Blog #11

The Thing in the Water was me trying to insert some randomness into a fight. I was throwing way too much at the players in a confined place, so this was a way to introduce a "balancing" factor - assuming they used it.

So, I had a section of the Grimlock mines where there was a bridge crossing a chasm, with cliffs that looked out over an underground lake. On the second round of fighting up here, a "thing" came up out of the water and attacked anything close to the edge - be it PC or enemy.

I envisioned the thing being like the creature from Lord of the Rings (The Watcher). I based it off a Hydra I remember.

The players ended up using it to good effect, throwing guys next to the edge so the thing would attack the enemies, and it worked wonderfully well!

Thing in the Water Level 6 Solo Lurker
Large natural beast (reptile) XP 1250
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +10; all-around vision
HP 280; Bloodied 140
AC 20; Fortitude 20, Reflex 18, Will 17
Saving Throws +5
Speed 5, swim 10
Action Points 2
Tentacle (standard; at-will)
Reach 2; +11 vs. AC; 1d8 + 5 damage.
Tentacle Fury (standard; at-will)
The thing makes four tentacle attacks.
Threatening Reach
The thing can make opportunity attacks against all enemies within its reach (2 squares).
Alignment Unaligned Languages —
Skills Stealth +11
Str 20 (+8) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 20 (+8) Int 2 (-1) Cha 8 (+2)