PIP FIZZLEBANG S re SPICY ENCOUNTERSINTRODUCTION Tired of random encounter tables leaving you disappointed in their genericness? Have some veterans in your party, not challenged by prewritten hordes of mooks? Just want to feel like your monsters were actually worth the XP they gave? Well this book is for you! These single encounters can be introduced as random encounters, side quests, boss fights, or even to fil rooms in your dungeon. Just pick recipe, and get to cookin! AN ENCOUNTER RECIPE? Rather than limit these encounters to a particular to the level and number of characters in your party, these encounters) focus on strategy the enemy uses and how to combine ‘monster's abilities in interesting (and challenging) ways. When my recipe says "l Ogre, 4 goblins’, you should think of itas roughly a 1 to 4 ratio of Ogres to Goblins, but feel free to add more or less to fit your party's dietary needs! On that note, Most of my encounters will even give guidelines on how to scale the encounter up for more players or higher levels, bu I stil casit possibly know what your pary’s real strength is. Ifyou have them kitted to kill zombies, for example, and you throw them into my Zombie Zoo, take that into consideration when deciding how to scale them, SPICINESS? Spiciness describes the synergy between the creatures in an encounter. For example, a CR 1/4 and a CR 2 creature doesn't sound like a threat toa level 10 party member. Butif that party member is low on health, and that CR1/4 can cast Sleep, then the CR2 Intellect Devourer can insta-kill it with one intelligence check. Because ofthat, Intellect Devourers are very spicy when combe'd with anything that can stun, ‘sleep, or otherwise leave someone Incapacitated Here's a breakdown of my system: Spiciness Meaning ‘The abilities of these creatures do not synergize 1.2 _ in any meaningful way. won't waste my time writing any of these for this book. ‘Tnese creatures have some light synergy in their abilities that makes for a unique tactical 5 aproach. Expect the party to think that their ‘opponents were clever in how they used their skils, But not that it will make the encounter much harder. Enough synergy that players will need to bring 4 some tactics of their own if they want to all ‘come out alive, Expect some downed players. This encounter involves instill abilities, AoE, 5 of combinations so effective that a TPK is more likely than if you used random creatures of equal CR. Bossfight Materia. TABLE OF CONTENTS (BOLD = INCLUDED IN PREVIEW) ENCOUNTERS ‘The Aria Spectre Nilbog's Whack-A-Booyagh! Florabarian Star Shinobi Special Leigh, The Wizard Mimics Among Us ‘The Evil Under (Demons of the Sea) ‘The Ores of Yurtrus ‘The Hellhive Queen (Hellwasps revisted!) Little Dragons (Kobold) Hobgoblin Ambush ‘The Dire Owlbear Corrosive Cube ‘The Cackling Gnolls OgreKill Ankheg Assault A Truly Vicious Mockery Fiends!) ‘The Hag's Menage A Tr Killer Clouds (Giants!) Macabre Menagerie (Ghosts!) ‘Tyrannasaurus Lich (Undead Dinosaurs!) Oh My Gob-tinst Vicious Vines (Plants & Kuo“Toa) Abhorrible Aberrations (Mindayers!) Killer Constructs ‘The Devils Made me Do it Anima Dead Zombie Zoo) The Abyssal Brewer Knight of Degradation Dangers of the Underdark King Criterab Vampiric Paralysis, Unseetie Skirmish CREATURE CUSTOMIZATION Creature Roles ComsaT VARIANT RULES Variant Initiative Rules Tank You Pace! Artists Encounter Sponsors THIS IS A PREVIEW While this book's table of contents shows the fill book’s contents only 2 portion ofits viewable inthis document. Ger Tue Futt Boox HERE: ‘KO=EL COWPIPFIZZLEBANG THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1,COM/PIPFIZZLEBANGTHE ARIA SPECTRE SPICINESS: 5/5 (Boss FIGHT) This performance is deadly: sour players will ned strategy to FEEDS ABOUT 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 4-6 Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: ‘Stat blocks are on the next page or Monster Manual! + The Aria Spectre + X Stage Hands (One Per Player) +X Wille Wisps (One for every level over 4) Scale the Save DCs: At level 6, add +1 to their Save DCs. PREPARATION The Aira Spectre is a hauntingly beautiful spectre. In life, she ‘was the center ofthe show, and in death~ she refuses to yield the stage. After all- the show must go on! Based on the Banshee and Shadow statblocks, these two custom creatures have been modified to more perfectly compliment each other, withthe Aria acting as a soloist performing massive AoEs attacks and debuts, while the stage-hands remain hidden and protect her At higher levels, I've added Wil-O-Wisps to add an additional threat to the players, forcing them to heal their downed players or risk losing them! COOKING THE WILL-O-WIsPs Round 1+: The role of the Willo-Wisps in this fight is partially asthetic (I loved the ides of floating lights on the stage). and partly for their Consume Life ability. Consider keeping them invisible until someone drops to 0 (which may be immediately due to Killing Aria) Then, consume life as a bonus action and use your action to return to invisibility. Defensive Note: Be sure to end their turns away from visible ereatures to avoid them getting hit by a fireball while invisible! If they take any damage, they're likely to lose concentration on their Invisibility (10 Con Save) or just, perish outright (they only have 22hp) THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1.COM/PIPFIZZLEBANG Cookinc THE STAGE HANDS Round 1+ The Stage Hands have 3 jobs, keep Aria welbi remain in the shadows, and prevent people from stopping the show! Keep Cue Lights on Aria, uy (o use Fly Rigging to prevent melee people from getting close to her by hoisting (hem in the ais, of finish off downed party members, Reactions: Always try (o end your turn next to party members to get the most use out of The Show Must Go Ont Don't forget! If you're not in bright light, use Preserve Immersion to stay Hidden. Otherwise, you must move to sn area that isnt brightly lt. (Afterall stage hands are not meant tobe seen in the show) COOKING THE ARIA SPECTRE Round 1: Ifshe's in bright light, she can use her Killing Aria (which is her best ability) I'your Stage Hands have used Cue Lights on her, or you can simply move to bright light, then do that. Otherwise, fly upwards and use your Tessitura to doa litle damage. While it may be tempting to Coloratura, your Aria will damage all of them, soit would end the effect ifused before that Round 2: Ifyou've used your Killing Aria, use your Coforatura now to prevent the remaining party members from healing them (and giving your stagehands / willo-wisps, time to finish them off), using your bonus action for Arcane Crescendo, Otherwise, definitely use your Killing Aria now! Round 34: By now, it should be a cleanup job Either the party has gotten lucky on their saves and avoided the worst of Killing Aria, or the party isin dire shapes. Either way, the strategy is the same: Keep your Coloratura active (i's concentration & recharges on 6) and throw in some extra damage through Tessitura when you have a free action. ‘When you reach OHIP for the first time: Your Cadenza activates, recharges all your abilities, and gives you an. immediate action. If you're brightly lit, use Killing Aria. Otherwise, Coloratura might be enough to keep you alive ‘until the start of your next turn, Note on Cue Lights: Since your spotlight follows you, you ccan position yourself better before using Killing Aria to hit more party members, but be careful with your movement, You could accidentally reveal the location of the stage-hands by moving through them (and thus, brightly lighting them).ARIA SPECTRE Mediu undead, chaotic evil ‘Armor Class 12 Hit Points 58 (1348) Speed Of, fly 40 fe. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15) 14 (42) 10 (40) 12 (41) 11 (40) 17 (43) Saving Throws Wis +2, Cha +5 Skills Performance +7 (expertise) Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, cold, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison ‘Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained ‘Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 10 Languages Common, 2 it knew from life halenge # (1.100 X0) Proficiency Bonus +2 — (Care Selve. Aria has resistance to Psychic Damage. Incorporeal Movement. Aria can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. She takes 5 (1410) force darnage if she ends her turn inside an object. ‘Arcane Crescendo: While concentrating on a spell, the Aria may use a Bonus Aetion to continue singing the vocal components of that spel. Until the start oF her next turn, creatures have Disadvantage on their saves against it. ‘Cadenza. When Aria would be reduced to Ohp for the first time, she is instead reduced to Thp. Her abilities recharge, and she may immediately take an action. Actions ‘Thunderous Tessitura Aria projects a violent vocalization. Ranged Spell Attack: +4 to hit, 30ft range, one target. Hit: 12 (346 + 2) Thunder damage. Coloratura. Recharge 6) Aria may cast Hypnotic Pattern without a spell slot. When doing so, you sing until the start of your next turn, and the spel is. centered upon you and does not effect Undead Killing Aria (1/day). Aria releases a powerful solo performance, provided that she isin bright light. ‘This song has no effect on constructs and undead Allother creatures within 30 feet of her that can hear her must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, On a fallure, a creature drops to 0 hit points. Ona success, a creature takes 10 (346) psychic darmage. Aria contiries singing until the start of her next turn Stace HanD Mediurn undead, chaotic evil ‘Armor Class 12 Hit Points 16 (348 + 3) Speed 40 ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (2) 1442) 13 (1) 662) 10(40) 8(1) Skill Stealth +6 (expertise) Damage Vuinerablites radiant Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire lightning thunder, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, ‘rapoled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses darkvision 60 fe, passive Perception 10 Languages common, Thieve's Cant (theatre jargon) Ghaflenge 1/2 (100 X9) Proficiency Bonus +2 Preserve Immersion. Wrile in dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action, Ifa creature is singing or performing, they have advantage on this check. Stage Fright. While in bright light, the stage hand is Frightened. While The Stages Frightened, t ust use its moverrent to head towards dima lighting or darkness, if possible. Actions ue Lights. The Stage Hand targets a creature it can see within 60ft. While the Stage Hand maintains concentration, that creature's space is brightly lit by ‘magic, and the surrounding 20ft radius around it Becomes dimly light (even if it was brightly lit before). Fly Rigging. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 fi, one creature. Hit: 9 (246 + 2) piercing damage, and the ereature is Restrained. While Restrained in this way, they are hoisted 1Oft off the ground via rope, which can be severed (AC 10, HP 5) "Good Luck!". The Stage Hand casts Bane against 2 creature by wishing it luck. Reactions ‘The Show Must Go On. When a creature adjacent to the Stage Hand would target a singing or performing creature with an attack or spell, the Stage Hand may use Fly Rigging against that creature.NILBoc's WHACK-A-BooyacH! SPICINESS: 5/5 FEEDS ABOUT 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 5-8 Seales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: * Booyahg Wielder (VGM, Necklace of Fireballs, 1 bead, Possessed by Nilbog Spirit at start of battle) * Booyahg Booyahg Booyahg (mage armor already cast) + One Goblin per player. ‘Scaling for Level: For each level over 5, convert one Goblin to a Booyagh Wielder (Wand of Wonder) At Level 8,use Goblin Boss stat block for each (with Wands of Wonder) PREPARATION Usually, all you need to know about a monster (for combat) is in their stat block- but the Nilbog is eo sneaky and mischievous that one of it's most avorful (and powerful) ability is actually on an entirely different page! Nibogism. A nilbog is an invisible sprit that possesses only {goblins Bereft ofa host, the sprit has a fying speed of 30 Feet and can't speak ot be attacked. The only action it can take isto attempt to possess a goblin within 5 feet oft A goblin targeted by the spst must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or become possessed, While possessed by the spirit, the goblins alignment becomes chaotic evil its Charisma becomes 15 (unless it was already higher) and it gains the nilbog's Innate Spelleasting and Nilbogisen traits, as well as its Reversal of Fortune reaction. If the save succeeds, the spirit ean't possess that goblin for 24 hours. Ifits host i killed or the possession is ended by a spell ‘such as hallow, magic circle, or protection from evil and good, the spirit searches for another goblin to possess. The sprit ‘can leave Its host at any time, but it won't do so willingly unless it knows there's another potential host nearby. A goblin stripped ofits nilbog spirit everts to its normal statistics and loses the traits it gained while possessed, ‘THINGS TO KNOW: ‘+ The Nilbog docsn' die, it keeps fighting until it runs out of fpoblins to possess. + Tesays that goblin gains those traits in addition to whatever it already had. Spellcaster goblin nilbog? Goblin ‘boss Nilhog? Ifit's on a goblin stat block, the Nilbog can have it) + Volos says thatthe position of Jester is coveted. it makes sense that the goblins may choose to let it possess them! If that's the case, forgo the Charisma Save. ‘Mar SETTING ‘The battle takes place on a trail with two very steep hills or otherwise difficult terrain on the sides of it, which is where all the goblins but the necklace-wielder are hiding. When not hidden, this rubble can provide partial cover for them, giving them +2 to AC and Dex Saves. Pre-BATTLE ‘The Goblins are hiding, ready to play a deadly "prank" on passerbys. When the party approaches, have the Nilbog (dressed asa Jester), dancing in the middle ofthe road, alone. retends to not notice the party at fret, but of course it already has (it only reveals itself fit sees the party) Itjumps and kicks its heels, causing its hat laden with bells to jingle, and its necklace of red pearls to bounce and shine. and asks the party, "What would a wizard want when wet, whenever weary, or while a whacko?" While the party tres (© answer him, he stealthily reaches for the necklace (Perception or Insight DC 16 to notice). On failure, the party member is rightfully surprised thatthe Nilbog Wielder throws the bead at his own fect, hitting the entire partyt Note on Surprise: The Nilbog is taking an aggressive action here (throwing the beads) it cannot be done outside of combat: Instead, the party members who both are not surprised and oll higher than him on initiative will have a chance to stop him, or fle. Ifthey try to damage him, they'l need to pass the Charisma Save, and even then he can negate the damage as a reaction! Don't let ‘em stop you! THIS IS A PREVIEW | GeT THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-! i xBCOOKING THE WIELDERS Round 1: The Nilbog wielder with the fireball necklace explodes it at his feet, hitting all the party members (ideally) He will not survive this. All other Wielders pop out of hiding, use the Wand of Wonder, and then Bonus action to hide again (make sure there's plenty of bushes/rubble on your map) Keep spread out— these guys do not have much HP and one fireball or Sleep can do them in! Round 2+: They continue the guerilla warfare, trying to remain as defensive as possible, The Wands of Wonder don't present a huge threat, since most the effects are non- damaging, but the party should take them down fast. The longer they last- the more likely a second fireball is coming! COOKING THE GOBLINS Round 1+: Any regular goblins on the field act as reinforcements. Ifa Wielder dies, have them bonus action disengage or dash, run over, and pick up the wand of wonder (free action) Tada, they're now a Wielder! Ifthe Nilbog needs ‘body they can provide that too! Otherwise, just stay in the shadows and use your shorthow to stay out of any potential AoEs that are happening, Make use of that SOft range! Don't forget to bonus action Hide! COooKING THE NILBOG ‘Round 1: It will immediately be in spirit form due to the answer ofthe riddle being "FIREBALL Go possess the Booyagh Booyagh Booyagh to give it some major defensive bos. ‘Round 2+ Ifthey manage to kill the Booyagh Booyagh Booyagh before killing the rest of the goblins, try to possess regular goblin and then use your Confusion / Hideous Laughter to disable party members. Ifthere are no regular goblins left, go for a Wielder. And if no one is left fight’ over, flee! ‘When you would take damage: One per turn, you can negate ALL damage done in an attack or spell effect via Reversal of Fortune, and instead heal d6. That's super good! ‘When Attacked: The someone tries to damage you (via, attack roll or saving throw ability) Nilbogiam fires off and ‘might cause them (o entirely lose their turn. Pro tip: Give the spirit i's own turn in the initiative, so ‘when it "possesses" a goblin it doesn't take up their whole turn too! COOKING THE 1Booyaue! !BOOYAHG: 1BooYAHG! Round 1: The Booyahg is far more powerful than the Nilbog's magic, so even while possessed prioritize the Booyagh's spells. Since the party is likely still grouped up, lee ‘Storm or Fireball could be great openers. Don't use Cone of Cold just yet~ we're pretty far away from them so it might not hit everyone. Round 2: Youre possessed by now, which is great since that means both 1. The party will need to make a Charisma ‘Save to even target you, and 2 If they succeed, you can still negate one source of damage and heal instead (from Nilbogism), That's major defense on a caster! Ifthe party is still grouped up, hit them with the AoE’ from turn 1 again (because they need to Ieara from their mistakes) Otherwise, Magic Missile can be used to insta-kll a downed player (3 hits = 3 failed death saves) or to simply uke a player who's low, or FiysDisengage can be ued to get, ‘you out of danger (great against paladins, barbarians, & hex blades!) Round 34: Oh god, they haven't killed this guy yet? Position ‘yourself well and Cone of Cold. Enjoy your party-icles, then just keep blasting them with spells until you're out of them, EVERY TURN ‘Wild Magic: Dorit forget that, unlike Wildl Magic Sorcerers, BOOYAIGs roll on the wild magic table every single time they casta spell. That combined with the Wands of Wonder are going to make for absolute arcane chaos. Nimble Escape: You can disengage as a bonus action, meaning you never have to take an attack of opportunity? REACTIONS Reversal Of Fortune vs Counter Spell vs Shield: Ifthe only person effected by the spell would be the Nilbog and it'sa damaging spelt it may be better to use Reversal Of Fortune to negate the damage rather than burn a spell slot. It's big ‘AE that's gonna take out all your Gobbos~ Counter spell! ‘Alternatively if ts an attackroll based spell (or weapon attack) i's actually best to use Shield that way you get that tasty +5 to AC for the rest of your turn, Se THIS ISA PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko-F1,coM/PIPEIZZLEBANGFLORABARIAN SPICINESS: 5/5 FEEDS ABOUT 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 5-7 ‘Seales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: + Florabarian (stat block on next page!) + XPoison Vine Blights (One Per Playes) + Use the Vine Blight stat block but add the following ability: Toxic Thorns. Any creature that grapples the Blight or otherwise comes into direct contact with the Blight's vines must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution ‘saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with the Blight can repeat the saving throw at the end of each ofits turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Scaling for Level: Atlevel 7, add +1 to their Save DCs. PREPARATION ‘The Florabarian is named such because they are intoxicatingly beautiful yet dangerous. They utilize their vicious vines to brutalize their enemy, poisoning them and {twisting their minds until they can no longer discern friend from foe. ‘This fight is all about Poison & Charm. Bach ingredient in itean either inflict poison (and help the Florabarian get her Intaxicating Charm off) or has other means of erowd control to prevent the party from simply ganging up on the florabarian until she's downed. ‘Things you should know for this fight: + Reactions can happen even on the turn of the person. triggering the reaction (thus ifthe Florabarian poisons ‘someone, she can use her reaction on her own turn). * Poisoned gives them disadvantage on Attack rolls and Ability Checks, + While charmed, they follow Florabarian’s orders without hesitation or misinterpretation, COOKING THE FLORABARIAN Round 1. Start off by isolating Florabarian— you don't want the party geting close to her. Spike Growth isa great option for keeping melee people distant. Round 2: Fun note, spike growth damage applies for every 5fta creature moves within there. So pick a target, Thorn Whip them to pull them within 10ft of you (and dragging them through the spiked growth), then use your Poison Ivy to, ‘maybe poison them. Ifthat succeeds, Intoxicating charm them, Order all your new charmed friends to run... through the spiked growth! Round 3+ Once you lose concentration on Spiked Growth, ‘you've lost a large deal of your damage outpst. You ean, combo Ray of Enfeeblement with Instinctive Strike to get someone charmed in a turn, play defensively with Dispel Magic to shut down buffs & concentration spells, or ev focus someone down with Blight. Reaction. Instinctive Strike is fantastic for quickly charming enemies who've been poisoned. Between that and being able to.use Intoxicating Charm as an action, you could charm up to 2 party members a round! jst COOKING THE POISON VINE BLIGHTS Round 1+: Their one job is to poison as many people as possible and keep them grappled Note that the reach on thei Constrict is 10f, and it inflicts grapple + restrained So you ccan grapple a melee person from 10ft away, and they won't be able to hit you on their turn until they've broken out of the israpple (which takes an action to escape anyways} though melee fighters are likely to be able to escape since it uses. their athletics or acrobaties to escape. The good news is that since it uses a cheek and not a save, being Poisoned gives them disadvantage on it! Round 2+ Once they have someone grappled (and poisoned) ute your Entangling Plants to make the whole area difficult to navigate. You don't want your party members getting close! The Entangling Plants only affects creatures ‘you choose foritto affect as well so don't have it restra ‘your charmed friends! THIS IS A PREVIEW | GeT THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-! i xBFLORABARIAN Medium Plant, Neutral Evil ‘Armor Class 14 (bark arrnor) Hit Points 88 (1648 + 16) Speed 30ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (40) 15 (+2) 12 (41) 12 (#1) 17 (+3) 16 (43) Saving Throws: Con +4, Wis +6 Damage immunity. Poison Condition Immunity. Poisoned Skills Arcana +4, Insight +6, Nature +4, Religion +4 ‘Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Sylvan, Druidic Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 TTelepathic Bond. The Florabarian can communicate telepathically with a creature it has charmed. The two don't even need to be on the same plane of existence to do so. Spelcasting. The Florabarian is an 8th-level Druidic spellcaster. ts spelicasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks), and has the following druid spells prepared: Cantrips (at will): poison spray, thorn whip st level (4 slots): entangle, ray of sickness 2nd level (3 slots): Ray of enfeeblement, spike growth 5rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, plant growth 4th level (2 slots): blight, giant insect Actions Multittack Florabarian casts one cantrip and uses her Poison Ivy once. Poison iy. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, each 10 ft, one creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each ofits turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Intoxicating Charm. The Florabarian targets a Poisoned Creature within 3Oft of it that it can see to activate the toxin's hallucinogenic properties. That creature must make a DC 14 Wisdom Saving Throw ‘or become Charmed by Florabarian. The charm lasts Until the creature is no longer poisoned. The charmed target obeys the Florabarian’s verbal or telepathic commands. Reactions Instinctive Stke: When a creature within 30 feet of the Florabarian becornes poisoned, she ray use her reaction to use her Intoxicating Charm.Srar SHINOBI SPICINESS: 4/5 A lot of single target Damage, but not going to TPK. FEEDS ABOUT PLAYERS 3-5, LEVEL 5-7 Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: + 2 Star Shinobi (Based on the Star Spawn Mangler, MToP) +X Star Spawn Grue (One Per Player, MTF) Scale the Save DCs: At level 7, add +1 to their Save DCs, PREPARATION Star Spawn are the demons of aberrations~ Chaotic, Evil looking to destroy things. But unlike the animalistic, primal demons that use brute force or arcane might, the Star Spawn can be hyper intelligent. ‘Asan example, the Star Spawn Mangler is very stealthy. Between having a #7 to stealth, darkvision, Ambush, AND Shadow Stealth, it already felt like a ninja, o adding the two abilities Time Warp and Substitution Jutsu make it fel way ‘more interesting and "ninja like” Of course, the encounter hhas to be an ambush as well so here's the pre-battle prept Before the Combat: The Star Shinobi are hiding in shadows (possibly om the walls or columns as they have a climb speed), while the Grue are behind total cover. As the party walks into their trap, they each roll Perception (DC 17) to natice the Shinobi, who are quickly heginning the fight. On a failure, that creature is surprised. ‘Things you need to know for this fight ‘+ Any time the Shinobi has advantage on its claw attack, it deals 2d6 extra psychic damage. On a critica this number ‘would also be doubled (to 446). + Ifyou're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn ofthe combat, and you can't take a reaction ‘until that turn ends. You may still take a bonus action. + Recharge X-Y: The notation “Recharge X-Y" means a ‘monster ean use a Special abikiy once, and that ability then has a random chance of recharging during each ‘subsequent round of Combat. At the start of each of the ‘monster's turns rll a d6. Ifthe roll is one of the numbers in the Recharge notation, the monster regains the use of the Special ability. COOKING THE STAR SPAWN GRUE Round 1+: The role ofthe Grue is straightforward: hit people with Confounding Bite so the Shinobi deal way more damage. Easy peasy. Don't forget their Aura of Madness, so players have disadvantage on the save against the Confounding Bite. Be sure to end your turn near the party as well to keep that Aura on them. Simple, but Spicy! The Grue isnt the most complicated block ever-it has 2 abilities, one of which is passive However, everthing they have combos very well withthe Shinobi, both flavorfully (as they're both Star Spawn) and ‘mechanically (sit gives the Shinobi a steadfast way to get advantage on attacks). Ths isa great example of how simplicity can still be interesting! COOKING THE STAR SHINOBI ‘As Initiative is Rolled: Time Swap to get a better spot in the initiative! Ty to use this on someone within 20ft of a Grue so they have disadvantage on the save Round 1: You have advantage on al atacks against people who haven't had a turn, so use Flurry to get close to them (you won't provoke AoOs and can dash a8 « bonus action) then hit them with SZX Claw attacks from the Furry. Since ‘you have advantage, you deal the extra psychic damage for a {otal of about 90 damage Average, assuming no crite, This will likely down a player, maybe two in the first round Round 24: Now that Ambush is offline, we have to get creative on how to get Advantage. Creatures confused by the Grae are easy targets for this, or you can tse your bonus action Hide from Shadow Stealth to get advantage on 1 of those attacks. Dorit forget to Recharge Flurry and use that again ifyou can! Reactions: As a reaction to being the target ofan attack roll you can try to make someone else take that attack for you. If ‘your health is pretty high, try to swap with a party member. ‘There's a chance it fails and you get hit, but there's also a chance that the party hits themselves this way. If you're low ‘on health, it may’be better to switch to a Grue or someone who can tank the shot (since they get no save against this and itwon't fail, THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1.COM/PIPFIZZLEBANGStar SHINOBI ‘Medium aberration, chaotic evil ‘Armor Cass 14 Hit Points 71 (1348 + 13) Speed 40 ft, climd 40 ft STR DEX CON INT wis CHA 81) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 11 (40) 12(41) 7 (2) Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +4 Skils Stealth +7 Damage Vulnerabilities damage_vulnerabilties Damage Resistances cold Damage Immunities psychic Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, prone ‘Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 11 Languages Deep Speech Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 ‘Ambush. On the first round of each combat, the Shinobi has advantage on attack rolls against a creature that hasn't taken a turn yet ‘Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the Shinobi can take the Hide action as a bonus action, ‘Timewarp. The Star Shinobi can bend space and time to gain an advantage. When initiative is rolled, it may target @ creature, That creature must make a Dex save (DC 15), or that creature and the Star Shinobi trade Initiative Scores. Actions Muttiattack The Shinobi makes two claw attacks ‘Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: 47 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target Hit: 8 (148 + 4) slashing damage. If the attack roll has, advantage, the target also takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage. Fluny of Claws (Recharge 4-6). The Shinobi makes six claw attacks against one target: Either before or after these attacks, it can move up to its speed as a bonus action without provoking opportunity attacks. Reactions Substitution Jutsu When the Shinobi would become the target of an attack roll, you may choose another creature that YoU can see within 30ft a a reaction. The target creature swaps places with the Shinobi, and becomes the target of the attack. Ifthe creature is unwiling, it may prevent ths effect with a DC 15 Wisdom Save. EE Se THIS ISA PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko-F1.coM/PLPFIZZLEBANGSPECIAL LEIGH, THE WIZARD SPICINESS: 5/5 Some creatures can hold their own against the action economy... Especially the Wizard. FEEDS ABOUT 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 8-10 Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: + Special Leigh, The Wizard (Next Page!) Scale the Save DCs: For every level over 8 add 15hp to Special Leigh. At level 10, add +1 to their Save DCs, PREPARATION When writing Special Leigh, the Wizard, there were some no. brainers in the design, such as giving them Fireball but what makes Special Leigh Special? They went to all the schools, Leigh is an abjurer, conjurer, diviner, enchanter, evoker, illusionist, ransmuter, and necromancer! ‘The problem usualy faced by single-creature boss fights is that the action economy is stacked so far against them that the creature either has to nuke them down immediately to have a chance or has to abuse bounded accuracy to survive more than a round or two (and it's not fun for the players to constantly be missing). To fix that, we're doing a couple things: Scaling the number of Legendary Actions they have to party size + Scaling the number of Legendary Resistance they have to half the party’s size * Buling the shit out of them pre-batte Pre-battle: + Special Leigh has stoneskin, mind blank, & Mage armor already cast. They regained these spell slots through Arcane Recovery or some other bullshit though (power pearl? Used Scrolls?) * Special Leigh begins the fight with their Abjurer Shield shield active at 30HP, the Illusion from Illusionist active, & the Transmuter's Stone giving them +10 to their movement speed, * Leigh begins the fight as an Enchanter: When to Choose what School? Rather than choosing ‘what spell you want and simply picking the school that goes “with it, Pd prioritize picking what benefit you want and then choosing what spell you want after. Remember that you still, have to recharge each of these abilities through casting a spell ofthe same school while that school's effect is active on you. ‘Note: Abjurer is particularly good because you can switch tot as a legendary action, and then heal your Arcane Ward asa reaction through casting Shield. THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1.COM/PIPFIZZLEBANG COOKING THE WIZARD Before your frst Turn: Your Instinctive charm is active, so someone targets you with «ranged attack or they target you with melee attack snd have an ally next to them, sei Round 1 (Active buffs: Displacement, Arcane Ward, Instinctive Charm, Tranamuter's Stone, Stoneskin): At the star ofthe fight, you have all your defensive bus ctv, snd swe want to keep it that wa Getting bit wall remove your Displacement, reduce sour Arcane Ward and force & traventration cock oa Stonceliajwo psy eras casa ‘mouse with your 40f movespeed Don worry about attacks of opportunity, we can cast Shield ifnecessary end it wil last tna the start of your next tur, giving you a full ound ofits benefits) We cant use Concentration spell yet without losing Stoneski, so use iebal or cone of cold to hit many of them as possible. Round 2: t's time to trigger trap! I'd wager there's at least melee person nex to you now (who probably had to Dash to eatch you} 30 use Wall Of Force to exchide everone else from the fight, and cane that person doen with legendary actions. Not that Wall f Force is concentration, soyou love Stoneskin it was stl active though I doubt t is) Round 3: Switch to Necromancer if youve lost 15+ hp, or Divine ifyou haven't. someone isn the wall of force with ‘yu hit them with Finger of Desth to kil them, an then heal for 2thp if that person dies &you chose Necromancer if you chose Divine you can make them revel their save if they pass (and you should) Ifo one is in the wall wth you, switch to Enchanter and target the party's pelicaster with a Power Word Kill That likey kills them outright, and recharges your Instinctive Charm, Since only spils can get through Wal of force, if that was their only spelleaser soure effectively invincible at this point Round 4: With 2 people down, we can gan a lot by removing a third fom combat. Ifyour iviner is ready to use, switch to that before sing Mental Prison on one ofthe survivors. That drops Wall f Force, but also prevents that person fom doing something to pick up downed party tocrnber by turing tie fictrely ita aaa betes trhoere is left acd Special Usgut el alice et eed Wal of force, hit the remaining party members with Synaptic Static instead to potently down more of them but also to debut hem, Round 54: A this point, if things have gone as writen hove, its going tobe a TPK. While we're not aiming to TPK. 28 «DM, this encounter will absolutely require your players tobe smart to avoid it Legendary Actions: Notice that my tactical breakdown doesnt say’ "Turn X" but eather Rosnd X. Ifyou can do the suggested strategies axa legendary action, do it Reactions: You have both Counterspell and Shield If someone is casting a spell at you that uses attack ols (or magic miss i actually better tose Shield It costs alot teas (evel 1 pelle 3) and provides better benefit xBSe SPECIAL LEIGH, THE ‘WIZARD ‘Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment ‘Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor) Hit Points 99 (18d8 +18) + 30TH (arcane ward) Speed 30 ft. (40ft with Transmuter's Stone) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (#0) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 20 (45) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) ‘Saving Throws Int +9, Wis +6 Skills Arcana +13, History +13 Damage Resistances darrage from spells; nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing (from stoneskin) Senses passive Perception 12 Languages any six languages Challenge 12 (8,400 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4 Legendary Resistance (9. When Special Leigh fails a sate the) may ches vo succeed stead hey ay do this a number of times equal to half your party's Magic Resistance. Special Leigh has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, ‘Scholastic Expertise. At the beginning of each of Special Leigh's turns, you may choose a school of expertise on the Scholastic table (next page). You gain the benefits ofthat school until you select, another. Ifa benefit has a lingering effect, such as the Arcane Ward's shield, it remains after switching. Spellcasting. Special Leigh is an 18th-level spellcaster. its spellcasting ability i Intelligence (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks) Special Leigh has the following wizard spells prepared: (See Descriptive Block on right). Legendary Actions Special Leigh can take X legendary actions (where Xis the numberof party members-1), choosing frorn the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at atime and only atthe end of another creature's turn. Special Leigh regains spent legendary actions atthe start ofits tur, CCantrip. Special Leigh casts one ofits cantrips. Switch Schools. Special Leigh can trigger their Scholastic Expertise, causing ther to switch schools. Cast Spell (Costs 2). Special Leigh casts a spell of level 1 through 4. SPECIAL LEIGH SPELL LisT + Cantrips (at wil) fire bot, light, mage hand, prestiigitation, shocking grasp + Istlevel (4 slots): Chrornatic Orb, Shield, mage armor, magic missile 2nd level (3 slots): Mind Spike, mirror image, misty step 3rd level (3 slots): counterspel frebal, Slow ‘Ath level (3 slots): banishment, ie shiele,stoneskin®™ Sth evel (3 slots): cone of cold, Synaptic Stati, wal of force 6th level (1 slot): Mental Prison 7th evel (1 slot): Finger of Desth th evel (1 slot): mind blank th level (1 slot): Power Word Kil Special Leigh casts spells marked with a* before combat OO ‘Sprcrer VARIANT Rather than atthe start of each turn & as a legendary action, you can choose to instead run Special Leigh as being able to switch their school any time they cast a spell, up to twice per round. This makes them a bit easier to run (since you don't have to set yourself up for your next spell ahead of time), butit also makes it a lot more challenging for your players since you basically now have the benefit of essentially whatever school of expertise you need at any given time. a ?P!OOMVMwo THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1,COM/PIPFIZZLEBANGScHoLastic EXPERTISE TABLE Spells To School Pair With Effect Arcane Ward, The abjurer has a magical ward that has 30 hit points. Whenever the abjurer takes Abjurer Shield, damage, the ward takes the damage stead. If the ward is reduced to 0 hitpoints, the abjurr Counterspell takes any remaining damage. When the abjurer casts an abjuration spel of st level or higher, the Ward regains a number of hit points equal o twice the level ofthe spel Benign Transportation (Recharges after the Conjurer Casts a Conjuration Spell of 1st Level or Higher), As a Bonus action, the conjurer teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that it Conjurer Misty Step can'see. fit instead chooses a space within range that is occupied by a willing Small or Medium creature, they both teleport, swapping places. Portent (Recharges after the Diviner Casts a Divination Spell of 1st Level or Higher). When the Diviner Mind Spike diviner or a creature it can see makes an attack rll, a saving throw, or an ability check, the diviner can roll ad20 and choose to use this rollin place of the attack rol, saving throw, or ability cheek Instinctive Charm (Recharges after the Enchanter Casts an Enchantment Spel of 1st level or Synaptic Higher). The enchanter tries to magically divert an attack rmade against it, provided that the Enchanter Sie, attacker i within 30 feet of it and visible to it The enchanter must decide to do so before the Inter Power Word attack hits or misses, The attacker must make aDC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a flled save, Kill the attacker targets the reature closest to it other than the enchanter or itself. f multiple Creatures are closest, the attacker chooses which one to target. Fteball (S Seulpt Spells When the evoker casts an evocation spel that forces other creatures it can see to Y 5) make saving throw, it can choose a nurnber of them equal 1+ the spel level. These Evoker °¥6 Pell creatures automaticaly succeed on their saving throws against the spel. if a successful save Yuhave means achoren creature would take half damage from the spell it instead takes no damage rom you) fi Displacement (Recharges after the llusionist Casts an Illusion Spell of 1st Level or Higher). As a Mirror BaMuS action, the illusionist projects an illusion that makes the illusionist appear to be standing Msionist Miror ina place a few inches from its actual location, causing any creature to have disadvantage on 3 stack rolls against the illusionist. The effect ends i the illusionist takes damage, iis incapacitated, or its speed becomes 0 Grin Harvest (1/Turn). When a necromancer drops a creature to Onp that is neither a construct Necromancer "ef nor undead witha spel of Ist level or higher, the necromancer regains hit points equal to twice = the spel's level, or three times itis a necromancy spel “ransmuter's Stone. The transmuter carries a magic stone it crafted that grants its bearer one of the following effects: Darkysion ov 0 9 range of 60 feet OR An extra 10 feet of speed wrile $e eee bearer is unencumbered OR Proficiency with Constitution saving throws OR Resistance to acid cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage (transmmuter's choice whenever the transmuiter chooses this benefit). Ifthe transrnuter has the stone and casts a transrnutation spell of 1st level or higher, ican change the effect of the stone. THIS IS A PREVIEW | GeT THE FULL BOOK HERE: K:A TRULY Vicious Mockery (FIENDs!) SPICINESS: 4/5 ‘Your party will need to work together to avoid a death or two. FEEDS ABOUT 4 PLAYERS, LEVEL 5 but can seale for different sizes and up to level 9! INGREDIENTS: + Berigura (2 if feeding a party of level 79) + Ifyou don't ike the taste of Barlgura, consider substituting ‘a Tanarukk or other heavily martial high da ‘but give them innate casting of invisibility 1 Entangle 1 day forthe below strategy! ‘dish Cacklers (one per party member) + Ifyou don't have Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica or just ‘want to lower the spice a litle, don't worry about it! Just use 4 imps, give them each innate spelleasting of : I/day ‘Tashals Hideous Laughter & at-will vicious mockery, with a spellisave DC of 12 (or higher to suit your group) + Don't forget to scale their Save DCs~ start with 12 at level 5s and add one for every 2 levels above that! This keeps their strategy effective. PREPARATION ‘The Cacklers are known for laughing endlessiy-the joke this, time is that their leader is a huge fucking stealth monkey. They're just waiting for a telepathic signal, distracting the party with their antics. They can perfectly mimic the voices of people too, so they might mock us using our own voices! ‘The Barlgura (with his climb speed) isin the raters, invisible- because yeah, apparently they can do that! When the party is in position, the Barlgura drops from rafters, everyone makes a perception check to notice the sound of a giant ape-demon dropping. It does a stealth check (with advantage, as the Cacklers are aiding him by distracting you- ‘an insight check could reveal this prior to the stealth roll) Everyone who rolls lower than his stealth is surprised for the first round (they can't take any kind of action until their turn has been skipped once). Se COOKING THE BALGURA ‘+ Round 1: Since people will be surprised, the party won't get a lot of attacks off, and using his Reckless to get advantage on all his attacks will be super efficient (note that whoever does attack him will get advantage too, but oh well) + Alternatively: Ifthe party is heavily melee or abuses the Mobile feat, you can use the Barlgura's Entangle spell to keep them from running around and killing all your Cacklersl + Round 2+ : Hulk Smashes whoever is currently Prone -gy} Since he's attacking a prone person, he'd get advantage, so don't use his Reckless ability. (see Cacklers Sts COOKING THE CACKLERS + Round 1: Targeting in order of who has the worst Wis saves, use Tasha's Hideous Laughter to make them drop Prone and be Incapicitated. This means not only will they be removed from combat, all attacks against them will have advantage, until they pass their save, + Round 2+: [fusing cacklers, they stay spread out and Whip the party with their Spiked Chains (10ft range) This is important because when one die, they have their Last Laugh ability which is a 10ft AOE of psychic Damage. + Ifusing Imps, have them grapple prone people to prevent them from standing up, and then have them turn invisible so that party members have disadvantage on attacks against them. Since maintaining a grapple takes no action, it doesn't break their invisibility! REACTION: On death, cacklers explode dealing extra psychic damage to those in 10 ft THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1,COM/PIPFIZZLEBANGTue Hac's Ménace A Trois SPICINESS: 5/5 Boss fight material. TPKs possible! FEEDS ABOUT 4-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 11-13 But has instructions for scaling up! INGREDIENTS: * Annis Hag + 2 Dusk Hags (with brooms of fying) + Ifyour party has fewer spelicasters/ ranged attacks, consider only giving one broom or none! (also give them out as loot) Scaling Up: Ifyour party has more than 5 players, consider giving them 3 Legendary Action points shared among them- for 2 points, a hag can cast a cantrip, for 1 point, they can move without provoking attacks of ‘opportunity: Also consider giving them shared Legendary Resistance- they can (as a unit) automatically succeed on X number of failed saving throws- usually about 1-3. PREPARATION “The hags have formed a coven unlike most—blending their talents from 2 different kinds of hags. The Annis hag is a brute, capable of crushing her foes in her armst Meanwhile, the dusk hags rain spelis down on the party from their brooms, focusing on disabling the party and preventing them fom returning to the fight (because fuck yo-yo healing), ‘As well The hags have performed a dark ritual- their health is combined into a single pool of health, making it impossible to just focus down one of them! (this dark ritual ‘was a level 6 spell and can be Dispelled appropriately, immunities resistances and vulnerabilities are shared amongst them; ifan AOE would hit more than one of them, then you aren't playing your witches on fying brooms vigh!) COOKING THE ANNIS HaG + Round 1+ (or any round notgrappling someone): Despite their spelicasting, Annis Hags make excellent brutes. Find, the party member with low AC and use your Crushing ‘Hug to deal 946+5 damage, plus the same amount at the start of each of your turns. + Round 2+ (when grappling someone): Unfortunately the ability says "The hag can't make attacks while grappling a creature in this was" It doesn't, however, say anything about spelleasting! Bestow Curse (Strength or Dex) on the character you're grappling to ensure they'll never get out ofyour claws. Then on subsequent turns, use your action (o cast spells that don't require an attack, such as Hold Person, Blight, or Phantasmal killer. + REACTIONS: Since you can't make attacks of opportunity while using your death-grapple anyways, this hhag becomes a great counter speller or can tank with ‘Shield. This hag willbe the only one in melee range for the fight, s0 it will need the beef! Cookinc THE Dusk Hacs + Round 1 : Open up with high damage SINGLE TARGI spells.- Blight is a great example. Why single target? 1 Because we don't want to encourage our players to spread. ut before our sleep spells can go off. 2. because we want some of them to have very, very low HP quickly rT + Round 2+ (No one's sleeping): Cast sleep! When the Dusk, Hag casts sleep, it rolls 948, which is more than enough to knock out 1 or 2 party members that have taken some damage. Since the Annis hag should have dumped out 18c6+10 damage by now on a single target, that's an easy sleeper! + Round 3+ (Look who's sleeping..: Nightmare Touch the sleeping creature up to twice, dealing 11d6#4 psychic damage (if both hit and they wake up after the frst hit) Note that since they're waking up, both dusk hags can. burn their reaction to deal another 210 psychic each, AND healing the hags. + REACTIONS: Every time someone is no longer unconscious (if they wake up from your sleep spell or if someone heals them back from Op!) you can use their Dream Eater ability to deal 2d10 Psychic Damage (possibly knocking them unconscious again), and healing ‘your hags for the same amount. THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko- PIPE IZZLEB: xBOu My Gos-.ins! SPICINESS: 3/5 FEEDS ABOUT 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 2-4 ‘Seales for: Number of Players INGREDIENTS: foblin Boss (shout out to @DnDGoblin on + Peeper the twitter} * Booyagh Caster (use Goblin stat block with the feature below added) + Spelfcasting (Recharge 5-6). The goblin can cast a randomly determined Istlevel wizard spell Intelligence is its spellcasting ability (spell save DC 10, +2 to hit with spell attacks) Roll on the table below, then roll on the Wild Magic table (from the sorceror subclass) D4 Spell to cast 1 Color Spray 2 Burning Hands 3 Magic Missile 4 Chromatic Orb + One additional Goblin until the total number of goblins ‘equals the number of players + their class level (soa party ‘of 3 level 2s would have 5 goblins total, including Peeper & the Booyagh). PREPARATION Peeper the Goblin was called that for being a famously good scout, and a good shot with his bow when needed. His ability toavoid danger and get the jump on adventurers has gained him a smal following of Goblins who rely on him for food and so they'll defend him tl death, ‘The Ambush: Peeper is an expert in Survival and has used that to find the perfect spot to ambush some traveling adventurers. His crew is up in the trees, waiting for tunexpecting caravans. The branches and leaves give them half cover (#2 to AC and Dex Saves) They've rolled a 16 for stealth (using Peeper's Modifiers) so frst have the party rola perception against that, Whoever fails it is Surprised as the Goblins begin their attack! COOKING THE PEEPER + Round 1+: Peeper's whole stick is to protect his friends while taking shots at the party on his turn. Use his bonus action disengage to keep away from party members that fet to close, or if you're in a spot to hide, use that! Stay in the Tree tops as long as possible! Reactions: When the Booyagh Caster is targeted by an. attack, use Peeper's Look Out ability to keep him alive longer! Or, if it’s about to be Peeper's turn again and you hhaver't used it yet, just use it on whatever you can before your reaction resets, COOKING THE BooYacH Round 1+- Booyaghs (goblin casters) know they have very Tite control over their magic, Roll the D4, see what you get, then move where you need to go and cast the spell Don't damage your own goblins! You need them! Then, roll on the Wild Magic Table and ce what secondary effects are available. Their spells recharge on a 5-6 so keep them around long enough to actually do that (hide ifyou have to!) 2 spells will require you to get closer though (burning hands and Color Spray) so get ready to protect your Booyagh! COOKING THE GOBLINS Round 14- The Goblins jump down and begin attacking with, their Scimitars. They're smart though, focusing down casters while the party is still surprised. They arent looking to die here though, and will disengage / flee up a tree if they get too low (trees are about 10ft tall here) From there, they use their javelin attacks, which are far less effective when thrown by lil gobby boi noodle arms. ae a mene rl PEEPER THE GOBLIN Boss ‘Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral ‘Armor Class 15 (Chain shir) Hit Points 36 (646) Speed 30 ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (40) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 8(-1) 10(+0) Skills Stealth +6, Survival +8 (expertise) Condition Immunities Frightened Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 9 Languages Common, Goblin Ghatenge 1 (200 %8) Nimble Escape. Peeper can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns. Actions, Actions Shortbow. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 80/320, one target. it 5 (146 2) slashing lamage. Reactions Look Out! Peeper can spat an attack and warn his fiends. Asa reaction to an ally you can see being the target ofan attack, you may impose disadvantage on that rll. eee Se THIS ISA PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko-F1.coM/PLPFIZZLEBANG 16THE ABYSSAL BREWER SPICINESS: 4/5 While none of the creatures have particulary high damage, they have a lot of AoEs and Crowd Control- it's possible the party might not get that many actions! FEEDS ABOUT 4 PLAYERS, LEVEL 8-11 Scales for: Player Level, Party Size INGREDIENTS: * One Glabrezu * The Abyssal Brewer + This is a Quasit withthe following ability added Volatile Brew: As « bonus action on your turn, you may ‘Quickly throw together a mix of ingredients. Rolla D6 on the Potion Table, and that isthe potion you create, As an action, this potion can be drunk, administered to anally, ff thrown up to 1Oft. Due to the unstable nature of the potion, itloses its potency at the beginning of your next turn, Roll 2d6 for any damage or healing done. Save DC 15, + XDretches, one per Party Member! Scale the Spell Save DC: At Party level 10, add +1 to the Save DCs of the Demons, and consider using the Variants provided based on the strength of your party. PREPARATION ‘What do you get when you have a brew-happy Quasit pumping experimental potions into a very lage crabfemon spelleaster with his pet stink dogs? A fight that your players will remember! ‘Things you should know for this ight: ‘Every demon in itis immune to poison & being poisoned. + The Glabrezuis 10f¢ tall with a 40ft speed. + The Abyssal Brewer is riding the Glabrezu as a mount. ‘The party will want to attack this guy, but since the Glabrezu (your mount) is 10ft, melee attacks actually can't reach the Brewer without at least 11.18 of reach (yay pythagorean theorem!) Also, since it's tiny ereature on top of a Large creature, I'd give it half cover (+5 to AC and Dex Saves!) THIS IS A PREVIEW | GeT THE FULL BOOK HERE: K: COOKING THE ABYSSAL BREWER Round 1+: This happy litle agent of Chaos wants to do 3 things: brew, brew, and brew. Ifthe potion you brew isn't useful (for example, getting a Healing Potion when everyone is already full this turn) you can Ready your action to administer it as soon as an aly takes damage. Ifthe potion is the exploding kind (or simply one you throw) you can also ‘Ready your action to throw it at an enemy after the Glabrezt ‘moves and they come into range. Just tell the players they readied an action, but not what action or what the trigger is ‘This will make them a bit nervous (since they won't know what the potion docs yet!) POTION TABLE 6 Save result Dex (haf on Explodes atthe end of your tur, dealing RELA" fre damage to creatures within 151 of where its thrown, 1 Dex (Half on Corrosive, dealing Acid damage when success) thrown at'a creature. Heals a creature when drank or 3 YS administered Con (half on Noxious Gas that deals poison damage 14 success and within 5ft of where its thrown. The no poison creature is considered Poisoned until the condition) start of your next turn, 5 N\A Potion of Haste 6 Choose any of the above. lS Potion Checks: if your players want to try to figure ut what the potion it made does, make them pass DC 15 Arcana check to do so, with disadvantage if they're not up close to it! ?e__==—COOKING THE GLABREZU COOKING THE DRETCHES Round 14: The Glabrezu's main goal is to shepherd people into a 10ft cube, and then hit them with spells, Use your 2 Pincer attacks to grapple 2 different people, and use your (now halved) movement speed of 20R to move them to an ally of theirs. You can then either cast a spel (see notes below) oF ‘to make 2 fist attacks (but honestly the spells are so much better, so deplete those first) ‘Notes on Spells: * Confusion is 2 10ft AoE, making it excellent for hitting both the people you have grappled and maybe 1 other Party Member. Since you now have 3 confused party members right next to each other and only 1 demon, there's good chance they'll attack each other! + Power Word Stun is brutal against spelleasters, since they ‘won't be proficient in Constitution Saves (probably) and it just automatically works against anyone with less than. '50 health (Which, at this level, should be everyone unless someone minmaxed for ity © Ifa player casts an AoE with a duration of more than, instant (ike Sickening Radiance) that will screw over your “everyone group up" strategy so fel free to hit Dispel Magic on that. ll labrezu Spell Variant: For more spice, switch up the spel list alittle. + Flys nll tobe elu so swap ou for another 3rd level spell: Counterspell for defense, or Stinking Cloud to fit the theme of this encounter, though it may be confusing to run both Fetid Clouds and Stinking Clouds with two separate save DCs and effects. + Detect Magic doesn't actually help you at all. Consider swapping it to the Poison Spray Cantrip for extra damage (since your players will be grouped up, it should be an effective tin Aof}, or burp it toa (1/day) abilty and picking Up alevel 1 spell ike Shield for some defense. —————— Round 1: Each Dretch has a Fetid Cloud ability which should be their priority Use it on anyone who you've Grappled (and thus cant leave the stink-cloud) or Stunned with Power Word (and thus, cant leave itt) Treat them like guided stink-missles! Don't worry ifthe Glabrezu or Brewer isin that radius, because they're immune to poison anyways. Note that the poison is best used against Rogues, Monks, ‘wo weapon fighters, and spelieasters that make good use of their Bonus Action (and thus will hate losing i). While poisoned, they can't take Reactions either, so don't worry about attacks of opportunity, Hellish Rebuke, or the Shield spell! Round 2+ (No more Fetid Cloud): While tempting to “Action to grapple and then drag them back into your poison, ‘your clouds don't actually deal damage... so it's not super effective to do so. Also, your to-hit is pretty low, so find someone you have advantage on, or someone who has really bad AC and get your 2 attacks off with it Ifnone of those are possible, consider using one of the Dretch's actions to Aid Other on the Glabrezu, making his Pincers more likely to hit (and to eri. Note on Fetid Cloud: The 10ft cloud stays around for 1 ‘min with no concentration (awesome! 30 don't just bomb the same spot over and over with this ability- spread out and make sure there's lots of places for your Glabrezu to dunk them into! Alternatively, ou could rule that 2 overlapping Fetid Clouds heavily obscure the area (treat creatures in that into that area as Blind) and gives disadvantage fon saves against the Fetid Cloud effect. eS Dretch Mild Variant: If you want to make this encounter a litte spicier, add the following italicized text to the Dretch's bite attack, and have ther go for grappled players. Since their rmovernent speed is 0, they won't be able to stand Up! Free Advantage on attacks thereafter! If the target isa creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. -_- OOo Se THIS ISA PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko-F1,coM/PIPEIZZLEBANGKNIGHT OF DEGRADATION SPICINESS: 4/5 ‘While none of the creatures do a lot of damage and all, abilities are single target (making 2 TPK rare) they can certainly kill an party member with their Wisdom Draining ability! FEEDS 3-5 PLAYERS, LEVEL 6-8 ‘Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level INGREDIENTS: + Knight of Degradation (Stat block below!) +X Shadows of the Self (where X is the number of Party Members) Scale the Save DC: At level § add +1 to their Save DCs, PREPARATION Knights of Degradation believe that killing a man is not enough. You must break them before yourself, destroy their legacy, and bind their souls to your service forever as Shadows ofthe Self. Who they were before does not matter Now, they only exist as shadows. Variant Prep: The Variant Knight begins with Find Steed cast already, giving them a mount. COOKING THE KNIGHT OF DEGRADATION Round 1+: Your multiattack allows for up to 3 "melee’ attacks, but it doesn't specify what kind, That opens you up to melee special attacks too. So find the lower Str party ‘members and try to use your Shield Bash to knock them prone. If theyre passing the DC 15 Str Save a bit too easily, tuse a Shove attack with your +10 Athletics score (but be warned ifyou do this they can choose the better oftheir stats between Str (Athletics) or Dex (Acrobatics). When you knock someone prone (or erit) you can Degrade them as a bonus action, ‘So long as they're frightened from this ability, your ‘Shadows of the Self will be able to get their Drain Willpower off more easily as they'll have disadvantage on the save! Plus, since their movement speed is 0, they can't stand up. Round 1+ (Variant only) Thunderous Smite is fantastic for knocking people prone. Thunderous smite on your Shield Bash? That's 2 saves or go prone, which still triggers your Degrading Blow! For parties with high AC, Magic Weapon might help you land your blows. Otherwise, Darkness is a great defensive ability in case the Shadows are forced into Bright Light. Reaction (Variant Only): Hellish Rebuke isa great way to get. litle extra damage out. Save for when the Squishies hit ‘you with something though. COOKING THE SHADOWS OF THE SELF Round 1+: Simple yet effective, the Shadows of the Selfare the real killers here. They should target whoever has been. Degraded with their Drain Willpower, which synergizes not only with the Degrade but itself, since every time you drai their willpower, they'l be less likely to pass the Wisdom Save! Note on Sunlight: So long as they are in Sunlight, the ‘Shadows of Self have disadvantage on basically everything. ‘This is bad as they don't have much health! The Variant Knight can address this by giving them an area of darkness, which they can see through, that protects them from ‘Sunlight, even if you have to fly out ofthe darkness, make ‘your attack, and end your turn back into it. Reactions: Note that the Drain Willpower is an Action, not 2 Spell, meaning you can do it as an Attack of Opportunity THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko- PIPE IZZLEB: xBKNIGHT OF DEGRADATION ‘Medium humanoid (any race), Chaotic Evil ‘Armor Class 16 (studded leather armor, shield) Hit Points 112 (1548 + 45) Speed 30f STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) Saving Throws Str 47, Dex +5, Con +6 Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +5 Condition immunities Frightened ‘Senses passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Undercommon Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus (PB) +3 Brute. A melee weapon deals one extra die ofits darnage when the Knight hits with it (included in the attack). Actions Degrading Blow: When the Knight lands a critical hit ‘ono a creature or knocks it prone, they may use their Degradation ability against that creature as a bonus action. Actions Multittack The Knight makes three melee attacks or two ranged attacks, ‘Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Aitack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft and range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage. ‘Shield Bash Melee Weapon Altack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one creature Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning darnage. If the target is a Medium or sraller creature, it must Succeed on a DC 15 Strengta saving throw or be knocked prone Degrade Target creature the Knight can see within 3Oft rust make a Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened. While Frightened inthis way, the creature has disadvantage on Wisdom Saves, and their moverent speed becomes 0. Reactions The Knight adds 3 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the Knight must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon or shield I a a ne | VARIANT KNIGHT SPELL List The Knight is an 8th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It has the following paladin spells prepared: + Ist level 4 slots): command, hellish rebuke, Thunderous smite + 2nd level (3 slots): Darkness, find steed, magic weapon ————EEEEEEEp ce nd SHADOW OF THE SELF ‘Medium undead, chaotic evil me ‘Armor Class 12 Hit Points 16 (348 + 3) Speed 40 ft STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (2) 14 (42) 13 (1) 62) 1060) 8¢1) Skill Stealth +4 Damage Vulnerabilities radiant Damage Resistances acid, cold ire, lightning, thunder; blidgeoning, piercing, and slashing fromm ron magical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, ‘grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses Blindsight 60 ft, passive Perception 10 sages Ghalerge 1/2 (100 XP) Proficiency Bonus (PB) +2 ‘Amorphous. The shadow can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Shadow Stealth. While in dirn light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action, Its stealth bonus is also improved to ~6. Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the shadow has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. Actions Drain WillPower: Touch a creature within ft. They ‘must make a Wisdom saving throw or suffer (2d6 + 2) necrotic damage, and the target's Wisdom score is reduced by 144. The target dies ifthis reduces its Wisdorn to 0. Otherwise, the reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest. Ifa humanoid dies from tis atfack, anew Shadow of the Sef rises from the corpse 1d4 hours later. eo Se THIS ISA PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: Ko-F1,coM/PIPEIZZLEBANG 20KING CRITCRAB SPICINESS: 5/5 This is boss fight material While not particularly high damage, most characters are not equipped to fight underwater, and that ean result in FEEDS ABOUT 3-6 PLAYERS, LEVEL 5-8 Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level = AHarpy +X Sahuagins, where X is the size ofthe pany. Scale for Level: Give the Criterab 10 additional HP for every level above 5. At level 7, add +1 to ALL Save DCs. PREPARATION The Criterab is not just a creature- i's the center of an ecosystem, a community of collaborators. A Harpy has made ‘anest on the Criterab’s back, luring in potential food for it Underneath, Sahuagins wait to loot the remains of the Criterabis meals. Important things to know for this encounter: + While Underwat + Acreature can hold its breath for a number of minutes ‘equal to 1 ~its Constitution modifier (minimum of 30 seconds} When a creature runs out of breath or is ‘choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round) At the start ofits next turn, it drops to 0 hit points and is dying, and it ‘can't regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again. + Ifyou're holding your breath, you can't do vocal components of spells. + When making a melee weapon attack, a creature that doesn't have a swimming speed (either natural or granted ‘by magic) has disadvantage on the attack roll unless the ‘weapon isa dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. + Aranged weapon attack automatically misses a target beyond the weapon's normal range. Even against «target ‘within normal range, the attack rol has disadvantage unless the weapon is a erosebow, a net, or a weapon that Prevbattle setup: The party wll see a strange coral reef, floating in the ocean this is the criterab, using i's Shell Camouflage to be unassuming. Put a treasure chest, a skeleton, something on it's back to entice them in to check it out. Meanwhile, the Sahaugins wait under it, and the harpy fies about 700K above it (this is important) Since it's more than 0.13 miles, it's unlikely the party would notice the Harpy or even realize that it isn'ta bird, but the Harpy is patiently ‘waiting for anything to grt cloac t the eral When a creature gets within 50ft ofthe crab, rol initiative and a DC 16 Perception check to notice the harpy dropping down into position. Any party members who fail are ‘Surprised, CooxinG THE Harry Round 1: You can drop 500ftin a round, as per the falling rules, so do that! Now that you're within 200ft of the back of the crab, use your Song to lure the party into the crabis reach, (and off it's back ifnecessary). Round 2+ Continue to stay at 200ft up (sce High Altitude ‘Combat for why), and keep as many people as possible charmed, The Harpy's role is Crowd Control If someone gets knocked unconscious, you can use the harpy to rush in and finish them off with their 2 melee attacks (2 melee attacks at 5ft against an unconscious person means 2 auto-rits and, thus 4 failed death saves) High Altitude Combat Since you're 200M high now, your 300ft radious song ability will effect only 223 ft around sea level- that’s the Pythagorean theorem at work! That's sil way more than enough to hit the whole party though, and ‘many spells won't be able to reach you at this distance. Eldritch blast, for example, only has a range of 120% Longbows, crossbows, & Shortbows will have disadvantage at this range (even while directly beneath you) and hand crossbows are completely unable to hit you. NEAT! COOKING THE SAHUAGIN Round 1+- Sahuagins are there for extra damage-if the Criterab is holding someone underwater, they swim up and stab it with spears. Ifa creature starts to get away, they chase. itcown with their impressive swim speed Also, consider swapping out one of their attacks with a Grapple ifa creature is escaping keeping them underwater is key. isthrowa ke a javelin Gnctding a spear ident or dat.” agai: Don org that they have advantage on tacks aains erally every creature that doce hae fll HP THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-1 PIPFIZZLEB)Se KING CRITCRAB Huge Beast, Unaligned ‘Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 76 (8d12 + 24) ‘Speed 20 ft, swim 30 f STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) BEI) 16 (+3) 364) 11660) 3(4) Senses passive Perception 10 Languages Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus (P8) +3 ‘Amphibious. The Critcrab can breathe air and water. Hlectroreception: The Critcrab uses low levels electricity to detect prey. While at least partially submerged, it knows the location of creatures within 60 who are also in that body of water, even around comers, except for Undead & Constructs. ‘Shell Camouflage. While the Criterab remains ‘motionless with its eyestalks and pincers tucked close to its body, it resernbles 3 natural formation (such 2s 2 coral reef) ora pile of detritus. A creature within 30 feet oft can discem its true nature with 2 successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check. King of Critaceans. The Crtcrab is known for his vicious strikes, aiming for the fleshiest bits of adventurers. When it would make an attack rol, it crits on a 19 oF 20. Actions Multiattack The Critcrab makes two attacks with its claws, and one Spiked Shell Attack. Ifa creature is grappled by its claws, it cannot use Spiked Shell against it ‘Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 fe, one target. Hit: 20 (3410 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15) & Restrained. The Criterab has two claws, each of can only attack the creature that claw is grappling, while itis grappling anything. ‘Spiked Shell: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach TO ft, one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must make DC 15 Strength Save or be knocked Prone. Reactions Reactive Crustacean: When Critcrab is targeted by a melee attack from a creature it can see (or detect through Electroreception, it may immediately make a Spiked Shell attack as a reaction against it, before the attack is rolled COOKING THE KING CRITCRAB Round 14: The Criterab is an impressive creature but not super complicated to run. Make 2 claw attacks against creatures notin the water, then hold them under the water! If someone's on your back, try hitting them with your Spiked ‘Shell first to knock them off. I Everyone is in the water, you know exactiy where they all are due to electroreception, neat! Reactions: When a creature hits him with a melee attack, don't forget to knock them prone with your Spiked shell Since this fire right before their attack roll, they'll have disadvantage on the attacks they make while prone. They can, however, stand up and make the rest oftheir attacks without disadvantage after though. le ‘WANT A LITTLE EXTRA SPICE? Make the water Murky enough to restrict vision to 5 or 10ft out. Critcrab's Electroreception will make that not effect hrm, and being blind will stop them from casting any spells at further than that range. Hard to cast fireball when you've reduced the range to 10ft! —_———_______""""" THIS IS A PREVIEW | Get THE FULL BOOK HERE: KO-F1,COM/PIPFIZZLEBANGTHANK you! ARTISTS KirsuNeKEn oN Fiver 1 Cover Arr ‘Mg I PAGE Corner PEPPERS ENCOUNTER SPONSORS @TueQOreraGzeK @BorrnceRLAUREN