The Black Spider's Web
The Black Spider, leader of the Vai'Elzannar (known as the "Dark Forces" colloquially), has his hands in many "pots," so to speak, but these are the Drow forces most directly under his command.
Zaknazzor was first tasked with infiltrating the Cragmaw Goblins, and later the Anchorites, before being recalled back to home base.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Everything it sees and hears is relayed back to its controller.
- •Emergency Protocol.2 Lightning damage x [1d4].
(Range 4). On damage: Dazed and Slowed.
- •Camouflage Cloak.
Hide (Spot DC 15) even if directly observed.
Immune to Dazed and Poisoned.
- •Necrotic Blast.
(Range 8) Move 3, then 1d6+4 Necrotic.
- •Surprise Stab.
1d6v+10.
Zaknazzor can now attack through the corpse's wounds, gaining Blood Tendril.
Blood Tendril. (Reach 3) 3d6+5 Necrotic, Pull 2, Grappled (Escape DC11). Each time they attempt and fail to escape, they take 1d6 Necrotic.
Zaknazzor's corpse body has been destroyed! 30 more damage and he dies. Until then, he is in his Blood Ooze form (size: Small) and has Resistance to non-magical damage and attacks miss him on a 1 or 2.
Once at Last Stand, Zaknazzor will use all of his Turns to escape.
Zaknazzor is a Drow Blood Mage who suffused his consciousness into his blood, allowing him to live as a Blood Ooze after dying, albeit unable to speak except through telepathy. He now inhabits corpses of members of the communities he intends to infiltrate and influence towards partnership with the Black Spider. His threat level depends on the corpse he's inhabiting.
Introduce him under a different, false name based on the inhabited corpse. He does not willingly give his real name.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Rapid Fire.2 damage x [2d8].
(Range 6)
- •Burst Fire.2 damage x [1d8].
(Range 10)
- •Lightning Rod.1d8 Lightning.
On damage: Dazed.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Burst Fire.4 damage x [1d4].
(Range 12)
- •Manual Fire.4 damage.
(Range 16). Roll 1d4 to check for Hit, Miss, or Crit.
- •Lightning Rod.2d4 Lightning.
On damage: Dazed.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Burst Fire.5 damage x [1d4].
(Range 12)
- •Manual Fire.4 damage.
(Range 16). Roll 1d4 to check for Hit, Miss, or Crit.
- •Deploy Turret (1 use).
Summon a within Reach 1.
- •Repair.
Repair a Sentry Turret for 1d4 HP.
When including the Sentry Turret, the Engineer is considered Lvl 8.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
- Rapid Fire.4 damage x [1d8].
(Range 10)
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Snipe (1 use).50.
(Range 24). Roll 1d4 to check for Hit, Miss, or Crit. Disadvantage at Range 9 or less.
- •Reload.
Regain use of Snipe.
- •Camouflage Cloak.
Hide (Spot DC 13) even if directly observed.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Rapid Fire.3 damage x [2d6].
(Range 8)
- •Burst Fire.3 damage x [1d6].
(Range 12)
- •Lightning Rod.2d6 Lightning.
On damage: Dazed.
- •Grenade Shot (1 use).
(Range 6, 3x3 Area) DC13 DEX save or 6d6. Area is Obscured until the Captain's next Turn.
Immune to Dazed and Poisoned.
- •Necrotic Blast.
(Range 10) Move 3, then 1d10 Necrotic (2x).
- •Savage Claws.
1d10v+5 (2x).
Zaknazzor can now attack through the corpse's wounds, gaining Blood Tendril.
Blood Tendril. (Reach 4) 3d10+5 Necrotic, Pull 3, Grappled (Escape DC11). Each time they attempt and fail to escape, they take 1d10 Necrotic.
Zaknazzor's corpse body has been destroyed! 70 more damage and he dies. Until then, he is in his Blood Ooze form (size: Small) and has Resistance to non-magical damage and attacks miss him on a 1 or 2.
Once at Last Stand, Zaknazzor will use all of his Turns to escape.
Zaknazzor is a Drow Blood Mage who suffused his consciousness into his blood, allowing him to live as a Blood Ooze after dying, albeit unable to speak except through telepathy. He now inhabits corpses of members of the communities he intends to infiltrate and influence towards partnership with the Black Spider. His threat level depends on the corpse he's inhabiting.
Introduce him under a different, false name based on the inhabited corpse. He does not willingly give his real name.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Melee Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Drow Deathblade.2d4+30
- •Shadow Blast (2x).1d4+10.
(Range 4)
- •Camouflage Cloak.
Hide (Spot DC 13) even if directly observed.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
The Agent can make themself look like anyone they've seen before.
Advantage++ to Influence checks.
- •Shadow Knife (2x).1d6+10.
(Reach 4)
- •Camouflage Cloak.
Hide (Spot DC x) even if directly observed.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Arm Cannon.4 damage x [1d10].
(Range 6).
- •Lightning Rod.2d10 Lightning.
On damage: Dazed.
- •Repelling Shockwave.
(Reach 2, AoE) DC14 STR save or 1d10 Thunder. On damage: Knockback to Reach 4.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Immune to Dazed and Poisoned.
- •Necrotic Blast.
(Range 12) Move 3, then 1d12 Necrotic (3x).
- •Drow Deathblade.
1d12+10 (2x). On Crit: +1 Wound.
- •Blood Draw.
(Range 12) DC15 STR save or 1 Wound and Pull 2. Bloodied creatures have Disadvantage on the save. Creatures take 2d12+5 Necrotic instead on a successful save.
Zaknazzor can now attack through the corpse's wounds, gaining Blood Tendril.
Blood Tendril. (Reach 6) 3d12+5 Necrotic, Pull 5, Grappled (Escape DC15). Each time they attempt and fail to escape, they take 1d12 Necrotic.
Zaknazzor's corpse body has been destroyed! 110 more damage and he dies. Until then, he is in his Blood Ooze form (size: Small) and has Resistance to non-magical damage and attacks miss him on a 1 or 2.
If this battle is reached, then Zaknazzor will be out of options and have nowhere else to run! He fights to the true death here.
Zaknazzor is a Drow Blood Mage who suffused his consciousness into his blood, allowing him to live as a Blood Ooze after dying, albeit unable to speak except through telepathy. He now inhabits corpses of members of the communities he intends to infiltrate and influence towards partnership with the Black Spider. His threat level depends on the corpse he's inhabiting.
If the Heroes haven't learned his true name yet, they will learn so here.
Saving Throws vs Magic are made with Advantage. Can't be put to sleep with Magic.
- •Shadow Tentacles (1 use).
(Range 6. 4x4 Area, Concentration) DC16 STR save or 1d12+4 Necrotic, Restrained. Area is Difficult Terrain while active.
- •Abyssal Burst (3x).
(Range 8) 1d12+4 Poison. On Damage: Poisoned (healing ends).
- •Summon Demon Horde (1 use).
(Range 6) Summon 2/Hero Necrotic Bite minions (d12).
Note: Minions take their first Turn immediately after the Turn they're summoned. Then they can take their Turn at any point during the Monster turns in subsequent Rounds.
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Resistant to Necrotic. Unless Blinded, they can see any creature, even through Full Cover, as long as they aren't Invisible.
- •Blood Lash (2x).3d10+5.
(Reach 2)
- •Blood Boil (1 use).
(Range 12, 4x4 Area) Enemies must make a DC17 STR save or take 7d10 Necrotic and become Dazed, half damage only on save. If a Hero is dropped to 0 HP, they take +2 Wounds.
The Blood Mage loses Armor, but Blood Lash gains (Reach 5) and "On damage: Summon one Bloodling minion (size: d10, Necrotic) adjacent to the target."
On death, if the armor is touched, it disintegrates both itself and the wearer. If a Creature caused this, they must make a DC15 DEX save or take 4d10 Necrotic damage.
Ranged Weapons deal Force damage. On damage: If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound.
- •Arm Cannon.50 damage.
(Range 10). Roll 1d20 to check for Hit, Miss, or Crit. Misses on 5 or less.
- •Crushing Blow.2d20+20 (Vicious).
DC14 DEX save or Grappled, then 2d20v+20, damage only on save. Auto Crits on Hit vs Grappled targets.
- •Mana Cannon (1 use).
(Range 8, 2x2 Area) DC14 DEX save or 4d20. On damage: Knockback 2.
Abort! Abort! When Crit while Bloodied, the Golem malfunctions and all Creatures in Reach 4 need to make a DC15 DEX save or take 2d20, half on save. It also ejects the pilot, summoning 1 from the wreckage.
Nezzar can sacrifice his next Action to reduce an attack's damage by 20. If it reduces the damage to zero, spawn a Shadow minion (size: 2d10) that takes on the form of the Hero that attacked, or the next nearest if there's already a minion with their form.
Attacks miss him on a 1, 2, or 3.
- •Deconstruction Pistol (attack).
(Range 12) 4d10+10 Force. If already Dying or dropped to 0 HP by it, they take +1 Wound instead. On taking their last Wound, they are disintegrated, safely leaving behind any magic items.
- •Deconstruction Pistol (defend).
If a Creature casts a spell, Nezznar can sacrifice his next action to "Counterspell" it if any die of 4d10 is equal to or greater than the spell's Tier. If all are less than the Tier, the action is still sacrificed.
- •Nezznar's Web.
(Range 6, 4d4 Area) DC19 STR save or 1d10 Acid damage and Restrained (Escape DC19). Each time they fail an escape attempt, they take 1d10 Acid damage.
- •Slow Down! (1 use).
(Cone 6) DC19 STR save or Slowed and Dazed.
Nezznar "reconstructs" himself and regains Slow Down! and gains Last Resort.
Last Resort. Move 10, then Unarmed Slash (2x) 4d10+5 Force (ignores Defense). On Crit: +1 Wound.
Nezznar "reconstructs" himself and 180 more damage until he's defeated. Until then, spells deal half damage and all saves vs spells are successes. He allows himself to use Time Stop when halfway through Last Stand.
Time Stop. (1 use) Time is stopped for 1 full Round or until Nezzar attacks, whichever comes first. If he uses it to escape, narrate it as him being there one moment and then suddenly gone.
Notes Rather than being a single block of HP, Nezznar treats each threshold as dropping to 0 HP. He then "reconstructs" himself to his original state. He can do this twice, which are represented by Bloodied and Last Stand. Alternatively, you can also play this out with each threshold being per Hero (120 HP).
Nezznar uses a Speed of 6 until Bloodied, then reveals that his actual move Speed is 10.
Last Resort is an Unarmed Strike that slashes with a flat palm.
Narratively, Nezznar can use Time Stop to enter an already active Time Stop, but this is unlikely to happen unless you specifically create a scenario where it could happen (which is the case for me).