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• Nov 19, 2021

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

  Nothics first appeared in the Miniatures Handbook for 3e, and make their 4e debut in the MM2.

  The Lore

  Nothics are aberrant creatures that first arrived in the world aboard drifting fragments of the Far Realm. Their minds are even more alien than those of slaads to us poor mortals. Their huge eyes are capable of inflicting a variety of afflictions, and they tend to be found in the service of other powerful creatures. Nothics constantly cackle and cavort about, which their masters often find amusing, but they also fight at their command, doing double duty as jesters and bodyguards.

  Their masters aren’t necessarily aberrant! Nothics are often found in the company of undead, for example. A few get adopted by cults of Vecna and receive numerous blessings from the lich god, becoming even more dangerous.

  The Numbers

  Nothics are Medium Aberrant Humanoids. Those dinner plate eyes give them Truesight out to 10 squares and Darkvision. They also act as the focus for a variety of gaze attacks and psychic powers, which vary per stat block. Nothics have a ground speed of 6.

  The stat blocks in this entry range from the mid-Paragon to the early Epic tiers. I believe the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, published much later, would include a heroic-tier nothic as well.

  Nothic Cackler

  

  Cacklers are some of the most “jester-like” in behavior. They caper about even during a battle, seemingly oblivious to the opposition even as they fight. They’re level 15 Artillery with 116 HP.

  Their basic melee attack is an anemic claw - it’s all about the mind powers with them. They can choose between two at-will ranged attacks.

  The first, Mind Rot targets Will and does psychic damage. On a hit, it also slides the target 6 squares and forces them to make a melee basic attack against someone else (nothic’s choice). The other, Rotting Gaze, targets Fortitude, does necrotic damage, and inflicts a -2 penalty to all defenses (save ends).

  Tactics are clear: rot the body, rot the mind, laugh, repeat.

  If surrounded, the cackler can use a Maddening Cackle (close burst 3 vs. Will; enemies only; recharge 5+). This deals psychic damage, pushes 2 squares, and slides the hit targets 2 additional squares at the start of their next turns.

  Nothic Mindblight

  Behavior-wise, mindblights are the complete opposite of cacklers, appearing sleepy and morose even while staring you to death. They’re level 19 Controllers with 180 HP. They project an Eye Lure aura (3) that slides enemies inside 2 squares at the start of the enemies’ turns. Their claws are a little stronger and also deal ongoing necrotic damage (save ends), but the eye powers are still the main event.

  A mindblight will likely open up with Mesmerizing Visage (recharge 5+), a fireball-sized area attack that targets Will, does psychic damage, and inflicts a -1 penalty to saves (save ends). The penalty worsens to -3 after the first failed save.

  Then it will move on to its at-will powers, which deal no damage but have “save ends” riders that capitalize on the Visage’s effect. Eye of Insanity is a Ranged 5 attack that targets will and dominates with an after-effect that dazes the target for an additionall turn after they make their save. Necrotic Eye is a Close Blast 5 that targets Fortitude and inflicts 10 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends).

  Nothic Eye of Vecna

  

  For some reason, Vecna likes this nothic sub-species and heaps blessings upon them. They often hang around his cults. They’re Level 22 Lurkers with 162 HP, and project a Soul Decay aura (3) that allows allied undead inside to make free melee basic attacks at the start of the nothic’s turn. So yeah, the best place for this lurker to lurk is amid a crowd of undead melee bruisers.

  The Eye of Vecna is going to constantly emit pulses of Eye Rot (minor action), which targets the fortitude of every enemy within 10 squares and makes the nothic invisible to them on a hit (save ends). This recharges when the monster isn’t invisible to anyone.

  After it does that, it skitters among the enemies who can’t see it using Mobile Melee Attack, which allows it to move its speed and make a basic claw attack at any point during the move, drawing no opportunity attacks from the target. That Claw is pretty nasty on its own as well, dealing necrotic damage, immobilizing, and inflicting a -2 to all saving throws. Invisible Advantage gives it an additional effect against targets who can’t see the nothic, opening the target up to an opportunity attack from another adjacent monster.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  I think the basic visual design of the nothic is quite striking, but their mechanics don’t quite do it for me just from reading them. I guess they might feel differently in play.

  Encounters with nothics are also likely to involve the powerful villains they serve. The book gives us three:

  • Level 14: A mind flayer infiltrator with an entourage of 2 nothic cacklers and 2 war trolls.

  • Level 18: 2 aboleth lashers and their 2 pet mindblights in cahoots with a death hag.

  • Level 21: A dark naga with an honor guard of 3 bodak reavers and an Eye of Vecna pet.

• Nov 19, 2021

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Vault 2: Neogi

  

  I believe the Neogi first appeared as an element of 2e’s Spelljammer setting. In 4e, they make their debut here in the MM2.

  The Lore

  Neogi are bizarre-looking spider-centipede people who originally hail from the Far Realm. Their culture is a particularly cruel and pitiless variety of imperialist capitalism. Ownership is all - the strong rule and own the weak. They organize themselves in clans with slavery-based internal hierarchies. A given neogi literally owns their immediate underlings and is in turn a slave to its immediate superior. This goes up all the way to the Great Old Master of the clan, who is no one’s slave. Neogi are a single-gendered species without any concept of family. All of the clan’s eggs are carried and gestated by the Great Old Master.

  Neogi are renowned both as traders and slavers, following the same school of commerce made famous during Earth’s Age of “Discovery”. If the other party is weaker than you, rob and enslave them. If they’re equivalent or stronger, negotiate and trade. They just love trading with similarly unsavory people like devils, duergar, and drow. The only ones they avoid are the mind flayers, since the entire neogi people was once enslaved by entities similar to flayers back in the Far Realm.

  For some reason, the MM2 doesn’t mention any of their nautical proclivities. I guess this part of the Astral Sea wasn’t quite as fixed in the authors’ minds back them. But since later descriptions would reveal you can pretty much transplant all of Spelljammer directly into the Astral Sea, you can bet you have Neogi trade/slave/warships roaming that plane.

  The Numbers

  Neogi are Aberrant Magical Beasts. Most are Medium, but Masters are Large. Their levels cover the first half of Paragon Tier, making them appropriate encounters for the Underdark or Astral Sea. Like all monsters, their level can be adjusted if you want to feature them earlier or later. They usually have climb speeds and darkvision, and a degree of telepathy. They also speak Common and Deep Speech.

  All Neogi are immune to the Dazed condition. Their attacks are usually some sort of psychic power, though the exact effects vary per stat block.

  Neogi Slaver

  A relatively “typical” individual, likely found as crew in an astral vessel or as troops in raiding party. In either case, they’re likely to be accompanied by plenty of non-neogi slaves. These are some of the few monsters in the book who would make use of the “non-lethal takedown” rule, where you can decide someone you took to 0 HP is not dead, just unconscious. After all, dead slaves are worth nothing.

  Slavers are Level 10 Controllers with the Leader keyword and 106 HP. They have a ground speed of 8 and a climb speed of 6 with Spider Climb. Their basic melee attack is a weak bite with an ongoing poison damage rider. The first failed save against this poison also slows the victim (save ends both).

  Their main ranged attack is a Charm Bolt that targets Will. Instead of dealing damage, it inflicts a -2 penalty on any attacks that don’t include the slaver as a target (save ends). After the first failed save, the slaver also becomes invisible to the target of the bolt!

  Their other attack is Psychic Shackle (Recharge 5+), a Close Blast 3 that targets Will, deals psychic damage, and dazes those it hits for a turn.

  Once per encounter, they can also use Thrall Goad as a minor action. This allows all allies within 6 squares of the slaver to make a saving thrown with a +5 bonus.

  Neogi Spawn Swarm

  Neogi larvae are tiny and sub-sapient. Their only desire is to eat all nearby available meat, living or not. They can be dangerous in large numbers, which is what this stat block represents.

  The Swarm counts as a Medium Level 10 Brute with 131 HP. They have the standard swarm resistance to melee and ranged attacks, and a vulnerability to close and area attacks. Their ground and climb speeds are both 6.

  Their Swarm Attack aura (1) deals automatic poison damage, and their bites are similar to that of the neogi slaver but deal more damage. When first bloodied or when slain, the swarm lets out a collective psychic scream that attacls a close burst 1 and deals psychic damage with a Daze rider.

  Neogi Great Old Master

  These Large individuals rule over entire clans, and carry all of the clan’s eggs and larval broods in their immense abdomens. They’re Level 16 Controllers with 157 HP, a ground speed of 6, and a climb speed of 4.

  Their basic attack is a Reach 3 Scythe Claw that damages targets and knocks them prone. Their main ranged attack is an Enslaving Bolt that targets Will, deals psychic damage and inflicts one of those progressively worsening conditions. The immediate effect is that the target gets a -2 penalty to any attacks that target the Master; after the first failed save, that worsens to a Dominate effect; and after the second the domination lasts until the target’s next extended rest. Yes, this does mean that an unlucky PC could find themselves trying to avenge the Master even after it’s been killed by the party.

  When the Master is first bloodied, its abdomen ruptures and releases a Larva Burst. This works as a Close Burst 2 against Reflex that deals physical damage and creates a zone of difficult terrain that lasts until the end of the encounter. This could also be a good opportunity to introduce a Spawn Swarm to the fight if the GM is feeling sadistic.

  Finally, they can use a version of the Slaver’s Psychic Shackle that deals more damage and has a wider area.

• Nov 11, 2021

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

  

  Myconids have been in the game since AD&D as one of its most famous “novelty humanoids”. They make their 4e debut here in the MM2.

  The Lore

  Myconids are sapient fungal humanoids who originated in the Feywild. The fomorians did something to them in the distant past, and they still bear the scars of that corruption. In our narrative present they can be found in deep caves or the Underdark both in the world and in the Feywild. Their preferred environment are underground mushroom forests that provide them with a complete ecosystem to live in, but they also have an instinctive need to multiply and spread and so can be found in less ideal conditions as well.

  Myconids communicate by releasing special spores laced with emotions and sensations, which only other myconids can understand. Only one individual in each of their colonies, known as the “Sovereign”, can communicate with outsiders through telepathy.

  These mushroom-people aren’t evil, but their expansionist instinct, difficulty with communication, and the fact that they live in the friggin’ Underdark means they tend to engage in conflict with anyone they come across. They often end up enslaved by drow, fomorians, and shadar-kai.

  Peaceful interaction with myconids is predictably hard - you have to reach the sovereign, which means infiltrating the heart of their territory or letting yourself be captured and hoping they take you there.

  The Numbers

  Myconids are Fey Humanoids with the Plant keyword. Sovereigns are Large, everyone else is Medium. They have Tremorsense 10, which allows them to operate well in total darkness. Their signature trait is Roots of the Colony, a free action that triggers when they’re hit by an attack and allows them to split half the damage between themselves and a myconid ally within 5 squares. Given they’re level 3-4, this is likely to be the party’s first encounter with something resistant to focus fire.

  Myconid Rotpriest

  Myconid culture isn’t well-understood enough for people to know if they worship something, but rotpriests kinda fulfill the “healer” role usually taken up by clerics in other species. They do so in a much more self-sacrificing way, though.

  Rotpriests are Level 3 Brutes with the Leader keyword and 48 HP. They have a speed of 5, and Regeneration 5 that can be temporarily disabled by radiant damage. They fight with stipe staffs in melee and can also release decomposing sprays to deal necrotic damage in a Close Burst 3.

  They have Roots of the Colony like every other myconid, and when another myconid uses this ability to deal damage to them, rotpriests can use Sacrifice for the Colony to take all of the damage from the trigerring attack instead of just half. The idea is that they then heal this using their regeneration.

  When they finally get killed, they release a Life Burst that heals every living creature in a Close Burst 1 for 10 HP. This includes both monsters and PCs!

  Myconid Sovereign

  Each colony has one of these acting as its leader. As mentioned before, sovereigns are the only myconids with any ability to communicate with outsiders. They’re Level 4 Controllers with the Leader keyword and 58 HP. If forced into a fight they can defend themselves with Slams and with a variety of interesting spore bursts.

  The default Spore Burst is a close blast 3 that targets the Will of nonplants and deals poison damage. There’s also Commanding Spores, which allows a plant ally within 5 squares to shift 1 square. Sounds like a waste of a standard action, but it can set up some interesting flanks.

  A Sovereign should stay a bit away from the main scrum, spraying it with its spore pesticides and helping keep the PCs surrounded.

  Myconid Guard

  Though it’s the last monster in the entry, guards are likely to be the most numerous foes the party meets. They’re the rank and file of the colony’s protectors. Guards are Level 4 Soldiers with 56 HP.

  They fight with spiny strikes from their fists, and can release pacification spores in a close burst 1 that target enemies’ Wills, do poison damage, and prevent those hit from taking standard actions during their next turns. Fortunately, this is only an encounter power. Roots of the Colony is the last trick on their arsenal.

  Front-liners are going to have a bit of a bad time facing down myconid guards, since the guards can stagger their spore releases to keep the PCs from attacking for a while.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Myconids can live in any place that provides good conditions to mundane fungi, such as damp caverns, surface forests, and so on. Encounters with them can involve any wildlife that also lives in these places, either as “third parties” or perhaps as pets if the wildlife is also fungal. They can also be found alongside the several people who enslave their colonies, though in that case you might need to perform some level adjustments.

  The sample encounters are an all-myconid party that has just ran into a deathjump spider (level 3); a pair of myconid guards minding an arbalester for their bosses near a patch of green slime (level 4); and a geonid accompanied by a pair of rust monsters and another of rotpriests (level 5).

  I like these mushroom people, and I like making then relatively friendly once the PCs manage to breach the communications gap.

• Nov 11, 2021

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

  

  Fourth edition Maruts debuted in the first Monster Manual, as enigmatic mercenaries from the Astral Sea that demanded future favors as payment for their services and kept detailed ledgers of these in their astral fortresses. Here we get a bit more lore about them, and three new stat blocks to go with the two from the first MM.

  The Lore

  The MM2 bits of lore seem to have been written by a different author from the first, and this second author seems to have time-traveled from 3e or 2e. It talks a lot about Maruts being interested in “the upholding of oaths and contracts” in the abstract, which doesn’t really match the first book. Yes, they’re very interested in this stuff, but only when the oaths made by them or to them.

  There’s also another bit that says they consider themselves to be “astral spirits of the air”, and despite the convoluted justification accompanying this I don’t think the Astral Sea is a place with strong elemental associations either way.

  A more interesting bit is the one that says Maruts aren’t an unified block - they’re divided into groups called “cadres” that hold slighty different philosophies. Each cadre has their own fortress and interacts with other sapients in more or less the same way, but I guess they differ in what they’re stockpiling those favors for.

  Some cadres have started calling in a few of their favors and demanding periods of indentured servitude from people. Maruts don’t mistreat their servants, but they’re still demanding and humorless bosses.

  The Numbers

  The Maruts in this entry are Medium Immortal Humanoids. They have Truesight out to 10 squares, a ground speed of 8, and flight and teleport speeds of 4. They’re immune to sleep and have Resist Thunder 10.

  All of the stat blocks in this entry are described as “hunting down those who oppose marut law”, which again doesn’t quite make sense. Pretty much every Marut will hunt and fight someone who backed out of a deal with them, so instead of repeating this I’ll speculate about what someone might hire these new varieties for.

  Marut Castigator

  Castigators make good bounty hunters, since they’re good at preventing their target from running away. They’re Level 21 Skirmishers with 146 HP and all standard traits. They wield a double sword in combat, and have access to thunder and lightning-themed magic.

  Their basic double sword attack can deal physical or lightning damage, at the marut’s discretion. They can also make Double Attacks with it, but not all the time (recharge 4+).

  To prevent someone from running, they can use the Punisher’s Lash, a Reach 2 vs. Reflex spell that deals weak lightning damage, slows, and prevents the target from teleporting for a turn. If the target still tries to run, they can give chase with a Thunderbolt Strike, which allows them to teleport 4 squares and make a basic attack with bonus damage afterwards. This recharges when they hit with the two strikes from a double attack.

  Marut Prosecutor

  Objection! Prosecutors are probably pretty good at that very role during an actual trial, with their epic levels of Insight and Intimidate. They can also use magic to infuse their words with the leaden weight of the law.

  Prosecutors are Level 21 Controllers with the Leader keyword and 147 HP. They can punch people with slams that do bonus thunder damage and slow (save ends), but their judicial magic is their greatest asset.

  As a minor action they can issue a Dictum (Ranged 10 vs. Fortitude) that does no damage and immobilizes (save ends). They can also use a minor action to mark someone with a Sigil of Indictment (ranged 10 vs. Will), which also does no damage but forces the marked victim to grant combat advantage to the prosecutor and take 5 extra psychic damage from all attacks directed at it. This lasts for a turn and can be sustained, but only one target can bear the Sigil at a time.

  Finally, the prosecutor can take a bit more time and spend a standard action to harangue someone with a Biting Testimony (close burst 10, targets one enemy, vs. Will). This deals psychic damage, and inflicts a -2 penalty on all of the target’s attacks, skill checks, and ability checks (save ends).

  All of this means prosecutors call the shots during a fight, marking someone with the Sigil and having their allies focus fire on the victim, which they’ll try to immobilize with Dictums. Dictums can also be used to prevent defenders from helping a focused squishy. “Close Burst X; targets one enemy” is just a terse way of saying that power is a ranged attack that doesn’t draw OAs.

  Marut Executioner

  An executioner is who you call when you need an obstacle removed. When they’re not doing that, they’re out collecting debts owed to their cadre.

  Executioners are Level 22 Brutes with 205 HP. They wield Double Axes that does bonus thunder damage, knocks prone on a critical, and can be used in several other maneuvers. Slayer’s Fury (encounter) allows them to attack everyone in a Close Burst 1; Warranted Stroke targets a bloodied enemy, does a ton of damage, always knocks prone, and gives the executioner 1 action point if it drops the target to 0 HP or less.

  They can also issue an Execution Call once per encounter, a Close Blast 5 that targets enemies’ Fortitude, does thunder damage, and pulls them adjacent to the executioner. A miss here still does half damage.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  I like the mechanics of these new Maruts, but I dislike the throwback to 3e lore here. Law is not a universal cosmic principle in 4e!

  The sample encounters have marut mercenary squads accompanying a djinn (level 21) or a trio of rakshasa knights (level 23).

• Nov 11, 2021

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

  

  Cribbing from paleonthology is one of the classic ways to add interesting monsters to your D&D world. Dinosaurs are the obvious choice, but there’s also a bunch of post-dinosaur megafauna that can be slotted in with no problem at all. Among that set, mammoths are some of the most famous.

  Looks like the Monster Manual 2 only had one page to dedicate to them, though, so it decided to skip mundane mammoths altogether and give us a fantastical variety.

  Nyfellar Mammoth

  These creatures are native to Nyfell, the same frozen realm in the Elemental Chaos from which frost giants originally came. They’re partially made of ice, and subsist on a combination of organic food and ice, so they thrive in the most inhospitable frozen hells.

  Frost giants have long ago tamed Nyfellar mammoths for use as mounts, and were responsible for bringing them to the world, where they can still be seen filling that role. I imagine it’s also possible to find wild specimens.

  Nyfellar Mammoths are Huge Elemental Beasts with the Mount keyword, and Level 17 Brutes with 202 HP. They have Resist Cold 10 and a respectable ground speed of 8 with Ice Walk, which allows them to ignore “icy” difficult terrain.

  They also possess the same Icebound Footing trait that’s common among frost giants, reducing any forced movement inflicted on them by 2 squares, and getting a free save to avoid being knocked prone. They fight with their tusks and big feet in combat.

  The tusks are Reach 2 and can either gore as a basic attack or perform a Tusk Toss (recharge 4+) that targets Fortitude, does a little less damage and slides the target 5 squares. At the end of the slide the target falls from a height of 30 feet on the destination square, so it really is a toss. The fall does damage (and can be mitigated) according to the standard rules for falling.

  The feet can stamp, a Reach 1 attack that targets fortitude, does about same damage as a gore, and knocks prone. The mammoth can also execute a Blizzard Trample maneuver to move 8 squares, go through enemy spaces, and stamp each of those enemies. This recharges when the mammoth is bloodied, or when it takes cold damage.

  If used as a mount, the mammoth can employ a Bitterwind Charge, which allows it to use a Tusk Toss or a Blizzard Trample when charging. Yeah, it moves 8 squares then tramples for another 8 in a single standard action. After this special attack concludes, the rider gets to make a free melee basic attack.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  The sample encounter is a level 17 frost giant patrol, with 2 giants riding nyfellar mammoths and accompanied by a rimefire griffon acting as a spotter. The book notes that giants like to play badminton with PCs by readying actions to attack victims of Tusk Toss as they fly by.

  These ice mammoths are pretty cool, and I can see why they preferred to include them over the mundane variety. They have a good synergy with frost giants, which also debut in this book.

  You could pretty easily derive a mundane mammoth from the nyfellar stat block, making it level 10-13 and removing some of the more blatant elemental abilities. Maybe they could be used as hill giant or ogre mounts then.

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