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The Citadel of Chaos

February 11, 2020, 7:48 pm
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I've been running the "Dungeon Academy" campaign for 2 years now, and we're reaching the end of the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set, which I converted to 5th edition. The group right now is in the final section of the book - The Citadel of Chaos. In the citadel, both the 7th and final piece of the rod and the "big bad guy" of the boxed set, Miska the Wolf Spider, are waiting.

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This is what Miska looks like in the boxed set
Miska is a weird villain. He's almost too goofy for me to use, as there is something about the two wolf heads sitting on his shoulders that just doesn't feel right to me. I can say that I do love the idea that he was created by the Queen of Chaos to be her ultimate dude (she created Demogorgon first, but wasn't thrilled with him, so she tried again).

I feel like I've done a decent job of setting everything up. I did my best to make the storyline clear, I built up the idea of Miska being a challenging foe (his blood can literally kill you if you touch it), and I have demonstrated that there are a lot of factions in the multiverse who want to use the assembled rod for various purposes.

For the last few sessions, I've been really trying to familiarize myself with this section of the boxed set, and modify it to suit my style. As written, the citadel of chaos is pretty sparse. There's some big maps and pieces of art, but the author only detailed a handful of sections and left the rest up to the DM. I've always hated this approach. I'm buying the adventure so I don't have to do that kind of work!

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In this case, it's fine. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to happen in this place.

The Superfluous Succubus: There is one thing that I chucked, though. In the citadel is a succubus and her goristro (minotaur demon) bodyguard. They are in there trying to buddy up with Miska. This duo comes out of nowhere and are one of the most detailed things in this whole chapter, yet I don't really see how they are useful. This is the final area! This should involve the last ditch effort of the spyder fiends to take back the rod and finally kill off the heroes.

I went through the encounters, traps, and trappings presented in the book and then realigned them/fleshed them out as a sort of gauntlet that the group will have to run.

The last two sessions we did were "planning sessions," which usually I avoid like the plague because they tend to bore players. This situation is an exception, as this is the penultimate battle and I want to make sure everything is crystal clear.

This has led to quite a bit of roleplaying, and an excuse for me to play my favorite NPC - Strahd von Zarovich. He's been hanging out with the group, since the soul of his beloved Tatiana has merged with one of the heroes. Everything he does is dramatic and shadowy.

Season 3: The group's discussions and plans got me thinking about the future of this campaign. Right now, they're level 12 and they want to go all the way to level 20. Our game has basically been broken up into "seasons":
  • Season One: The Battle of Emridy Meadows (Episodes 1-11)
  • Season Two: The Rod of Seven Parts (Episodes 12-62, so far)
Season one doesn't really have all that much to do anything. My original plan for this campaign was to run the old 1e Temple of Elemental Evil adventure. I'd tried to do this in 4th edition, but I gave up after about 10 sessions because.. well.. it was boring.

I'm not sure why I wanted to take another stab at it in 5e, but I am really glad I changed my mind on running it. I think I like the idea of running TOEE more than I enjoy actually preparing and running it. I am positive that somebody out there can run that adventure and make it awesome, but I don't think I can.

Planning for the Future: So I spent some time yesterday brainstorming what season 3 would look like. I usually like to use published stuff, but as of now it looks like season 3 will be about the Queen of Chaos coming after the group to get revenge for whatever happens with Miska the Wolf Spider. I do think it's a very cool idea to end a level 20 campaign with a battle against the Queen of Chaos, who is an obyrith - the creator of Demogorgon! She's one of the oldest creatures known to exist! And her lair is already detailed in the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set.

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The Queen of Chaos, as depicted in the boxed set

I think, if I go this route, I'm going to need to compile everything I can find on the Queen and then expand on it. In those old Paizo issues of Dragon Magazine, there are all sorts of lore tidbits about the Queen sprinkled throughout.

A New Demon Prince: Also, I am very excited about the concept of the Queen trying to "build" a NEW demon lord to replace Miska. What would that creature be? How does she 'make' a demon lord? I know she uses the sibriex to help make creatures, but I'd imagine creating a demon lord would be a very interesting process, almost like the bad guy would have to go on a quest through the multiverse to get the "parts" she needs.

I actually just now had an awesome idea for this that involves things and people the heroes have already interacted with.

Reflecting on a Long Campaign: I've been cleaning up some of my old youtube posts. One of my players (Aya Golender) has been making art for me to use on my title images, so I went back on some old shows and added those in. Looking at the game, it definitely confirms my take on the natural pattern of a campaign.

I think most of us want to run a long game, right? We'd like to run it once a week, or every other week, like clockwork. Over the course of months and even years, the group plays together. You have hilarious moments, dramatic moments, thrilling moments. You get together and create the feeling that you're in an epic series of movies, TV shows, or books.

It sounds easy, but for whatever reason, I see a lot of campaigns that don't make it past session 8. Looking at my own Dungeon Academy campaign, I see a bit of that pattern play out.

In the beginning of a campaign, there is a jolt of energy. Everyone is putting their ideas on display and seeing how it all mixes together. That's a lot of fun for the first few sessions, but once the sparks are done flying and the novelty wears thin, things can become dull and even feel like a bit of a chore.

This feeling is enhanced if, as a DM, things don't play out as you thought they would. Maybe the epic moment you had planned falls flat, or you look at the players and wonder if they are having fun. You are putting a lot of work into this thing. You're doing homework! And it feels like it's not paying off.

That stuff can be really hard to plow through! I go through it in almost every campaign I run.

But the more you dig in and plug away, the deeper into the game you get and the more sessions you have under your belt. The key is to constantly monitor everything and make adjustments.

I'd say once you hit 25 sessions, you're in the clear as far as campaign fatigue goes. You don't give up, you constantly adjust, you find what the group responds to and you run with it! You will get to a point where you understand what your characters like, and then giggle to yourself when you come up with something that you know they'll get a kick out of.

You also might get into taking certain "risks" just to see what happens. I am seriously considering throwing something out there in our next session just to see what the players do with it. I might take one of my personal favorite things about the whole campaign and risk it, just to see what happens. Why? It's fun! I have no idea what will happen, and I think they will like having the power to take this thing and do whatever they want with it.

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Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Lich

February 12, 2020, 10:12 pm
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by William O'Connor
Today we're going to take a look at one of the most iconic D&D monsters: the lich. We'll check out the lich from each edition, discuss the transformation process and phylacteries, and then we'll go through the many lich variants from D&D books from the past.

Essential Information
  • High level spellcasters become liches (undead spellcasters) to achieve a type of immortality.
  • The process to become a lich involves a ritual, the creation of a potion, and a phylactery.
  • In 2nd edition, failing the ritual results in the caster becoming a firelich.
  • Sometimes during the ritual, an entity of the Far Realm will posses the caster, turning them into a void lich.
  • The lich has a phylactery. If reduced to 0 hit points, the lich reforms near the phylactery.
  • To kill a lich for good, you need to destroy the phylactery.
  • A lich must feed souls to their phylactery. Failing to do so results in them becoming a demilich.
  • Some liches have used dozens of other lich phylacteries to attempt to achieve godhood.
AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual

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by Dave Trampier

A human becomes a lich through sheer "force of will," and maintains this state through the use of magic and a phylactery.
  • Their body has the armor class equivalent of someone wearing +1 armor and a +1 shield.
  • All liches were spellcasters of at least 18th level in life.
  • Their cold touch can paralyze.
  • The mere sight of a lich forces creatures under 5th level to flee (no saving throw).
  • Their eyesockets are "...mere black holes with glowing points of light."
  • Short and sweet!
AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium

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by Jeff Butler
The 2e lich is quite an expansion of the 1e version. We learn quite a bit:
  • Liches are usually solitary creatures.
  • A lich can animate a force of undead troops.
  • A lich has "...no understanding of good and evil as we understand it." According to the stat block, a lich can have "any" alignment.
  • It feels that the living are of little importance.
  • Being obsessed with power, they forget their old names.
  • This entry outlines the process of becoming a lich. It uses material from the article in Dragon Magazine #26, which we'll get into below.
D&D 3rd Edition Monster Manual

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by Wayne Reynolds

A few more details in 3rd edition:
  • Eyes: "...bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty eyesockets."
  • It can cast up to 6th level spells (disintegrate is its 6th level spell).
  • In 2e, a phylactery cost 1,500 gp. In 3e, it costs 120,000 gp and you need to "donate" 4,800 XP to it!
  • It says that the most common phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed.
Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Monster Manual

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In 4e, a "lich" is a monster template to apply to NPCs. In this edition, bad guys didn't cast spells from the Player's Handbook, they just had a few "powers" in their stat block that they used. It is different and weird, but as a DM, I can tell you it was much, much easier to run.

The book has two example statblocks: a Lich (human wizard) and a Lich (Eladrin Wizard). Powers and info:
  • Shadow Ray: Ranged attack that does necrotic damage.
  • Necrotic Orb: Ranged attack that stuns and does necrotic damage.
  • Entropic Pulse: A magic explosion that does necrotic dmg to all in a large area.
  • Lich Transformation Ritual: The book actually includes the 4e-style ritual to become a lich. "You call upon Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead, to transform your body into a skeletal thing, undead and immortal..."
  • Components for the ritual cost 100,000 gp.
  • "Destroying a lich and its phylactery does not guarantee that the lich is gone forever. Powerful beings associated with undeath, including Orcus and Vecna, can reform a destroyed lich, turning it into a lich vestige."
There's also a monster called a"lich vestige", which is the "...arcane remnant of a destroyed lich. It dies not have a phylactery, and crumbles to dust when damage."It was a "minion", a monster type in 4e that has only 1 hit point.

D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

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How do you become a lich?
  1. Make a bargain with a Power (demon lord, evil god, etc).
  2. Swear fealty to that Power.
  3. Go through an arcane ritual that traps the wizard's soul in a phylactery.
  4. Drink a potion of transformation (poison mixed with the blood of a sentient creature)
  5. The potion kills the wizard and they rise as a lich.
Soul Maintenance: Liches must periodically feed souls to their phylactery through the use of an imprisonment spell.
  • A phylactery can only hold one soul at a time
  • The soul is consumed and destroyed utterly in 24 hours.
  • If a lich is reduced to 0 hit points, a new body reforms next to the phylactery within days.
Liches are spellcasters with legendary actions. They can actually cast up to 9th level spells, with power word kill being their 9th level spell.

Their touch can paralyze you. They have a gaze that frightens, and they can "disrupt life," causing non-undead within 20 feet to take necrotic damage.

I wasn't really aware of the whole "feed souls to the phylactery" thing! Now let's look at a really old article about becoming a lich.

Dragon Magazine #26 "Blueprint for a Lich"

This is from the early days of D&D, and describes the process in which a creature becomes a lich. It goes like this:
  1. Make a Phylactery: This must be an item worth at least 2,000 gp. Can't be made of wood.
  2. Make and drink a special potion (see below).
  3. Cast Enchant an item, trap the soul , and magic jar on the phylactery.
  4. Magic jar will force the caster to enter the phylactery.
  5. Leave the Jar: You'll have lost a level and can't cast your high level spells until you rest for d6+1 days.
  6. The next time you die, you will go into the phylactery, no matter how far away from it you are.
  7. To get out of the phylactery again, you'll need someone to bring a recently dead body within 90 feet of the phylactery (the body can be any kind of creature).
  8. Once in the creature's body, the lich must seek out their own body and bring it to the phylactery. Then... you must EAT your original body, and your form will metamorph into a humanoid body similar to your original form. 
You no longer need to memorize/pray for your spells, you just get them back after a long rest.

There's a potion of transformation that must be quaffed in order to become a lich. Here are the ingredients!
  • 2 pinches of pure arsenic.
  • 1  pinch  of  belladonna.
  • 1  measure  of  fresh  phase  spider  venom  (under  30  days  old).
  • 1  measure  of  fresh  wyvern  venom  (under  60  days  old).
  • The blood of a dead humanoid infant killed by a phase spider.
  • The blood of a dead humanoid infant killed by a mixture of arsenic and belladonna.
  • The  heart  of  a  virgin  humanoid  killed  by wyvern venom.
  • 1 quart of blood from a vampire or a person infected with vampirism.
  • The ground reproductive glands of 7 giant moths (head for less than 60 days).
The items are mixed in the order given by the light of a full moon. When you drink the potion (all of it) roll a d100:
  • 1-10 No effect whatsoever other than all body hair falling out. Start over!
  • 11-40 Coma for 2-7 days — the potion works!
  • 41-70 Feebleminded until dispelled by Dispel Magic. Each attempt to remove the feeblemind has a 10% chance to kill you instead if it fails. The potion works!
  • 71-90 Paralyzed for 4-14 days. 30% chance that permanent loss of 1-6 dexterity points will result. The potion works!
  • 91-96 Permanently deaf, mute or blind. Only a full wish can regain the sense. The potion works!
  • 97-00 DEAD — start over, if you can be resurrected.
A few D&D products discuss phylacteries in one way or another. Here are the ones I could find.

Dungeon Magazine #99 - Quadripartite

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by Tom Baxa

This adventure involves a lich named Kel Virond.

The Phylactery of Darkness: This item is a 1-inch cube of blackest adamantite inscribed with prayers to Nerull.
  • It is fused to Kel Virond's forehead, hidden under his helmet.
  • Touching the phylactery causes you to "gain 1 negative level" (you're energy drained/lose a level).
  • "The phylactery of darkness acts a Virond's lich phylactery. Removing it from his head destroys him permanently as surely as destroying a lich's phylactery would."
Van Richten's Guide to the Lich

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by Jeff Easley

Destroying a Phylactery: In Van Richten's Guide to the Lich, the topic of actually destroying a phylactery is discussed.
  • It can't be destroyed by common, physical means.
  • The "permanency" spell must be reversed from it (maybe with an anti-magic sphere?)
  • Once the permanence is gone, cast dispel magic on the phylactery. This gives you 1d4 rounds to do actual damage to the phylactery.
  • You must do 25 points of damage to it before the dispel magic wears off.
It also suggests that magic weapons of +3 or higher can directly damage a phylactery, but the phylactery can't actually be destroyed this way.

Libris Mortis

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by Steve Prescott
This book gives some general information about phylacteries.
  • A lich can construct only a single phylactery.
  • A lich whose phylactery is destroyed suffers no harm, but cannot construct a new one.
  • A phylactery in an antimagic field cannot recreate a destroyed lich, though the lich returns to life 1d10 days after the phylactery is removed from the area.
  • Most liches keep their phylacteries well-hidden, disguised with magic that blocks scrying and detection.
  • An identify spell or a high arcana check can identify an item as a phylactery.
  • A phylactery cannot be part of another magic item, nor may additional magical properties be built into it.
Tales From the Yawning Portal: Dead in Thay

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by Tyler Jacobson

This adventure involves a lich called Szass Tam, who has built a "Doomvault" that houses the phylacteries of his many high-ranking lich servants.

Szass plans to feed the souls of many Chosen (divine agents of the gods) into his phylactery, which could give him the power to become a god.

The Doomvault is in a demiplane. The phylacteries are kept in sepulchers: "The sepulcher walls hum with arcane power. On stone shelves are leather cases, amulets, daggers, scroll tubes, unholy symbols, and other ornate objects. These are the phylacteries of Szass Tam's lich servants."

The magic of the sepulcher protects the phylacteries from harm.

The idea here is to "disrupt the flow of energy," which will stop Szass from draining the essence of the Chosen.

Tomb of Annihilation

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by Ben Oliver

In the very final room of the dungeon in Tomb of Annihilation, there is a room full of phylacteries. "Two facing balconies halfway along the room are littered by ornate glass bottles, fluted silver urns, ivory caskets, and other vessels - all of them inscribed with baleful sigils."

Acererak (the lich villain of this adventure) has disciples scattered all throughout the multiverse, including many liches that seek to become as powerful as him. He keeps their phylacteries here.

"Destroying a phylactery is no simple task and often requires a special ritual, item, or weapon."

The phylacteries here are unique, and discovering the key to each one's destruction will require time and expensive research.

There is a 10% chance that any one of these phylacteries would be destroyed by hurling it into the lava.

Now let's take a look at the many different types of liches that have appeared in D&D history.

Alhoon (Volo's Guide to Monsters)
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by Wayne Reynolds

Illithids are supposed to stick with psionics, but some secretly study magic.

Normally when a mind flayer dies, it joins with the Elder Brain. But spellcasters aren't accepted, so they pursue lichdom as a way of gaining eternal life.

9 mind flayers worked together to figure out how to achieve lichdom. They were known as the Alhoon. All subsequent mind flayer liches are also known as Alhoon.

Becoming an Alhoon:
  • 3 mind flayers create a periapt of mind trapping.
  • They sacrifice three creatures and perform a three-day long ritual.
  • All three mindflayers become Alhhon.
  • When slain, their mind enters the periapt but their body is not remade.
  • Periapts only last as long as the age of a sacrificed soul. So.. if a 200-year-old elf is sacrificed, then the periapt lasts 200 years.
  • Destroying a periapt destroys the Alhoons linked to it.
Alhoons can cast up to 6th level spells (including disintegrate). They still have their mind blast power, which stuns all in a 60 foot cone.

Archlich (Lost Ships)
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by Dell Barras
Sometimes, a good-aligned wizard becomes a lich. They generally don't use phylacteries like an evil lich - they place their life force in a magic item.

If you speak the name of an archlich and you're on the same plane as it is, it can hear it.
Water walk at will.

Becoming an archlich:
  • Create a magic item, often a miniature spellbook into which they put 9 spells to carry forever in undeath.
  • Create a potion enchanted with a number of spells.
  • Anoint the magic item with a drop of the wizard's blood.
  • Drink the potion while touching the magic item.
  • Cast a single, secret spell. There is a 7% chance the wizard dies. They slumber for a few hours, then rise up as an archlich.
If an archlich is destroyed, its remains teleport to the magic item. The body slowly reforms, gaining 1 hit point per day. If the magic item is destroyed, the archlich is obliterated.

Traits:
  • They are immune to turning.
  • Aura of Power: Causes creatures to be frightened.
  • Paralyzing touch.
  • Can repel undead.
  • Can animate dead by touch.
  • They have 9 spells that they can cast once per day.
Baelnorn (Monstrous Compendium Annual)

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by Wayne Reynolds

Sometimes, lawful good elves seek undeath. They become liches known as a baelnorn so that they can continue working on a task such as guarding a people or location.
  • They do not have phylacteries.
  • They have clones that activate if they are destroyed.
  • The process to become a baelnorn is a secret.
Projections: 3 times per day they can project a wraith-like version of themselves up to a mile away. The baelnorn can see, speak, and cast spells through them. The projections are intangible but can be reduced to 0 hit points.

If the lich leaves the host body, it combusts. The lich must possess a new body within an hour, or it is destroyed. 

Defiler Lich (Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III)

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by Tom Baxa
These creatures start in the Dark Sun setting but I guess they get sucked into the demiplane of Ravenloft.

Their touch draws magical essence from others.

When they cast spells, they drain life from the environment around them. Plants turn to ash and cause pain to the living (giving them penalties to initiative rolls).

Demilich (D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual)

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by Michael Berube
If a lich fails to feed souls to its phylactery, its body crumbles and only the skull remains. This "demi-lich" retains only a fragment of its former life force. It mostly lies dormant, but if you poke it with a stick, it animates and you're going to die.
  • If slain, the skull (only) reforms by the phylactery.
  • If it can feed one soul to its phylactery, it can once again become a lich.
  • Can't cast spells, but has some powers.
  • Howl: Save or drop to 0 hit points!!
  • Life Drain: Up to 3 creatures take necrotic
  • Cloud of Dust: Blinds you
  • Vile Curse: Disadvantage on attack rtolls
Dracolich (D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual)
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by Ralph Horsley
Dragons transform themselves into dracoliches via necromantic energy and ancient rituals.
They are driven to rule over all. Becoming a dracolich:
  • A group of mages usually help the dragon with the ritual.
  • The dragon consumes a toxic brew that kills it instantly.
  • The spellcasters transfer the dragon's spirit to a gemstone that functions like a phylactery.
  • If the gem/phylactery touches another dragon's corpse, the dracolich can take possession of it!
  • If the dracolich dies and the gem is on another plane, the dracolich dies for good.
Dragon Magazine #344 - The Ecology of the Dracolich

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by Peter Bergting

Let's see what we learn from this thing.
  • The earliest known dracolich is Dragotha, who I wrote about here.
  • Dracolich Brew (aka The Damnable Libation): A mix of poison and elixir that brings about the cold existence of undeath.
  • The Hades Praxis: The phylactery of the dracolich demigod Falazure. It is "...hidden somewhere under the shadowed plains of the gray Waste and said to hold the accumulated knowledge of all dead dragons."
  • Dracoliches go to great lengths to hide their phylacteries.
  • If their phylactery is destroyed, the dracolich suffers no physical harm but is unable to create a new one. Thus, if it is slain, death is permanent.
Example Dracoliches:
  • The Breather of Locusts: This is "...an evolved great wyrm green dracolich capable of vomiting from its rotting stomach huge plagues of bloodfiend locusts."
  • Sin Feaster: A black dragon dracolich that is allied with followers of Lolth, claims to be a consort of the Spider Queen.
  • Aurgloroasa: A shadow dragon dracolich (?) that lives in Thunderhome, a dwarven city that she destroyed. She is obsessed with collecting every scale she ever lost.
Ways to become a dracolich:
  • The Well of Dragons: A stagnant lake/dragon graveyard, once was Tiamat's brooding pit. Most dragons who drink the water die and becomes zombie dragons, though a chosen few become dracoliches. Welp, I'm totally using this.
  • Spiritgorgers: Some dracoliches end up trapped in their phylacteries. You can make a pact with one and become a lich, but you share minds with the dracolich.
  • Soul Substitution: If the skeletal remains of a dragon are in proximity of the essence of some powerful being such as an entrapped fiend, it can spontaneously arise as a dracolich.
Drow Lich (Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III)

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by Tom Baxa
This entry also includes drider liches. Drow liches tend to use powerful magic items, such as a staff of power or a wand of fireballs. They frequently "..maintain nests of hairy spiders.."

Dry Lich (Sandstorm)
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People known as "walkers of the waste" travel the desert, using magic to spread the desert and drain the moisture from things. The can shape sand, and belong to an organization known as the Dusty Conclave, whose goal is to turn the entire world into desert. When a walker becomes powerful enough, it transforms into an undead dry lich.
  • A dry lich "...spends its unnatural existence continuing to spread the waste and preserve whatever it encounters as dry, mummified monuments."
  • Can cast up to 6th level spells.
  • Body Lamp: Can make its skin glow.
  • Creates sand golems and salt mummies.
  • Dessicating Touch: Drains moisture from living creatures.
  • Pillar of Salt: Can turn flesh to salt once per day.
  • Greater Drought: Can produce extreme desert conditions in a 100 foot radius.
  • Sandswim: Can burrow through sand.
  • The Wasting: Can transform a handful of sand into a disease, blowing it into the face of a creature - giving them a supernatural affliction that gradually mummifies them.
  • Vulnerability to Water: Water hurts them.
Elemental Lich (Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III)

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by Tom Baxa
  "Elemental liches are diabolical wizards who studied and mastered the use of Ravenloft's strange elements before or during their undeath."

"Where most liches control hordes of undead minions, elementalists control the very spirits of the elements themselves."
  • They must bury their phylactery in a grave, and ignite a fire of burning bones on that spot. Blood is poured on the ashes, and then the mists roll in and obscure the site from prying eyes.
  • Touch of the Grave: If this lich touches you, you must make a saving throw or die.
  • Touch of the Pyre: Your clothing/armor bursts into flame!
  • Touch of Blood: Blood oozes from your every pore! You lose d4 hit points per round. For every 12, you lose one level!
  • Conjure Elemental: This lich can conjure up to 4 special Ravenloft elementals per day: Grave, pyre, blood, or mist elementals.
Firelich (Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium Appendix I)

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by Tom Baxa
Mages who try to become liches and fail become fireliches!
  • They become living fireballs of undeath and race through wildspace, screaming in eternal pain.
  • Fireliches look to collide with something to end their torment.
  • Can collide with ships and explodes like a fireball. This does not destroy the firelich.
  • Sometimes it creates a wall of fire on a deck of a ship.
  • They can't cast spells.
Lichfiend (Libris Mortis)

A lichfiend is a fiend (usually a demon or devil) who achieves lichdom. Could be a balor, glabrezu, marilith, nalfeshnee, succubus, bone devil, horned devil, ice devil, or a pit fiend.

Lich's Blood (Dragon Magazine 238)

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by Tom Baxa
Created by a necromancer who was trying to figure out how to become a lich, this is a pool of animated blood that seeks out magic items and wizards.
  • The blood can coat a magic item and feed off of its energy.
  • Lich's blood prefers to feast on spellcasters, sliding down their throat and draining their spells.
  • Each round that the wizard is coated, they lose d4 memorized spells, starting with the highest level spells memorized.
  • Immune to all weapon-based attacks!
  • Spells cast at it are absorbed harmlessly.
  • To kill it: Use acid, fire, or deprive it of magic.
  • Dispel magic does d6 damage per level to it.
  • Anti-Magic shell destroys it.
Lich Claw (Open Grave)

Lich claws are similar to crawling claws.
  • They do necrotic damage and work together to immobilize foes.
  • "Liches that want to humiliate and dominate their rivals seek out other liches to acquire pieces to make lich claws. Many lich claws occur spontaneously, due to the saturation of necrotic energy in the chambers of defeated liches."
Lich Familiar (Van Richten's Guide to the Lich)

Sometimes a lich has a familiar! The familiar's essence might also be in the lich's phylactery. Here's how it works:
  • The familiar must drink from the potion of transformation.
  • The familiar can't be destroyed until the phylactery is.
  • If the familiar's body is destroyed, the lich must find a new body for it to inhabit.
  • The lich cannot cast spells if its familiar does not have a physical body.
Lich Vestige (D&D 4th Edition Monster Manual)

Husks of lesser liches drained of their essence to power the research of Irfelujhar, an ancient lich who once served Vecna but now serves Tiamat.
  • "A frail, skeletal creature whose body disappears into wisps of shadow stands before you. It wears tattered robes sporting faded mystical symbols."
  • Death's Touch: Necrotic damage
  • Shadow Ray: Ranged necrotic attack
  • Orb of Obliteration: 2-4 vestiges can act together to hurl a single orb of black fire that detonates on impact, doing both fire and necrotic damage.
Master Lich (Legend of the Spelljammer)

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by Tom Baxa
 A master lich is basically just a lightly more powerful lich. Their flesh is not rotted. The skin is pulled back like leather over the skull and bones.
  • "At the apex of undead society." Commands all types of weaker undead.
  • Made a pact with a dark power so that it is very difficult to slay.
  • Two ways for it to Suffer True Death: A dark power shows up to collect the lich's spirit in payment. or the lich is dragged to a power's home plane.
  • The master lich fears the dark powers.
  • Regenerates one hit point per round, even if its body is destroyed and separated.
Psionic Lich (Van Richten's Guide to Liches)

Users of psionic powers sometimes twist the powers of their minds to extend their existence beyond the bounds of mortal life. They often regret becoming liches.
  • Creating a phylactery costs 100,000 gp. It might be a ring or crown.
  • The phylactery must be empowered with every psionic power the creator possesses. These powers are permanently transferred - the creator loses them forever.
  • Aura of Mind Strike: All within 50 yards have penalties to attack rolls and damage.
  • If the phylactery is destroyed, so is the psionic lich.
Suel Lich (Dragon Magazine #339)
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by Steve Ellis
The Suel empire existed in the Greyhawk setting long ago.  Suel lich is a cross between a lich and a malevolent ghost.
  • Made of negative energy, must possess a living creature's body. They burn out host bodies quickly and must switch to a new host often.
  • They can cast up to 8th level spells.
  • Fear Aura: Save or DIE from fright. Succeed = paralyzed!
  • Malevolence: Possess a creature similar to a magic jar spell.
  • A possessed body ages at three times the normal rate.
Thicket Dryad Lich (Open Grave)

"Sometimes a dryad's desire to protect its woodland twists into dark obsession. In rare instances, one of these fey creatures crosses the threshold into undeath and becomes a thicket dryad lich. The dryad transforms a favorite tree into a phylactery. The corruption in the dryad's soul then causes the tree to become warped and rotted. Over time, this blight can spread out over the surrounding forest."
  • Controls necrocreeper vines that can restrain or move foes around.
  • Deceptive Veil: They can appear as a humanoid, often an elf or eladrin.
  • Necrotic Treestride: Can teleport from tree to tree.
  • Thorny Body: When grabbed, deals damage due to body spikes.
  • When slain, it dissipates into a spray of dead leaves. It reappears within 5 feet of its phylactery tree, unless the phylactery tree is also found and destroyed.
Vassalich (Van Richten's Guide to the Lich)

A vassalich comes about when a living wizard makes a pact with a lich in order to become a lich themself.
  • Pledges eternal servitude to the lich, though they retain free will.
  • The wizard must hand over a phylactery to the lich, who uses it as leverage over the vassalich.
  • Over time, a vassalich gains power and in 40-100 years, grows into a full-fledged lich on its own.
Void Lich (Open Grave)

"A void lich is an antediluvian horror from the Far Realm that seizes control of the body and phylactery of someone performing a lich transformation ritual. Lured into the world by the eldritch power unleashed during the ritual, this aberrant entity shunts the ritual performer's soul off to the Far Realm and possesses the host body as its own. A void lich is cloaked in darkness, a remnant of the dark, churning corridors of its origin plane."
  • Shroud of Night: The lich's aura dims lights
  • Life Tap: The touch of Void lich deals necrotic damage and heals the void lich.
  • Void Tendrils: Does necrotic damage, knocks prone.
  • Fade to Dusk: Becomes invisible until it attacks.
  • Phase Step: Teleports short distances
  • When reduced to 0 hit points, its body and possessions dissipate into wisps of darkness, but the void lich is not destroyed. It reappears in 1d10 days within 5 feet of its phylactery.
Famous Liches

Some of D&D's most infamous villains are liches. Here are a few of the more prominent ones:
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Acererak's Guide to Lichdom

February 13, 2020, 3:44 pm
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You can buy this product on the DMs Guild here.

I've been doing research on liches because my Dungeon Academy group, who call themselves the "Lich Slayers", are about to wrap up playing through the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set and I'm planning for the future. I thought that it might be cool to have them fight every type of lich that there is, but then I saw what was out there and frankly, some of them are lame.

I do plan for the campaign to be somewhat lich-centric, though. I thought about it for a bit, and I realized that in all the years I've been playing D&D, I've almost never seen a group go after a lich's phylactery. They fight the lich, and move on.

So now I'm thinking that the Lich Slayers will definitely hunt down a phylactery or two before the campaign is over. That brings me to the question of how a lich protects their phylactery. Bury it in a deadly dungeon? Who do they trust to guard it? Do they dare just hide it somewhere innocuous and hope it doesn't get noticed?

I checked to see if there was any lich stuff on the DMs Guild to help me with this dilemma, and I came upon Acererak's Guide to Lichdom. Cool name! Awesome cover! Let's check it out and see if there's anything in there we can use.

Actions and Traits

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We start off with a pile of powers you can give your custom lich. Here are a few:

  • Animate Dead: Raise up to 12 dead as zombies or skeletons.
  • Conjure Undead Legion: Summon 1 undead of CR 9 or lower, 3 undead of CR 5 or lower, etc.
  • Limited Flying: Gains a fly speed of 15 feet.
  • Reactive Spellcasting: When the lich is hit with an attack, it can use its reaction to cast a spell of 3rd level or lower.
I LOVE these! Very useful. Some of them help "translate" lich abilities from old editions into the 5e system.

Traits

There's a big pile of traits for lich statblocks. Here are a few examples:
  • Anti-Magic: If the lich fails a counterspell effect, it can choose to succeed instead. That is just nasty!
  • Gem of Body and Soul: The damage the lich would take is instead taken by a gem nearby, absorbing up to 100 HP of damage.
  • Skull Scry: The lich can see through skulls in a 200 mile radius via clairvoyance.
  • Voice of Malfeasence: The lich can charm creatures and force them to reveal any secrets they might know.
There are really great. The book is already worth getting.

Tactics

This section is a bit broad. I was hoping for more detail - actual strategies for liches to use.

Liches as Big Villains

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This chapter has a four unique liches all statted out for you.

  • Conall, Master of the Undead: A necromancer in life who went on to become a lich. Has a huge stat block. Conall specializes in using animated bones to create walls and structures.
  • Daharash, the Mastermind: This one throws me because the art is of a 4th edition sorrowsworn. Dharash can manipulate dreams, skull scry, cause pain with its gaze, all pretty cool stuff.
  • Kharadosz, the Juggernaut: Kharadosz is more of a brute who specializes in battle. It has extra HP and a special damaging aura.
  • Valerias, the Mistress of Spells: She is always looking for arcane secrets and magic. She can concentrate on two spells at once (!).
The focus here is on stats rather than lore. The stat stuff is really good! Personally I'd like more story stuff to go along with the stats, but it seems like the author knows his strengths and plays to them. I would guess that most people who buy this book won't mind at all.

Magic Items

There's just 2 magic items here. One of them is an item called a soulskull. Basically, some liches can use the skull of a slain foe, and trap the victim's soul in their skull. The lich can then absorb the skill to fully heal themselves!

This is a very interesting way to describe how liches feed souls to their phylacteries. I never considered the idea of the lich also gaining a statistical benefit to consuming a soul.

New Monsters and NPCs

Baelnorn: Hey! They statted out the baelnorn! That's the elf lich, who, in older editions, had a good alignment. Here, they are lawful good as well!

These baelnorn do not have the power to make intangible shadow selves that they use to scout an area, though, which is a bummer.

Bleak Necromancer: These are mortals who serve a lich. They have a "grave stench" aura that poisons, fire death bolts, and can drop bursts of necrotic energy.

Lich Initiate: This is a wizard who serves a lich. I got excited thinking these were wizards who were preparing to become a lich themselves, which is something that could be really cool.

Shadowguard: I love this idea. Those sacrificed by a lich don't just die, their remains become a shadowguard - an undead shell that serves the lich. Really cool. A lich's lair would be full of these things, remnants of victims whose souls have been devoured. I'd like it if there was some way to save them or give them a bit of revenge.

Traps

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There are a bunch of detailed traps. There's an extraplanar gate, which spews shadows and, if entered, imprisons you in a demiplane of shadows doing 55 damage per round! Egad.

There's a bunch more, all of them are pretty cool.

Then we get a great map of the "Catacombs of the Dreaming Unborn" by Marco Bernardini, which is absolutely top notch.

Overall

This thing was worth the 5 bucks by the time I got to page 8! Very, very useful product if you're going to run a lich. It is short on flavor and heavy on stats, but I don't see that as a bad thing at all.
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Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Queen of Chaos

February 14, 2020, 9:56 am
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by Glen Michael Angus
The big villain in the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set is a demon lord named the Queen of Chaos. She is portrayed as one of the most powerful villains in the multiverse. She created Demogorgon, the current ruler of the Abyss!

And yet, there really isn't that much information out there about her. In this guide, I'm going to try and dig up all the information about her so you can get a look at what should be one of the ultimate bad guys in all of Dungeons & Dragons.

She's been given tiny mentions in many different old supplements, and a lot of them repeat the same info over and over.

James Jacobs and the Queen

There's something I want to talk about before we get going, here. The Queen of Chaos is basically Ursula, the villain from the Little Mermaid. It threw me when I first read the boxed set, and I've never really figured out what, if anything, I should do about it. Should she burst into song? Should my campaign have a talking crab?

Check it out:


When putting this guide together, I see that I'm not the only one with this concern. James Jacobs, author of the tremendous Demonomicon of Iggwilv series of articles from Dragon Magazine, mentioned on a message board that:

"I'm not particularly keen on the mythos for her and Miska from the Rod of Seven Parts adventure, nor am I that keen on her resemblance to Whats-Her-Name from "The Little Mermaid," nor am I too keen on the fact that her name is the "Queen of Chaos." And I don't really like the spyder demons much either, especially how you can't really just update one, you have to update all seven or however many there are. All of these things can certainly be addressed in a ret-con type article, but I'm also aware/suspect that a lot of people out there really like her as she is, so I'm hesitant to dive in there and do a lot of changing just to satisfy my own hangups about her."

Erik Mona, a D&D designer and massive Greyhawk enthusiast, chimed in:

"As the guy who "brought back" the Queen of Chaos and tied her into the Age of Worms and Fiendish Codex 1, I thought I might suggest that the "Queen of Chaos" works as a name because she is from a very, very early time in the history of the multiverse, as much a concept as a living, breathing thing. She is the most powerful of the obyrith. Perhaps the most powerful demon ever to have lived. She doesn't need a name more specific than the one she's had for almost 20 years, now.

She's shuttered away for the same reason as the demons imprisoned in the Wells of Darkness. She serves the same purpose as Tharizdun. As Fafnir and the Midgard Serpent.

Basically, she's an Apocalypse Trigger.

Bringing her back is Bad in the way Vecna entering Sigil is bad. For the Queen of Chaos to stir, major, multiverse-shaking plots are afoot.

And major, multiverse-shaking plots are really the domain of the individual DM, in my opinion.

Now that said, were I publishing a compilation of world-ending bad guys, the Queen of Chaos would be a perfect fit.

But, alas...."

Designer and Shemeshka enthusiast Todd Stewart said:

"Pre-FC I that's how I envisioned her, as a renegade Slaad Lord who was exiled from Limbo by Ssendam and Ygorl after having been corrupted from CN to CE (similar to how Bazim-Gorag is existing only by the sufferance of that pair due to his own slip into CE).

But since I've never really used the Queen, I might muddy the waters if I ever do and offer that as one myth, and incorporate some of Erik's notions from FC:I as well."

Being a fan of Limbo and the slaads, I do like this idea. Maybe the Slaad Lords are even older than the obyriths?

The Rod of Seven Parts Boxed Set

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by Glen Michael Angus
 Long ago, there was a war between Law and Chaos. I wrote a whole article about it here.

Basic Premise: The Queen of Chaos was in charge of the hordes of Chaos. Her general, Miska the Wolf Spider, was defeated and imprisoned by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. The wind Dukes used the Rod of Seven Parts to imprison Miska in the Plane of Pandemonium.

Since that time, the Queen has scoured the multiverse, looking for the rod.

Limbo: The book declares that she is "a native of Limbo," though she is later described as an obyrith (the "demons" that existed before the tanar'ri - modern day D&D demons - existed).

Appearance: Here is what she looks like.
  • Her lower body is a mass of 10 mauve tentacles, like a giant squid. shiny with slime, red and purple veins showing through her skin.
  • Her skin is blue - lighter at the belly and darker in back. Her eyes and hair are green, locks hanging in drooping curls. Her tentacles reach up to 90 feet
  • She has a huge trident tied to her wrist. 
  • Wears a coronet of bones decorated with black pearl and a sahuagin skull. I wonder if the sahuagin was anyone important?
  • Also. She, uhh... has a beak... down there in the tentacles.
Chaos Gates: The Queen can create chaos gates, portals to the Material Plane.
  • Lasts 1 minute
  • Portals can open to the Steaming Fen or the Prime Material Plane.
  • There is a 25% chance that non-demons will magically age 1d10 years when they step through a chaos gate.
  • "Objects and magical effects cannot travel through the passage unless carried by creatures."
  • The gateway is all but invisible in anything except bright light. Although.. later it is said that the gate looks like a disk of black fire from the side.
  • The queen can extend a tentacle through the gate and pull you through. "No feat of strength can save the character, but the tentacle can be severed."
Warping Effect: When a chaos gate is opened, there is a cumulative 20% chance that a wave of chaos sweeps of the world. When a wave hits:
  • The terrain around the heroes changes. Mountains might become a desert, the grass might turn blue (the sun might turn green!).
  • Each day the heroes stay in this landscape, they must make a saving throw or take damage (toxic air, hot weather, etc).
  • Beasts of Chaos: Animals are transformed into Beasts of Chaos, chaotic neutral tentacled monstrosities. Bright light enrages them.
The Steaming Fen: The 14th layer of the Abyss.
  • The Steaming Fen a swampy island with a sprawling palace filled with treasures from every world that the Queen's agents are active on. 
  • The Queen rules the Fen through intimidation, favors and bargaining.  
  • A vast salt marsh and a turbulent ocean. Smells of decay. Lots of insects and vermin.
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    by Glen Michael Angus
    The Queen's Throne Room: Located in the 14th layer of the Abyss, known as The Steaming Fen:
    • A vast cavern nearly 200 feet wide with a ceiling 500 feet high.
    • Her throne is a rock rising from a lake of fire. From here, she monitors the Steaming Fen and conducts her never-ending search for the Rod of Seven Parts.
    • Demons and yugoloths come and go from side tunnels.
    • The throne room is part of a gigantic castle carved from a massive mountain. Many rooms reach down into the briny, foul waters of the Steaming Fen's ocean and high into the air. 
    Places in or near the Throne Room:
    • Lake of Flame: This pool of brackish salt water is forever covered with a sheet of oil that burns, creating a pall of choking smoke. Swimming does d6 per round. Exiting the lake leaves you coated in oil, tar and lumpy ash.
    • Throne: A pillar of obsidian polished to a mirror shine by hundreds of slaves. Has a flat top made of pure silver. Rises 20 feet above the flames.
    • Audience Area: Floor is covered in silver.
    • Wall of Gold: A huge slab of gold 60 feet square, is attached to one wall. She can call forth Miska's image in it, and it operates as a crystal ball.
    • Ramps: Leads to elsewhere in the castle - a maze of tangled passages. Large groups of spyder fiends
    • Balcony: 100 feet above the audience area. If Miska ever appears here, this is where he'll show himself to the troops.
    • Treasure Room: More than a million coins piled up in drifts up to 8 feet high. You can grab 2 magic items per round or 1500 platinum pieces.
    Abilities:
    • She has a swim speed. How else will she deal with that accursed mermaid?
    • She can telepathically communicate with any creature that has a 3 INT or higher
    • Her tentacles reach up to 60 feet away!
    • She can force you under her body, where you are constricted by her tentacles. The beak down there can, uh, bite you and stuff.
    • You can sever her tentacles, but the tentacle remains animated if severed. She can regrow any severed tentaces in 24 hours.
    • She can shape change into human or merman form.
    • She can cast suggestion 1 month duration. She can polymorph you.
    • 3/day: Chain lightning, mass charm.
    • 1/day Symbols of discord, fear, hopelessness and pain/
    • Once per hour: Expel a cloud of smoke (or ink if underwater) she chooses one effect: darkness, stinking cloud or solid fog.
    • 3/hour she can create a chaos gate.
    • She has a "sixth sense" about the rod.
    • Weapon: Giant Trident +5
    Book of Artifacts

    One suggested way to destroy the Rod of Seven Parts: "Turn the Rod over to the Queen of Chaos, who will attempt to pervert its nature and neutralize it in the process (Characters who do this will not be treated with respect by the Queen).

    Dragon Magazine 224

    This issue has an article about the rod, sort of hyping up the boxed set. Two relevant quotes:

    "The queen is a titanic lord of the Abyss, standing at about 24 feet tall. She has a corpulent humanoid torso that sits atop a mass of powerful tentacles."

    "Direct confrontations with the queen tend to be short and painful for lesser creatures who displease her."

    The Rod of Seven Parts Novel


    The Queen of Chaos actually appears in the novel. Miska escapes the citadel of chaos and the heroes end up in the Queen's throne room. They overhear her arguing with Miska (they're speaking common?).

    The Queen says to Miska: "It has been too long since I have known your embrace."

    And he says his army awaits, and that "vengeance demands that I strike."

    The Queen Responds: "My pleasure has been denied for too long" and she gets angry.

    The heroes actually decide to attack them. We get a description of the Queen:

    "The Queen of Chaos towered like a large building, rising from the midst of a nest of tentacles. Her body was a dark and shapeless blob, almost black in color, the upper portion resembling some grotesque, unspeakably foul version of a giantess. The form was vaguely humanoid and female, yet so bulbous and disfigured as to barely resemble anything like a woman."

    I SWEAR it says this next: "Miska's human face was buried somewhere in the folds of the queen's monstrous body, but the two wolf heads were upraised and alert." Really??

    The heroes attack Miska and the queen. The queen paralyzes one hero with her gaze, and swats the other aside with one of her tentacles. She summons a snake (?) which killed the third adventurer with a poisonous bite. 

    The queen reads the main character's mind and finds out where he is from - a village called Colbytown. She decides that her army of Chaos will march there first.

    Arquestan the Wind Duke shows up and holds the rod over his head, banishing Miska back to his prison. The Queen kills Arquestan with bolts of energy while the heroes grab the rod and run away.

    The adventurers used Arquestan's wind chariot to escape and return home. They use the rod to resurrect their slain friend, and the rod pieces scatter.

    Yeah that's right, I spoiled the ending for you.

    Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss

    The obyriths were the creatures that existed in the Abyss before demons came to be. The Queen of Chaos was an obyrith lord, who "...cowed most of her rivals under her banner, driving defiant lords to the lowest depths of the uncharted Abyss."

    The Queen of Chaos called upon the sibriex to augment her armies with fiendish grafts.

    "No new obyriths have been created since the Queen of Chaos retreated into the depths of the Abyss."

    Dagon is her Rival: "When the Queen of Chaos called upon the obyrith lords to aid her in her battle against the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, Dagon refused her call. Other obyriths did as well, and the Queen destroyed them for her trouble." Dagon was powerful enough that the Queen didn't dare battle him.

    She Killed Obox-ob: Obox-ob was the Prince of Demons during the Age before Ages. The Queen killed him and granted his title to Miska the Wolf Spider. An aspect of Obox-ob lived on.

    Pazuzu was a thorn in the side of the Queen of Chaos.

    Cabiri: An ancient obyrith, Cabiri was banished to the Wells of Darkness for refusing to fight alongside the Queen in the war against law.

    The Queen's hordes conquered entire worlds on the Material Plane. "World after world fell under the Queen's dominion, and with each victory that which was once immutable became fluid; laws of nature became half-forgotten memories from a saner time. Chaos ascended, and the Abyss ascended with it."

    When Miska was defeated, the Queen retreated deep into the Abyss, seeking refuge in the Steaming Fen.

    Some few obyriths hold out for a return of the Queen of Chaos, but she has not emerged from the Steaming Fen since retiring there on the eve of the Upheaval.

    Dragon Magazine 349

    The Queen of Chaos "...looked past the Abyss and discovered something unthinkable - life had sprung up in those realms beyond. When this life began to seep into the Abyss, the obyriths quickly learned to shape these spirits, and by enhancing the evil and chaos they found in them, they created the first tanar'ri..."

    The Queen marshalled the obyrith lords to her banner and murdered or imprisoned the rest:
    • Cabiri: Imprisoned in the Wells of Darkness.
    • Bechard: Beached on his own deviant shores.
    • Ubothar and Vroth-Khun: Imprisoned in other realms.
    Dragon Magazine 357

    When the Queen of Chaos marched on the multiverse, her first act was to strike against Obox-ob. "It was the sheer audacity of this move that ensured her victory - although powerful in her own right, she paled in comparison to the Primal Chaos that was the first Prince of Demons."

    The Queen of Chaos was among the first to cultivate and nurture the first demons. Demogorgon was the first. The Queen tossed him aside.

    A demon lord named Astaroth wanted to fight alongside the Queen of Chaos, but was rejected.

    Cabiri: An obyrith who once ruled a large section of the Plain of 1,000 Portals, Cabiri had the ability to peer into possible futures. The Queen used Cabiri as an advisor. Cabiri foresaw the Queen's defeat, and fled the field of battle.

    Dungeon Magazine 129

    Bwimb: Bwimb was an elemental ooze who fought against the Wind Dukes in the war.

    Elder Evils

    Sertous: A minor demon lord of parasites and crawling things. He slew every one of the Queen's recruiters that entered his lair. "He had little defense against the Queen herself, who quickly grew tired of his insubordination, destroyed his body, and cast his essence into the gulf between planes as one might cast aside a carcass..."

    Heroes of the Elemental Chaos

    Bristia Pel, the princess of everlastin flame, was destroyed in the battle that led to the defeat and imprisonment of the Queen of Chaos.

    The Queen is described as "dormant." She is a "...demonic primordial or obyrith now dormant in the Steaming Fen, an Abyssal layer."

    The Blade of  Chaos: "The original blade of chaos was forged from a broken piece of panoply belonging to Miska the Wolf-Spider that was lost when the fabled Wind Dukes of Aqaa defeated him."

    Demonomicon

    In 4e, it looks like they tried to tie the war between law and choas with the Dawn War, which was the war between gods and primordials. It appears that in 4e, the Queen did not create Miska.

    During an eclipse, the armies of Obox-ob were defending the layer's portals against Miska the Wolf-Spider and his forces. The Queen swooped in and killed Obox-ob.

    Deal With Miska: Miska swore allegiance to the Queen in exchange for her aid in destroying the gods of the Astral Sea. "The alliance between the Queen of Chaos and Miska the Wolf-Spider began a climactic epoch of the Dawn War."

    Wind Dukes are Dragons? An exarch of Moradin and 7 angels of Bahamut known as the Wind Dukes of Aaqa (!) crafted the Rod of Law.

    The Rod of Law turned the tide of the war in the Astral Sea. The Queen of Chaos will not return until the Plain of a Thousand Portals is blighted by eclipse once more.

    Obyrith Hall: Once per millenium, the obyriths meet at the Great Ziggurat of Oth-Magluroth on the Plain of a Thousand Portals.

    Eclipse: Once every millenium, an immense orbiting mote of elemental earth eclipses the dying star that marks the edge of the upper abyssal vortex. This earthmote is known as A'othorh. It heralds the end of one great cycle and the start of the next.

    The rare twilight lasts for several days. During this time, Pazuzu defers his authority to the Queen of Chaos.

    The Queen Emerges: She crawls up to the Plain of Yawning Pits from the Steaming Fen and holds court with the remaining obyrith lords.

    "Seers have prophesized that the Queen of Chaos will claim the Rod of Seven Parts during the next conclave, heralding the intervention of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa and the start of the next Chaos War."

    Obyrith Realm: Inside the Great Ziggurat is the Well of Entropy, a portal said to be the only connection to the ruins of the obyriths' former realm.

    The Fetid Pit of Vakorcha: This abyssal layer has a sucking pit that leads to the Steaming Fen. Vakorcha is home to three bebiliths that are loyal to Miska.

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    Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Sibriex

    February 15, 2020, 4:27 pm
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    The sibriex is a monster that you'd think wouldn't have survived through multiple editions. It's very high level, so presumably not too many groups got a chance to use it. It's weird/disgusting, which I assume means it wouldn't fit the tone of certain campaigns. It has a strange role - a monster that creates and mutates others, sort of like a mad scientist.

    But here we are in 5th edition, and the sibriex are still with us. Heck, there's a sibriex encounter in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus.

    Why? I think the sibriex is unique and interesting enough that it stands apart from most other monsters. It is an obyrith - the race of "demons" before demons existed. They have a ton of potential, which I don't think has yet been fully realized. They can create demons! They can modify bodies! There is a ton that you can do with them.

    I personally like them mostly because of the above art, which appears in the 4e Demonomicon sourcebook. I can't figure out who the artist is, unfortunately, but I love this painting. This is a very "badass", heavy metal type of monster that can cause players to freak out when they see it.

    Lemoriax: Years ago, I ran a Savage Tide campaign, and I swear that I had read something about how there are these fleshforges.. or fleshfurnaces.. under Demogorgon's abyssal city of Lemoriax. I had all these ideas about running an adventure down there.

    But now, years later, digging through my Savage Tide stuff, I can't find any info on it! I know I had the group go to Lemoriax and the group really enjoyed it, but I just can't find anything on what lies under Lemoriax.

    Lair: Make sure to check out the links at the bottom of this article. There's a guy who made a sibriex lair, complete with a map, that I thought was really cool and useful.

    Fleshwarping: The sibriex warp flesh, modifying bodies, sometimes "installing" weapons or enhancements into demons or mortals. The D&D books give a little bit of info on what kind of "grafts" there are, but I think there is an old sourcebook that can give you one million fantastic ideas on cool sibriex grafts to put into your game: Chaositech, by Monte Cook. It's written in 3e rules, so you'd have to do a bit of translating, but IMO the ideas in there are so good that it's worth the effort.

    Fiendish Codex I

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    by Tom Baxa
    "Ancient and enigmatic, a sibriex is a master of augmenting and enhancing the flesh by grafting Abyssal matter into the physical body of the subject."

    Appearance:
    • Smells like rotting flowers.
    • Large, bloated, floats lazily in the air.
    • "Hardly more than a malformed face the size of a wagon."
    • Has arms where its ears should be.
    • Everything below its neck is a writhing nest of puckers and stalks.
    • Tethered to the ground by four steel chains that end in spikes. They can use the chains to "walk" on the ground.
    • They are 15 feet tall and weigh 1,500 pounds.
    Role:
    • The Queen of Chaos tried to get the sibriex to work for her during the war between law and chaos, but the sibriex avoided getting overly involved.To this day,t hey avoid the politics of the Abyss.
    • They currently serve demon lords as sages and sculptors of flesh.
    • Sibriex may not be able to reproduce. That's interesting - they can create almost anything, except more of their own kind.
    • It is estimated that only a few hundred sibriexes exist. There is never more than one on a given abyssal layer. 
    • Sibriexes played a major role in the shaping of the tanar'ri race.
    • Powerful and highly intelligent, sibriexes bully and torment weaker creatures. 
    "Whether the sibriexes had a larger goal in mind when they augmented the race that would ultimately replace their kin as the rulers of the Abyss remains to be seen."

    They often control large fortresses or swath of unclaimed Abyssal regions.

    Powers:
    • Spells: Charm monster, hold monster, command, feeblemind.
    • Animate Chains: The chains are not technically part of its body. A sibriex can create new chains via magic.
    • Form of Madness: Seeing a sibriex can drive you mad if you fail a save.
    • Instant Graft: 3 times per day, the sibriex can form a graft out of Abyssal chaos and attach it to a willing or helpless creature.
    • Squirt Bile: It can spew black bile from the tubes hanging from its lower body. Does acid damage.
    The Waverazer: A ship full of gnolls that was taken over by a sibriex, who has enhanced the crew with fiendish grafts. The ship haunts trade routes, capturing ships. The gnolls loot, and the sibriex experiments on the captured sailors.

    The Scabwash Sentinels: In Demogorgon's Abyssal layer, there are hollowed-out stone pinnacles that contain workshop-domains of five brilliant sibriex obyriths and their numerous servitor demons. "The ocean nearby churns with the idiot gyrations of failed experiments released into the wild, while great ducts attached to the workshops constantly spew toxic alchemical runoff."

    Dragon Magazine #359

    It appears that the sibriex have a deep connection to the Fleshforges, the 558th layer of the Abyss. It is ruled by a supreme fleshcrafting demon lord named Dwiergus.

    Dwiergus can cover enemies in "silk and flesh", cocooning them. The victim emerges 24 hours later as a half-fiend thrall of Dwiergus, their former personality gone forever.

    Appearance: Dwiergus has no set form. He's often a "house-sized thick soup of swirling demonic arms, legs, heads, wings, tentacles, and other body parts that liquify as quickly as they reform."

    Dwiergus has a constant drive to convert all life into demonic life.

    His few servants are soon absorbed into the Prince's mass after a short period of servitude.

    The Fleshforges: The 558th layer of the Abyss, a plastic, ever-shifting realm of living hate and protoplasm.

    "Other demon lords have tapped into this realm, creating smaller portal pools in their strongholds to serve as cauldrons in which they can brew new minions - several such pools exist in Demogorgon's city of Lemoriax (where he uses them to create Lemorian half-fiends, among other monstrous minions)."

    Original Home of the Sibriex?"Sibriex obyriths are thought to have been born in this realm's undulant bowels - the demons are certainly the most commonly encountered monster in this foul smelling realm..."

    There are lakes of organic fluid and mountains of twisted bone.

    The Chitin Palace of Dwiergus: Floats above a perpetual maelstrom at the center of an ocean of molten flesh. It is an organic edifice grown from the body of Dwiergus. He can control the palace, or wear it as a suit of armor.

    Demonomicon

    4e's lore diverges from the lore of other editions, so it doesn't totally match up with what has come before or since. I personally enjoy trying to utilize the 4e ideas, but I'm honestly not sure what is canon and what isn't/ They seem to leave things loose enough so you can decide what fits into your own campaign.

    "When Tharizdun plunged the Shard of Evil into the heart of the Elemental Chaos, he freed the last of the obyriths from their decaying universe."

    Aliens: Sibriexes are creatures of an alien universe. Their chaos manifests as a thirst for the subjugation, transformation, and destruction of all other creatures. They consider other demons to be raw material for their experiments.

    The most powerful obyriths became demon lords. The lesser obyriths were absorbed by the Abyss. Sibriexes were spawned from clans of obyrith slavers, savants, and flesh crafters.

    There are three types of Sibriex in this book. Chain masters, flesh crafters, and sibriex spawn.

    Sibriex Chain Master:
    • Appears as an enormous deformed head that seems to be tethered to the ground by heavy chains.
    • It has a bunch of attacks involving its chains. It can hit all within 15 feet with its chains.
    • It is vulnerable to radiant damage.
    Sibriex Flesh Crafter:

    "The flesh crafter is the artist of demonic forms, employing its flesh-warping disease to corrupt the forms of its foes."

    It can create a "restraining cyclone, stun you with "crafter's madness" (does psychic damage), and can instantly warp the flesh of those within 15 feet.

    Flesh Warp: There is a disease associated with the sibriex called "flesh warp.""The infected creature's flesh warps and twists into disgusting demonic forms as it slowly and painfully transforms into a child of the Abyss."
    • Stage 1: The target's body warps to take on a demonic form, as determined by the DM.
    • Stage 2: The target's body loses almost all semblance of its original form. Whenever they hit a demon with an attack, they take 15 psychic damage.
    • Stage 3: The target becomes a free-willed sibriex spawn.
    So it looks like they do have a way to reproduce!

    Sibriex Spawn: "The foul nature of the sibriexes can infect other creatures, creating vile spawn beholden to more powerful masters.

    These guys are "minions," which in 4e means that they have one hit point. They can bite, have an aura that does psychic damage, and when dropped to 0 hit points, they explode and their bile does acid damage.

    Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

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    by Christopher Burdett
    "Thought to be as old as the Abyss itself, sibriexes haunt remote parts of the plane, where they use their vile abilities to breed new horrors and apprehend forbidden lore."

    Blood and bile cascades from their body, which pollutes the ground around them.

    Plants around them wither and the ground becomes difficult terrain. Just being within 30 feet of them does poison damage.

    Powers:
    • Spells: Charm person, command, dispel magic, hold monster. 3 times per day: feeblemind.
    • They can attack with their chains and squirt bile.
    • Warp Creature: Up to 3 creatures within 120 feet (!) must save or become poisoned and gain 1 level of exhaustion. This sends you into a spiral of saving throws. Failing too many saves can lead to 6 levels of exhaustion, which leads to death.. and then you transform into a living abyssal wretch under the sibriex's control. This transformation can only be undone by a wish spell.
    So they changed it up a bit. You don't become a sibriex spawn any more.

    Keepers of Forbidden Lore: Even demon lords sometimes seek out a sibriex to learn secrets and knowledge.

    Demon Crafters: They channel the power of the Abyss to create new demons from other creatures. They can create vast numbers of rutterkins over the course of just a few days. "Some demons petition sibriex for physical gifts.."

    Then we get my favorite D&D thing.. a random flesh warping chart! Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against the sibriex's Warp Creature effect, roll a d100 and consult the chart. My favorite results:
    • The color of the target's hair, eyes, and skin becomes blue, red, yellow, or patterned.
    • The target's eyes become beacons, filling a 15 foot cone with dim light when they are open.
    • A pair of wings, either feathered or leathery, spread from the target's back, granting it a flying speed of 30 feet.
    • The target's eyes turn black, and it gains darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.
    Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus

    In this adventure, the heroes end up in the first layer of Hell. They drive around in magic war machines, accomplishing various tasks. There are a TON of encounters in Avernus.

    One of them involves a sibriex! Check out page 117 of the book.

    The pit fiend Bel's agents have actually captured a sibriex. They've been torturing and interrogating it for a long time. "The sibriex is restrained by infernal chains from Bel's forge that also prevent it from using its spells or actions to escape."

    Two chain devil guards watch as an arcanaloth named Fetchtatter asks the Sibriex about different topics, but the sibriex is becoming obstinate.

    Fetchtatter will give the group 3 soul coins if they can get the sibriex to talk.

    The sibriex uses its telepathy to contact the heroes, offering information in exchange for freedom.

    Freeing the Sibriex: Breaking 3 of the 6 binding chains frees the sibriex.

    "A creature can willingly submit to flesh warping, an agonizing process that takes at least 1 hour while the creature stays within 30 feet of the sibriex. At the end of the process, roll once on the Flesh Warping table to determine how the creature is transformed permanently."

    Links

    The 5e pdf preview of the Sibriex
    Demon Tactics: Sibriex
    D&D Designer Discusses Sibriex
    A Sibriex Lair (with map!) by DM Dave
    3D Print a Sibriex Mini!
    The 5e Sibriex Artist Shows the Art Stages
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    Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Solamith

    February 16, 2020, 9:30 pm
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    by Dave Allsop
    This is my absolute favorite D&D monster. The solamith is a demon who eats people, and those people end up trapped in its belly pressing out from the inside, trying to get free.

    Honestly, I like it mostly because of the way it was drawn in 4e. The blue and red seems like a bad idea - too cartoonish - but for whatever reason, it works.

    When I look at this monster, I immediately imagine its voice. To me, this is a new york city cab driver going: "Hey, youse look delicious" and tearing off goo from his belly and chucking it at some guy who won't stop honking their horn at him.

    The miniature was sublime as well. Check it out:

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    The mini doesn't look exactly like the art, but it is definitely striking. My friend Matt noted at the time this mini came out that someone sculpting these miniatures spent a lot of time on the butts. If you turn this mini around, he does indeed have a detailed butt. Many other minis had them, too, each carefully rounded and dimpled.

    I have dug through every old product I could think of to pull up as much information on the solamith. There really isn't all that much. Most of the time, they are used as "some monster" in a lair - a guard or sentry.

    We don't know if they have an abyssal layer of their own, we don't know if there is a demon lord that spawns them, we don't even really know how the whole "eating people" thing works. Can they communicate with the creatures they devour? Can they access their knowledge? Can they devour the people's clothes and items, too? Are there magic items rattling around in those bellies, and do the solamiths gain power from them?

    To me, there is just a ton of potential in these monsters. But, like so many, they've been lost in the endless march of creation. There's a lot of cool D&D things that are made, put into a book, and then left to collect dust, as people seem more focused on making new things than developing the awesome things that are already there.

    Looking around on the internet, I see virtually nobody talking about this monster, aside from settling the mini. Let's fix that!

    Monster Manual 5
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    MM 5 came out at the end of D&D 3.5's lifespan. In D&D, often times the very best books come out right at the end.

    "A corpulent monstrosity at least 10 feet tall lumbers forward on slablike legs. Rings of flabby flesh cradle at its horned head. Pressing out against the green-veined and pallid skin of its great gut are screaming faces."

    Appearance:
    • Weighs up to a ton.
    • Horned head has burning eyes and flat teeth.
    • Skin "...pale with bright green veins." The 3e solamith looks cool, but I prefer the 4e version with the blue skin.
    This big fellow has a speed of 40!

    Soulfire: The solamith can tear flesh from its body (taking 5 damage) and hurl that flesh up to 100 feet away. The flesh explodes in a 20-foot-radius, doing fire damage. If it deals more damage to itself, it can increase the radius and the damage.

    Soulfire Retort: When hit with a melee attack, the Solamith can unleash a 15-foot cone of soulfire.
    It can summon 1d2 solamiths once per day.

    "A solamith is a manifestation of depraved gluttony and burning hunger, drawing energy from the spirit it devours. That power charges its flesh with spiritual fire, which it uses against its enemies by tearing away and hurling bits of its own body."

    Eating: Solamiths scour the Abyss for lesser demons and petitioners to eat, despite requiring no sustenance.

    They tear their victims to pieces, but become "dainty eaters," chewing slowly and enjoying each morsel. Once the meal is finished, a new face appears under the skin in their gut, pleading for release.

    "Solamiths are animalistic and savage, except when they eat." They are content to prowl the Abyss, paying no heed to the suffering they cause.

    Role: Solamiths wander the Abyss. Some serve as artillery in armies.

    "When in the presence of a more powerful demon or evil entity, a solamith fawns and snivels, hoping to be taken in as a pet or prized soldier."

    They don't collect treasure.

    Quinix's Gatehouse Guards: Quinix is a glabrezu who lives in a ruined city as a ruler of gnolls and lesser fiends. He has two solamiths who guards the city gates. They sometimes attack the gnolls and servants, as they are a bit "too zealous."

    4e Manual of the Planes

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    by Steve Ellis

    I love this book.

    "A corpulent creature of all-consuming hunger, the solamith attacks by tearing off chunks of itself and hurling the wads of necrotized, exploding tissue at enemies. Those it slays, it devours to replenish its spent flesh."

    Claw: Does regular damage and fire damage.

    Soulfire: The solamith can tear chunks of itself off to throw. "The solamith cannot reduce itself to 0 hit points or fewer in the fashion." It has three options as far as throwing chunks. It can take 5-15 points of damage. The explosions now do fire and necrotic damage.

    Soulfire Retort: When it takes damage from melee, it fires off a cone of fire and necrotic, which also pushes the enemy 5 feet.

    "Despite its imposing bulk, a solamith is a soft target that must rely on protection from its allies."

    Solamith Lore:
    • "Its favorite food is the flesh of mortal humanoids."
    • "When the creature finishes, a tortured face appears under the skin of the demon's belly - a spiritual echo of the dead creature's soul."
    Dungeon Delve

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    by Felipe Torrent

    This book is a collection of mini-adventures.

    Caverns of Demise: In this adventure, the heroes seek out the caverns in the hopes of finding the Bloody Maul of Kord, a magic item that the church of Kord lent to an NPC who was slain in the caverns.

    "In truth, the Caverns of Demise are a nexus of planar portals, an area where the fabric of reality is susceptible to incursions from other planes."

    The first section of the dungeon has a portal to the Feywild. Quicklings and a treant have taken it over.

    The second section has a portal to the "Elemental Chaos", which encompasses both the elemental planes and the Abyss. A bunch of creatures came through - infernal bats, a salamander, and two solamiths!

    "Two ponderous demons with tortured faces showing through their stratched bellies crouch in a pair of alcoves, while a number of fiery bats flit through the air."

    Field of Everflame: "When a gate or portal to a fiery region of the Elemental Chaos remains open for several centuries, a small area around it can become imbued with the magic of everflame."

    In case you are wondering, the third area has a portal to the Far Realm, which contains a beholder (!), a rakshasa (!!) and two Far Realm insanity portal traps (!!!).

    The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos

    Mal Arundak, the Bastion of Confusion: There is a fortress in the Abyss where angels believe that they are guarding the trapped essence of the Chained God, Tharizdun. They've been tricked. The angels have been here so long that the Abyss has transformed them into demons. They have horns, their wings are fiery, but the former angels are not aware of their dread transformation.

    In the vast wasteland near Mal Arundak, there is a vast, unmoving demon called Asag. "This strange being engulfs any creature that attempts to gain refreshment from its sparkling but poisoned waters."

    Several solamiths dwell within burrows dug into Asag's massive body!

    It doesn't say exactly what Asag looks like, other than that it resembles a "shining and treeless oasis." How does a demon look like an oasis? Is it underneath it or something?

    Dungeon Magazine #163

    Brink of Madness: This is an adventure about the Far Realm, the third part of a well-received arc called "The Tear of Ioun."

    The Demon Pit: The heroes are making their way through the fortress of the bad guy. One area is known as the Demon Pit: "These room bear witness to Malachi's dealings with demons."

    There are a bunch of demons in this area. A solamith is in the actual demon pit:

    "An obese demon surges from the pit, its belly a glowing red mass distended from its blue body. Tortured faces press against the skin of its abdomen as if trapped within. The demon has clawed hands, a horned head, and a fanged maw. From its belly it rips a chunk, which begins to smolder and smoke."

    E3 Prince of Undeath

    This is an amazing adventure. Orcus stabs the Raven Queen with a shard of evil and she is slowly dying. It is up to you to save her!

    This adventure has a variant of a solamith in it - the solamith hunter. The creature shows up three times in this scenario.

    The first solamith hunters are part of a blood war squad. These 2 solamiths are teamed up with an immolith and a shadow demon.

    Level Up: Basically, the solamith hunters are just higher level solamiths with beefed up stats. Regular solamiths are level 15, these guys are level 30. They take 8-32 damage when they use their soulfire.

    Later, Orcus uses more hunters to guard a different area. The description: "A corpulent demon with a bulging belly of wailing, decomposing faces tears off chunks of itself and hurls them toward you."

    A solamith is used a third time, guarding the door to the Raven Queen's throne room where she lays, dying. Check out the flavor:

    "A maelstrom of souls swirls above this grand courtyard, screaming like a cyclone. Two reflecting pools tainted with blood stretch to either side..."

    That's it! That is all I could find. Let me know if solamiths have appeared anywhere else. I feel like I might have missed something.
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    Dragon+ Issue 27

    February 17, 2020, 2:27 am
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    You can read this issue right here.

    This is a gigantic issue! I'll talk mostly about the D&D-centric stuff. As usual, there are some extremely handy maps in the back that you should grab ASAP, as wizards D&D free online stuff tends to vanish online over the course of a few years.

    This issue has a "guest editor" named Chris Boyce. We learn about his campaign at the end of this issue, and it's really awesome.

    Chris started playing D&D with the original red box, and his group played all the way up to the immortals set!

    Then as he got a bit older, he switched to AD&D and his group got very into earning every XP. He says they played for four years and only got to 5th level by the end.

    I have known a few groups who are very into earning every single XP. I had a friend who was in this group that played a lot, and yet after years of play, they were only 2nd or 3rd level. They literally roleplayed everything out - going to town and shopping was an immersive experience.

    Imagining the Ampersand: Emi Tanji
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    Emi is the Art Director for Wizards of the Coast. We learn about her job and where she works.

    She talks a bit about how she'd like to make a version of D&D for kids. That sounds like a fun idea. Can you strip the game down, sort of like how they did way back when with basic and advanced? Would the adventures be super-short and simple?

    Years ago when I ran games in the store, one of my players was 9 years old, and she used to try to make friends with the monsters. We turned it into a mini-game called "Dungeons and Friends." It was pretty awesome.

     In the Works: Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus Platinum Edition

    There's some nice freebies in here. Check out this map:

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    That's for an area in the Bleeding Citadel from Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus. There's also a really nice map of Idyllglen.

    These sets look really cool. If somewhere down the road I play with a real life group as opposed to an online group, I'll definitely get there things.

    In the Works: Adventurers League: #Votepipyap

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    OK, this is weird. There was an event in Hell, Michigan, where an actor playing an imp NPC from the Adventurer's League became mayor for a day?? The event featured lots of D&D. Sounds fun!

    There's an article on Baldur's Gate 3, which utilizes mindflayers (I think that, in this game, the mind flayers use nautiloids - illithid spelljamming vessels), are in the game.

    Kind of bums me out to think that the DCA voice pack will probably never come out.

    In the Works: Death Saves

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    We get a look at some new D&D shirts from Death Saves. They're not messing around! Using some of that old 1e drow art.

    In the Works: Wizkids Figures

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    We get a look at some minis, including Arkhan the Cruel's minions and... a war machine from Avernus. How awesome is that thing?

    Plotting the Descent

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    Artist Max Dunbar talks about making concept art for Descent into Avernus. He mentions that a lot of ideas didn't make it into the book, including a demon lord who has a war barge that sailed the River Styx! Sounds very cool.

    Pictured above is his design of a blood war chain devil.

    Character Concepts: Wizard Fashion

    This article is all about what wizards wear, by Samantha Darcy. It has a number of designs in it. Apparently the author is making "The Adventurer’s Fashion Primer", though I can't find anything on it right now.

    When I was first making my campaign world as a kid, I decided that everyone in my games dressed like they were in the revolutionary war. Long coats, those weird boat hats, powdered wigs. My players hated it and refused to dress like that.

    I like to think that in my game there's still plenty of people dressed like George Washington.

    Adventurers League

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    We get a discussion of the season linked to the Descent into Avernus adventure. We get the first adventure of the season, Escape from Elturgard, free!

    It looks like this adventure deals with what happens in the realms once Elturel is pulled into Avernus. Overall, the story involves the adventurers exploring the different layers of the Nine Hells:

    They "...accompany a mysterious young girl into the hellscape as she searches for hellrider souls that remain untarnished despite being trapped in Avernus." The hellriders are the paladins that accompanied the angel Zariel when she initially decided to go to Avernus to kill fiends.

    D&D Classics

    I love it when they feature old content from Dungeon and Dragon Magazine, especially if they update it to 5e rules. Unfortunately, none of these are conversions.

    There are a few old articles about using tanks and helicopters for Star Frontiers and Top Secret (talk about a deep cut). Then we get a 4e article including info on siege engines, one of which is an infernal embassy! Yes, it has a 4e stat block. Very cool. It shoots HELLISH METEORS.

    I just imagine a hellish meteor flying at Raal from my 5e Hell's Rebels campaign and missing because he has an AC of something like 22. Curse you, Raal! Do not dare mock my hellish meteors!

    The guest editor adds in one more article - a 1e class called the genin. A ninja!

    Maps of the Month: Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Barber of Silverymoon, Six Faces of Death

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    This is what I came here for! Some of those sweet, sweet maps, both tagged and untagged.

    Creature Feature: Terror of Undermountain

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    There was a contest awhile back for fans to design a monster in adobe photoshop. This is the winner! We get a pdf containing its monster entry. It has a disease bite and a claw attack. Apparently it was created by Halaster himself.

    Extra Life

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    Sorceria

    This issue's guest editor and Extra Life contributor, Chris Boyce, Discusses his campaign world, Sorceria. He paid a Warhammer 40k artist to make 12 illustrations for his campaign! Most of the art is in the article. Amazing.

    He goes into the backstory, and then describes Sorceria as one of the great magical cities in the multiverse.

    "At the city’s center, rising from a great hole in the earth, is the Master’s Tower, a colossal structure whose peak disappears into the clouds above the magical metropolis."

    I'm 100% going to use this in one of my campaigns. Very awesome and tons of detail.

    Good issue! Plenty of FREE STUFF, and that's what it is all about.
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    Dragon+ Issue 28

    February 18, 2020, 7:16 am
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    It's Dragon+ time! This month we have all sorts of stuff. The highlight, to me, is an absolutely epic map of the Nine Hells by Jason Thompson. That thing is unreal.

    You can check out this issue right here.

    Imagining the Ampersand: Dariusz Piotrowski

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    We start off with an interview with a dude who worked on the insanely awesome Falling Star Sailing Ship Miniature which I am seeing on amazon for $134. He discusses making a special pirate ship diorama, which includes minis and a kraken.

    There have been a number of cool ship tiles and poster maps. My favorite poster map is this one by Mike Schley. Back in the 4e era, on of the "DM Rewards" for running games in the store was ship tiles, which I used so much they started to fray.

    If you don't have $100+ to spend on a ship mini, you can find woodcraft 3d ships for just a few bucks. The only drawback is that you have to put it together yourself. I was lucky that one of my players, who played "Pirahna" Lana Redwater, Pirate Queen of the Shackles, liked doing puzzles. I paid her to put mine together. It was perfect for D&D minis. There is a how-to video right here.

    D&D Sapphire Anniversary Dice Set: Collector’s Limited Edition

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    After a section on the Eberron book, which includes a pdf of living spell statblocks, we get a section on a product I totally missed out on. A sapphire dice set commemorating the 45th anniversary of D&D!

    “One of the d20s contains a laboratory-created sapphire inlaid where the 20 would be, and that’s the focal point of this set."

    So.. the 50th anniversary of D&D is in five years! That's a very big number. Is that when we'll see a 6th edition? Do we need a 6th edition? I have no problems with 5e at all. I wonder if they have anything planned yet.

    Syrinscape’s Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus Soundpack

    This article covers the custom Avernus sounds from Syrinscape. I use Syrinscape for my online games and I love it. I guess it depends on your group, but IMO using all of the sounds for different spells and attacks add a lot. Although I suppose your DM might get annoying with it, spamming grunts and things like that.

    Plotting the Descent: Infernal War Machines

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    In this huge article, D&D designers talk about creating the infernal war machines for Descent into Avernus, and how they worked out the mechanics.

    At first, they made the rules similar to the sailing ship mechanics in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Ultimately, they decided to keep it simple, and treated the war machines almost like monsters.

    I have run a few war machine encounters, and it works pretty well. I probably didn't have as firm a grasp on the rules as I would have liked, but that's on me.

    I'd really like to sit down someday at a table, with a huge gridded poster map and war machine minis and run a proper epic chase with people jumping from one vehicle to another.

    Creature Feature: Thessalar

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    "...on the Player’s Handbook, for example, that’s no mere battle against a giant, it’s a fight with King Snurre himself! Similarly, that’s not just any beholder on the cover of the Monster Manual, but the Xanathar (later shown in all his googly-eyed glory). And of course, there’s Acererak raising hell (see what we did there?) on the cover of the Dungeon Master’s Guide."

    So there's an adventure on the DMs Guild called Infernal Machine Rebuild. The dungeon in this adventure is the generic one from the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide! This dungeon has a famous statue in it - depicting Moloch, one of the rogue dukes of the Nine Hells.

    this article explains that in the Age of Worms (!!) adventure path, there is a lich named Thessalar who created the thessalhydra, the owlbear, and other creatures.

    The Temple of Moloch is Thessalar's home! I'll definitely check this out, sounds awesome. I'm pretty sure that the 1e DMG dungeon has been re-made in other editions before, but it's fun to see people's different takes on it.

    We get a pdf of Thessalar's stat block. Very cool.

    Kayla Cline: Sketches from the Mists

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    We are given a pdf of neo-otyugh stats and then we get a profile of D&D artist Kayla Cline. I've always wanted to see a 5e Planescape book full of DiTerlizzi art that intrudes on the text in weird ways, like in the old 2e boxed sets. I'd love to see a similar book with nothing but Kayla Cline art.

    Jason Thompson’s Nine Hells

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    This is beyond amazing. A complete map of the Nine Hells by Jason Thompson. I mean... holy crap.

    We follow the route of 15 recently slain adventurers. Here is just a fraction of the shenanigans:
    • Knight is decapitated by a comet strike.
    • Warlock skinny dips in the River Styx and is eaten by Crokek'toeck.
    • Tiamat is distracted with "...an illusion of six teenagers and a baby unicorn."
    • Barbarian realizes that the entire City of Dis is a magic item and stays behind to destroy it.
    • Pursued by an army of erinyes, wizard/archaeologist activates war machine's "aquatic mode" and they splash down to level 3.
    • Lute Bard and rogue demand they stop in Abriymoch, party capital of hell. They enjoy drinks mixed by the multiverse's preeminent dead lawful evil mixologists.
    • Rogue tricks fight/magic user into taking a shot of Styx water...
    Seriously, this is one of the most epic pieces of D&D art I have ever seen. Unreal!

    D&D Classics: The Alchemist

    We get pdfs of the Alchemist class, all from 1e.

    Maps of the Month: Baldur’s Gate

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    One of my favorite things about Dragon + is the maps!! This month, we get maps of the city of Baldur's Gate. Most of these are tagged and untagged versions of maps from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus.

    Good issue! I can't get over that Nine Hells map. It's absolutely amazing.

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    Search

    Dragon+ Issue 29

    February 19, 2020, 8:02 am
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    This issue of Dragon+ is the holiday issue, and thus it is full to the brim with products and ads. I've sifted through it as best I could to pull out the stuff that I think is most useful or interesting for the tabletop D&D people out there.

    Most of this is just me blabbing about D&D, honestly, but there's plenty of maps and useful pdfs to grab as well!

    You can read this issue right here.

    Imagining the Ampersand: Mazzmatazz

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    We get a massive interview with Mazz, who knits all sorts of D&D stuff. We see photos of the tons of stuff Mazz has made, including a bag of holding and the D&D ampersand.

    Fun fact: Mazz made me a modron hand puppet! I call it M4ZZ. I have used it in my games a few times, but I've had a lot of ideas to do more.

    I had been thinking of making it like a recurring character who had a real-life personality as my actual roommate, but then I think that might be too weird. Every once in a while, I give the M4ZZ NPC a test run... the verdict is still out.

    In some far flung alternate universe, I am making youtube video D&D guides with this modron hand puppet hamming it up.

    Dungeon Mayhem: Monster Madness

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    We get a big article on the new Dungeon Mayhem card game. It has a lot of art of Blurp the gelatinous cube, my favorite monster in the set.

    Wizards sent me a preview copy of this set, and it is really awesome. Three decks, a big box, thick index inserts, counters, you name it. Seems like a very fun game! I love the art.

    Dungeons & Dragons Mad Libs


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    This one is definitely a blast from my childhood. There is now a D&D/Mad Libs book! Mad Libs is the game where you and a friend whip up a list of whacky words and insert them into a story.

    When I was a kid, I had two competing elements for my free time: D&D, and going to my friend Sven's house. D&D weekends were spent usually at my friend Barry's house. We'd literally play D&D from Friday night to Sunday. It was crazy.

    On other weekends, I'd go to Sven's house, where we would play baseball, football, and "floor balloon volleyball", until we died of exhaustion. Sometimes at night we'd play mad libs. As a kid, coming up with vulgar words and then listening as your friend read the finished product could be hilarious.

    One time, I tried to cross the streams. I invited Sven to play D&D. He hated it, and actually left after just a few hours. I really don't know why. I guess it just wasn't his thing.

    Years later, Sven's little brother Kevin started playing D&D with us. He was a funny guy.

    Gale Force Nine Miniatures & Maps

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    We get a couple of free map pdfs, including a labeled version of the Avernus map in Descent into Avernus.

    D&D Campaigns and Sourcebooks

    We get a short article on Descent into Avernus. Chris Perkins talks a bit about how they aren't afraid of setting an adventure in Hell anymore.

    Chris goes on to say: “I’m a big proponent of remembering where D&D came from but looking at it through a modern lens and with modern sensibilities."

    What does that mean, exactly? What is different? What is a modern D&D adventure? I don't see too much of a difference. The new adventures are more sandbox-y, I guess.

    I'm not sure what a "modern" D&D adventure should be. Shorter? Easier to digest? Should we stick to remaking old adventures or should we make new stuff?

    The question I always come back to is this: How often do people actually play D&D adventures?  People buy the adventure book, but do they use it? Do they run it? Does  the campaign fizzle out or do they get through it?

    It still seems like the biggest hurdle in D&D is forming a group that can actually play on a regular basis. If you don't have a person in that group willing to take the reigns and get everyone organized, it is just not going to happen.

    We get a pdf version of the Blood War section of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which is awesome.

    D&D Classics: 45th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons

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    We get pdf versions of some old 1e articles on wishes, gems, and Nolzur.

    We also get another mention that this is the 45th anniversary of D&D, which again gets me thinking about the 50th anniversary of D&D.

    Let's say 5th edition sticks around. What would you want the big adventure be for the 50th anniversary? Castle Greyhawk? That would be fitting, as it was the very first D&D dungeon (if you don't count Castle Blackmoor, I guess).

    The problem with doing a Castle Greyhawk adventure is that they put out a mega-dungeon already in Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and I'm not sure how excited people would be about another one.

    The story could be something dragon-centric. Maybe Tiamat finally escapes hell and chromatic dragons go on a rampage? The heroes team up with Bahamut and the metallic dragons to fight them off?

    Maybe Vecna has some secret scheme linked to the mysterious pillars which have appeared in almost every published adventure so far? A sort of super-crossover, where the heroes travel to the many different settings that have come out? That'd be Barovia, Waterdeep, and Sharn or some other Eberron locale...?

    Creature Feature: Fiend Folio

    Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio is a product on the DMs Guild that updates some of the old 1e Fiend Folio monsters to 5e. We get a pdf of one of the monsters - the forlarren. Looks like it is linked to Fierna, one of the archdevls. Seems cool.

    The Imminent Light

    Next up is a "deleted scene" from Descent into Avernus. This side quest was cut for length from the book. I think it is an awesome idea to put stuff like this in Dragon+.

    This adventure expands the Candlekeep section of the adventure and involves a very powerful magic staff. The pdf is here.

    Maps of the Month: Extra Life 2019, Baldur’s Gate, Avernus and Eberron

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    We get more maps from Descent into Avernsu, tagged and untagged. We also get maps from the Eberron book AND the Temple of Moloch from Infernal Machine Rebuild. Awesome.

    Comic: Jason Thompson’s Temple of Moloch

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    We get another fantastic walkthrough map by Jason Thompson. This one is of the dungeon in Infernal Machine Rebuild. This dude deserves so much more recognition than he gets. This map will make it so much easier to prepare this adventure.
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    Sage Advice: Rules in the Handbook

    February 20, 2020, 7:59 am
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    This official D&D rules clarification video was posted on youtube yesterday and I decided to do a quick recap. Why not? I constantly forget rules, so this seems like it will help me.

    I did once write a "forgotten rules index" to help myself with things I just can't keep straight, such as concentration and underwater combat. It will be interesting to see what's covered on this show.

    This show is hosted by Greg Tito and Jeremy Crawford. Jeremy says that he thought it might be a good idea to actually go through the Player's Handbook to see what's in there. Even he forgets some of the things that are in the PH.

    Jeremy says that the Dungeon Master's Guide is "wall-to-wall goodies," but right now he wants to go through the Player's Handbook to highlight some rules that people have forgotten.

    Specific Beats General: If two rules conflict with one another, the more specific rule always overrides the more general thing. The game is exceptions-based. The game is build to "accommodate surprise."

    I honestly can't think of one time when I've ever had this come up in D&D.

    Round Down: If you ever have a fraction in D&D, you round down. Jeremy says he gets this question all the time. Jeremy thinks that, looking back, fractions don't come up too much in D&D and so when it does come up, it throws people.

    This rule was burned into my brain in 4th edition.

    Proficiency Bonus Rule: You can never add your proficiency bonus to a roll more than once. For example, if you are proficient in playing a piano and you are proficient in performance, you do not add the proficiency bonus twice.

    Greg points out that, if you're a rogue, you do get a doubled proficiency bonus in some instances. That's a case of "specific beats general," says Jeremy.

    Jeremy calls this next one one of the most-missed rules. In the section about Armor Class...

    Calculating AC: If two or more things in the game give you different ways to calculate your armor class, you use only one of them. You do not get to add them all together.

    So, if you put on a suit of armor, which gives you an armor class calculation, and you're a barbarian who has the unarmored defense ability, you don't get to do both. You pick one. Jeremy assumes that you will pick the one that gives you the best AC.

    Jeremy says that he didn't realize back in the beginning of 5e how much this would come up.

    The hosts note that there is a big section in the Sage Advice compendium pdf on this topic.

    Jeremy says that he doesn't get frustrated being asked these same questions all the time. The fact that he gets the same question means that lots of new people are jumping in to the game every single week.

    That's it! Short, but useful.


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    Dungeons & Dragons - Infernal Machine Rebuild

    February 21, 2020, 1:56 am
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    You can buy this right here.

    The D&D designers put together this product and put it on the DMs Guild. The proceeds go to charity.

    What is it? It's an adventure! I had seen the title and assumed it had alternate rules for putting together war machines for Descent into Avernus, so I never really gave it a look.

    It turns out that this is a big adventure that draws from tons of old products! My favorite! I also is somewhat linked to the Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, an adventure that I think is a lot of fun.

    Let's go over what's in the book so you can see if it's something you'd be interested in. Then I'll give my overall thoughts at the end.

    This an adventure for characters of 5th to 10th level.

    Backstory:
    • The craft from Barrier Peaks crashed.
    • Kwalish turned the ship into his lab.
    • A device had been stolen from it: The Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad.
    • The machine allows the ship to travel time and space.
    • Some of the machine's control buttons are missing.
    • Archdevils Zariel and Bel both want to find the control buttons so that they can rebuild the machine and use it for their own nefarious purposes.
    Beginning:
    • The heroes are making their way through the woods and come upon a unicorn in conflict with 3 dryads.
    • The group explores a clock tower nearby that contains magic components.
    • An agent of either Bel or Zariel asks the group to find the other pieces.
    • The heroes travel through time to the Tomb of Horrors, back when it was still being built.
    • Then they go to the Temple of Moloch, which is run by Thessalar.
    Chapter 1: The Unicorn and the Hags

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    Aa coven of green hags has grafted myconids into trees. A unicorn named Banrion opposes them.

    The unicorn lurks in the ruins of city where the Infernal Machine once stood. "A fallen clock tower still holds some of the machine’s components, which retain enough power to manipulate time."

    Sunbeams: There's a great encounter here that cracks me up. SINISTER SUNBEAMS shine through the trees, acting a magic tripwires that can awake a corrupted treant. There's something... not right about those sunbeams. Almost... sinister.

    Acorns: Exploring the forest could result in "heavy, spiked nuts the size of mace heads" to fall from the trees.

    The hags want the group to capture the unicorn by using a new magic item: a bridle of capturing.

    Chapter 2: An Invitation Extended

    The group will probably end up as allies with either Lync Creatlach or Sir Ursas.

    Lynx Creatlach: Tiefling rogue, collects antiquities for the service of noble causes.

    Lynx has pulled a component from her version of the Infernal Machine and installed it in a magical construct resembling a silvery skeleton with decorative wings, nicknamed Eludecia.

    That is a deep cut! This refers to an adventure about a succubus paladin that Bart Carroll worked on way back in 2006!

    In the very back of this book, there is an entire page devoted to explaining what products all of these little references come from. Love it!

    Sir Ursas: A massive warrior with one arm replaced with the paw of a grizzly bear.

    "Ursas proudly claims to be the very figure depicted in A Paladin in Hell—a painting that has become famous throughout Faerûn—and that he lost his arm on that expedition, fighting the forces of the archdevil Zariel."

    Monte Cook wrote a classic adventure about A Paladin in Hell.

    Chapter 3: Construction of Horrors

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    Yes, we're really time traveling back to when the Tomb of Horrors was being built!

    We start off with the origin of the legendary villain Acererak:
    • Acererak was a tiefling fathered by a balor named Tarnhem.
    • Acererak studied under Vecna and became an evil archmage.
    • While researching how to become a lich, he built dungeons and tombs, including the Tomb of Horrors.
    • Acererak became a lich.
    The heroes will be traveling back in time to when the tomb was still being constructed. An artificer named Moghadam is overseeing the construction.

    Tarnhem: Wow. Acererak is sacrificing his own father, Tarnhem the balor, to help empower the tomb.

    Moghadam has a rival - Thessalar. Moghadam has sent thieves to Thessalar's Temple to steal the gems from the Moloch statue - the iconic image on the cover of the 1e Player's Handbook. The gems are meant to be used in the creation of Acererak's demilich skull! Crazy.

    There are some other NPCs lurking in or near the Tomb, including Phenex, an incubus cleric of Vecna. He has a second set of arms - grafted-on girallon arms.

    Manipulating Time: The group can explore this area, using their "mechanical guide" device to manipulate time, which moves bad guys around and/or changes the area in some way.

    The group can meet with Moghadam, who is not overly loyal to Acererak.

    Area 5: "Commissioned by Acererak, the wizard Tuerny built these controls for the balor's prison in area 6."

    We get a little box explaining who Tuerny was. "According to lore, Tuerny became a nalfeshnee demon before vanishing from history." I'm pretty sure there was an adventure in one of those weird online-only end-of-3.5 Dungeon magazines that explained that Tuerny had actually become a demon lord on his own.

    6. Captive Balor: Acererak's father, the balor known as Tarnhem, is trapped here. Acererak has "...fashioned a device from a sphere of annihilation that slowly drains away Tarnhem's essence to fuel the magical workings of the tomb." If Tarnhem is released, the magic binding him becomes a sphere of annihilation and travels through the tomb at random! I love that.

    7. Forsaken Prison: Nolzur is here! His alchemical blood is being drained to create the magic pigments used to paint the tomb's murals. This is crazy stuff. If things go well, Nolzur can give the heroes extremely cool items - tiny versions of themselves that can complete small tasks when the heroes are asleep.

    Chapter 4: Temple of Moloch

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    I highly recommend using Jason Thompson's walkthrough map to understand what's in this dungeon.

    The temple is the former home of Thessalar, a necromancer/alchemist/monster-maker. Thessalar's blood possesses dire magical properties.

    History of the Temple of Moloch:
    • The temple is built in a cavern where Olhydra and Ogremoch once battled.
    • The cavern contains portals to the planes of Earth and Water.
    • There is a stream that carries gemstones of extreme size and qualities.
    • Ancient people built a temple to Moloch here, which includes the famous statue.
    • Centuries later, Thessalar took the temple over and repurposed the temple for his own needs.
    • He created many monsters here, including the thessalhydra and the owlbear (!).
    • Moghadam, the guy building the tomb, is a rival of Thessalar's.
    Good Name: There's a wererat in here with a great name: Mack Francache.

    Thessalheart Construct: A mechanical device that struts about like a chicken, with a human heart beating behind its glass front. The heart in it is connected to the thessalhydra that lurks in the dungeon. If the thessalhydra is slain, it comes back to life in 1 hour thanks to the magic of this construct.

    15. Thessalar's Laboratory: Thessalar himself is here. There's also some experimental stuff:
    • "A miniaturized human lies in apparent stasis in a windowed glass case."
    • "A vermiform pseudodragon twists and crawls about inside a large crystal tank."
    Thessalar has a homunculus with ruby eyes that resembles Moloch.

    23. Body Tanks: This room contains clones of Thessalar floating in glass tanks filled with fluid.

    25. Main Temple: In here is the famous statue. The gem eyes are connected to the magic of the temple, and removing them causes, uhh.. multiple disasters. Don't want to spoil it!

    31. Gemsmith's Cell: A genasi named Seodra is being forced to create the skull of a demilich. Very cool. Thessalar  plans to use the skull for his own ascension to lichdom, either as his lich's phylactery or as the skull of a demilich.

    Chapter 5: Final Showdown


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    I don't want to spoil this either.. but Lum the Mad is actually present and involved in the big finale.

    Appendix C: New Magic and Special Items

    Tons of cool stuff in here! Here are some of my favorite things.

    Blood of the Lycanthrope: Inject this into someone and they become a lycanthrope if they fail a saving throw!

    Thessaltoxin: A poison that causes the victim to polymorph into either a random form or a creature it has seen within the last 24 hours.

    New Spells: There are even new spells, including Summon Greater Demon, which lets you summon a demon of CR 5 or lower.

    Claws of the Umber Hulk: Gauntlets that give you a burrowing speed and can be used as a melee weapon.

    Ioun Stone of Vitality: +1 to death saving throws.

    Ruinblade: "A small jade version of the green devil face of the Tomb of Horrors is fashioned into the hilt of the weapon." It's a +2 sword that can cast blight and disintegrate!

    "The weapon's purpose is to ruin and unmake existing objects..."

    Spell Gem: A gem that can contain one spell from any class's spell list. You can cast the spell in it as an action if the spell is on your class list.

    The Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad: This is an artifact! It has the power to bend the nature of reality "...with the proper combination of controls recreating the effect of a wish spell (including all side effects)."

    Wow.. whoever is attuned to it gains 1d4+1 beneficial properties and 1d4+1 detrimental properties. There's charts for both!

    Beneficial properties include:
    • You summon a unicorn that obeys your commands.
    • You have a +1 bonus to attack rolls with weapons or spells.
    • While you take a short rest, the area within 50 feet of you takes on the illusory appearance of a beautiful forest glade.
    Detrimental properties include:
    • All animals despise you.
    • Metal rusts in response to your touch.
    • An exact duplicate of you appears next to you, dressed as you but lacking any gear. It loudly tries to convince all other creatures that it is you, and you are its familiar.
    There are literally 100 entries on the chart for each. I love this thing!

    Right at the end is a page that lists the sources for all of the stuff in this adventure. It's an amazing list.

    Overall

    So is this worth $10? Yeah, I think so. This is packed with stuff you can use. The magic items are awesome, the dungeons have some very cool encounters (I really love the thessalheart construct), and in general I really like it when they refer to and build on adventures and products that have come out in the past.

    I have three minor complaints.

    1. Dungeons Are Too Big: I'm not sure if traditional dungeons "work" any more. They're too big for most groups, and they get boring fast. Maybe that's just me. I'm very done with meaningless combats in hallways with guards.

    2. The Name: They really need to rename this product. I literally didn't know it was an adventure. Maybe I'm just missing something.

    3. The Tomb: I am totally done with the Tomb of Horrors. Enough already!
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    Hell's Rebels Unprepared

    February 23, 2020, 11:48 am
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    Last night, I ran some more of the Hell's Rebels adventure path converted to 5th edition. We're in the final book! We've got maybe 8 more sessions to go.

    I love this campaign, and I feel like I really haven't run it well. Not as well as I could, anyway. I didn't fully prepare the path until we were halfway done with it, and I think it would have really helped me if I had done it all at the beginning.

    The problem for me is that while I love these books, they are not at all easy to refer to in-game. Finding a single piece of information in a sea of text is very difficult while running a session.

    Preparing: When I sat down to get ready for this session, I had a really hard time focusing. I already had hand-written notes, which I'd made months ago. I just couldn't retain what was on the page and it was a real struggle to get in the mindset.

    Right now, the heroes are trying to deal with "haunts" around the city. There are 5 mini-missions that must be dealt with. Completing these missions gives the group magical visions that point them to the source of these haunts - the Soul Anchor, which sits under the city.

    The group had completed two missions. There were three left:
    1. An enemy they killed a while back had returned as an undead nemhain.
    2. A creature known as a "popobala" was riling up crowds of rabblerousers.
    3. A HELL PRISON was drawing people into it.
    I didn't really have a good feeling about these encounters. I felt like the nemhain would be a boring fight, I wasn't sure how involved I should get with the popobala, and the Hell Prison was kind of vague and could be run a million different ways. Destroying it would likely involve a drawn-out fight with a slew of barbed devils.

    The one thing that sort of tickled me was the idea of having their "frenemy", Shensen (a pretty major Pathfinder NPC) meeting with Mordenkainen and being pulled into the scenario happening in my Dungeon Academy game.

    Shensen: We had left off with the group about to enter Shensen's lair. They really enjoy picking on poor Shensen, because her lair is connected to the sewers. The group actually made fun of her when her pet awakened dinosaur Gut-Tugger, was killed in the big battle in the Temple of Asmodeus.

    So we kick off the session and I was greatly amused at playing Mordenkainen all dramatic. The group teased Shensen some more, and now she is gone from the campaign. The adventurers ended up giving her secret lair to an NPC they'd convinced to defect from Cheliax.

    Narcelia: I've dropped a few clues to the group that their enemy, Barzillai, was obsessed with someone named Narcelia. The players surprised me by trying to find her with scrying magic. I had to go through my notes real quick to find out info on her. It took me a minute, but I was able to place her in Port Peril, the main city int he Skull & Shackles path.

    She has a pretty crazy story, and I'm quite interested to see if they track her down.

    Horse-Killer: I should note that there's a whole thing going on with Essie, the group's necromancer. She's married to a zombie, and she cheated on him with a feywild horse-spirit. Her baby was delivered via stork last session, and now her husband (who was a serial killer when alive) has begun to serial kill the horses of Kintargo.

    The Soul Anchor: Then the group decided to do more research to figure out what these haunts were all about. Here's where I got tripped up. What can the group learn about the Soul Anchor? Am I OK with them skipping these missions and going down there?

    I had a feeling that the Soul Anchor was immune to divination, but I just couldn't find that info in the book at the time. It played out piece-by-piece, as I tried to find what they could learn. Ultimately, I just decided to let them scry the location, because I thought it would be cool. It felt kind of lame to block them.

    I mean, this might mean they'd skip the three missions, but I wasn't all that keen on those missions anyway.

    Garbage Versions of Encounters: They ultimately found the soul anchor with magic, but then decided to deal with the three haunts first. I really didn't want to play out the missions because I just wasn't feeling them, so I did what I used to do sometimes in 4th edition - I ran quick B.S. versions of them where the group plows through the thing in a single round.

    They took down the nemhain and destroyed her hellcat bones. Then they tracked down the popobala, and learned about popobala fever (indegestion) sweeping over this area of the city. The group mauled the popobala and conveniently found its massive treasure hoard.

    Then the group dealt with the HELL PRISON. Usually the group rolls good on saving throws, but not on this night. Most of the group was sucked into the prison and forced into cells via and imprisonment spell.

    Ashes and Raal were outside the prison, and ultimately used Ashes' gun that shoots radiant bullets to destroy the prison and free their friends.

    Then they made their way to the magic elevator that would take them to the Soul Anchor.

    There's some crazy encounters down there by the soul anchor, so I'm definitely looking forward to next week.
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    5 Waves of Monsters in Two Hours

    February 24, 2020, 9:57 am
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    We are right at the very end of the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set! The group has 6 pieces, and the final piece is in the plane of Pandemonium, guarded by a demon lord named Miska the Wolf Spider.

    We had left off with the heroes arriving at the Citadel of Chaos (where Miska is trapped) and Drizzt Do'Urden making a surprise appearance. He's a bounty hunter, hired by the Raven Queen's son (long story).

    Avoiding a Slog: I knew I wanted to have one of my patented "break the rules" sessions, where I run an event that only kind of/sort of sticks to the rules. I do this in the interest of keeping things moving.

    I first started doing this in 4th edition, a game where every encounter takes at least an hour. The group always liked it when I'd just have them make a few roles rather than going through a tedious exercise in dice rolling that really had no consequence.

    I'm always paranoid about pacing. I don't want people to get bored. In this session, I planned on throwing 5 waves of monsters at the heroes, and I didn't want it to be a slog.

    Planning It Out: So I sat down and wrote myself a list. First, I figured out how many NPCs the group had with them - 50 or more! The group was leading an all-out assault on the bad guys.

    Each wave was one round. One each character's turn, something special would happen. Then at the end of the round, there was a special "mega turn" linked to a particular character.

    Also, each character had an NPC paired with them, who could also do stuff on their turn.
    • Lilia (gnome warlock): She had the group's pet blink dog, Good Boi. They've had this dog since just about the very beginning of the campaign.
    • Seraphine (human cleric): Strahd von Zarovich. My favorite NPC! The soul of his beloved, Tatiana, is in Seraphine's body.
    • Winthrop (shadar kai druid): Twinthrop. One time, Winthrop grew a second head. Now it inhabits a suit of wind armor.
    • Aralee (sun elf fighter): Reeves, a guy she was engaged to who ended up in Hell, until the group rescued him.
    Each wave featured a different type of spyder-fiend (the monsters who serve the bad guys and play a prominent role in the boxed set adventure). There are 5 types of spyder-fiends, so there are 5 waves.

    I'll go over wave 1, so you can see how this works and then decide if there's anything from this approach that might help your game.

    Wave 1: Spyder-fiend type: Kakkuu. They have mangy wolf heads, can bark and howl, and weigh 300 pounds.

    We rolled initiative. That determined who got which mini-scenario. Lilia rolled highest, so she went first.

    Lilia: As the 75+ spyder fiends charged the heroes and their army, Lilia saw a guy named Jaundice Pilsner (top notch NPC name, IMO!) get into trouble. A spyder-fiend used a strand of webbing to reel him in. It was up to Lilia and the blink dog to save him. If Lilia rolled bad, Jaundice was dead!

    Lilia was able to save the dude with the help of her trusty blink dog. Basically, in these scenarios, one die roll tells the story. Although a good/clever idea always succeeds, for the most part.

    Seraphine: The cleric saw that their weird friend Emalica (from the Chris Perkins adventure, "Umbra") was chucking snakes at her enemies. She keeps the snakes in a baby carriage. A spyder-fiend used webbing to try to send the carriage hurtling over the side of a wall to the ground hundred of feet below.

    Seraphine was unable to help, and Strahd was too busy protecting his beloved Tatiana to help a bunch of snakes! Poor baby snakes.

    Aralee: The group had befriended a mechanical dragon while going through Blades of Terror, in the Eberron setting, where they got the third piece of the rod. The dragon was flying around, but a bunch of spider-fiends used webbing to pull it to the ground.

    Aralee ran over and successfully stabbed the fiends. Her wobbly ally Reeves did, too. He has amnesia, so I roll to see what he likes and doesn't like. Aralee handed him "Swish", her magic sword. Reeves didn't like the sword. Was awkward.

    Winthrop: One of the group's oldest friends is a vistani named Markus Nerl. He started off the campaign as a lecherous coward, but the group has brought out the good in him. Winthrop saw that Markus was protecting a fallen ally, but was in way over his head. Winthrop and Twinthrop kept him alive.

    The came the MEGA TURN. This one dealt with Winthrop, so he actually went twice in a row. Drizzt, in the chaos, waded through the combatants and attacked Winthrop, hoping to knock him out and bring him to the Shadowfell. Drizzt did PILES of damage, but Winthrop did not go down.

    Drizzt ended up being swarmed by spyder-fiends. In later rounds, the group saved him, healed him, and befriended him.

    We did about two hours straight of this, and I think it went pretty well. I was able to work in a bunch of story moments, including a betrayal which Aralee took hard.

    Risking Strahd: I'm not sure exactly why I did this, but I decided to put Strahd's fate in the group's hands. I love playing Strahd and having him chew scenery, but a lot of the group kind of hates him and Aralee actually punched him a session or two back.

    So a pit fiend beat him up, and told Aralee to finish him off. Aralee had a hard time deciding, but ultimately chose to let Strahd live because Seraphine cares about him. I think Seraphine has some special plan for him, actually.

    This session was a bit of a risk, but it worked out well. I gave it some SPICE and now we are all set to enter the final area of the whole boxed set!
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    Dragon+ Issue 30

    March 3, 2020, 8:03 am
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    Looks like we've got ourselves a new issue of Dragon+ ready to be reviewed! I'll go through it and look for any cool tabletop D&D stuff that seems useful to me, and hopefully you. Let's check it out.

    You can read this issue right here.

    Imagining the Ampersand: Max Dunbar

    It is the Year of the Rat, so our cover is rat-themed, courtesy of artist Max Dunbar. Woww... we get a peak at some recent art of his. Check it out:

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    Looks like this was made for the monsters in Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio, an update of the classic 1e Fiend Folio.

    Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount

    This book will be coming out soon - it's a sourcebook linked to Critical Role. Apparently it shot to #1 on the Amazon bestseller list already!

    There's a new type of magic called Dunamancy, which deals with "...time, space, quantum physics, and astrophysics, focusing on probability, potentiality, the realization of timelines and alternate realities, the passage of time, entropy, and all of these facets. There is a lot of gravity and minor time manipulation."

    Subclasses! An echo knight is a fighter subclass that plays into "...the multiple timeline theory."

    We also talk a bit with Deven Rue, who makes the great hand-drawn maps for Critical Role.

    Mythic Odysseys of Theros

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    This is a setting from Magic: The Gathering that is being converted to 5th edition. It's inspired by Greek mythology.

    Apparently they've taken "renown" and blown it into a huge thing. If you devote yourself to a certain deity, you gain special rewards.

    Baldur's Gate 3

    So... the opening cinematic of the game details pretty much nothing but mind flayers and the githyanki! Really awesome, you should definitely watch.



    "Having barely survived a crash-landing at the start of Baldur’s Gate III, players find themselves stranded in the middle of an inhospitable wilderness. "

    You start the game with an illithid tadpole in your head! Sold!

    I think in 2e, a nautiloid is a wooden vessel. Here, in the game, it's much more elaborate, and the front tentacles move and have the ability to teleport people onto the ship. I love it.

    The nautiloid was always my favorite spelljammer ship. I am beyond pleased to get to see it brought to life in this way.

    This video was so great that I looked into when this game is coming out. As of right now, there is no release date.

    Forgotten Realms Laeral Silverhand Explorer's Kit

    This is a dice set with a map and cards, like the Descent Into Avernus dice box that I liked so much.

    They give us a pdf of Laeral's stats, too.

    Dungeon Mayhem Monster Madness

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    This new set is out and I find it very amusing. We get a look at monster that didn't make the cut. The Tarrasque didn't make the cut?!!?

    Creature Feature: Moonrats

    We look at rats in D&D. Cranium rats get a mention. Moonrats from 3.5, who get smarter during a full moon. Then we get "dragon rats", created by Dan Dillon of the D&D Team. We get a pdf and everything.

    "Dragon rats are vicious little dragons resembling the rodents that are their namesake."

    "Dragons despise dragon rats, not only because they destroy dragon eggs to procreate, but because they infest older dragons as parasites..."

    Awesome!

    I should also note that there is a secret message embedded in the text of this article.

    D&D Classics: Rats

    We get .pdfs of rat-related articles from old issues of Dragon. Wow, we even get pdfs from Exemplars of Evil and 4e's Pyramid of Shadows!!

    The Pyramid of Shadows adventure was popular at the time it was released. I used some stuff from it but I never ran it all the way through.

    Maps of the Month: Eberron, Tolstoff Keep and Halaster Blackcloak’s Undermountain

    Now we get to one of my favorite part of Dragon+. Free maps! We get tagged and untagged maps of Khorvaire (the Eberron setting) along with some other maps from the book.

    We also get level 2 of Dungeon of the Mad Mage, maps from Exemplars of Evil. Huh... apparently someone was going through that book, recently! Wonder why.

    20 House Rules for Fifth Edition

    Well, dang. Here's something new. Sam Hanshaw gives us 20 house rules.Here are a few that stuck out to me:

    Rule 2. Small enemies share HP as a squad and attack as one.

    Kind of a cool idea. It's a swarm! I still miss minions from 4e. Oh.. wait..

    Rule 3. Minion enemies have 1 HP and don’t take half damage on failed saves.

    OK! Sounds good to me. I should definitely use this.

    Rule 7. “I have a thing for that”: Allow a player to spend a point of inspiration to “remember” their character purchases a mundane item.

    I've always been wary of this. I run my games loose, but this kind of thing could get out of hand.

    Great list!

    It's hard to complain about Dragon+. You get free stuff! Maps and pdfs, new monsters, and it helps keep you current on what wizards is up to.

    Honestly the thing that stuck out the most was Baldur's Gate 3. Seeing mind flayers and githyanki and a NAUTILOID in a cinematic is really amazing. I can't wait for that game.
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    Sage Advice: Drinks and D&D

    March 4, 2020, 6:24 am
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    The topic today is adult beverages, both in the game and at the table.

    Greg points out that Jeremy worked until 2 AM last night, handling some super-secret project.

    Jeremy mentions that most campaigns start in a tavern. In medieval times, taverns were like restaurants and since water was not safe to drink, fermented beverages were safer to drink.

    A pub is a public house, where people could congregate and adventurers can get quests.

    Greg mentions that, recently, he was DMing and drinking wine, and it actually improved his roleplaying because the group was in a tavern.

    Poisoned Condition: Jeremy says that there are no specific rules on inebriation in D&D, but there are ways to represent it. The poisoned condition is a great way to model that. This is why they gave dwarves resistance to poison - because they drink so much and can drink ale like water.

    Drinking Games: In a recent holiday-themed session that Jeremy ran, he had a brand new player join his group. The player's story was tied to taverns - they drank too much, trying to escape their dark past. Jeremy had a drinking game take place in the tavern. They made a CON save each round. The people who could last the longest would go to the final round, quite like the contest in Raiders of the Lost Ark. How much can you drink before you pass out or your "stomach objects."

    Effects on Skill Checks: Jeremy talks a bit about a study where a person who has had exactly one drink is seen by others as more attractive. Being "buzzed" is a good social lubricant. Being wasted, not so much. In Jeremy's game, being buzzed might give a character advantage on charisma checks. Being wasted might give disadvantage.

    Exhaustion: Exhaustion is another way to deal with hangovers. You might wake up with one level of exhaustion.

    Sensitive Subjects: Jeremy is always conscious of alcoholism, which is a sensitive subject for some people. Jeremy tries to always describe drinking as social and light. If someone has drank too much, their behavior is jolly. Jeremy doesn't have mean drunks in a game - maybe if it's a villain, but even then he tries not to bring something up that might tap into family history.

    Jeremy points out that there are a lot of things in life that get us down. He tries not to have those things in his game unless the group is going to face it or overcome it. Jeremy tries to avoid things that make people uncomfortable. He tries to tap into the delightful aspects of drinking in different cultures. Drinking isn't about getting drunk, it's about the flavor, how it pairs with your food, and the family coming together.

    It's about elves wanting you to sample their ambrosia that has been sitting in a bottle for 1,000 years. Ale dwarves bring up from the depths. A mushroom concoction that gnomes want you to sample.

    Jeremy says when drinking at the table, pair it with food. Greg suggests Cheetos. Jeremy says his group often goes out to dinner after the game, because he believes booze goes with food.

    That's it! Good show.

    Thoughts

    I've had a few problems with players drinking at the table, but for the most part drinking doesn't seem to affect the game in a negative way.

    I did know of one group who drank so much when they played, that they had a standing rule that anything that occurs after they've been playing/drinking doesn't actually count in continuity.

    Alcohol in-game is a fascinating topic. Almost every D&D product has a special drink, sometimes magical, sometimes not. I try to catalogue them in my Great List of Food and Drinks.

    I'm pretty sure that at some point in D&D Next (the playtest version of what became 5th edition) had intoxicated as an actual status effect. It seems like the 5e "poisoned" condition handles it well enough.

    They changed the format of this show from 'flipping through the rulebook' to covering a specific topic. Either way is fine with me, as I can always use a brushing up on the rules.
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    Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Shadar-Kai

    March 4, 2020, 10:30 am
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    In this guide, I'm going to dig through D&D history and pull out all of the lore I can find on the shadar-kai. Hopefully this will be useful to you if you decide to use the shadar-kai in your campaign.

    The shadar-kai are a race that has changed slightly in each edition, but the basic concept is the same - humanoids infused with shadow. They usually have lots of tattoos and piercings.

    I'm a bit blown away by some of the cool ideas, particularly in 3rd edition.

    Fiend Folio

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    There was no "Shadowfell" in 3rd edition. Instead, there was the somewhat nebulous "Plane of Shadow."

    "The shadar-kai, or shadow fey, are a race of bitter, determined folk whose souls are poisoned by shadow."

    Traits:
    • They can fade from sight by stepping into any common shadow.
    • Many shadar-kai have piercings or tattoos.
    • Feel constant pain, which makes them vicious.
    • Steal when they can, and like to ambush foes.
    • Shadar-kai spellcasters prefer shadow and illusion magic.
    • Hate other fey and kill those that cross their path.
    • Often accompanied by shadow mastiffs.
    • Long ago, they made a pact with a dark power of the Plane of Shadow to cast the world into an endless twilight that they would rule. The experiment failed and the shadar-kai were bound to the Plane of Shadow.
    Shadow Curse: "Any time a shadar-kai is stunned, dazed, staggered, or unconscious (other than from natural sleep), the shadow fey must make a Will save (DC 15) or lose a portion of her soul to the Plane of Shadow." This means they become weaker (energy drained), basically.

    "A shadar-kai on the Material Plane (or elsewhere) must use a wish or miracle spell to restore her soul."

    A shadar-kai suffering from the shadow curse cannot be raised from the dead or resurrected. The effects of the curse do not surface when the shadar-kai is in the Plane of Shadow, only other planes.

    Society: They have a predatory society, often preferring to infiltrate a settlement rather than build their own.
    • Shadar-kai cities are concealed by illusions and shadow magic. Desolate and sparsely-populated.
    • Most are mageocracies, ruled by powerful illusionists.
    They have a number of unique magic items associated with them:

    Gal-Ralan: A cold-forged iron armband that has needles that pierce the forearm of the wearer.
    • Fixes the wearer's soul to their body, but causes never-ending pain.
    • Enchanted to give a bonus to armor class.
    • Also protects against energy drain and effects that target the wearer's soul.
    Blackstone Rune: Shadar-kai overcome with the Shadow Curse use this, a sigil drawn on a small glossy stone, to plane shift from the Plane of Shadow to the Material Plane.

    Night Extract: A vial of magic liquid that reduces the ambient light level to that of starlight in a 20-foot radius. Magical light in the area functions normally, but mundane light sources are suppressed.

    Dragon Magazine #337 - Ecology of the Shadar Kai

    This article changes things slightly, presenting the shadar-kai as fey who hate the despoilment of nature.
    • The shadar-kai were always fey linked to shadow
    • They did not like seeing mortals despoiling nature.
    • 100 shadow fey performed a ritual that bound the world of mortals and the Plane of Shadow.
    • This ritual bound the souls of every living shadar-kai to a single point.
    • Heroes disrupted the ritual, but this gave the shadow curse to the shadar-kai.
    Shadow Slip: This spell gives the recipient partial concealment and allows them to move at half speed without provoking attacks of opportunity.

    Shadowlight Oil: A slow-burning oil that contains a small touch of the Plane of Shadow and can be burned in any lantern. The lantern does not provide bright illumination, but instead doubles the area of shadowy illumination.

    Physiology of the Shadar-Kai:
    • Long Life: Have incredibly long life spans (nearly immortal), but none remember the time when the shadow curse was bestowed upon them.
    • Shadows: Shadows seem to bend to conceal their movements. They can almost physically manipulate shadows.
    • Spicy: When eating, they seek out the strongest flavors. "Even the most powerful spices seem bland and distant to the shadow fey..."
    Shadar-Kai on the Plane of Shadow:
    • The vast majority live on the Plane of Shadow.
    • They do not like being separated from the material plane. It is a source of endless torment.
    • Live as either crazed brigands or despairing vagabonds in the shadowy doubles of their ruined cities.
    Homes: Elegant half-ruined dwellings cut into the sides of shadowy cliffs, and slender towers rising beneath the densest forest canopies, home only to the most crazed shadow fey.

    Weapons: Use spiked chains as weapon of choice.

    Enemies:
    • Other fey do not associate with the shadar-kai.
    • Shadow mastiffs and shadow asps are frequent companions.
    • Redcaps will sometimes work with shadar-kai out of wild bloodlust.
    • Dark Ones hate shadar-kai.
    4e Monster Manual

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    By Chris Stevens & Espen Crundetjern
    The 3rd edition shadar-kai were very cool. In 4e, they are a bleak people who inhabit the Shadowfell and serve the Raven Queen. "Following the dark augeries of their witches, shadar-kai move secretly to accomplish ruinous ends..."

    Appearance:  They resemble humans, but have grey skin and eyes that are lustrous black orbs, like a raven's. The shadows seem to deepen around them. Their skin always has patterns of tattoos and scarifications.

    Don't Fear Death: They fight without any concern for their well-being, believing that death is foretold at birth and cannot be avoided. Embrace death, trusting that the Raven Queen will keep their souls safe long after they've passed on.

    No Family: Personal achievement and glory defines a shadar-kai more than family, wealth, or holdings. "A shadar-kai can gain a lot of power and prestige by murdering rivals, slaying powerful beasts in the name of the Raven Queen, or wreaking havoc and reaping souls in the natural world."

    Teleport: "All shadar-kai have the ability to teleport a short distance and reappear in a dark, wraithlike form."

    In 4th edition, the Raven Queen has these winged, humanoid agents known as sorrowsworn (who are completely different from the 5e version of sorrowsworn found in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes).

    In this book, the entry on the sorrowsworn says: "Heroes among the shadar-kai, and others who serve the Raven Queen without fail, can ascend to the ranks of the sorrowsworn. Doing so is one way mighty shadar-kai can acquire immortality..."

    4e Monster Manual 2

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    by Ben Wooten
    "These shadowy humanoids pursue pleasure and pain, depravity and hedonistic excess - any rush of sensation to forestall the Shadowfell's gloom."

    Long ago, the shadar-kai bound themselves by oath and blood to the service of the Raven Queen. However, they found their extended lives threatened by the omnipresent malaise of the Shadowfell.

    There are 4 new types of shadar-kai presented here:
    • Shadar-Kai Blacksoul: Shoots bolts of necrotic energy.
    • Shadar-Kai Dawnkiller: Fights with a kukri.
    • Shadar-Kai Gloom Lord: Can create shadowcages.
    • Shadar-Kai Painbearer: Wield spiked chains, do shadow dances.
    Dragon #372 - Playing Shadar-Kai

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    by Chris Seaman
    This issue has an article that lets you play a shadar-kai as a character.

    Shadar-Kai "...see themselves as instruments of death and dissolution, the bringers of the righteous end to complacency, stagnation, and life itself."

    "The weak molder to dust, passing into eternity unremembered."

    Death: Shadar-Kai could live longer than an eladrin, but their "Extreme living" keeps them from seeing old age.

    "Some simply fade away, disappearing into shadow and death, perhaps leaving behind a wraith as the soul passes into the Raven Queen's care."

    Shadar-kai push boundaries because they have learned to channel the darkness of the Shadowfell that would otherwise doom them.

    Religion: Shadar-kai revere the commandments of the Raven Queen as societal traditions. They do worship other deities, though demon worship is not tolerated.

    Origin: Shadar-kai were once a tribe of humans.
    • When the Raven Queen slew Nerull and ascended to godhood, the shadar-kai struck a deal with her. They promised to serve as her mortal agents, and in exchange, she gave them long life and freedom from frailty.
    • The shadar-kai moved to the Shadowfell. Living there reshaped them and became a distinct species.
    • The Raven Queen doesn't demand worship from them, she only asks that they follow her commandments.
    • Most shadar-kai hold no pity for the dying and try to punish those who defy fate. They believe that nobody truly knows what fate holds.
    Raven Consort: In 4th edition, once a shadar-kai character hits a high level, they can take an 'epic destiny' called Raven Consort. "All your oaths are fulfilled, and your destiny is sealed with your legendary deeds. Death now loves you more than any other."

    Immortality: You have become the greatest among your kind. "Perhaps you have even armed the bleak heart of winter and risen above those who must merely joined the ranks of the sorrowsworn."

    The Queen's Right Hand: Death has "...pulled you close under her black wings." You are all but eternal in body and in fable. You might get a reward:
    • Dominion over the borders of her domain.
    • Command over the Raven Knights, sorrowsworn nobles who watch over her lands.
    • "Perhaps you'll marshal the Raven Queen's forces to bring death to all of her remaining enemies."
    • Quickened Corpus: Your Constitution score goes up by 2.
    • Cycle of Life: You gain bonuses to death saves.
    • Death's Companion: Whenever you kill a creature, a lich vestige forms from that corpse and serves you for a short time.
    • Vitality Eternal: Once per day, you can automatically succeed on saving throws against all ongoing effects.
    Dungeon #158 - The Shadow Rift of Umbraforge

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    by Dave Allsop
    This adventure deals with a settlement in the Shadowfell called Umbraforge. It is located near a magma shadow rift. A shadar-kai named Sarshan uses the magma to create shadow-infused weaponry.

    Sarshan: An outcast shadar-kai who lead a mercenary band known as the Black Arrow.

    Leena: A shadar kai witch who trains combat spellcasters. "The shadar-kai witch wears a black cloak edged with adamantine beads, and she keeps her long hair plaited to hang down her back. Gold piercings line her ears and lower lip, and a black starburst tattoo encloses her right eye."

    Dark Foundry: "Fell beasts of battle are created here by dark arcane craft."

    Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

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    In 5th edition, the shadar-kai are elves! They were followers of the Raven Queen (who, in 5e, was an elf queen who attempted to ascend to godhood). 
    • "Sworn to the Raven Queen's service, the mysterious shadar-kai venture into the Material Plane from the Shadowfell to advance her will."
    • They exist in a strange state between life and death.
    • Eladrin and shadar-kai are like reflections of each other: one bursting with emotion, the other nearly devoid of it."
    Origin:
    • The Raven Queen tried to use the souls and magic of her people to elevate her to godly status.
    • Some elves pledged themselves to her - they became known as the shadar-kai.
    • The Raven Queen wanted to use their souls to "...forge a pathway through the Feywild to Arvandor, all while increasing her influence."
    • Before she could do this, evil wizards tried to siphon the souls of the shadar-kai for their own purposes.
    • This led to a magical catastrophe that sent the Raven Queen and the shadar-kai to the Shadowfell.
    Servants of the Queen: The shadar-kai have it rough in 5e. Check it out:
    • Cursed to forever serve the Raven Queen, too terrified to enter the Fortress of Memories.
    • Old: When shadar-kai are in the Shadowfell, their bodies and faces are old and withered. They often wear masks of metal or wood. When away from the Shadowfell, they take on youthful features.
    • Immortal: When a shadar-kai dies, they are resurrected to live again. They consider death to be a temporary condition.
    • Sediment of Memory: Shadar-kai are very interested in the magical silt at the bottom of the River Styx that holds the memories and identities of lost souls.
    Traits:
    • +1 to CON
    • Resistance to necrotic damage.
    • Blessing of the Raven Queen: Teleport up to 30 feet as a bonus action once per long rest.
    The Monster Entry: Shadar-kai appear in this book both as a player race and as a monster type.

    Soul Custodians: Shadar-kai watch over the Shadowfell and the material world scouting out choice souls and tragedies.

    Blighted Elves: Eons of exposure to the Shadowfell have left them joyless and mournful.

    Monster Types:
    • Gloom Weaver: Uses its shadow magic to reduce its enemies to ghastly corpses.
    • Shadow Dancer: "Living darkness," shadar-kai who fight using chains.
    • Soul Monger: Despairing over lost memories, the aching void within them radiates outward. "A bottomless void of tragedies."
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    Dungeons & Dragons - A Guide to the Sorrowsworn

    March 5, 2020, 12:59 pm
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    by Dave Allsop
    Today I want to look at a monster who has a somewhat unique situation in D&D. The sorrowsworn of 4th edition bears almost no resemblance to the sorrowsworn presented in 5th edition. Why the change? I don't know.
    • 4e Sorrowsworn: Twisted shadow angels that serve the Raven Queen.
    • 5e Sorrowsworn: Shadowfell creatures who embody specific negative emotions.
    Then we'll look at one of my favorite NPCs in D&D history - Vorkhesis, Exarch of Fate, and first of the sorrowsworn.

    4e Monster Manual

    Sorrowsworn are "...awful manifestations of the Shadowfell that feed on grief and are often tasked with slaying powerful mortals who have cheated death."

    A few of them are agents of the Raven Queen, sent to claim the souls of those who have escaped her clutches. "These sorrowsworn torment their prey with whispers of impending doom or past failures, knowing instinctively what each victim holds dear or regrets."

    A sorrowsworn's weapon turns to dust when the creature it is attacking dies.

    Shadowraven Swarm: Shadowravens are epehemral black birds with razor-sharp talons. They pick at the bones of corpses left behind after great battles and foretell the arrival of their bleak masters with ominous caws and rustling wings.

    Types of Sorrowsworn:
    • Sorrowsworn Soulripper: Teleport and claw.
    • Sorrowsworn Reaper: Wields "Sorrow's Scythe" which does psychic damage.
    • Sorrowsworn Deathlord: Has an aura of Mournful whispers, wields a dark scythe.
    Sorrowsworn are neither undead nor demonic. They are fragments of death incarnate, and are drawn to locations where others have died in great numbers, such as battlefields.

    Many serve the Raven Queen and are tasked with slaying powerful mortals who have cheated death.

    They reside in bleak lairs - thorny pits and dank caves. Keep grisly trophies and remains of past victims. Shadowravens watch over them.

    They protect the Raven Queen from the plots of independent nightwalkers and death giants.

    "Heroes among the shadar-kai, and others who serve the Raven Queen without fail, can ascend to the ranks of the sorrowsworn. Doing so is one way mighty shadar-kai can acquire immortality..."

    E1 Death's Reach

    In this adventure, the group ends up in the Raven Queen's throne room. It is guarded by sorrowsworn fleshrippers and sorrowsworn doomguards.

    The sorrowsworn are described: "Gaunt black-clad creatures stand in a line at the bottom of the stairs, their faces embodiments of bereavement. One spreads its dark wings and says in a deathlike voice, "What needs the Raven Queen with mortal agents when she has the likes of us?"

    New Types:
    • Sorrowsworn Fleshrippers: Wear spiked gauntlets.
    • Sorrowsworn Doomguard: Wield scythes, can teleport.
    E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls

    This adventure features Doresain, King of the Ghouls, who is an agent of Orcus that lurks in the Shadowfell.

    Doresain enjoys corrupting those who serve the Raven Queen. He has a crypt full of the dessicated remains of sorrowsworn that have been stolen from the Shadowfell.

    There was a legendary sorrowsworn fought a hydra at "Black Blood Falls." His sorrowsong blade ended up lodged in the hydra.

    Sorrowsong Blade: "This blade sings a mournful dirge of fear and despair as it slices through the air. Wielded by the chosen of the sorrowsworn and charged with psychic energy. Does psychic damage in addition to slashing. Once per day, can push a target up to 25 feet and makes them vulnerable to psychic damage for a short time.

    Sorrowsworn Dread Wraith: The sorrowsworn knight who fought the hydra fell in battle and was buried in an ancestral crypt. Doresain turned him into a wraith and bound it to his service. "Now insane, the sorrowsworn dread wraith haunts his crypt, his coterie of shadowravens still under his command."

    The wraith has a description: "A ghostly creature, far taller than a human, appears near you. It wears fine armor and carries an ephemeral version of the weapon that was embedded in the hydra at Black Blood Falls. The creature's visage is gaunt and demonic, and its eyes are large, soulless orbs. The light near it grows dark, seemingly swallowed by the creature's insubstantial form."

    E3 Prince of Undeath

    In this adventure, Orcus tries to kill the Raven Queen. There are a few sorrowsworn mentioned in one encounter, nothing much.

    Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

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    by Cory Trego-Erdner
    The artist did quite a bit of art for Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which can be found at his artstation page here.

    So! 5th edition rolls around and wow, the sorrowsworn are completely different!

    These creatures embody the forms of suffering inherent in the Shadowfell.

    They are emotion given form - manifestations of anger loneliness, despair and distress.

    Types:
    • The Angry: A two-headed creature with hook hands.
    • The Lonely: Driven by a need for companionship, they use their harpoon arms to pull creatures close.
    • The Lost: Manifestations of anxiety that try to embrace any creature they can reach.
    • The Wretched: Travel in groups, drinking the life force of living creatures. 
    Why the change? I poked around looking for videos and found this one. In it, D&D designer Adam Lee talks about the thinking that went into this. He doesn't explain why they decided to ditch the 4e version, but he does have some interesting things to say.

    Adam Lee says that they either coalesce or they were people who were in The Shadowfell for so long that they slowly mutated.

    What is the Shadowfell? It's a negative energy world. It is dark, filled with sorrow and sadness. What if, in the Shadowfell, what happens when hunger becomes an actual thing? The shadar-kai became a gloomy, morose people. When the Raven Queen fell, they fell with her. Whether she chose the Shadowfell or the Shadowfell chose her is up for debate.

    Does the Shadowfell warp who you are? If you stay in a bad mood for too long, does it affect how you physically are? Taken to the extreme, you could turn into a sorrowsworn. The Shadowfell is a magical realm that has the potency to do that.

    The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond

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    by Jesper Ejsing
    This book details what some call the very first sorrowsworn: Vorkhesis. He is an exarch of the Raven Queen and the first of the sorrowsworn.

    No Eyes, One Hand: Born without eyes, but has the ability to see far beyond himself and his surroundings. He has only one hand, in which he grips a black longspear.

    I can't help but notice that he couldn't be more ready to wield the eye and hand of Vecna...

    Keeper of Souls: When a powerful creature dies, the Raven Queen might choose to hold that person's soul in her realm, whether at the behest of another god or for her own reasons.

    Vorkhesis guards these souls, and "...epic tier adventurers might need to fight him if they seek to rescue them."

    Minions: If he is attacked, Vorkhesis utters a word that extinguishes the light in the Hall of Final fate, plunging it into utter darkness. Then he and his sorrowsworn attack.

    King of Lonely: Vorkhesis knows the ultimate fate of every creature that has lived. He welcomes visitors and relishes the chance to share stories with them. He takes any chance to connect with the living and get a sense of what normal life is like.

    He is sometimes referred to as the Son of the Raven Queen. Rumors persist that he is the son of Nerull.

    Deathly Communion: Many pilgrims seek out Vorkhesis to speak to a long-dead relative. Vorkhesis can summon the spirit. Vorkhesis utters the words of the deceased in his own voice. 

    Abilities and Traits:
    • Immune to fear and gaze effects
    • Aura of Bereavement: You have -2 to saving throws and any non-dying bloodied enemy that ends its turn in the aura must make a death saving throw.
    • Boon: When an enemy within 100 feet dies, Vorkhesis gains 30 temporary hit points.
    • Greatspear: Critical = target must make a death save. The spear returns to his hand if thrown.
    • Vanishing Strike: On a critical, any ongoing damage that the target takes goes up by 10 and Vorkhesis becomes invisible.
    • Alignment: Unaligned
    • Can fly
    Guardian of the Raven Queen: To enter the Raven Queen's home of Farad Exitis, you must pass three tests to prove your devotion to the Raven Queen. Each test echoes one part of her portfolio.

    Each test is spelled out in great detail in the boxed set. I don't want to spoil it, so here's the basic gist of each one:

    Test 1 - The Challenge of Doom: This challenge plays on the feeling of powerlessness that can come with the knowledge of one's inevitable death. Travelers must overcome their despondency and forge onward, just as the Raven Queen would have them live boldly.

    Test 2 - The Challenge of Eternity: You must reflect upon eternity and its effects on the mortal body. You must conquer and accept the fleeting nature of mortal existence.

    Test 3 - The Challenge of Destiny: One must learn to navigate the complexity of life and to reach their goal before the flame of life is snuffed out forever.

    Passing the challenges means that you gain access to the heart of Farad Exitis and meet its lord - Vorkhesis, exarch of fate.

    The Hall of Final Fate: "A great audience chamber lined with statues and friezes of ravens appears around you.

    Heroes can request a boon, which might be passage into Zvomarana, a quest to earn the Raven Queen's favor, or the answer to any question that the characters might wish to ask.

    Links

    Sorrowsworn Tactics

    More Types of Sorrowsworn

    WebDM did a huge video on the sorrowsworn right here:

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    The Wyrmwraith

    March 9, 2020, 1:00 pm
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    I've been running the Hell's Rebels adventure path for over a year now, and we're right at the final section now. I always feel especially good when we get to this point in a published adventure. Not many groups make it all the way to the end!

    It's kind of funny... all of the coolest stuff is at the very end of these books, and yet most people won't get to experience it. That's why I think the fist chapter of an adventure is the most important - if it's boring or uninspired, there's very little chance that a group is going to get the momentum they need to play all the way through. If anything, the very first encounter should be one of the best, most exciting things of the entire adventure.

    That's one of the reasons I love this path. The very beginning takes place during a riot! That's something I have never seen in D&D before. This path starts off very strong and, IMO, the first 4 books are all stellar.

    Last time we played, the group made a detour to the pirate islands known as the Shackles, and in this latest session we got back to the business at hand: A very cool dungeon known as the Soulbound Fane. Here's the deal with this dungeon:
    • The entrance involves a magical lift. The group has to figure out how to activate it.
    • There's a "wyrmwraith" - a dragon/wraith.
    • A bridge over a chasm is guarded by shadow golems.
    • There's a mysterious room with magical powers.
    • A witchfire (undead witch/hag/thing) can give the group some info.
    • The Soul Anchor - a magic device that's been causing trouble with the city.
    I always opt for SPEED MODE when I convert these things. If I want the group to get through the majority of this in a 2-hour session, I need to streamline it and, most importantly, I need all of the necessary information right in front of me.

    One thing I've noticed with these Pathfinder paths is that they're a bit dense and wordy. Also, information is split up into multiple sections, sometimes. It's not something I could run from the book.

    I sit down and make myself cheat sheets with all of the relevant info i need and stats right on a single sheet of paper, if it fits. The timing of when I do this is very important. I'd made most of these sheets months ago, but I need to read them over and adjust them either the night before, or, if possible, the day of the game. Otherwise I can't remember anything and it's a bit of a fiasco.

    On this particular occasion, the preparation went very smoothly. I  had decided to be real loose with the shadow golem and allow them to use clever/funny ideas to bypass the encounter. We only have two hours, and if they fight the wyrmwraith, we can't really squeeze in the golems.

    I was thinking that they'll probably just push these golems off of the bridge so they plunge into the chasm below. But, as always, the players took me by surprise. They blindfolded the golems and rotated them to face a wall. That way, they wouldn't "activate" when the group passed by.

    The wyrmwraith fight went fine, but I wasn't happy with my half-assed conversion of it to 5e. I wanted to sit down and read up on 5e wraiths and then apply those ideas to the 5e dragon, but I didn't quite have the time. Basically, I had an undead dragon that could cast finger of death three times per day. It was fine, but could have been much cooler with a bit more time and energy put into it.

    The adventurers go to the Soul Anchor - which is a ball of energy that has special powers. Floating in it is the still-beating heart of the campaign's villain, who the group thought they had killed for good!

    The anchor is protected by a nemesis devil, a Pathfinder monster which is a devil who was once worshiped as a god. The heroes were just about to handle this monster, but we were out of time.

    Once this is done, we go into the final section of the whole path! It is really awesome, and has tremendous maps. Really looking forward to the these final sessions!
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    The Seventh Piece of the Rod of Seven Parts

    March 9, 2020, 1:45 pm
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    Right now, I have a group that is one the verge of pulling off something I've wanted to do for decades. They have obtained all seven pieces of the rod of seven parts, a legendary D&D artifact. They have played through what I think is the coolest way to do it - each piece was in a different D&D setting!

    They've gone to Eberron, Waterdeep, Barovia, Sigil, you name it! One setting I had thought about using in this campaign was Al-Qadim, but frankly that would take quite a bit of work. I decided to set it aside because I know that when I finally use it, I want to do it justice. I love Al Qadim, and I hope someday to run a huge 5e campaign in that setting.

    This is the fourth time I have tried to run the Rod of Seven Parts. The other three times ended in failure.

    Attempt #1: I ran this in high school for my group at the time. We tried playing through the boxed set adventures. The first adventure, "At the Golden Cockatrice" went fine. But then I tried to run the adventure with the fire giants, and the group got frustrated because they were too low level to deal with it head-on, so they abandoned the whole thing.

    Attempt #2: I had bought The Lost City of Gaxmoor, the 3e adventure by Gary Gygax's kids. I thought it would be cool if the pieces were spread out in the Gaxmoor. I tried to run this in a old school, lethal way, where death at low levels was likely. The group hated this idea, and we only played for one session.

    I have never had a problem with my character dying, so I was a bit surprised at how much the group hated the idea of a high lethality game. I learned not to try to force a group to play in a style they aren't into.

    Attempt #3: In 4th edition, I had three players each make a high level character. Each could choose one artifact to have. One took the Eye of Vecna, and another took the Hand of Vecna. They began searching for the pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts and successfully obtained the first two pieces, but when they tried to merge them without following the proper procedures, the pieces scattered. They gave up the quest after that.

    So.. all previous attempts had ended in miserable failure. But this 5e group has persevered, and now are in the plane of Pandemonium, playing through the final encounters in the old 2e boxed set.

    I should note that I've been writing about the rod for a long time, all in preparation to run this thing again.
    Army of NPCs: The group has an army of NPCs with them. I guess I could have had all these NPCs present in the final battle with Miska the Wolf-Spider, but I don't know how I could make that interesting.

    I whipped up a special room with 6 doors, each of which could only be opened with a corresponding segment of the rod. Each door issued forth a magical effect linked to the power of a particular segment of the rod.

    The 6th piece has hold monster as its special power - so it activated a trap that held all everyone int he room. The group only had moments to get out of the trap themselves and get into Miska's final area before the doors sealed again. It worked out just fine, but I feel like there's probably a better way to handle the "army of NPCs" in a better, more organic way.

    Miska Stats: I based Miska's stats on the stat block in the DMs Guild Rod of Seven Parts 5e product. I double-checked the numbers, using kobold fight club to see what monsters are a suitable challenge for the group. Monsters from Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes seem to be a bit more powerful/effective, so I borrowed from them.

    I was worried about the final encounter being an anti-climax. Way back when I ran The Shackled City (converted from 3e to 4e, which is a whole story in itself), my final bad guy was way, way too weak and I didn't want to repeat the mistake.

    There's a lot of ways the final battle can go. After all, the group's goal is to get the seventh piece - not necessarily to kill Miska.

    As it has played out, the group is indeed in a battle with Miska. I think some of them forgot about his poison blood. The ranger actually shot him with an arrow point blank and his blood almost hit her. His blood is what shattered the rod of law in the first place! His blood, if it touches you, will drop you to 0 hit points if you fail a DEX save!

    We had to stop in the middle of the battle, but right now the group actually has the fully-assembled rod of seven parts and is fighting Miska the Wolf-Spider.

    Whatever happens, I'm beyond pleased to have finally run this all the way through with such a great group. It's so hard to find just the right players. I got really lucky this time around, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next session!
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    Wrapping Up Hell's Rebels

    March 16, 2020, 11:54 pm
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    We're just about done with the Hell's Rebels adventure path! The heroes are now in the very final section of Book 6 and are making their way through a tower of bone that is situated in the eighth level of Hell.

    Mission Accomplished: For me, finishing a big campaign is sort of like gaining a level in real life. To be able to say you've run a published campaign, from beginning to end, from 1st level to whatever, is a big deal. So here we are, about to check Hell's Rebels off the list and move forward.

    We'll be jumping back to our Tomb of Annihilation characters, and will be playing through four classic Monte Cook adventures converted to 5th edition. I've already converted two of them - The Harrowing and Labyrinth of Madness. I just busted out my notes for it and I'm gearing up to finally, after so many years, run these adventures to the best of my ability.

    As I was converting them, I noticed that Monte has certain monsters that he likes to use in his high level stuff. He uses gray renders and hezrous. My first instinct was to swap them out, but when I realized that they were seemingly a Monte Cook trope, I decided that I should lean into them rather than throw them into the garbage. Up until now, I've always disregarded hezrous as to me, there's just too many frog-person monsters in D&D and it can get confusing.

    The Soul Anchor: For this session, the heroes needed to deal with the Soul Anchor - a magic ball of light that, if touched, allows you to retain your memories in the afterlife. Usually, in D&D, when you die, you are reborn as a planar entity with no memory of your former life.

    In addition, there is a beating heart in the Soul Anchor. That's the heart of the villain, Barzillai Thrune. The group learned in this session that they needed to get the heart, go to Barzillai in Hell, put the heart back in his body, and destroy him for good. If they don't do this, The land around their city will be possessed by his spirit and.. well, they're screwed.

    The heroes tore through the guardian of the soul anchor, which was a nemesis devil. They messed with the heart for a bit, and realized that it can't be destroyed. They recruited the witchfire (a sort of undead had-thing with cool art) to contact an infernal entity, who gave the group the info they needed.

    Barzillai is in Hell: Then they used their Melancholic Talisman to summon a devil worm that took them to Cania! The only way to get to Barzillai, who is suffering eternal torment, is to go through the 9 rooms of this tower. Each room is linked to a sin that Barzillai committed in life. So the group was about to learn all his weird, creepy secrets.

    I am not a fan of graphic torture in D&D, so I change it to jokey stuff. I know that's not for everyone, but that's how I roll. The group came upon a few chain devils "torturing" some of Barzillai's damned servants with unflattering sketches and caricatures. The heroes gave them their comeuppance.

    Stat Stuff: I'm doing a bit of an experiment in this place. I am basically throwing every type of devil from the Monster Manual at the group, and seeing how it works out. According to kobold fight club, these two chain devils should have been a medium challenge, but they really weren't.

    The group has a metric ton of magic items, and that has definitely affected their power level to a degree. Right now, they own a white robe of the archmage, but none of them can wear it. They've been trying to "dye it grey", which is a funny idea but hey, even I am not that lenient. It is a funny idea. I suppose they should visit the slaad lord Renbuu if they really want to change its color.

    The Portals: This place doesn't have normal doors. Each floor has about three portals that lead to some of the 9 rooms. Each portal is linked to a sin. In order to use a portal, one hero must experience a misdeed of Barzillai's and lessen his burden. Barzillai has a thing for his own sister, so it's a little weird. I definitely softened some of these, again, to make them more jokey.

    The heroes came to a room where a nereid was being held prisoner because she greatly resembled Barzillai's sister. Mephistopheles was using her to taunt Barzillai.

    In here is an awesome magic item - a harp that, when you play the Song of Silver on it, casts both haste and heal. Pretty sweet!

    That's where we stopped. I'm not too sure how many sessions we have left. Three? Something like that. I'm digging in to all my old Monte Cook stuff now to get that all ready to go!

    This campaign has been good. It's definitely one of the best campaign/adventure path products ever made, in my opinion. I'm not really thrilled at all with my performance in running it, honestly. I did the best I could.
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