O n t h e road : Kobold B rigands

2 Kobold Dragonshields (D) Level 2 Soldier The boulders are 5 feet high. Climbing onto the boul-
Small natural humanoid (reptile) XP 125 each ders requires a DC 15 Athletics check and costs 4 squares
Initiative +4 Senses Perception +2; darkvision of movement. A character atop the boulders can move onto
HP 36; Bloodied 18
other boulder squares; treat them as difficult terrain.
AC 18; Fortitude 14, Reflex 13, Will 13
Resist 5 fire
Foliage: Thick foliage grows near the road in several
Speed 6 places. These areas are lightly obscured and provide
m Short Sword (standard; at-will) F Weapon normal cover for those attacking from or into the area.
+7 vs. AC; 1d6 + 3 damage, and the target is marked until Areas covered by foliage also count as difficult terrain.
the end of the kobold dragonshield’s next turn. Rock Outcropping: The sheer rock outcroppings bor-
Dragonshield Tactics (immediate reaction, when an adjacent dered by a heavy black line are 50 feet tall and require a
enemy shifts away or an enemy moves adjacent; at-will)
DC 20 Athletics check and a total of 200 squares of move-
The kobold dragonshield shifts 1 square.
Mob Attack
ment to climb.
The kobold dragonshield gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls per Gravestones: These stones provide cover to anyone
kobold ally adjacent to the target. standing in their spaces.
Shifty (minor; at-will) Treasure: If the PCs defeat the kobold brigands, they
The kobold shifts 1 square. recover a total of 34 sp.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Draconic
Skills Acrobatics +5, Stealth +7, Thievery +7
Str 14 (+3) Dex 13 (+2) Wis 12 (+2) What’s Next?
Con 12 (+2) Int 9 (+0) Cha 10 (+1) When the fight concludes, the adventurers can continue
Equipment scale armor, heavy shield (made from a dragon’s on to the town of Winterhaven. For some tips on how to
scale), short sword
keep things moving, see the “DM’s Advice” section on the
following page.
Tactics
The dragonshields and the slinger allow the minions to
act first; even if they have higher initiative check results;
they refrain from taking any actions until after the min-
ions have acted. (From that point until the end of the
encounter, their initiative count is 1 lower than the min-
ions’ initiative count.) Any minion close enough to a PC
to charge does so; a minion not close enough to engage in
melee hangs back and throws a spear.
The dragonshields attempts to engage the PCs’ most
capable melee combatant.
The slinger remains behind cover as long as possible,
using its sling against the nearest PC. If this creature is
flushed out of its hiding place, it tries to move to a new
location from which it can continue to attack while enjoy-
ing the benefit of cover or concealment.
The kobolds fight to the death; they know that ­torture
awaits if they lead foes back to the secret kobold lair.

Features of the Area

Illumination: Bright light.
Road and Grass: The road is made of dirt, crushed
rock, and occasional loose bits of ancient cobblestone from
the original roadbed. Squares that contain road or grass do
not hamper movement or affect visibility.
Boulders: Scattered boulders sit along the side of the
road. They provide concealment and possible cover for
creatures hiding behind them. They also serve as obstacles
to movement; a creature can’t move directly into a square
that contains boulders.
jason engle