Free Kobold Encounter Takes Your D&D Adventure Out of the Box

A couple of months ago, Nerdarchy launched our very first Kickstarter — Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition. The community support and encouragement blew us away! Everyone on the team is super proud of the campaign and even more excited to get the final product into the hands of the 4,057 backers who pledged $256,734 to help bring this project to life. Since the Kickstarter campaign ended, we’ve received a lot of requests for another chance to support Out of the Box and get a copy from those who missed the opportunity to back while it was live. But fear not! Through the Pledge Manager those folks will have a chance to preorder the content and existing backers can add on to their initial pledge. So in classic Nerdarchy fashion, we decided to create even more stuff and give it away for free to celebrate.

 

Free exclusive Out of the Box kobold encounter

Over at the Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition Pledge Manager you’ll find a free PDF available for download called Out of the Box: Seizing the Means. This is a special new Out of the Box encounter we created to give people a peek into the sort of material in the upcoming book. Seizing the Means is an encounter for 13th level characters designed to illustrate what the encounters in the book are like.

One of the many Nerdarchy projects percolating behind the scenes heavily involves kobolds, and we’ve got a ton of concept art on file for it so we thought, why not use some of it to inspire this brand new encounter? There’s also elements taken from Nerdarchist Dave’s Court of Wyrms campaign.

Sitting somewhere between a quest and an adventure hook, Out of the Box encounters are meant to be useful for Game Masters who need quick content to engage players during any given session. Because players famously take campaigns in unexpected directions with their *ahem* out of the box thinking, each encounter includes guidance for these different approaches.

When adventurers encounter these scenarios, they can approach them as combat, exploration or social scenarios and how the solutions they employ for each problem can start and end right there, lead them off on a side quest or become the focus for entire campaigns.

In Seizing the Means, characters traveling through the wilderness discover an unusual kobold culture. Fed up with being put down by the majority of entities in the multiverse, these creative kobolds have discovered a way to steer the course of their own destiny — and evolution!

In the encounter, two new creatures are introduced: kobold harriers and a gaunt green dragon. Depending on how the characters respond to the situation, they could very well have a challenging battle on their hands involving either or both of these creatures. There are tips for fast and dirty versions of these new creatures included inside Seizing the Means, but down below you’ll find the stat blocks for both of them, ready to use in Seizing the Means or for your own campaign encounters.

We are incredibly thankful to the D&D community for their support and encouragement for our first foray into the exciting world of Kickstarter, and we wanted to make something new to give a little back as well as share a glimpse into the kinds of content you’ll find in the book.

Also, in case you missed it, our ultimate stretch goal for the Kickstarter was Nerdarchy the Convention! Scheduled for Halloween weekend 2020, we’re beyond thrilled to invite nerds to share the experience with us. We’ve already got a ton of programming and special guests on the books and we’re working our butts off to include even more. You can find out more about Nerdarchy the Convention and preorder badges through the Pledge Manager too.

We receive a ton of messages from people who missed the Kickstarter asking if late pledges were possible. So we’re keeping the Pledge Manager open as long as possible up until we send the order to the book printer. This is the best time to add to your existing pledge or make late pledges. Once the Pledge Manager closes, the prices for the book, ArcKnight pack, convention badges and everything else will go up. Those who make late pledges through the Pledge Manager are still eligible to receive Kickstarter rewards too, like the print-and-play decks and exclusive art prints.

Visit the Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition page here and get your free kobold encounter here.

Stay nerdy!

Gaunt Green Dragon

Large dragon, lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points 88 (16d10)

Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft., swim 20 ft.

STR 19 (+4)

DEX 12 (+1)

CON 10 (+0)

INT 16 (+3)

WIS 13 (+1)

CHA 15 (+2)

Saving Throws DEX +4, CON +3, WIS +4, CHA +5

Skills Deception +5, Perception +7, Stealth +4

Damage Immunities Poison

Condition Immunities Poisoned

Senses Blindsight 30 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 17

Languages Common, Draconic

Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.

Hungry Jaws (3/Day). As a bonus action, the dragon can make a special attack with its bite. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage, and the dragon gains 10 temporary hit points.

Actions

Multiattack. The dragon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.

Poison Breath (Recharge 6). The dragon exhales poisonous gas in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Kobold Harrier

Small humanoid (kobold), lawful evil

Armor Class 13 (leather armor)

Hit Points 28 (8d6)

Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft.

STR 12 (+1)

DEX 15 (+2)

CON 10 (+0)

INT 8 (-1)

WIS 7 (-2)

CHA 8 (-1)

Damage Resistances Poison

Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 8

Languages Draconic

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Learning to Fly. The kobold harrier falls at the end of a turn if it’s airborne and the only thing holding it aloft is its flying speed.

Flyby. The kobold harrier doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the kobold has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Pack Tactics. The kobold has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the kobold’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Actions