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ISSUE 178 | May 2010
A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT
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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
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, D ungeon , D ragon , d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast
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Inc. This product is a work of fiction. any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.
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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
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TYRANT’S
OATH
AN ADVENTURE FOR
6TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS
By Kolja Raven Liquette
illustrations by William O’Connor cartography by Sean Mac Donald
TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC all rights reserved.
“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
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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
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