What is Random Encounter Monday? Well, it is where I take a randomly generated combination of monsters and write a suitable encounter as a design challenge!
What challenge are we throwing at a 6th level party this week?
Focusing on the setting, I went for a volcanic cavern in which the two mind masters are competing for mental control over the nightmare. Perhaps for your encounter they are already aligned, or are in the process of summoning the fiendish horse! I opted to throw in some more duergar because every self-respecting mind master needs minions. Plus the heroes have the chance to save the nightmare!
This is great! Thank you for posting! If I were to make an encounter with these I would probably throw the monsters at a slightly lower level party and have the nightmare bamf out of the ethereal plane with the mind master riding it to ambush the party with a few duergar accompanying it.
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Anything is edible if you try hard enough!
I am a swimmer. If you see me running, you should run too, because it means something horrible is chasing me.
The Fall of Edacity The nightmare Edacity was once a noble pegasus that served as the loyal steed of a mighty planetar named Antherius. Antherius' mission was to root out evil and cleanse darkness all across the multiverse. For hundreds of years, he fought against the forces of corruption and decay, Edacity- then Elation- by his side. But one day, on a mission to purify a shadowed region of the Underdark, Antherius fell. Elation managed to flee and survive, but he was captured by a duo of duergar mind masters named Grothik and Lamnar. The mad dwarves used their psychic powers to torment Elation and eventually cut off his wings, turning him into a nightmare. Though Edacity fell to darkness, he still resists his loathsome masters when he can out of some faint hope for redemption.
When the party encounters them, Lamnar is psychically torturing Edacity, while Grothik stands watch over their meager campsite. A creature can sneak up to Grothik with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. If Grothik notices the group or is attacked, he warns Lamnar and goes on the offensive against his foes. Lamnar uses his Mind Mastery action to attempt to control Edacity and force him to attack the group. Edacity uses the nightmare stat block, but only has 53 hit points remaining. Each time Edacity resists Lamnar's Mind Mastery, the nightmare takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
Grothik and Lamnar fight until the other dies, in which case the survivor runs or pleads for their life, offering Edacity in exchange for freedom. The duergar also have a ring of mind shielding, which they claim to have taken from a mind flayer they defeated. A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check determines that their tale is false; the dwarves stole the ring from an adventurer they killed.
If Lamnar is killed, his psychic hold over Edacity breaks and the nightmare attacks Grothik if he still lives. If both duergar are dead, Edacity tries to reason with the group and tell the story of his downfall. When Antherius fell, Elation managed to drag the angel's corpse with him, and it still decays nearby. Antherius' weapon, a greatsword, +1, is still clutched in the planetar's grasp.
Though Edacity longs for redemption, the darkness within him is still powerful. Each day at dawn, Edacity must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or attack the party. The DC of this save increases by 1 each time Edacity succeeds on it. However, Edacity can be restored to light by use of the greater restoration or similar magic. If Edacity is redeemed, he uses the pegasus stat block, with the following changes:
He has a flying speed of 0 feet.
He knows Undercommon and Infernal.
He has an AC of 13 (natural armor).
What might have caused the downfall of an angel as powerful as Antherius? Why didn't such a force claim the planetar's greatsword? And how did Grothik and Lamnar learn how to create a nightmare?
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
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What is Random Encounter Monday?
Well, it is where I take a randomly generated combination of monsters and write a suitable encounter as a design challenge!
What challenge are we throwing at a 6th level party this week?
We have two duergar mind master and a nightmare!
Focusing on the setting, I went for a volcanic cavern in which the two mind masters are competing for mental control over the nightmare. Perhaps for your encounter they are already aligned, or are in the process of summoning the fiendish horse! I opted to throw in some more duergar because every self-respecting mind master needs minions. Plus the heroes have the chance to save the nightmare!
Here is my submission: Battle of the Mind Masters
Post your thoughts, ideas, and encounters below!
This is great! Thank you for posting! If I were to make an encounter with these I would probably throw the monsters at a slightly lower level party and have the nightmare bamf out of the ethereal plane with the mind master riding it to ambush the party with a few duergar accompanying it.
Anything is edible if you try hard enough!
I am a swimmer. If you see me running, you should run too, because it means something horrible is chasing me.
The Fall of Edacity
The nightmare Edacity was once a noble pegasus that served as the loyal steed of a mighty planetar named Antherius. Antherius' mission was to root out evil and cleanse darkness all across the multiverse. For hundreds of years, he fought against the forces of corruption and decay, Edacity- then Elation- by his side. But one day, on a mission to purify a shadowed region of the Underdark, Antherius fell. Elation managed to flee and survive, but he was captured by a duo of duergar mind masters named Grothik and Lamnar. The mad dwarves used their psychic powers to torment Elation and eventually cut off his wings, turning him into a nightmare. Though Edacity fell to darkness, he still resists his loathsome masters when he can out of some faint hope for redemption.
When the party encounters them, Lamnar is psychically torturing Edacity, while Grothik stands watch over their meager campsite. A creature can sneak up to Grothik with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. If Grothik notices the group or is attacked, he warns Lamnar and goes on the offensive against his foes. Lamnar uses his Mind Mastery action to attempt to control Edacity and force him to attack the group. Edacity uses the nightmare stat block, but only has 53 hit points remaining. Each time Edacity resists Lamnar's Mind Mastery, the nightmare takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
Grothik and Lamnar fight until the other dies, in which case the survivor runs or pleads for their life, offering Edacity in exchange for freedom. The duergar also have a ring of mind shielding, which they claim to have taken from a mind flayer they defeated. A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check determines that their tale is false; the dwarves stole the ring from an adventurer they killed.
If Lamnar is killed, his psychic hold over Edacity breaks and the nightmare attacks Grothik if he still lives. If both duergar are dead, Edacity tries to reason with the group and tell the story of his downfall. When Antherius fell, Elation managed to drag the angel's corpse with him, and it still decays nearby. Antherius' weapon, a greatsword, +1, is still clutched in the planetar's grasp.
Though Edacity longs for redemption, the darkness within him is still powerful. Each day at dawn, Edacity must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or attack the party. The DC of this save increases by 1 each time Edacity succeeds on it. However, Edacity can be restored to light by use of the greater restoration or similar magic. If Edacity is redeemed, he uses the pegasus stat block, with the following changes:
What might have caused the downfall of an angel as powerful as Antherius? Why didn't such a force claim the planetar's greatsword? And how did Grothik and Lamnar learn how to create a nightmare?
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.