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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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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Meenlock
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Another one from the 1e Fiend Folio, though its lore is new for this edition.
The Lore
A monster is considered “aberrant” in 4e when their origins or workings are heavily tied to the Far Realm. Usually this means they come from the Far Realm, but that’s not the case with meenlocks. Meenlocks are the victims of an alien disease, and it’s this disease that comes from that horrible place.
Known as Meenlock Corruption, it eventually changes its victims into naked mole rat/crab hybrids like those in the illustration. Meenlocks gather together in subterranean lairs built in caves, ruins, or in the shallow Underdark.
These lairs usually have relatively easy access to the surface, with at most an easily-rolled boulder blocking their main entrance. The creatures themselves scatter and hide when their lairs are invaded, fighting only when cornered. All of this is because their main defense is Meenlock Corruption itself. Anyone who enters their lairs is exposed to the disease.
As the corruption progresses, it dominates the victim’s mind and compels them to return to the lair where they were infected. If such a victim spends more than two days in there, they turn into a new meenlock.
Meenlocks are driven to seek new victims as well - that’s how they increase their numbers. To that end they can ally with other creatures who are themselves resistant to their infection, in exchange for victims who are not. Potential allies include foulspawn, or powerful evil wizards and psions.
The text of the book is a bit confusing but it looks like it’s possible to restore someone who was turned into a meenlock. You need to kill the creature, burn its body, and then apply the Remove Affliction and Raise Dead rituals to the remains. How’s that for an extreme treatment?
The Numbers
Let’s start by detailing the Meenlock Corruption disease. It’s a Level 9 Disease, with an improve DC of 20, and a Maintain DC of 15. Unlike most other diseases, its resistance rolls use Insight instead of Endurance. Stage One inflicts a -4 Will penalty. Stage Two makes the victim grant combat advantage. Stage Three makes the victim become dominated by the meenlocks who infected it, and driven to return to their lair.
As usual for 4e diseases, when you reach Stage Three you stop making resistance rolls to improve. A Remove Affiction ritual might be able to save the victim if performed before the transformation is complete. Otherwise you need the more drastic procedure described above (kill them, burn the body, Remove Affliction, Raise Dead).
Meenlocks themselves are Small Aberrant Humanoids with Speed 5 and Darkvision. Their signature ability is Dimension Step (recharge 4+), a move action that allows them to teleport 8 squares. All of them fight with their claws and with a suite of mental powers blending fey magic and aberrant psionics. The specifics vary per individual stat block.
Meenlock Stalker
Stalkers possess powers that make them particularly suitable for the gathering of new victims. They’re Level 9 Controllers with 97 HP.
In combat, a Stalker will first and foremost try to forge a Horrid Link (minor action, recharge 4+) with a victim. It has a range of 10 squares and happens automatically. Whenever the stalker takes damage, the linked victim takes 1d10+5 damage. The link lasts for a turn or until the stalker uses the power again.
The Stalker can then use two powers against the linked victim. Both are ranged attacks targetting Will and inflicting light psychic damage, with different rider effects. Maddening Whispers dazes (save ends). And Twisting Whispers force the victim to make a basic attack against a creature of the stalker’s choice. It also exposes the victim to Meenlock Corruption.
Their Claws are simple basic attacks with average damage, so stalkers have an incentive to stay away from the PCs and work solely through the Horrid Link. Their default goal in a fight is to infect as many PCs as possible with Meenlock Corruption, though they might have others depending on who they’re allied with.
Meenlock Corruptor
This one trades damage potential for increased control. It’s devastating to party cohesion in both defensive and offensive ambushes. It’s a Level 11 Lurker with 89 HP.
Once again, its claws are simple basic attacks. The star of the show here is Corrupting Mind, a very complex at-will ranged attack. It deals no damage itself, but does a lot of other things. First, it exposes the target to meenlock corruption. Then, it inflicts a custom condition named Mental Disarray (save ends). A target affected by this is considered dominated, gains 2d6 bonus damage to all attacks, and is unable to see the corruptor.
Failing the first save against mental disarray makes the condition last until the end of the encounter! Whenever a victim in this state takes more than 10 damage, the meenlock corruptor takes the same amount, and the victim can make a saving throw.
Once per encounter the corruptor can also use a Psychic Shriek to hit a close blast 5, dealing psychic damage and knocking targets prone.
So yeah, another dominator that’s worse than a succubus. Since Corrupting Mind is at-will, it’s possible that the whole party would get dominated at once when fighting a corruptor. The more of them you add to a single encounter, the bigger the chance of this happening. Once a target is dominated for the encounter, Team Monster should avoid attacking them. It’s up to the PCs to do those 10+ damage to their mind-controlled friends.
Final Impressions
Another disease-themed monster that tackles its theme in a creative manner. Not many diseases use Insight instead of Endurance. Your beefy Endurance-trained defenders will get a nasty shock if the party doesn’t figure this out before exposure.
Mechanically, both of them are quite dangerous. PCs fighting an all-meenlock encounter group will spend as much time attacking each other as they will fighting the monsters. The corruptor is particularly terrifying in this regard. If possible, avoid using more than one of those in an encounter group unless you want your PCs to really suffer.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Meazels
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast. 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.
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