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• Feb 1, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 2: Sprite Swarm

  

  This article is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.

  Sprites are super-tiny humanoid fey, tinier even than the pixies that would show up as a playable option in Heroes of the Feywild. I think they’ve been in the game since at least AD&D 1st Edition in some for or another.

  The Lore

  Sprites in earlier editions tended to be described as just tiny fairy folk who liked all the usual Victorian Fairy things like song and dance and pastoral nature. They might have a propensity for pranks, but normally didn’t get more aggressive than that unless the PCs were out to exterminate them. A single sprite was pretty much harmless, but they often came in large numbers.

  These aren’t the sprites from earlier editions. These are Umbral Sprites.

  Umbral Sprites are just as tiny as the nice variety, but they’re cruel, violent, and territorial. Interactions between them and the PCs skip right past the talky and pranky stages and go right to combat as swarms of these things descend upon them. A single umbral sprite is still harmless to an adventurer, but a swarm of them is dangerous enough to get monster stats.

  Though these tiny terrors are native to the Feywild, they tend to seek out areas that contain crossings to the Shadowfell to claim as territory. Spriggans and ill-intentioned gnomes tend to ally with them and use them as diversions for subtler schemes. It’s hard to notice gnomes sneaking into your vaults when you have a cloud of angry sprites poking out your eyes.

  The Numbers

  This entry gives us stats for a fairly small swarm of umbral sprites. This is a Medium swarm composed of Fey Humanoids, and counts as a Level 4 Controller with 55 HP. It has blindsight with range 6, a ground speed of 4, and a flight speed of 6 with Hover.

  It also has the standard swarm traits: it takes half damage from single-target attacks, and extra damage from area attacks. Its Swarm Attack aura (1) deals 3 damage to creatures caught inside.

  Its basic attack is a Swarm of Fangs and Blades, but aside from the name it’s nothing spectacular. Their special Darkwave attack (recharge 5+) is more impressive. It’s a Close Burst 3 that targets Reflex, does necrotic damage, and creates a zone of darkness that lasts for a durn.

  They also have the gnome’s Fade Away power, becoming invisible as a reaction to taking damage once per encounter. This invisibility lasts for a turn, or until they hit or miss with an attack.

  When fighting a group of PCs, they’re going to rely on Darkwave to keep them in the dark and will use basic attacks and the swarm aura to deal damage while that power recharges. The sprites are unaffected by their own darkness due to their blindsight.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions.

  You can model a larger group of umbral sprites by using several swarms in an encounter, or by increasing the level and size of a single one. They also make me think about adapting The Dreams of Ruin to 4e, because they look like they are the base creature for Murdersprites. A murdersprite swarm is probably more like a Colossal Level 14-18 Brute, though.

  The sample encounter is Level 5, and is a grab-bag of Feywild hazards: 2 ettercap fang guards working with 2 sprite swarms and 2 fey panthers.

• Feb 1, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 2: Spriggan

  

  This article is part of a series! Click here to see the rest.

  I can’t find spriggans in my 2nd edition and earlier books, but I know they’re in Pathfinder, so they were probably introduced in D&D 3.x. This entry is their 4e debut. It feels like there’s been some condensing here because this entry also uses several other names that I’m sure belonged to separate “small evil fey” enemies, like “redcap” and “powrie”.

  The Lore

  Back in the post on gnomes, we already saw that the gnome people used to be enslaved by the fomorians in the ancient past, but that they managed to escape. Here, we learn that not all of them managed to get away. Those unfortunates were eventually twisted into spriggans by fomorian magic. It’s unclear whether this happened as punishment for the escape attempt, or during some subsequent experiment.

  The book doesn’t describe present-day spriggans as fomorian slaves, so maybe they were discarded by their former masters as failures. They live in underground settlements excavated under rugged terrain.

  Fomorian magic warped spriggan hearts as much as it did their bodies. Soaking stuff in the blood of enemies seems to be a big deal to them. Their habit of doing that to their hats caused them to also be known as redcaps by other sapients. Spriggan communities delight in raiding, tormenting and extracting tribute from their weaker neighbors, behaving pretty much like bandit gangs.

  The Numbers

  Spriggans are Small Fey Humanoids with low-light vision and a ground speed of 6. Their signature ability is Redcap Zeal, a free-action encounter power that grants them temporary HP when they bloody or defeat an enemy.

  Spriggan Giantsoul

  Giantsouls tap into the fomorian magic in their blood, which gives them enhanced strength and the ability to stretch their arms to gain a giant’s reach. They’re Level 8 Brutes with 106 HP.

  These spriggans fight unarmed, using slams as their basic attack. The stretch-arm thing comes into play in the Giantsoul Slam special attack (recharge 4+), which is Reach 2, does the same damage as the slam, and knocks prone on a hit. Both attacks deal bonus damage when the spriggan is bloodied.

  Once per encounter, the giantsoul can use a Surprise Slam, an interrupt that triggers when an enemy within 2 squares of them attacks an ally. This allows it to use Giantsoul Slam against the triggering enemy, recharging the ability if necessary.

  They’re good frontliners, with a limited ability to protect squishier allies when the PCs try to get around them.

  Spriggan Powrie

  All spriggans use iron-shod boots as part of their combat gear, but powries have a particular dedication to the fine art of stomping. They’re Level 7 Skirmishers with 79 HP.

  The powrie fights with a sickle that does light physical damage and inflicts ongoing damage. It can also be used in a Hamstring special attack that has the same effects and also knocks prone and slows for a turn. This recharges when the powrie is first bloodied.

  Against prone enemies it can use the amusing Punt The Fallen attack, which deals the same damage as the sickle and pushes 3 squares. The best thing about this attack is that it’s an at-will minor action!

  If the powrie has combat advantage against a creature taking ongoing damage, attacking that creature with any of the above will also increase their ongoing damage by 5.

  Finally, the Blood Slide passive trait prevents the powrie from provoking opportunity attacks when leaving a square adjacent to a creature who’s bloodied or taking ongoing damage.

  So most of the time a powrie will be attacking enemies with the sickle and moving around the battlefield with the aid of Blood Slide in order to spread as much ongoing damage around as possible, and will then seek combat advantgae against a single target. Hamstring and Punt the Fallen is an hilarious combination, and the latter means powries pair really well with other enemies who can drop targets prone more often. Multiple powries in a fight mean you can begin an impromptu soccer match with a prone PC as the ball.

  Spriggan Thorn

  The spriggan thorn is armed with a short sword and a light shield, which are imbued with a curse of thorns. The sword itself is enveloped in them, and the spriggan can curse an enemy and cause thorns to spring from under their skin. It’s a Level 6 Soldier with 71 HP.

  The Short Sword damages and inflicts ongoing damage (thorns!). It can be enhanced with the Drowsing Puncture power as a minor action. This makes the next attack daze the target for a turn and knock them prone, if it hits. It recharges when the thorn is first bloodied.

  The curse is called Mark of Thorns, and it’s an encounter power that automatically hits a target in a Close Burst 5. A cursed target can’t make opportunity attacks against the thorn, and takes 4 damage at the end of any turn in which it didn’t attack the thorn. Any allies of the target that start the turn adjacent to them also take 4 damage.

  Drowsing Puncture is a fine skill to use against PC defenders, and the Mark is quite versatile. When used against a defender, it allows the thorn to slip past the PC front-line unmolested. It also works to diver the attention of any PC who would normally gain more by attacking one of the spriggan’s more fragile allies. They pair really well with powries, who can end up increasing the ongoing damage caused by the swords.

  Spriggan Witherer

  Witherers are spriggan spellcasters who specialize in harmful weather control magic. They can probably cause serious trouble to agrarian communities with rituals, and they can also create more localized effects useful in combat. They have an obsession with soaking the earth in blood, so they pair well with enemies with a similar imagery. They’re Level 8 Artillery with 70 HP and the Leader keyword.

  Their melee attack is a whithering touch vs. Reflex that deals necrotic damage. Their main single-target ranged attack is Sun Scorch (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex) dealing fire and radiant damage. They can use a spell named Flattening Wind either as a close blast 3 or as an area 3/range 10 attack vs. Fortitude. This deals physical damage, pushes 2 squares, and knocks prone. It recharges when they’re first bloodied.

  After they’re bloodied, they can use Blood For the Earth at will. This is an area 2/range 10 attack that deals light physical damage, inflicts ongoing damage, and gives 5 temporary HP to any allies caught in the area.

  This makes for an artillery threat that starts off fairly aggressive and switches to more of a support role as the fight proceeds.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Spriggans are fairly good at fulfilling the “small evil fey” niche, and I love the ties to fomorian lore. There are some good synergies between the stat blocks presented here,

  Spriggans can still be found working for fomorians, but some also work for evil eladrin or run their own rackets. They keep dangerous plants and animals around their settlements for protection.

  The sample encounter is level 9: an evil eladrin twilight incanter with a pet shambling mound and a quartet of spriggan goons (2 giantsouls, 2 witherers).

• Jan 20, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 2: Spider

  If there’s one thing that D&D doesn’t lack, it’s monstrous spiders. The Monster Manual gave us a bunch of them; the Monster Vault would update some of these and add new ones. The Monster Manual 2, published between those two books, adds a whole new batch that doesn’t overlap with either of the other books.

  All of the spiders here have Tremorsense 10 and a climb speed enhanced by the Spider Climb trait, which allows them to walk on ceilings. They also have a Web Walker trait that allows them to ignore difficult terrain caused by webs. Finally, they have the very obvious Spider keyword, which allows them to be affected by all those drow and ettercap abilities that benefit “spider allies”.

  Bristle Spider

  

  These elephant-sized arachnids were originally bred by oni to serve as their mounts. In our narrative present, several other peoples have adopted them as well. Their biggest fans are the ettercap and the drow, neither of which have ever met a spider monster they didn’t like.

  Bristle spiders can also be found in the wild, where they inhabit dense jungles and caves. These environments tend to have enough cover to allow even these huge monsters to hide effectively and ambush their prey.

  Bristle Spiders are Huge Natural Beasts, and Level 15 Elite Lurkers with 232 HP. They have a ground speed of 8 and a climb speed of 6. I don’t know if they make webs themselves, but they still have Web Walker. As lurkers, they’re trained in Stealth.

  Their basic attack is a venomous Bite that deals damage with slow and ongoing poison damage riders. They can also spit an Acidic Poison Spray in a Close Blast 5. This targets reflex and deals both instant and ongoing “acid and poison” damage, and also slows.

  Those bristles are also useful in combat as part of the Bristle Blast attack (recharge 4+). This is a minor action, Close Blast 5 attack against Fortitude. It deals no damage, but a hit blinds and dazes the target for a turn.

  Despite being an elite, the bristle spider lacks a double attack ability. Instead it relies on its at-will acidic poison blast to hit multiple PCs per attack, with a side order of bristles to keep them vulnerable. It would probably work better as an elite controller than an elite lurker, with more HP and better AC.

  The sample encounter is level 14 and has a bristle spider acting as a palanquin for a drow priestess and her drow blademaster bodyguard.

  Phase Spider

  

  A returning classic, Phase Spiders have undergone some changes to account for the absence of an Ethereal plane in 4e. Here, they’re fey spiders with innate teleportation powers. They were originally created by the eladrin as biological weapons meant to infiltrate the halls of the drow and wreak havoc inside. It’s a spider arms race!

  These spiders can survive nearly anywhere as long as they have prey to hunt. Their favorite targets are fey creatures, to the extent that they’ll go after the fey members of a mixed-origin party even if a non-fey target would be more advantageous. This behavior was probably an attempt by eladrin wizards to get them to go after drow. You can imagine how that turned out.

  Phase Spiders are Large Fey Beasts, and Level 8 Skirmishers with 87 HP. They have ground, climb, and teleport speeds of 6. Good luck pinning them down.

  Their bites deal somewhat low damage, but have a dangerous rider: targets are initially slowed, but after the first failed save they become unconscious. This is also a (save ends) condition, but the victim is completely unable to act while it lasts and is even more vulnerable to attack than if they were “just” stunned.

  Ethereal Bite allows the spider to teleport 10 squares and make a bite attack, working as a good ambush starter. Ethereal Repulsion is an interrupt that triggers when an enemy moves adjacent to the spider: it attacks their Will and teleports them 4 squares on a hit.

  This makes ranged attacks the best way to deal with phase spiders. They, in turn, will eagerly teleport to the party’s back line and munch on the squishies, relying on Ethereal Repulsion to delay any rescue by the melee defenders.

  The sample encounter is level 7 and features two eladrin fey knights leading a pack of three trained phase spiders.

  Tomb Spider

  

  These rotund arachnids are a Shadowfell species that has particularly strong incentives to seek out passages into the world. Their lifecycle requires them to lay eggs inside corpses, so they seek out crypts and graveyards for use as breeding grounds.

  When the eggs hatch they animate the corpse, which acts as ambulatory shelter for the hatchlings until it finally splits open and lets them out. Orcus cultists just looove tomb spiders, as do all other types of death-themed villain.

  Tomb Spiders are Large Shadow Beasts, and Level 11 Elite Controllers with 226 HP. They have Resist 10 Necrotic, along with ground and climb speeds of 6. Their bites damage, daze, and inflict ongoing necrotic damage (save ends both). Someone bitten by the spider can’t use the Second Wind action until the end of the encounter, though they can still be healed by other means.

  These spiders definitely to spin webs: they can shoot Web Nets at single targets as a minor action (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex). A hit restrains the target and makes them vulnerable to necrotic damage until they pass a save. Less often, they can squeeze out a glob of Webbed Terrain (recharge 5+), which affects a large area and immobilizes on a hit. Hit or miss, the webs remain as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter.

  The sample encounter is level 11 and features a deatphriest of orcus leading 2 battle wights and 3 cultists to battle, using the tomb spider as armored support.

  Tomb Spider Broodswarm

  

  This is a swarm of tiny tomb spiders that has just burst out of their corpse nest. It’s a Medium Shadow Beast (Swarm), and counts as a Level 10 Lurker with 84 HP. It has the standard spider traits from this entry, and the standard swarm traits of being resistant to melee and ranged attacks, and vulnerable to area attacks.

  Its Swarm Attack aura (1) slows those caught inside. Its Swarm of Bites attack is a lesser version of mommy’s bite, and instead of attacking it can use Shadow Drift (recharge 5+) to shift shift 5 squares and gain +4 to all defenses for a turn.

  There are no stats for the undead corpse that houses the spiders, but you can probably use something like a non-royal mummy described as being wrapped in webs instead of linen wraps. Depending on your tastes, it could be a minion that disgorges a Broodswarm when killed, a regular that does the same (and thus counts as an elite two-stage monster), or a regular reskinned mummy if you want the young swarm to die when it dies instead of bursting out.

  No sample encounter here, as the adult tomb spider used the space for it.

  Final Impressions

  I kinda like the phase and tomb spider mechanics… but in the end, it’s more spiders. By the end of the edition we’ll end up with enough spider variants that you’ll have one for every situation, but you should definitely not use all of them in the same campaign.

• Jan 19, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 2: Sphinx

  

  Sphinxes already made their 4e debut on the Monster Manual, and the MM2 gives us an additional variant.

  The Lore of the Sphinx Mystery

  All sphinxes have a common origin as sacred guardian beasts, as described in the Monster Manual entry, but not all of them are exactly alike. This stat block represents an individual with preferences and abilities different from those of the typical MM1 sphinx.

  All sphinxes have the ability to propose challenges that help separate intruders from visitors who have a right to be at the places they guard. Riddles are a classic but are far from the only option, and the MM1 entry made some effort to stress that part. Here, though, we go the other way.

  The Sphinx Mystery is an individual who’s way into riddles. She doesn’t just use them as her basic authentication scheme: she also uses them as weapons in the middle of an actual fight. She likes riddle games so much that she might just choose to keep playing rather than fighting with lethal intent, if her opponents can keep the game fun for her.

  Intruders who can’t answer those riddles are in real trouble, though, because they do real damage and are as sticky as warlock curses.

  The Numbers

  The Sphinx Mystery is a Level 19 Brute with 224 HP. Despite being a regular, she still has an action point. This might be an editorial error, but it’s fun so I’d keep it. She also has low-light vision, and moves at ground and air speeds of 6.

  Most of her attacks are part of the standard lion beast arsenal. The likely fight-opener is a a Terrifying Roar (encounter) that targets Fortitude, deals thunder damage, pushes 5 squares, and knocks prone. Her basic attack are Ancient Claws that do heavy damage, and she can also use a Bite of Ages that deals light damage, knocks prone, and immobilizes with the weight of history (save ends).

  As a minor action, the Mystery can use Riddle Me This (Ranged 10). This is an at-will ability that represents the sphinx compelling someone to solve a riddle. This “hits” automatically, and dazes the target until the riddle is answered or until the encounter ends. Answering the riddle requires spending a minor action and succeeding at a DC 25 History check. Anyone can attempt the test on their turn, not just the affected PC.

  If the targetted PC doesn’t attempt to solve the riddle on their turn, they take 2d8 psychic damage at the end of that turn. They also take this damage if someone else answers the riddle for them. This damage is light, but about in line with the amount of “traditional” ongoing damage an effect at this level would cause.

  Note that the target will be dazed, which means that if they attempt to answer the riddle, that’s the only thing they can do on their turn. So it might be better to let an unaffected buddy answer it and eat a single instance of that psychic damage.

  The Mystery’s last attack is the amusingly named Corrective Maul, which is a claw attack that does even more damage and recharges whenever anyone fails to answer one of her riddles.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  The riddle mechanic is awesome! It makes the sphinx very controllery despite her being a Brute. Since the riddle is ranged, you’ll want to delay her entry into melee combat a bit until she can apply it to every PC. As a regular monster, the sphinx will always be found alongside a few buddies, so they can help with that.

  The sample encounter is level 16: 2 nothic cacklers, 2 savage minotaurs, and a sphinx mystery. This is either an evil sphinx running with other assorted marauders, or a more traditional guardian who has managed to recruit several would-be intruders to her service through riddles and bets.

• Jan 16, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 2: Slaughterstone Construct

  I think Slaughterstone Constructs first appeared on the D&D Miniatures game in late 3e. Their naming style marks them as a construct created after the “(Material) Golem” namespace had been mostly exhausted.

  The Lore

  The approach to an underground dwarf fortress usually consists of a number of narrow tunnels, and that’s where most of the fighting happens when these places are attacked. Tunnel fighting is a nasty affair, particularly when it’s two large armies going at it. No place to run, no place to hide. Each inch of ground is bought with lives, and when you advance you step on the bodies of foe and friend alike.

  Slaughterstone Constructs are the dwarven answer to this problem. They’re defensive siege engines built for the singular purpose of making sure the only ones who die are the invaders. Their intended usage is that you set them loose on a tunel and watch them run through it while turning everyone inside into chunky salsa. Their extreme toughness and strength means not many armies can stand up to them even in a more open field.

  Creating a proper slaughterstone construct is quite difficult. To sculpt the body, you need a solid block of stone upon which the blood of a hero has been shed. Even if you have that stone, only the very best dwarf artificers can turn it into a construct. You’ll only find these things defending the largest and wealthiest dwarven kingdoms, or other places that have good relationships with them.

  Note that the blood requirement doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice a hero on the stone block. You could cut the stone from a cave or tunnel where that hero has fought. Alternatively, if your GM likes this sort of technically correct solution you could get yourself a brand new stone block and ask a certified war hero to prick their finger and let a drop of blood fall on it. Neither of these methods is easy (heroes don’t grow on trees!) but they’re far more ethical than sapient sacrifice.

  If you have neither a master artisan nor a source of heroic blood but you still want your blender tank, you can pay a middling craftsdwarf for a knockoff that’s less reliable but still pretty strong.

  The Numbers

  We get three varieties of slaughterstone constructs here. Two “genuine” models and a knockoff. All of them are Large Natural Animates with the Construct keyword. They have darkvision, a ground speed of 6, and the ability to squeeze into Medium passages without any penalties and without granting combat advantage. They’re immune to poison, disease, and sleep.

  Their Int is 1, the worst possible score, but you don’t need more than that when your only two functions are “walk forward” and “kill”. They probably respond to commands of equivalent complexity like “stop killing” and “go back to your garage”.

  Slaughterstone Eviscerator

  

  Eviscerators are armed with a large number of whirling scythe blades, and look a bit like super-edgy stone mantids. They’re Level 18 Brutes with 212 HP. The blades never stop moving, and to model that they have a Whirling Blades aura (2) that deals 10 damage to anyone caught inside.

  As weapons, those blades are are Reach 2 and have the High Crit property. Their basic attack deals heavy damage to a single target, and they can also be used in a Whirling Bladestorm (recharge 6+) that hits everyone in a Close Burst 2 for average damage. This makes them as dangerous in the open as in a tunnel.

  Slaughterstone Hammerer

  

  These are more robust than eviscerators and mount stone hammers instead of blades. Once they reach you, it’s really hard to get away from them. Hammerers are Level 25 Soldiers with 233 HP.

  They project a Thunder Step aura (2) that slows those caught inside. The hammers can be used in two different attacks: a basic Slam that deals average damage and knocks prone, and a Hammerstrike that deals the same damage and dazes (save ends).

  None of the hammerer’s skills mark enemies, but if you use them properly enemies will have no option but to attack the hammerer anyway.

  Slaughterstone Slicer

  This is our “knockoff”, described as a less powerful version of a genuine eviscerator. It’s a Level 11 Elite Brute with 276 HP.

  Slicers have pretty much the same attacks and traits as eviscerators, with smaller numbers due to the level difference. Their Bladestorm is supposed to be an encounter power that recharges when the slicer is first bloodied, despite the “at-will” tag on it.

  They also have a tendency to malfunction, becoming dazed for a turn after they either deal or take a critical hit.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Fourth Edition’s combat rules make these constructs even more dangerous than the lore indicates. Both the lore and the rules say a construct “plugs” a tunnel and prevents enemies from passing through. The rules also say that allies may freely move and attack through each others’ spaces.

  This means slaughterstone constructs pair really well with artillery monsters, and with controllers that have good ranged attacks. They’re also pretty good with skirmishers who can dart forward, attack, and move behind the construct again. Even if they can’t do all that in the same turn, their exposure to the PCs is still reduced.

  Our example encounters are:

  • Level 11: 1 duergar blasphemer, 2 duergar fleshtearers, 1 slaughterstone slicers. Looks like it’s not just dwarves who build these.

  • Level 18: 2 Eldritch Giants, 1 Nothic Mindblight, 2 Slaughterstone Eviscerators. Maybe they conquered a dwarf fortress and stole the constructs?

  • Level 25: 1 Beholder Eye of Chaos, 1 Oni Thunderer, 3 Slaughterstone Hammerers. This is the “strong artillery”, “mobile skirmisher” setup I mentioned, in its epic incarnation. You think you’re safe because the corridor is 6 squares wide, and then you see three constructs side by side blocking all of it.

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