pukunui
Legend
I'm pretty sure Titania is the Summer Queen.
D&D 5E Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
ArchfiendBobbie
First Post
There's some interesting discussion of that. Everything I find on Titania and Oberon from history associates them with forests, but not a particular season. And the original title of her seems to suggest she rules over all fae and not a particular court, making her more akin to an empress than just a queen.
But, if you investigate Oberon, you find out a lot more; Oberon was originally tied to forests, but not any particular season. This seems to suggest that his court is one of the biome courts, specifically the biome of forests.
Much of the idea of the Summer tie comes from the Shakespearean play, but the title of the play was an allusion both to the Midsummer's Eve festival and how the play itself plays with the idea of what is and what is not real.
pukunui
Legend
Is there?
FWIW I just checked the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, because I remembered it had lists of suggested patrons for the various warlock pacts, and sure enough, it identifies Titania as being the Summer Queen. See page 138.
ArchfiendBobbie
First Post
Bah! I should have checked there first instead of delving into mythology.
Charles Rampant
Explorer
Good catch on the SCAG; I always forget that it has that nice little section on Warlock Patrons. Man, I really wish I could play a Warlock in someone else's game.
There are many monsters in this book that would be great to add to the already-published adventure paths; the Deep Scion is one of these, being a perfect minion of the Kraken Society. That is a secret society that has turned up twice now, in Princes of the Apocalypse and Storm King’s Thunder, but neither time was it really the ‘main attraction’ of the adventure, as it were.
The Deep Scion art in Volo’s is pretty good. Of all the ‘stand and pose menacingly’ pictures in the book, this is one of the most menacinglyist of them all! It helps that the guy is a freakish assembly of all that is nasty and grotesque about sea creatures, plus a rather fetching suit of leather armour. He hits the mark for me, which is to say that I feel like washing my hands after looking at it closely for this post.
In terms of background, these guys are a cross between Deep Ones from Lovecraft and Changlings. They are kidnapped - taken from shipwrecks or plucked from the shore - and taken underwater to be converted into a nasty fish monster. This is known to ‘evil aquatic creatures’, which is vague enough to cover a multitude of sins by the DM. The ritual not only makes them horrid physically, it allows them to shapechange back into a normal looking person, to swim and breathe underwater, and it gets some fairly strong combat abilities to boot.
The Scion is in an interesting place as a monster. It has enough character as an assassin from the deeps and shapeshifter, to suit a solo encounter - and its Psychic Screech doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe, so it works a little better this way, mechanically. In addition, they have the skills (Deception, Stealth, etc) to work well as the infiltrator type. However, it is only CR 3. On the other hand, as minions of a greater power, they seem perfectly serviceable to be used in mobs against higher-level players, serving as the Ogres of your campaign if that makes sense. Note that a Kraken will only fail the saving throw against Psychic Screech on a natural 1, so they’ll do perfectly fine as bodyguards for one. Both options are viable in the same campaign of course; note that the Psychic Screech mentally transmits its knowledge of the last 24 hours to its master, so they seem perfectly suited to serve as the transition between the early stages of your story, with an investigation into strange happenings in the coastal village culminating in a fight against the Deep Scion, and the middle, where the players take to the water to find out who was really behind events. This would then lead into fights against Sahuagin swarms or Merrow or whatever.
In combat, they are fairly uncomplicated. It turns into the squamous critter that it is in the picture, then either uses Psychic Screech, which is an AoE save effect that causes stunning for a round, exactly like a Monk fist, or they can use a triple-attack routine for standard looking damage. The Screech is going to be way more scary when there are other monsters around to take advantage of anyone who fails. They are easy as pie to hit, but have very respectable HP, which I think is balanced out according to the monster tables in the DMG. There isn’t much otherwise to note, other than that they swim good.
A pretty simple monster for CR 3, especially as the monsters in this book are more complex overall than those in the MM, but there is a lot to like about these guys for a game set on the coast. I’ve got some thoughts about having them infiltrate Waterdeep’s Dock Ward, with the players asked to investigate the extent of the problem after the Merfolk in the harbour catch one trying to swim into the harbour.
Tomorrow we get the Demons. I’ll see how much space the Babau takes up; we might cover two or three at once, if there isn’t a huge amount to say about it.
There are many monsters in this book that would be great to add to the already-published adventure paths; the Deep Scion is one of these, being a perfect minion of the Kraken Society. That is a secret society that has turned up twice now, in Princes of the Apocalypse and Storm King’s Thunder, but neither time was it really the ‘main attraction’ of the adventure, as it were.
The Deep Scion art in Volo’s is pretty good. Of all the ‘stand and pose menacingly’ pictures in the book, this is one of the most menacinglyist of them all! It helps that the guy is a freakish assembly of all that is nasty and grotesque about sea creatures, plus a rather fetching suit of leather armour. He hits the mark for me, which is to say that I feel like washing my hands after looking at it closely for this post.
In terms of background, these guys are a cross between Deep Ones from Lovecraft and Changlings. They are kidnapped - taken from shipwrecks or plucked from the shore - and taken underwater to be converted into a nasty fish monster. This is known to ‘evil aquatic creatures’, which is vague enough to cover a multitude of sins by the DM. The ritual not only makes them horrid physically, it allows them to shapechange back into a normal looking person, to swim and breathe underwater, and it gets some fairly strong combat abilities to boot.
The Scion is in an interesting place as a monster. It has enough character as an assassin from the deeps and shapeshifter, to suit a solo encounter - and its Psychic Screech doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe, so it works a little better this way, mechanically. In addition, they have the skills (Deception, Stealth, etc) to work well as the infiltrator type. However, it is only CR 3. On the other hand, as minions of a greater power, they seem perfectly serviceable to be used in mobs against higher-level players, serving as the Ogres of your campaign if that makes sense. Note that a Kraken will only fail the saving throw against Psychic Screech on a natural 1, so they’ll do perfectly fine as bodyguards for one. Both options are viable in the same campaign of course; note that the Psychic Screech mentally transmits its knowledge of the last 24 hours to its master, so they seem perfectly suited to serve as the transition between the early stages of your story, with an investigation into strange happenings in the coastal village culminating in a fight against the Deep Scion, and the middle, where the players take to the water to find out who was really behind events. This would then lead into fights against Sahuagin swarms or Merrow or whatever.
In combat, they are fairly uncomplicated. It turns into the squamous critter that it is in the picture, then either uses Psychic Screech, which is an AoE save effect that causes stunning for a round, exactly like a Monk fist, or they can use a triple-attack routine for standard looking damage. The Screech is going to be way more scary when there are other monsters around to take advantage of anyone who fails. They are easy as pie to hit, but have very respectable HP, which I think is balanced out according to the monster tables in the DMG. There isn’t much otherwise to note, other than that they swim good.
A pretty simple monster for CR 3, especially as the monsters in this book are more complex overall than those in the MM, but there is a lot to like about these guys for a game set on the coast. I’ve got some thoughts about having them infiltrate Waterdeep’s Dock Ward, with the players asked to investigate the extent of the problem after the Merfolk in the harbour catch one trying to swim into the harbour.
Tomorrow we get the Demons. I’ll see how much space the Babau takes up; we might cover two or three at once, if there isn’t a huge amount to say about it.
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Deep Scion's make me wish more monsters were templates. I could imagine an entire ship of these, each with different abilities or powers. Ideally, a few warlocks would be in their ranks along with the simpler rogue and warrior types.
But, the most interesting idea about these creatures is that sometimes the ritual fails. What exactly happens then? The lore implies that the person dies, but what if they didn't? Could there be some Deep Scions that keep their emotions and fight against their aquatic masters? Could they mutate into other creatures? I would like to see this ritual happen to a PC, only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Tritons or the like. Giving the character the powers of a Deep Scion wouldn't pose too much of a problem for balance, the screech is a burden for the party, and the claws don't have to offer much more than a slightly upgraded unarmed strike. The biggest boon would be giving a swim speed and water breathing to a character that didn't have one, and the plot points you could weave from such a "blessing" are numerous.
But, the most interesting idea about these creatures is that sometimes the ritual fails. What exactly happens then? The lore implies that the person dies, but what if they didn't? Could there be some Deep Scions that keep their emotions and fight against their aquatic masters? Could they mutate into other creatures? I would like to see this ritual happen to a PC, only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Tritons or the like. Giving the character the powers of a Deep Scion wouldn't pose too much of a problem for balance, the screech is a burden for the party, and the claws don't have to offer much more than a slightly upgraded unarmed strike. The biggest boon would be giving a swim speed and water breathing to a character that didn't have one, and the plot points you could weave from such a "blessing" are numerous.
Charles Rampant
Explorer
I think that, to have 'Deep Scion Warlocks' or whatever, to give yourself a whole ship full of varied bad guys for that storyline, you'd be best off just using normal NPC statblocks but give them swimming, psionic screech, and aquatic movement. That should cover about everything that your players will notice/care about. In Princes of the Apocalypse they used 'Aquatic Trolls' and 'Aquatic Ghouls': both simply had a swim speed (and the ability to breathe underwater for the Trolls). I always thought that was a very elegant way to handle the situation.
That is an interesting hook for a character; I think that it would actually work best as a Background that gave you the ability to swim underwater and hold your breath; perhaps also proficiency in Athletics or something. Offer that to a selected player before the campaign, and they could perhaps be a survivor of the cult. Even more fun: the character has amnesia, and thus no idea how he came to have gills and webbed feet, but he does know that he fears the deep...
That is an interesting hook for a character; I think that it would actually work best as a Background that gave you the ability to swim underwater and hold your breath; perhaps also proficiency in Athletics or something. Offer that to a selected player before the campaign, and they could perhaps be a survivor of the cult. Even more fun: the character has amnesia, and thus no idea how he came to have gills and webbed feet, but he does know that he fears the deep...
dave2008
Legend
I don't have the book in front of me, but I see it as only two attacks against one creature, not sure were you are getting six:
1) Move 30feet
2) Make fireshield attack (which happens during the move), I don't remember the damage caused
3a) failed save - pushed to the end of the movement
3b) failed by 5 or more - knocked prone and add 18 (3d6 + 8) damage, or 29 (6d6 + 8) if the target was prone when the initial attack was made (step 2)
Chaosmancer
Legend
I love the Scion as the secret infiltrator, sneaking into the water every night to report back to its master.
With shapechanging they could be a secret traitor to a criminal organization, working in the background to keep tabs on them and prevent them from stopping the master's ultimate plan.
One thing that causes me a little confusion is that this one and the Sea Spawn, and I think one or two other creatures, present the Kraken as almost a God-like being, which in raw strength may be true, but until this time I'd never imagined them as using mind manipulating magicks or altering a creature's form to create new life.
I like that sort of being, but I always thought the Kraken was more of an aquatic Tarrasque than a vengeful god.
With shapechanging they could be a secret traitor to a criminal organization, working in the background to keep tabs on them and prevent them from stopping the master's ultimate plan.
One thing that causes me a little confusion is that this one and the Sea Spawn, and I think one or two other creatures, present the Kraken as almost a God-like being, which in raw strength may be true, but until this time I'd never imagined them as using mind manipulating magicks or altering a creature's form to create new life.
I like that sort of being, but I always thought the Kraken was more of an aquatic Tarrasque than a vengeful god.
