About The Adventure
About The Adventure
t
his adventure is designed for use Adventure Hooks
with Baldur’s Gate: Descent into This adventure has a simple premise that allows it to be
Avernus, but can be used in any hellish inserted into your Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
setting. It features challenges and at any point during Chapter 3: Avernus, as a random
encounters tailored to a party of four 8th- encounter that evolves into a full session of action.
level adventurers, with advice on how to While traveling from one point to another during
balance it for parties of different levels. their quest for the Sword of Zariel, the characters run
into Smiler, who eagerly offers a deal: help him get
revenge on Bitter Breath by stealing the soul coins the
Adventure Background devil uses to pay his hobgoblin henchmen, and Smiler
A few weeks ago, the enigmatic avernian warlord, will split the loot evenly with the party. This hook is
Smiler the Defiler, was ousted from his infernal simple because it appeals to the characters’ greed, but
war band by Bitter Breath, a ruthless horned devil. can be enhanced by making sure the party is in urgent
Dissatisfied with Smiler’s chaotic and unprofitable need of more soul coins to operate their infernal war
leadership, the hobgoblins sought out Bitter Breath, machines (presuming they have any).
who accepted their terms and became their new leader. If you want a hook that ties in more closely with the
The hobgoblins gave Smiler a chance to leave story, you can also have finding Smiler the Defiler and
peacefully, but the spurned eladrin opted instead to Bitter Breath be a necessary step to finding the Sword
kill one of his former captains and steal a war machine of Zariel, as outlined below.
before barely escaping with his life. Smiler now roams
the plains of Avernus, plotting cruel revenge against Bitter Breath's Treasure
Bitter Breath and his former underlings. When he runs You can tie the adventure more closely to the Quest for
into a small group of powerful outsiders, it seems that the Sword by having Bitter Breath be in possession
he has finally found a way to get his revenge... of an invaluable MacGuffin needed to progress along
either the Path of Demons or Path of Devils. Perhaps
Bitter Breath has a map that shows the way to the
Adventure Summary next place the party must visit, he can replace Arkhan
This adventure is divided into four chapters, which runs the Cruel as the one who possesses a vial of Tiamat’s
as follows: Blood, or he can be in possession of the adamantine
Chapter 1: A Party of One. The adventure begins control rods Bel asks the party to find.
when the party meets Smiler on the plains of Avernus, When using this hook, you’ll still want to start the
and the eladrin asks for their help in staging a heist on quest with Smiler the Defiler. You can manage this by
Bitter Breath’s war camp. having the NPC that tells the party they need to find
Chapter 2: Patrol Ambush. On the way to the war Bitter Breath, say that they only know where to find
camp, Smiler suggests they ambush a hobgoblin patrol Smiler (as described below).
protecting the camp’s perimeter.
Chapter 3: War Camp Assault. The characters Smiler's Bargaining Chip
must stage a distraction and use stealth to steal Bitter You can also tie this adventure to the story by having
Breath’s treasure. Smiler be in possession of information the party
Chapter 4: Escape! In a mad dash, the characters desperately needs – replacing virtually any encounter
must escape Bitter Breath’s wrath in a high-speed on either path, where information is given, such as
infernal war machine chase across the plains of Red Ruth in the Bone Brambles, Mordenkainen in the
Avernus – only to be forced into a confrontation by the Tower of Urm, or the Sibriex that points to the Wrecked
treacherous Smiler! Flying Fortress. Immune to both charm and torture,
Smiler will only divulge the information if the party
helps him get revenge, swearing to tell them as soon as
he has hands on Bitter Breath’s treasure.
Any suitable NPC, such as Mad Maggie, Red Ruth,
Mephistopheles’ cambion Rigorath, Bel or Mahadi
in the Wandering Emporioum, can point the party to
Smiler: “look for an insane, green-skinned eladrin on
a Devil’s Ride. Word is that he has put up out by the
Bloody Crescent, a rock about a day’s journey that way!”
W
hether actively looking for him Smiler's Proposal
or not, this adventure starts when the
characters inadvertently run into Smile Possessed of impeccable charm when he wishes to,
the Defiler. Offering enticing promises of Smiler smears it on thick at first. After hearing the
wealth and power, Smiler asks that the party’s introductions, Smiler tells his story and gives
adventurers help him steal a wealth of proposal his proposal. His account is mostly true, but
soul coins he claims Bitter Breath has carefully crafted to cast himself in a favorable light.
taken from him. An endeavour that Smiler describes Former Warlord. “Not too long ago, I led a merry
as a quick heist with little danger and great reward – band of adventurers like yourselves – except with
neither of which are true statements. orange fur and sharper teeth.” This is true, except that
Smiler’s war band was more murderous than merry.
Ousted by Bitter Breath. “I thought these
A Party of One hobgoblins my friends, but alas, my confidence was
betrayed. An accursed devil by the name of Bitter
Smiler the Defiler is driving around the plains of Breath stole my wealth from me, and used my own
Avernus on his Devil’s Ride all by himself, looking coin to turn my friends against me.” It is true that his
for someone who can help him get revenge on Bitter hobgoblins left him for Bitter Breath, but the coin was
Breath – and, of course, having as much fun as he can the devil’s own, and the hobgoblins deserted Smiler
in the meanwhile. There’s one place he always seems out of dissatisfaction with his reckless and largely
to come back to: the Bloody Crescent, an enormous unprofitable leadership.
rock shaped like a semicircle, providing a sort of half- Escape from Treachery. “Only by using every ounce
pipe. Always looking for a quick thrill, Smiler uses the of cunning the gods have blessed me with, did I manage
Bloody Crescent as a ramp, driving up and down it to escape their foul treachery!” The hobgoblins allowed
while performing suicidal stunts on his Devil’s Ride. Smiler to leave the war band on neutral terms, but
When the party comes within 500 ft. of Smiler’s Smiler took the pay he owed to the hobgoblin’s as well
location, read or paraphrase the following: as a Devil’s Ride before leaving, turning his departure
Ahead of you, a dark speck of an object seems to erupt out into a desperate escape.
Smiler’s Proposal. “I think Tymora has blessed me
of the ever-crimson horizon. Blurred by Avernus’ heat, it’s
with your arrival – mayhap you could be convinced
hard to discern whether the object is flying or jumping, as to help a lost soul regain some measure of pride, by
it continually comes into view for a brief second before aiding me in reclaiming my wealth of soul coins from
quickly disappearing again. Coming closer, you realize that most befouled devil Bitter Breath – we will split
that the object is moving up and down a large rock that the coins evenly between us, of course.” Smiler’s true
motivation is neither pride nor coin, but his desire to
rises from the plains in a semicircle, flying into the air in a
inflict pain and humiliation on Bitter Breath and the
big jump, before descending again. The object comes up hobgoblins. He is truthful about splitting the coins.
again, but this time stops on top of the rock. It seems to Smiler’s Plan. Smiler tries to make the mission
be a two-wheeled vehicle, and you can just barely make out sound as easy and simple as possible, claiming that
the humanoid figure who jumps off it. The creature seems all he needs is for the party to create a diversion, while
to have spotted you, as it begins waving a hand towards he sneaks into the war camp and secures the coin. If
the characters question his story or his plan, he offers
you – and you might be mistaken, but you swear you can
honest answers when it seems advantageous, but
make out a large grin on the figure’s green face even from dismisses concerns and skepticism with phrases such
this far away. as “fear not, my old friends are dimwitted dullards –
Smiler continues to wave until the party comes closer. they will never know what hit them”. He doesn’t know
If they ignore him or turn to leave, he’ll shout friendly how many soul coins are in the cache, but he truthfully
greetings like “hey, over here!” and “just a quick word!” believes that there are “more than a score of soul coins,
When the party comes closer still – or even if they enough to fuel a whole fleet of war machines!” Smiler
don’t – Smiler jumps back on his war machine and listens to any suggestions or alternative plans the
drives down to meet them. Read of paraphrase the party can come up with. He can give the party a rough
following: estimate of the hobgoblins’ numbers (around 30) and
Bitter Breath’s story with Zariel, but doesn’t know much
The slender figure comes straight toward you on his more about the Marauders’ War Camp than its location.
two-wheeled war machine, a wide grin on his green face. To get things moving along, he suggets travelling
toward the war camp so the party can get a better look
He brings the vehicle to a sudden halt right before you,
at the place before planning begins in earnest.
throwing a large mound of dirt up at your feet. After
jumping gracefully out of his seat, the eladrin offers a Developments
courteous bow. “Greetings, esteemed travellers. Allow If the characters accept Smiler’s proposal, he offers
me to introduce myself: I am Smiler, favoured of Tymora them a big grin before jumping back into the seat of his
herself, it would seem, since she has blessed me with your Devil’s Ride. If the party doesn’t possess an infernal
company. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting? war machine, he rides along slowly by their side –
otherwise he asks them to keep up and sets off at a
devilish pace.
W
hile travelling toward Bitter Planning the Ambush
Breath’s war camp – a journey of only
half a day, according to Smiler – the Allow the players to come up with any plan that sounds
eladrin suggests they ambush the feasible – the goal is to let the players craft a fun
hobgoblins that patrol the camp’s outer scenario. Do what you can to allow their plan to work,
perimeter, potentially resulting in an such as letting them to find the terrain or objects they’re
infernal war machine battle! looking for, or shaping the hobgoblins’ actions to fit
the players’ expectations. You can have Smiler suggest
using himself as bait to lure the patrol into a patch of
Ambush! rocky ground hidden with hallucinatory terrain (which
Smiler can cast), while the party hides nearby, ready
After a few hours of travel – and about a mile away from
to pounce on the hobgoblins (see ‘Using Hallucinatory
the war camp – Smiler motions for the characters to
Terrain’ on the next page for more information).
halt and points toward a black speck on the horizon: “A
The ambush could look like this:
patrol! That bastard High Graj Karkajuk is as careful as
ever. If we hurry, we can take them by surprise!” • Smiler uses hallucinatory terrain to transform a patch
A character that finds high ground can make a DC of rock-strewn ground to smooth plains.
15 Wisdom (Perception) check to identify the incoming • Smiler draws the patrol in by feigning a vehicle
patrol as a Scavenger and a Devil’s Ride. Smiler malfunction, while the party wait nearby cliffs.
suggests ambushing the patrol, preferring to “handle • When the hobgoblins’ war machines enter the
them now, rather than have them in front of us when we hallucinatory terrain, they take damage (possibly
leave the war camp!” suffering mishaps) and stop to investigate the illusion.
• The party attacks, while Smiler uses suggestion to
prevent hobgoblins from fleeing to alarm the camp.
Bitter Breath and his marauders have set up camp in an 5. Bitter Breath's Tent
abandoned fortress on the bank of the River Styx, from
Bitter Breath’s tent lies at the center of the camp.
where they ambush travelers and hunt demons.
Larger and more robust than the other tents, the
The hobgoblins have repaired the derelict fortress
Warlord’s tent is made of dark skins and polished
walls, and outfitted its watchtowers with infernal
bones. An opening in the front allows entry, but
cannons. Still, the hobgoblins never grow complacent,
creatures can also gain access by slipping under the
keeping a vigilant watch on the plains around the clock.
edges of the tent or cutting a hole in the side.
The interior of the tent is sparsely furnished, making
General Features it clear that Bitter Breath neither needs nor values
The war camp overlooks the River Styx, and is sleep, food, or other social activities. The only furniture
protected by three watchtowers – two facing towards inside the tent is a large trunk crafted from dark wood,
the plains and one looking out over the river. a desk carved out of bone, and a chair made from what
Cliff. The war camp sits atop a 30 ft. cliff leading appears to be humanoid limbs, both sized for a large
down to the River Styx. Climbing the cliff requires a creature. Various grotesque trophies hang from the
successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. rafters above: a hezrou’s head, dried imps, the tail of
Walls. The walls surrounding the camp are 3 ft. some immense beast, what appears to be an angel’s
thick, 20 ft. tall and made entirely of black rock. Each wing, and the mangled corpse of a bearded devil.
10ft. section of wall has AC 17, 50 hit points, damage Bitter Breath. If the characters haven’t lured him
threshold 15, and immunity to fire, poison and psychic away by causing a commotion in another area of the
damage. Climbing the walls require a successful DC 13 camp, Bitter Breath is inside the tent, stabbing away at
Strength (Athletics) check. Inside the camp, ladders set the bearded devil’s corpse with his hellish pitchfork. He
at regular intervals provide easy access to the gangway attacks intruders on sight.
along the walls.
8 CHAPTER 4: ESCAPE!
Smiler's Revenge Showdown Between Rivals
When the chase begins, Smiler can hardly contain his If Smiler has his way, he’ll put the characters in a
excitement – this is the moment he has been waiting situation where they’re forced to help him take down
for. His true goal will soon be unveiled: the eladrin Bitter Breath. During the fight, Smiler will focus his
wants to dislocate as many of the hobgoblins from the attacks on Bitter Breath first. Once the horned devil is
chase as possible, before leading the pursuers (and dealt with, Smiler begins killing hobgoblins ruthlessly,
the characters) into a dead end so he can force a final lamenting that he’ll “only be able to trust these cretins
confrontation with Bitter Breath. once they’re dead”. If things turn poorly for Smiler,
he’ll try to get the hobgoblins to betray Bitter Breath,
False Path offering them all the coin they could want (whether the
Contrary to his claims, Smiler doesn’t know a way to hobgoblins are receptive or not is up to you).
shake off pursuit – instead, he knows a way to lure If the party stays out of the fight, but remains behind
the pursuers into an ambush. During the chase, he’ll to witness the ensuing fight, you can describe how
attempt to steer the party toward a small mountain Bitter Breath and Smiler meet each other in a fight
range, where he’ll pick a route through narrow canyons. that lasts for less than a minute before Bitter Breath
If the characters follow him, the chase ends after 7 expertly skewers the eladrin and unceremoniously
rounds, as they quickly reach a complete dead end in a begins rummaging through the corpse for his stolen
gully surrounded by more than 100 ft. high cliffs. Here belongings. If he doesn’t find what he’s after, he’ll
he’ll shout for them to take cover and hide, so that they quickly turn his attention toward the party (see
can “take the fiendish scum by surprise!”. ‘Conclusion’ for more information on how to end the
adventure).
Forced Confrontation
If the party doesn’t follow Smiler, or look likely to
completely shake off pursuers before Smiler can lead
them into the ambush, the eladrin’s plan B is to force a
confrontation on the open field. If he has the soul coins,
he’ll smile deviously before throwing the coins on the
ground behind him and telling the party that “I’m tired
of running – let’s get these bastards!”, hoping that
they’ll follow as he turns to attack the pursuers.
Intentional Sabotage
If left with no other options, Smiler’s final play is to
sabotage the characters’ infernal war machines. He’ll
use suggestion to tell a driving character to stop the
war machine, or even drive his Devil’s Ride right into a
war machine’s path before using Fey Step to evade the
ensuing crash.
CHAPTER 4: ESCAPE!
9
Conclusion
There are a number of ways the characters involvement Don't Trust the Crazy Person
with Smiler the Defiler can end. Here are some of the The party might meet Smiler and decide that they don’t
most likely endings to the adventure. want to help an unreliable and maniacal Eladrin. In
fact, that’s probably what the adventurers should do, if
Glorious Victory they were being completely logical. But, if that happens,
If the characters got the coins and helped Smiler the this adventure is over before it gets started – which
Defiler kill Bitter Breath, the eladrin is thoroughly would be an unfortunate shame. If the characters
pleased. He keeps his end of the bargain, allowing the decide not to take Smiler up on his offer, and instead
characters to keep the majority of the 22 soul coins, continue on their way, there’s a few ways you can
taking only a handful for himself. He also suggest that salvage the situation.
the characters form a war band with him, an endeavor Just Let Them Go. While just letting them go seems
that promises great fun (and danger!), but is unlikely to counterintuitive, you can always hook ‘Bitter Rivals’
lead to the Sword of Zariel and the rescue of Elturel. back into the campaign at a later stage, by placing
something the party needs in Bitter Breath’s war camp,
Smiler's Demise or have Smiler the Defiler be the only one who has
information the party sorely needs. This way, the party
If Smiler dies, or the characters turn against him
will go ‘aha, we know who that is’, and hopefully return
during the course of the heist and escape, their options
to complete the adventure. See ‘Adventure Hooks’ on
for bargaining with Bitter Breath vastly improves.
page 1 for more information about how to do this.
While sadistic and ruthless, Bitter Breath isn’t a fool.
Ambush! If the characters seem to be refusing
He’ll listen to any offers the party put forward, likely
Smiler, you can have the hobgoblin patrol (see ‘Chapter
accepting a peaceful return of his belongings if the
2: Patrol Ambush’) show up during the meeting,
characters can sweeten the deal with extra soul coins,
immediately attacking both Smiler and the characters.
infernal war machines or other magical items.
After killing the patrol, Smiler will laughingly tell the
party that “you’re in it now! Bitter Breath is a vengeful
Defeat & Capture bastard. He’ll find out who killed his patrol and come
If the characters are defeated, Bitter Breath instructs after you. Better that we take the fight to him now –
his hobgoblins to keep them alive if possible, take his coins and he has noone to send after you!”
imprisoning them within the war camp. The party
wakes up chained to the wheels of a Scavenger and
staring down the barrel of several infernal cannons.
Everything's Going to Hell!
The party doesn’t want to ambush the patrol. They
Bitter Breath questions them intensely, but once he
throw away Smiler’s heist plan. They don’t want to
discovers that they plan to overthrow Zariel, his mood
follow Smiler during the chase. Argh!
changes. If offered the right incentives, Bitter Breath
Players don’t always do what we expect them to. But,
will allow the characters to leave with most of their
that’s alright – particularly in this adventure. Because
arms and armor, and even help them move in the right
of the way everything is setup, it doesn’t matter if the
direction – as long as he thinks they might actually
party decides to duke it out with the hobgoblins, taking
succeed in bringing down Zariel, his most bitter rival.
on the entire war camp in one big battle! If they win,
He’ll also inform Bel about the characters, possibly
that’s great, and you can enjoy their proud smiles when
causing the former archduke to reach out to the party.
they realize they weren’t supposed to handle combat
like that. If they lose, you can always have Bitter Breath
Troubleshooting go easy on them, releasing them in the hopes that they
will cause trouble for Zariel and get Bel back in power.
Below we’ll go over some of the issues that can arise The adventure doesn’t have to follow the structure of
while running this adventure, and how to handle them. ‘ambush, assault, escape, confrontation’ that is setup in
this document. As long as your players are having fun,
Adjusting Difficulty then everything is going exactly as it should – even if it’s
To ensure that the encounters in this adventure are still going to hell!
difficult enough to give a party of 7th to 10th-level
adventurers pause, Bitter Breath and his hobgoblins
have been made more powerful than they usually would
be. Still, it’s far from certain that we have struck exactly
the perfect balance for your group of adventurers.
There’s several ways you can fine-tune the difficulty,
even during combat. First, you can decrease the
challenge significantly (if your party is lower level or
are already spent when they meet Smiler), by replacing
all the infernal hobgoblins with ordinary hobgoblins
(we have included ordinary hobgoblin statistics in
‘Appendix D: Creatures’). You can also further increase
difficulty by replacing more hobgoblins with hobgoblin
captains or hobgoblin devastators. During the assault
on the war camp, you can control the arrival of new
hobgoblins to the fight, having reinforcements arrive if
the party are doing too well, or delaying new arrivals if
the characters are already in enough trouble.
10 CHAPTER 4: ESCAPE!
Appendix A: DM's Cheat Sheet
Background Chapter 2: Patrol Ambush
• Smiler used to be a warlord leading hobgoblins. • After a few hours of travel, Smiler motions for halt.
• Dissatisfied, the hobgoblins approached Bitter Breath • Says there is a patrol ahead, and suggests an ambush
• They told Smiler to leave peacefully. • Offers to use himself as bait, using hallucinatory
• Smiler killed a hobgoblin, stole coins and a war terrain to lure patrol into patch of rocky terrain.
machine and fled from the hobgoblins.
• Smiler is now driving around looking for revenge. Hobgoblin patrol
• Scavenger + 1 infernal hobgoblin captain and 7
Chapter 1: A Party of One infernal hobgoblins.
Smiler is driving his Devil’s Ride up and down the • Devil’s Rides + infernal hobgoblin captain.
Bloody Crescent, a rock resembling a half pipe. When
the party comes within 500 ft.: What the hobgoblins know
• Hobgoblins sought Bitter Breath out because they
Ahead of you, a dark speck of an object seems to erupt out were dissatisfied with Smiler’s leadership.
of the ever-crimson horizon. Blurred by Avernus’ heat, it’s • Smiler stole a Devil’s Ride, coins and killed a captain.
hard to discern whether the object is flying or jumping, as • Two dozen more hobgoblins in camp, plus 1 Devil’s
it continually comes into view for a brief second before Ride, 1 Tormentor and 1 scavenger.
quickly disappearing again. Coming closer, you realize • Hobgoblins in watch towers have infernal spyglasses
and infernal cannons.
that the object is moving up and down a large rock that
rises from the plains in a semicircle, flying into the air in a
big jump, before descending again. The object comes up Hallucinatory Terrain
again, but this time stops on top of the rock. It seems to On entry and for each 30 ft. vehicle moves within, 5d6
bludgeoning. If driven by creature that disbeliefs illusion,
be a two-wheeled vehicle, and you can just barely make out can move at half speed w/o check.
the humanoid figure who jumps off it. The creature seems
to have spotted you, as it begins waving a hand towards
you – and you might be mistaken, but you swear you can Chapter 3: War Camp Assault
make out a large grin on the figure’s green face even from 1000 ft. from camp, Smiler stops and scouts the camp.
this far away.
Smiler's Plan:
Smiler waves the party closer and drives up to them: • Characters drive war machine directly into war camp.
• Smiler (+ characters) approach camp from east.
The slender figure comes straight toward you on his
• When they have coins, Smiler signals the retreat.
two-wheeled war machine, a wide grin on his green face.
He brings the vehicle to a sudden halt right before you, The War Camp
throwing a large mound of dirt up at your feet. After • Abandoned fortress on bank of River Styx.
jumping gracefully out of his seat, the eladrin offers a • Protected by 3 watchtowers (1 looking over river)
courteous bow. “Greetings, esteemed travellers. Allow • Cliff. 30 ft. high, DC 10 Athletics to climb
me to introduce myself: I am Smiler, favoured of Tymora • Walls. 20 ft. high, 3 ft. thick, black rock. 10 ft. section
herself, it would seem, since she has blessed me with your
has AC 17, 50HP, Damage Threshold 15, immunity to
fire, poison, psychic. DC 13 Athletics to climb. Ladders
company. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?
provide access to walls from inside.
Smiler offers greetings and tells his story:
• Smiler was once the leader of a war band. 1. Gates
• Bitter Breath stole Smiler’s coin and used it to bribe • 20 ft. double gates of charred bone, barred shut.
the hobgoblins (half-truth, the coin was Bitter Breath’s). • DC 10 Athletics to remove bar from inside.
• Smiler only barely managed to escape (doesn’t say • Gates have AC 15, 25 hit points, damage threshold 15,
that he kill a hobgoblin, stole coins and war machine). immunity to poison and psychic.
• Smiler wants the party to help him steal the coin back • War machine that crashes into gates take only half
from Bitter Breath’s war camp and offers even split of damage if the gates are destroyed on impact.
the coins (partially true, most of all he wants revenge).
• Smiler suggests a diversion, while he sneaks in. 2. Watchtowers
If the party agrees, he leads them to the War Camp. • 10 ft. above walls, 30 ft. from ground below.
• 4 ft. fence grants half cover to creatures within.
• Hobgoblins. Infernal hobgoblin captain with
infernal spyglass and infernal hobgoblin with infernal
cannon within.
Developments
When coins or letter to Bel are found, Smiler uses Fey
Step to teleport onto nearest wall and shouts:
Actions Reactions
Multiattack. Smiler makes two weapon attacks. He can cast a Juke. If the Devil’s Ride is able to move, the driver can use its
spell in place of one of these attacks. reaction to grant the Devil’s Ride advantage on a Dexterity
+1 Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: saving throw.
9 (1d6 + 6) piercing damage.
APPENDIX D: CREATURES
15
Infernal Hobgoblin Scavenger
Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil Huge Vehicle (9,000 lb.)
16 APPENDIX D: CREATURES
High Graj Karkajuk Infernal Hobgoblin Devastator
Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil
Boots of Speed (1/day). Karkajuk can use a bonus action Arcane Advantage. Once per turn, the hobgoblin can deal an
to activate his boots of speed. For 10 minutes, his speed is extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature it hits with a damaging
doubled, and opportunity attacks against him are made with spell attack if that target is within 5 feet of an ally of the
disadvantage. hobgoblin and that ally isn’t incapacitated.
Martial Advantage. Once per turn, the Karkajuk can deal an Army Arcana. When the hobgoblin casts a spell that causes
extra 14 (4d6) damage to a creature it hits with a weapon damage or that forces other creatures to make a saving throw,
attack if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally of the hobgoblin it can choose itself and any number of allies to be immune to
that isn’t incapacitated. the damage caused by the spell and to succeed on the required
saving throw.
Wand of Binding (7 charges). Karkajuk can use an action to
cast the following spells (save DC 17): hold monster (5 charges) Spellcasting. The hobgoblin is a 7th-level spellcaster. Its
or hold person (2 charges). He can also use his reaction and spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit
1 charge to gain advantage on a saving throw to avoid being with spell attacks). It has the following wizard spells prepared:
paralyzed or restrained, or to gain advantage on any check
• Cantrips (at will): acid splash, fire bolt, ray of frost, shocking
made to escape a grapple.
grasp
• 1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, magic missile, thunderwave
Actions • 2nd level (3 slots): gust of wind, Melf’s acid arrow,
Multiattack. Karkajuk makes three melee attacks. Alternatively, scorching ray
it can make two ranged attacks with its javelins. • 3rd level (3 slots): fireball, fly, lightning bolt
• 4th level (1 slot): ice storm
Booming Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5
ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing Actions
damage if used with two hands, and the target becomes
Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit:
sheathed in booming energy until the start of the hobgoblin’s
4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage, or 5 (1d8 + 1) bludgeoning
next turn. If the target willingly moves before then, it
damage if used with two hands.
immediately takes 1d8 thunder damage, and the effect ends.
Shield Bash. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit:
6 (1d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is Large or
smaller, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or
be knocked prone.
Shocking Javelin (5 javelins). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack:
+7 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft. Hit: 7 (1d6 +4) piercing
damage plus 3 (1d6) lightning damage, and the target can’t
take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Leadership (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). For 1
minute, the hobgoblin can utter a special command or
warning whenever a nonhostile creature that it can see
within 30 feet of it makes an attack roll or a saving throw.
The creature can add a d4 to its roll provided it can hear and
understand the hobgoblin. A creature can benefit from only
one Leadership die at a time. This effect ends if the hobgoblin
is incapacitated.
Reactions
Parry. The hobgoblin adds 3 to its AC against one melee attack
that would hit it. To do so, the hobgoblin must see the attacker
and be wielding a melee weapon.
APPENDIX D: CREATURES
17
Bitter Breath Bitter Breath's Tormentor
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil Huge vehicle (3,000 lb.)
18 APPENDIX D: CREATURES
Hobgoblin Captain Hobgoblin Devastator
Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil
Actions
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5
(1d8 + 1) slashing damage, or 6 (1d10 + 1) slashing damage if
used with two hands.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 150/600 ft.
Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.
APPENDIX D: CREATURES
19