Category: Steal this Enemy

A “brief” aside – Feste’s introduction to the players: This was my first campaign with this group, and I had my best idea yet. Since these players planned to play for a long time together, I could string together a few campaigns for them to eventually fight a creature that threatened to destroy the omniverse, universe by universe (a la Adventure Quest). However, I needed something to introduce an interesting character, and bring the group/party together. So, Feste got his own campaign for this. In the long run, he is not strictly a villain, and in fact helps the party a lot, although this hasn’t happened yet. He’s chaotic neutral, and really enjoys the universe being in existence. It’s a regular DnD 3.5e game in a high-fantasy setting, however there will be high-tech stuff, and it’s the same realm as a chronologically later shadowrun campaign. Bear with the backstory, all will be explained…

In an unknown time and an unknown place within the realm, there lived a great Pit Fiend, who held much power and respect among the devils of Baator, whose name is likely unpronounceable and has not been recorded. He met an old doppelganger whose name was known not even by herself, as her experience was vast, who masqueraded as a Succubus quite successfully. Unfortunately, by some anomaly, this nameless Doppelganger became pregnant with the child of the Pit Fiend. She felt ashamed, and revealed her true self to the Pit Fiend, who, enraged, had her locked away for eternity. When the child was born into slavery, the father was equally so ashamed of him, and had him thrown into a strange pocket dimension outside of time itself, to never again meet him.

The nameless child was hideous. In his true form, he had grotesque half-formed wings, horns in the wrong places among his face, and a mixed skin tone. He felt truly tortured and alone in his empty and tiny infinite. After a couple hundred years, this sad immortal realized that what he thought was his imagination was actually the world around him; that he had essentially become his pocket dimension. His mind had such control of the miniscule universe that he became overjoyed, and had much fun creating meticulous and compelling plays about character of his own invention. After a few joyous centuries honing his skills which transferred to sorcery specified in illusions in the real world, he discovered a spell that could transport him into the material plane, using a sustained portal.

This being found himself in a vibrant and beautiful universe, enthralled with the complexity and fantastic detail and look and feel of all of this real stuff! The being discovered the only control he held in this plane was over his own appearance, so he made himself look like a regular human at the time. A regular human at the time, of course, was tall dark and handsome, clean-cut and with entrancing red eyes. He wore a tux, top hat, and cane, as was the style in this time period. This was after the fall of magic, so humans were all that there was to be seen. This man discovered much about the civilized world, including that one needs a name. Unfortunately, one did not find him right away.

He soon discovered the theatre. It was joyous to see that others shared his love of creating lesser beings and forcing them to interact with each other for his own entertainment, and it was popular for others to come and watch! He would become obsessed with the works of William Shakespeare, and watched The Twelfth Night many, many times. He became utterly enthralled with one character, a genius in disguise, like himself, forced to act a fool so as not to draw attention to himself. He began to call himself Feste, after Shakespeare’s clown. After training himself in the arts of a jester, he became an experienced entertainer, playwright, and user of knives. Soon, an old god complex born of living in eternal lucid dream and being the son of a regal devil took hold of him, and he longed for a real stage.

His old pocket dimension bored him so, as he couldn’t get the backdrops and details right, and his countless sculpted operas were both predictable to him, and unseen by others. He decided once again to enter the real world, in his favourite guise, and use people as characters, playing them against each other as an entertainer to himself, caring little for his playthings themselves, and only for himself. He found himself at the cusp of the height of Magic, in the beginning of the medieval age, where he rose. His great leadership gained him a following of chaotic doppelgangers, who lived within the universe he created for them, and in return, they aided him in his plays, and he would influence the world for centuries, forever content creating beautiful drama through illusions, deception, and the mind of a writer.

Feste is a gentleman, and always plays fair. His specialty is to stay true to his word 100%, tricking people without blatant lies, but instead through tricky wordplay, as he is a master of the Common language. Most of the time his players know not that they are in a play, and they get very distraught. His favourite playthings, however, know they’re in a web, but never to what scope. These are the minds that can fight back, that present a challenge, that are fun! And so he comes to meet our players in a dungeon filled with demons, trapped by a powerful wizard. He killed the trapped demon, and manipulated his room to provide a true mental challenge far above any that are presented in the dungeon, including the seeming forced murder of half the party by the other half, illusory elementals and faked entry into elemental planes, and an epic fight against a real hydra he had laying around, which to this day is by far the best encounter my party has faced. This party, who survived this deadly game, were lead to his pocket dimension, where they managed to best him in a game of chance (well, a mental dice game) after exploring his mind through exploration of his playground, all the while guessing who among them were doppelgangers.

It is thanks to this worthy adversary that this party will one day be ready to face the Devourer of Realms, but that is a story for another day.

The most memorable (though not at all the deadliest) villain I have ever used in a campaign was, by far, Tattersleeve Quickwit. By the time they met Tattersleeve, the Player Characters were around level five and had gotten used to the “kick in all the doors, kill all the dudes, disarm all the traps, take all the treasure” method of play. I had them right where I wanted them.

Tattersleeve was a wandering goblin troubadour who performed musical numbers, told jokes, and demonstrated feats of tumbling, all poorly and in a high falsetto. While traveling through the town of Jarvis Brook he fell in love with a tavern wench named Lola. She would have none of him, despite his singing shrill serenades outside her window and regaling her with tales he thought were quite romantic. One day while Tattersleeve was attempting to woo Lola in the tavern, her husband came in with a posse, beat Tattersleeve to within an inch of his life (breaking both his legs in the process), and literally threw him out of town. Tattersleeve, unable to move, died of exposure to the elements while pining for his unrequited love on the side of the road. He then became a Taunting Haunt and haunted the area, shrilly mocking travelers who passed through. The characters met him after he had been terrorizing the locals for about a hundred years.

Taunting Haunts can be found in the D&D 3.5 Monster Manual V, and are one of the most devious creatures I’ve ever seen. They fixate on one character, following and taunting him or her until either the Haunt’s final wishes are met or the character wins a “Battle of Wits.” To win, the character the Haunt has fixated on must win three opposed Knowledge or Perform checks. If the character loses, he or she must give up one magic item worth five hundred gold or more. If the Haunt loses, it will relinquish one magic item worth five hundred gold or more and will leave that character alone forever. This does not mean it can’t fixate on another character in the party, though. If killed, a Taunting Haunt returns to existence and seeks out its victim after twenty-four hours have passed. On top of all that, Taunting Haunts have an ability called “Tripping Tongue” that allows them to cause a character who fails a Will Save to speak the exact opposite of what they had intended to say.

Tattersleeve differed from other Taunting Haunts in only one way: I had rolled his stats, and got two 18s. These immediately went into Intelligence and Charisma. Taunting Haunts are considered to have max ranks in all Knowledge and Perform checks. Tattersleeve fixated on the Half-Orc Barbarian in the party, who had naturally used Intelligence and Charisma as her dump stats, and had no ranks in any Knowledge or Perform skills. Hilarity ensued as Tattersleeve followed the party EVERYWHERE, shrilly taunting them, especially the barbarian, and constantly hindering their progress by making them lie at critical moments. He never actually damaged them, but instead went out of his way to save them on a couple of occasions, simply because they amused him and he wanted them around as long as possible. He was such a loathed presence that despite his help they tried on several occasions to kill him, but each time they brought him lower than zero hit points, he would disperse and reappear the next day. They couldn’t meet his final wish because his unrequited love died about a hundred years before they met him. Eventually, they gave in and stopped reacting to his taunts and he left out of boredom, but not before interfering with no fewer than three story arcs.

Gilbert and Godfrey De La Poer were twins. Were, because at the age of eight Godfrey passed away whilst held in a sound proof cell by his parents in the Neo-Victorian world of Unhallowed Metropolis. They had very good reasons for doing this, and for keeping the other twin in his own cell. Both the boys had been born with powerful, and often uncontrollable, psychic powers. They would usually manifest as pranks, as the two boys were known to be mischievous. No one knew if the tragedy that would lead them to be locked away was intended to be a prank, or if there was a more malicious intent to the actions of the boys. When one of the scullery maids was found dead, her internal organs crushed from the inside, the De La Poers did what they thought would be best to avoid scandal befalling the family.

The two boys refused to speak from then on, communing with each other in a way that was unknowable to any who lacked their gift. The Children were reported dead in a carriage accident, and the family name (plus generous donations to the right place) meant no questions were raised. Within a month of the cells being occupied one boy was dead, and the other sent to London for a prolonged stay at St. Bethlams, where he spent his days strapped to a hard steel bed.  With drugs continually being pumped into his system, the staff quickly realized there could be no saving of his broken mind. Many methods were tried to allow him peace, but they were barbaric by any decent standards and, if anything, fractured his consciousness even more.

Years passed before Gilbert finally freed himself from the cruelty and deprivations of the asylum system.  The time spent there on anti-psychic and anti-psychotic drugs beat his hatred into a diamond-hard core, but left him almost unable to control his powers. A miasma of psychic hate surrounded him as he walked the streets, causing people near him to lash out without thought for themselves or their victims. Mothers would stamp their babies to death in their perambulators, lovers would chew each others’ throats out, best friends could not stop hitting their companions no matter that they were little more bone fragments and a wet stain on the floor.

At the same time, the de La Poer estate on the outskirts of Hull was uninhabitable. The violent poltergeist (which was all that remained of the dead twin) thrashed around the house, tearing the fixtures and fittings into even smaller fragments. Throwing itself and anything else in the manor against the walls and through the windows, angrier than he had ever been in life, and missing a brother he could barely remember. The noise has attracted hordes of animates – walking dead who flocked to the noise, too brainless to understand there is nothing to eat. Some have been there for decades, rotting in the wind and rain, but still trying to gain entrance, making it almost impossible for any exorcists to put this violent spirit to rest.

Neither knows the other still walks the world, but both keenly feel a gaping emptiness in their existence, lashing out with the anger that seems to be all that remains. This is where the players come in. Hired by the last remaining De La Poer, to free his family home from the curse, the curse that has been held over it since he was a boy too young to remember his older siblings. As Gilbert stalks London, spreading haters wherever he goes, he interferes with anything the players do to prepare, dragging them towards him while they try to figure out who this potent psychic is. If they do survive the first twin, they then have to fight through an undead horde to try to lay the second to rest. A difficult task at the best of times, made harder by the solitude of the location and the slavering animates at the door.

Racial utility powers are a relatively new mechanic, introduced in Heroes of Shadow. They grant your PCs a dynamic way to make their race interesting throughout the tiers of play. The team at Wizards of the Coast have been releasing new racial powers for the classic races through the DDI. Some races seem to have a better chance of being selected over others, which is only natural.

One of the most neglected player races is the gnoll. Released early in 4e’s history via DDI, the gnoll was the first fully supported monster race. We say fully supported because it had more than one racial ability and some feats. When other races got options tied to classes, articles themes (not the mechanic), or updates due to Essentials changes, the gnolls were largely ignored.

I happen to like the gnoll though. It’s wild, it has claws and its even a little demonic. It comes jam packed with easy roleplaying opportunities for that player who loves not thinking about roleplaying and just wants to hit stuff with its great axe.

So with out further adieu, gnoll racial powers.

Demonic Resistance It’s no secret that gnoll blood sports a demonic lineage. Many scholars will claim this as the cause for their bloodlust and edge toward chaos. You’ve discovered a greater link, in the ability to mimic their variable resistance.

Demonic Resistance * Gnoll Racial Utility 2
As the pain washes over you, your blood turns and your abyssal heritage strengthens you against further blows.
Daily * Varies
Immediate Reaction * Personal
Trigger: You take acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage
Effect: You gain resist 5 to the triggering damage type until the end of the encounter. The resistance increases to 10 at 11th level and 15 at 21st level.

Predator’s Judgement Gnolls are natural hunters and you are no exception. Closer interaction with other humanoids have allowed your skills to evolve for more situations. There are many obvious signs when dealing with liars, if only you’re sharp enough to notice them.

Predator’s Judgement * Gnoll Racial Utility 6
Your questions to this man put him on edge. The smell of his sweat, shake of his hand and sound of his racing heart, gives you the worth of his tale.
Encounter
Free Action * Personal
Effect: You roll Perception when you would normally roll Insight to discern motive or determine the truth of a person’s words.

Savage Bound Through woods, plains and battlefields, life with your tribe taught you to adapt your footing to the fight at hand. When in need, you can always find a path to charge.

Savage Bound * Gnoll Racial Utility 10
You push yourself forward leaping quickly from one foot-hold to another.
Encounter
Move Action * Personal
Effect: You move up to your speed, ignoring difficult terrain. You can use this movement as part of a charge.

Pack Domination The pack is strong because the pack works as one. You and your allies have learned each others skills and tactics. When you knock someone down, everyone works together so they do not get up.

Pack Domination * Gnoll Racial Utility 16
You work with your allies to take the foe off balance. A mighty blow knocks him to the ground, and you swarm to keep him down.
Encounter
Free Action * Personal
Trigger: You hit with a melee attack against a target that has one or more of your allies adjacent.
Effect: The target is prone (save ends).

Yeenoghu’s Blessing The demon lord Yeenoghu is a mad and bloodthirsty master. Even those gnolls who do not worship him feel his taint in their blood. His blessings extend to any who revel in the slaughter.

Yeenoghu’s Blessing * Gnoll Racial Utility 22
Your sacrifice to your demonic lord does not go unnoticed. Bathed in blood, you begin to slaughter your opponents outright.
Daily
Free Action * Personal
Trigger: You reduce a non-minion enemy to 0 hit points.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, you deal an extra 2d8 damage when you hit with an attack against a bloodied enemy.

“Curses take many forms. The seemingly impossible quest of a fey lord can puzzle PCs and send them on far reaching quests, or the scarring hex of a hag could totally change the way a hero is viewed, both by others and personally. The curse of lycanthropy is particularly well familar, and tales tell of those strong enough to break through the curse, and command their new forms, instead of being slaves to it. Sometimes though, things get harder. Sometimes hell is here on earth.”

The murderous, uncaring, huntress known only as Rollin is feared in all the lands around the lich king’s grand nation. The Lich King sends her on errands, almost always assassinations, far and wide. Sometimes she travels alone, and other times her fell pack accompanies her in the great hunt. A woman of few words, but loud actions.

Death without Warning: Part of the fear are the tales that she almost always strikes without warning or mercy. Her human form is unassuming. An average-sized woman with raggedy dark hair, and never dressed in finery or looking particularly clean. She easily slips into a community as an unassuming traveler.