Abalach-Re, Five-Headed dragon Form (whut)

Our Dark sun game's been running for more than a year now, and it's finally time for my players to fight a sorcerer-monarch for the first time. I've been running my adaptation of the Forest Maker 2E module for 4E since they began at level 16.

At level 18, they have just finished disrupting Abalach's play for a quickened draconic ascension. I modeled it a level 19 skill challenge (which they succeeded at 12 successes and 1 failure), so they are able to channel the ritual to grant themselves a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls, while Abalach-Re's draconic form is unstable.

Here's my custom stats for her draconic form. It's still at level 23 and as such is extremely difficult for 5 level 18 adventurers with 1 level 17 6th man, but the +4 attacks will give them a fighting chance. Besides, this is Dark Sun. Sorcerer-monarchs will always be hard in my DS games.

Destroying this form will not kill Abalach - it will only revert her to her Creature Catalog form, at which point she tries to escape. (Of course, if the players think they can still fight a full-hp level 23 human Abalach, that's their TPK.)

Why did I turn her into a 5-headed dragon? Doesn't that scream "Tiamat clone?" Well, maybe, but it's one of my only three huge dragon minis, and I have other plans for the dracolich and huge red.

Meta: I made the statblock with Masterplan and then exported the html file into this blog. I think the CSS will mess with the page a bit, but that's alright. :P As long as the statblock itself is in a format I like, it's all good. And damn, this statblock is LONG. Maybe I should get rid of all the fluff entries.

The Near Future

Out of my various blogs, it seems that this is the one in particular that I've been ignoring. Going back to a blog about D&D that doesn't talk about Nosfecatu is ultimately something that I'll do (maybe even in the near future), but I may rename it to something other than Awful Good, though, since I think someone else has a D&D blog or username with the exact same name.

In the meantime, I'll keep this one. I will probably make 2-4 posts, then make a different D&D blog under the same Nosfecatu username and start anew. These last few posts that I plan on doing will then be transferred there as well.

For anyone who is still interested in that Dark Sun game I've been running as of last post (dated June 12, 2010), we're actually still at it. The relevant posts have been moved to an Obsidian Portal page, though - feel free to check it out: It's now called The Walker Kings.

The Dagger of Khirim-Jan

After revealing the malpractice of a certain Veiled sculptor, the group decided to pursue other matters that promised a quick profit. This time, they are to disenchant a certain cursed dagger that was causing trouble in one of the templars' residences. Most members of the group disliked the templar-wives of the king and did not want to help them, but such attitudes were dispelled by templar Leaza's claim that the dagger was made of iron.

I Break My Weapon to Break Your Bones!

The revelation of the weapon breakage rules over at Dungeon's Master came as a shock to some of the people who frequented that blog. I believe the main concern is that characters will generally avoid to risk having their precious items destroyed - after all, the economy of the D&D 4E is set in such a way that keeps these items expensive. If these rules are used in a typical D&D world, I understand how unappealing this could be. But Athas, the world of the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, is anythingbut a typical D&D world.

Of Chickens and the Starlight Pageant

So with the Verdant Passage game wrapped up, I find my fellow hobbygamers inspired by the Dark Sun Campaign Setting. Already one of my players is setting up a game just days after Kalak's death, and the greater network of my extended gaming group will begin to explore Athas in a few weeks. As for me, the intention was to let our current Eberron game finish, and then I'll begin our own Dark Sun game just in time for the books in September.

Verdant Passage Finale

Anyone who's been following what WotC's doing for Dungeons and Dragons knows that the Dark Sun campaign setting is about to be revived for 4th edition. Like everyone else, I'm excited to get back to the world of Athas, where the world is ravaged by magic and staying alive is already a great achievement for each day that comes.