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Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Charles Rampant" data-source="post: 6960795" data-attributes="member: 32659"><p>So next up is the <strong>Barghest</strong>! I googled for an image, and did not find the Volo's Guide one but did find this cracker:</p><p></p><p><img src="http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/b/bb/Barghest.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110621190839" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The actual picture in Volo's is also great, and I really like how the artist managed to make the face in both forms of the Barghest look faintly similar. </p><p></p><p>I had a vague impression of these guys as fiendish dogs, and in Volo that is broadly true, however they are very tied into the Goblins. At CR 4 they are tough enough to be a true terror to the Gobbos, and I like the description of how a Goblin tribe that discovers one just goes into grovelling obedience to show how insignificant they are - very different from the responses to other 'hidden' monsters like the Frost Giant and whatnot. </p><p></p><p>Using them in an adventure seems a little tough. You can have one just, you know, wandering around, but that doesn't make good use of their lore. I can imagine one turning up when the party attacks a goblin cave - using the confusion to massacre and consume the tribe's most prominent members - leading to an engaging 3-way combat. To be honest, I think that it'd be easiest to use them in a Goblins-as-PCs game. Let one of the Players actually <strong>be</strong> the Barghest, even. That could be a lot of fun. Otherwise, the fact that the Barghest tries to hide itself means that your party isn't going to see one deployed as part of a Goblinoid defense, but will instead find a Goblin to be a surprising threat. Good for springing on overconfident players, perhaps.</p><p></p><p>The Yugoloth connection is a lot of fun though, and these guys are a solid addition to combats taking place against them, even if it means that you're not using most of the interesting elements of their lore.</p><p></p><p>In terms of combat, they get one strong attack, but no multiattack routine; they are pretty damn tough though, with standard Yugoloth damage resistances, AC 17, and 90 HP. So that makes them more of a tank (a large, terrifying looking, tank) in terms of how they'll operate in combat. The <em>Fire Banishment</em> thing means that they're going to be victimised by medium level wizards casting <em>Wall of Fire</em>, but that sort of 'clever win' is often fun for the party, so I don't mind it. </p><p></p><p>The Barghest comes with a bunch of spells, but they are mostly not ones that you'll see them use in combat against PCs I think. <em>Suggestion</em> is pretty good, but the rest not so much. They serve as a good explanation for how the Barghest can infiltrate Goblinoid encampments though, and provoke thoughts of a group of Player Character Goblinoids having to desperately hunt down a Barghest that is terrorising them - say, in an isolated, arctic facility? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>Finally, the <em>Soul Feeding</em> ability is one of those fun things in the game that helps to explain 'how things work', but is unlikely to actually come up that often. A bit like Mind Flayers and eating brains - if it happens, chances are that the party already lost the fight, and you're narrating the aftermath. It does have option as a plot hook, however; having an important NPC's soul trapped in the gullet of the Barghest could make for an interesting reason for your party to try and track it down in a local Goblin tribe's lair.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charles Rampant, post: 6960795, member: 32659"] So next up is the [b]Barghest[/b]! I googled for an image, and did not find the Volo's Guide one but did find this cracker: [img]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/b/bb/Barghest.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110621190839[/img] The actual picture in Volo's is also great, and I really like how the artist managed to make the face in both forms of the Barghest look faintly similar. I had a vague impression of these guys as fiendish dogs, and in Volo that is broadly true, however they are very tied into the Goblins. At CR 4 they are tough enough to be a true terror to the Gobbos, and I like the description of how a Goblin tribe that discovers one just goes into grovelling obedience to show how insignificant they are - very different from the responses to other 'hidden' monsters like the Frost Giant and whatnot. Using them in an adventure seems a little tough. You can have one just, you know, wandering around, but that doesn't make good use of their lore. I can imagine one turning up when the party attacks a goblin cave - using the confusion to massacre and consume the tribe's most prominent members - leading to an engaging 3-way combat. To be honest, I think that it'd be easiest to use them in a Goblins-as-PCs game. Let one of the Players actually [b]be[/b] the Barghest, even. That could be a lot of fun. Otherwise, the fact that the Barghest tries to hide itself means that your party isn't going to see one deployed as part of a Goblinoid defense, but will instead find a Goblin to be a surprising threat. Good for springing on overconfident players, perhaps. The Yugoloth connection is a lot of fun though, and these guys are a solid addition to combats taking place against them, even if it means that you're not using most of the interesting elements of their lore. In terms of combat, they get one strong attack, but no multiattack routine; they are pretty damn tough though, with standard Yugoloth damage resistances, AC 17, and 90 HP. So that makes them more of a tank (a large, terrifying looking, tank) in terms of how they'll operate in combat. The [i]Fire Banishment[/i] thing means that they're going to be victimised by medium level wizards casting [i]Wall of Fire[/i], but that sort of 'clever win' is often fun for the party, so I don't mind it. The Barghest comes with a bunch of spells, but they are mostly not ones that you'll see them use in combat against PCs I think. [i]Suggestion[/i] is pretty good, but the rest not so much. They serve as a good explanation for how the Barghest can infiltrate Goblinoid encampments though, and provoke thoughts of a group of Player Character Goblinoids having to desperately hunt down a Barghest that is terrorising them - say, in an isolated, arctic facility? :D Finally, the [i]Soul Feeding[/i] ability is one of those fun things in the game that helps to explain 'how things work', but is unlikely to actually come up that often. A bit like Mind Flayers and eating brains - if it happens, chances are that the party already lost the fight, and you're narrating the aftermath. It does have option as a plot hook, however; having an important NPC's soul trapped in the gullet of the Barghest could make for an interesting reason for your party to try and track it down in a local Goblin tribe's lair. [/QUOTE]
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