Dangerous Enemies: Duulgrin the Warchief

When one of the players in my Neverwinter home campaign said he wanted his character to be from Luskan, I did not think much of it. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide had a little bit about Neverwinter and the north and the Neverwinter Campaign Setting had a little bit more detail about Luskan, but I did not think much of it when a player suggested making Luskan his hometown. Of course, all of this would change when a seemingly random tweet to the author of "the book on Luskan" was followed by an email that would change the course of my campaign...

Although it had been recommended to me many months ago, I only started reading Erik Scott de Bie's Shadowbane shortly after my Neverwinter campaign set foot in Luskan. Shadowbane is a perfect read for anybody hoping to run a campaign in post-Spellplague Luskan. As I previously blogged, the five gangs of Luskan had already become a story element of my group's adventures. After earning the trust of the Dragonblood, they decided that getting the Dustclaws involved in their assault on Dead Rat territory would be a good plan. Unfortunately, this meant preparing a monster block for the head of the Dustclaws, Duulgrin the Warchief.

The Fallen Warchief

In Shadowbane, Erik Scott de Bie writes a bit about the head of the Dustclaws. He is a former orc war chief who had been cast out of his tribe. He settled in Luskan, hoping to succeed in Luskan where he had failed earlier. He is also written as one of the most violent character imaginable. One of the early chapters of Shadowbane stands as one of the most gruesome and graphically violent bits of writing I have read in a while, a bit of writing where Duulgrin headbutts somebody to death. Nonetheless, Duulgrin was a character I had to create for my adventurers.

Duulgrin the Warchief looks like another famous Orc...

I had to make sure "Headbutt" was a thing.

Although I used various different creatures as the basis for Duulgrin, he ended up representing a somewhat custom creation as I continued to tweak him as I went until he felt like the character I was going for. The most influential creature was "Hobgoblin Warchief," although I will admit that the character changed quite as I went through development.

Duulgrin's Battle Tactics

Duulgrin is the leader of the Dustclaws. He leads from the front, smashing his enemies with his own hammer and head while his gang watches. In battle, he tends to be up front with the rest of his gang, smashing his opponents and inspiring others with his depraved violence. He also tries to reposition the rest of his gang using Tactical Deployment, allowing them to put themselves in strategic positions that maximize their abilities while granting the warchief combat advantage.

If Duulgrin is facing a single foe, using Headbutt to incapacitate that foe is prudent. If surrounded, Duulgrin will take advantage of his Encounter power Wild Swing, striking at each creature adjacent to him. As a former orc warchief, Duulgrin knows when to be strategically prudent and when to throw caution to the wind. He would never allow himself to be surrounded by foes without some sort of escape plan or backup strategy.

It is important that Duulgrin have allies in battle. As several of his abilities require the presence of allies, it would be quite the shame to not include them. Whether it be a few orcs or a group of goblins, Duulgrin is the leader of the Dustclaws. When PCs face him in battle, he should have a fair number of his gang members with him to best take advantage of his abilities.

Duulgrin as Leader of the Dustclaws

Luskan is not the environment that Duulgrin was expecting when he arrived. Although he was able to make a name for himself quickly by brutalizing many of the non-human residents, he is just clever enough to realize that brute force alone is not sufficient to rule Luskan. Thus, although it may take a bit of violence to get him to see things the way the PCs want him to, he is quite capable of coming around as a potential ally.

This is why, at the end of the day, Duulgrin could be convinced to aid a group of rag tag adventurers that are building a small alliance of Luskan gangs against the Dead Rats. Anything that reduces the power of another gang while giving him a chance to fight real opponents in battle is something he is always looking for.

Dangerous Enemies: The Iaijutsu Master (Monster Card)

As I struggled to find a way to present my custom Dungeons & Dragons monster, a friend and follower of the blog suggested I do something akin to the way I do character cards. Honestly, it had been an idea I had been floating around for some time. I liked the idea of having a monster in a concise format, say a 3x5 or 4x6 card, but I never found a good way to lay it out. Keeping his advise in mind, I sat down and thought about how I could present my Iaijutsu Master in an easy-to-read format. From that, I created my first Monster Card.

Mitsurugi Yoshikage, the Iaijutsu Master.

I was surprised to find all of his abilities fit in 4x6.

I think that the Dungeons & Dragons: Encounters card has a lot of positive aspects but there were some notable deviations I made when generating a monster card. First of all, I shrunk the size down to 4x6. As a Dungeon Master, I like the idea of having monster cards, but 8.5x5.5 is just far too large to be workable. I first started with 3x5 but realized quickly that 4x6 was probably a more acceptable aspect ratio.

Another notable change I made was to change some slight details as to how monster powers were displayed (as compared to PC powers). Keeping consistent with the standard monster block format, I organized the powers by what type of action it was (Standard, Move, Minor, or Triggered Action). Once the powers were organized in that fashion, I quickly realized that there was no reason to state in every power what type of action it was. So, people familiar with looking at my character cards will see that notable deviation.

I realize that this format will not fit some of the more disastrous solo monsters from the epic tier. Furthermore, it will be surprisingly bare for minions and other creatures with only one or two attacks. However, I really do like the idea of the monster card and I hope to continue working on the design going forward.

Dangerous Enemies: The Iaijutsu Master

In 1489 DR, the city of Luskan is ruled by five rival gangs. Details about these gangs can be found in Erik Scott de Bie's novel, Shadowbane. One of the gangs, the Blood of the Dragon, is made up entirely of immigrants from Kara-Tur. Essentially the Yakuza presence in Luskan, the Dragonbloods (as they are known) still hold on to the culture and practices of their homeland. One of the less common practices seen amongst these descendants of Kara-Tur is the ancient sword style of Iaijutsu.

The Art of Drawing the Sword

Iaijutsu Master by deviantArt's DrStein.

Iaijutsu is the ancient Japanese art of drawing the sword. It is a combative art in which the warrior strikes with the blade, drawing it from the sheath in the process. There is some suggestion that it is a defensive form as it is counter-attack oriented, but there is also argument that Iaijutsu is useful in combat due its potential for surprise.

I will not pretend to be an expert on Japanese culture in any way. My primary exposure to Iaijutsu was the Samurai Shodown character Tachibana Ukyo, the seemingly enigmatic samurai stricken with tuberculosis. While thinking about how a Iaijutsu master would appear as a member of the Dragonbloods, I thought a lot about Ukyo while trying to keep this character a little bit grounded to reality. To that end, I watched a lot of YouTube videos.

After scouring the Internet for information about Iaijutsu, its history, and its effectiveness, I felt comfortable putting together some sort of Dungeons & Dragons monster state block that utilized the basic concept of Iaijutsu at its core.

Mitsurugi Yoshikage, Samurai of the Blood of the Dragon

Mitsurugi Yoshikage, Iaijutsu
Master of Luskan.

The Blood of the Dragon are one of the five major gangs in Luskan. The Daimyo, Umbra, is one of the "five captains" of Luskan, although that designation means a great deal less than it did one hundred years ago. Mitsurugi Yoshikage is somewhat unique amongst the Shou living in Luskan as he is a practitioner of the ancient Kara-Tur sword art of Iaijutsu. He is a stalwart warrior and carries out his work for the Daimyo with honor, unlike some of the less reputable members of the Dragonbloods.

Mitsurugi learned the art from his master, an old samurai who came to the west prior to the Spellplague. Since the death of his master, he has become the last swordsman in Luskan, and possibly the entire Sword Coast, to practice the unique style. As he continues to fight the enemies of the Daimyo in the streets of Luskan, he has adapted his style, focusing on powerful strikes from the sheath while emphasizing mobility and defense when his blade is drawn.

To earn Mitsurugi's respect merely takes fighting bravely and honorably in battle. As a warrior serving the Daimyo, battle is his life. In defending the honor of the Dragonblood, he finds little time for anything but perfecting his fighting style. However, he does spend a great deal of time thinking about what he will do when the Daimyo finally seizes control of all of Luskan (an eventually that Mitsurugi sees as inevitable). He has considered taking up artistic forms of his people, such as poetry, but only time will tell.

Battle Tactics

Mitsurugi Yoshikage is different than most Dungeons & Dragons solo monsters. Like a few creatures that appear throughout the monstrous manuals, Mitsurugi divides his abilities across two different phases. In his case, it is divided between having his Katana drawn or sheathed. While his Katana is drawn, he has slightly higher defenses and he is able to move more easily about the battle field. While his Katana is sheathed, he has the ability to use his more powerful attacks. He can even use one of those attacks, Iaijutsu Strike, in response to being hit by an opponent. In battle, he must balance the two forms properly, utilizing one or the other as necessary to achieve maximum effect.

Generally, the optimal strategy for Mitsurugi would be to strike (using either Iaijutsu Strike or Katana, depending on which form he starts the turn in) and then use his move action to do Iaijutsu Recovery, sheathing his blade. This would allow him to remain sheathed during player turns, granting him the ability to strike with Iaijutsu Parry when the opportunity presents itself.

If Mitsurugi needs to move about the battlefield (whether it be due to terrain circumstances or due to the mobility of the player characters), he should remain with his sword unsheathed, using Advancing Kick to shift around enemies while kicking his intended target prone, then striking with Katana as necessary. Although a standard Katana strike does less damage than his Iaijutsu Strike, the ability to remain mobile can be far more important than the damage sacrificed.

It is important to remember that Mitsurugi's defenses are slightly higher with his Katana drawn. His ability do defend himself with his blade is represented by a +2 bonus to all of his defenses. As a peculiarity of fourth edition turn mechanics, his Iaijutsu Parry is an Immediate Interrupt and will raise his defenses to the triggering attack. Thus, he may not only get a powerful attack in but also protect himself from the attack altogether.

Defeating the Master of the Drawn Blade

When bringing a character like Mitsurugi Yoshikage into a campaign, it is important to remember that a battle to the death is not necessarily required. Mitsurugi may simply be in search of a respectably powerful opponent or he may seek out some other specific person. He will fight until it is no longer important to his mission to continue. Furthermore, if his opponents are close to defeating him, he may very well surrender. Perhaps a near defeat will impress him, causing him to aid the player characters at a later date. Perhaps bringing him to the edge of death is what is necessary to convince him of the characters' worth. Either way, a battle with a warrior like Mitsurugi should be more than just every other battle that the characters face.