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Most DMs don’t have many encounters with plant monsters, slimes, molds, and puddings. They’re oftentimes relegated to things that players stumble into like traps, side quests, and areas of heavy overgrowth. With a few simple solutions, they can easily take the spotlight… Continue reading “DMing Monsters: Plants, Slimes, Molds, Jellies, and Puddings!”
It was many years ago that the Farmer Simkins got the fright of his life. His once prize sow was fat with a litter, after two barren years. He had been sharpening the ax to take the meat from her since she was past her best, but when she started showing signs of being in the motherly way, she was spared, at least for a while. Simkins the Younger was happy with this, as he had grown attached to the old sow, ostracised as he was from the other young folk of the village he had few other options when it came to making friends. He never looked quite right, and talked when no one was there to listen to him, and this kind of behavior was sure to lose you friends when all the other children were of an age when fitting in was all that mattered.
So Simkins the Younger had looked after the pregnant animal, named it Charlotte for reasons known only to himself and was there that fateful night when the first head breached its mother. The elder Simkins had come running at the almighty squeals, and thought to hide his son from the horror of what sounded to be a very messy birth indeed. By the time he got himself into the barn though, the deed was done, and Charlotte had not survived the birth. What he saw, covered in blood and slime, resting in the arms of his beaming son was enough to make him spill his supper onto the straw. It appeared as if some dark force had taken over Charlotte, and warped whatever was in her womb. It still had all the parts that made it recognisble as a piglet , but they were all wrong, and there was too many of them for just one creature.
It had two full sets of legs, one where you’d expect, but the second coming from out its back, as if it had two bellies. There was even an extra set in the rear, coming off from the side, like an extra pig was trapped inside but had kicked its way out backwards. Its chest seemed split in two, with the head looking the same, almost as if it couldn’t decide if it needed two of them so had settled on the monstrous visage somewhere in between. He went to take the abomination from his son and kill it there and then, and to this day claims that is just what he did, taking it around the back, and burning its body before the sun had even risen.
Plenty of folk will tell you that he didn’t though, and that his son convinced him to spare the beast’s life. The story goes that Simkins the Younger vanished with his pet soon after, and ill luck befell the old farm ever since. They say he had made deal with a Dark One, bringing something unnatural into this world that would be his Familiar, working his bidding and the wishes of their dark masters on this plane. For two decades all manner of animals were taken from around the village, sometimes blood was found along with what little pieces remained, but not always. Simkins the Darker was always blamed; him and his Daemon spawned hog. This last winter people have even reported seeing the monster in the flesh and a bounty has been put on either of them, preferably dead.
The pig was born the way it was, and Simkins the Younger was indeed an outcast, but his father was true to his word when he claimed to have done away with the remarkably still breathing piglet. The Younger was heartbroken, and vowed to see his pet returned to him. He turned down a dark path that night, and sought out any information he could get his hands on about dark arts that would enable him to return a creature back from its final resting place.
He was never successful in this desire, but his experiments were not without some small successes, molding flesh in the image of the piglet that was taken from him. He found a place to hide away from the villagers, camouflaged by the other planar beings whose help he had sought. They furnished him with Dark Majiks that allowed him to warp flesh, bone, and sinew, and after many years he finally created his masterpiece. Now fully grown, the son of Charlotte has been unleashed on Landsdown and is taking lives in revenge for the slights that Simkins the Darker has allowed to fester for far too long.
Here’s a long overdue reader request. The Cybermen for D&D 4e is one of our more popular articles on Stuffer Shack. With all my Marvel Heroic playing, Christopher Hatty was hoping I had Cortex+ Stats. Well it’s been a long time coming, but here it is.
These stats are specifically for the new series cybermen from the alternate dimension. If you compare the stat block below with the MK II stats for 4e, they may not look very similar. This is really a result of the way the two systems play. In 4e your powers need to be very clear for quick, tactical play. In Cortex+ combat tends to be a lot more free and abilities are more loosely governed. The end result means I’m able to give the Cortex+ Cybermen more abilities.
Weapon can be used to represent any of the weapon variants used on the show including Energy Wrist Blasters, Hidden Tranquiler Darts, or even armored hands (in conjunction with strength). Carried weapons are better represented by a tech or combat resource.
I hope you enjoy!
You can read about Cybermen on the TARDIS Wiki. Grab the PDF or Word Doc of this file.
You can download the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying PDF here, or get the book!
The Weeping Angels are an alien race developed for and featured in the current run of Doctor Who. The version presented here has been slightly altered in order to create a compelling 4th edition combatant.
“Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t blink. Good Luck.” – The Doctor.
The Weeping Angels are one of the oldest races to have crossed from the far realm into our world. Even still little is known about how they live and operate, since few people realize they’ve encountered the creatures and live to tell the tale. To mortal eyes, the Weeping Angels appear as statues, unmoving and without breath. When none are watching the creatures come to life, stealing the energy from a living soul to sustain themselves.
Form of Angels
It is said that Weeping Angels can appear in many forms, but most tales tell of the form of an angel. One ancient scholar speculates that since the Weeping Angels appeared on the material plane as early as the Dawn War, the angelic servants of the gods were likely the first creatures they encountered. Owing much to the deities who forced the primordials into the elemental chaos, angels were some of the first beings to be immortalized in stone, and so what may at first have been simply a form to exist in our world, became a natural disguise. Some speculate that present gargoyles are descendants of the Weeping Angels, who slowly lost some of their aberrant nature, and became more like the native stone they mimicked.
Uncontrollable Defenses
The Weeping Angels ability to take statue form is both a defense and a weakness. The ability is an innate part of their being, and they cannot ignore it. Whenever another sentient creature views them, including another Weeping Angel, they must become inanimate. For this reason they often cover their eyes with their hands, so they do not accidentally lock vision with another of their kind. This gives them the appearance of crying while in statue form.
One tale tells of a particularly powerful person who wished to rid one temple of the beings. He purposefully bound his eyes, relying on his other sense to hunt the monsters. Without another being viewing them, the angels did not have their hard skin to protect themselves. Different tellings vary on whether his plan proved successful.
Life Leeches
The Weeping Angels feed off of energy and potential energy. They can take this energy directly from creatures who run off the elements, and can often be found in cities rich with constructs of steam-driven technology. When facing the living for energy, they cut the creatures connection to the plane, forcing them out of existence. Creatures of powerful will can fight this ability and sometimes manage to force themselves back onto the plane, but only have a short amount of time to do so.
Angels in Play
Should all the PCs be removed from play, they lose a direct link to the material plane and may not be able to make saves to return. They may instead appear in a different point in time, in the far realm, or some other area that is difficult to escape, as your campaign dictates.
The Weeping Angels may also be used against players of lower level, where a combat situation is less likely to succeed. In this case I recommend running the angels as a skill challenge. The Players making Endurance and Perception checks to keep their eyes unblinking on the angels, while they attempt to get to safety, or trick the angels into viewing each other.
Before the multiverse was split into the two factions of Toril and Abeir by Ao, The primordials and the gods were waging the Dawn War in the multiverse. The primordials were in a constant battle with the gods for total dominance of the cosmology. The primordials, beings of elemental energies collaborated often in the creation of being to help them in their war against the gods. One such of these beings was the Chaos Golem.
The Chaos Golem is one of the greatest creations ever realized by the primordials. It is said that these golems were not only animated constructs, to blindly obey the sometimes suicidal orders. They were also given sentience for the task they were developed for. They were designed to be loyal, obedient, yet intelligent enough to be able to make their own decisions during combat to better serve the primordials needs as a first line of defense against the gods.
Chaos Golems were used as sentinels, as an early warning system against the gods wanting to invade the primordial domain. Not only are the Chaos Golems ruthless and wicked, if somehow an adventurer manages to bypass this impressive line of defense, the creature attaches a beacon of energy that is not easily removed. This beacon alerts the primordials to a breach in the lines, and it marks unwanted interlopers.
The primordials created legions of these creatures. The Chaos Golems task was to patrol the multiverse, searching for enemies in occupied territory. Squads of these creatures were sent out in the form of a Chaos Golem Luminary (Soldier), Chaos Golem Cerebral, and the Chaos Golem Legionnaire.
Squads are normally grouped in the following Level 22 Encounter:
1 Chaos Golem Luminary
2 Chaos Golem Cerebral
9 Chaos Golem Legionnaires
Chaos Golem Luminary
This animate is the backbone of the Chaos Golem squad. He is a huge elemental soldier, the commander of the squad. Being the head of this group, it is a very intelligent creature indeed. It uses its powers with great cunning and uses the Legionnaires to the fullest of their potential, attempting to take down the toughest looking party member as quickly as possible.
The Luminary tries to protect as much as possible to protect the Cerebral, giving the creature time and assistance to effectively neutralize and slow character who present a threat to the squad. When this creature dies it attaches a magical marker that acts as a beacon.
Chaos Golem Cerebral
This golem is quite dangerous, especially in the presence of the Luminary and the Legionnaires. The task of the Luminary is to prevent adventurers from approaching the Cerebral. This creature has the ability to slide creatures all over the place.
They work at keeping the adventurers behind the wall of the remainder of the squad. These creatures are extremely intelligent and work well in conjunction with the Luminary to take down foes one at a time.
Chaos Golem Legionnaire
The Chaos Golem Legionnaire is the foot soldier minion of the squad. Their task is to flank and position themselves with the Luminary in order to dispose of opponents quickly and efficiently. Although only a minion, the creature does have a plethora of options to help control the situation.
Use these monsters as part of random encounters, for failure in a skill challenge, or just as something to throw in as a challenge for those epic moments.
By Brian Liberge
– This mammoth being of frozen earth shows but one outward emotion: rage.
Suvimal is also available as a PDF (Suvimal).
The air cools around you, yet there is no breeze. The earth begins to shake beneath your feet as the light from the sun dims. You look in the distance and see that the mountain is getting closer.
The primordial Suvimal is a little-known legend. This mammoth being of frozen earth shows but one outward emotion: rage. Once woken, any living being or settlement becomes a target for destruction.
A Once Kind Spirit – Before the Dawn War, when the earth was young and newly formed, Suvimal was a primal spirit connected to the earth. He loved watching the world around him shape and teem with life, whether it was created by god or elemental.
Once the fighting broke out, Suvimal became troubled. He enjoyed watching the world change, but not like this. This was not creation, only destruction. He tried to stay out of the war, hoping it would soon end and things would go back to the way they were before. When a tribe of giants was about to be wiped out by an angry god, Suvimal finally made himself present. Appearing between the god and his target, he was declared an enemy. Moments later he found himself buried by a rain of earth and frost.
The giants he saved abandoned him, fleeing for their lives. Having made himself known to few before this, he became forgotten to time, a legend held close by the greatest secret keepers.
The Eternal Watcher – Frozen in the mountain, he had a lot of time to watch the world as it developed around him, though he no longer toook pleasure from it. Every moment, he was reminded that the creatures who toiled and developed before him, were the same ones who judged him, abandoned him, and imprisoned him. He took the form of the mountain he embodied – tough, solid and cold, left with nothing to do but wait.
A Desire to End All – Suvimal shows no mercy in combat. Every living thing and settlement is a reminder of the powers that imprisoned him and left him to rot. He uses skewering earth every round if possible, targeting not just individuals but empty squares to make movement more difficult. He never hesitates with his carbonite freeze, taking pleasure in watching flyers fall from the sky and others become trapped (like he once was).
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Suvimal was co-created with @thedandmom, a wonderful artist, creator and personality in the D&D community. Check her out on Twitter, or find us both quite often in At-Will Chat.
“They’ve had all their humanity taken away. That’s a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body, with a heart of steel. All emotions removed.” –The Doctor (Rise of the Cybermen, 2005)
Download the PDF of this article, here.
Cybermen are a staple villain in Doctor Who, second only to the Daleks and possibly The Master. We’ve seen several different variations of these metal monstrosities over the years, though they all possess some shared qualities. They were once human (or at least mortal men of flesh), they are now part machine and part humanoid, and they will stop at nothing until the Cybermen are the only life form in the multiverse.
This is great for Dungeon Masters who are willing to dip their feet into the established science fiction pool. We have a foe that good characters will want to try to save, who will almost certainly start combat situations, and have grand, tier-spanning goals. Since the Cybermen aren’t native to fantasy, we can either make our own version (half construct humanoids are very Eberron-eske) or we can have them invade the world from another plane. Either way it’s established that their resources and tactics aren’t always the same, so that justifies any difference between expected power and abilities compared to what we build for play at the table.
The Cybermen presented here are built for late Paragon. The Mk I and Mk II have very different mechanics. They could represent Cybermen from two very different times, different dimensions, different resources on hand at creation, or even the differences between an invading Cyberman and one made from a native of this world.
Lore
Arcana 22: The strange men you see before you are known as the warriors of Cybrus. Born of another world, they have only been seen before by oracles and planar travelers. It is said they will stop at nothing to destroy all life.
Arcana 29: Cybermen consider themselves to be the perfect race, emotionless and efficient. Able to upgrade themselves, different models have been written about as they were experienced at different times. A few things have been consistently reported: they have exceptional armor, unerring resolve, and should not be exposed to lightning.
Leaders of different models can be determined by the black paint on their helmets.
Arcana 38: The otherworldly Cybermen were once very similar to humans, before altering their form with construct magic, until they were beyond recognition. Behind each metallic warrior there is still flesh, blood, and the remains of a tattered soul.
Cyberman MK I
Tactics: The Cybermen are fearless and the MK I are no different in this regard. They benefit greatly from fighting in close quarters, as the electric arc of others can heal their damage, at least partially. However, due to their feeling of superiority and the desire to leave no survivors, they will often split up in order to flank and cut off escape routes.
Once in melee, unless they face many opponents, they will use Slam as their main attack, in order to reduce opponents more quickly.
Cyberman MK II
Tactics: These warriors are much tougher than the MK I but have no built-in ability to rebuild themselves. They must instead seek out sources of lightning energy if they manage to take extensive damage.
Built to withstand heavy fire, they take on their mission to not just destroy other races, but expand their ranks, with frightening efficiency. One line of Cybermen, will act as artillery, firing with wrist blaster while a second group moves into melee, grab a victim and slowly drags them behind the firing line.
Cyber Leader
Tactics: The Cyber Leader is programmed to make decisions for small groups of Cybermen and give orders in battle. While they could hold their own in melee, they find more success in the back lines, firing along with MK II models.
They will issue a Full Volley whenever serious threats are determined, or hold such actions if waiting for a portal to be breached, so that the full force attack happens as soon as enemies are within sight.
Any foe that gets too close, soon finds itself hurled back with lesser Cybermen advancing into melee.
They keep their commands communicated through silent telepathy unless trying to intimidate their opponents.
Welcome back to our Playing with FATE series.
Being the GM of any game definitely has it’s rewards, but it also has it’s challenges. A big part of those challenges includes working those creative muscles – specifically envisioning, designing, and implementing adversaries for your group. Sure, this can also be a reward, which is why I’m enjoying writing this particular post. Today, I’m going to show you how easy it is to create a giant snake monster for the fantastic game, Strands of FATE.
So, I have an idea of what I want the players to face: a giant snake monster of some kind. This idea was inspired by watching Conan the Barbarian, and then Anaconda. If you’ve seen these two movies, then you know that both snake monsters are quite different. Granted, that might be due to the age difference between special and visual effects, computer animation, and animatronics, but if you simply watch both movies, we see those two snake monsters act differently, and instill different emotions.
In Conan the Barbarian, the giant snake monster is this huge, hulking, brutish-yet-sly creature of patience and stealth. In Anaconda, we see a much more agile and evil monster, one that apparently delights in the hunt. I think I’d like to combine the two creatures to create a monster that is animal-like, though evil, agile enough to chase after an adventuring party, and tough enough to stand toe to tail with multiple threats. I want it to have decidedly snake-like features and tendencies, but monsterish enough to act like an evil monster.
So, where to start? Well, in the back of the Strands of FATE book are several entries for a variety of NPC, enemy, and monster stats. It only seems natural that we start with a normal snake, and also take a look at some other entries, like crocodile, bear, bull, and dragon. This will give us an idea of the power ‘level’ for our monster, to make sure we create an encounter worth it’s weight in ferocity. Since this is going to be a major enemy, or monster, I could make it exactly as a player character, giving it experience as I see fit, but I think we’ll keep it a bit more free-form.
CHARACTER ASPECTS
Most animal creatures in the Stands of FATE book have a single Character Aspect. Major antagonists understandably have more (as I feel this creature also deserves). I think an obvious first character aspect for this monster would simply be Huge-Ass-Snake. You think of a snake, and then see a 50+ foot monstrosity, and it can be pretty clear how to use this character aspect. Fear, attacking reach, possibly a bonus to hide (or a penalty), and so on.
Borrowing from the Dragon entry, I’ll include the character aspect, Apex Predator. This creature is definitely at or near the top of the food chain, and the aspect will very easily apply in combat when fighting humanoids.
One more character aspect that will work for us is “I’ll eat anything.” Snakes will often attack prey several times larger in circumference than the snake, simply because it’s jaws and digestive tract can take it. This can be useful when stalking prey, facing a larger enemy, resisting fear, etc.
SIZE
Ok, right off the bat I know that I want the snake monster to be big. Humans are generally a size 0, and if I wanted this snake monster to be able to swallow a human mid combat, it would have to be at least 3 sizes bigger. However, I only want this monster to swallow a motionless human, so I’m going to knock its size down to a 2. By comparison, a goblin is a size -1, a troll is a size 1, bull is a size 1, an elephant is a size 2, and a dragon is a size 3. So, in-game I can tell the players that this thing is big enough to crush the life out of them, and then swallow them later. In real life there are currently no snakes measuring 30 feet, or capable of swallowing an adult human. For this creature, I think we could describe him as being over 50 feet long, and fully capable.
ABILITIES
For its abilities, I’m going to take a look at the entry for snake, bear, bull, and dragon. This will easily tell me where to place what numbers where. Since this creature is a monster, I want it to have some non-physical stats that are improved over a normal animal’s. In the end, I end up with:
SPECIALTY ASPECTS
This monster is pretty deadly, so he’ll be getting a few specialty aspects as well. Just like from the Snake entry, we’ll give him Slithers (Agility) – hey, they’re naturally sneaky, and the sight alone of a slithering snake can cause fear. Deadly, Pinpoint Strike (Strength) is a good one, because it’s hard to see an attack when it comes at you in a direct, straight line. For a snake, I think that At Home in Cover (Agility) works great for sneaking, and striking from hiding.
NOTABLE ADVANTAGES
PHYSICAL ATTACK
Bite
TOTAL PHYSICAL DEFENSE MODIFIER
This snake monster is fast, tough, and deadly. It has beefy stats akin to what I imagine a giant snake might have, and aspects that will easily help it defeat its foe. With only a little bit of work, its aspects can be used against it by the PCs. Its fangs and leathery skin give it decent rating bonuses (+2), and its advantages give him a lot of that extra “oh crap” factor.
All that’s left is for me to test him out against the doomed PCs… I mean, uh…
I’m gonna change things up a little bit with this particular creature, so let me explain a few things. This is an adaptation of the Boss Monster template that can be found over at The Angry DM. I say adaptation because I’ve changed a few things up. You see, the idea behind the boss monster is to emulate boss monsters from various video games. You know, the things that possibly take you hours to beat and you may have to try multiple times just to do it? This particular idea that Angry throws at us doesn’t necessarily simulate the extreme difficulty that some boss monsters can possess, instead it simulates other attributes: mainly, their ability to shake off negative effects and come back in full force after being taken down one or two times.
These boss monsters have different stages. Angry explains everything very well, so I will sum it up. Each stage is has a few different characteristics and between stages, the boss monster gets a powerful attack to indicate that it is switching up. The boss monsters that Angry created all have three stages, but I decided to take it up a notch. If you’ve ever beaten Final Fantasy VIII, you may remember the final boss. You beat her once, and she summons something to fight you, you beat that and they merge, then they change, then they change again. It seems almost endless, fighting all five stages of this boss. Well, that’s sort of what I did; I created a boss monster with five stages.
There are a few mechanical differences from 4th Edition D&D that should be explained. For one, each boss monster is a solo with 3 stages (in this case 5). It’s total hit points are split evenly between each stage. So, a boss monster with 3 stages and 300hp has 100hp for each stage. Also, in order for this solo fight to be a bit more interesting than other solo fights, the boss monsters get multiple types of attacks that encompass minor, move, standard, and immediate actions. This way, when their turns come around, they have a few things to do. This helps shake things up and make for more dynamic and more difficult battles. The boss monsters have one more feature, whenever one stage dies, the next stage is treated as a completely new and different creature; that means that anything that affected the first stage when the boss dies, does not effect the next stage: no paralysis, stun, ongoing damage, nothing.
Now, let me explain what this boss monster is like. He is hard. He is very very hard, if you do him right. If you want to do him right, it’s simple. Give him minions and give him interesting environments that may or may not give him an advantage. The minions I used did a few different things and I used them all at different stages. I looked for my templates for the minions (I actually have never used a monster from the monster manual) but I could not find them so I’ll tell you what they did to give you some ideas. The minions could mark, grapple, grapple/pull from a distance, knock prone, and cause ongoing damage. The environments were a little different; they worked in tangent with the minions to create interesting terrain and such for the PCs in case the boss had to retreat (which he did between stages). The first room had pillars that would fall on the PCs, the second was a maze full of minions that would grapple, the third room was a maze full of minions that would knock the PCs prone, the fourth room was full of small corridors that were blocked off by minions, and the final room had no minions, but was dripping with acid that was difficult to navigate around.
When you use this boss, I don’t want you to go easy on your players. I created this boss to challenge my players and he did a good job of it. A good thing about this boss is, if you do find that he is a bit more challenging than you anticipated, you don’t have to use everything he’s got; the players won’t really know the difference.
I hope you enjoy this monster, or at least visit The Angry DM and get inspired by his stuff; it’s a great read.
This entry is based on Open Game Content by Netherworks. Read more about this collaboration, and see more interpretations, here.
Fools misjudge the odd looking Calis at first sight. The odd form of bird and man can seem almost comical. While they are certainly not the smartest creatures, they should not be underestimated. Their weapons are not for show, and they follow orders with almost fanatical zeal.
The Calis is an avian demon with a humanoid form that takes on the armor and weapons of the more civilized races. It should not be judged as more lawful or reasonable than other demons. The Calis have just enough innate knowledge in their creation to use simple fighting techniques and follow orders. Follow orders they do with a fierce focus.
The demon lord Pazuzu will sometimes send a flock of these warriors to the Material Plane as a boon to important followers. With their humanoid form, given proper orders of control, they may just appear to be oddly dressed cultists. Once in the heat of battle, or given a closer look, their demonic nature is clear. Woe be to those nearby when their orders are fulfilled or their masters slain. Without any clear instruction, their demonic nature takes over and these foul fowl peck a path of destruction.
Lore
Arcana 17: These strange creatures are the Calis, avian demons, loyal to Pazuzu, prince of the Plain of a Thousand Portals. One of the few demons to wield weapons and armor, they can be very dangerous when organized by an intimidating leader. Like the farm birds who share their coloring, these creatures keep fighting even when they should be slain, striking out blindly.
Arcana 23: In their last moments of life, Calis strike out blindly, but only have enough strength to move a short distance. Clever tacticians have been known to take down numerous flocklings with a single shot, if the positioning is right.
Calis Vigilants and Cockatricians are a bit more durable. The hooked bolts of the Vigilants allow them to close the gap with mobile and ranged targets. The Cockatricians are the fastest of the Calis, and fly about the battlefield attacking targets, then swooping to a new position. They’ll land when they can get crowds of enemies in position for their Shriek of Elemental Change.
Arcana/History 31: There are tales that tell the origin of the Calis as a cruel joke between Pazuzu and Asmodeus. As the blood war was beginning to stagnate, a group of Legion Devils became trapped in the backlines of Pazunia. Pazuzu captured these troops, saving them from slaughter, and hid them away on a floating earth mote. By the time he was made to return them to the Lord of the Nine Hells, they had transformed in his presence into a mockery of their former selves.
Less known is the story of Grehagru, a powerful demon slain by a band of adventurers. Grehagru rose as a cacodemon, but his rage was so great he sought out the first living creature, a cockatrice, instead of biding his time. He managed to turn the unsuspecting heroes to stone, but then was trapped in a limited form, wandering the world. The powerful soul trapped inside the fowl, attracted a flock of chicken followers, who were in turn corrupted by his presence. When Pazuzu learned that another creature was lording over flying evil creatures he was outraged. He captured Grehagru and his evil flock, and slowly transformed them into his personal horde.
Encounters: Calis work well as a transitioning foe between heroic level adventures in the material plane and a campaign in the abyss. They can be encountered as the minions for a mortal follower of the abyss or as early encounters for players traversing the Plane of a Thousand Portals (the abyss’ 1st layer).
They work well with frightening brutes to keep them in line, but are particularly affective when paired with artillery and controllers, who can blast their foes at range.
Tactics: Calis excel at following orders, and follow whatever tactics they are given. Anything too complex, or too many steps at once, and they may get confused due to their low intelligence. In this situation they will focus on their last order, or whatever provided the most opportunity for destruction. On their own, flocklings will employ almost no tactics, but will move and strike primarily as a group. Vigilants stay more stationary, targeting aggressive targets who don’t engage directly with their crossbows, before closing the distance and locking them down with swings of their battleaxes. Cockatricians, in contrast, keep moving on the battlefield, picking new targets at random, and dropping down for their shriek attack whenever they can hit at least three enemies. They often will target other demons as well, when not properly controlled.
