Posts tagged iconic

First, we had part one. This was followed (predictably enough) with part two. It’s time for part three. We’re looking at the beasties which, I think, are the new iconic monsters from the 4e Monster Manual.

Larva Mage
If Dark Ones are Dean Koontz, the Larva Mage is pure Lovecraftian horror from the pen of Brian Lumley (Lord of the Worms, baby!). What’s not to love about a powerful undead Wizard whose entire body is composed of worms? Liches have nothing on this critter for sheer horror potential.

Stick a Larva Mage into a city posing as a highly respectable master of the arcane and set him up as one of the PC’s contacts. Allow them to gradually develop a friendship with their new found mentor then slowly, steadily turn up the horror volume. Have the heroes spot unusual worms on the path as they leave at night and later discover one in their pocket. Find a worm or two at the scene of a recent murder, and the trail eventually comes back to their friend who is hastily refitting his enchanted mask!

Pure Call of Cthulhu-style investigative horror, all wrapped up in a single page of the Monster Manual. Love it.

Orcus
Not just the big daddy himself, but the entire entry deserves praise. The pre-built Encounters give you samples from 9th to 34th level, and there’s more than enough information in the entry to form the foundations of a campaign which takes the heroes right through Paragon to Epic levels and beyond. It’s a campaign setting outline in just four pages, and anyone who claims that the Monster Manuals just contain statblocks and no fluff needs to pick it up and read it, right now.

Orcus is well deserving of his premier slot in this Monster Manual. He’s probably the only monster in the whole book that’s complex to run and not for the faint hearted. The Aspect of Orcus is a much simpler proposition. Add in a bunch of demonic mooks and you’re all set for an Epic gaming session in every meaning of the word.

More on Orcus and his merry band, another time.

Shadar-Kai
Or, as we like to call them, “Goths”. Previously, Drow were the moody Goth kids of the D&D world, but thanks to a certain RA Salvatore they became quite fashionable. Now, they’re strutting the catwalk and the Shadar-Kai are hanging around street corners talking about music by bands with names like “Eternally Damned”, “Infinite Sulk” and “OMG look at the time my mom’s gonna kill me”.

But look a little deeper, and you’ll find that Shadar-Kai are a darned near perfect race. They’re Unaligned which puts them right into the greyest shade of greyness there is. This is a race which is in a pivotal position in any conflict between good and evil. They have a better Teleport ability than the Eladrin, and in their case it actually makes sense that they’ve got it. These guys use shadows like Batman, only without the pointy-eared cowl.

The whole race exudes cool. When they’re not standing on street corners they’re on storm-tossed boats glaring moodily while the wind musses their hair. Shadar-Kai are an entire freakin’ race of Elrics. Elric-Batman crossbreeds. Ouchy ouchy ouch ouch ouch.

The provided statblocks put them in a very narrow band of levels from 6th to 8th but thanks to the wonders of 4e’s mega-simple monster advancement rules that means they can span the whole Hero Tier. They also make excellent Template fodder. Boost a Shadar-Kai Warrior up to 11th level, tack on the Death Knight template and you’ve got one awesome cool martial villain. How about a Feyborn Shadar-Kai Witch who resides in a shadowy glade in the darkest depths of the Eternal Forest, or a Shadar-Kai Gloomblade Shadowborn Stalker who is the Shadowfell Twin of a notorious Dark Stalker assassin. Open the Shadar-Kai entry and the DMG Template section, and ideas just jump off the page.

I think I just hit my monthly quota for the use of the word “Shadow”. Ah well.

Oh, and they’re a playable character race too. Shadar-Kai Dark Pact Warlock, anyone?

Shambling Mound
Another old classic reborn for 4e, the Shambling Mound is awesome because of just one thing: the Enveloping Double Attack. I’m not going to say any more. Go read it, then try it out in play. I guarantee it’ll be one of your most talked about combat encounters for months come. Yes, it is that good.

I could go on, but I’ll stop there. The first Monster Manual is full to the brim of terrific critters, and each one has a story to tell. I’ve purposefully ignored the monsters who already get mucho airtime, but they’re full of goodness too – from the Bugbear Strangler’s fantasy noir potential to the differences between all the Dragons.

What are your new iconic monsters, and why?

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While everyone else is praising Monster Manual II, I have yet to bag a copy. Boohoo. In the meantime an unfun accident with water meant I’ve spent an awful lot of time drying and carefully unpeeling pages of my Monster Manual one by sodden one. Ick.

Thankfully it survived intact (if rather crumpled along the edges), and its meant I have also been able to pour (no pun intended) over every page. Make no mistake: this first Monster Manual is the best one, ever. It’s packed with old and new foes alike as well as giving new prominence to critters who came late to the 3e D&D party and deserve more love.

Here’s a grab bag of my favourites. These are the monsters who, I think, deserve a lot of airtime in the game. It’s time to step out of the Kobold/Goblin/Orc/Dragon safety zone, people!

Berbalang
It’s a blue skinned ghoul-like creature that can duplicate itself and eats memories. What’s not to love? This is an old monster from D&D given a fresh lick of (blue) paint for 4e, and it hits all the sweet spots.

First and foremost, it’s a ready-made walking plot device. Imagine a Berbalang who consumed a famous Paladin who was the only living person who knew the location of the Sacred Chalice of Pelor, a powerful artefact that is required to hold back an evil that wakens every 1,000 years. Can the heroes find the Berbalang and convince it to share that knowledge – and will they be willing to pay the price?

Or how about a Berbalang who consumed someone under the effects of a Geas and is now compelled to carry out the same quest?

Dark Ones
Fancy a little Dean Koontz in your D&D? Just drop a small enclave of Dark Ones into a populated area, and stand well back. These critters are like evil gnomes who explode into shadow when you kill ‘em. Dark Creepers make darned fine substitutes for urban Goblins – they’re tougher, smarter and no less wicked – while a Dark Stalker would make a decent long-term foe for a low-level party.

Picture a Fagin-like Dark Stalker who has used a vile Ritual to turn local forgotten children into his own guild of Dark Ones. These children steal valuables for him from the homes of the wealthy using the city’s newly constructed sewer system as their own private expressway. Then one of the “children” recognises it’s parents………

Drakes
One of the core questions any 4e D&D campaign setting should answer is: “Just how common are Drakes anyway?” These critters fit the same niche as domesticated pets do in the Real World; they are faithful companions, guards and vermin. From the lowliest Spiretop Drake to the powerful Rage Drake, how common you make them will go a long way toward defining just how fantastic you want your fantasy to be.

In my own campaign set in Ptolus, Spiretop Drakes have almost replaced birds entirely with several different breeds sharing roofspace all across the city, and wealthy patrons favour Guard Drakes and Pseudodragons to dogs and cats. This reinforces the fact that this is a Fantastic city, not a faux-medieval one.

When is comes to combat encounters, adding a few Drakes into the mix is like adding salt to taste. A Hobgoblin Warlord is cool – but a Hobgoblin Warlord riding a Rage Drake is way cooler! I have to resist the temptation to over-use Drakes. Ever since that time I almost TPK’d the party with 5 Needlefang Drake Swarms in a single room. Ouch.

Eidolon
An Eidolon is a trap, a terrain feature and a monster all rolled into one. Mummy. It’s one of the few critters who can be dangerous even when it stands there doing nothing – while this rune-covered statue is immobile it’s allies do an additional 1d8 damage. Try to hit it and Divine Retribution will strike you down, or kill one of it’s allies and it’ll fire Vengeful Flames at your ass. When it finally does decide to move, it’s got a Reach 2 punch that packs quite a…. errr…. punch.

This is one of the monsters which (imho) is more deadly than its Level and XP value would suggest. Just like most 4e critters it is dead easy to play (no complicated powers here!) but it’s not one I’d throw at anything other than an experienced group of players. Thankfully, with an INT of only 7 it’s not the cleverest cookie in the barrel so a group might just be able to persuade it that they are it’s real allies and those cultists are the fakes…….

That’ll do for now. Next time: More iconics from the Monster Manual!

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