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DDO
Jul 1, 2005 23:06:42 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 1, 2005 23:06:42 GMT -5
Has anyone else been paying attention to the web site for Dungeons and Dragons Online. They keep teasing us week by week by doing monster profiles and I can say if the game plays the way its looking it will be AMAZING. www.ddo.com/
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DDO
Jul 7, 2005 22:06:41 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 7, 2005 22:06:41 GMT -5
New today, monster profile for Earth Elemental. I must say this is the best looking one yet, and the rightups they do for each one are top notch.
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DDO
Jul 15, 2005 8:47:25 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 15, 2005 8:47:25 GMT -5
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DDO
Jul 15, 2005 22:19:55 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 15, 2005 22:19:55 GMT -5
If you can't tell, I am really anticipating this game. New monster profile today was the Ogre love the write up.
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From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard.
14 Dravago, 998:
The stench of our new "ally" makes it difficult for me to concentrate long enough to write this. I would have refused its help, but Senna insisted that we would make better time with the beast to guide us to its village, and pointed out that without the creature we would likely be attacked on sight. I simply cannot control my joy at the thought of meeting more of these… things. We are supposed to make a good impression with their warchief – if we help this tribe defeat the troglodytes deeper in the valley, they will permit us to investigate the ruins without hindrance.
It’s looking over my shoulder at what I am doing. I suppose I should be thankful that it cannot read.
Ogres are hideous beasts that stand nine to ten feet tall. They have thick leathery skin, and the worst breath I have ever had the misfortune to smell. Long, matted hair serves as a home for a truly amazing variety of insects. I'm quite certain that they have some sort of aversion to water, since a bath seems to be as foreign to them as fine art, or a good book.
What ogres lack in mental alacrity, they make up for in physical strength. Our "friend" wields a small tree as a greatclub, and has been clearing a path through the jungle by simply knocking boulders and plants away, making a game of how far they fly. Filthy hides thankfully cover it in a semblance of armor, and it carries a crude bow for ranged combat. Elite ogre warriors can enter a berserker rage in the same way that Zarn does. I am hardly surprised - I cannot think of a path more suitable for the brutes than the way of the barbarian.
While I find it difficult to hide my personal distaste toward dealing with them, allying with the ogres is preferable to having to fight them for the right to study the ruins. All we have to do is negotiate a treaty with their leader and fight a few troglodytes, and then hopefully I’ll never have to deal with them again. Common interests and expediency make for strange alliances, don't they?
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DDO
Jul 24, 2005 17:35:48 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 24, 2005 17:35:48 GMT -5
Here is the lastest journal entry for next Monster profile the Troglodyte.
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From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard.
15 Dravago, 998:
Never, ever, drink anything given to you by an ogre.
16 Dravago, 998:
The troglodytes had been a thorn in the side to the ogres for as long as the brutes could remember. Our meeting went well - if we drive the troglodytes from the gorge, the ogres are willing to leave us in peace.
Troglodytes are reptilian humanoids that stand a bit shorter than a human. They have thick, scaled, chameleon-like skin, a frilled head, short claws, and sharp teeth. Not particularly known for their intellect, troglodytes tend to favor the more martial callings, though many primitive divine casters are found amongst them.
Kleija ambushed the sentry at the cave entrance, striking it down before it had a chance to raise an alarm, and we pushed into the cavern. Zarn took the lead, being less affected by the lingering stench of the place, and we waded slowly through the knee-deep water looking for more of our opponents.
Luck was with us – we made it to the entryway to a chamber containing half a dozen troglodytes without being spotted. Zarn and Senna stood before me as I spoke the words of arcane power, and the troglodytes barely had time to turn towards us before my Fireball cleared the room. We no longer had the advantage of surprise, and enemies began pouring in from other chambers.
Khovis and Zarn were unaffected by the sickening musk of the troglodytes, but the rest of us swooned with nausea. Raging, the warforged barbarian's greataxe cleaved through the rank creatures, drawing their attention with a fierce battle shout. Blinding light filled the room as Khovis brought the holy power of Onatar down in a Holy Smite, and between wretches I cast a Repair Moderate Damage spell on the juggernaut that was holding the reptilians at bay.
Another wave of troglodytes entered the fray, led by a heavily armored one that seemed obviously their leader. Armed with a scimitar and shield, their chieftain engaged Zarn, blocking the warforged's attacks skillfully and countering with attacks of his own. The troglodyte was obviously more than a match for Zarn alone, but thankfully we function as a team. Kleija distracted the chieftain with a harassing sting with her daggers, giving Zarn the opening he needed to power through the troglodyte's defenses.
Seeing their chieftain fall, the remaining troglodytes retreated, and our duty to the ogres was complete.
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DDO
Jul 28, 2005 16:51:40 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Jul 28, 2005 16:51:40 GMT -5
OK, this one really has me chomping at the bit. The best writeup yet.
From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard, as dictated to Senna, Human Fighter:
17 Dravago, 998:
The halflings of House Jorasco are, as expected, the finest healers in Stormreach. Senna is recording my thoughts, as I am still too weak to write after our ill-fated expedition.
The ogres assured us that there was nothing living or dead in the ruins and that we could explore them to our heart's content. They neglected to let us know that there might be things neither living nor dead guarding the treasures within. It is possible that they had no idea, but I question whether they sought to have us eliminated by the guardians of the site.
The ruins appeared to be a tomb of some sort, and the absolute quiet within was unsettling. No vermin crawled about the corridors, and the architecture was in surprisingly good repair. We pressed onward, on guard, but pleased by the apparent lack of opposition, until we entered a large central chamber.
The cylindrical opening in the ceiling let the sunlight shine into this room, refracting off of a crystal atop a pedestal. The scattered light created beautiful rainbow patterns, and it was only when I heard Zarn's greataxe fall to the floor that I realized the magical nature of this trap. Averting my gaze, I shouted a warning to the others - Khovis' natural resistance to magic and Senna's iron will allowed them to resist the enchantment, but Zarn and Kleija were helplessly shuffling toward the crystal.
The warforged placed a hand on the crystal, and the rainbow patterns suddenly stopped. Stone doors slammed down, blocking the only apparent exits, and rumbling filled the room as a twelve foot tall metallic construct rose from a hole in the floor.
Iron golems are nearly invulnerable to harm. Nearly impossible to damage with most weapons, immune to most spells and healed by flame; we gazed at the automaton in horror as it lumbered at us. Senna and Zarn attempted to block the construct's advance, glancing at me for instructions. I had no advice to give.
The golem's giant fists pounded Zarn, who was barely nicking the creature with his greataxe. Senna's longsword could not damage the golem at all. Khovis cast spells of healing, and I hurled a Lightning Bolt into the construct, slowing it for a few moments. Kleija was the only one of us to have the foresight to acquire weapons made of adamantine, and her arrows punctured the construct's armor plating with ease, but inflicted only minimal damage to the automaton.
Zarn fell before the golem's onslaught and the construct pushed past Senna to turn to me. I looked into soulless eyes for just a moment before being engulfed by a poisonous cloud that spewed from the thing's mouth. All went dark.
I awoke here in the Jorasco infirmary. Senna refuses to tell me what happened after I fell, other than to assure me that they all managed to escape through the hole in the ceiling, though Zarn will require extensive repairs.
Before we return to that ruin, we will have to find adamantine weapons for both Senna and Zarn. Golems are terrifying opponents to face when you are not ready for them, but still difficult fights even when you are.
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Iron Golem Creature Type: Construct Environment: Any Attack: Slam Special Qualities: Breath weapon, damage reduction, magic immunity Organization: Solitary
The iron golem, most powerful of constructs: fearless, unrelenting, well nigh indestructible. Standing over 12 feet tall, this lord of metal towers over pretenders at that title. It is almost totally immune to magic and essentially immune to weapons and physical attacks that are not made of adamantine. It is an unstoppable juggernaut. The warforged can claim sentience, even cherish a belief in their own souls and the possibility of an afterlife. The iron golem has neither of these things, and cares not at all. Indeed, should a warforged encounter an iron golem one-on-one, the warforged should expect to quickly put his belief in an afterlife to the test.
To fight this creature - if you absolutely must - adventurers must come prepared. Fighters require adamantine weapons, lest they prove entirely ineffective. Archers need adamantine-tipped arrows. Without such tools, the best that can be done is to swing the most damaging weapon possible, and don't worry too much about where you hit the golem. The golem has no delicate parts, no physical vulnerability, and no Achilles heel. For rogues, this is especially problematic. The best thing a rogue can do against a golem probably involves using a magic wand or scroll - not to damage the creature, since it would be immune to that also, but either to heal or to enhance the abilities of companions. Arcane spellcasters face a similar choice. Though every arcane caster should bring along a collection of electricity spells. They won't deal any damage, but they can slow down the metallic creature. Needless to say, leave the fire spells at home.
Disturbingly, of late iron golems have been seen with arcane casters of their own, probably their creators. These sorcerers toss around fireballs and other fiery area-of-effect spells with impunity, knowing that any iron golem caught in the area of effect would be healed, not wounded. And then there are the darker rumors, that certain winged spellcasters have used iron golems as guardians... and these creatures do not even need to use sorcery to bathe a golem in flames.
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DDO
Aug 5, 2005 22:19:03 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 5, 2005 22:19:03 GMT -5
LOL, here's the weekly update. This week we get the Fire Giant, and again a great writeup. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard 28 Dravago, 998: Many of the locations we explore are inhospitable at best. Ancient treasures are found in volcanic areas with surprising frequency, making lava and flame common occupational hazards of adventurers. Such areas of intense heat attract fiery outsiders, though these caverns are often also occupied by fire giants that force the lesser creatures into servitude. Today’s expedition led us to one such cave. The scent of brimstone tainted the heated air that rushed past us, and ash crunched beneath our feet as we entered the basalt cavern. A small trickle of water bubbled down the sloping passage, and we progressed slowly and carefully downward – one slip here could be disastrous. The vent widened as it connected to the main chamber, with a narrow ledge precariously wrapping about the chamber, leading down to the main floor. Pools of bubbling magma were visible, and a trio of fire mephits frolicked in the liquid rock while a fire elemental looked on the proceedings impassively. Zarn stumbled over an outcropping of stone, sending a cascade of pebbles down to the floor below. The mephits looked up at the noise, shrieked, and one summoned another of its kind from Fernia. Kleija peppered a mephit with arrows as another fled to alert its master. Zarn and Senna leapt down from the ledge, landing awkwardly but relatively safely. I cast an Ice Storm at the elemental, and Khovis continued down the ramp. The remaining mephits fell quickly as combat continued, then a deep roar echoed from the side room the mephit escaped to. The master of the caverns had been alerted. Fire giants are roughly twice the height of a human male, weigh about 7000 pounds, and are proportioned like an enormous dwarf. They are, as expected, immune to fire, but vulnerable to cold. The giant that approached us carried a large scimitar and wore tarnished half-plate armor, and raised a hand to the air, calling for the favor of a dark god. It is rare that Khovis leaps into the front lines, but it seems that our stout cleric of Onatar bears an understandable dislike for evil clerics of flame. Watching a dwarf fight a giant is an interesting sight – the dwarves are trained to combat larger foes and dodge about the blows of their larger cousins with surprising ease. Zarn brought his greataxe down, sundering the giant’s armor, giving Khovis the opportunity to deal a grievous blow to his opponent with his holy warhammer. I was left to deal with the elemental, but had an excellent view of the battle from the ledge. A fire giant does not fall easily. The giant shook the earth with a mighty stomp, sending Zarn stumbling back, but Khovis braced for the attack and stood his ground. Senna strode in to flank the giant, slashing at the behemoth’s tough hide. It finally dropped to a storm of arrows from the halfling. Clutching its side, the giant died, laughing madly between curses. Within the giant’s pouch we found a curious stone statue, half the size of Kleija. The statue radiates powerful conjuration magic, and I absolutely cannot wait for a chance to discover its purpose. ****************************************** Fire Giant Creature Type: Giant Environment: Any Attack: Greatclub Special Qualities: Rockthrowing, stomp, wizardry Organization: Solitary or gang (2-5) Towering twelve feet tall, the fire giant mocks the puny humans that stand beneath it. Unlike the primitive hill giant, his prideful arrogance is not folly or grounded in cheerful ignorance. Perhaps it’s an odd fact that these giants look a bit like dwarves to humans, though these titanic dwarves are ancient enemies of their smaller kin. But make no mistake; if their numbers were greater, these giants could dominate the face of Eberron far more effectively than man. They are bigger, stronger, tougher, and even wiser and more intelligent than most men. They’re simply more impressive in every way. They have as much mastery over wizardry as man, or more, given their history that extends for thousands of years before man appeared in the pages of history. In combat, smaller opponents must use numbers to defeat the foe. The giant outmasses and overpowers even the strongest of mortal heroes. With training in old wizardry, many giants are just as capable at throwing fireballs - their favorite spell - as they are with rocks or boulders. Even worse, they are accomplished builders and creators of armor. So while the hill giant may be dressed in a simple hide and armed with a simple club, the fire giant wears plate armor and wields a flaming sword wreathed in flame. If a hero cannot defeat ogres in number and hill giants in pairs and trios, he should steer clear of these titans.
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DDO
Aug 11, 2005 20:29:31 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 11, 2005 20:29:31 GMT -5
Sigh. The release of game has been pushed back from November to the First Quarter of next year. They have started the full Alpha but are doing the smart thing and not rushing a game that could have lots of bugs in it just to make original date. Now if I can just find a way to do PnP every Sunday until then.
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DDO
Aug 12, 2005 19:58:17 GMT -5
Post by rincewind on Aug 12, 2005 19:58:17 GMT -5
Or you can pester them until they'll let you into the Beta, it could work Just load up all your old computer D&D games- Baldur's, Torment, Icewind Dale, etc. Or the really ancient ones like the original Pools are at Home of the Underdogs if you still like them They'll keep you busy months, easily.
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DDO
Aug 12, 2005 23:30:36 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 12, 2005 23:30:36 GMT -5
I am already signed up for Beta , but more importantly its time for my weekly Monster Profile and it is one of my favorites the MINOTAUR. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard 2 Nymm, 998: I have spent the last few days examining the statue we took from the fire giant with little luck. A colleague of mine, however, specializes in researching such artifacts, and I have left the item in her capable hands. Hopefully Kyrian will be able to discover the purpose of the statue as well as the activation mechanism. We’ve got another job to keep ourselves occupied in the interim; minotaurs have driven the workers from a Kundarak site, and the house would like us to secure the area. Minotaurs are tall, powerfully built humanoids with the head of a bull. Their temper is the only thing that exceeds their strength, and they favor large greataxes in combat when not goring opponents upon their massive horns. They are known for their powerful charges and their curious ability to never get lost. Zarn is eager for battle. He is looking forward to a chance to wield his new adamantine greataxe in combat, and I pity these poor beasts that chose a bad day to go raiding. 2 Nymm, 998, Evening: A pair of minotaurs prowled the dig site searching for uncovered treasures when we arrived, as a third in heavy armor watched over them. I’m ashamed to say that it was my misstep that alerted them to our presence as I slipped on a section of loose rock. Fletching sprouted from the first minotaur’s neck as Kleija’s arrows found their mark, and Zarn leapt forth, whooping wildly. The injured minotaur roared, scuffed the earth with a hoof, and charged, knocking Zarn aside like a child’s toy. The other charged at Senna, who set herself against the attack, raising her shield to block the blow. I’m amazed that the impact didn’t break her arm, but it was clear that the minotaur had taken the worse hit. It stumbled around dazed for a few moments, making it easy prey for Kleija’s arrows and Senna’s blade. Zarn faced off against his opponent and swept the creature’s legs out from beneath him with a cruel swing. As the minotaur toppled to the ground the warforged buried his greataxe deep into the creature’s chest with a vicious power attack, quickly ending the battle. The armored minotaur raised a pair of medium greataxes to the sky, howling in anger, and charged into the fray, bearing down on Kleija. The nimble halfling tumbled out of the way at the last moment. She continued dancing about the beast, nicking at it with her daggers and dodging its furious swings with ease. She was fighting the minotaur on her terms, and all the rage in the world could not save the poor thing from her. ****************************************** Minotaur Creature Type: Monstrous Humanoid Environment: Any Attack: Greatclub Special Qualities: Charge Organization: Solitary, pair or gang (3-5) Once the tormented slaves and beasts of burden of an ancient giant empire, today the minotaur of Xen'drik is a fearsome creature that stands a full foot or two over the typical inhabitant of Stormreach. These bullheaded shaggy humanoids aren't all completely devoted to evil - some of them have been seen peddling goods inside the city. In this they are no different than the common avaricious dwarf - though perhaps a bit more appealing to look at. Outside of the settled regions, minotaurs are almost completely devoted to violence and a militant defense of their territory. Venturing into such dangerous territory is exactly the sort of peril that brings an adventurer fame and fortune. In the land of Xen'drik, minotaurs are even more dangerous than some heroes from distant Khorvaire may be used to. With their barbaric upbringing, many minotaurs demonstrate a frenzy not at all unlike those of the most enraged berserker. Some elite minotaur tribes cherish this culture and violence, and these berserkers can be commonly seen dual wielding a pair of greataxes. Beware. In combat, minotaurs rely on powerful charges to lower the foes to the ground and offer crushing amounts of damage. Careful heroes can often catch a red gleam in the eye of the bovine beast, and a change in posture just before the creatures lowers its head and delivers a ringing blow. That, of course, is the time to get out of way, or if it's too late - and if one possesses heroic strength - to raise one's shield and hope for the best. Attached Thumbnails
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DDO
Aug 13, 2005 6:43:42 GMT -5
Post by Olrac on Aug 13, 2005 6:43:42 GMT -5
wow so this is a dragons rule only thread, ahh nope i see rice wind. ya really can't wait till this comes out huh, and it set in ebboron setting? for all teh Monster Profiles do ya copy and paste of do ya type every word in the profile, i bet that would kill some time for ya. :-)
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DDO
Aug 13, 2005 8:41:12 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 13, 2005 8:41:12 GMT -5
WHAT? I can copy and paste, and to think I've been writing it down and retyping it. I'm joking. I have in my comp right now, Baldurs Gate II, PoR:RoMD, NWN Platinum(all 3), and the 3 original Bards Tale games. Plus I do have Icewind Dale but not installed at the moment. Yeah, I am excited for this game. It is going to be completely different from any other MMO on the market. You will actually control your swings, dodges, blocks, tumbles etc..., as long as it is part of your character class. Here's a good link for a video that shows a bit of action and Dev's explaining what they are trying to do. gamesdomain.yahoo.com/preview/40900
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DDO
Aug 24, 2005 16:29:06 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 24, 2005 16:29:06 GMT -5
OK, I am back from staying with son in hospital and settled back into my normal routine. The last Profile was a troll but Writeup wasnt as good as others so didn't post it. Now I have something even better, a video link from Gen-con of 3 different people playing, Human and Dwarf cleric and Elf Sorcerer. Warning the video is 25 min long but OMG this really has me wanting to get into Beta and wishing the release date was not pushed back to after the New Year. You will see some bugs in it yet, but it show how different the game is from all other MMO's and stand alone D&D games out. www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10720First link didn't work, so did link to forum page. The Video link is the first link in the first post. It is really cool to watch.
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DDO
Aug 25, 2005 16:01:46 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Aug 25, 2005 16:01:46 GMT -5
OK, we are back to quality write-ups. This weeks Entry Scorpions and Spiders. From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard 12 Nymm, 998: The heat and humidity of the jungle is oppressive and makes it difficult to think. I am quite jealous of Zarn’s construct nature – the insects are leaving him alone, for the most part. The drow of Xen’drik coexist more peacefully with the insects of the jungle that I do. They call monstrous scorpion their allies, and believe the vermin are servitors of their scorpion-god, Vulkoor, who many believe is an aspect of the Mockery. I know little else of their relationship, other than that the few drow I have met often ritually scar with the venom from the beasts, leaving intricate patterns of white lines on their dark skin, and often wear armor crafted from the chitin of fallen scorpions. The scorpions of Xen’drik are extremely aggressive - a few the size of dogs attacked us earlier in our journey, burrowing out from the ground as we walked past and attacking from surprise. Their venom is highly toxic, killing rather than paralyzing their prey. It’s said that monstrous scorpions never stop growing, and rumor has it that deep within the jungle dwells a scorpion the size of a Lyrandar airship, but no outsiders have ever seen it and lived. I always take such rumors with a grain of salt, since if no one has seen it, where did the rumor come from? 14 Nymm, 998: These ruins were abandoned long ago, destroyed by an earthquake in ages past. Who built the complex is lost to the mystery of time – it was clearly not built by giants, but the architecture does not resemble anything else we’ve found. Unfortunately the soundness of the architecture is precarious at best. So far, our passage has caused two rockslides that destroyed priceless knowledge, and I have convinced Zarn to stay back, and for the others to remove their heavy armor so they do not stumble and cause further damage to the site. The webs hanging from the walls suggest a presence of giant spiders, confirmed by recent tracks spotted by Kleija. The others grumbled, but dexterity and freedom to move will serve us far better in here than chain and plate. The spiders of Xen’drik are a remarkably varied lot. There are brown hunting spiders that do not spin webs, but instead rely only on their speed and strength-sapping poison to weaken and catch their foes. Glass spiders are stealthy and breed quickly – a single glass matron can infest an area with hundreds of young, driving out all other creature, in mere days. Others spiders spin webs to capture their opponents, woe to the creature caught in their silky strands. I cannot help but wonder one thing – there are signs of spiders here, but what do they eat? ****************************************** Scorpion Creature Type: Vermin Environment: Any Attack: Claw, sting Special Qualities: Hide, poison, burrow Organization: Solitary or hive (4+) Scorpions—at least of the monstrous variety—present a unique challenge to unwary adventurers. They are incredibly large, ranging from the size of a dog all the way up to the size of a horse. Capable of hiding and burrowing for short distances beneath soil or loose rock, the scorpion is a very dangerous foe despite its mindless nature. Indeed, as a near-mindless creature, it cannot be affected by many of the tricks or spells that affect other monsters. A typical encounter usually entails the scorpion darting out of the shadowy corners of a dungeon chamber and, unnoticed, making its attack. Unless a character is especially wary (once again rogues prove their usefulness—if you can find a trustworthy one), the scorpion won’t be noticed until its stinger is descending into vulnerable flesh, dripping with poison. Even after the fight has begun, the scorpion has the tendency to quickly burrow beneath the earth, frequently enabling it to spring up on a flank or behind its target… rendering attempts to dodge or block its blows very difficult indeed. In Xen’drik, the drow possess a strange affection for the scorpion. They use ensorcelled scorpions as guards, wards, and traps against the intrusion of would-be heroes. They seem to especially enjoy employing scorpions in dungeon areas where adventurers could be trapped, or near where they might hope to rest. Especially large or more powerful scorpions—night, desert, and death stalker scorpions—should simply be avoided whenever possible. You’re directed to seek the firepower of a talented wizard or sorcerer to blast these creatures from afar, or gain access to immunity to poison (such as that provided by a neutralize poison spell)—or to simply run as fast as you can. Spider Creature Type: Vermin Environment: Any Attack: Bite Special Qualities: Poison, web, egglaying Organization: Solitary or nest (4+) Vermin species, even within the classification of monstrous arachnida, are diverse and populous despite all valiant human attempts to eradicate their presence. After decades of study, many scientists of biology and ecology would have you believe that this is a result of impressive breeding rates of vermin and years of what they call “adaptation to the environment.” Recently, some evidence has called into question this long-standing but unproven theory. For example, why are vermin so often found with and near many of the lesser races of humanoids? We’ve all seen such dirty and unkempt creatures covered in small vermin, and in the dungeons of Xen’drik, who knows what they do? The correlation between these lesser humanoid races (kobolds, hobgoblins, dwarves, elves, etc.) and the presence of infestation of bugs, spiders, and vermin should be further examined. Personally I believe that both theories deserve equal discussion within our schools and colleges. Ah, but we can leave behind such freethinking debate for another time, as now we can inform the reader of the threats posed by the typical monstrous arachnid. Obviously, there’s the poison. Once again, bring a cleric—or make the more obvious choice not to get hit. And then there’s webs which prevent or inhibit movement. Among some species, there’s the egglaying spider queens whose eggs must be quickly and carefully dispatched lest new creatures emerge. Encounters with some of the larger and more dangerous spiders—glass spiders and darkfang spiders in particular—is not uncommon in Xen’drik.
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DDO
Sept 1, 2005 21:28:17 GMT -5
Post by Dragonsrule on Sept 1, 2005 21:28:17 GMT -5
Guess what time it is. Man this one is soooooo cool, I can't wait to fight one... well yes I can. Monster Profile #17: Marut (Inevitable) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the personal journal of Azalai Korias, Elven Wizard 17 Nymm, 998: Success! With the help of Jelek's scrawled notes, Kyrian was finally able to show me how to activate the statue we found a few weeks ago on the fire giant cleric. Apparently the statue was meant to imprison someone – or something – that the giants saw as a threat. Kyrian did not seem quite as curious about further investigation as I was, and hurriedly ushered me from her home. I gathered the others and activated the statue. A terrible tearing sound filled the room as a swirling portal appeared, bathing us in a sickly red light. With a nod and a grin, Zarn stepped through and the rest of us followed. We fell about ten feet to a hard floor, landing in a labyrinth of cold, dark adamantine dimly lit by an unseen light. The passageways were twenty feet across by twenty feet high with no visible imperfections, and with perfectly squared corners at the turns. Zarn gaped at the impossible amount of the metal that surrounded us – his axe cost him thousands of gold pieces, the value of these halls were beyond calculation. An echoing metal on metal sound woke us from our reverie. Whatever was trapped here was approaching. The footsteps of our opponent were rhythmic, slowly growing louder as it approached to unbearable volumes. Just when I thought I could take it no more, it turned around the corner to face us. A twelve foot tall statue of a hulking onyx man in golden armor stood before us for a moment before speaking in a mechanical voice. "YOU WILL GIVE ME THE STATUE AND REMAIN HERE UNTIL THE MISSION IS COMPLETE." Clearly we were not going to agree to this command. Maruts are inevitables that represent the inevitability of death, and are lawful extraplanar constructs from Dolurrh, the Realm of the Dead. They hunt those who use unnatural means to cheat death. It's likely that this inevitable was hunting a powerful giant, and was sealed away rather than simply destroyed for unknown reasons. I tried explaining to the inevitable that the giants of Xen'drik are likely dead, and its mission is complete. "YOU WILL GIVE ME THE STATUE AND REMAIN HERE WHILE I ASCERTAIN THAT THE MISSION IS COMPLETE." Sighing, I nodded assent to the marut while simultaneously giving the others the signal for attack. It would be a difficult fight, but I had faith in my comrades. Maruts are intelligent constructs, like the warforged, and share many construct traits. They are protected by a shield of law that can only be easily pierced by anarchic weapons, have high spell resistance, and repair themselves from within at an impressive rate. Their offensive capabilities are impressive – they punch with the strength of an iron golem, but have one fist of lightning that blinds opponents and a fist of thunder that can stun them, as well as a vast array of spell-like abilities at their disposal. I opened the battle with a Cone of Cold followed by a Quickened Magic Missile. Khovis struck the marut with a Flame Strike, but failed to affect the construct. Kleija stocked up on adamantine construct-bane arrows after our encounter with the iron golem, but even these enchanted arrows barely harmed the inevitable. Senna and Zarn charged forth into melee, and a Chain Lightning arced into us from the marut's hand. The inevitable apparently was displeased by my treachery as it ignored the rest of the party and walked implacably towards me as they threw caution to the wind in a full offense. My Lightning Bolt glanced off of the inevitable and I was struck by both of its giant fists. Why do they always go after me? Blinded and stunned, I have no idea what happened next, other than I was hit shortly thereafter by another pair of crushing blows. I'm sure that Khovis was busy healing me and the others were doing their best to disable the construct, but it was still standing when my vision finally cleared. I stepped back and cast a Stoneskin on myself – it is an expensive spell, but certainly worthwhile when you have the attention of an extraplanar killing machine. Thankfully, the Stoneskin was enough to keep me alive while we whittled the inevitable down. As the construct fell, the labyrinth began shaking violently like an earthquake. As slabs of adamantine began to fall, I was able to once again activate the statue to get us out of the inevitable's prison. Why did the giants imprison the construct though, rather than simply destroy it? Could we have released something worse with our actions? There is more research to be done, and every answer simply raises more questions. ****************************************** Marut (Inevitable) Creature Type: Construct (Extraplanar, Lawful) Environment: Any Attack: Slam Special Qualities: Fists of thunder and lightning, spell-like abilities, construct traits, damage reduction, fast healing, spell resistance Organization: Solitary Sadly, even the most good-natured and well-intentioned heroes must occasionally do battle with Inevitables. These creatures are truly alien, and while their goals and intents are almost never malicious, their very single-mindedness and intractability make conflict with humanoids as inevitable as their name. Whether a marut is tasked with retrieving an item or protecting it, watching a location or destroying all witnesses at it, heroes who delve into the most dangerous recesses of Xen'drik are sure to encounter one. And, being skilled heroes with some accomplishments to their name - in other words, fully convinced of their own omnipotence - adventurers are likely to foolishly engage the marut in trial of combat. So, it falls to me once more to abandon the idea of adventurers applying caution or discretion, and once more advise the reader on how the marut may be defeated. Ah, well, yes. The good news is that this creature is wearing plate armor and isn't especially fast. So when things go ill, as they will, you can accelerate in rearward direction with some hope of survival - assuming that the marut's chain lightning doesn't do you in while you try. Seriously though, in order to deal with inevitable's offense, you should carry some protection to electrical damage. This will help against both the chain lightning and the electrical damage caused by the marut's fist. Sonic protection wouldn't hurt either. On top of that, you're going to need incredible defensive armors of your own, the ability to absorb strong blows like the marut does, or a sea of healing ability. To bring down the titan, chaotic-aligned weapons are an absolute requirement. Without such damage reduction-breaching weapons, characters that rely on strength of arms are reduced to near total ineffectiveness thanks the marut's strong ties to law and justice. Since the marut is a construct, rogues should rely on items - healing or damaging - as their sneak attacks are wholly ineffective. When it comes to the spellcaster, there are two choices. The first is to unload damaging spells. This isn't a bad choice, but the critical element here is to maximize your damage output in as short a time as possible. Since the marut's components naturally repair themselves, you must deal as much as possible in a short a time as possible. The other choice, for a gambling spellcaster? The marut is an extraplanar creature, and the dismissal spell has a chance, if the spell can penetrate the marut's spell resistance and the marut fails to save against the effect, that a single spell that dispatch the foe. The chances of that happening? You'd have better odds, much better odds, with wired deuces against wired aces.
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