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Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
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<blockquote data-quote="Leatherhead" data-source="post: 8689503" data-attributes="member: 53176"><p><h3>Star Spawn (MToF)</h3><p></p><p>Star Spawn are the Aberrant equivalent of a Demon or Devil: Otherworldly invaders from a different Multiverse (often collectively referred to as The Far Realm), that serve at the beck and call of beings known as Elder Evils (or sometimes, Great Old Ones). Like the Fiends, these Elder Evils have organized cults on the Prime, where Warlocks and Priests do their bidding in return for unfathomable powers. The book goes into different boons that may be offered to such cultists and even the Star Spawn to spice them up a bit. Which is a nice touch for customizing monsters, reminding me of the themed templates from 4e (which is also where most of the Star Spawn lore originates from). In fact, you can clearly see some 4e-isims in the designs of the Star Spawn.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I have a theory that the story about Mind Flayers wanting to kill the Sun is related to these Star-Beings (implying that they are far more horrible than even the Illithids). But really that’s just me taking the lore bits and hooking them up with a red string on a corkboard.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Grue</p><p></p><p>[ISPOILER]It is dark, you are likely to be eaten by a Grue.[/ISPOILER] Grue are the least of the Star Spawn, and are designed to serve as a distraction for their betters. A task which they are quite good at.</p><p></p><p> Simply being around a Grue is an annoying experience, to the point where non-aberrant creatures will be inflicted with disadvantage on saving throws and attacks for just standing near them. A disadvantage that can only be overcome by attacking the Grue. At CR ¼ they are meant to take just a hit or two to down (much like a 4e minion), but that is still the better part of an action for most characters. Their offensive potential is also more dangerous than their own DPR would account for, as their attacks give other attackers advantage against their target, giving further incentive to mow them down.</p><p></p><p>In the changeover, the Grue’s Aura of Madness was renamed into Aura of Shrieks.</p><p></p><p>Hulk</p><p></p><p>A Star Spawn Hulk is a total meatshield of a creature, often serving as the muscle to the more important Star Spawn.</p><p></p><p>At CR 10, they have quite a bit of meat to throw around. Their attacks can either Stun one creature or knock any creature within a short PBAoE prone, giving them some nice control options. But their most interesting feature is their Psychic Mirror ability, which allows any psionic damage aimed at them to be redirected into all nearby foes. While you would think this might just be a one time trick against the PCs, forcing them into using a different damage type, you would be wrong. Hulks are often found in the employ of Star Spawn Seers*, who will fire off their psionic attacks into a Hulk, triggering this explosion multiple times per round. It is also worth noting that this ability allows no attack rolls or saving throws for the targets caught in the blast, meaning they can’t just <em>Shield</em> (or similar) out of an attack. For even more fun, consider that all other Star Spawn are immune to psionic damage, giving these blasts an inherent IFF feature.</p><p></p><p>*later in this very entry.</p><p></p><p>The Hulk was not significantly changed for this book.</p><p></p><p>Larva Mage</p><p></p><p>So remember Kyuss? This is what happens to a lot of his cultists: They end up as Oogie Boogie Warlocks. While they lack the Warlock tag, they are clearly modeled off of them (unlike those Skull Lords who are supposed to be Sorcerers), with an Eldritch Bolt primary attack and a handful of spells. I have to say it again, if there is a definitive Win for the new spellcaster mechanics, it is how they handle Warlock style monsters and NPCs.</p><p></p><p>Larva Mages are otherwise legendary CR 16 creatures, without any Legendary Resistances (unfortunately). though they have multiple ways of generating THP, and immunity to quite a number of status conditions to help with their longevity. Speaking of status conditions, the Larva Mage can bellow forth a blast of worms to inflict them on any enemies nearby, then use a legendary action to suck the health out of those stuck in the pile of creepy crawlies. Or they can simply opt to use<em> Dominate Monster</em>, which is also quite handy for control.</p><p></p><p>Should a Larva Mage be defeated, they turn into a swarm of insects, in an attempt to escape and rejuvenate their body in a day.</p><p></p><p>The Larva Mage lost the<em> Circle of Death</em> spell, and <em>Eldritch Blast</em> (gaining the Eldritch Bolt attack and <em>Message</em> in return). Also, they had their Slam Legendary Action reduced to one Action from 2 in this update.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Mangler</p><p></p><p>The Star Spawn Mangler is what 4e would have called a Lurker, a monster designed to ambush the party while fighting them.</p><p></p><p>To this end it has the ability to hide in shadows as a bonus action, a faster than normal climb speed, and an intimidating flurry of claws attack which will scare any player that is the target of it. Especially once the Mangler darts back into the shadows to hide after they are finished with the attacks. They also have extra damage on any attack that is made with advantage (a rare occurrence now). Something that can be accomplished on their own, or with the help of some nearby Grues.</p><p></p><p>The Mangler was not significantly changed for this reprinting.</p><p></p><p>Seer</p><p></p><p>The Star Spawn Seers are most often found as cult leaders for the Elder Evils. And commonly found in with a Hulk companion for the aforementioned synergies.</p><p></p><p> But that is far from the only trick they have up their sleeves. Seers are masters of mobility, they can walk though other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain (damaging the other creature in the process), and swap themselves with another Star Spawn as a reaction to being hit by an attack (which makes the attack hit the other Star Spawn instead). They also have an offensive teleport power that can be used on enemy creatures (or allies if the need arises) which can set off a psychic explosion at the point where the target was teleported from. And though they lack any kind of spells, they do have a melee attack which can incapacitate a target, should the need arise.</p><p></p><p>Seers had the one-handed damage option from their staves removed for this printing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Leatherhead, post: 8689503, member: 53176"] [HEADING=2]Star Spawn (MToF)[/HEADING] Star Spawn are the Aberrant equivalent of a Demon or Devil: Otherworldly invaders from a different Multiverse (often collectively referred to as The Far Realm), that serve at the beck and call of beings known as Elder Evils (or sometimes, Great Old Ones). Like the Fiends, these Elder Evils have organized cults on the Prime, where Warlocks and Priests do their bidding in return for unfathomable powers. The book goes into different boons that may be offered to such cultists and even the Star Spawn to spice them up a bit. Which is a nice touch for customizing monsters, reminding me of the themed templates from 4e (which is also where most of the Star Spawn lore originates from). In fact, you can clearly see some 4e-isims in the designs of the Star Spawn. Personally, I have a theory that the story about Mind Flayers wanting to kill the Sun is related to these Star-Beings (implying that they are far more horrible than even the Illithids). But really that’s just me taking the lore bits and hooking them up with a red string on a corkboard. Grue [ISPOILER]It is dark, you are likely to be eaten by a Grue.[/ISPOILER] Grue are the least of the Star Spawn, and are designed to serve as a distraction for their betters. A task which they are quite good at. Simply being around a Grue is an annoying experience, to the point where non-aberrant creatures will be inflicted with disadvantage on saving throws and attacks for just standing near them. A disadvantage that can only be overcome by attacking the Grue. At CR ¼ they are meant to take just a hit or two to down (much like a 4e minion), but that is still the better part of an action for most characters. Their offensive potential is also more dangerous than their own DPR would account for, as their attacks give other attackers advantage against their target, giving further incentive to mow them down. In the changeover, the Grue’s Aura of Madness was renamed into Aura of Shrieks. Hulk A Star Spawn Hulk is a total meatshield of a creature, often serving as the muscle to the more important Star Spawn. At CR 10, they have quite a bit of meat to throw around. Their attacks can either Stun one creature or knock any creature within a short PBAoE prone, giving them some nice control options. But their most interesting feature is their Psychic Mirror ability, which allows any psionic damage aimed at them to be redirected into all nearby foes. While you would think this might just be a one time trick against the PCs, forcing them into using a different damage type, you would be wrong. Hulks are often found in the employ of Star Spawn Seers*, who will fire off their psionic attacks into a Hulk, triggering this explosion multiple times per round. It is also worth noting that this ability allows no attack rolls or saving throws for the targets caught in the blast, meaning they can’t just [I]Shield[/I] (or similar) out of an attack. For even more fun, consider that all other Star Spawn are immune to psionic damage, giving these blasts an inherent IFF feature. *later in this very entry. The Hulk was not significantly changed for this book. Larva Mage So remember Kyuss? This is what happens to a lot of his cultists: They end up as Oogie Boogie Warlocks. While they lack the Warlock tag, they are clearly modeled off of them (unlike those Skull Lords who are supposed to be Sorcerers), with an Eldritch Bolt primary attack and a handful of spells. I have to say it again, if there is a definitive Win for the new spellcaster mechanics, it is how they handle Warlock style monsters and NPCs. Larva Mages are otherwise legendary CR 16 creatures, without any Legendary Resistances (unfortunately). though they have multiple ways of generating THP, and immunity to quite a number of status conditions to help with their longevity. Speaking of status conditions, the Larva Mage can bellow forth a blast of worms to inflict them on any enemies nearby, then use a legendary action to suck the health out of those stuck in the pile of creepy crawlies. Or they can simply opt to use[I] Dominate Monster[/I], which is also quite handy for control. Should a Larva Mage be defeated, they turn into a swarm of insects, in an attempt to escape and rejuvenate their body in a day. The Larva Mage lost the[I] Circle of Death[/I] spell, and [I]Eldritch Blast[/I] (gaining the Eldritch Bolt attack and [I]Message[/I] in return). Also, they had their Slam Legendary Action reduced to one Action from 2 in this update. Mangler The Star Spawn Mangler is what 4e would have called a Lurker, a monster designed to ambush the party while fighting them. To this end it has the ability to hide in shadows as a bonus action, a faster than normal climb speed, and an intimidating flurry of claws attack which will scare any player that is the target of it. Especially once the Mangler darts back into the shadows to hide after they are finished with the attacks. They also have extra damage on any attack that is made with advantage (a rare occurrence now). Something that can be accomplished on their own, or with the help of some nearby Grues. The Mangler was not significantly changed for this reprinting. Seer The Star Spawn Seers are most often found as cult leaders for the Elder Evils. And commonly found in with a Hulk companion for the aforementioned synergies. But that is far from the only trick they have up their sleeves. Seers are masters of mobility, they can walk though other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain (damaging the other creature in the process), and swap themselves with another Star Spawn as a reaction to being hit by an attack (which makes the attack hit the other Star Spawn instead). They also have an offensive teleport power that can be used on enemy creatures (or allies if the need arises) which can set off a psychic explosion at the point where the target was teleported from. And though they lack any kind of spells, they do have a melee attack which can incapacitate a target, should the need arise. Seers had the one-handed damage option from their staves removed for this printing. [/QUOTE]
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