Arkham Friday: The Sunken City of Moil

The sunken city of Moil is a dread chain of islands located in the bleak seas of the Shadowfell. The city harbors the tormented souls of all those lost at sea, as well as the inhuman and alien minds of fallen aquatic creatures from ages past. The waters around this group of small islands are clouded black by an unending stream of filth, liquified bodies and decaying matter. For miles around the air is thick with the stench of rot.

Heroes brave enough to face these perils, or fools stupid enough to venture here, face one of the most revolting locations in the multiverse, surrounded by a freezing cold, unending sea of diseased, putrid water.

Terrain Power: Rope Bridge

Here's a little tweak to the ol' swinging rope bridge. The rope bridge is detailed well in the Dungeon Master's Guide 2, however the original printing fails to add mechanics for when PC's (wisely) cut the ends of the rope to drop the bridge completely.

NPC Ally: Terwin Azaer

Terwin Azaer is an NPC from the NPC-filled H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth. In the adventure, Terwyn has a bit of a lycanthropy problem, in that he turns into a werewolf. The PCs are given a quest to help him out and break his curse. When I ran this, Terwyn needed to acompany the PCs on their quest. It makes a lot of sense, I think, to have him there. Not only should he know the way to the curse-breaking location (it is the same spot where he got cursed to begin with), but having him present for the curse to be broken just feels right. With this in mind, I wanted Terwyn to be dangerous and a burden on the group. In media outside of D&D, the audience is often shown that travelling with cursed companions, whether they are werewolves or what have you, is dangerous. To reflect this idea, I have Terwyn turn into his werewolf form when he is dropped. In play, the group will be faced with the decision to either take a hit for the NPC, or let him change into a new (elite) combatant. This isn't much of a choice at all, since it will always be worth it to take this hit. What it does do, however, is esure that at least one PC is always adjacent to him and always soaking up his hits via Guarded by Heroes. By the end of this short quest, the PCs will be very excited to see his lycanthropic curse dispelled away.

Arkham Friday: Lost Io'vanthor

This Arkham Friday is inspired by the (now old) Dragon article about the lost city of the Dragonborn, Io'vanthor. Reading that article back in Two Thousand Aught Eight, I was inspired by the descriptions contained within. However, I always felt that the mechanics were lacking. It was no fault of the author, whom I'm sure wouldn't have been allowed to create something more substantial due to page count limitations. But there was this disconnect, as often there is, between the fiery imagination of the Dungeon Master who reads all these great descriptions from published adventures and DDi articles, and the player who only experiences snippets of that majestic world. It's a puzzle of the entire hobby. How to get the players to feel like they're experiencing this wondreful world that you have in mind, yet at the same time avoiding turning the game into "Storytime with Uncle Dungeon Master".

But, I digress.

Here are the unveiled horrors of the devastated Arkhosian city, left bare and rotting for your enjoyment.

Terrain Power: Transdimensional Breach

These three terrain powers are good for use when dealing with the fragile barriers between worlds. Use these whenever your group of adventurers are messing around with a wizard's tower, or an area with a connection to elemental energies or the Elemental Chaos itself.

The first two of these terrain powers are good in that they provide an easy way to add teleportation into an encounter. I like teleportation, because it can throw everyone for a loop and keeps the combatants moving around the field. This added action focuses the players at the table as to what's going on, because they must constantly re-evaluate what their character's strategy will be with every combatant getting moved around so much.

The last terrain power is pretty nice, too, because it adds a quick and easy way of throwing in extra damage. I like adding extra damage to an enconter, on both sides of the screen, to help speed things up a bit and add some swinginess to the fight. Especially at those higher levels, you can sometimes use a little bit of extra oomph to get things moving faster.

NPC Ally: Sir Nethatar

Sir Nethatar was my attempt to add an endearing, honorable Dragonborn ally to my home campiagn filled with evil, greedy Arkhosians. The PCs still never quite trusted him, even when he nobly sacrificed his own life for the greater good. Sir Nethatar would work in your own home game as any kind of knight or noble paladin ally.








Sir Nethatar
NPC Ally (Level 6)
This honorable knight of Arkhosia has chosen to pursue the righteous path and protect his people.

HP 1; a missed attack never damages Nethatar.
Armor Class 20; Fortitude 16, Reflex 14, Will 16

Guarded By Heroes + At-Will
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: Nethatar is hit by an attack and you are adjacent to him.
Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.

Hustle It! + At-Will
Minor Action ; Personal
Effect: You command Nethatar to take a move action (Speed 5).

m Longsword + At-Will
Standard Action or Opportunity Action; Melee 1
+11 vs. AC; 1d8+5 damage.
Noble Sacrifice + At-Will
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: You are targetted by an attack and Nethatar is adjacent to you.
Effect: Nethatar is targetted by the attack instead.

Arkham Friday: Mountainous Wilderness

The hills are filled with deadly rock slides, opportunistic scavengers, and crazed hillbillys. The area also contains helpful old prespectors, hedge wizards, and archeologists. Merchant caravans can be assaulted, and saved, along the roadside. Dangerous animals scratch out a living on the hard rock.

This is the mountainous wilderness. If your group of D&D adventurers are true heroes, the typical mundane hazards (that are not intended to be part of the greater story and plot) are trivial. It doesn't make sense to run an encounter of attacking mountain lions when the heroes are accustomed to slaying hideous Far Realm aberrations, dragons, and god-like beings. Instead, spice up your adventures and wilderness exploration with the following chart:

NPC Ally: Almera

Here is an NPC Ally I've used in the past. It's not terribly creative, but her power gives the PCs a little push to be more aggressive. Fortune favors the bold and all that.

In the campaign I was running, the majority of the world was under the oppressive thumb of a reborn Arkhosian Empire. Elves, for the most part, took up an isolationist stance and retreated to their far away, forested homes to live a life of peace, seclusion, and understanding of nature. There were some amongst the Elves, however, who saw the injustices of The Empire and rose up to help their Human, Dwarf, etc. brethren. Almera was one such Elf, a rebel full of passion and fury.


Almera
NPC Ally (Level 4)
A proud leader of the Elven people, Almera’s aggressive style of fighting and guerilla tactics have killed countless Arkhosian soldiers. Now, in your hour of need, she comes to your aid.

HP 1; a missed attack never damages Almera.
Armor Class 18; Fortitude 16, Reflex 18, Will 16

Guarded By Heroes + At-Will
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: Almera is hit by an attack and you are adjacent to her.
Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.

Hustle It! + At-Will
Minor Action
Effect: You command Almera to take a move action (Speed 7).

Elven Blade + At-Will
Standard Action  or Opportunity Action
Melee 1
Target: One creature
Attack: +9 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8+4 damage.

Belligerent Assault + At-Will
Minor Action
Personal
Requirement: You must be able to see and hear Almera.
Effect: Gain a +2 power bonus to Speed and damage rolls, and a -1 penalty to all defenses until the end of your next turn.

Animal Companion: Tiger

Animal companions and hirelings are both areas which I feel the current 4E ruleset is handling poorly. In the case of hirelings, it's almost nonexistent. Animal companions do see some support in the form of the Beast Master Ranger (Martial Power) and the new Essentials Druid. However, that’s still a pretty limited area and one where I have seen players struggle against in the pursuit of their perfect vision of their character.

Since my NPC Ally rules have been working so well for hirelings, I reasoned that they should work equally well for animal companions. Thus, here is a Tiger that any PC can use as a pet.

Arham Friday: The Docks & River

These random events are great for a stroll down to the seedy parts of a generic medieval fantasy town, such as Fallcrest. There's quite a bit of money to be made here, by finding lost cargo crates, and a good amount of friends to be found as well. Also, you might get yourself a small boat; what fun!

The thing enjoyed the most out of writing this Random Event table was the way I converted gaining items in Arkham Horror to a D&D equivalent. You'll see this by the events that have the line "gain 1 consumable magic item of your level or less". I feel like I can hand out consumable magic items (potions, etc.) pretty willy-nilly and not upset the balance of play in he game much, but will still provide a lot of flavor and interesting options for the players.

Comic Relief: Goblin Pickpocket

As much as I love running Player Characters through meat grinder dungeons of inevitable death, sometimes a little whimsy and humor is appropriate at the table. These breaks in the tension help highlight that tension and stressed environment. If your adventurers are constantly beset by punishing encounter after punishing encounter, they'll grow desensitized to it. That path leads to the worst thing you can do in the D&D game: be boring. I heartily advocate a little mood lightening every once in awhile. It keeps things fresh and fun. The following Goblin Pickpocket does just that, and also helps kick the players' mindsets out of the tactical and into the roleplaying. These Goblins aren't really out to hurt you, they're just poor and pathetic and want a few of your coins.

With that in mind, I created this little bugger to harass the PCs. I typically place a handful of these guys with one or two standard monsters in an enounter, although having an all-pickpocket encounter, complete with banana peels to slip on (and fall prone), cream pies to throw, and other slapstick antics would be really cool. I usually describe the goblins in my campaign as funny in some way. They talk funny, they have silly outfits, they beg for mercy when defeated. Just think about Splug, from Keep on the Shadowfell. Hilarious!

Terrain Power: Carpetting

Rugs and tapestries are ubiquitous in fantasy themes, D&D in particular. The following two terrain powers can be used in a very wide variety of scenarios and adventures. For heroic tier I think they're fine, but always remember that when you bring your group into the next tier of play, you have to find a way to "up the ante" on things. You might be able to get away with just, I don't know, really big rug, but in general it's not a good idea. Your players will get thrown out of their immersion when they see the same boring challenges and items (terrain powers , monsters, etc.) just with higher numeric values.

For the Paragon tapestry, I would suggest describing it as a silken filament of web from Shelob's Lair that  restrains the target. For Epic, it can be the structure to a Far Realm portal, removing the target from the encounter.


c Pull the Rug Out
Single Use Terrain (Level 4)
You grab the hem of the carpet and yank it up hard.
Single Use
Minor Action ; Melee touch
Check: Strength DC 10
Effect: You pull the carpet up and over anyone standing on it. Each creature standing on the rug is knocked prone.

c Hanging Tapestry
Single Use Terrain (Level 2)
You pull down the ornate tapestry from the wall and cover your enemy.
Single Use
Minor Action ; Close blast 2
Check: Strenth DC 9
Attack: +5 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target is blinded and slowed until escape (Escape DC 9).

c Wall Webbing
Single Use Terrain (Level 12)
You pull down the silken webbing clinging to the walls.
Single Use
Minor Action ; Close blast 3
Check: Strenth DC 14
Attack: +15 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target is restrained until escape (Escape DC 14).

c Far Realm Filament
Single Use Terrain (Level 22)
You pull down the ornate portal archway creating a gate to the realms of madness.
Single Use
Minor Action ; Close blast 5
Check: Strenth DC 20
Attack: +25 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target is removed from play (save ends). When the target saves out of this condition, it reappears in the closest unoccupied space to where it originally disappeared from.

Arkham Friday: The Tavern

Expanding a bit from the terror-inducing vistas of The Abyss and The Shadowfell, I wanted to take some inspiration from Arkham Horror and apply it to a D&D locale so common that it has become cliche: The Tavern.

The tavern random events are much more tame and forgiving compared to the other Arkham Horror tables. It's a place of rest after a hard day's work plundering forgotten tombs, a safe haven; and so I've skewed the table to have less dire consequences, and more positive outcomes as a whole.

Still, I think this is a fun way to throw some quirky, non-combat fun at your adventurers. My suggestion would be to throw in a single random event every time the PCs bed down for the night at a common tavern or inn. Like all of the Arkham Horror tables, the events described here can sometimes be a little sparse in the details. That's where the individual Dungeon Master must step in and make it their own, providing the details that are specific to your imagined world.

Terrain Power: Dragon Bones

These terrain powers always reminded me of visits to the Natural History Museum when I was a kid. I remember these gigantic displays of dinosaur skeletons that were set up in the main hall. The T-Rex's mouth bound open, ready to snap. It helped spur my imagination as a child, and the memories help today.

Although there are dinosaur analogues in D&D, called behemoths, I felt that dragons were more appropriate. In fact, I'm a firm believer in stuffing as many dragons into your game as you can. The encounter I used these in had the dessicated bones of the Arkhosian Emperor's ancestors hanging on display in the tyrant's throne room, hanging from the ceiling, ready to drop.

a Dragon Skull
Single Use Terrain (Level 9)
The hanging, jagged dragon skull comes crashing down on anyone caught beneath it.
Single Use
Free Action; Area burst 2
Trigger: The chains holding the dragon skull take damage (AC 20; Fortitude 14, Reflex 5)
Target: Each creature in burst.
Attack: +13 vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d6+15 damage, and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.

a Dragon Ribcage
Single Use Terrain (Level 9)
The hanging, skeletal torso comes crashing down, trapping anyone caught beneath it.
Single Use
Free Action; Area burst 1
Trigger: The chains holding the dragon ribcage take damage (AC 20; Fortitude 14, Reflex 5)
Target: Each creature in burst.
Attack: +13 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d10+7 damage, and the target is restrained.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: If the ribcage takes further damage, all creatures caught in it are no longer restrained.

Terrain Power: Floating Castle, Part 2

Continuing in the redux of Remains of Empire, here are some terrain powers that I've used with great success in the finale encounter with the adventure's villain, Bozidar. In it, the PCs confront the final enemy in the ruined throne room of the shattered, floating castle. The magic spells holding the castle aloft have been greatly weakened, and as such, being of sufficient skill can warp the spells. The Dungeon Master should go out of his way to show off these terrain powers to the players, by having Bozidar use them frequently and by having a lareg font printout of the terrain powers laid out on the gaming table.

This is a tricky encounter to pull off. It requires the participants to all think in three dimensions, and envision this room rotating about. While there are many enterprising ways of representing a three dimensional encounter, those of use without the patience or arts & crafts skills will have to get creative. When I ran this encounter, I used a small marker, a business card with a large arrow printed on it, to indicate which surface of the room was down. I then had extra tiles, the long 2x8's, placed down beside the floors to represent characters on the "walls". Relative to the real world table (and its real world physical constraints), all of the minis moved while the Dungeon Tiles stayed stationary.

Rotating Room
At-will Terrain Power (Level 6)
At-will
Move Action; Personal
Check: Arcana  DC 23 [Hard]
Effect: The room rotates 90 degrees in any single axis. Each creature standing on the current floor of the throne room must make an Athletics DC 15 [Moderate] check to hold onto the a peice of the wall or other stable object and dangle from the new ceiling. While holding onto the wall in this way, the creature grants combat advantage to all attackers. A creature may also make a DC 23 [Hard] Acrobatics check to land safely on the new floor. Otherwise, the creatures are knocked prone and thrown onto the floor, taking falling damage as appropriate.

Features of the Area
Stained Glass Windows: A creature that is knocked into the window when the room is rotated shatters the glass and must make a saving throw. On a failure, the creature falls 90 ft. down to a floating peice of shattered castle outside, taking falling damage as appropriate. On a success, the creature is prone, hanging onto the window edge.

Arkham Friday - The Great Library of Vor Kragal

The tiefling empire once spanned thousands of miles and served as a testament to the power of its devil-bound overlords. The tainted masters of countless empires ruled from Vor Kragal, their seat of power. Vor Kragal pulsed with the terrifying might to break the souls of kings, and its markets flowed with the treasures of a hundred worlds. The secrets of life everlasting and the power to touch the face of the gods were all as commonplace to the tieflings of old as irrigating crops or erecting a simple stone wall is to those living in our current age. Precious few peices of their once-great libraries exist, tempting foolish adventurers of the current age. Such knowledge that is contained within; for even a glimpse of it, a person might trade his soul. Now, though, the ruins of Vor Kragal are merely an ashen landscape, riddled with volcanic eruptions and earth-rending sinkholes that unknown terrors call home.

Mining Cart Chase Scene

This picture from a product sold here.

Continued fom Part 1, here is the second half to creating an awesome mining cart chase scene. Now that we have the basic building blocks of the encounter down, we need to spice things up a bit and add in some elements to the encounter that force the players to change up their tactics round to round. It keeps them thinking and rewards (presumably) good choices. That is what keeps them engaged with the game and hnging on the edge of their seats.

For a typical N+0 Mining Cart Chase encounter, I like to break the action up into 5 distinct parts. The first four parts last precisely 1 round each, representing different areas and obstacles that the mining carts and their occupants traverse through. The last part is the end destination. This is a more standard area where all of the occupants are dropped off to finish the fight, and any occupants of destroyed carts can meet up in.

For this example, and what I wrote this for, is taken from the Demon Prince of Undeath Conversion of H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth. It replaces the chase scene through the ruined Dwarven fortress on foot with a chase scene of enemies racing against the PCs via mining carts that crisscross through vast underground caverns and the crumbling remains of a long-abandoned Dwarven outpost buried deep in the earth. In this encounter, there were both enemies in mining carts chasing after the PCs, as well as a Shadow Dragon racing after them.

This encounter features three (3) seperate tracks that the PCs must choose to go down in. Typically, players will split up their PCs into at least two different carts going down in different tracks. And really, that's he way to do it. It's pretty exciting to have a two-front battle like that unfold. Eventually, the players start getting wise to the system here, and will switch tracks so as to get all of their enemies on the middle track and then they have a cart on each of the outer tracks. It's not technically "flanking", but it does a great job of hitting the middle guys pretty hard.

This encounter really starts when it clicks for the PCs to start racing down the mining cart tracks. At that poin, describe in general terms what is down each track. In this case, there are tracks leading through the upper towers of the Dwarven fortress, there aretracks leading right through the center of the fortress, and there are tracks running through the deep underground parts of the citadel. It is assumed that the tracks crisscross and come back together enough so as to make the premise of the tracks being seperated by only a square (as described in Part 1) still plausible.

Each track then has different obstacles handed to it each round, small changes and checks that make shake up the battle. These effects, and any related skill checks or attacks, are done at the beginning of every combat round as free actions.

Vehicle: Mining Cart

The vehicles in Adventurer's Vault are a nice step in the right direction, and provide a starting example of how to slap some vehicular mayhem into your game. However, I think that vehicles are underused and underappreciated. Here's the first part of how to do a good mining cart chase scene, just like in Indiana Jones and teh Temple of Doom.



Step 1: Draw a combat map of 2-square-wide mining cart tracks, seperated by 1 square in between.

Step 2: Hand your PCs a couple of mining carts.

Step 3: Profit.

When running encounters with these vehicles, it's critical to keep things in relative motion and distance from each other. The base assumption is that all of the carts and their occupants are flying down the tracks at high speed. The important part, and the only part you need to map out, is where they are relative to each other. In this sense, upcoming hazards at the tracks are more coming at the carts, rather than the carts speeding towards the hazards. This isn't any new advice here or anything, the chase scene idea done this way is pretty old, but I thought I would be remiss if I didn't mention it.

Arkham Friday: Gloomwrought

GLOOMWROUGHT, DEMENSE OF MAD SORCERERS – Random Event Table (d20)

One of the brightest lights in the gloom of the Shadowfell, Gloomwrought is a large walled port city on the shores of the Stormy Seas. Surrounded by a perilous bog called the Skins, most travelers enter the city by way of dark one ferrymen who navigate the Skins, by magical portal, or by ship.

Prince Roland the Deathless is lord of the city, but real power is in the bony, decrepit hands of the mysterious custodians of the city known as the Keepers, a cabal of powerful necromancers whom have discarded their bodies to pursue of an unnatural afterlife of willful undeath.

Terrain Power: Karalel's End

Here are the terrain powers I've used for the finale encounter of Keep on the Shadowfell. I feel like they add a little bit of spice where it is sorely needed. As written, the final encounter, the climax of the adventure, is fairly stale. Not completely, I love the grasping claws of the shadowrift gate. That's definitely cool.

Where do I start? At the beginning. The first thing the players face is the blood-slick chains descending into the dark recesses where Karalel is chanting his ritual. The adventure uses the elevation change as an obstacle where it could be used as a creative decision point. I decided that the chains aren't just there for shwo, and hoity-toity Karalel isn't going to climb up and down them everytime he needs to leave the keep. Instead, there is a rusty, battered lift system attached to the chains. Players now get to decide: should they take the fast and dangerous route by sliding/climbing down the chains, or should they take the slow and safe route via the elevator? For my campaign, one of the PCs was a Tiefling hunting for relics of his people's bygone past. Hence, I decided to describe the architectural style and engravings of the lowest leevls of the keep and this elevator in the vein of Bael Turath. I wholehearted suggest you do this with the entirety of the keep. Split the layers it up into epochs that have signifigance to your players or to your campaign. Let the PCs explore the keep and peel back the veils of history.

Terrain Power: Floating Castle, Part 1

Awhile back, I posted that I'd be revamping the DDi adventure Remains of Empire with some extra features and try to bring out its sweet nectar of good storytelling from the cancer-riddled corpse of bad mechanics.

To start with, let's add some fun tricks. Here is a series of miscellaneous terrain powers that I used for my go at Remains of Empire. I sprinkled them throughout the encounters that take place once the PCs start hunting down the villain and his drake cavalry in their floating castle lair. I'm using these terrain powers to help tell the story of the collapsed tower, how it is nothing more than a ruin of its former glory.

This first terrain power is really fun in play, and literally shifts the battlefield around. In a highly lucky encounter with a lot of 20's, you start with a straight-up fight and end up with a game of island-hopping as the melee Strikers/Lurkers/Skirmishes try to outflank the Defenders/Soldiers on their way to the ranged combatants. This could also be reflavored for fighting on a floating island of garbage in the sea, breaking apart as the encounter progressed, an iceberg breaking apart in the arctic waters, or a bit of solid rock on a bubbling flow of lava.

Also, here are  a few terrain powers that can be used almost anywhere in the second half of the adventure. They're good all-purpose kind of terrain powers, in that they provide that all-important boost to damage or good tactical choice when all encounter and daily attacks have been exhausted. I've opted for a minor action attack here, which I think should be used more ften than it is. When you ask a player to sacrifice a Standard Action for a terrain power, you're really asking them to give up one of their class attacks. Class-based attacks are comfortable, familiar, and help define the character.  If you want your terrain to be used, either make the actions into Minor, or make the effects really spectacular.


Collapsing Castle
At-Will Terrain (Any Level)
The power of the Arkhosian rituals are being weakened. The flying castle is ripping apart and destroying itself, the strength of the ancient spells no longer capable of holding it together.
At-will
Free Action; Personal
Trigger: A creature rolls a critical hit
Effect: A crack forms in the ground, moving a section of the castle by 1 square. A gap between sections of the castle now exists.

Floating Debris
At-will Terrain Power (Level 3)
You jump up and kick a floating piece of rock, sending it hurtling towards your enemies.
At-will
Minor Action; Ranged 5
Attack: +8 vs. AC
Hit: 1d6+5 damage and the target is pushed 1 square.

Gravity Well
At-will Terrain (Level 3)
The ancient Dragonborn ritual has left pockets of transmuted gravity in teh wake of the castle's destruction. These can trap absent-minded explorers in a spiralling vortex.
At-will
No Action; Area of gravity well
Trigger: A creature starts their turn in the area of the gravity well.
Effect: The triggering creature is restrained until escape (DC 21).

Oil Cauldron in Gravity Well
Single Terrain (Level 3)
A globule of flammable pitch has been caught in this gravity well.
Single Use Terrain Power
No Action; Area of gravity well
Trigger 1: An area or close attack with the fire or lightning keywords touches the gravity well area.
Trigger 2: A character lights the gravity well area on fire with a torch or other source of flames.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, creatures starting their turn in the gravity well take 2d6+9 fire damage.
 

Arkham Friday: Time Travel

The first post of the series can be found here.

The next installemnt in my Arkham Friday series is Time Travel. Use this chart when your PCs are haplessly manipulating the strands of fate, or when they're thrown into a temporal vortex! Epic adventurers can be made worthy of their title by the kinds of craziness found in these random encounter tables. The table itself has a mix of good and bad, although like any other Arkham Horror inspired item, it's going to be more bad than good.

This is definitely a table I am excited about and am actively looking for ways of using in my home games. And certainly, it fits the theme of this blog. Is not time travel truly an action the rules do not cover?

NPC Ally: Douven Stahl

Part of the story here is that I am running H1 and H2 for a group of players right now. We started in the Spring of 2010, almost 2 years after Keep on the Shadowfell was released. I really enjoy the adventure this time around, even though I've technically run this adventur before. I'm using a ton of terrain powers, almost every encounter has some. Also, I've added NPC Allies and interesting magic items and MM3 monster design to everything. There are vehicles and mounts, and Karalel has a better name and steals your beating heart. I've incorporated the countless reviews and tidbits of advice on the internet that have been floating around since March '08, and the story is just coming together beautifully.

Douven Stahl
NPC Ally (Level 1)
A renowned archeologist from Fallcrest, Douven is a professor of Turathian literature who, according to his students, is "the one you hope you don't get". He is often heard shouting out "This is intolerable!" when frustrated. A driven man, Douven seeks out forgotten relics and texts from the past, risking his life in the pursuit of knowledge by going to strange and dangerous locations. Stahl speaks little of his family. His wife, Anna, died from scarlet fever many years ago, and the loss pains him still.

HP 1; a missed attack never damages Douven.
Armor Class 14; Fortitude 11, Reflex 13, Will 14

Guarded By Heroes + At-Will
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: Douven is hit by an attack and you are adjacent to him.
Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.

Hustle It! + At-Will
Minor Action
You command Douven to take a move action (Speed 5).

Linguist
Property
Douven knows the following languages, in addition to Common:
Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin.

Expert Advice
Property
All allies who can see and hear Douven gain a +1 power bonus to Arcana and History checks.

Magic Items: Anglechel

Anglechel, The Flaming Iron Star
Magic Item (heavy blade)
According to The Silmarillion, it was one of two swords forged by Eöl the Dark Elf out of a black iron meteorite. The sword was carried by Túrin, who had it reforged as Gurthang. It was said to have a will of its own, and to have spoken to Túrin when he used it to take his own life. There is malice in this sword. The dark heart of the smith still dwells in it. It will not love the hand it serves, neither will it abide with you long.

Property: When you use Anglachel to make an attack and score a critical hit, roll one additional die of bonus damage.

Property: When you use Anglachel to make an attack and roll a natural 1, you are hit by the attack instead of your target, and the attack is a critical hit.

Power, as a flaming weapon (PHB p. 234)

Arkham Friday: The Abyss

Welcome to the start of a new series here at DMG p.42, called Arkham Friday.

Each Friday for the nex few weeks, I'll be taking an element from Fantasy Flight Games' Arkham Horror and applying it to D&D 4E. One of the ways in which games evolve and grow is by seeing what other  games in other platforms have done well, and taking ideas from that. Thus, I'd like to examine what Arkham Horror has done well, and see if that can't be used to add new depth, immersion, or excitement into the D&D game.

Arkham Horror is a cooperative board game based on the Cthulhu Mythos in which 1920's era investogators gather weapons and clues, and travel to unimaginable alien vistas to defeat the mind-numbing horrors from beyond before the world is torn asunder. I highly recommend it if you've never given it a try. It's a great way to break up your gaming schedule a bit; and since it's entirely cooperative, it allows your group's usual Dungeon Master a chance to rub elbows with the rest of the table.

One of the hallmark's of this game is it's excessive deadliness. Since you're not playing against the other people at the table, the game's challenge comes from it's sheer difficulty. Many times, you will have a series of misfotunes happen to an investigator in succession. Often, they will be progressively worse; for example, your investigator can easily have to make an impossible skill check, become cursed, fight a hideous monster for absolutley no benefit other than to not die, become corrupted, gain a greivous injury, inexplicably lose the majority of their sanity, develop a major psychosis (madness), become lost in time and space, and then, finally, devoured. All in the span of 1 turn. For this reason, Arkham Horror is a "must buy" item for any FourthCore Dungeon Masters. If you like what you see in these Arkham Friday posts, be sure to check out Sersa V's excellent blog, Save Versus Death. The brutality of his world will make your players weep.

This first Arkham post is a random encounter table. Bear with me, as this is not your usual means of banality in rolling for a random monsters. This is a random encounter list of things that happens whilst your player characters explore the unrelenting horrors of The Abyss. A lot of hot air is given out when trying to advise Dungeon Masters on how to handle and describe Epic tier encounters. "Turn it to 11" and other cliches abound from the experts, but hard and fast rules are few and far between. There is precious little mechanical support to get across the feel of a higher tier adventure. You can increase all the math to match the level of the party, and you can call "gold coins" by "astral diamonds"; but it's still the same feeling to everything. I suggest, when your PC's visit a truly horrific location (as is their wont in the higher Tiers), have each of them roll a d20 and consult the chart below for the effects. You can have them do this once upon arrival, or everytime they venture through the wilds of this alien landscape, or as much as between every encounter. That depends on exactly how FourthCore you really are. Don't let some of the seemingly harsh penalties here dissuade you. If you're rolling in Epic tier, the PC's should be able to easily shrug off anything, including arbitrary character death at the expense of a single botched die roll. I'd also implement the rule that if an effect forces your character to lose a Healing Surge and you are at 0 Healing Surges, the character simply dies. Other have slightly saucier dispositions.

Terrain Power: Spinning Log

This is a fun terrain power I came up with. Originally, I designed it for a bridge crossing a cavernous lair of a beholder. The beholder's minions would then jump out and attempt to spin the PCs to their doom. Hijinks ensue. After playing with it, the terrain power seemed perfect for representing some logrolling, like a hillbilly.

m Log in the River At-Will Terrain (Level 5)
This water-bound log slips and spins around in the river. You can speed it up or slow it down to spin your enemies off, or stabilize yourself from doing the same.
At-Will
Minor Action Personal
Check: Endurance or Athletics DC 22
Effect: The log moves up or down one speed category. The log cannot move faster than fast, nor slower than stopped. All creatures starting their turn on the log must make an Acrobatics check (based on the speed category) or else fall prone. A creature that is already prone and that fails the check is knocked off of the log.
+ Stopped: Acrobatics DC 0
+ Slow: Acrobatics DC 10
+ Fast: Acrobatics DC 15

Terrain Powers: Barrels of Fun

Here is a quick and easy pair of terrain powers for use anywhere in an adventure that has barrels.

a Thrown Barrel Single Use Terrain (Level 4)
You lift a barrel high over your head and lob it at your enemies.Single Use
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 5 squares
Attack: +5 vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6+8 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The barrel is wrecked and the area is filled with debris, creating difficult terrain.

r Rolling Barrel Single Use Terrain (Level 4)
You kick over a barrel and send it rolling at your enemy.
Single Use
Minor Action Ranged 10
Effect: The barrel rolls away in a straight line in the direction of your choosing and attacks the first target it hits within range. This attack does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Attack: +7 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8+4 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Effect: The barrel is destroyed in the square adjacent to the target, creating one square of difficult terrain that lasts until the end of the encounter.

Proudnail: Insubstantial

Insubstantial sucks! It's the worst crime that you can perpetrate on your players: tedium. As written, the insubstantial property on monsters halves all damage, except for very odd corner cases. What it is supposed to do it represent the ethereal qualities of ghosts and the like; in fact, making them harder to hit. What has ended up happening is that monsters with the insubstantial quality have gotten about half their normal hit points. Which is good on one hand, I'd hate to have to fight encounters with standard HP insubstantial monsters, it'd take forever! On the other hand, it's pretty bad. Insubstantial + Half HP = just one more layer of math for someone to have to deal with. Here's what I propose you replace the description of insubstantial with, and also bump up the creature's hit points to be in line with its typical role and level counterparts:

Insubstantial
All attackers must reroll every attack roll made against this creature and take the lower of the two values, except if the attack has the fire, force, psychic, or radiant keyword.

Bam, there you go. The martial characters and anyone without access to these keywords are going to have a more difficult time actually hitting the creature, but certainly will still be able to defeat them. Arcane and Divine characters will be able to fight insubstantial creatures with no problem. It's entirely possible that this house rule would totally screw up your game. You may have a party full of fighters, warlords and rogues. They may get obliterated by a few paltry wraiths. This is the risk that D&D heroes must take.

NPC Ally: Splug

Splug was a fantastic addition to Keep on the Shadowfell, although I think that far too many adventuring groups wrote off the little guy as just another annoying Goblin, there to kill and/or torture for information. They never realized his amazing roleplaying potential. I've seen Splug rise to be loved and cherished, welcomed as an old friend.

Please, give Splug a chance. Splug no hurt. Splug be good.

Splug NPC Ally (Level 2)
This weak and cowardly Gobin has developed a liking to you, and will follow your orders as long as you treat him well.

HP 1; a missed attack never damages Splug.
Armor Class 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 13, Will 11

Guarded By Heroes + At-Will

Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: Splug is hit by an attack and you are adjacent to him.
Effect: You are hit by the attack instead.

Hustle It! + At-Will

Minor Action
You command Splug to take a move action (Speed 6).

Shank + At-Will

Standard or Opportunity Action
Splug stabs an adjacent target with a crudely built, make-shift knife.
Attack: +7 vs. AC
Hit: 1d4+1 damage.

Splug Help

Property
All allies adjacent to Splug gain a +1 power bonus to Stealth and Thievery checks.

Remains of Empire

Remains of Empire was a 3rd Level DDi adventure put out about a year ago (or more?), authored by a Kolja Raven Liquette. It is a varied mix of good and bad, but like any good Dungeon Master, I was able to distill out the bad and take the good for my own uses. Really, I think that's the best one can really expect from most published adventures. The gist of it is that the heroes stumble into a village under attack by drakes, they fight off the drakes, chase them back to their lair, and defeat the mastermind villain.

So, what's so bad about it? Well, firstly, the author or editor or whomever is in charge here is having a hard time grasping the full extent of the 4E ruleset. They got some generalities down, and they know how to get from point A to point B, but they are clearly struggling with the ruleset. It's hindering their storytelling. My feeling is that the author originally wrote this for another system, likely 3rd Edition, and then tried to hastily port it over to 4E. Here are my three biggest peeves about this adventure:

1. The Alpine Peak
When the heroes are tracking backthe drakes to their lair, they have to cross a towering mountain peak.

The alpine peak rises steeply. It can be scaled only
with a climber’s kit (hooks, hammer, and pitons) and
rope, which the villagers will provide. The distance
to be climbed is 1,000 squares. The speed of ascent
equals the slowest character’s climb speed per minute
rather than per round. Total climbing times at various
speeds are shown on the table. The climb itself is
tiring and slow but not especially dangerous. Everyone
will reach the peak without mishap; the only
variable is how long it takes and whether the climbers
are ambushed, as noted below.

Climb Speed_Time Needed
4___________4 hrs, 10 mins
3.5_________4 hrs, 45 mins
3___________5 hrs, 30 mins
2.5_________6 hrs, 40 mins
2___________8 hrs, 20 mins

What function does tracking the speed up the mountain serve? What difference does an extra 4 hours make? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. These are needless numbers. At best, they take up room in the article and distract the reader. At worst, they eat up an hour of game time at the table as everyone tries to figure out what the group's climbing speed is, why it matters (it doesn't!), and should they make precautions to hurry it up. I like the idea of the mountain being the challenge. I like the idea of low-level characters having to face the bitter cold winds, icy goat paths, and crumbling stone of this thing. This could be a really good storytelling device, I imagine that in the author's home campaign is was really interesting, but here it's just algebra homework.

2. The Floating Debris
It turns out that the drakes' lair is in the ruins of a shattered, floating castle. The imagery is excellent (more on that later), but the mechanics are wonky. Here, the author implies for the Dungeon Master to map out the entire debris field, with random tables. I kid you not. Here's an example, cut out for brevity:

Elevation__Chunks per 3x3 Area_Size of Chunk
0–40 ft____3___________________1-2: Tiny (3–6 inches)
_______________________________3-4: Small (1–2 feet)
_______________________________5–6: Medium (3 feet)
40–80 ft___2___________________1–3: Tiny
_______________________________4–6: Small
80–120 ft__1___________________1–6: Tiny


And that's it as far as mechanics go for how this field of floating, shattered castle pieces are interacted with. To me, this implies that the author intended Dungeon Masters to map out every last Tiny size piece of rock, and then let PCs hop from one to the next, at increasingly higher elevations, like an Italian plumber. Do the drakes attack during this time? Are there any additional hazards? Are the players supposed to roll Athletics checks all afternoon and hope their character don't plummet 100ft to their deaths?

3. An Omission
The last big peeve of mine can't be demonstrated by what's there, but more by what's not there. There are no combat encounters, skill challenges, hazards (besides what I've already talked about) that have anything unique to do with the fact that the PCs are on a floating, shattered castle. All the combat and skill challenges and well, everything, takes place in a typical dungeon layout with typical dungeon type enemies. The theme here is serpent cultists of Zehir, but that's hardly unique. I'm paying money for this adventure. Not very much when you break it down, but this is a paid product. And I'm getting generic encounters that I could have whipped up on my own in about 5 minutes with the monster builder, or just the DDi compendium.

Redemption
But this adventure is also really great. The vividness of the fluff is awesome. If you haven't picked up on this yet, let me spell it out more clearly.

The adventure takes place in a floating castle that is also wrecked!!!

Huzzah! But the rules are really getting in the way here, or maybe the lack of rules to really capitalize on this cool idea. The author clearly knows what they're doing in terms of storytelling, but something junked up in the translation to DDi. The Calming the Drake skill challenge, wherein the PCs can gain a drake mount of their own, was fairly well done, but could be a lot better. I want it to be better, because I want these mechanics to be as cool and fun as the idea of the PCs riding through the skies on the back of a drake!
So maybe that's my greatest peeve here. The adventure isn't living up to its potential, and I feel like it should.

What I intend to do in some upcoming posts is try to apply my skills to this great kernel of an adventure and let it grow into something truly remarkable.

I hate this guy.

One of my regular D&D game sessions (alternate Tuesday nights) is coming to an end. Like most groups that dissolve, we have a key player that is going to have to drop out of gaming for an extended period of time due to life changes. It's sad, but the changes are a very positive development for him, so pretty happy at the same time.

With this in mind, I went out to the forums of the internets in search of a new gaming group to join up with soon. I'm getting a little burned out with DMing one and a half sessions per week, so I really wanted to sit back, relax, and be a player for a little while. During my search, heres a post I found on a popular site used to find RPG players and groups:

I'm looking for a first edition AD&D game that could use another player. It's been a while since I rolled dice in anger, and I am itching to get involved again. I could even DM if there's enough interest, but I'm a little rusty. Don't be too surprised if it takes a session or two for me to get back up to speed.

I fucking hate this guy. He embodies so many of the bad habits and poor attitudes that make me consider throwing out all my dice, books, and minis and forsaking this social hellhole of a hobby.

Let me break it down, point-by-point:

+ You're looking for a specific style of a specific genre of a specific niche of a relatively little-known hobby. AD&D 1st Edition? Are you fucking with me? Because there are only about, I don't know, 0.0001% of the people in the world who even know what the fuck that is.

+ Here's my biggest peeve, this is a guy posting to the world that he is ready to joing a group. Newsflash, asshole, the whole world was not waiting with baited breath for your stunning announcement that you would do humanity a favor, come out of your mother's basement, and roll some dice with us. Jesus Mary and fucking Joseph. This is a word of warning to all you D&D gamers out there: if you really want to play a game, but no one is running a game, RUN YOUR OWN FUCKING GAME.

+ He does say that he'd be willing to DM. This very passive statement isn't great, although it bears noting that this guy ins't a complete toolbag.

+ Oh yeah, a caveat: this guy sucks at the rules for the game he's insisting on playing!


D&D is a social game, and you need to bring something to the table each and every session. Find something you're good at, something that people enjoy. Being great at the rules, easy to get along with, providing extra snacks/sodas, telling funny yet appropriate jokes, being a good host, being the goddamn DM, buying minis, having extras dice and pencils, printing character sheets and helping the DM with printing, buying supplements books. You get the idea, there's a lot you can be good at. Pick one.

Also, be accomodating. Don't close off yourself to a particular system or game element or way of playing just because you're a little unfamiliar. Embrace the new, or in some cases, the retro.

Lastly, take the bull by the horns. In fact, in every aspect of your life, D&D especially, stop being such a passive observer and get in there and do something. Make it happen, don't wait for change to stumble into you. Have the attitude of a heroic adventurer instead of a fucking ponce.

Karax nee Karalel

You've betrayed Shiva and/or Orcus!

I am convinced that Karalel, the dreaded villain of 4E's debut Keep on the Shadowfell, is based off of Mola Ram of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The evidence is overwhelming.

Huzzah!

Sersa at Save vs. Death just went above and beyond his usual brand of mayhem and misery, giving the D&D world some really cool and creative encounters. Make your players think! This is exactly the kind of stuff I want to see more of in adventures.

Magic Item: Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor

The Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor               Magic Item
The signet ring worn by the dragonborn emperors for millennia. It is a symbol of power and a badge of office. The haunting echoes of the Arkhosian ancestors that ruled in times past make their presence felt to any who bears such a magnificent artifact.

The Five-Headed Vice + Property                                                                You must hoard one-quarter of all monetary wealth the party receives in your lair. Your lair can be any permanent, secure structure or hidden location of your choosing. If there is ever less than one-quarter of the party's monetary wealth stored in your lair, you lose the ability to use any encounter or daily attack powers granted by your class.

Additionally, you know the exact monetary value of any gems, jewelry, or art objects within your line of sight.

Draconic Fury + Property                                                                           
You deal an additional 1d12 damage on critical hits while bloodied.

Dragon’s Breath (fire) + At -Will                                                              Standard Action                                                Close blast 3
Target: Each creature in blast
Attack: Level + 3 vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d12 + Level fire damage.

Ancestral Wings + At -Will                                                                      
Move Action                                                        Personal
Effect: Fly up to 6 squares and grant combat advantage to all attackers until the end of your next turn.

Magic Items in D&D

I feel that magic items are another proud nail in the 4E design. Don't get me wrong, out of all the editions of D&D and all the RPGs that I've had the pleasure of playing, 4th Edition, as always, pulls through with one of the most useful, creative, and robust systems out there.

But it's just not quite where I want it. There are a few points to it that bug me and don't work the way I'd like them to, rules as written at least. I'm obviously not the first perosn to write about these things, so please don't go thinking I'm some sort of insightful genius into a realm that no one else has tread. although I do think that I have a pretty elegant solution.

For one, I really don't like what I call the "enhancement bonus arms race". By this, I mean the constant upgrading, buying, and selling of magi items to keep the PCs enhancement bonus, their gear's 'plus', in the right range for their level. Even dropping down to just the three basics: weapon/implement, neck, armor; the games I've run with this idea the magic items feel cheap and common. Really cool abilities and effects are tossed aside in favor of a bigger enhancement bonus. Opening up a treasure chest or looting the corpse of a powerful foe begins to take on the qualities of buying groceries at the store. The items get predictable, and the rate of getting the items is quick and consistant. Or if it's not, the players rightfully call foul.

So, I want to bring a sense of wonder, imagination, amusement, and wait for it, magic back into items. The first step was getting rid of enhancement bonuses in items, and using the inherent enhancement bonus as presented in the DMG2. I use slightly different levels for when PCs receive the bonus (X3rd and X7th), but that's really splitting hairs*. Using the inherent enhancement bonus means that, in theory, the PCs don't even need magic items. If placing a magic item in the story makes sense, I do it. If it doesnt, then I don't. I really feel like D&D and the RPG hobby in general is going this way, as we all get a much better grasp on the mechanics of game design and enjoy the benefits of this currently optional ruleset in our home games. It's built into Gamma World (in a sense), it'll be built into the next iteration of what the designers at WotC are doing right now. Just like when Star Wars Saga Edition debuted new mechanics (swift/minor actions, simplified conditions, 5 minute spell recharge, etc.) and they ended up prominantly in D&D 4E.

Whoa, I'm rambling. Back on track...

Secondly, I want all of my magic items to come with a great cost. In countless literary sources, a magic item has been a thing of dangerous power. The One Ring of Power in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a great example. In fact in the expanded literary works of Tolkien, there are many more examples of magic items that have caused both harm and good. The blade Anglachel is a good example, of which I will at one point post up my interpretation of. Not only that, but having great drawbacks in magic items forces yet another interesting decision point on the player. Do I bring this magic item with my character? Do the costs outwiegh the benefits? Some magic items may have minor drawbacks that only serve to add flavor to an encounter when they come up. Ah! The sword's curse bites you in the ass this fight! Others are a day-to-day event.

Lastly, and very importantly, the items need to have wicked cool powers. A cursed items is going to be dropped real quick unless you have some very tempting bait for the player making the decisions; either in the vein of more powerful effects (such as using a common magic item's effect from the next tier up), or something just bizarre and a little unpredictable. Think of the Deck of Many Things, and just tone it down a bit.

One house rule that I've been implementing in conjunction with these new magic items has been that PC's are not allowed access to the enchant magic item and disenchant magic item rituals, although I have allowed all of the players to try their hand at creating a starting magic item for their character. I'm not really sure how I want to handle this one. Magic item creation is definitely a part of D&D culture, as it were. Maybe I'll write more about this on another post.

This of course brings up something that's been on my mind lately: Essentials' magic item rarity. With the new common/uncommon/rare setup, it's entirely possibly that WotC has beaten me to the punch on this one. We'll see how it is when these rare's start cropping up in official WotC products, although after seeing a really bitchin' Tome in a recent Chaos Scar adventure, I'm very excited and optimistic.

With all this in mind, be prepared to see a new, updated model for the evocative Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor. I'll be posting that on this coming Tuesday, I believe.

* Why 3rd and 7th levels for the inherent enhancement bonus? I like to keep the PCs' attack and defense numbers at a smooth transition. When you get big jumps in the numbers, you end up with entire levels where the PCs' aer "behind the numbers curve" and/or ahead of it. I don't like that. Bad math makes bad encounters which ruins my medieval experience. So, having enhancement bonus bumps at even numbered levels doesn't work, since everyone's getting the "+1/2 level" boost. It's especially wonky at 4th and/or 8th when the PCs are getting a bump due to increased ability scores. Also, pushing the enhancement bonus increase to the edge of the Tier (at 9th) would put the PCs pretty far behind the curve for a lot of their adventuring careers. Thus, I've found 3rd and 7th levels to be pretty sweet spots for throwing in enhancement bonuses.

Terrain Power: Collapsing Column/House/Tower

Here's something I've used before to great effect. It is fun and full of destruction. I gaurantee that when you put one (or several) of these in an encounter, fun things happen. The basic premise is that the encounter features a tall structure with an unstable point near the base. A character comes up, pushes or hits the thing in just the right spot, and it comes crumbling down. At heroic, the effect is represented well with some ancient ruins (think of The Pantheon ruins in Greece); at Paragon Tier, a three-story house; at Epic Tier, your players are knocking over entire castle towers.

The mechanics were inspired by the wizard spell Wake of Fire from Class Acts: Wizard in Dragon 388. The gist of it is a three-stage collapse with the tower/house/column twisting in whatever way the character decides during its descent. You end up with a very cinematic effect. What more can I say, this one is really cool.

c Collapsing Column                                       Single Use Terrain (Level 5)
You find the weak spot in the structure of the ancient ruins and give it a good hit.Single Use
Standard Action                                                Close blast 2
Check: Dungeoneering DC 22
Target: Each creature in blast.
Attack: +10 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack
using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.
Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 2.                               
Secondary Attack: +10 vs. Armor Class                                                   
Hit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone.                            
Miss: Half damage.                                                                                       
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attack      
using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.     
Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 2.
Tertairy Attack: +10 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 2d8+10 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.


c Collapsing House                                   Single Use Terrain (Level 15)
You find the weak spot in the structure of the house and give it a good hit.Single Use
Standard Action                                             Close blast 3
Check: Dungeoneering DC 30
Target: Each creature in blast.
Attack: +20 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.
Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 3.                              
Secondary Attack: +20 vs. Armor Class                                                 
Hit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone.                       
Miss: Half damage.                                                                                    
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attack   
using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.  
Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 3.
Tertairy Attack: +20 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 2d12+21 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.


c Collapsing Tower                                 Single Use Terrain (Level 25)
You find the weak spot in the structure of the castle tower and give it a good hit.Single Use
Standard Action                                         Close blast 5
Check: Dungeoneering DC 38
Target: Each creature in blast.
Attack: +30 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a second attack using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.
Secondary Target: Each creature in a close blast 5.                        
Secondary Attack: +30 vs. Armor Class                                            
Hit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone.                     
Miss: Half damage.                                                                                
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain, and make a third attack
using any square along the edge of the blast as the origin square.
Tertiary Target: Each creature in a close blast 5.
Tertairy Attack: +30 vs. Armor Class
Hit: 4d8+30 damage and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: The zone becomes difficult terrain.

Heroic Tier Mounts (MM)

Following up on my previous post, here is my write-up of all of the Monster Manual mounts; which is to say, all the creatures in the MM that have a mount keyword. In the future, I'll be writing up additional mounts that either do not traditionally have a mount keyword, or that should have one. I wrote these up actually quite awhile ago, hence the older style stat block formatting.

I strongly recommend that if you're planning on using these mounts in your own game, that their stat blocks and additional rules be presented to your players early and in a clear way.
Not only have mounts had their usual shortcomings in terms of game mechanics, but their stats have also been traditionally hidden away in the Monster Manual; domain of teh dreaded Dungeon Master. Open these up for the players at your table, and get their imaginations going.

HEROIC TIER MOUNTS

========================

Warhorse Large Mount
Cost 380 gp
HP 29; Bloodied 14; see also out of control
AC 17; Fortitude 16, Reflex 14, Will 14
Speed 8
Ride (move; at-will)
The warhorse moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The warhorse turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the warhorse, or if the warhorse is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control. When the warhorse is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 3rd level or higher) + Mount
The warhorse grants its rider a +5 bonus to damage rolls on charge attacks

Giant Ant Large Mount
Cost 420 gp
HP 27; Bloodied 13; see also out of control
AC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 17, Will 14
Speed 9
Ride (move; at-will)
The giant ant moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The giant ant turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the giant ant, or if the giant ant is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the giant ant is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Skitter (while mounted by a friendly rider of 4th level or higher) + Mount
The giant ant shifts 2 squares instead of 1 square when it shifts.

Riding Dolphin Large Mount (aquatic)
Cost 550 gp
HP 40; Bloodied 20; see also out of control
AC 17; Fortitude 19, Reflex 17, Will 15
Speed swim 6
Ride (move; at-will)
The riding dolphin moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The riding dolphin turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the riding dolphin, or if the riding dolphin is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the riding dolphin is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Aquatic Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + Mount
The riding dolphin’s rider deals +1d10 damage on charge attacks. While in water, the rider also gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against creatures without a swim speed.

Rage Drake Large Mount
Cost 550 gp
HP 38; Bloodied 19; see also out of control
AC 17; Fortitude 17, Reflex 15, Will 15
Speed 8
Ride (move; at-will)
The rage drake moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The rage drake turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the rage drake, or if the rage drake is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the rage drake is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Raging Mount (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + Mount
The rage drake grants its rider a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls with melee attacks.

Dire Wolf Large Mount
Cost 550 gp
HP 33; Bloodied 16; see also out of control
AC 19; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 16
Speed 8
Ride (move; at-will)
The dire wolf moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The dire wolf turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the dire wolf, or if the dire wolf is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the dire wolf is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Pack Hunter (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + Mount
The dire wolf’s rider gains combat advantage against an enemy if it has at least one ally other than its mount adjacent to the target.

Pegasus Large Mount
Cost 550 gp
HP 32; Bloodied 16; see also out of control
AC 18; Fortitude 17, Reflex 15, Will 13
Speed 4, fly 10, overland flight 15
Ride (move; at-will)
The pegasus moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The pegasus turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the pegasus, or if the pegasus is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the pegasus is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Aerial Agility (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + Mount
While flying, a pegasus grants its rider a +1 bonus to all defenses.

Hippogriff Large Mount
Cost 550 gp
HP 33; Bloodied 16; see also out of control
AC 21; Fortitude 21, Reflex 19, Will 17
Speed 4, fly 6, overland flight 12
Ride (move; at-will)
The hippogriff moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The hippogriff turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the hippogriff, or if the hippogriff is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the hippogriff is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Sturdy Mount (while mounted by a friendly rider of 5th level or higher) + Mount
When the hippogriff is forced to move, it moves 1 less square than normal. When an attack would knock it or its rider prone, the hippogriff can roll an immediate saving throw to prevent it or its rider from falling prone.

Giant Riding Lizard Large Mount
Cost 1,000 gp
HP 45; Bloodied 22; see also out of control
AC 18; Fortitude 20, Reflex 18, Will 14
Speed 4, climb 4
Ride (move; at-will)
The giant riding lizard moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The giant riding lizard turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the giant riding lizard, or the giant riding lizard is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the giant riding lizard is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Combined Attack (while mounted by a friendly rider of 6th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the giant riding lizard’s rider makes a melee attack against an adjacent target and hits, the giant riding lizard can make a claw attack against the same target.
m Bite (standard; at-will)
+10 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage.

Dire Boar Large Mount
Cost 1,000 gp
HP 42; Bloodied 21; see also out of control
AC 17; Fortitude 21, Reflex 17, Will 16
Speed 8
Ride (move; at-will)
The dire boar moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The dire boar turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the dire boar, or the dire boar is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the dire boar is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Rabid Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 6th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the rider makes a charge attack, the dire boar makes a gore attack against the same target.
m Gore (standard; at-will)
+9 vs. AC; 1d10+4 damage, the target is pushed 2 squares and knocked prone.

Rhinoceros Large Mount
Cost 1,500 gp
HP 41; Bloodied 20; see also out of control
AC 23; Fortitude 23, Reflex 21, Will 18
Speed 6
Ride (move; at-will)
The rhinoceros moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The rhinoceros turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the rhinoceros, or if the rhinoceros is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the rhinoceros is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Crushing Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 7th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the rhino’s rider makes a charge attack, the rhinoceros can make a gore attack against the same target.
m Gore (standard; at-will)
+13 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage.

Griffon Large Mount
Cost 1,500 gp
HP 49; Bloodied 24; see also out of control
AC 18; Fortitude 19, Reflex 15, Will 14
Speed 6, fly 10, overland flight 15
Ride (move; at-will)
The griffon moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The griffon turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the griffon, or if the griffon is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the griffon is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Rabid Charger (while mounted by a friendly rider of 7th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the griffon’s rider makes a charge attack, the griffon can make two claw attacks against the same target.
m Claw (standard; at-will)
+10 vs. AC; 2d6+7 damage.

Riding Shark Large Mount (aquatic)
Cost 1,900 gp
HP 44; Bloodied 22; see also out of control
AC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 22, Will 17
Speed swim 11
Ride (move; at-will)
The riding shark moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The riding shark turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the riding shark, or if the riding shark is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the riding shark is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Deft Swimmer (while mounted by a friendly rider of 8th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
The riding shark’s rider gains a +2 bonus to Armor Class against opportunity attacks. While in water, the rider also gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls against creatures without a swim speed.

Elephant Huge Mount
Cost 1,900 gp
HP 55; Bloodied 27; see also out of control
AC 20; Fortitude 22, Reflex 15, Will 18
Speed 8
Ride (move; at-will)
The elephant moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The elephant turns up to 90 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the elephant, or if the elephant is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the elephant is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Trampling Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 8th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the elephant’s rider makes a charge attack, the elephant can make move through one Medium or smaller creature’s space and make a stamp attack against that creature.
m Stamp (standard; at-will)
+11 vs. AC; 2d8+5 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Blade Spider Large Mount
Cost 2,800 gp
HP 65; Bloodied 32; see also out of control
AC 22; Fortitude 21, Reflex 20, Will 18
Speed 6, climb 6 (spider climb)
Ride (move; at-will)
The blade spider moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The blade spider turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the blade spider, or if the blade spider is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.

When the blade spider is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Combined Attack (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
When the blade spider’s rider makes a melee attack, the blade spider makes a claw attack as a free action against the same target.
m Claw + Poison (standard; at-will)
+13 vs. AC; 1d8+5 damage, and the target takes ongoing 5 poison damage and is weakened (save ends both).

Celestial Charger Large Mount
Cost 2,800 gp
HP 55; Bloodied 27; see also out of control
AC 26; Fortitude 24, Reflex 22, Will 21
Saving Throws +5 against fear effects
Speed 8; see also zephyr footing
Ride (move; at-will)
The celestial charger moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will)
The celestial charger turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the celestial charger, or if the celestial charger is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.

When the celestial charger is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Zephyr Footing
The celestial charger ignores difficult terrain and can move across any solid or liquid surface.
Celestial Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
On charge attacks, a celestial charger’s rider deals +2d6 radiant damage and gains the radiant keyword.

Wyvern Large Mount
Cost 2,800 gp
HP 53; Bloodied 26; see also out of control
AC 24; Fortitude 24, Reflex 20, Will 19
Speed 4, fly 8 (hover)
Ride (move; at-will)
The wyvern moves up to its speed and remains In Control.
Turn About (move; at-will) .
The wyvern turns up to 180 degrees and remains In Control.
Out of Control
If there is no rider on the wyvern, or if the wyvern is bloodied, it becomes Out of Control.
When the wyvern is Out of Control, it turns around and moves its speed straight ahead, avoiding any dangerous terrain, until it is brought under control.
Aerial Agility (while mounted by a friendly rider of 10th level or higher; at-will) + Mount
While flying, a wyvern grants its rider a +2 bonus to all defenses.