P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens Spoilers

[Shroomy]

Courtesy of Rich Baker's WoTC blog. I'm really looking forward to P1 and its new monsters:

Let’s start with some D&D news: I’ve got my copy of King of the Trollhaunt Warrens on my desk. I’m pretty happy with the adventure. Part of the deep backstory is the old troll-kingdom of Vardar. Players tend to assume that trolls are too stupid and savage to have kingdoms, really, but Logan Bonner and I had a lot of fun thinking up what a troll realm would look like. The Trollhaunt itself has a great old-school feel to it. (I confess that I found myself thinking of the old Star Trek episode The Galileo Seven from time to time as we were working on it.) Anyway, this time around I put together 4e conversions for the nothic and the will-o’-wisp. The wisp was always a monster that had a great story, but had no tools to pull it off. I mean, what player is going to follow lights his character sees in a swamp? Everybody knows that’s trouble. And the wisp supposedly fed off the dissipating life-force of dying creatures, but there was nothing in the previous editions to really put teeth in that idea. So the 4th Edition will-o’-wisp has a nasty little mesmerizing power to lure PCs into dangerous places, and a life drain attack that allows it to feed and get stronger when used against bloodied targets. Plus, wisps are the perfect lurkers. You can have them show up in the middle of almost any dungeon fight.

 

[MerricB]

You're right: that sounds really promising.

Oh well, I have it on preorder. Should be here in a few more weeks. It's not like I've really sat down with my most recent purchases yet!

Cheers!

 

[Shroomy]

Its the only thing that I currently plan on buying in October (unless something 3PP comes out and Wows me).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I am collecting the first 9 mods to run back to back. So I would have gotten this no matter what, but this sounds hott

 

[Mouseferatu]

Its the only thing that I currently plan on buying in October (unless something 3PP comes out and Wows me).

*cough*

 

[I'm A Banana]

I really like that description of the Will-O-Wisp. It'll be very cool to see a 4e monster that I might finally be excited to use.

 

[doctorhook]

When I first noticed this thread, I thought to myself, "What? How does Shroomy always get these adventures so early?"

This sounds awesome! ...But, Nothics? Really? Well, I guess I've gotta use that mini for something. (I just hope there's not more than one. )

 

[Rechan]

I really like that description of the Will-O-Wisp. It'll be very cool to see a 4e monster that I might finally be excited to use.

I guess it takes all kinds; there are very few monsters in 4e I'm not excited to use.

What's a nothic?

 

[Shroomy]

Hmmm, I don't remember the nothics. I'm going to have to go and dig out my copy of the MH.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I guess it takes all kinds; there are very few monsters in 4e I'm not excited to use.

I'm more excited by story than by mechanics, so a monster that properly evokes the legends and myth of the monster is much more exciting to me than a bucket o' stats. The Will O' Wisp hasn't done that very well, historically, and it's exciting to see it get its just deserts. It works better than, say, something like the Succubus, whose charm only lasts a few moments, and better than something like the Abyssal Ghoul, which seems to lack a justification to exist.

What's a nothic?

They're from the Minis HB. A quick google will get you an old excerpt with the stats. Basic gibbering abomination.