“Ribbet, Ribbet, WHOOSH” – Out of the Box #26 D&D Encounters
October 28, 2016
Introduction:
The Monster Manual is loaded with a lot of gems that seem to go unnoticed. The Templates are but one of them. Templates are a great way to take what the players are familiar with and shaking them up. What this does is two-fold. First, it generates an encounter that the players are not ready for. That is it’s own reward, as it freshens up what would be a very ordinary, and possibly predictable, encounter. Secondly, it takes that omni-present “metagame” aspect and turns it on it’s head. Ask a DM what value they would place on making that one experienced meta-gaming rules lawyer at their table give the “WTF?” expression, and I’ll bet that they’d rate it pretty high.
The following encounter is intended to do both. It applies the “Half-Dragon” template to something that we would normally not consider. As per the “Half-Dragon” template, we can apply it to a beast, humanoid or giant. That’s a lot of choice. This is but one example of such an application, and might open up a series of encounters where one rather amorous dragon has seeded a campaign with it’s brethren, creating a whole list of choice encounters. One would have to finally convince the dragon of the concept of “planned parenthood” to end this series of events – a discussion I’ll leave to your players.
In this instance, we enter the swamps to deal with a squad of mounted Bullywug cavalry mounted on Giant Toads, lead by a Half-Black Dragon Bullywug. I present “Ribbet, Ribbet, WHOOSH”.
Environment: Wilderness/Swamp
Suggested level: 4-5 (although one could scale it by adding more “cavalry”)
The characters, as they traverse a lonely swamp, will be surrounded by the sounds of all the wildlife in the area. Insects, birds, frogs and the like, all chiming in on the cacophony of sound. All of a sudden, the birds and insects will go silent. Only the frogs will remain. Then, after a minute, the frogs, too, will go silent. The tall grass around the characters will part suddenly as the silhouettes of large amphibians will leap over them, raining down javelins into the crowded travellers – only to disappear into the thrushes again.
These will be Bullywugs mounted on Giant Toads. They will wait silently for their chance, and will then leap over the party into the swamp beyond, throwing javelins from the backs of their mounts. Only those that cannot be surprised can react (Alert Feat, 7th level Barbarians with Feral Instinct, etc.). The first wave will be two Bullywug/Giant toad cavalry. If they have Surprise (see above), they will launch a Javelin each at Advantage. Determine the target(s) randomly.
If the players turn to face the direction where the Bullywugs went, or change their facing from the front at all, the second wave will have Advantage on their initiative roll. They will burst from the front through the reeds, and will launch a brutal offensive. Two more mounted Bullywugs will appear. One bullywug will appear much larger and will be armored in studded leather. He’s powerfully built, especially for a Bullywug, and will make his presence known this round – with a breath weapon. “Blacktongue” will spit a 15’ long, 5’ wide gout of Acid (Dex save, DC: 11, 5d8 Acid damage) into the party, and then charge among them. The Bullywug beside him will hurl a Javelin and then follow suit. Both of their mounts will attempt to Bite a foe. Each bite (as per Monster Manual p. 329) will risk a Grapple on a successful Bite (escape Dc13). If that target is Grappled, they risk being Swallowed (upon a successful Bite attack upon a Grappled target) the next turn. Once these two are engaged, the other two Bullywug cavalry will leap into battle and join in with spears and Giant Toad attacks.
Should the party turn the tables on the Bullywugs, they will retreat if either their leader “Blacktongue” falls or if their numbers drop below half of the party. They will attempt to leap away on their Giant Toad mounts, or if the mounts are dead, on their own. The Giant Toads, if riderless, will certainly press the attack unless brought to below 50% of their hp. They are, after all, wild beasts without the influence of the Bullywugs. Feel free to have them return with reinforcements later, especially if Blacktongue is one of the escaped.
Monsters: Bullywugs (4) – As per Monster Manual, p.35. Add three Javelins as missile weapons in
addition to their spears.
Giant Toad (5) – One for each Bullywug. As per Monster Manual p.329.
Blacktongue – Use “Bandit Captain” to start (p.344 of the Monster Manual)
– add Bullywug racial abilities (as above, p, 35 of the MM)
– add Half-Dragon template (p. 180 of MM), with Black as the base. The Breath Weapon will
be as per Black Dragon Wyrmling (p. 88 of MM), and he will gain Blindsight (10’), Darkvision
(60’), Acid Resistance, Draconic language.
– add +1 further AC due to +1 Studded Leather Armour.
Treasure: +1 Studded Leather Armour (on Blacktongue), as well as assorted coins. 100 sp, 50gp,
2 pearls (50 gp each), and a carved bone statue of a grinning frog god with tiny ruby eyes (150gp).
Complications:
The biggest complication from this is being Swallowed by a Giant Toad. That becomes a real risk, as any characters that are flanked by more than one unit will be attacked with Advantage. Those that are swallowed will take ongoing Acid damage (3d10), and will be Blinded and Restrained for the duration. Attacking from the inside is possible, but any attacks will be at Disadvantage, as per the Restrained condition.
Now, you’re probably asking how Bullywugs and Giant Toads could be a level 4-5 encounter. That’s because they are a coordinated unit being lead by a Half-Dragon. They will have Advantage during surprise, and will have further Advantage opportunities given successful Grapples by the Giant Toads, or by attacking an opponent on foot while mounted in combat. This makes even normally weak foes like Bullywugs a threat to opponents. Add a breath weapon and a leader who is more than a common Bullywug (even beyond being a Half-Dragon), and you have a conflict that may surprise the average experienced gamer.
Keep this in mind when you scale the encounter upward. A massive Area of Effect spell like a Fireball could potentially end this encounter prematurely, but given everyone will be intermingled, it will pose as much danger to the characters as it does to the Bullywugs.
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