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• Aug 5, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Naga

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Nagas are inspired by creatures from Hindu, Buddhist and Jainist tradition. Stories about them originate from both India and Laos. They’ve been in D&D since at least AD&D 1e, and here they’re present only in the Monster Manual.

  The Lore

  Nagas are serpentine creatures with humanoid faces, more spirit than flesh. They are the guardians of sacred places and secret lore, immune to the ravages of age, hunger, or sleep.

  Nagas are sapient, highly intelligent, and possess magical powers. While the book doesn’t specify who exactly summons nagas to guard some secret, I imagine powerful servants of the gods or other equivalent entities might have the ability to do so. You’ll rarely find a naga guarding an easily accessible place like a big city temple or the like - remoteness is the first line of defense for the sites they tend to guard.

  Nagas are often fond of treasure, and end up building small hoards out of the belongings of the interlopers they defeat. Some of them grow to despise their original mission, and install themselves as divine rulers of primitive reptilian tribes, over which they seem to have some influence. As you might expect, the servants of Zehir are among some of the most enthusiastic fans of nagas, though they’re not inherently associated with that deity.

  The Numbers

  Nagas are Large Magical Beasts with the Reptile keyword. Their origin is typically Immortal, but that can vary. They have Darkvision, very high Int scores, speak several languages, and have plenty of mental skills, such as Arcana, Insight, History, and so on. Their specific powers vary per stat block, but there’s always something snaky and something magical.

  Guardian Naga

  This naga is Level 12 Elite Artillery with 186 HP. In previous editions they used to be always Lawful Good, but here their alignment is listed as “any”. Presumably it matches that of whoever summoned them as guardians. They usually guard arcane secrets, rituals, or artifacts, as well as portals to the Astral Sea. They move at speed 6.

  The guardian naga will likely open a fight with Thunderstrike (area burst 1 within 20 vs. Fortitude; recharge 5-6), which does thunder damage and dazes on a hit (save ends). On a miss it still does half damage, with no riders.

  From them on it will hit its enemies with Word of Pain (ranged 20 vs. Will), doing psychic damage and immobilizing (save ends). It will likely spread this around so most PCs are immobilized, and then focus on what it perceives to be the biggest threats.

  If someone manages to get close, it will Spit Poison at them (close blast 3 vs. Fortitude; recharge 5-6). This does immediate and ongoing poison damage, and it also inflicts a -2 penalty to Fortitude and saves (save ends all).

  Only when it has no other alternative will the guardian naga fight in melee. Its only weapon there are weak Tail Slaps that do some damage and push 2 squares on a hit.

  Bone Naga

  This skeletal naga is a Level 16 Elite Controller with 328 HP. As an undead being, it’s immune to disease and poison, has Resist 20 necrotic, and Vulnerable 10 Radiant. It rattles along at speed 7.

  Despite their sinister looks and undead-ness, bone nagas are Unaligned. Their mission usually involves guarding dangerous necromantic secrets, or tombs where some great evil is sealed.

  Bone nagas prefer to mix it up in melee, in no small part due to their Death Rattle aura (radius 2) which causes any enemy who starts their turn inside to be dazed! It reinforces that with its Death Sway (Close Burst 3 vs. Will), which dazes enemies who were previously fine (save ends) and does necrotic damage to enemies who were already dazed.

  It also has a Reach 2 Bite it can use, which deals immediate and necrotic damage (save ends), with a weakness aftereffect (save ends).

  Dark Naga

  So named because of its dark-colored scales, this naga is also Evil. That says nothing about the moral value of what it guards: prophecies, oracles, related relics and rituals, and Underdark sites. It is probably more likely to set up one of those cults mentioned in the lore, though.

  Dark Nagas are Level 21 Elite Controllers, with 404 HP and speed 8. They’re all about mind effects at close range, starting with Lure (Close Burst 5 vs. Will; enemies only). This minor action pulls victims 1 square and dazes them (save ends), though it does no damage.

  Psychic Miasma (Close Burst 3 vs. Will; recharge 5-6) does do psychic damage in addition to its daze effect (save ends). The first failed save here causes the condition to worsen to stunned (save ends).

  Their tail sting does poison damage, and is more damaging against dazed targets. It also slows them (save ends).

  In short, the party will have a very hard time staying un-dazed when fighting these monsters.

  Primordial Naga

  The only elemental naga of the bunch (all others are Immortal), this hints that the first nagas served not the gods, but the primordials. This multi-headed monstrosity is a Level 25 Solo Artillery with 1200 HP, comparable to an elder dragon. They guard portals to the Elemental Chaos, and the secrets of the primordials themselves.

  Primordial nagas prefer to maintain a good distance between themselves and their foes, whom they will bombard with their fire spit and with wind slams. The first targets Reflex and does both immediate and ongoing fire damage. The second does physical damage and pushes the target 2 squares. Both are minor actions, allowing a stationary naga to make a total of three such attacks in any combination.

  When the PCs close to within 5 squares, it will hit them with a Freezing Breath (close blast 5 vs. Fortitude; recharge 5-6) which does cold damage and slows (save ends).

  And when the PCs finally close to melee, they’ll have a nasty surprise: primordial nagas are actually quite dangerous up close! First there’s the Energy Cascade aura (2) which does 10 fire and lightning damage to any enemies inside. Then there are the bites. They might be bit weaker than the ranged attacks, but the naga can make five of them. If at least three hit the same target, they also take ongoing acid damage.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  These are the sample encounters:

  • Level 12: A guardian naga, 2 fire archon emberguards, 1 stone-eye basilisk.

  • Level 16: 1 Bone Naga, 3 shadow snakes.

  Nagas usually partner up with other guardian creatures assigned to the same place, and they can also end up allying or enslaving neighboring creatures to act as spies and agents, either to help with their mission of protection or to build a power base and take over the surrounding region. The latter is something the more evil or ambitious nagas might do.

  I like nagas! Their lore has plenty of openings for interactions more complex than a fight to the death, and they have a nice mechanical flavor.

• Jul 31, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Mummy

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Mummies have been in D&D since its beginnings, when they were part of the rather large Undead Power Ladder. Here they are present in both the Monster Manual and the Vault.

  The Lore

  Mummies are corpses preserved through elaborate funeral rituals and procedures. While this immediately calls to mind pyramids and sarcophagy, there are several real world cultures that practiced other methods of mummification and that can be used as inspiration here. You could have mummies buried in a bog, or in high-altitude mountain tombs. Whatever the details of the mummification ritual, it can give mummies the power to rise again!

  Mummies are creatures of wrath. They rise in response to some transgression, which is usually “thieves broke into my tomb” since most mummies are purposefully created to guard tombs or other sacred places. These guardian mummies are semi-intelligent at best and retain nothing of who they were in life, but they’re very strong, emanate an aura of fear, and can inflict terrible curses on their victims. These can take the form of the classic rotting disease, or something else. Their main disadvantage is that they burn easily, being dry corpses wrapped in flammable material.

  Some mummies do retain most of their personality, memories and powers. These were usually already powerful in life: high priests, royalty, or other legends. They’re known as “mummy lords” or “royal mummies”, though of course each such lord should be a named individual. They’re often prepared to rise automatically after the burial ceremony, in order to continue their rule from beyond the gates of death. If that’s not the case, they can still be riled up by the usual tomb invasion, or by some more personal offense specific to the individual they were in life.

  The Monster Manual says Yuan-ti often create royal mummies to guard the temples of Zehir, which works as a reminder that humans aren’t the only people to make mummies in D&D and provides a nice bit of nightmare fuel for your players.

  The Numbers

  Mummies are Natural Humanoids with the Undead keyword, and are usually Medium (with one notable exception). Their common traits vary between books:

  Monster Manual mummies are immune to poison and disease, and have both necrotic resistance and a vulnerability to fire, with the exact amounts varying per stat block. They also have Regeneration 10, which can be turned off for a turn with radiant damage, and project an aura of Despair out to 5 squares. This is a fear effect that inflicts a -2 penalty on attacks against the mummy.

  Additionally, MM mummies are capable of inflicting Mummy Rot with one of their attacks. This is a disease whose level is the same as that of the mummy (which affects its Endurance DCs). Stage 1 halves the HP you recover from any healing effects. Stage 2 does the same and deals you 10 necrotic damage that can’t be healed until your condition improves. And Stage 3 kills you!

  Unlike in some previous editions, it seems Mummy Rot can be cured in the same way as any other disease: through successive Endurance checks, or through the Cure Disease ritual. It’s worth nothing that Cure Disease is a risky proposition here: it requires a Heal check penalized by the disease’s level, with a negative result killing the patient and anything below a net 30 dealing between 25%-100% of their maximum HP in damage. Even though it’s a level 6 ritual, an epic disease still requires an epic healer to cure.

  The traits of Monster Vault mummies are a bit weaker. They’re merely resistant to poison instead of immune, and their weakness to fire causes them to take ongoing damage instead of being a standard vulnerability. They lack the continuous fear aura, though some have fear powers. And instead of transmitting mummy rot they have more varied curses whose effects are less lethal and rarely last beyond an encounter.

  In both books, all mummies have darkvision. They’re also all Unaligned, which is quite interesting. Perhaps some of those royal mummies aren’t hatching sinister plots at all! Maybe they only wish for the safety of their kingdom, or to redress a genuine wrong committed against it, and the PCs might be able to reason or even ally with them.

  Mummy Guardian (MM)

  This Medium mummy is a Level 8 Brute with 108 HP and all MM common traits. Its necrotic resistance and fire vulnerability are 5, as is its land speed.

  The mummy guardian’s sole attack is a slam that does low-ish necrotic damage and automatically spreads level 8 mummy rot on a hit. Since you’re likely to have more than one mummy guardian in an encounter, it’s a good bet your whole party will end up diseased by the end of the fight unless they’re super-careful.

  Shambling Mummy (MV)

  Pretty much an update to the Guardian above, this mummy is also a Level 8 Brute and has 104 HP and all common MV traits. It shambles along at Speed 4, and has Resist 10 Necrotic and Poison.

  Its basic attack is a rotting grasp that does necrotic damage and prevents the target from regaining HP for a turn. As a minor action it can also inflict a warding curse (Ranged 10), which hits automatically and causes the target to take 5 necrotic damage whenever it attacks. This lasts until the end of the encounter, or until the mummy curses someone else.

  The curse is a good way to suppress any high-damage PC, particularly those Twin Strike rangers. The “no healing” rider on the basic attack also makes focusing on a single PC at a time a very rewarding tactic for the mummy.

  Moldering Mummy (MV)

  This is a Level 10 Minion Brute with all common MV traits. Its speed is 4, and it still has Necrotic and Poison resistances of 10. I believe this means an attack using these damage types would need to do at least 11 damage to kill the minion.

  Its basic attack is the Clutch of the Dead (melee 1 vs. Fortitude), which does some damage and grabs the target (escape DC 18). When killed by anything other than fire damage, it can use a Final Curse (ranged 10 vs. Will), which on a hit halves the HP recovery from the next healing surge spent by the target.

  Mummy Lord (MM)

  “Mummy Lord” is one of those monster templates that can be applied to NPC stat blocks to make them elite, introduced in the DMG. We already saw one of these in the Death Knight entry, and as I discussed there they would eventually be dropped in favor of elite monsters built from scratch along the same lines. Unlike common mummies they’re quite smart and likely to have a story role beyond that of a simple dungeon denizen.

  The example mummy lord here in the MM was a Level 13 Human Cleric in life. Now, it’s a Level 13 Elite Controller with 205 HP and all MM mummy traits. Its Necrotic resistance is 10, and its vulnerability to fire remains at 5.

  The mummy lord fights with a mace, and its basic attack is Warding Mace, which does damage and gives both the mummy and an adjacent ally +1 AC for a turn.

  It also has some encounter powers: Awe Strike (melee 1 vs. Will) does lots of damage and immobilizes (save ends); Plague of Doom (ranged 10 vs. Fortitude) does the same damage and inflicts a -2 to defenses for a turn; and Second Wind recovers 51 HP an gives the mummy a +2 to defenses for a turn, like it would for PCs.

  Rounding out the set are a couple of triggered actions: Unholy Aid (recharge 6) is an interrupt that triggers when the mummy is hit by a (save ends) effect, and immediately cancels the effect. And when the mummy dies it utters its curse (Close Burst 10 vs. Will), infecting any it hits with level 13 mummy rot.

  This set makes for less sophisticated tactics than I anticipated. The lord will likely spend its encounter powers early and join the melee with Warding Mace, where it will be annoyingly resilient. The mummy’s most dangerous attack is the curse, which only triggers when it dies.

  Royal Mummy (MV)

  The Monster Vault update is a Level 12 Elite Controller (Leader) with 236 HP - the second wind has been folded into its HP total. It has all the standard MV traits, with resistance 10 to poison and necrotic.

  Royal mummies project two auras out to 5 squares: Regal Presence allows it to slide allies that start their turns inside up to 2 squares as a free action; and Curse of Fear inflicts a -2 penalty to enemy attacks. This is the same aura all MM mummies get - out of the MV ones, only the royal gets it.

  The royal mummy fights in melee with its Scepter, which is a basic attack. At range it uses the much more interesting Plague Chant (ranged 10 vs. Fortitude) which deals immediate and ongoing necrotic damage (save ends). Whenever a victim takes ongoing necrotic damage from the chant, any other enemies adjacent to it also take that damage.

  Grip of Despair (ranged 10 vs. Will) is a focusing of the mummy’s fear aura, dealing psychic damage, immobilizing, and inflicting the -2 attack penalty for a turn. I think this stacks with the aura for a -4 total.

  Sow Fear and Pestilence allows the royal mummy to use both Plague Chant and Grip of Despair at the same time! It will likely do this most rounds, unless forced into melee or an opportunity to use its strongest attack comes up.

  Once per encounter it can lean even harder into the fear magic by using Grave Terror (Close Burst 3 vs. Will; enemies only) which does a lot of psychic damage and pushes targets 4 squares. A miss still does half damage and pushes two squares.

  I love how fear effects are implemented as pushes. Feels a lot better than taking control away from the players by making their PCs waste their actions running away and cowering.

  Royal mummies can use an enfeebling curse as a minor action once per round. This ranged 10 attack hits automatically and makes it so the target becomes weakened for a turn whenever it spends a healing surge. This lasts until the mummy curses someone else or until the target takes an extended rest!

  That’s a rare long-term effect from a MM stat-block. Particularly cruel mummies will curse a striker with this as the party enters the dungeon and retreat to its depths so they have to delve the whole thing under its effects.

  Giant Mummy (MM)

  When your party makes it into epic level, they might think they left mummies behind. That’s when they learn giants also know how to make mummies.

  Giant mummies are Level 21 Brutes with 240 HP and all MM mummy traits. Like guardian mummies, they’re only Int 6, so they don’t do much more than shamble towards their enemies at a respectable speed of 6 and punch them to death. The funny thing is that if they were hill giants in life, they’re actually smarter as mummies!

  Their rotting slams do respectable damage and spread level 21 mummy rot! When they die, they release a cloud of Dust of Blinding Death, so named because of its corrosive nature. This is a Close Burst 2 attack against Fortitude, which does both immediate and ongoing acid damage on a hit. Giant embalming fluids are strong stuff!

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  We have three sample encounters in the MM:

  • Level 8: 2 mummy guardians, 2 rot scarab swarms, 1 flameskull. Tomb denizens, with the flameskull perhaps being the person actually buried there.

  • Level 15: 1 mummy lord and a bunch of yuan-ti, the honor guard for an important temple of Zehir.

  • Level 21: 3 giant mummies, 1 dark naga. Likely hanging out in a temple complex in Fantasy Vietnam.

  I love the idea of a giant mummy. I suppose it’s perfectly possible to also apply the mummy lord template to a giant stat block, preferably one that could cast spells. Pyramid of the Death Giant Pharaoh, anyone?

  Speaking of lords, I find the MM cleric version a little underwhelming, since its non-basic attacks are all encounter powers. The MV update is a lot more flexible, with more at-will magic attacks and a strong fear theme.

  I’m not ready to discard the Monster Manual mummies entirely, though. They cause mummy rot! That’s classic D&D! Giving that ability to at least some mummies that use the MV stats would help keep PCs on their toes even if the disease is a little easier to get rid of than it used to be.

• Jul 23, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Minotaur

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Minotaurs are inspired by Greek mythology, which as usual only had the one (his name is Asterion). They’ve been in the game pretty much since the beginning, and are present both in the Monster Manual and the Vault here.

  The Lore

  We have an unusual inversion in tone here, as the Monster Manual’s description of minotaurs is a bit more negative than the Vault’s. This is because minotaurs became a PC option in the Player’s Handbook 3!

  Both books agree, however, that minotaurs are a divided people. Just as humans have a propensity for corruption, so do minotaurs have a propensity for rage of the sort that makes you froth at the mouth. The demon lord Baphomet has taken advantage of this, and his cult has managed to ensnare a significant percentage of the world’s minotaur population. Its main teaching is “Unleash the Beast Within”, so you can see why that happened.

  Still, many other minotaurs reject these demonic teachings and instead attempt to tame their inner beasts, turning their worship to deities such as Erathis, Moradin and Pelor. This makes them a fierce but sophisticated people, who strives to keep friendly relations with their neighbors whether they live in all-minotaur settlements or whether they live in a multi-cultural civilization.

  Both good and evil minotaurs love mazes and labyrinths of all kinds. That’s a minotaur thing, not a Baphomet thing. Even a minotaur road built on a flat plain will meander about rather than proceed in a straight line. They like to build their cities in places where the geography is naturally convoluted, such as craggy mountain chains or twisty valleys, and their architecture reinforces the labyrinthine aspects of the terrain. It’s quite easy for outsiders to get lost when visiting a minotaur city or delving a minotaur dungeon.

  Minotaur philosophy is similarly maze-like. I bet they love koans. The good ones use convoluted meditations to help keep themselves peaceful, and the evil ones think in those terms when devising tortures for their victims.

  Most demon-worshipping minotaurs gather in cults, and build their own settlements with temples to Baphomet right there in the open. Some of them forsake every part of themselves that isn’t the Beast, and go off to live as savage hermits at the bottom of some dungeon, growing larger and bloated with the blessings of Baphomet.

  The Numbers

  Minotaurs are usually Medium Natural Humanoids, though like dragonborn or goliaths they’re on the larger side of Medium. Baphomet worshippers are Chaotic Evil, but the others can be of any alignment.

  Minotaurs from the Monster Manual have two signature traits: a Goring Charge attack that does physical damage and knocks prone on a hit, and the Ferocity trait that lets them make one last basic attack as a free action when they drop to 0 HP.

  Monster Vault minotaurs lack the Ferocity trait (which was actually moved to orcs there). They still all have a Goring something, but the exact ability varies with the stat block. It’s usually a triggered ability, though.

  We’ll look at the entries from both books in order of level.

  Minotaur Soldier (MV)

  This is a Level 8 Soldier with 89 HP, likely meant to represent the rank and file of a minotaur fighting force. It wields a large shield and a battleaxe, and probably wears heavy armor despite this not being shown in the stat block.

  The Batleaxe basic attack also allows the minotaur to make a Shield Bash on a hit. Shield bashes target Fortitude, do a tiny bit of damage, and knock prone. They can also be done as minor actions once per round, so a minotaur who hits all of its attacks will perform one axe strike and 2 shield bashes per turn.

  As an interrupt when someone adjacent to it shifts, the soldier can perform a Goring Toss (melee 1 vs. Reflex), which does damage, immobilizes the target for a turn and allows the minotaur to slide it 2 squares to an adjacent square. This makes it quite sticky!

  Minotaur Charger (MV)

  This Level 9 Skirmisher has 94 HP and is more focused on offense than the soldier.

  As the name implies, it will try to Always Be Charging, using a falchion to attack. Its Deft Charge trait makes it immune to opportunity attacks while doing so! So once it reaches the group it will bounce around like a pointy pinball of death. If for some reason the minotaur can’t charge at an enemy, it will throw handaxes at it.

  When damaged by an adjacent enemy, the charger can use a Goring Rush (melee 1 vs. Fortitude), which does a bit of damage and allows the charge to push the target 4 squares and shift to follow it, 1 square at a time. So when you think you finally have it surrounded, it will just carry the rogue away on its horns and charge you again next turn.

  Minotaur Magus (MV)

  This Level 9 Controller (Leader) is a priest of Baphomet. It has 96 HP and wields a glaive in combat.

  Just by being present, the magus can compel its fellow cultists to Unleash the Beast Within, which works as an aura 3 that gives allies inside a +2 attack bonus on charges.

  In addition to doing damage, the reach 2 glaive also slides targets 2 squares on a hit, 1 on a miss. This makes the magus a good second-ranker in combat, though its real power is delivered at range.

  Crimson Bolt (ranged 20 vs. Reflex; recharge 5-6) does immediate lightning damage plus ongoing fire damage while also preventing the target from shifting (save ends both). A nice thing to use on those pesky mobile strikers just before they get charged by a soldier or charger.

  Even funnier is Baphomet’s Rage (ranged 10 vs. Will), an at-will spell that does sub-par psychic damage but also forces the target to charge a character of the magus’ choice on a hit. You can use this on the fighter to get them to charge the wizard and take an opportunity attack or two from your own front line while doing so!

  Minotaur Warrior (MM)

  This level 10 soldier has 106 HP and is the MM’s take on the basic minotaur infantry. Its battleaxe attacks mark for a turn, and it has the standard MM minotaur abilities.

  The Minotaur Soldier is generally more interesting, and you can easily level it up to 10 if you need.

  Demonic Savage Minotaur (MV)

  This is minotaur is Large, and a Level 11 Brute with 140 HP. It’s longer legs give it Speed 8.

  Having embraced its inner beast completely, this monster fights with its claws. It can make two claw attacks per standard action, with a hit doing physical damage and grabbing the target. It can grab up to two victims.

  As a standard action it can also Impale a grabbed victim on its horns (melee 1 vs. Fortitude). A hit does a whole bunch of damage and ends the grab, dropping the victim prone at the minotaur’s feet.

  If an enemy up to 10 squares away damages the minotaur with a ranged or area attack, it can execute a Goring Assault, charging that enemy as a free action.

  Minotaur Cabalist (MM)

  This Level 13 Controller is the Monster Manual’s take on a Baphomet-flavored spellcaster. It has 129 HP, and is somewhat similar to the magus above.

  The cabalist’s charge-bonus aura (Baphomet’s Boon) extends out to 10 squares, which means its allies will get the bonus every time on most maps. It fights in melee with a great cursed mace that does a mix of physical and necrotic damage.

  At range, it can attack with Horns of Force (ranged 5 vs. AC), which do a bit of force damage and push 2 squares. It can also target its bloodied allies with Call out the Beast (Ranged 10), allowing them to make a charge as a free action.

  Goring Charge and Ferocity round out its abilities.

  I think the magus wins out again, though the cabalist is functional enough as a basic controller when you fix its damage.

  Savage Minotaur (MM)

  This is another Large minotaur, a level 16 Brute with 190 HP. Not quite as savage as its MV counterpart, it fights with a Reach 2 greataxe that is a High Crit weapon and pushes the target 1 square on a hit.

  When it charges, it can choose between the standard Goring Charge and Thrashing Horns, which slide the target 2 squares instead of knocking it prone.

  A bit less terrifying than the Demonic Savage Minotaur, but effective at pushing people around.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  The Monster Manual obviously focuses on the evil minotaurs when building encounters. We have two:

  • Level 13: 1 cabalist, 3 warriors, 2 vrock demons.

  • Level 18: 2 savage minotaurs, 1 rakshasa noble, 3 rakshasa assassins. Here the minotaurs are probably kept around as pets by the rakshasas.

  I like it that the books themselves acknowledge there are good (or at least unaligned) minotaurs that you can talk to instead of fighting. As a playable option, good minotaurs are another option for people who want to be Big Honorable Warriors struggling with a dark side.

  Mechanically, the MV versions are usually more interesting despite being lower level. That last part is easily adjustable, if you need them to be more powerful.

• Jul 13, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Mind Flayer

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Mind flayers are one of those monsters that are so iconic to D&D they’re not covered by the D20 license. They’ve been in the game since AD&D 1st Edition, and are present in both the Monster Manual and the Monster Vault.

  The Lore

  Mind flayers, or illithids, are tentacle-faced humanoids who possess incredible psychic powers and use them to feed on sapient brains. They came from the Far Realm long ago. Before they arrived in the world, they had a great dimension-spanning empire whose experiments were responsible for the creation of the Gith peoples as we know them today. That empire was torn down when their slaves rebelled, and the illithids of today descend from its survivors.

  Some versions of mind flayer lore assert that they come from a distant future, having travelled back in time to ensure their empire rises and to prevent its fall. A necessary step in this plan would be to turn the world into another region of the Far Realm.

  Your typical mind flayer is a solitary, megalomaniacal villain bent on total world domination, who surrounds itself with large numbers of thralls to act as its hands and eyes to enact is elaborate plans on whatever society they’re targetting. That doesn’t mean the illithid is a coward! Should it see the need to get into a fight personally, it will do so without hesitation. There’s no limit to the number of thralls a single illithid may control - the process of creating them involves brain surgery, not active psychic domination. So those organizations may be quite large, and composed of a mix of thralls and willing (or ignorant) collaborators.

  Sometimes, several mind flayers with similar goals will work together, though you probably can’t call their relationship “friendly”. In the deep Underdark you can find large illithid cities occupying huge caverns, where many of these beings gather and surround themselves with veritable armies of thralls. These cities are ruled by Elder Brains, huge masses of illithid neural tissue that live inside briny vats.

  Mind flayers start their lives as tiny tentacled tadpoles, who upon reaching a certain level of maturity break into some poor sapient’s skull, devour its brain, and take over their bodies to mutate them into their adult form. In illithid cities, these tadpoles live in the Elder Brain brine pool until someone gives them a body.

  Some versions of mind flayer lore mention that illithids who die in these cities have their minds assimilated by the Elder Brain. They consider this to be the perfect afterlife, believing their conscience lives on inside the Brain as part of a collective. The truth is that while the process does make the Elder Brain more powerful, it erases the conscience of the individuals joined to it.

  5e tied all illithids a lot more closely to the Elder Brains, making them practically into a hive mind, but this isn’t true here. Individual, independent illithids are exactly that. They don’t need exceptional reasons to reject life in an Underdark city - maybe their plans for world domination are just incompatible (“I’m going to be the boss, not you”). This means that it’s perfectly possible to fight mind flayers in the surface without this being necessarily tied to some Underdark conspiracy.

  The Numbers

  The Monster Manual gives us 2 mind flayer stat blocks, and the Vault gives us 3. All are Medium Aberrant Humanoids with Darkvision and a land speed of 7. Every mind flayer can use a mind blast, grapple with its face tentacles, and do creepy things to people’s brains, though the exact effects vary.

  All Mind Flayers understand Deep Speech, and can communicate via telepathy regardless of language barriers.

  Mind Flayer Infiltrator (MM)

  This is a Level 14 Lurker with 107 HP and trained Perception, as well as a host of other thiefy skills.

  It it has to fight, the infiltrator will probably open up with its Mind Blast (Close Blast 5 vs. Will; recharge 6), which does psychic damage and dazes on a hit (save ends). Mind flayers and thralls are immune to this power, and the infiltrator itself is invisible to any dazed or stunned enemies (Stalk the Senseless).

  It will then attack the squishiest target with its tentacles, which grab the target on a hit. After grabbing a victim, it will proceed with Bore Into Brain (Melee 1 vs. Fortitude), something which it can also use against stunned targets without grabbing them first. This does more damage than the basic attack, and if it happens to reduce the target’s HP to 0, the illithid eats its brain and kills it instantly. No death saves for you!

  As lurkers, they probably give preference to targets made vulnerable by the Mind blast, and rely on their buddies and thralls to handle anyone who wasn’t affected. MM grab rules use either the Fort or Reflex as escape DCs, so you’re looking at a DC of 25 or 27 to get away from the infiltrator before it begins eating your brain.

  Mind Flayer Thrall Master (MV)

  This one is a Level 14 Elite Controller (Leader) with 260 HP. Its trained skills are Arcana and Insight, so it’s more of a scholar than a hands-on type.

  That doesn’t mean its defenseless! The thrall master fights in a way that’s somewhat similar to the MM’s Infiltrator, but with stronger psychic powers. Its Mind Blast (Close Blast 5 vs. Will; Recharge 5-6) works similarly but on a critical hit it dominates instead of dazing (save ends).

  The tentacles still grab on a hit, but they also hit dazed or stunned targets automatically. The escape DC is 21, and while the thrall master can only grab one person at a time, it can explicitly keep whipping other fools with its tentacles after that.

  Against the grabbed victim, the mind flayer can use Manipulate Brain (vs. Fortitude), which does a big chunk of physical damage and stuns the target until it’s no longer grabbed! If this reduces the victim to 0 HP, the thrall master has two choices: it can either devour the brain, killing the victim and regaining 20 HP, or it can perform a field-expedient thrall surgery. This restores the victim to 1 HP and dominates it until the thrall master is slain.

  Since the dominated condition also leaves the victim dazed, this results in a 1-HP, zombie-like thrall, whose main defence is the fact that its companions might not want to make it roll death saves. I imagine the illithid can do further work out of combat to make these thralls act more normally.

  Mind Flayer Mastermind (MM)

  This is essentially a more powerful variant of the Monster Vault’s Thrall Master. It’s a Level 18 Elite Controller with 324 HP and training in Perception, Arcana, Insight, Bluff and Intimidate.

  It can use its tentacles, Mind Blast and Bore Into Brain abilities in much the same way the thrall master can. Aside from the damage bug, the main difference here is that thrall surgery restores the victim to half its maximum HP, not just 1.

  The mastermind can directly Enslave a creature (Ranged 10 vs. Will), an attack which does no damage but dominates (save ends). Dominated creatures become immune to the flayer’s mind blast and gain a +5 bonus to Will while within 10 squares of it. The victims it makes into thralls also gain this benefit, by the way. Only one creature can be enslaved at a time, but as usual it can have as many thralls as it can make.

  The mastermind can also plant an Illusion of Pain in its victims (Area Burst 1 within 10 vs. Will; Enemies only; recharge 5-6) which does both immediate and ongoing psychic damage and immobilizes (save ends).

  When attacked, it can use Craddle of the Elder Brain (recharge 5-6) as an interrupt, teleporting up to 20 squares. If it’s targeted by a melee attack, it can instead Interpose Thrall, an interrupt which redirects the attack to a nearby thrall. That’s definitely going to be its preferred option if it has thralls nearby, with the teleport working as a tool of escape.

  Mind Flayer Unseen (MV)

  A more powerful version of the Infiltrator, this one is a Level 18 Lurker with 126 HP. It’s almost identical aside from the fixed damage, which makes its Extract Brain attack truly frightening.

  Instead of being invisible to dazed characters, the Unseen has a Mental Cloak power which, as a move action, allows it to teleport its speed and become invisible for a turn. It recharges whenever the Unseen is hit by an attack.

  Concordant Mind Flayer (MV)

  This Level 19 Controller (Leader) also works more or less like the Thrall Master. It has 174 HP.

  Its attacks are the usual trifecta of Mind Blast, tentacles and brain manipulation, which in this case is named Enthrall Brain and only gives the option of turning victims reduced to 0 HP into thralls. Like the Thrall Master, its mind blast dominates on a critial hit.

  The Concordant Mind Flayer’s exclusive trick is Shared Pain, a reaction that triggers when an ally within 5 squares takes damage from an attack. The illithid can make one of its dominated victims in a Close Burst 5 take 20 psychic damage which bypasses all of its resistances. This is sure to kill someone that’s been made into a thrall during the fight, since they’ll only have 1 HP. It doesn’t prevent damage to the ally - it’s more of a hostage situation. “Attack my friends and your friends will suffer!”

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Mind flayers typically consider themselves superior to everyone else. Anyone found working with them is probably a thrall or underling. I’d consider thralls created outside of combat to be able to act normally instead of being considered dazed.

  It’s possible for there to be a more congenial illithid that lives openly as a scholar and gentlesquid in a community ruled by another species. The most likely scenario in this case is that it lives and works alongside drow or duergar - congenial doesn’t mean good.

  This gives us the two sample encounters from the MM:

  • Level 14: 1 mind flayer infiltrator, 1 drider fanglord, 1 drow blademaster, 2 drow warriors. Here’s our gentlesquid.

  • Level 18: 1 mind flayer mastermind, 1 mind flayer infiltrator, 3 grimlock followers, 2 war trolls. And here’s a pair of more traditional illithids and their thralls.

  Mind flayers are such an iconic monster that even WoTC thinks it’s not D&D if they’re not in the books. And they do make excellent villains! You could have a single individual be the ultimate villain in even a mid-Heroic tier adventure by statting it up as a level 8 solo or the like.

  Unlike what happens with the more naturalistic humanoids, this is one of the rare instances where I’m fine with the books portraying them as almost universally Evil. Good mind-flayers should be once-in-a-campaign events at most.

• Jul 8, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Medusa

  We already lightly touched upon medusas on the entry for gorgons (which, in D&D, are entirely unrelated). They’re based on Greek Myth, where Medusa was an individual, the only mortal among the semi-divine Gorgon sisters. I see them on the Rules Cyclopedia, so they’ve been around since at least BECMI and probably since the beginning.

  The Lore

  

  As is common with creatures based on singular entities from Greek Myth, D&D medusas are an entire species of humanoids with snake-like features. Females have the iconic hair snakes, and their gaze can petrify victims. Males are completely bald, and their gazes can “poison the mind and body”.

  The Monster Manual portrays medusas as a haugthy and ambitious people. They live in small groups, but their ambition drives them to seek money and power in the societies of others. Evil medusas turn up as assassin guild masters or terrifying nobles, but you also get nicer ones working as eccentric veiled scholars and alchemists. Eberron has medusas make up part of the elite in the monster nation of Droaam, so you can have medusa ambassadors and such.

  The Monster Vault, as usual goes a bit harder on the evil angle and says that medusas are universally regarded as unnatural by all the other sapients. Rumors and myths abound about their origins, and run along two main lines. One says they were wholesome/wicked people who got punished/rewarded by Zehir with their current forms. The other says they were the result of yuan-ti genetic experiments, originally meant to serve as a slave race. Villainous medusas do often worship Zehir, the snake god of treachery and snakes, and they often have cordial relations with yuan-ti, who are one of the few other peoples they are said to truly respect.

  Medusas like to decorate the area around their lairs as demarcation and warning. There’s the classic statue gardens, of course, and males also like to paint the walls with the blood of their victims.

  

  The Monster Vault also turns them into another of those evil matriarchies where males are oppressed, with only those few who are immune to petrification being singled out for special treatment. The Monster Manual makes no mention of this, and says every medusa is immune to petrification regardless of gender.

  In combat, medusas use weapons, with a preference for swords and bows. Their blades and arrows are often coated in poison derived from the their own saliva or blood. Someone who has been petrified by a medusa can be brought back to life by the application of a few drops of that medusa’s blood to the victim’s lips. While the text assumes you’ll kill the medusa to get that blood, I don’t think that’s a hard requirement. If you do kill it, you must apply the blood to the victims within 24 hours.

  The Numbers

  Medusas are Medium Natural Humanoids. All are immune to petrification, and have some degree of poison resistance. They also have a gaze attack, which can be either petrification or venom depending on the individual.

  Gaze mechanics are different in both books. MM gazes are standard action attacks, to which blind creatures are immune. It’s up to the PCs to decide whether it’s safer to fight an elite paragon medusa blindfolded or to risk its gaze.

  MV gazes are triggered actions, which means the monster doesn’t need to choose between using its weapons or its gaze in a turn. Also, blinding yourself won’t save you from these gazes.

  Medusa Archer (MM)

  This lady is has the closest stat block to the classic medusas of editions past. She’s a Level 10 Elite Controller with 212 HP. Her speed is 7 and her poison resistance 10.

  She fights in melee with her Snaky Hair, which does a bit of physical damage plus 10 ongoing poison damage, and also inflicts a -2 penalty to Fortitude (save ends both). Her main ranged attack is a Longbow (range 20/40 vs AC) whose poison-dipped arrows trigger a secondary attack against Fortitude on a hit, causing the same rider effects as the hair.

  The archer’s Petrifying Gaze is a Close Blast 5 vs. Fortitude. It slows on a hit, and this worsens to immobilized on the first failed save and to full petrification on the second. The first two conditions are (save ends), but petrification is permanent until cured. This is an at-will power, and the perfect thing to use on people already weakened by the poison from the other attacks.

  Medusa Bodyguard (MV)

  One of those poor oppressed MV males, this guy is a Level 12 Soldier with 123 HP. He is not immune to petrification and has Resist 10 Poison and Speed 6.

  The bodyguard is armed with a broadsword and a longbow. The longsword marks for a turn on a hit, and both attacks have an ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends) rider. The bodyguard’s Mind-Venom Gaze triggers as an interrupt when a marked target ignores the mark. It’s a Close Blast 5 vs. Will that must include the triggering character. It does a good bit of poison damage to those it hits, and also stuns the triggering character if it hits them. The gaze recharges whenever the bodyguard hits with his sword, and blind creatures are not immune.

  Medusa Venom Arrow (MV)

  Venom arrows are non-elite versions of the MM Archers, being level 12 artillery monsters with 96 HP.

  Like Archers, they fight in melee with their less-whimsically named serpent hair, which deals poison damage and inflicts a -2 to Fortitude for a turn. Their Range 30 bows do physical damage, ongoing 5 poison damage, and slow (save ends).

  Their Petrifying Stare is a triggered opportunity action. If an enemy starts they turn within 2 squares of the medusa, they’re subject to a gaze that hits automatically and slows them (save ends). This progresses to full permanent petrification just like the Archer’s gaze.

  The possible cures for this petrification are specified here: the right power or ritual, a willing kiss from the medusa, or the afore-mentioned blood drops.

  Medusa Warrior (MM)

  We’re back in elite territory with these dudes, who are Level 13 Elite Soldiers with 272 HP. They fight with longswords and longbows as well.

  The longsword attacks trigger a secondary attack against Fortitude on a hit, dealing ongoing 10 poison damage and slowing (save ends both). The arrows automatically inflict the ongoing damage if they hit (save ends).

  As elites, warriors can use a standard action to make two sword attacks, and those deal extra damage against a dazed target. Their source of daze effects is their Venomous Gaze (Close Blast 5 vs. Will), which does poison and psychic damage, with “daze” and “weaken” riders (save ends both).

  Warriors prefer melee, alternating between their gaze and their double sword attacks. If you have more than one, they’ll coordinate their actions to that effect as well.

  Medusa Spirit Charmer (MV)

  The lady medusa from the MV. She’s a Level 13 Controller with 130 HP, immunity to petrification and resist poison 10. This is more of a spellcaster or psion type.

  Like the MM archer, she uses her serpent hair to fight in melee, doing poison damage on a hit and inflicting a -2 penalty to saves for a turn. Her main ranged attack is Spirit Charm (Close Blast 5 vs. Will), which does a bit of psychic damage and compels the target to approach the medusa. This isn’t a pull, but a choice: the victim must either end their next turn within 2 squares of the medusa, or it must take further psychic damage.

  Once per encounter she can cast Swords to Snakes (Area Burst 1 Within 10 vs. Will), an illusion that makes people think their weapons and tools have become snakes. This prevents them from using weapon or implement powers (save ends).

  The spirit charmer’s Signature Medusa Move is the Stony Glare, a reaction that triggers if an enemy ends their movement within 2 squares of the medusa. Which by the way can happen due to Spirit Charm! This is a Close Blast 2 that only affects the triggering enemy, targets Fortitude, and petrifies immediately. This is a (save ends) condition until the third failed save, in which it becomes permanent until cured.

  The possible cures are the same as those of the Venom Arrow’s gaze.

  Medusa Shroud of Zehir (MM)

  A powerful Zehir-worshipping avenger or assassin. This lady is a Level 18 Skirmisher with 172 HP. She is immune to petrification and has 10 resistance to both acid and poison.

  The Shroud fights with paired short swords, which do physical damage and ongoing acid and poison damage (save ends). She will often use a maneuver named Fangs of Death (recharge 4-6) which allows her to make two sword attacks and shift 3 squares between them. There’s a typo in her attack bonus, which is listed as +15 instead of the correct +23.

  Her Snaky Hair is a minor action, with the right attack bonus and the same damage as a sword blow. It inflicts the same ongoing damage and a further -2 penalty to Fortitude (save ends both).

  The Petrifying Gaze is here and works the same as the archer’s.

  Shrouds spam those snake bites and use Fangs of Death whenever it’s charged, since it spreads the poison around and allows them more mobility. When it’s not charged, they use their gazes.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  There are a few on the MM.

  • Level 11: 1 medusa archer, 1 venom-eye basilisk, and a gaggle of snaketongue cultists.

  • Level 14: 1 medusa warrior, a bunch of grimlocks and 2 gargoyles.

  • Level 17: 2 shrouds of Zehir, 1 yuan-ti malison disciple of Zehir, and 3 yuan-ti abominations.

  As you can see, medusas are probably the world’s premier basilisk owners, since they are completely immune to that monster’s gazes and they complement their own powers nicely. I imagine even good medusas subscribe to newsletters on the care and feeding of basilisks.

  They also tend to associate with or employ other monsters who are similarly immune to their powers, like the blind grimlocks or gargoyles and other earth-elemental creatures. Also, if you feel like yuan-ti alone don’t give you enough options to stock a dungeon full of snake-people, you can add some medusas in. If you believe those MV myths, medusas are instinctively compelled to serve yuan-ti, probably the only instance where they would put themselves in the “servant” position.

  Personally I like the image of the “archer medusa” a lot, and as with most other humanoids I’d probably include non-villainous medusa in my setting to go along with the usual antagonists. The stat blocks from both books seem to imply their gazes attacks are always entirely voluntary, which would mean a peaceful medusa wouldn’t even need those veils or dark goggles. Guess they might still wear them as a sign of goodwill, though, like sometimes knights will peace-bond their swords to show they mean no harm.

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