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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Elemental
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Elementals are a pretty iconic part of D&D, since they’ve shown up on every book we’ve covered so far. The MM1 and MM2 elementals were built to showcase the mixed nature of the Elemental Chaos, so they were always a different combination of two or more elements.
This was pretty cool, but it also caused some edition warriors complain that they missed the traditional single-element quartet from editions past.
The Monster Manual 3 brings the “singlementals” back, with heroic, paragon and epic variants of all four classic types. The Lesser (heroic) variants would be reprinted in the Monster Vault, and we already covered them here. We’ll look at the standards and greaters now.
Air Elemental
Air Elementals are Lurkers. They have a ground speed of 0, but very high air speeds with Hover. They also have some degree of vulnerability to Fire.
The Lesser Air Elemental is Level 1 and covered here.
Air Elemental
This Level 10 Lurker has 81 HP and a flight speed of 8. It has the same Phantom on the Wind trait as the lesser version, which makes it become invisible when it starts the turn not adjacent to any enemies. This lasts until the end of its next turn or until it attacks, so it will remain invisible until it does close in to attack.
Its basic attack is a slam with no riders, and it can use a Rampant Storm that does more damage over a Close Burst 3 area and dazes targets that couldn’t see the elemental before it attacked.
Classic lurker tactics: start invisible, Rampant Storm, move away to become invisible again.
Greater Air Elemental
This one is Large and Level 20 with 143 HP and a speed of 10. It has most of the same traits of the standard air elemental with bigger numbers, and it replaces Rampant Storm with Engulfing Winds. This melee attack pulls and grabs the target. The elemental can move freely with a grabbed victim, which takes 20 ongoing damage until they escape.
This one wants to grab someone and play keep-away.
Earth Elementals
Earth Elementals are Soldiers. They have a burrow speed equal to their walking speed. Earth Glide allows them to pass through earth and stone as if it had phasing, and their Brittle Skin means they take a -2 penalty to all defenses for a turn when hit with thunder damage. They attack with slams.
As usual, the Lesser Air Elemental is covered in the MM/MV article.
The standard Earth Elemental is level 11 with 119 HP and Speed 7. It gains a Quake Stomp attack that covers a selective Close Burst 2 and targets Fortitude, damaging those it hits, sliding them 2 squares, and knocking them prone.
The Greater Earth Elemental is Large, Level 22 with 212 HP, and replaces Quake Stomp with Flattening Stomp, which targets a single creature for heavy physical damage and automatically knocks all enemies within 2 squares of the target prone.
Fire Elementals
Fire Elementals are skirmishers. They run very fast and can fly, though not as well as an air elemental. Their slams deal only ongoing fire damage, and Flickering Flame allows them to shift a number of squares as a minor action. If they’re hit with cold damage, though, they’re Frozen in Place and can’t shift for a turn.
All elementals have a reaction ability that deals some sort of fire damage around them when they’re hit by an attack. This gets more powerful as the elemental gets bigger. Lessers are level 1, standards Level 11, and Greaters level 21.
Water Elementals
Water elementals are controllers. They have a swim speed equal to their ground speed, and are Aquatic. This gives them attack bonuses against non-aquatic enemies when fighting underwater. They’re Sensitive to Cold, and after taking cold damage they gain Vulnerable 5 against the next attack to hit them before the end of their next turn.
Their slams do some physical damage and inflict ongoing physical damage from the water that gets into people’s lungs. Drowning Essence allows them to slide victims taking this ongoing damage as a minor action.
Their special attack seems to be surging like a wave, dealing damage and pushing or sliding people around. It gets more damaging, more frequent, and pushier the bigger the elemental gets. It has different names for each elemental: Whelm for Lessers, Whirlpool for standards, and Surging Waves for Greaters.
Final Impressions
I guess you can notice me getting gradually more bored with classic elementals as I wrote the above post. These ones are better than they used to be in earlier editions, but I can understand why the Monster Vault only reprinted the lessers. The more powerful versions are pretty much the kind of thing you can write yourself using the standard monster leveling rules.
Like all other elementals, they fit easily into any adventure or encounter that also features someone who could conceivably summon and bind them. They also work well as “widlife” in the Elemental Chaos.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Drow
This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
We first looked at Drow during our Let’s Read of the Monster Manual and Vault, and you can read that post by clicking the link. The basic lore of the drow remains the same, and this entry adds a bit more alongside some epic-tier drow enemies.
The Lore
Mainstream Lolth-worshipping drow society is a nightmare of intrigue and backstabbing, as we have already seen. Every drow is plotting to backstab their superiors while keeping an eye out for similar plots coming from their subordinates and peers. The higher they rise, the more favor they have in the eyes of Lolth. Where does it end, though? What reward awaits those followers who become such tracherous vermin they become one of Lolth’s favorite children?
Why, they get to go live in the Demonweb and do it all over again!
Abyssal drow make up the bulk of the non-demon population of the Demonweb. The broad outlines of their society are largely the same as those in the world - they organize themselves into a number of factions that struggle for dominance and Lolth’s personal favor. There are three important differences, however.
The first is that these abyssal factions are centered around powerful and charismatic individuals rather than around a city-state or noble house. The second is that they’re made up of a mix of abyssal drows and demons of various kinds. The third and most surprising difference is that there is almost no internal intrigue within these factions. The stakes in the Abyss are too high - Abyssal drow form stable alliances because they can’t afford to backstab their allies down here.
The leaders of these factions are usually Lolth’s Exarchs, and they occupy the highest position any mortal worshiper of Lolth can aspire to. When in the Abyss, they spend their time managing their faction and its intrigues against the others. When outside the Demonweb, they tend to infiltrate other sapient cultures or even act as overt ambassadors of Lolth within them. Examples of such culture includes the giants and efreets of the Elemental Chaos or the devils of Hell.
The Monsters
Abyssal drow are still drow: Medium Fey Humanoids with a Speed of 7 and Darkvision. Everything else about them is a function of training and varies per stat block. Not even the classic Darkfire power is a constant, though it still shows up in some individuals.
Drow Zealot
Zealots are terrifying epic level warriors, but among the drow of the Abyss they’re considered the rank and file, the lowest of the low. Most arrived from the world not too long ago, their minds filled with dreams of glorious purpose. Some are instead long-term residents of the Abyss who have been busted down to zealot from some loftier rank due to some mistake or act of disobedience.
In either case, the first thing Lolth does to a drow who attains this rank is to curse them with a demonic spider infestation. The constant pain and suffering this causes serves as a powerful incentive for zealots to strive for promotion. The spiders that crawl out of their orifices and wounds also provide some occasional help in combat, as they attack the drow’s enemies.
Zealots are Level 23 Brutes with 265 HP. They have Resist 10 poison and the usual drow traits. They fight with a Fullblade, a huge two-handed sword that appeared in one of the Adventurer’s Vault supplements.
While bloodied they project a Spider Host aura (1), which causes any enemy in the aura that becomes bloodied to take 20 ongoing poison damage (save ends) as the demon spiders crawl from the zealot’s bloodstream to the enemy’s.
Their fullblades do the heavy damage you’d expect from an epic brute, and if the zealot misses with the attack it gains a +2 to attacks and a +5 to damage against the same target until the end of its next turn.
Zealots have the traditional Darkfire ability, a minor-action encounter power that targets Reflex. It makes the target grant combat advantage and nullifies any invisibility or concealment for a turn.
When the zealot reaches 0 HP, it explodes in a Spider Burst, creating a Close Burst 1 zone that lasts until the end of the encounter and causes 10 poison damage to anyone that starts their turn inside.
Other zealots are immune to the zone’s damage due to their poison resistance, so they have no trouble stepping over the ruptured corpses of their allies. They’ll charge the PCs and hack away without much care for their own wounds, since their auras kick in when they’re bloodied. They pair well with Leader enemies that grant extra attacks, since those could allow them to benefit from the damage bonus given by a missed attack more than once.
Draegloth Abomination
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast Abyssal drow often summon, bind, and otherwise ally with demons, but some priestesses go further and make their own. Draegloths are created by abyssal magic from a mix of demon and drider DNA.
Draegloths are pretty much impossible to control, which isn’t usually a very desired trait in lab-bred monsters. Because of this their creation is usually done as an act of devotion to Lolth, and they’re gifted directly to the goddess, to whom they are quite loyal. They can be found patrolling the Demonweb alongside other Lolth-favored demons.
Draegloth Abominations are Huge Elemental Magical Beasts with the Demon tag. They look like elephant-sized driders, or like the dapper fellow here in the illustration. They’re Level 24 Lurkers with 174 HP, ground and climb speeds of 8, Darkvision, and Tremorsense 10.
Their basic attack is a Claw that does double damage against a dazed creature. The Slashing Claws ability allows them to make two claw attacks with the same action. Their other attack is a Tethering Web (ranged 5 vs. Reflex). A hit does a small bit of poison damage and tethers the target (save ends). Tethered targets are dazed, and the demon can pull them adjacent to itself with a free action.
Once per encounter they can use a power named Maddening Darkness. This attacks the Will of all enemies in a Close Burst 2. On a hit, it slows and dazes for a turn. This power also creates a zone of darkness that blocks line of sight and blinds those within (with the exception of the demon in both cases). The zone also lasts for a turn.
When damaged, the draegloth can use a Dark Leap as a reaction. This is another encounter power, and it recharges when it’s first bloodied. It allows the creature to immediately recharge and use Maddening Darkness, and then teleport 8 squares.
Finally, it has top-tier Variable Resistance (Resistance 20 switchable 3/encounter).
Draegloths want to strike from ambush and open up with Maddening Darkness. They’ll claw as many dazed PCs as they can, and use Dark Leap with the PCs begin counter-attacking. From what point on they’ll try to stay away and tether the squishies.
Drow Shadowblade
Lolth delights in treachery, even between her own followers. So when a drow assassin is skilled and resourceful enough to murder one of the priestesses that rule the drow city-states, that assassin gets invited to the Abyss and becomes a Shadowblade. These epic assassins have access to the best gear, the deadliest poisons, and to a special technique that lets them animate and control their own shadow.
Shadowblades are Level 24 Lurkers with 171 HP and the usual drow Darkvision. Their ground speed is 7 and they have phasing, which means they can walk through walls.
Their basic attack is a Short Sword. Instead of attacking, they can spend their action to cast Animated Shadow, creating an allied animated shadow within 10 squares. The shadow lasts until the end of the shadowblade’s next turn and counts as an ally for flanking purposes, but is immune to attacks. When the shadowblade moves on its turn, the shadow slides an equal number of squares.
When a target is flanked by both the shadowblade and its shadow, the assassin can use a Shadow Strike that deals the same damage as a basic attack plus 10 necrotic damage. This causes the shadow to burst into a zone of blinding darkness to which the drow itself is immune. It lasts for a turn.
As a minor action, the shadowblade can poison its weapon with Soulrot Venom, which adds a complicated rider to the next attack it hits before the end of the encounter. That hit will weaken the target (save ends). The first failed save also makes the target take 15 ongoing necrotic damage; the second strips it of all resistances and immunities! A successful save ends all those effects. The venom recharges once the shadowblade is first bloodied.
Finally, its mastery of the sword manifests as the Persistent Blade power (recharge 4+). This is a free action that triggers when the shadowblade misses with its sword, and it allows it to make a basic attack against a different enemy.
A shadowblade alpha strike is kinda scary. It summons the shadow and envenoms its weapon “off-screen”, and then flanks and stabs a PC through a wall. If this hits, the PC will take damage from the sword, bonus necrotic damage from the shadow, and will be subject to soulrot venom. If this misses, the shadowblade can still stab someone else and poison them as a consolation prize. As soon as it can move again, it will fade into the wall and get ready for another shadow strike.
Drow Archmage
A drow wizard powerful enough to be invited to live in the Demonweb, where they give themselves over to the Abyss and become rather warlock-like. Despite their demonic power, these spellcasters fear for their souls, which become fair game to their demon buddies if they die. They are quick to run away from a fight if it seems like they’re losing, abandoning their thralls and allies to their fate.
Archmages are Level 25 Artillery with 178 HP and the standard drow traits. They fight in melee with Daggers that do physical damage and inflict a -4 attack penalty for a turn; and at range with Abyssal Bolts (ranged 20 vs. Reflex) that do acid and poison damage. They can also use two encounter spells that target Fortitude.
Cruel Banishing (melee 1) does no damage, but teleports the target 7 squares and dazes them (save ends). This is a lot deadlier if there are draegloths on Team Monster!
Demonic Grasp (ranged 10) immobilizes the target and suspends them 1 square up. Immobilized targets can still fight, they just can’t move. However, while the target is affected by this spell, they take 10 poison damage every time they or their allies damage a demon, drow, or spider.
As a minor action, the archmage can perform an Unwholesome Sacrifice (recharge 5+), dealing 20 damage to an adjacent ally in order to either recharge an encounter power or get a +10 damage bonus to a ranged attack made before the end of its next turn. Finally, it also has the same Darkfire power as the zealot.
Drow Exalted Consort
Drow society is matriarchal, and though plenty of career paths are open to drow men the loftiest heights of power are usually denied to them. The only way for a male drow to be part of the real elite is to become consort to a powerful priestess.
Being a consort is about more than looking pretty - they’re also expected to serve their ladies as bodyguards and knights. This practice continues in the Abyss, where Exalted Consorts are hand-picked by Lolth herself for their beauty and martial skill. She imbues them with divine power, and places them under the service of her priestesses in the Demonweb. This means Exalted Consorts are kinda like epic paladins or avengers of Lolth. I guess a gift of new consorts is a sign that Lolth particularly favors that priestess today.
Exalted Consorts are Level 25 Skirmishers with 224 HP. They wield paired longswords in combat with a graceful, mobile fighting style. Aside from basic attacks, they can use an at-will technique named Warding Blades that does nearly double the damage of a basic attack and gives them a +6 AC bonus against opportunity attacks for a turn. This allows them to move around the battlefield much more freely than most enemies.
They have another technique named Blurred Steel that allows them to make three basic attacks in the same action. Up to two of which can target the same creature, and the power recharges when the consort moves more than 3 squares in its turn. This is a good move to alternate with Warding Blades in order to spread damage around.
Lolth’s power turns the standard drow Darkfire into an attack named Darkfire Revelation, a minor action which targets Reflex and deals fire damage. A hit nullifies invisibility and concealment for a (save ends) duration, longer than the single turn of basic Darkfire. This is an encounter power.
Their last encounter power is Lolth’s Favor, which triggers when the consort becomes bloodied. As a reaction, they teleport 7 squares, and cause all enemies adjacent to them at the destination to grant combat advantage for a turn. This is not an escape power, but something used to press the attack.
Warding Blades should be the consort’s attack of choice even when it doesn’t plan on moving much, the extra damage is too good to pass up. Blurring Steel is a good alternative for when the consort manages to run or teleport past the PC front line and close in on the poorly-armored squishies at the back, followed by more Warding Blades in subsequent turns.
Drow Lady of Spiders
“Lady of Spiders” is the second-highest rank in Lolth’s priesthood. There are only sixty-six of these in all of existence, and the only way to ascend to their ranks is to kill one of the incumbents. The only drow who outranks them is Eclavdra, Lolth’s main exarch.
A Lady of Spiders will always be found commanding a sizable force of drow, demons and spiders of similar level. Her commands and her magic act as a big force multiplier for her lackeys. Her powers include a lot of poison- and mind-based magic, as well as the ability to heal allies and to summon demonic spiders.
Such a Lady is a Level 27 Elite Controller with 494 HP. She projects Lolth’s Blessing as an aura (2) that heals bloodied allies inside for 10 HP at the start of their turns. However, she’s Sensitive to Light, which causes the aura to shut down for a turn if the Lady takes radiant damage.
Her basic melee attack is a scourge that damages and slides enemies 2 squares on a hit, and her basic ranged attack Conjures Venom straight into a victim’s bloodstream to deal poison damage.
She can also cast an at-will spell to summon Coccooning Webs around a target, restraining them and dealing ongoing 25 poison damage (save ends both). I think we just broke the record for most ongoing poison damage in an MM so far, unless someone else reached 30 and I forgot. A target who makes the save is still slowed until they pass a second one.
The Lady’s mind magic is represented by Irrefutable Command (recharge 5+), a Close Burst 3 that targets up to 2 creatures in the burst. Targets must choose between charging another creature of the Lady’s choice or taking 50 psychic damage.
I’d say her signature ability is Bring Forth the Widows, though. It takes a standard action and summons a Medium demonic shadow spider to a space within 10 squares of the priestess. The Widow has 100 HP and the Lady’s defenses. It also has speed 8 (spider climb 8), and moves whenever the Lady takes a move action. It stays in the field for the rest of the fight or until destroyed, and if it’s destroyed this power recharges.
The Lady can order the Widow to attack with a minor action, and this deals physical and ongoing poison damage. The spider can also make opportunity attacks using the Lady’s opportunity action.
When the lady is hit in melee, her Fearsome Wrath attacks the Will of all enemies in a close burst 5. On a hit they’re pushed 5 squares and stunned for a turn. This fear effect recharges once the Lady is first bloodied.
Final Impression
With this and the Lolth entry that we’ll find a further into the book (spoilers!), you have everything you need to run a 4e rendition of the GDQ module series. Abyssal drow are the sort of enemy you’ll find in the Demonweb itself, and their unique abilities give you a spicier result than what you’d get if you just used leveled-up MV drow.
You don’t have to change much of their lore even if non-evil drow are common in your setting. These are the people who chose to dedicate themselves to Lolth, goddess of betrayal, mistress of the cycle of abuse, etc. etc.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Dread Warrior
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Common zombies are mindless beasts who fight in a clumsy, instinctual way. Dread warriors are… still mindless, but the ritual that creates them also imbues them with more refined combat skills.
The main purpose of a dread warrior is to act as a guard and protector. Their creation binds them to their master, whom they are compelled to protect and obey. When a dread warrior’s master dies, their reaction is a bit unpredictable. Some lose their animating force and drop lifelessly to the ground, others go berserk.
Instead of being bound to a person, they can be bound to an item instead, protecting it from theft and damage even after their creator passes away. Liches might use this to bind a troop of dread warriors to their soul receptacle, for example.
The Numbers
Dread Warriors are Medium Natural Animates with the Undead keyword. They have low-light vision and a natural speed of 6, modified by armor. They have a signature traits: Eyes of Undeath allows the warrior’s master to see and hear anything the creature sees and hears. It also allows the master to speak through it. There’s no range limit! This makes them excellent emissaries, decoys, or security “cameras”.
Individual warriors have additional traits related to their training and intended function.
Dread Protector
Your basic security model. Some necromancers like to fill their lairs with these things so that they always have the reassuring presence of a bodyguard no matter which room they are in. One does get used to the smell eventually.
Dread Protectors are Level 3 Soldiers with 47 HP. They wear heavy armor and wield greataxes. Their speed is 5.
Aside from Eyes Undeath, they also have a Shield of Undeath aura (1). If their master is inside this aura, they only take half damage from melee and ranged attacks. The protector does not take the other half of this damage, making this a very good power.
The greataxe marks on a hit, and though the protector doesn’t have any other abilities that make use of the mark it does make it harder to attack the master. Instead of moving normally they can use Protector’s Call to teleport their speed to square adjacent to the master. This makes it very hard for PCs to isolate them.
Dread Protectors will seek to always stay adjacent to their master and keep the most dangerous melee opponent marked. The best tactic for dealing with them is to hit them with close or area attacks. These will target both them and their master, ignoring both the mark penalty and Shield of Undeath.
Dread Marauder
This lightly armored warrior wields a short sword and a bow. It’s not any smarter than the other dread warriors, but Eyes of Undeath still makes it a superb scout since the master can see what it sees and order it from afar. If they die out there, it’s no great loss - the master knows what they need to know by that point.
Dread Marauders are Level 5 Skirmishers with 53 HP and speed 6. They deal extra damage when they have Combat Advantage, and In the Master’s Defense gives them combat advantage against anyone adjacent to their master.
The sword and bow give them both melee and ranged basic attacks, and Skirmish Strike allows them to shift 3 squares before making either one.
So aside from being good scouts, dread marauders also serve as good deterrents against melee PCs, since those PCs will be exposed to stronger attacks from the marauder as long as they remain adjacent to the master.
Dread Archers
These warriors are meant to act as sniper platforms and fire support for the master, and to man the ramparts of the master’s fortress. They’re Level 6 Artillery with 57 HP and speed 6. Their gear is similar to the marauder’s.
As artillery monsters, their bow attack is more accurate than the sword. Once per encounter they can make an arcing volley area attack.
Their greatest powers are their custom passive trait and reaction, however! Channel of Undeath allows the master to make implement attacks as if they occupied the archer’s square, as long as they can see the archer. And when the master hits with an attack, the archer can use the Sustained Attack reaction to make an immediate bow attack.
I am unsure whether I’d allow the master to “see” the archer through Eyes of Undeath, but I’d definitely allow them so see the archer through a telescope!
Dread Guardian
This is a more powerful version of the dread protector, a Level 7 Soldier with 79 HP. It’s equipped with heavy armor, a shield, a sword, and a bow.
Both the bow and sword attacks mark on a hit, and this time the protector can make a sword attack as an opportunity action when a marked enemy attacks the master.
Final Impressions
“Zombie warriors” are almost as classic as “skeleton warriors” in the dungeon fantasy genre, so I think these are pretty nifty. They’re also awesome mechanically, because Eyes of Undeath and the other passives allow for a lot if interesting underhanded tricks.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Dragon, Volcanic
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Volcanic dragons were created by Vezzuvu, the Living Mountain. The petitioners who approached this primordial were angry. You see, dragons were made in Io’s image, but Io’s demise proved he was weak. Therefore, these dragons thought, they were weak, and this realization felt like an insult to them.
Vezzuvu promised that if the dragons bathed in the boiling magma of his domain, their weak flesh would be burned away and replaced with a truly strong body. His petitioners obeyed and dove in. The survivors became volcanic dragons.
All was well with the volcanics for a time, but then their old pride and sense of entitlement began to gnaw at them again. Where their new bodies truly stronger? Had they been given all the power they were promised, all the power they surely deserved? When they concluded they hadn’t, they turned on their former master and went their own way. Their history from this point on is filled with instances of volcanic dragons allying with servants of either the gods or the primordials for a time, only to betray them a short time later. In our narrative present, everyone knows an alliance with these beasts is likely to end in sudden but inevitable betrayal.
A typical volcanic dragon’s temperament is like that of a red, but worse. They make a show of craving treasure and rulership over a territory, but what they truly crave is destruction. In other words, volcanic dragons love burning stuff, especially flesh. It makes them feel good. They like the company of other fire-elemental beings with similar dispositions, but any alliance they make is temporary at best. They live inside volcanoes and on other similar burning landscapes.
The Numbers
Since Volcanic Dragons follow the same general format of the other catastrophics you could argue they are right about getting a bad deal from Vezzuvus. They’re Elemental Magical Beasts with the Dragon and Fire keywords, Darkvision, and a Clumsy Flight speed equal to their ground speed.
Volcanic Dragon Wyrmling
Wyrmlings are Medium Level 5 Brutes with 77 HP and Speed 6. They’re surrounded by an aura (1) of Noxious Fumes that deals 3 poison damage to enemies who end their turns inside.
The dragon’s basic bite and claw are weaker than those of most brutes, but the bite inflicts ongoing fire damage and the claws strip the target of all fire resistance until the start of the dragon’s next turn. As usual wyrmling fury allows it to use both attacks in the same action while bloodied. Use the claw first!
When hit by a fire attack, the wyrmling uses a Sudden Flare as a reaction, causing each enemy inside the dragon’s aura to take 5 fire damage.
Young Volcanic Dragon
Young’uns are Large Level 10 Elite Brutes with 264 HP and speed 8. They have all the same attacks as the wyrmling, but their Wyrmling Fury upgrades to a full Double Attack. Their numbers are also bigger, of course, and they gain two new attacks.
Growing Heat is their “disaster” ability. When activated with a minor action, it makes their Noxious Fumes aura grow to size 3, then to size 5 on the next turn, and then explode in the turn after that. This explosion targets Reflex and deals both immediate and ongoing fire damage. After it resolves the dragon’s aura shrinks to its original size and the power recharges.
The dragon can also create a Lava Vent, an Area Burst 1 zone that lasts until the end of the encounter and deals 5 fire damage to anyone who enters or starts their turn there. This recharges once the dragon is first bloodied, so each dragon in the fight can create 2 vents total.
Other Age Categories
Adults are Level 15 Elite Brutes with 363 HP, and have all the same abilities of a young dragon with bigger numbers.
Elders are Huge Level 20 Elite Brutes with 468 HP, and likewise have all the same abilities.
Ancients are Huge Level 25 Elite Brutes with 574 HP. They have all the same abilities as elders and are also able to create a Fiery Fissure in addition to the lava vents. This works like a temporary wall of fire (and it’s a wall 6 pattern) that deals 20 fire damage to anyone who tries to touch or cross it. It only lasts for a turn but it’s a minor action and a recharge 5+ attack instead of an encounter power.
Final Impressions
Volcanic dragons might be weaker than traditional ones, but they’re much better at subverting expectations. Typical PCs might see that it’s a fire monster and load up on fire resistance effects, only to realize the dragon’s aura deals poison damage and it can remove fire resistance with its claws. Also, the bulk of the damage from its basic attacks is untyped, further limiting the usefulness of fire resistance.
Lore-wise, paranoia and entitlement seem to be their strongest personality traits. They’re hard to deal with because they always feel they’re not getting their due. Even when a deal is fair and happens as promised, they’ll probably feel the other party got one over on them.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Dragon, Earthquake
Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.
Earthquake dragons were created by Balcoth, the Groaning King. The petitioners who approached this Earth primordial were terrified by the death of Io, and were willing to swear loyalty to anyone who could protect them. Balcoth agreed, and fulfilled his promise by swallowing the dragons up and keeping them inside his furnace-like belly, where they “cooked” and were changed by his essence.
Balcoth would vomit up a few earthquake dragons when he needed their service. When the primordial was beheaded and slain during the Dawn War, the rest of his dragons escaped through the wound and into the world.
Generally speaking, Earthquake dragons are extremely into the whole “living disaster” thing. When they settle down somewhere, the surrounding region is soon wracked by tremors of increasing intensity and duration. The dragon feeds on the people killed by these tremors, and will sometimes destroy a city on purpose just because they can. They lair in the ruins for months, digesting their prey and enjoying the view of the ruins until they grow tired of them and fly away to look for another place to devastate.
Unlike their blizzard cousins, earthquakes are not team players. They’ll form temporary alliances with inedible creatures (mostly earth-themed), and can sometimes be bribed into service by mortals, but these arrangements never last long.
These dragons aren’t great fliers, but they can swim through earth and rock as if it was water. They hunt by suppressing their earthquake aura and stalking their prey from underground. When they attack, they make a spectacular entry and fight with all of their powers, though they usually retreat back underground rather than fighting to the death.
The Numbers
Earthquake Dragons follow the same general plan as Blizzards. They’re Elemental Magical Beasts with the Dragon and Earth keywords. They have Darkvision, Tremorsense, and both burrow and clumsy flight speeds that are about half of their ground speed.
Earthquake Dragon Wyrmling
This is a Medium Level 4 Soldier with 58 HP, representing the youngest dragon that can be a threat in combat. Their speed is 6 (burrow 2, clumsy flight 2). They project a Quaking Earth aura (1) with a very “soldierly” effect: if an enemy inside the aura makes an attack that doesn’t include the dragon as a target, the enemy falls prone and takes 5 damage.
The wyrmling’s bite and claw basic attacks do physical damage without riders, and Wyrmling Fury allows it to make both attacks in the same action while it’s bloodied.
Finally, they have a Sudden Quake ability that triggers when they’re knocked prone or subjected to forced movement. It knocks all enemies inside the dragon’s aura prone.
Young Earthquake Dragon
Young dragons are Large Level 9 Elite Soldiers with 206 HP. Their ground speed increases to 8, their burrow and flight speeds to 4. They have all the same abilities as a wyrmling, with bigger numbers. They replace Wyrmling Fury with a proper Double Attack and add two new powers.
Earthen Maw (recharge 6+) is a melee attack that does more damage than a basic bite and restains the target (save ends). After the first save the target is instead petrified! A save still ends this, but the target is entirely unable to act until they make that save.
Their “disaster” power is Rising Tremors, which follows the same pattern seen for blizzard dragons. When it’s activated with a minor action, it increases the dragon’s aura size to 3. At the end of the next turn, the aura increases again to 5. And at the end of the turn after that, the dragon makes a Close Burst 5 attack vs. Reflex. This one deals physical damage, knocks targets prone, and prevents them from standing back up (save ends). After the attack, the aura resets and this power recharges.
Other Age Categories
Adults are Level 14 Elite Soldiers with 288 HP, and have all the same abilities with bigger numbers.
Elders are Huge Level 19 Elite Soldiers with 374 HP, and again have all the same abilities with bigger numbers.
Ancients are Level 24 Elite Soldiers with 456 HP, and gain Threatening Reach 3. They once again have all the same abilities as younger dragons with bigger numbers.
Final Impressions
I’m surprised the dragons in this entry are still marked as Unaligned despite being a lot more actively destructive and cruel than blizzard dragons. I’d have thought “I exist to satisfy my twin urges to destroy and devour” would rate a Chaotic Evil alignment. Of course, you can go the other way and give them more flexible personalities and more varied motivations.
Mechanically, earthquake dragons are very good at knocking people down and keeping them down, so they pair really well with melee lurkers and skirmishers whose attacks are more powerful when they have combat advantage.
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