Dungeon Magazine #178 - May 2010.pdf - Dungeon Magazine 155-221 [D&D 4] - m1988k

ISSUE 178 | May 2010

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

Contents

4 tyRant’soath

By Kolja Raven Liquette

“The Tyrant’s Oath” places the heroes between two

warlords struggling for dominance; a bandit queen

who has subjugated the local village and a yuan-ti

occultist that transforms the villagers into snake-

tongue minions. Who can the heroes trust in order

to save the inhabitants of Elkridge? A Dungeons &

Dragons adventure for 6th-level characters.

31 ChaossCaR:elvesofthevalley

By Robert J. Schwalb

“Elves of the Valley” pits the adventurers against

fey bandits corrupted by a demonic entity recently

escaped from the valley. A Dungeons & Dragons

adventure for 1st-level characters.

43 ChaossCaR: CRawlingfane

By Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel

A duergar heretic has taken up the worship of a

creature even worse than the usual duergar deities

and lost his mind in the process. A Dungeons &

Dragons adventure for 4th-level characters.

57 dungeondelve:

CoppeRnight’ssalvation

By Shawn Merwin

An unknown disaster has befallen a nearby mine,

and heroes are needed to find out what happened

and why. A Dungeons & Dragons delve for 1st-

level characters which expands on “Coppernight

Hold” from Dungeon Delve .

68 BaCkdRop: Chessenta

By Brian R. James

Chessenta is a land of feuding city-states vying for

the favor of ancient gods through blood sport and

conquest . . . yet its people have inquisitive minds

and an infectious zest for life.

94 eyeontheRealms

By Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood weaves another colorful

background tapestry for the land of Faerun.

78 exploRetaeRliandoResh,

paRt1

By Jeff LaSala

Before the Day of Mourning, tales were told of

a fey city that appeared f leetingly in Whitepine

Forest. Now there is a darker, malevolent presence.

3 editoRial

By Chris Youngs

Chris dons his DM’s hat to describe his favorite monsters

to run during adventures.

97 RulingskillChallenges

By Steve Winter

The series wraps up with a recap of the most common

mistakes we see in skill challenges.

84 loRdsofChaos: BalCoth

By Peter Schaefer

Balcoth, the Groaning King, is locked out of

the mortal world like all primordials. But he

is unlikely to remain so for long if his seething

arcane power succeeds in reuniting his head with

his body.

100 dungeonCRaft

By James Wyatt

James reports on the first sessions of his new Aquela

campaign!

90 BestiaRy:

monsteRsofmythology

By Bruce R. Cordell

The return of “Clash of the Titans” gives us the

perfect opportunity to revisit some of our favorite

monsters of legend.

ontheCoveR

Illustration by Raoul Vitale

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articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd

E D i T Or i A l

178

LOVE OF THE KILL

Dungeon

Ma y 2010

Editor-in-Chief Chris youngs

SeniorArtDirector

Jon Schindehette

WebSpecialist Steve Winter

This month’s editorial is brought to you by the month of

April. That is, i was in the process of writing it for April,

when Steve said that i should pair it with a Dragon edito-

rial, for ultimate top 10 listy goodness. Because, you see,

this editorial was … is going to feature the top monsters i

love to run as a DM. Steve’s idea was to also write the list

of monsters i love to fight for Dragon , which you can find

here , and pair the two editorials. Stupid good ideas… So

anyway, here it is. This might get you thinking about your

own list, and maybe you can think about how to drop one

or more of those monsters into your next game.

We’ve all seen lists of favorite monsters. Every player

has them, whether you’re a DM or not. Our favorites are

not necessarily the monsters we DMs have the most fun

actually running. My list has changed from my 3E days.

Back then, any monster over, say, Cr 8 was unlikely to

make my list. They were so complex that analysis paralysis

too often sucked the fun out of the experience.

These days, my list is long, and covers a wide range of

levels. For that reason, as with the Dragon editorial, i’ll

put five of my selections here and the full list up on the

D&D Community group . Without further delay:

The Dominator: This is a class of monster best exem-

plified by the vampire. They’re fantastic. Don’t let any

Twilighter tell you otherwise: it’s not because vampires

sparkle. Because they don’t. Ever. it’s because they can

make a character a thrall. Any monster that can take a

character’s actions away is great. A monster that not only

takes your action but then turns it back around to hurt

the rest of the party? Priceless entertainment. Even if you

know the fight is not going the monster’s way, making a

character look foolish is often worth the dominating gaze

action. Two words: No pants.

ettins: OK, this is really a shout out to any multi-

headed monster that can talk. You can milk an encounter

for endless entertainment by creating two different per-

sonalities for your ettin heads, then have them bicker. Yes,

it’s a cliché, but it still works. You’ll enjoy it, your players

will enjoy it, everyone wins.

The engulfer: The top-notch monster here is clearly

(ba-dum-dum) the gelatinous cube. i ran my first 4th Edi-

tion cube at D&D Game Day two years ago. i managed to

absorb four out of five characters in one encounter. Two

died. it was brilliant. And the players? They loved it. i asked

them to roleplay what their characters were doing in the

giant Jell-O mold of a monster, and the results had us in

stitches, even as the characters expired. really, can you com-

plain about any monster that eats people whole? A purple

worm or remorhaz make for great fun too, but i still have a

soft spot (these are getting bad now) for the gelatinous cube.

Beholders: They’re classic, they’re iconic, and they’re

scary as hell. No player likes to see one of these guys, from

gauth to hive mother, appear on the table. They’re just

plain terrifying. i’d venture to say they might be the scari-

est monster in D&D. So they make the list, easily.

The Regenerator: My number one favorite monster

is the troll. i don’t know why, really. But i can tell you why

they make this list: They regenerate. They’re the Jason

Vorhees of monsters. Knock a troll (or other regenerating

monster) down and you’d better put another one in the

head, or it’s going to get back up and eat your spleen. The

groans inspired by monsters that the players think are

down and out, but aren’t, make these guys pretty much

unmatched in my book.

So there’s my list. What’s yours look like? What mon-

sters are you always thrilled to run? Or thrilled to see in

an adventure? Post your lists on the D&D Community

page or send them to us at dndinsider@wizards.com !

WebProduction Bart Carroll

ContributingAuthors Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood,

Brian R. James, Jeff LaSala, Kolja

Raven Liquette, Shawn Merwin,

aeryn Rudel, Peter Schaefer,

Robert J. Schwalb, Steve Winter,

James Wyatt

Developers Peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, Rodney Thompson

Editors Miranda Horner, Steve Winter

CoverArtist Raoul Vitale

ContributingArtists Eric Belisle, Sam Burley, Jeff

Himmelman, Tyler Jacobson,

Jason Juta, Christine MacTernan,

William O’Connor

Cartographers

Jared Blando, Jason a. Engle,

Sean Macdonald, Mike Schley

PublishingProductionSpecialists angelika Lokotz, Erin Dorries,

Christopher Tardiff

WebDevelopment Mark a. Jindra

D&DCreativeManager Christopher Perkins

ExecutiveProducer,

D&DInsider Chris Champagne

DirectorofRPGR&D Bill Slavicsek

SpecialThanks

Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Michele Carter, Jennifer Clarke

Wilkes, andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Jeremy Crawford, Peter

Lee, Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, Matthew Sernett, Rodney Thompson, James Wyatt

TYRANT’S

OATH

AN ADVENTURE FOR

6TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS

By Kolja Raven Liquette

illustrations by William O’Connor ✦ cartography by Sean Mac Donald

“The Tyrant’s Oath” places a group of adventurers be-

tween two warlords struggling for dominance over the

region of Elkridge; a bandit queen who has subjugated

the local village and a yuan-ti occultist that transforms

the villagers into snaketongue minions. The heroes must

decide who to trust and form an alliance that will save

the inhabitants of Elkridge.

Ma y 2010 | Dungeon 178 4

THE

THE TYRANT’S OATH

The Tyrant’s Oath is designed to take five 6th-level

characters to 7th level. The story offers the chance to

liberate the oppressed, duel to earn favor, and partici-

pate in a siege. The Tyrant’s Oath can be inserted into

any campaign setting.

SYNOPSIS

of bandits arrives with an invitation to meet Skarn at

her forced request.

The heroes must prove their worth to Skarn

through gladiatorial combat. Vlayn arrives afterward,

or possibly during a fight with Skarn and her bandits,

to announce that Kylar has been abducted by the sna-

ketongue cultists.

Vlayn chides Skarn for not putting aside her pride

long enough to realize that the characters can guide

her bandit army through Nettleblight Swamp to

besiege the cultist temple.

Skarn rallies her bandit army to march against the

snaketongue cultists while the heroes break through

enemy lines, infiltrate the temple, and search for

Kylar and the abducted villagers.

inside the temple, Kylar is found trapped inside

a yuan-ti statue. The act of releasing her drains the

marshland above into the cavern and fills up the

temple with murky water. A fight breaks out in the

multi-tiered temple.

if the heroes deactivate the water trap, they and

Kylar are drained into a lower chamber where a

yuan-ti occultist is hiding with the captured villagers.

Kylar is revealed to be the consort of the yuan-ti, and

she aids the occultist against the heroes.

if the heroes prevail over the occultist in his

sanctum, they can free the captured villagers. Skarn

rallies the surviving bandits to hunt down the scat-

tering yuan-ti and to form a proper militia that will

protect rather than oppress Elkridge.

The temple that the adventurers destroy was an

important place to Zehir worshippers. The Tyrant’s

Oath can have lasting consequences for the heroes if

yuan-ti decide to hunt them down and punish them

for their action.

The adventure begins when the heroes are

ambushed by human bandits on the road to Elkridge.

Before the brigands are driven off, they reveal that

they answer to a bandit queen named Skarn Felstorm

who has taken control of Elkridge and subjugated the

inhabitants.

When the heroes explore Nettleblight Swamp,

they learn how to safely negotiate the explosive

pollen brambles. They also encounter a human ghost

with a dagger in his back. The ghost leads them to a

caravan of snaketongue cultists who are transporting

human prisoners.

Saving these humans draws a host of snaketongue

cultists from their temple. A human girl named Kylar

then appears from the forest and offers to help the

characters escape back to Elkridge.

When the heroes enter Elkridge, they are wel-

comed by the village healer, a woman named Vlayn.

She tells them all the background facts described

above, along with all of the following:

✦ Vlayn is Arlen Felstorm’s widow.

✦ Vlayn’s daughter Kylar entered the swamp on

her own and hasn’t been seen since (unless she

already led the heroes out of the swamp).

✦ An older daughter named Skarn was exiled from

the village years before by Arlen Felstorm.

✦ it is Skarn who now leads the bandits and exacts

tribute from the villagers in exchange for a small

degree of protection. She blames the villagers for

her exile and sees this as her revenge.

if the heroes make their way to the fortress where

Skarn and her bandits hold up, they are likely to be

overwhelmed and taken in irons to the Stormbolt

Highlands. if the heroes stay with Vlayn, a contingent

BACKGROUND

The village of Elkridge stands near Nettleblight

Swamp. in Elkridge, artisans have formed an idyllic

community in a forested valley, while in Nettleb-

light Swamp, snaketongue cultists have carved out

a lair amid poison brambles. in decades past, the

residents of the village and the swamp had observed

an informal truce; villagers stayed out of the swamp

and cultists stayed in it. This peace was enforced by

a minor warlord named Arlen Felstorm who lived in

the village with his wife Vlayn and two daughters.

Then Felstorm’s body was discovered, stabbed and

drowned near Nettleblight Swamp. With his murder,

snaketongue cultists stopped respecting the time-hon-

ored border. They have begun kidnapping villagers

and corrupting them to the cult’s dark purpose.

A glimmer of hope returned when a bandit queen

named Skarn Felstorm and her army of outlaws

entered Elkridge not long ago. They promised to

protect the villagers from the cultists but demanded

tribute in return. An armed standoff developed

between the bandits and the cultists, with the vil-

lagers caught in between. They pay heavy tribute to

the bandits; in exchange, the cultists’ attacks have

declined but not stopped.

All of this can be learned from villagers when the

characters arrive in Elkridge.

Ma y 2010 | Dungeon 178

Dungeon Magazine #178 - May 2010.pdf

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