Monster Monday
16-years-ago this week, Wizards of the Coast published the D&D 4e preview book, “Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters”. This book was a glimpse of how they wanted to adapt the D&D worlds and monsters that we were familiar with into something new and exciting.
I find it interesting that so many these days seem to complain that D&D today lacks creativity yet back when 4e was released many (not necessarily the same people) complained that they were straying too far from what D&D is. It seems you cannot win. I will touch this some more tomorrow.
But today is Monster Monday and I want to look at a monster that I think can be the most difficult to run due to their size. Creating a battlefield large enough to hold a single giant (let alone multiple) is a challenge. In 4e, they shifted giants to having a more elemental flavor. For this week’s encounter, we will focus on a more traditional Frost Giant, but we ramp up the difficulty to 9th-level.
Frost Giant encounter idea…
Hard encounter for five 9th-level characters (11,250 XP)
While exploring a dungeon, the party gets a chill down their backs. The faint sound of a deep voice singing can be heard from the other side of a door at the end of the passageway. The handle on the door is covered with a layer of ice.
Environment
Doors The ice can be broken and the handle turned with a DC 12 Strength check. The hinges are also frozen and a DC 15 Athletics check is needed to push the door open enough to get inside.
Secret Door This passage is hidden behind a layer of solid ice. It can be discovered with a successful DC 15 Investigation of the area. Breaking the ice to access the passage requires a successful DC 15 Athletics check.
Ice Every surface, including the floor, of this cavern is coated with a layer of ice. The ground is difficult terrain. The walls require a DC 18 Acrobatics check to climb.
Mephits All the Ice Mephits are clinging to the ceiling of the cavern and look like icicles.
Trap Once any member of the party reaches the area marked on the map, the doors swing closed and immediately freeze.
Tactics
Mephits Mephits #1 and #2 reveal themselves and attack as soon as the door is closed. They cast fog cloud to engulf the party and then frost breath as long as it is available to them.
The mephits avoid engaging with the party in melee combat unless they cannot use frost breath.
Each pair of mephits reveal themselves only after a member of the party has advanced within 20 feet of their location.
Heimdahl The Frost Giant has forsaken the rest of the world and sings a lament while the party battles the mephits. He takes no aggressive action until only two mephits remain.
Heimdahl tosses rocks at whomever he feels is the strongest adversary. If he ends up in melee, he will use multiattack with his greataxe.
Treasure
In the alcove to the southeast is a locked chest containing 10 sapphires. The lock can be picked with a successful DC 18 Sleight of Hand check.
🎲Roll initiative!! 🎲
Deals
A new Call of Cthulhu Humble Bundle just dropped. 25 items for $25 including a starter set, core rules, GM guides, and a lot of adventures. There's even a coloring book.
DriveThruRPG is having a sale on a ton of starter sets and other content.
Join me for the next D&D 4e Live session where I play through Keep on the Shadowfell with help from the community. Thursday at 6pm ET on YouTube and Twitch.
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