entities. Their priests, known as whips, are their absolute rulers, and discipline is enforced by individuals known as monitors.

  This entry adds that whips and monitors are able to force their underlings to follow a coherent combat strategy even though those underlings tend to be very mentally unstable. If these leaders fall before their underlings, the group’s tactics will become a lot more erratic. Some will run, some will go berserk, and so on.

  The Monsters

  All kuo-toa in this entry have ground and swim speeds of 6. They are Aquatic and have Darkvision. Their signature ability is Slick Maneuver, a move action that can be used when they’re adjacent to an enemy and allows them to shift 3 squares, though they must end the move still adjacent to the enemy.

  Kuo-Toa Mad One

  As you can guess from the name, Mad Ones are unstable even by the standards of other kuo-toa. They’re afflicted by a form of supernatural insanity that originates in the Far Realm and is contagious. They hang around old ruins and temples, worshipping and guarding ancient artifacts far away from the rest of their society. If one of these is stolen, they’ll give chase to punish the thieves and recover the relic.

  Mad Ones are Level 12 Minion Skirmishers, and notably lack Slick Maneuver. Instead, they have an aura (1) of Spreading Madness that gives all enemies inside 5 Vulnerability to psychic damage. Their Claw attacks damage and allow them to shift 1 square on a hit. They can also release a Psychic Scream in a Close Blast 3. It deals a small amount of psychic damage, though that gets a boost from Spreading Madness.

  Kuo-Toa Drowner

  Drowners specialize on raiding ships and dragging their crews to a watery doom. They wield hooks and barbed nets in combat.

  Drowners are Level 14 Soldiers with 137 HP. Their hooks can be used for basic attacks and for a Dredging Hook maneuver that does the same damage as a basic attack and slides the target 3 squares to another square adjacent to the kuo-toa. Combined with Slick Maneuver, this makes the process of dragging a victim overboard into a sort of spiral dance.

  The Barbed Net can be thrown as a ranged attack vs. Reflex. It deals a bit less damage than the hook, and if the target willingly moves in their next turn they take extra damage. Drowners carry 4 of these nets each.

  Kuo-Toa Lash

  Lashes are a caste of lesser priests, subservient to the whips and responsible for overseeing sacrifices. This includes leading raids to acquire victims. They fight with tridents and a combination of lightning and water-based magic.

  Lashes are Level 15 Artillery with 115 HP. They can use their tridents in melee or throw them in a Lightning Trident attack that’s stronger, deals lightning damage, and causes the weapon to return to the lash. Its main disadvantage is that the range on this attack is only 3/6.

  Their Fill Lungs spell reaches a lot farther. It targets Fortitude, does physical damage, and inflicts ongoing 5 damage. It’s also very scary.

  They can also use a Forked Lightning spell that works as a lightning-based fireball that also blinds on a hit. This recharges whey they’re first bloodied, or when they reduce an enemy to 0 HP.

  Kuo-Toa Cutter

  Cutters are classic skirmishers, trained to slip through enemy frontlines and stab their squishies with serrated daggers. They’re Level 16 Skirmishers with 151 HP.

  The barbed dagger does standard damage for their level, and they can also use it in a Crippling Strike that does less damage but inflicts slowness and ongoing 10 damage (save ends). If someone misses them with a melee attack, the cutter can shift 4 squares and use Barbed Dagger as a reaction.

  Final Impressions

  These go well with the Dungeon 193 updated kuo-toa, and if you’re already using those then you’ll like these ones. No big lore changes here, but the stat blocks are cool enough.

• Sep 3, 2022

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

  

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

  Krakens have been in the game since AD&D, but here they get some extra lore.

  The Lore

  At the beginning of time, long before the creation of the first mortals, the Krakens escaped from the Far Realm and entered the middle world and the Astral Sea, trailing the debris of other broken worlds behind them.

  They had a good time for a while, but then a great cataclysm (perhaps the Dawn War) scattered them. In our narrative present most of the surviving krakens are hidden in the deepest trenches of the middle world’s oceans, or slumbering in forgotten corners of the Astral. Every once in a while, though, one of them will leave these dark holes and once again wreak havoc.

  These creatures are extremely intelligent, though their mentalities are very alien to mortals. They’re hostile to mortal sapients for incomprehensible reasons, and are drawn to wherever large groups of sapient minds can be found. When they emerge, groups of cultists soon gather around them, composed both of mortal worshippers and aberrant creatures. Krakens are more than smart enough to command and use these cults to help fulfill their destructive goals.

  So yeah, Krakens are Great Old Ones.

  The Monsters

  We have two varieties of kraken here. One is more geared towards the classic “giant squid attacks ship” scenario, and the other leans more on the Great Old One aesthetic. Both are Gargantuan Aberrant Magical Beasts.

  Sea Kraken

  A kraken that lives in the seas of the middle world. It is said that terrible storms follow in their wake. They love to attack ships, and any vessel grabbed by a Sea Kraken is likely doomed unless it happens to be transporting a party of particularly badass adventurers.

  Sea Krakens are Level 10 Solo Soldiers with 432 HP, which makes them a bit lower-level than I anticipated given their general lore. They have darkvision, a ground speed of 6, and a swim speed of 10. I think this makes them faster in water than most ships.

  Sea Krakens are obviously Aquatic, which means they can breathe underwater and gain a +2 attack bonus against non-aquatic creatures fighting them in the water. They also have Threatening Reach 3. As you might guess, this is a grabby monster. Escaping its grabs requires a DC 26 Athletics or DC 22 Acrobatis check.

  The kraken’s basic attack involves its Crushing Tentacles, which are Reach 3. They damage and grab on a hit, and the kraken can have up to 8 creatures grabbed by this attack. The monster can spend a minor action to sustain all of its grabs and deal an automatic 5 damage to all victims.

  Devourer of Ships is a literal anti-vehicle attack - it can only target vehicles, and it’s what the beast uses to coil around a ship. It deals heavy damage to the target ship and restrains it while the kraken remains within 3 squares of it. While restrained, the ship takes 20 damage at the start of the target’s turn. Its pilot can spend a Standard action to give the ship a saving throw, and if it passes it escapes the grab.

  And don’t worry, krakens don’t have to split their attention between a ship and its crew. Coils of Doom is an at-will power that allows them to use Crushing Tentacles twice and Devourer of Ships once with a single action.

  Once per encounter they can also use an ability named Wavewrack to create a zone in a Close Burst 3 around themselves. This zone is difficult terrain. When an enemy starts their turn inside, they take 5 damage and are slid 2 squares. The Kraken can spend a minor action to slide this zone up to 3 squares. Do note that a Close Burst 3 around a Gargantuan creature is much larger than one around a Medium creature.

  Aside from moving the zone, the kraken can spend minor actions to activate any of the following abilities. Fatal Plunge is an attack against a grabbed creature that deals light damage and slides the target 3 squares. As the name implies, this can allow the kraken to drag them underwater. It can also Fling a grabbed creature, sliding them adjacent to another creature and making a lightly-damaging attack against both. This ends the grab. And finally, it can shoot Venom Bolts that deal poison damage and blind (save ends).

  We’re not done yet! If a grabbed creature damages the kraken, the monster can use Vengeful Constriction as a reaction to deal 5 automatic damage to every creature it’s grabbing.

  Astral Kraken

  Astral Krakens are “sea monsters” in the same way the Astral is a “sea”. Their bodies are made of stars and shadow, their eyes two black lightless voids. Madness precedes them and follows in their wake. You might say they’re closer to their original forms than the sea kraken, as they never had to acclimate to the middle world. You know how some people worship Aboleths as god-like beings older than time? I bet Aboleths worship astral krakens in the same way.

  Astral Krakens are Level 25 Solo Controllers with 925 HP, putting them in the same “weight class” as godforged and primordial colossi, divine and demonic exarchs, and most ancient dragons. It takes the sea kraken chassis and adds madness-themed abilities on top. It has a flight speed of 10, and Blindsight 20. Invisibility won’t save you.

  The kraken’s melee attacks have Threatening Reach 4. Its Tentacles From Beyond work like the sea kraken’s, damaging and grabbing. The escape DC is 41 for Athletics, and 37 for Acrobatics. Sustaining the grab deals 15 psychic damage to all victims.

  Absorb Psyche targets all grabbed victims at once, attacking Will and dealing psychic damage. A hit also grants the Kraken a +5 bonus to attack with Touch of Madness (below) for the rest of the encounter.

  Touch of Madness targets a single creature’s Will. It does no damage, but it forces the target to use its highest-level encounter power against another target of the Kraken’s choice. This happens even if the power was already expended, and doesn’t expend the power if it hasn’t.

  Devourer of Ships is here too, and works much like the Sea Kraken version. Despite its higher accuracy, it deals exactly the same damage. I guess this makes sense, since a ship’s HP varies less than a PC’s as level goes up.

  As a minor action, the astral kraken can release a Nullifying Pulse in a Close Blast 4. This non-damaging attack targets Will and dazes (save ends) on a hit. There are no other minor action attacks, but it doesn’t need any more with such a powerful multi-daze at its disposal.

  Its triggered actions are pretty scary too! When someone misses the kraken, they’re forced to Behold the Horror. This is a reaction attack that targets Will, deals psychic damage, and dominates for a turn. Luckily it can only happen at most once per round, since it’s a reaction.

  Once per encounter, when the kraken is first bloodied, it lets out a Psychic Scream, which covers a large enough area (Close Burst 10!) that it’s likely to target every enemy. This attacks Will, and on a hit it deals psychic damage and stuns (save ends).

  Final Impressions

  When it’s time to release the kraken, these two will not disappoint.

  Sea krakens have a lot of straightforward multi-attack capability, and they’re really hard to shake from your ship once they grab on. If the ship manages to escape, they don’t have to divert their attention from the crew to grab the vessel again.

  The astral kraken’s multi-attack capability is less straightforward than the sea kraken’s, but it has excellent action denial, and can be terrifying if you give it time to set things up properly.

  Both monsters don’t seem to have much defense against being dazed or stunned other than the standard +5 solo bonus to saves, so doing that is a good way to neutralize their firepower. If your party is heavy on the action denial powers, you can make things harder for them by adding a sprinkling of cultist minions and a leader-type that can grant them extra saves.

• Sep 1, 2022

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

  

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

  I believe jackalweres are another monster from the AD&D days, but this time around they get a new backstory.

  The Lore

  The middle world was a ver dangerous place back during the Dawn War. Its lands were constantly ravaged by splash damage and near-misses from the cosmic struggle between gods and primordials. It was not unusual for ancient mortals to go to war with each other and with the wildlife to secure shelter and food.

  One of these wars was between an ancient human people and a nation of primal jackals - sapient magical beasts that looked like mundane animals. The jackals lost badly and were almost driven to extinction. The few survivors howled their rage and grief to the skies, and to their surprise something answered. The primal spirit known as the Dark Sister hear their cries and gave them her gifts, turning them into the first jackalweres. These gifts give jackalweres the ability to assume human form. Not a single specific human form, like a lycanthrope, but any human form, like a doppelganger.

  Present-day jackalweres organize themselves into small nomadic packs. Some roam and hunt like their distant ancestors did, staying mostly in their natural animal form. Many of them, however, still carry those ancestors’ grudges against humanity and treat them as prey. They use their shapechanging powers to spy on human communities at the edge of the wilderness and to disable their defenses before launching a devastating raid with the goal of killing everyone. And once someone comes in to investigate the carnage it’s not uncommon for them to find a party of “adventurers” doing the same. These adventurers are, of course, the jackalweres who were responsible for the raid and who stuck around to kill the responders.

  The Numbers

  Jackalweres are Medium Natural Humanoids with the Shapechanger keyword. Their signature ability is Change Shape, which allows them to take the form of a Medium jackal or that of a human. Their clothing, armor, and possessions do not change, which means they must either have stashes of gear to don after taking human form, or they must take someone’s place. They can disguise themselves as any individual they’ve seen before, and the DC for seeing through this is 26 - very high for their level.

  Jackalweres have Speed 6, the same as a human.

  Jackalwere Bravo

  Bravos are the younger members of a pack. They’re eager to prove themselves in battle, but their elders have them acting as servants and menial laborers most of the time. When they’re given orders to fight, they do so with enthusiasm and release all of their pent-up anger.

  Bravos are Level 3 Brutes with 56 HP. The Bravo’s Fury trait gives them 1d6 bonus damage against dazed, helpless, or prone creatures. In human form, they fight with Falchions, which are High-Crit weapons. In jackal form, they bite, which does a bit less damage but knocks prone on a hit. Their Howling Frenzy attack allows them to bite twice. If both bites hit the same target, that target is dazed for a turn. This recharges once they’re first bloodied.

  When the PCs fight a pack of bravos, it’s interesting to mix up their forms. They can knock PCs prone or daze them while in jackal form, and their human-form buddies can benefit from this while using the stronger falchion attack.

  Jackalwere Harriers

  Harriers are Level 3 Minion Soldiers with no patience for subtlety. Maybe they’re even younger and more eager members of the pack, or maybe they’re previously wounded warriors forced to fight. Whatever the case, they’ll try to knock their enemies down so their stronger buddies can finish the job.

  Harriers fight with daggers in human form and with bites in jackal form. The bite is a normal minion attack, and the dagger does a bit less damage and makes the target grant combat advantage for a turn. In either form, if the harrier hits someone who’s granting combat advantage, they knock the target prone.

  Jackalwere Deceiver

  This is an experience pack leader that has developed some minor magical powers. They often run some sort of operation that allows them to kill human victims discreetly. Deceivers are Level 4 Controllers wtih 54 HP.

  They fight with bites or short swords depending on their form, and as usual the bite knocks prone. In jackal form they can also use a Vicious Howl that attacks a Close Blast 3, does thunder damage, and knocks prone on a hit. In either form they can use a Gaze of Sleep (recharge 5+) that does no damage and causes the target to fall unconscious (save ends). If the unconscious target takes damage, they get an additional save against the effect.

  Deceivers usually lead a band of bravos and harriers, which means they have an incentive to lean on Vicious Howl and Gaze of Sleep to allow their hench-jackals to deal bonus damage against the PCs.

  Final Impressions

  These monsters are not technically lycanthropes despite their shapechanging ability, and this is something I only really got after reading their stat blocks.

  According to the book, the typical jackalwere pack consists of a mated pair of deceivers leading a mixed band of bravos and harriers. If the pack is currently in disguise, they’ll hire mercenaries to provide additional protection and firepower. They prefer to hire half-orcs, goliaths and warforged for these jobs since they dislike the flesh of these species. This implies they find everyone else tasty.

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