1 CREDITS Designer: Nick Beatman Template: Simple Microsoft Word Template by Laura Hirsbrunner Cover Illustrator: Aleksi Briclot. Art copyright Wizards of the Coast. Interior Illustrators: Chippy, Igor Kieryluk, Min Yum, Dave Kendall, Daniel Ljunggren, Eric Deschamps, Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss, Whit Brachna, Brad Rigney, Karl Kopinski, Mike Bierek, James Paick, Allen Williams, Chris Rahn, Steve Prescott, Kekai Kotaki, James Ryman, David Rapoza, John Avon, Rob Alexander, Tomasz Jedruszek, Mark Tedin, Greg Staples, Lars Grant-West, Anson Maddocks, Adam Rex, Drew Baker, Dave Dorman, Efrem Palacios, Svetlin Velinov, Steve Argyle, Daarken, Kev Walker, Anthony Francisco, Todd Lockwood, Steven Belledin, Matt Stewart, Stephan Martiniere, Nils Hamm, Chippy, Ryan Pancoast, Ron Spencer, and Adrian Smith. All art copyright Wizards of the Coast. Special Thanks to: Ember Dungeon Mastery for the Reaper of Sheoldred and Phyrexian Obliterator stat blocks. Playtesters: Hannah Johansen, Bryce Smith, Koa Nies, Jonah Paraiso, Gillian Holm, and Giovanni Chisci DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Magic the Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica, New Phyrexia and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2022 by Nick Beatman and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Credits ......................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ..................................................................... 2 Welcome to New Phyrexia ....................................................... 3 About This Book ........................................................................ 3 Chapter 1: Viewing the World through Phyrexian Eyes ...... 4 The Phyrexian Vision .................................................................. 4 Phyrexian Social Bonds............................................................... 4 Phyrexian Economics .................................................................. 4 Phyrexian Factions ...................................................................... 4 Phyrexian Religion: The Machine Orthodoxy ................. 4 Phyrexian Science: The Progress Engine ......................... 6 Phyrexian Nobility: The Steel Thanes............................... 7 Phyrexian Industry: The Quiet Furnace ........................... 9 Phyrexian Wildlife: The Vicious Swarm ........................... 9 Chapter 2: Phyrexian Characters .......................................... 11 Compleating a Character of Another Race............................. 11 Creating a Vat-Grown Phyrexian Character ......................... 11 Phyrexian Names................................................................... 11 Phyrexian Racial Traits ........................................................ 11 Phyrexian Characteristics....................................................12 Chapter 3: Scourge of Heretics .............................................. 14 Starting the Adventure...............................................................14 The Grand Cenobite’s Blessing ................................................15 Infiltrating the Inferno ....................................................... 16 The Iron Treason.........................................................................18 Escaping through the Lacuna .............................................18 Bane of the Blade-Priest .....................................................20 Chapter 4: The Fertile Stars ................................................... 21 Mortal Secrets ............................................................................. 22 The Queen of Whispers .............................................................24 Sheoldred’s Hive...................................................................24 Chapter 5: Phyrexian Fauna.................................................. 27
3 WELCOME TO NEW PHYREXIA he world of Mirrodin is no more. Its natives— the men, elves, leonin, trolls, goblins, and other races that were collectively known as the Mirrans—fought a war for their survival and lost. Almost all Mirrans are dead or mutated into the now-dominant race of metal-and-flesh abominations called Phyrexians. The few surviving Mirrans live in ramshackle settlements out of sight of the killing machines that seek to extinguish or compleat—turn Phyrexian via phyresis infection—all non-Phyrexian life. The Mirrans are refugees in a world that is no longer their home—a world now called New Phyrexia. While the Phyrexians have changed Mirrodin, Mirrodin has also changed the Phyrexians. Phyrexians on their ancestral plane have always been aligned with black mana, but on Mirrodin, the Phyrexians have been influenced by the five colors of mana present in Mirrodin’s moons and have split into five factions, each aligned with one of these colors. These factions are led by the five praetors, powerful Phyrexians who exemplify what their faction believes is the best path to perfecting Phyrexia. Until recently, the ambitions of the competing praetors were kept in check by their deference to the authority of Karn, who was both Mirrodin’s creator and the Father of Machines—a quasi-religious title held by Phyrexia’s ruler. Following Karn’s mysterious disappearance, the praetors have begun preparing for a war of succession to fill his empty throne. You are living in the greatest period of instability since the end of the Mirran-Phyrexian war. Your actions may tip the balance of power among the praetors and change the face of New Phyrexia forever. Will you ally yourself with one of the plane’s factions or will you carve your own path to the throne and crown yourself the next Father of Machines? ABOUT THIS BOOK This book is your guide to one of the deadliest planes in the multiverse—an introduction to the structure of New Phyrexia’s society, a guide to creating Phyrexian characters of various races, a campaign, and a collection of foes and friends more foes. Chapter 1 describes the social world of New Phyrexia. It details the praetors, the factions they lead, and the values and norms of Phyrexian society. Chapter 2 is your guide to creating a Phyrexian character. It introduces the vat-grown Phyrexian race, numerous Phyrexian backgrounds, and a collection of augmentations and mutations that Phyrexians are likely to be rewarded with as they contribute to the Great Work of perfecting Phyrexia. Chapters 3 and 4 provide a campaign meant to advance characters from 4 th to 7 th level as they explore New Phyrexia and become embroiled in its politics. Chapter 5 is a collection of stat blocks for notable characters and monsters that can be found in New Phyrexia. T
4 CHAPTER 1: VIEWING THE WORLD THROUGH PHYREXIAN EYES THE PHYREXIAN VISION In every world they travel to, Phyrexians see nothing but suffering. Countless people are scattered across the infinite planes of the multiverse, all toiling without purpose and telling lies about immortal souls to distract themselves from the horror of the nothingness that follows death. Phyrexia is free from these weaknesses. All Phyrexians have a purpose: the spread of the black oil and the compleation of all life. No Phyrexian fears death: they know their flesh and metal will be consumed and reshaped into newer, stronger Phyrexians. The Phyrexians have become their best selves, and that process has given them the strength to help others. Wherever they go, Phyrexians risk their lives to make people into who they were meant to be: Phyrexians. PHYREXIAN SOCIAL BONDS Phyrexians do not reproduce sexually; new Phyrexians are either converted from other races or are born as newts— genderless humanoids—in vats in the core. These newts are then mutated and augmented to take many diverse forms, from the human-passing sleeper agents to the monstrous vatmothers. Without sexual reproduction, there is no pair bonding and no family units in Phyrexia. The culture of Phyrexia does not encourage loyalty to individuals, but to Phyrexia as a whole. Phyrexians are expected to spend every moment of their lives in service to the Great Work, and the only pleasure to be enjoyed in life is the satisfaction of fulfilling one’s purpose by spreading the glory of Phyrexia. PHYREXIAN ECONOMICS There are three currencies on New Phyrexia: metal, flesh, and information. The philosophy and needs of each faction determine the relative value of these resources to its members, as well as how those resources are distributed. PHYREXIAN FACTIONS While all Phyrexians have the ultimate goal of spreading the glory of Phyrexia to all living beings, Phyrexia is not a monolith. The five factions of Phyrexia differ greatly in how they believe this goal should be achieved, and these beliefs determine the organizing principle of each faction and what traits that faction selects for. This difference in philosophy among Phyrexia’s factions means that success generally does not translate well across groups. For example, the hulking brute Vorinclex is the apex predator of the hyper-Darwinian crucible known as the Vicious Swarm, but he would be incapable of the subterfuge, subtlety, and political skill needed to survive among the Steel Thanes. THE FACTIONS OF NEW PHYREXIA PHYREXIAN RELIGION: THE MACHINE ORTHODOXY New Phyrexia has a long religious history dating back to their long-destroyed homeworld and the worship of Yawgmoth, the creator and god of the Phyrexians who was the first to hold the title Father of Machines. On New Phyrexia, the traditions of deifying Phyrexia’s leader and viewing the spread of phyresis as a holy crusade are most widely practiced in the faction associated with white mana, the Machine Orthodoxy. Color Name Praetor White The Machine Orthodoxy Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Blue The Progress Engine Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Black The Steel Thanes Sheoldred, Whispering One Red The Quiet Furnace Urabrask, the Hidden Green The Vicious Swarm Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
5 The members of this faction generally view themselves as missionaries who are saving those they compleat and redeeming those they kill by incorporating their metal and biological material into Phyrexia, giving them a life after death. Although it’s widely understood that one’s tissues will be reanimated or recycled after death, there is no dogma of spiritual rebirth on New Phyrexia. In fact, the process of compleation destroys the subject’s soul, and the Phyrexians grown in vats in the core are born without souls and are unable to perceive souls through magical means. As a result, Phyrexian worship focuses solely on physical concerns. The Machine Orthodoxy is led by a praetor called Elesh Norn. The Praetor of Unity, preferring the title of Grand Cenobite, coordinates the war efforts of thousands of Phyrexian beings below her. Elesh Norn belongs to no particular sect of the Orthodoxy but is recognized as the overseer or at least a respected figure under all faiths. Conniving and wise, Elesh Norn always maintains an appearance of Phyrexian grace and respectability, but secretly she manipulates Phyrexian dogma to suit her own ends. THE ECONOMY OF THE MACHINE ORTHODOXY The Machine Orthodoxy was often on the front lines of the Mirran-Phyrexian war and benefited greatly from the spoils of war. The dead were stripped of metal and flesh, and the Orthodoxy grew relatively rich on these raw materials. Since the war ended, the Orthodoxy’s income of Mirran tissue and minerals has dried up, and the maintenance of its armies is eating into its reserves. Karn’s disappearance and the resulting instability could provide an opportunity for Elesh Norn to turn her war machine against other Phyrexians and restore her faction’s wealth. The Value of Flesh: The Machine Orthodoxy is always in need of more flesh as raw material for its porcelain vats and trades for it at a premium. The Value of Metal: Demand for metal among the Machine Orthodoxy largely comes from cultists looking to armor and augment the Flesh Singularity. The Value of Information: Elesh Norn has not invested greatly in intelligence infrastructure, so it may be difficult to find buyers for valuable information among the Orthodoxy. Resource Distribution: The leadership of the Orthodoxy believes it is their responsibility to provide for the Phyrexians who serve them. To the degree possible, resources are distributed to those who need them and allocated to projects which serve the public good.
6 ADVENTURE HOOKS IN THE MACHINE ORTHODOXY PHYREXIAN SCIENCE: THE PROGRESS ENGINE On New Phyrexia, scientific research is conducted in the Progress Engine, a collection of laboratories associated with blue mana which investigate questions of utmost importance to the improvement and spread of Phyrexia, such as the most rapid and effective forms of compleation for Mirrans of all races, how to attain maximal lethality with minimal effort, and how to mimic the strengths and improve upon the weaknesses of Mirrodin’s native life. The methods used in the Progress Engine are far more brutal than those used by researchers on other planes and have no ethical oversight. The screams of test subjects often echo through slaughterhouse-style laboratories as Phyrexian surgeons perform vivisections, amputations, biological transplantations, and mechanical implantations on conscious and often unanesthetized victims. The Progress Engine is guided by the vision of its brilliant but egotistical praetor, Jin-Gitaxias. Of all the praetors, Jin-Gitaxias is the most concerned with converting the face of the world formerly known as Mirrodin to its Phyrexian ideal, from the smallest organism to the greatest sea. Jin-Gitaxias is a living storehouse of research data, collated from every tidbit of vicious exploration conducted throughout the plane. D4 Adventure Hook 1 The Flesh Singularity has been afflicted by a mysterious illness and you have been tasked with finding the cause. 2 A golem claiming to be Karn is gathering followers, but some say he is a pretender to the throne. 3 A radical branch of the orthodoxy has begun an inquisition looking for Mirran sympathizers who may be sheltering refugees, but some believe the High Inquisitor is merely attempting to remove political enemies. 4 The Porcelain Legion is experiencing a crisis, as the dead flesh used to grow its white, bone-like metal is in short supply following the end of the war.
7 THE ECONOMY OF THE PROGRESS ENGINE The Progress Engine takes in significant material resources in the form of test subjects and rare metals used in its research and mostly produces information and new models of Phyrexians. It has strong trade with the Thanes who value information and with the generals in Elesh Norn’s armies who are looking to enhance their forces, but rarely does business with the isolationist Furnace Layer or the primitivist Vicious Swarm. The Value of Flesh: Living test subjects of rare lifeforms are in high demand, but mundane specimens are unlikely to fetch a high price. The Value of Metal: Rare metals are sometimes required for experiments, but common ones are not frequently needed. The Value of Information: The purpose of the Progress Engine is to obtain information. Any knowledge that is not already housed in its database is likely to be valuable. Resource Distribution: Resources within the Progress Engine are allocated according to the perceived value of each research project to Phyrexia. ADVENTURE HOOKS IN THE PROGRESS ENGINE PHYREXIAN NOBILITY: THE STEEL THANES Unlike most of the other factions on New Phyrexia, the steel thanes are not a single organization but several independent actors competing for dominance. In more stable factions, a praetor’s authority is obeyed without question and few dare to challenge them. Among the steel thanes, one must constantly fend off attacks, both overt and covert, to maintain one’s position. Each thane wages a secret war of succession, understanding with absolute certainty that they are the true Father of Machines. All that matters is the thane's eventual ascension. Plots are made, alliances formed, deals brokered, and armies marshaled. Upon taking leadership of all, the glorious brilliance of the methods by which it claimed power will be transformed from horrid treachery to holy doctrine. Yet the thanes have not gained their places through rash action. Smiles hide the purpose of teeth. At the right moment, the time for polite audiences and alliances will be over. D4 Adventure Hook 1 The latest batch of newts are deformed and fail to meet the Gitaxian Standards of Purity, and the Executor of Synthesis suspects sabotage. 2 The Progress Engine’s virologists need more Mirran hosts on which to test the latest strains of phyresis. 3 The Meldweb’s incredible processing power and vast collection of data allow it to make completely novel insights. Recently, some of these new discoveries were immediately classified and the Meldweb project has been put on hiatus. A rival researcher wants you to uncover these secrets. 4 A metatect is close to completing his catalog of all native Mirran life, but one deadly creature eludes him.
8 To survive in the territory of the thanes, a Phyrexian must be under the protection of a thane or praetor, lest they be enslaved or stripped for raw materials. To gain a thane’s protection, one must offer servitude, enduring daily exploitation and mortal danger in the hope that an opportunity to betray one’s thane and take power will present itself. THE ECONOMY OF THE STEEL THANES The needs of the thanes are diverse and the value they place on resources differs widely from thane to thane. However, some thanes keep tabs on each other’s projects and may trade for resources required by another thane to speculate, drive up their value, and squeeze the thane in need for a better price. The Value of Flesh: Vraan will pay a high price for heads which may hold valuable secrets that he can extract with his spirit siphons, while Sheoldred may be interested in tissue for the maintenance and expansion of the Flesh Layer. The Value of Metal: Metal is often in demand by Kraynox, who uses it to expand the layer he is building below the Quiet Furnace. The Value of Information: Vraan, Geth, and Sheoldred all trade well for useful information. Once Sheoldred learns something valuable, she will often hunt down and destroy sources of information to make certain only she knows it.
9 Resource Distribution: Resources tend to flow up towards the thanes and the praetor in a complex system of taxes and tributes. It’s in the interest of the thanes to keep less powerful Phyrexians in their domains starving for resources so they are easier to manipulate. ADVENTURE HOOKS AMONG THE STEEL THANES PHYREXIAN INDUSTRY: THE QUIET FURNACE The vast majority of red-aligned Phyrexians dwell in the Furnace Layer, a relatively new, interstitial layer between Mirrodin's outer surface and inner core. This layer's creation was one of the first steps in transforming Mirrodin into New Phyrexia, built from the ancestral memory embedded in the glistening oil. The inhabitants of this layer are charged with keeping the fires of the furnaces burning, incinerating dead and failed organisms, reclaiming metal from the dead, and turning those metals into the raw materials for new Phyrexians and new nested layers of the plane. The praetor leading the Quiet Furnace, Urabrask, is called "the Hidden" because he seeks no audience with other Phyrexian leaders. He will cooperate when his presence is requested or demanded but speaks as little as possible. His responses to questions about the Furnace Layer operations are detailed and thorough, but he never elaborates or speculates. Urabrask is quick to anger, and his might and temper deter others from prodding. Urabrask has made one thing clear to the other factions of Phyrexia: No others are to enter the Furnace Layer, lest the metal be made impure, the Great Work disturbed, the grand system interrupted. For now, the rest of Phyrexia respects his territory and heeds his command. THE ECONOMY OF THE QUIET FURNACE The Quiet Furnace receives all metal that would be too costly or inefficient to reuse elsewhere, then melts it down and processes it into forms that can be used for new construction elsewhere in Phyrexia. While it is duty-bound to meet the demands of the other factions, the Quiet Furnace will prioritize using its vast supplies of metal to maintain and repair its infrastructure before addressing requests from outsiders. Other resources are close to worthless to Urabrask and his minions. Due to the extreme temperatures within the Furnace Layer, flesh is often a liability, and Urabrask’s unwillingness to engage with the rest of Phyrexia means there are no buyers for information. Following Urabrask’s order to seal the Furnace Layer, all trade has ceased. ADVENTURE HOOKS IN THE QUIET FURNACE PHYREXIAN WILDLIFE: THE VICIOUS SWARM The Vicious Swarm is so completely disorganized that it can hardly be called a faction. It is the collective term for the Phyrexian beasts and warriors hunting each other to prove who is the fittest. Vorinclex, the praetor of the Vicious Swarm, and Glissa, a compleated elf who serves as his closest advisor, are the closest thing to authority figures within the metallic jungle known as the Tangle. Vorinclex and Glissa share the goal of accelerating natural selection to create a system where the strongest and D4 Adventure Hook 1 Geth believes that Azax-Azog has overextended himself in his border skirmishes with Urabrask. Geth asks you to attack Azax-Azog’s supply lines and to wear the symbol of Vraan’s Bleak Coven when doing so. 2 Vraan wants to recruit compleated Phyrexians to serve as his spirit-talkers, but during your first session interrogating a spirit, you learn a dark secret. 3 Vraan’s assassins are searching for you, and they’re happy to wait until after they’ve killed you to question you. 4 Sheoldred requests a favor: infiltrate the Progress Engine and learn everything you can about research being conducted on multiverse theory. D4 Adventure Hook 1 Gitaxian spies have been seen in the Furnace Layer. You are tasked with finding and destroying them. 2 Kuldotha, the Great Furnace, has become sickened by impurities in the ore fed to it. The source of this taint must be determined before it interrupts the Great Work. 3 The Machine Orthodoxy has been steadily decreasing the amount of reclaimed metal it ships to the Great Furnace for reprocessing. Urabrask suspects it is being diverted to some other purpose and orders you to investigate. 4 Vorinclex’s newest breed of monsters are encroaching on Urabrask’s territory and slaughtering his minions. Someone needs to venture into the Tangle and put them down.
10 deadliest will dominate, and generally take a hands-off approach to the leadership of their domain. Nature is allowed to run its course, and the strongest predators carve out a niche for themselves in the Tangle and battle with each other for supremacy. Currently, Vorinclex and Glissa are the apex predators of the Vicious Swarm, but they turn down no challengers, accepting that only the strongest have the right to lead Phyrexia. THE ECONOMY OF THE VICIOUS SWARM The only economy to speak of in the Tangle is the flow of calories between prey, predators, and parasites. ADVENTURE HOOKS IN THE VICIOUS SWARM D4 Adventure Hook 1 The Mirran child Melira holds the key to reversing phyresis infection. You’ve been asked to track her down and eliminate her. 2 Glissa believes that someone has been attempting to sow discord between her and Vorinclex. She orders you to find the agitator and feed them to the rot wolves. 3 The Apostles of Karn are furious with Glissa for denying that Karn is the Father of Machines and are close to disrupting the tenuous alliance between Elesh Norn’s and Vorinclex’s factions. 4 Vorinclex believes that Thrissik, the Writhing Thane, is vulnerable. He bids you to lure Thrissik into the Tangle and show him the might of the Vicious Swarm.
11 CHAPTER 2: PHYREXIAN CHARACTERS COMPLEATING A CHARACTER OF ANOTHER RACE Mirrodin is home to numerous sapient races including humans, elves, goblins, leonin, loxodon, vedalken, and constructs, all of which are vulnerable to Phyrexian compleation. Compleated Mirrans usually retain their basic shape but will often replace their natural tissues with mechanical or biological augmentations. Compleated Mirrans gain +1 to their Constitution as their new form incorporates biological and mechanical defenses. Phyrexian conditioning also instills a tendency toward literalism, resulting in a -1 penalty to Wisdom. They gain an augmentation at the time of their compleation and again at 5th level. Compleated Mirrans retain any languages they knew prior to their transformation, and they also learn the Phyrexian language and script. They may adopt a new Phyrexian name if they choose. CREATING A VAT-GROWN PHYREXIAN CHARACTER Birth is inadequate. Maturity is inadequate. Even this world's false metallic life is inadequate. Perfection is only achieved through the lessons of metal. The merely born cannot reach this state, and in their misery they cry for our improvements. — Nunic, Tender of Vats All Phyrexians who are not compleated former Mirrans were grown in vats in the core, beginning as genderless humanoid “newts” before receiving mutations and augmentations to mold them to fit their role in the Phyrexian hierarchy. PHYREXIAN NAMES Vat-grown Phyrexians are born without reproductive organs and do not experience sexual desire but may choose to adopt a male, female, or no gender. Because Phyrexians reproduce asexually, they do not have family names, but will often differentiate themselves with titles. Male Names: Ktat-Raal, Kethek, Sarnvax, Malcator, Ethu, Uulbrek, Threx. Female Names: Avaricta, Qal-Sha, Isila, Rhmir, Sheudra, Juex, Vrig. PHYREXIAN RACIAL TRAITS Ability Score Increase. Con +1; Choose any other +1 Age. Phyrexians reach maturity almost immediately after emerging from the growth vats and they can replace organic and mechanical body parts as needed, so they do not die of old age. A Phyrexian encountered on the battlefield could be a few weeks old or a few decades old, and notable Phyrexians have been known to live for thousands of years. Alignment. Phyrexians lean toward evil alignments, but like all races, they exist along a spectrum. Members of the Machine Orthodoxy and the Progress Engine tend towards lawful alignments, while members of the Quiet Furnace and the Vicious Swarm tend toward chaotic alignments. Size. Phyrexians emerge from the growing vats Medium-sized but can grow significantly larger or smaller as they are mutated and augmented to fit their role within Phyrexia. Speed. 30 ft. Languages. Phyrexians can speak, read, and write Common and Phyrexian.
12 Compleation. Phyrexian bodies are often altered to better fit their role in society. Phyrexian characters choose one augmentation at character creation and a second enhancement at 5th level. Augmentations are also awarded by powerful Phyrexians to those who serve Phyrexia exceptionally well. PHYREXIAN CHARACTERISTICS Characters in a Phyrexian campaign might have distinct motivations and characteristics. Use the following tables to help develop your Phyrexian character. PHYREXIAN PERSONALITY TRAITS PHYREXIAN IDEALS PHYREXIAN BONDS D6 Personality Trait 1 I am always on the lookout for inefficiency and will report Phyrexians who are not performing their role effectively to be scrapped for parts. 2 When I meditate in the black oil, I see visions and I’m not sure if they’re Phyrexia’s past or its future. 3 I believe that other worlds exist and wish to bring Phyrexia’s glory to them. 4 I believe “pure” vat-grown Phyrexians are superior to compleated Mirrans in every way and Phyrexia would be stronger without the former Mirrans. 5 I am fascinated by the extinct Mirrans and collect their artifacts. 6 I butchered Mirran noncombatants and am haunted by it, even though others tell me I have no reason to feel guilty. D6 Ideal 1 I have plans for a new layer of Phyrexia but do not yet have the support or resources to make it happen. 2 I wish to prove my supremacy in combat over all other Phyrexians. 3 I want to contribute to the mission of the Progress Engine by collecting rare specimens for the Gitaxians to study. 4 I am motivated by the honor of receiving unique augmentations as a reward for my service. 5 I want to convince Phyrexians of other factions that my worldview is superior. 6 I know exactly what form I want to take, but it’s enormous and I have not yet been able to obtain the raw materials. D6 Bond 1 I will be the next father of machines. 2 My faction’s praetor will be the next father of machines and I will do anything to support their ascension. 3 I remember a loved one from before my compleation, but I don’t know where in Phyrexia they are. 4 I escaped enslavement by one of the thanes and am driven to get revenge against them. 5 I have a rival born from the same vat as me and I would love nothing more than to outshine them. 6 I know of a hidden settlement of Mirran refugees, but I will never betray their secret.
13 PHYREXIAN FLAWS D6 Flaw 1 I was given many humiliating augmentations as punishment and hate my current form. 2 I find Phyrexia horrifying but have nowhere to go to escape it. 3 I am unwilling to kill or capture defenseless Mirrans. If another Phyrexian saw how merciful I am, they would call me a traitor. 4 I will blame others for my failures and take credit for others’ successes to get ahead. 5 I am terrified of being found inadequate and scrapped for parts, but my fear causes me to make mistakes which impact my performance. 6 I believe my relationships with powerful Phyrexians are much warmer and closer than they actually are.
14 CHAPTER 3: SCOURGE OF HERETICS “Scourge of Heretics” is a short adventure designed for four to six 4th-level characters, who will advance to at least 5 th level by the adventure’s conclusion. You should read the entire adventure before attempting to run it. If you'd prefer to play, you shouldn't read any farther. Chapter 5 contains statistics for many of the creatures found in this adventure. When a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue pointing you to the creature’s stat block in Chapter 5. STARTING THE ADVENTURE This adventure takes place in the twilight of the MirranPhyrexian war and the chaos following the disappearance of Karn, the Father of Machines. Once the players are ready to begin, explain to them that their characters are conscripts in the Phyrexian army stationed in a war camp on the surface of Mirrodin/New Phyrexia. This division has been tasked with finding and eradicating the remnants of the retreating Mirran forces. They don't need to know each other before this scene, but it's fine if they do. Once the players are ready, read or paraphrase the following text: Give the characters a moment to react, encouraging the players to leap into action. As the characters act, the Phyrexians will begin assaulting the fortifications held by the Mirrans. The fortifications are held by Leonin Warriors and Auriok Soldiers who are defending the women, children, and elderly Mirran noncombatants retreating deeper into the fortress and into the lacuna, or mana-bored tunnel, that leads into the depths of the Furnace Layer. At the end of the 5th round of combat, the last of the noncombatants will have escaped into the lacuna. If they or the noncombatants are attacked directly by the characters, the Mirran warriors will engage the characters in combat, but they are primarily concerned with the other Phyrexians assaulting their defenses. Once all noncombatants have escaped, the Mirran warriors will also retreat into the lacuna. The Mirran Angel, however, will actively seek out the characters while they are on open terrain. If the characters refuse to engage with the angel, other Phyrexians will attempt to subdue it and present it to Elesh Norn. When the last of the Mirran defenders are eliminated, Elesh Norn will reward any Phyrexian who assisted in the capture of the Mirran angel. She will also order any other captured Mirrans to be compleated and any slain Mirrans and Phyrexians to be reanimated if possible or else reprocessed for their flesh and metal.
15 THE GRAND CENOBITE’S BLESSING Find out from your players what their characters have been doing following the end of the war and their hopes and expectations for who will be the next Father of Machines. Note any ambitions they may have, as this adventure takes place in a tumultuous time in which rare opportunities may present themselves. Once you have a good sense of how their characters are coping with the changes in their world, inform them that Izathel, a high chancellor within the Machine Orthodoxy, has requested their presence at his annex on the surface. Izathel’s annex is a massive citadel overlooking the war-torn landscape that was once the Razor Fields. The entrance opens onto a large lobby with hallways leading off in several directions. The annex’s white porcelain and black metal floors are populated by machine priests, generals, and other leaders within the Machine Orthodoxy’s military and religious hierarchies. Anyone the characters ask about the whereabouts of Izathel will point them toward the splicer’s workshops on the third floor. If the characters decide to explore the first floor before then, they’ll find that most of the level is devoted to platforms and viewing bays overlooking a cavernous chamber that extends below the surface of Phyrexia. Filling this space is a writhing wormlike beast hundreds of feet long and at least 80 feet wide. Its body is composed of equal parts metal and flesh and its surface is covered in a thick mucus. Porcelain-covered suture priests use thick black cord to bind new layers of metal and flesh to the beast, and occasionally whiplike red tendrils erupt from its body before retreating back inside it. The orifice at one end of the worm occasionally suckles at the bottom of an enormous transparent vat which appears to be filled with a meaty slurry streaked with black oil. Anyone who makes a DC 10 History check will recognize the creature as a meatbeast being prepared to be grafted into the Flesh Singularity. Also on the first floor is a doorway opening into a tall shaft which appears to travel the full height of the annex. Along the wall of the shaft opposite the doorway is a row of shiny black hooks suspended from above by thick metal cables. Shortly after the characters enter this shaft, a figure descends in front of them, impaled below its rib cage on one of these hooks. It decelerates as it descends until it is gently lowered to its feet. It removes the hook from its chest, which dangles in midair alongside the others, and this Phyrexian walks past the characters to its destination somewhere on the first floor. A character who impales themselves on one of these hooks takes 1d2 damage (flip a coin) before hearing a female-coded Phyrexian voice in their head inform them that they are authorized to visit any of the first three floors. After the player makes their selection, they are lifted by the hook until they are suspended in front of a platform on the appropriate floor, where they can remove the hook and step off onto their chosen floor. Every use of the hook elevator results in 1d2 damage. If the characters choose to explore the second floor of the annex, they’ll find a factory for processing captured Mirrans. A ceiling-mounted conveyor carries Mirrans who have been bound suspended from the ceiling to a station where a respirator drone pierces their carotid artery and jugular vein and begins to circulate their blood, oxygenating it and adding nutrients. This leaves the rest of their body largely unnecessary for keeping them alive, and the next station of the assembly line sets about the task of stripping the metals and tissues of their bodies for use in the annex’s projects. The Mirrans are not anesthetized during this process but once their lungs are removed the screaming becomes much quieter. The Mirran heads and the respirator drones sustaining their lives are eventually carried by the conveyor track into a small, dark hole in the wall and out of sight. On the third floor of the annex, a tall figure with exposed sinew and a porcelain faceplate immediately walks over to the party, greeting them formally and introducing itself as Izathel. Behind Izathel is the captured angel from the battle at the Mirran fortress, her wings pinioned and her wrists and ankles manacled. Already, her appearance has begun to change. Black ichor streams from her eyes as a Phyrexian behind her delicately probes the back of her head. If the characters move around her for a better view, they’ll be able to see that the rear portion of her skull has been removed and the lobes of her brain are exposed to the Phyrexian’s touch.
16 Izathel lets the characters know that Elesh Norn has taken a personal interest in the compleation of this angel and has requested that the other praetors contribute to the project to create a new symbol of a unified Phyrexia. Izathel notes that while Jin-Gitaxias, Vorinclex, and Sheoldred have offered their assistance, Urabrask has not responded to any attempts to contact him. Izathel then asks that the characters serve as envoys and travel to the Furnace Layer through the nearby lacuna at Taj-Nar to entreat Urabrask directly. He also warns them that Urabrask recently sealed off the Furnace Layer to all outsiders, and they may need to be resourceful to gain entry. If the characters need additional encouragement, Izathel will suggest that the gratitude of Elesh Norn can be very valuable. INFILTRATING THE INFERNO The closest lacuna, Taj-Nar, is the fortress that the Mirrans retreated within in the players’ first battle and is situated relatively close to Izathel’s annex within the Razor Fields. The characters will find the ruined fortress within a day’s travel of the Annex. When a character knocks or otherwise tries to interact with one of these barriers, they hear the sound of gears turning and a dozen panels within the wall slide away to reveal 9 eyes, 2 tympanic membranes, and a massive set of vocal chords scattered across its surface. The chords of the Armored Flesh Barrier tell them in a deep, strangled voice (not unlike throat singing) that no subjects of the other praetors may enter the Furnace Layer, lest the metal be made impure, the Great Work disturbed, and the grand system interrupted. A success on a DC 15 Charisma check can be used to gain entrance here. If the party is successful, gears turn once more and the eyes, eardrums, and vocal chords are hidden from view. A large panel at ground level recedes to reveal a sphincter that the PCs can pass through. If the PCs try to enter without passing the Charisma check, teeth form in the entrance as they pass through and they suffer 1d6+2 piercing damage as teeth emerge from the sphincter and bite down on them. The characters enter a wave of heat as they step through the passageway onto a cliff, from which they can see a skyline of foundries and forges belching soot and a landscape crisscrossed with rivers of molten metal. Periodically, sphincters open in the ceiling of the furnace layer, excreting “defective” Phyrexians that have been sent here so their raw materials can be reclaimed. From the cliff, the characters can spot a path around the edge of the spire on which they stand which leads into the top floor of a nearby factory. The catwalk passes through the top floor of a factory/charnel house, offering the characters a view of the work taking place here. Just inside the entrance of the factory a massive vatmother is suspended in midair by huge chains around its wrists and ankles. The chains are
17 spooled out of the ceiling and it lowers into a pit full of Butcher Myr, which swarm over it and surge into the gaps between its armor. The Vatmother emits a metallic scream and fights its restraints as the Myr begin to carve it up from the inside, tossing its meat to the ground, where it falls through gaps in the grated floor and into darkness below. Eventually the vatmother goes silent, the outpouring of gore slows, and the Butcher Myr retreat out of its carcass. The chains holding up its wrists retract and it is raised from the pit, after which it travels along a track in the ceiling of the factory until it passes over an enormous vat of molten steel. Its metal carapace is lowered and begins slowly sinking into the molten metal. Eventually the darksteel chains retract again, empty. Another enormous Phyrexian enters through a gap in the wall separating the factory from the rest of the furnace layer. It slides into place above the Myr, held aloft by its chained arms, and it is slowly lowered into the pit. The path through the factory passes along the catwalk to a stairway at the end, which briefly passes over the edge of the molten vat. At the bottom, the path heads right and passes beside the Butcher Myr, which is kept latched and locked from the outside to trap the Myr within. Black oil seeps from beneath the door. Once outside the forge, the characters see the vat of molten metal tip forward under the weight of its contents and spill molten metal through a chute that leads out of the factory to join other tributaries of metal from other forges out on the plains of the furnace layer, forming a river. The ground on which the characters are walking is very subtly slanted in the direction the river flows. As the characters follow this path, it becomes clear that the entire landscape is sagging into a depression that reaches its nadir in a massive sinkhole ringed by the rivers of slag flowing from all over the furnace layer. As they approach the sinkhole, the characters can see a massive throne positioned on its rim. Immediately between the characters and this throne is a scrapyard full of precarious piles of acid-etched metal debris disgorged by Slag Harvesters. If the characters attempt to go around the scrapyard, they’ll draw the attention of the Harvesters. If they enter the scrapyard, describe each turn and fork they see as they navigate the maze below. The mountains of scrap look like they could easily be disturbed and characters must succeed on DC 14 stealth checks to pass through safely; on a failure, a nearby pile of rough-edged metal collapses on the character and they take 2d6 bludgeoning damage. If the characters navigate through the maze without passing the point indicated with a star, they will exit the scrapyard and find themselves a short distance from the throne perched on the edge of the lava-lined sinkhole, where Urabrask is currently conferring with his factory bosses. He will grant an audience with the characters once they are identified as Elesh Norn’s envoy, but he will refuse to contribute to the compleation of the captured Mirran angel unless the characters succeed on a DC 20 Charisma check. As he is about to bid the characters to return to Elesh Norn with this message, an infant’s cry is heard in the distance (note: Phyrexians mature very quickly and do not spend very long as infants; any cry heard on Phyrexia is likely to have originated from a Mirran child). Urabrask will immediately notice if any of the characters recognize the cry as belonging to a Mirran and will order his followers to ensure all exits from the Furnace Layer are sealed, command a group of five nearby Tormentor Exarchs to capture the characters, and request a surgeon from the Progress Engine. Skip to The Iron Treason below. If the characters end up at the end of the path indicated with a star, they will see a spiraling ramp leading up to the ceiling of the Furnace Layer, and any character with passive Perception of 13 or greater will notice a leonin doll nestled among the twisted metal near the bottom of the ramp. If the characters follow the ramp upwards, they will eventually head from the open air of the Furnace Layer into a cave leading further upwards at a steep angle. Fifty feet beyond the entrance to this cave is a bubble of a protective enchantment. If the characters venture beyond this barrier, they will find the air considerably cooler than the ambient temperature in the Furnace Layer and they will hear voices speaking in Common and Leonin. If they continue further into the cave, they will eventually turn a corner to see an enormous cavern populated by human and leonin Mirrans. This is the community of Lowlight, a refugee camp of Mirrans hiding from Phyrexians. Inside are simple lean-tos of scrap, skins, and geomantically raised crests of the floor's metal.
18 Two Auriok Soldiers stand guard between the cave and Lowlight, and as soon as the characters come into view, they move closer and hail them. They are not immediately aggressive, but their body language is tense and cautious. They ask the characters which praetor they serve; any answer other than Urabrask will lead to the guards becoming hostile and attacking the characters. If the characters genuinely serve Urabrask (e.g., their characters are from the Furnace Layer and they are aware that Urabrask is harboring Mirran refugees) or if they succeed on a Deception check contested by the guards’ Insight, then the guards visibly relax and ask them to state their business. The characters can then explore Lowlight if they wish, but the guards will act as their chaperones as they do. The people of Lowlight are uneasy at the presence of Phyrexians in their community, but they do not act surprised; other Phyrexians have visited Lowlight from the Furnace Layer before. In conversation with the guards and the people of Lowlight, it is possible for the characters to learn the following, provided they do not blow their cover: • Urabrask is aware of the Mirrans in the Furnace Layer and has commanded all Phyrexians in his domain to spare them. • The Phyrexians in the Furnace Layer gladly follow this directive. • Urabrask gave the order to seal off the Furnace Layer so that other Phyrexians from outside would not learn of his treason. If the characters blow their cover at any point or if they initially failed to persuade the guards that they follow Urabrask, the guards will attack. If they characters succeed in this battle, many more guards will hear the commotion and the characters will have a brief opportunity to escape back down the ramp to the Furnace Layer before these reinforcements arrive. If the characters fall in battle to the Mirrans, they will be taken captive and then they awaken, they will be shackled and left before Urabrask’s throne. Urabrask will briefly interrogate them to determine how much they know of his treachery before ordering his factory bosses to ensure all exits from the Furnace Layer are sealed and request a surgeon from the Progress Engine. THE IRON TREASON The characters are informed by Urabrask that their lives will be spared if they submit to a surgeon who will excise all memories of Urabrask harboring the Mirran refugees. It will take one day for the surgeon to arrive from the Progress Engine, during which time they will be allowed to explore the Furnace Layer under the watchful eyes of two Ogre Menials who will attack if they make any attempt to escape. If the characters submit, the surgery will take place as planned, Urabrask will kill the surgeon to destroy the last piece of evidence, and the characters will be able to leave the Furnace Layer to report Urabrask’s answer to Elesh Norn’s request for assistance. If the characters are interested in escaping with the knowledge of Urabrask’s betrayal of Phyrexia, there are five possible exits from the Furnace Layer. The entrance through which the characters entered from the lacuna at Taj-Nar has been heavily fortified and is no longer a viable exit, but there are four other lacuna which pass through the Furnace Layer. Characters who succeed on a DC 10 History check will know of these other lacunae leading from the surface. THE LACUNAE ESCAPING THROUGH THE LACUNA If the characters attempt to exit the Furnace Layer into one of the lacunae, they will find another Armored Flesh Barrier blocking their path. They can bypass it by succeeding on a DC 18 Charisma check, but if they fail it will attack. Regardless of whether the characters succeed in convincing the Armored Flesh Barrier to let them pass, their Ogre Menial chaperones will raise an alarm and attack once they attempt to escape. Urabrask’s forces will react to the alarm and begin to pursue the characters immediately. Once past the wall, the characters will find themselves on a spiraling path surrounding a deep chasm, much like what they found in the lacuna at Taj-Nar. Other Phyrexians travel along the same passage, although there will be a higher concentration of Phyrexians loyal to the faction that controls the lacuna. The lacuna the characters chose will determine what they encounter once they reach the surface. Name Location Taj-Nar Razor Fields Lumengrid Quicksilver Sea Ish Sah Mephidross Kuldotha Oxidda Chain Radix The Tangle
19 THE LUMENGRID Characters will emerge from the lacuna into a massive research facility mostly populated by Phyrexian scientists and physicians. If the characters wish to inform someone of Urabrask’s betrayal, they will be granted an audience with Avaricta, one of the Progress Engine’s subpraetors who reports to Jin-Gitaxias. The characters will be taken to Avaricta’s private office and will have enough time to relay what they’ve witnessed before an alarm goes off and one of Avaricta’s biomancers bursts into the room, warning her that Urabrask’s forces are invading the Lumengrid through the lacuna. Avaricta will order the biomancer to release the Ingesters into the lacuna and recall the Throatseekers from the perimeter. She will then order the characters to get back to Elesh Norn’s territory and request aid immediately. If the characters attempt to leave, they are able to easily find an exit onto one of several walkways passing from the Lumengrid across the Quicksilver Sea to the shore several miles away. Midway across this path is a Throatseeker, a ferocious beast engineered to attack anyone not affiliated with the Progress Engine. Notably, the Throatseeker is chained to the walkway, so its ability to pursue characters who wish to run past it is limited. Note: if the characters already met with Avaricta, the Throatseeker has been recalled and is no longer present on this walkway. The walkway deposits the characters on the Seachrome Coast on the border between the Progress Engine’s territory and the lands controlled by the Machine Orthodoxy. ISH SAH, THE VAULT OF WHISPERS Characters will emerge from the lacuna into the hollow mountain of Ish Sah, where they must pass through a checkpoint overseen by Geth, the Lord of the Vault. The path out of the lacuna funnels into several circular passages, through which Phyrexians are directed to pass one at a time after paying tribute to Geth. As the characters approach, they see a Phyrexian attempt to avoid payment and force its way through one of these openings, which promptly winks shut right as the Phyrexian is halfway through, bisecting it. The iris of the passage opens once more and scavenging imps descend from the air and fight each other for pieces of the fresh carcass. When the characters reach the front of one of these lines, they are asked to provide payment in metal, flesh, or information. If the characters opt to provide metal or flesh, they must either offer metal or flesh they’ve collected or else surrender parts of their bodies. If the characters wish to provide the information they’ve received about Urabrask’s betrayal, Geth will escort the characters to his private chambers to grant them an audience, locking the door once they’ve entered. Once the characters tell him what they’ve witnessed, Geth will ask them to wait briefly while he tries to verify their story. He will then leave the room, lock the characters in, and attempt to contact Urabrask to negotiate a bounty for the characters. Within Geth’s private chambers, there is a grate in the floor which can be removed on a successful DC 15 Strength check and any characters of size category Medium or smaller can squeeze through it to pass into the waste tunnels and either exit Ish Sah or emerge outside Geth’s private chambers to unlock the door. As the characters pass through the waste tunnel, they will overhear Geth’s negotiations with Urabrask. Characters can also attempt to force the door open from inside by succeeding on a DC 20 Strength check. If the characters are unable to escape, Geth will eventually let them know through the locked door that Urabrask’s warriors are coming to collect them. Characters can attempt to convince Geth to let them go; he’s especially open to appeals to his self-interest. If they fail, Tormentor Exarchs will arrive to subdue the characters. Once the characters escape the chambers or defeat the Exarchs, they’ll be able to return to the checkpoint and blend in with the Phyrexians leaving Ish Sah. If he has not been convinced to let the characters leave, Geth will emerge from his private chambers and begin to tear through the crowd to try to find the characters, making a Perception check contested by the group’s average Stealth check. If he succeeds, he will pursue the party towards the exit into the Mephidross, only stopping once the players reach Goldmire Bridge at the border between Geth’s territory and Elesh Norn’s domain. If the players remain undetected or if Geth lets them leave Ish Sah, they’ll emerge into the Mephidross, a toxic swamp filled with mindless undead known as Nim. Characters can make a Stealth check (DC 15) or Survival check (DC 15) to evade the Nim; if they fail, three Contagious Nim will take notice and attack. Once past the Nim, the characters will encounter Goldmire Bridge, which crosses from the Mephidross into Elesh Norn’s domain.
20 KULDOTHA, THE GREAT FURNACE Almost all of the Phyrexians within the lacuna at Kuldotha are loyal to Urabrask and will immediately attack the characters if the alarm has been raised. If the characters manage to fight their way to the surface, they will emerge at Kuldotha, the highest peak of the Oxidda mountain range and the seat of Urabrask’s power on the surface. The characters will be surrounded by all manner of warriors and beasts loyal to Urabrask and will be taken captive as soon as they are defeated before being returned to the Furnace Layer and given even more Ogre Menial chaperones. THE RADIX There is no safe path through the crucible, nor will any stealth help the characters evade so many eyes and claws and teeth. The only way out is to run. Roll to determine what catches the characters. Once combat ends, the rest of the beasts nearby are distracted by the fresh carcass and quickly move to devour it, ignoring the characters. They are able to pass through the forest until they reach its border with the Razor Fields and Elesh Norn’s domain. BANE OF THE BLADE-PRIEST Shortly after the characters pass into the Razor Fields, they encounter two Priests of Norn and a lean porcelain figure that Phyrexians aligned with the Machine Orthodoxy will recognize as a Messenger Doll. If the characters request the use of the Messenger Doll, its chest will open to reveal many rows of vocal cords lining a long passageway. After the characters state their message, air passes through the cords and as they twitch and undulate, the message is repeated back to them in a perfect imitation of their voices. The doll then runs towards the nearest Annex on the horizon at a blistering pace. Twenty minutes later, a figure is seen in the sky coming from the direction of the Annex. As it approaches, the characters are able to recognize it as Izathel being carried by two Phyrexian angels. They lower him to the ground in front of the characters and he states that he intercepted their message and wanted to hear the story directly from them. Once the characters tell him of Urabrask harboring Mirran refugees, footlong spikes will emerge from Izathel’s wrists and he will plunge them into the necks of the Mirran angels who carried him before dispatching the two priests nearby. After killing all the other Phyrexians nearby, he turns his attention to the characters. “You were only supposed to deliver a message,” Izathel says softly before attacking. After the characters defeat him, Izathel states with his dying breath that the Mirrans have powers that the Phyrexians do not and warns the characters that the Mirrans cannot be allowed to perish. The characters are then able to travel safely within the boundaries of Elesh Norn’s domain. If they deliver the message to Elesh Norn, she will immediately expose Urabrask’s secret to the rest of Phyrexia and declare holy war upon the Furnace Layer. Characters can participate in the battle to cleanse the Furnace of the traitors and the Mirrans if they wish. They can also seize opportunities in the resulting power vacuum. The war will end with Urabrask stripped of his powers and the Furnace Layer under the control of a governor appointed by Elesh Norn. The characters will receive an augmentation of their choice for their service to Phyrexia, in addition to any military honors received for participating in the Infernal Battle or property plundered from the Furnace Layer. Elesh Norn compleats the Mirran angel with the help of Sheoldred, Jin-Gitaxias, and Vorinclex, naming it Atraxa. D6 Monster 1 Putrefax 2 Glistener Elf 3 Three Blight Mambas 4 Four Rot Wolves 5 Phyrexian Swarmlord 6 Quilled Slagwurm
21 CHAPTER 4: THE FERTILE STARS Their instrumental role in the downfall of Urabrask and the annihilation of the Mirran survivors has garnered the characters great honor and fame within Phyrexia, and their talents are now sought out by many high-ranking Phyrexians. Find out from the players what their characters are doing with their newfound fame and how they have kept busy since the end of the last adventure. Once the party has shared what their new lives look like, let them know that they’ve received a message: The Lumengrid is located in the center of the Quicksilver Sea and is connected to the shores surrounding the Sea by numerous miles-long bridges. Midway through each of these bridges is a Throatseeker chained to the center, which attacks all visitors who are not part of the Progress Engine. Prrackx’s laboratory is near the entrance to the Lumengrid, and the Phyrexian researchers walking the halls will point the characters toward it if asked.
22 The two Phyrexians who took the body are spirit-talkers of Vraan, a leader of assassins who collects the heads of his victims so that he and his spirit-talkers can torture and interrogate their souls. Vraan knows that Phyrexians who were once Mirrans are still able to see and hear souls under the right conditions, unlike vat-grown Phyrexians, who are unable to perceive them. For this reason, Vraan aggressively recruits former Mirrans into his organization. If any of the characters are compleated Mirrans, a member of Vraan’s organization may reach out to them to gauge their interest in working as an assassin or spirittalker. In any case, you should encourage the players to have their characters reach out to their contacts to learn more about the shrouded Phyrexians who stole the head. Although social ties are not as strong on Phyrexia as they are on other planes, the characters will likely know people from their former lives as Mirrans, from their brood of newts, from their time in the military, or from their adventures together who they can ask about this lead. If given the information that the body was taken from Karn’s throne room in the core, one of these contacts should suggest they search for information in the area closest to the core: the Flesh Layer. MORTAL SECRETS The passageways carved into the walls of the lacunae deteriorate the further down one goes, and they become impassible long before they open into the Flesh Layer. To progress to the Flesh Layer, the players will first need to navigate through the layer above it: the Mycosynth Layer. Prowling the Mycosynth Layer is Kraynox, a massive, many-limbed Phyrexian slick and dripping with oil that can be seen from great distances by any characters traversing the Mycosynth Layer. He is the undisputed master of this layer due to the physical threat he poses and his ability to locate others by sensing vibrations in the webs of mycosynth. If the players damage the mycosynth, they will draw his attention and his ire and he may pursue them until they take shelter in a building or another layer, as his body is too large to enter either. If the players seek him out, Kraynox will answer questions without guile until his work maintaining the layer calls him away. Among the buildings suspended in the Mycosynth Layer are several breeding facilities for newts and factories which grow porcelain metal from dead flesh. Characters must succeed on a DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics check to successfully travel along the webbing and pipes to their chosen destination. On a failure, they fall until they hit the next object below them and take 2d6 bludgeoning damage upon impact. Once the characters are halfway to the Flesh Layer, a Swarm of Plague Stingers descends upon them. During this combat, characters will be limited in their movement to the webbing and pipes spanning the void below them. The surface of the Flesh Layer is warm and spongy beneath the characters’ feet. Gigantic mouths 20 feet in diameter are spaced randomly across the surface, and from each mouth tentacle-like tongues periodically emerge to lap at puddles of black oil on the surrounding skin and pull bodies fallen from the webs above into the waiting maw. These mouths are the only entrances visible to the players, although they can attempt to carve their way into the Flesh Layer if they wish. The interior of the Flesh Layer is warm, wet, claustrophobic, and pitch black. Players must either provide their own light or rely on darkvision and the tracts through which they pass frequently contract with peristalsis, pushing them forward. When the path does widen, it is to open up into one of a series of stomachs which deal 1d6 acid damage per round to any creatures passing through them. Swarms of Ripper Scarabs frequently cross the characters’ path, scavenging meat from the fallen and the weak. After passing through a stomach and encountering a swarm of Scarabs in a narrow tract, the characters come across another stomach in which a small community has been constructed from scrap metal swallowed by the Flesh Layer. The closest Phyrexians are an acid-etched metal construct in the process of scavenging metal from a halfdigested corpse, a myr in the process of being sewn into the wall of the Flesh Layer, and a suture priest doing the sewing. The construct, Veltu is ashamed of its status as a
23 scavenger who does not contribute to Phyrexia’s vision and is fearful that it will be scrapped for parts by Phyrexians with greater authority. If asked about the shrouded Phyrexians, Veltu will tell the characters that Thane Vraan’s spirit-talkers wear shrouds and they frequently carry bodies or heads back to Vraan’s Crypt of Keepsakes. When asked how to get to the Crypt, Veltu will tell the characters that only Vraan and his servants know where it is at any given moment, as it’s slowly being squeezed through the digestive tract of the Flesh Layer and is constantly on the move. Veltu will also tell them that only a meat druid would be sensitive enough to the temperament of the Flesh Layer to determine its location (this can be accomplished when any character casts Beast Sense to adopt the Layer’s senses, casts Commune with Nature to locate nearby buildings, casts Speak with Animals to communicate with the Flesh Layer, or succeeds on a DC 15 Nature check). Upon hearing this, the myr being sewn to the wall (named Rho) will contradict Veltu, saying the characters need a haruspex to divine the location of the Crypt by reading signs in the Layer’s viscera (this can be accomplished when any character casts Locate Creature or Scrying to find the spirit-talkers from the homunculus’s memory, casts Augury to determine the outcome of attempting to look for the Crypt in a certain direction, or casts Locate Object to find the severed head). Corthus, the suture priest who is affixing Rho to the wall will then chime in, stating that the characters need to consult a deacon of the Flesh Singularity who can pray to the Flesh Layer for divine guidance (this can be accomplished when any character casts Divination or Commune to ask one’s deity where the Crypt is). None of these Phyrexians know where to find these spellcasters, but they can tell the characters more specific information about their methods. If none of the players have access to any of these spells and are unable to succeed on a Nature check, a witch engine named Ansiphorax will emerge from a nearby shack and agree to cast Augury for them. The Crypt of Keepsakes is a gothic cathedral that has had its edges dissolved away from years of being churned in the acid of the Flesh Layer’s stomachs. Upon entering, the players see a massive central chamber lined with rows of shelves, each piled with hundreds, perhaps thousands of severed heads. Blue lights hovering in mid-air illuminate shrouded Spirit-Talkers as they periodically remove or replace heads from the shelves, taking them to and from a doorway at the end of the Crypt’s cavernous central room. As soon as the characters enter, these spirit-talkers sense their presence and all turn towards them. All light in the chamber dims and is then extinguished. Characters with darkvision who succeed on a DC15 perception check with disadvantage can see the spirit-talkers drawing knives and surrounding the party while a figure seemingly made of thorns descends from the roof of the cathedral. The spirit-talkers and the thorny figure, Vraan, make no sound as they approach, and once they have encircled the characters, Vraan speaks while prowling around the edge of the circle. Vraan is very paranoid about the other thanes locating his moving hideout and will ask the players who they serve and why they sought him out. If Vraan senses deception or suspicious behavior, the knives brandished by the spirit-talkers with illuminate with a neon pink light and the characters will see they are surrounded by enemies. Vraan will tell the characters that he doesn’t need them alive to interrogate them. If combat ensues and Vraan defeats the characters, he will capture them and torture them one at a time until he is convinced they do not serve Sheoldred or the other thanes, after which he will offer his hospitality and give information freely. If Vraan and his forces are defeated, he will bargain for his life with information. If the characters convince Vraan that they do not serve the other thanes without resorting to violence, he will shift his demeanor to that of a charitable host and will answer their questions freely. Vraan still holds the head of the human present at Karn’s disappearance and if asked about it, he will make a show of walking over to the shelf where he supposedly keeps it and finding it absent. He then asks a nearby spirittalker to see if it was misfiled and offers to demonstrate how he interrogates the dead while she locates it. A character who succeeds on an Insight check contested by Vraan’s Deception will sense that he is lying, and a character who succeeds on a Perception check contested by Vraan’s Sleight of Hand will notice that he gives a subtle hand signal to the spirit-talker when he asks her to locate the head. If caught lying, Vraan will admit he wanted to give his spirit-talker a chance to converse with the head to find out if its secrets were too sensitive to share with the party. He will then motion for the characters to follow him as he grabs the head from a distant shelf and takes it through a doorway at the end of the hall. The doorway leads to a small room with a massive obsidian slab with manacles set into the bottom and midway up its length. The spirit-talker impales the head on a spike then lays upon the slab before Vraan fastens the manacles around the spirit-talker’s limbs and then activates an instrument panel. Any compleated Mirrans in the party will see the eyes of the impaled head glow bright blue for a moment, then wink out before a blue glow begins to emanate from beneath the spirit-talker’s shroud. Vraan removes the shroud and any former Mirran characters can see two gaping eye sockets with twin blue pinpricks of light hovering in the void. The spirit-talker is now possessed by Venser, the last person to see Karn, but only the former Mirrans in the party will be able to perceive him or hear his answers. Since vat-grown Phyrexians are unable to perceive souls, the vat-grown characters in the party will only see or hear the spirit-talker lying on the slab, seemingly comatose. Venser is a planeswalker, able to travel between the infinite planes, of which New Phyrexia is just one. The existence of other planes is unknown on New Phyrexia, and the revelation of infinite worlds to conquer would be a bombshell for the inherently expansionist society. Venser is sworn to fight the Phyrexians and he gave his planeswalker spark to Karn in the hope that Karn would be able to carry on his fight. Venser does not know where Karn went, only that he left for another plane of existence inaccessible to anyone without a planeswalker’s spark. Venser’s greatest fear is that Phyrexia will find a way to spread to these other planes and eventually take over the entire multiverse, but Venser suspects that it is possible for non-planeswalkers to travel between planes with the right technology, and he once attempted to design a ship that could do so. Venser hopes that Karn will work to destroy New Phyrexia while it is still contained to a single plane. In Venser’s conversation with the players, he will try to keep this knowledge secret, and Vraan will torture
24 the body Venser currently possesses in order to drag the truth out of him. After one or two appropriately juicy secrets are pulled from Venser, the sound of an explosion rips through the building. Skip to The Queen of Whispers below. If the characters did not catch Vraan’s lie, he will instruct the party to choose a random head from the nearby shelves, which contain a vast array of Phyrexian and Mirran heads of all races and genders. A spirit-talker will then grab the chosen head and Vraan will escort the players through a doorway at the end of the hall, where the above scene will take place but instead of Venser, the players will speak with an individual named Zev, who died in the Mirran-Phyrexian war. After the players learn all they wish to from Zev, a spirit-talker enters and informs Vraan that she’s been unable to locate the head the party seeks. Vraan apologizes for the inconvenience and offers the party access to his guest rooms so they can rest and refresh themselves while Vraan tracks down the missing head. If the party accepts his offer, a spirit-talker guides the party to the guest rooms, which contain massive tanks of warmed, oxygenated, and constantly circulating blood intended for rest and refreshment. Any characters who taste the blood find it delicious. After the party completes a long rest, they are awakened by the sound of an explosion and tearing metal. THE QUEEN OF WHISPERS If the party returns to the main chamber of the crypt, they will see the front wall of the chamber collapsed, the floor littered with dead spirit-talkers and five Reapers of Sheoldred. The Reapers’ priority is to kill Vraan and take Venser’s head. Once they have accomplished these goals, any surviving Reapers will retreat. With his dying words, Vraan will tell the players to take him to the soul conduit. If the players attempt to use Vraan’s slab to communicate with his corpse, he will tell any compleated Mirrans that Sheoldred probably has her own ways of extracting information from Venser’s head and expresses certainty that she will use Venser’s secrets to serve her own interests, rather than those of Phyrexia. The Reapers took no measures to cover their tracks, and a success on a DC10 Survival or Investigation check will allow the characters to follow the path they took from Vraan’s crypt. After following a few kinks in the digestive tract, the characters come upon a gory wound in the floor of the Flesh Layer which forms a tunnel leading downward at a steep angle. The tunnel is slick with the Layer’s blood and any player that descends without taking precautions will begin sliding down it and must succeed on a DC 15 Athletics or Acrobatics check to stop their fall. On a failure, they fall out of the bottom of the Flesh Layer and into the core. Because so much of New Phyrexia’s mass is outside the core, the gravity inside it is relatively low, and a character falling in this space acts as if it is under the effects of the Feather Fall spell. If the character angles their body as they fall, they can move toward one of the pillars of mycosynth dangling from the interior surface of the Flesh Layer. At the bottom of these mycosynth stalactites hang several structures, including Sheoldred’s hive, a gunmetal structure constructed of hexagonal columns and surrounded by luminescent inkmoths, and the Panopticon, a hub of mass surveillance which houses Karn’s throne. As the characters arrive at the edge of the wound opened by the Reapers, they’ll be able to see the last of them scuttling down the mycosynth and into Sheoldred’s hive. SHEOLDRED’S HIVE The entrance to Sheoldred’s hive is an automated system which answers only to praetors, thanes, and those who have secrets to share. If a secret is judged to be of adequate value, it grants the party access to the hibernation cells. 1. Hibernation Chambers After passing through the entrance, the characters step into a chamber in which one wall is lined with large pods in which Reapers of Sheoldred lay dormant. There is a locked door on the north side, a large button five feet in diameter set into the floor, and a narrow corridor which leads to another chamber with an identical layout. The buttons are triggered by body weight, and when one is depressed, a green light will turn on above the locked door in that room. However, the doors will not open unless both are depressed. When this occurs, the hibernation tanks open, the Reapers awaken, and the corridor connecting the two rooms seals shut, splitting the party in two. Once all the characters in a room move past the unlocked door, it closes and locks, preventing the Reapers from progressing. For an additional level of challenge, you can require the buttons to be depressed for the doors to remain open, in which case the players must use Reaper corpses to weigh them down. 2. The Sword of Friendship You may switch the position of rooms 2 and 3 so that the larger group of players ends up in room 2. The larger group
25 of characters moves from the hibernation chamber into a long hallway. Along one side of this hallway is a display case featuring a long katana with a black blade and a heart engraved on the hilt. This is the Sword of Friendship. SWORD OF FRIENDSHIP Weapon (longsword), artifact (requires attunement) This sword must be attuned by killing a creature with the same alignment as you. When attuned: • As an action, you can cast the spell friends. • You have proficiency in Deception when speaking to characters that share your alignment. • A crack appears through the center of the heart engraved on the weapon’s hilt. The Sword of Friendship has a +3 bonus to hit and deals 1d8+3 slashing damage when wielded with one hand and 1d10+3 damage when wielded with two hands. There is an unlocked door at the end of this hallway. When all characters have passed through it, it closes and locks. 3. Scrying Center The scrying center is a large room with one side covered in scrying glasses showing images of various locations on New Phyrexia, all of which are illusions meant to deceive the characters. Any character with a passive Perception of 10 or greater will notice that one pane shows Sheoldred meeting with the characters that went down the other hallway. The body language suggests that these other party members know Sheoldred. She gives one of them a katana with a black blade, which that character appears to receive with gratitude. Sheoldred and the party members then walk together out of the view of the scrying glass. Connected to the Scrying Center is a long hallway which ends in an unlocked door. Once all characters have passed through it into the next room, it closes and locks. 4. Obliterator Pens The characters pass into a narrow corridor, along both sides of which are steel bars imprisoning six Phyrexian Obliterators. High up on the eastern side of the room is a thick glass wall through which the characters can see an illusion of Sheoldred talking with the other members of their party. The other members of their party appear to hit a switch and an alarm sounds as the bars of the Obliterator pens recede into the ground. If the characters run to the other end of the hallway, they will see two small rooms separated by a small corridor, each with a locked door on the far wall and a large button in the center of the room. When one button is depressed, a green light turns on next to the corresponding locked door. Once both buttons are depressed, the corridor shuts off, separating the characters from each other and the Obliterators. The doors in front of them open and each sees a darkened hallway. As each character begins to walk down the hallway, it illuminates with a hologram of Sheoldred. She tells each character that she can let them escape if they tell her what they know and who they are working for, but she will caution them that she is offering the deal to all the characters simultaneously and only the first one to tell her the truth gets to leave alive. If a character tells her they’re looking for Venser’s head, she will pull it into view, tell them she already got all the secrets she needs from it, and feeds it to her lower mouth. If a character refuses to tell Sheoldred anything, she will tell them it’s too late because one of their friends already gave her everything she needed. She asks if the character is looking for a human head and pulls Venser’s head into view before saying she already got all the secrets she needed from it and feeding it to her lower mouth. Sheoldred will then tell the character that if they’re not willing to provide information, then she will accept service, offering to let them leave if they kill another member of their party. 5. Corpse Pit The party members convene in a room with two buttons set into the ground, a locked door on the eastern side of the room, and several vents and drains situated where the walls meet the floor. Shortly after all characters have entered the room, the corridors from which they entered are sealed off and an Obliterator drops into the room from a vent in the ceiling. The buttons are activated by dead flesh; the characters can only activate both by killing the Obliterator and either killing one of the party or cutting the Obliterator corpse into pieces. 6. Simulation Cell This room is a vast cavern, the far reaches of which open up into the core. To the right is a corridor leading to the newt birthing pods. Immediately in front of the door is a 20’ by 20’ pool of black oil. This is Sheoldred’s simulation cell, which contains simulations of many sapient beings that have been transcribed from the information in their brains. Before destroying Venser’s head, she used her simulation cell to make a backup which she could interrogate at her leisure. A character that submerges themselves in the pool will find that they are able to breathe the oil comfortably. While under its surface, they will hear Sheoldred’s voice ask them three security questions and must answer at least two correctly in order to access the system; if they fail to do so, they will no longer be able to breathe the oil. The security questions are: • Who was the first Father of Machines? o A: Yawgmoth. The character can recall this information if they succeed on a DC 15 History check. • Why did Urabrask betray the Great Work? o A: Red mana is incompatible with Phyrexia’s vision. The character can determine this answer if they succeed on a DC 15 Arcana check. • Who will be the next Father of Machines? o A: Sheoldred. The character can determine this answer if they succeed on a DC 15 Insight check. Upon successfully answering two of the three questions, a character will see a list of names in their mind’s eye. They recognize Venser and may recognize Roxith if they succeed on a DC 10 History check. The rest of the names are unfamiliar. Selecting one of the names will result in a simulation of that person appearing in the character’s mind. The character will then be able to speak with the simulation and it will respond appropriately. The simulation believes it is in an empty room and cannot see the character conversing with them, only hear their voice. If the character succeeds on a DC 10 Investigation check, they will find controls that can inflict pain on the
26 simulation, slow or speed up its perceived passage of time, or reset the simulation to its default state, causing it to forget any interactions that have occurred in the simulation cell. Venser’s simulation will behave much as his soul behaved when interrogated by Vraan. Roxith, a former thane, knows Sheoldred personally and can provide some insight into Sheoldred and knowledge about her hive. If the players move further into the cavern containing the simulation cell, they will begin to find thick strands of spider silk which become more frequent and more tightly woven over time, eventually joining together into an intricate web which spans the void from the edge of the mycosynth pillar containing Sheoldred’s hive to the Panopticon. 7. Birthing Pods If the characters pass down the hallway adjacent to the cavern with the simulation cell, they will step onto a catwalk overlooking a factory devoted to the birth and maturation of newts, the genderless humanoids from which all vat-grown Phyrexians descend. Immediately below the characters is a vast pool of warm black oil and a lazy stream feeding from it. Pods on the ceiling will occasionally produce newts and drop them into the pool, from which slow current pulls them into an assembly line of sorts. The catwalk on which the players are standing extends around the boundary of the room, and they can follow along the stream of newts as they are augmented with injections, grafted tissue, and implanted weaponry until they begin to resemble Sheoldred’s Reapers. At the end of the assembly line, the new Reapers are inserted into steel pods identical to the ones the characters saw when they first entered the hive. This assembly line has been active for so long that it’s difficult to estimate the number of pods being stored in the hive, but by straining to look from their position at the end of the catwalk, the characters can see a three-dimensional matrix of stored pods that easily contains thousands of Reapers. 8. The Web Sheoldred’s web traverses the space between her hive and the Panopticon, which contains Karn’s throne. It is sticky to the touch and requires a successful DC 10 Strength check to break free from. However, an object or person covered in black oil will not stick to the webbing and any character that has been submerged in the simulation cell will be able to traverse the web by succeeding on a DC 10 Acrobatics or Athletics check. If an oily character fails this check, they slide down the web back to the floor the cavern. 9. The Panopticon Sheoldred’s web leads the players to an aperture in the wall of the Panopticon. Inside Sheoldred is sitting upon Karn’s empty throne. The interior walls of the Panopticon are covered with scrying glasses which show views of various places on New Phyrexia, which shift rapidly. Directly in front of the throne is a hologram of what looks like a metal ring. Sheoldred manipulates the controls on the arm of the throne and Phyrexian equations appear in the hologram next to the ring. Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 investigation check will realize that Sheoldred is attempting to design a machine that can create a portal to another plane. Sheoldred plans to use the information she’s gleaned from Venser to attempt to construct a portal to another plane and use her army of Reapers to conquer and compleat the multiverse. However, she does not want any other Phyrexians to leave the plane as she would prefer not to share power, and she is using the Panopticon to try to confirm that she has eliminated anyone who might know Venser’s secrets. If the characters do not confront Sheoldred or attempt to sabotage her, she will eventually shift the view on one of the screens to the exterior of the Panopticon and will notice their presence. She will then make the characters another offer, saying if they kill each other, she will let the last one standing leave the hive. If they decline, she will attack, following the characters back up the web if necessary. The strands of Sheoldred’s web can be cut and burnt; if the ones on which she walks are severed, she will fall into the mana core and be trapped there, unable to move in any direction from the planet’s center of gravity. Once the players defeat or trap Sheoldred, they will be able to use the Panopticon to contact anyone on New Phyrexia. If they share what they’ve learned about the existence of other planes with Prrackx, he will inform JinGitaxias, who will immediately begin research into methods of traveling to other planes. If they reach out to Elesh Norn, she will seize the opportunity to crush a rival and will order her forces to destroy Sheoldred’s hive.
27 CHAPTER 5: PHYREXIAN FAUNA This chapter provides stat blocks for a variety of creatures unique to New Phyrexia, including praetors, thanes, and other significant characters. They are presented in alphabetical order. Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral Good Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor) Hit Points 42 (8d8 + 6) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +5, Con +6 Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +5 Senses passive Perception 11 Languages Common Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Brave. The Auriok soldier has advantage on saving throws against being frightened. Multiattack. The Auriok soldier makes two melee attacks or one ranged attack. Surestrike Trident. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage. Huge Aberration, Lawful Neutral Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 88 (8d12 + 36) Speed 0 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 1 (-5) 19 (+4) 8 (-1) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) Saving Throws Con +7 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Multiattack. The barrier makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its tentacles. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 13) and restrained until the grapple ends. The barrier has two tentacles, each of which can grapple one target.
28 Medium Monstrosity, Unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16) Speed 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 8 (-1) 15 (+2) 2 (-4) 8 (-1) 7 (-2) Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9 Languages — Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Multiattack. The mamba makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its tail. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 12). Medium Construct, Any Alignment Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 8 (-1) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) Saving Throws Dex +6 Skills Acrobatics +8, Perception +2 Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Repairable. As long as it has at least 1 hit point remaining, the butcher myr regains 1 hit point when a mending spell is cast on it. Multiattack. The butcher myr makes three attacks: two with its cleaver and one with its bone saw. Cleaver. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage. Bone Saw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) slashing damage. Parry. The butcher myr adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the butcher myr must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon.
29 Medium Undead Armor Class 10 Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 3 (-4) 5 (-3) 5 (-3) Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +5, Con +6 Damage Resistances necrotic Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned Senses passive Perception 7 Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can't speak Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Viral Aura. Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the nim must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is poisoned and can't regain hit points until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this nim’s Viral Aura for 24 hours. Multiattack. The nim makes two slam attacks. Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage. Virulent Miasma (1/day). The nim releases toxic gas in a 30-footradius sphere centered on itself. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A Humanoid reduced to 0 hit points by this damage dies and rises as a zombie (see its stat block in the Monster Manual) 1 minute later. The zombie acts immediately after the nim in the initiative count. Large Aberration, Unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 84 (13d10 + 13) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 8 (-1) Saving Throws Dex +5 Damage Immunities fire Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15 Languages — Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Drone. The viron produces a horrid droning sound to which creatures native to the Furnace Layer are immune. Any other creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of the viron must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious for 10 minutes. A creature that can't hear the drone automatically succeeds on the save. The effect on the creature ends if it takes damage or if another creature takes an action to shake or slap it awake. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, it is immune to the drone for the next 24 hours. Magic Resistance. The viron has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Proboscis. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (4d6 + 2) piercing damage plus 24 (7d6) necrotic damage, and the target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. If this effect reduces a creature's hit point maximum to 0, the creature dies. This reduction to a creature's hit point maximum lasts until the creature finishes a long rest or until it is affected by a spell like greater restoration.
30 Medium Humanoid (Elf), Any Non-Good Alignment Armor Class 15 (studded leather armor) Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (+0) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) Saving Throws Dex +6, Int +4 Skills Acrobatics +6, Deception +3, Perception +3, Stealth +9 Damage Resistances poison Senses passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Elvish, Phyrexian Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Ambush. During its first turn, the glistener elf has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn. Any hit the assassin scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit. Evasion. If the glistener elf is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the glistener elf instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. It can’t use this trait if it’s incapacitated. Sneak Attack (1/Turn). The glistener elf deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the glistener elf that isn't incapacitated and the glistener elf doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll. Multiattack. The glistener elf makes two shortsword attacks. Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Medium Aberration (Shapechanger, Phyrexian), Lawful Evil Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 88 (16d8 + 16) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +6 Skills Deception +6, Stealth +5 Condition Immunities blinded Senses passive Perception 12 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Innate Spellcasting. Izathel’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: light, thaumaturgy 1/day each: command, dispel magic, hold person, lesser restoration Multiattack. Izathel makes two attacks with his arm blades. Arm Blades. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. Slumber (1/day). Izathel targets up to five creatures that it can see within 60 feet of it. Each target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or fall into a magical sleep and be unconscious for 10 minutes. A sleeping target awakens if it takes damage or if someone uses an action to shake or slap it awake. This magical sleep has no effect on a creature immune to being charmed. Shed Skin (1/day). In response to an attack, Izathel can shed his skin to free himself from a grapple, shackles, or other restraints. He absorbs the biomass from slain creatures nearby and he becomes Izathel’s Second Form.
31 Large Aberration (Shapechanger, Phyrexian), Lawful Evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 68 (8d10 + 24) Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +6 Skills Perception +6, Stealth +5 Condition Immunities blinded Senses passive Perception 15 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Running Leap. Izathel’s long jump is up to 40 feet and his high jump is up to 20 feet when he has a running start. Multiattack. Izathel makes three attacks: one with his bite and two with his fists. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage. Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) bludgeoning damage. Shed Skin (1/day). In response to an attack, Izathel can shed his skin to free himself from a grapple, shackles, or other restraints. He absorbs the biomass from slain creatures nearby and he becomes Izathel’s Final Form. Medium Aberration (Shapechanger, Phyrexian), Lawful Evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 36 (8d6 + 8) Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 19 (+4) 16 (+3) Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +4, Cha +6 Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities blinded Senses passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Apostle’s Blessing. An invisible aura forms a 10-foot-radius sphere around Izathel for as long as he lives. Any spell of 5th level or lower cast from outside the barrier can't affect creatures or objects within it, even if the spell is cast using a higher level spell slot. Such a spell can target creatures and objects within the barrier, but the spell has no effect on them. Similarly, the area within the barrier is excluded from the areas affected by such spells. Izathel can use an action to suppress this trait until its concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell). Innate Spellcasting. Izathel’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: light 2/day each: bless, cure wounds 1/day each: heal Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) slashing damage. Screech (1/Day). Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 17 (5d6) thunder damage and is deafened for 1 minute. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and isn't deafened. Nonmagical objects in the cone that aren't being held or worn take 35 (10d6) thunder damage. Choking Fumes (1/day). Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d8 + 4) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
32 Medium Celestial, Neutral Good Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 92 (10d8 + 2) Speed 40 ft., fly 120 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 20 (+5) Saving Throws Str +6, Wis +6, Cha +10 Skills Insight +6, Perception +6 Damage Resistances radiant Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages all Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Flyby. The angel doesn't provoke an opportunity attack when it flies out of an enemy's reach. Innate Spellcasting. The angel's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). The angel can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: 3/day each: guiding bolt (as a 3rd-level spell) 1/day each: daylight, fireball (as a 4th-level spell) Multiattack. The angel makes two melee attacks. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8 + 6) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage. Medium Humanoid (Leonin), Neutral Good Armor Class 16 (Unarmored Defense) Hit Points 38 (8d8 + 2) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 17 (+3) 10 (+0) Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +6 Skills Arcana +4, Insight +6, Intimidation +3, Stealth +7, Survival +6 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Leonin, Phyrexian Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Evasion. If the leonin is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the leonin instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. It can’t use this trait if it’s incapacitated. Innate Spellcasting. The leonin's spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: 1/day each: banishment, detect evil and good Unarmored Defense. While the leonin is wearing no armor and wielding no shield, its AC includes its Wisdom modifier. Multiattack. The leonin makes three weapon attacks. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) force damage. Leonin Bola. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
33 Medium Humanoid (Any Race), Any Alignment Armor Class 10 (natural armor) Hit Points 4 (1d8) Speed 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages Common Challenge 0 (0 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Club. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. Large Giant, Chaotic Neutral Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 11 (+0) 16 (+3) 6 (-2) 16 (+3) 9 (-1) Damage Immunities fire Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8 Languages Common, Giant, Phyrexian Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Multiattack. The ogre attacks twice with its fists or once with its burning breath. Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage. Burning Breath (Recharge 5-6). The ogre exhales a cloud of burning embers in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
34 Large Aberration, Lawful Evil Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 140 (20d10 + 30) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 20 (+5) 16 (+3) 4 (-3) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) Skills Perception +7, Stealth +11 Damage Resistances poison Condition Immunities frightened Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17 Languages understands Phyrexian but can’t speak it Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the obliterator has disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Trample. Once per turn, the obliterator can make an additional claw attack against a target within 5 feet of another creature it previously attacked this turn. Multiattack. The obliterator makes two attacks with its claws and one with its tail spike. Claw. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 +6) slashing damage. Tail Spike. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 +6) slashing damage. Retaliate. After taking damage, the obliterator may use its reaction to make one Tail Spike attack. Large Aberration, Unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 110 (11d10 + 33) Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 10 (+0) 18 (+4) 8 (-1) 12 (+1) 8 (-1) Saving Throws Con +7 Senses tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages — Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Multiattack. The swarmlord makes one bite attack and one talon attack. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (5d6) piercing damage. Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 +3) slashing damage. Disgorge Insects (Recharge 6). The swarmlord opens its mouth and disgorges 1d4 swarms of ripper scarabs. Each creature it disgorges appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the swarmlord's mouth, or the next closest unoccupied space.
35 Medium Construct, Lawful Neutral Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 84 (12d8 + 30) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) Damage Vulnerabilities acid Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned Senses passive Perception 10 Languages understands Common and Phyrexian but cannot speak Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Immutable Form. The legionnaire is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form. Multiattack. The legionnaire makes two attacks with its longsword. Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing damage if used with two hands. Whirl (Recharge 5–6). The legionnaire can use its action to spin at the waist, targeting creatures of its choice within 10 feet of it. Each target must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 19 (3d10 + 3) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Parry. The legionnaire adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the legionnaire must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon. Large Beast, Unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 77 (14d12) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 6 (-2) 11 (+0) 4 (-3) Saving Throws Dex +6 Senses passive Perception 13 Languages — Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Haste. The putrefax has advantage on initiative rolls and its movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. Multiattack. The swarmlord makes two bite attacks Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d8) piercing damage. Plague Spores (Recharge 6). A 15-foot-radius cloud of toxic spores extends out from the putrefax. The spores spread around corners. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. While poisoned in this way, a creature takes 11 (2d10) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
36 Huge Monstrosity, Unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 110 (11d10 + 33) Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 3 (-4) 12 (+1) 4 (-3) Saving Throws Con +7 Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages — Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Earth Tremors. The wurm creates earth tremors as it moves overland or underground. Any creature that comes within 30 feet of the moving wurm for the first time on a turn must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: No damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the wurm. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the wurm, and takes 14 (4d6) acid damage at the start of each of the wurm's turns. If the wurm takes 20 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the wurm must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the wurm. If the wurm dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone. Large Aberration, Lawful Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 87 (14d10 + 10) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6 Damage Resistances poison Condition Immunities frightened Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages understands Phyrexian but can’t speak it Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the reaper has disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Toxic Body. A creature that touches the reaper or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 1d10 poison damage. Multiattack. The reaper makes two attacks with its scythe. Scythe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 +4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
37 Medium Beast, Unaligned Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 56 (8d12 + 4) Speed 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1) Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3 Senses passive Perception 15 Languages — Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Keen Hearing and Smell. The wolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell. Pack Tactics. The hound has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the hound's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Huge Dragon, Neutral Evil Armor Class 19 (natural armor) Hit Points 172 (24d8 + 64) Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 25 (+7) 10 (+0) 23 (+6) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 19 (+4) Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +11, Wis +7, Cha +9 Skills Insight +7, Perception +12, Stealth +10 Damage Immunities necrotic Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22 Languages Common, Draconic, Phyrexian Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Legendary Resistance (3/day). If Skithiryx fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, Skithiryx can take the Hide action as a bonus action. Multiattack. Skithiryx can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) piercing damage. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage. Frightful Presence. Each creature of Skithiryx's choice that is within 120 feet of Skithiryx and aware of it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Skithiryx's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours. Necrotic Breath (Recharge 5–6). Skithiryx exhales necrotic in a 90- foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 66 (12d10) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Skithiryx can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Skithiryx regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. Detect. Skithiryx makes a Wisdom (Perception) check. Tail Attack. Skithiryx makes a tail attack. Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). Skithiryx beats its wings. Each creature within 10 feet of Skithiryx must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (2d6 + 7) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Skithiryx can then fly up to half its flying speed.
38 Large Monstrosity, Unaligned Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 93 (11d10 + 33) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 17 (+3) 3 (-4) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) Damage Immunities fire Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Heated Body. A creature that touches the harvester or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 10 (3d6) fire damage. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the harvester can't bite another target. Swallow. The harvester makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, that creature takes the bite's damage and is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the harvester, and it takes 10 (3d6) fire damage at the start of each of the harvester's turns. If the harvester takes 15 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the harvester must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the harvester. If the harvester dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone. Huge Aberration, Lawful Evil Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 190 (26d12 + 21) Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 19 (+4) Saving Throws Con +7, Wis +7, Cha +8 Skills Insight +9, Intimidation +8, Persuasion +9 Damage Resistances acid, poison Condition Immunities blinded, exhaustion, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Innate Spellcasting. Sheoldred’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +8 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: web, suggestion 3/day: blindness/deafness, ray of enfeeblement 2/day: crown of madness, bestow curse 1/day: contagion Spider Climb. Sheoldred can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Web Sense. While in contact with a web, Sheoldred knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web. Web Walker. Sheoldred ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing. Multiattack. Sheoldred casts a spell, then makes one bite attack and one claw attack. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (4d8 + 6) piercing damage and if the target is a creature it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be grappled. Until this grapple ends, Sheoldred can't use her bite on another target. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d8) piercing damage.
39 Medium Humanoid (Phyrexian), Lawful Evil Armor Class 13 (unarmored defense) Hit Points 45 (10d6 + 10) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 8 (-1) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) Skills Insight +4, Stealth +7 Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Innate Spellcasting. The spirit-talker's spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: dispel magic, minor illusion 1/day each: hold person, darkness, pass without trace, speak with dead Multiattack. The spirit-talker makes two attacks with its dagger. Ceremonial Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. Medium Swarm of Tiny Monstrosities, Unaligned Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 56 (12d8 + 2) Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (-2) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 1 (-5) 8 (-1) 1 (-5) Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned Senses blindsight 10ft., passive Perception 8 Languages — Challenge 3 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Spider Climb. The swarm can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny insect. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. Swarm of Stings. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm's space. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage, or 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage if the swarm is at half of its hit points or fewer. If the target is a creature, the stinger lays eggs in its body and the creature gains the Plague Stinger Infestation feat. This feat can be removed at any time if the character spends an action to kill or remove the eggs with fire or a weapon that deals piercing damage, causing 1 damage of the appropriate type to the target.
40 Medium Swarm of Tiny Monstrosities, Unaligned Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 31 (7d8) Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (-2) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 1 (-5) 8 (-1) 1 (-5) Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60ft., passive Perception 9 Languages — Challenge 3 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Spider Climb. The swarm can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny scarab. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. Swarm of Bites. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm's space. Hit: 13 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage, or 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage if the swarm is at half of its hit points or fewer. If the target is a creature, scarabs burrow into its body, and the creature takes 3 (1d6) piercing damage at the start of each of its turns. Any creature can use an action to kill or remove the scarabs with fire or a weapon that deals piercing damage, causing 1 damage of the appropriate type to the target. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the swarm's piercing damage dies. Huge Beast, Unaligned Armor Class 12 (natural armor) Hit Points 157 (15d12 + 60) Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 (+6) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 7 (-2) Skills Athletics +9, Perception +4 Senses passive Perception 14 Languages — Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Multiattack. The throatseeker makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws. It can’t make both attacks against the same target. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the throatseeker can’t bite another target. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage.
41 Medium Humanoid (Phyrexian), Chaotic Neutral Armor Class 17 (splint armor) Hit Points 62 (12d8 + 8) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 11 (+0) 16 (+3) 9 (-1) 10 (+0) 13 (+1) Skills Intimidation +4, Perception +3 Damage Immunities fire Senses passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 4 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Searing Armor. The exarch’s armor is hot. Any creature grappling the exarch or grappled by it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the end of that creature’s turn. Shrapnel Explosion. When the exarch drops to 0 hit points, a flaming orb in its chest explodes, destroying the exarch’s body and scattering its armor as shrapnel. Creatures within 10 feet of the exarch when it explodes must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful. Multiattack. The exarch makes three melee attacks or one ranged attack. Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage. Medium Beast, Unaligned Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 52 (8d10 + 8) Speed 10 ft., fly 60 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 7 (-2) Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +3 Senses passive Perception 10 Languages — Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Multiattack. The shrike makes two attacks: one with its sting and one with its sword talons. Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. Sword Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage.
42 Huge Aberration, Chaotic Neutral Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 160 (24d8 + 52) Speed 60 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 27 (+8) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 19 (+4) Saving Throws enter here Skills enter here Damage Resistances enter here Damage Immunities enter here Condition Immunities enter here Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Languages enter here Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Haste. Urabrask has advantage on initiative rolls and his movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. Innate Spellcasting. Urabrask’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: command 2/day: heat metal 1/day each: expeditious retreat, haste Multiattack. Urabrask makes three melee attacks, two with his claws and one with his tail. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is a creature it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be grappled. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and Urabrask can't use his tail on another target. Heat Breath (Recharge 6). Urabrask exhales a wave of intense heat in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Metal objects in that area glow red-hot until the end of Urabrask's next turn. Any creature in physical contact with a heated object at the start of its turn must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 9 (2d8) fire damage and has disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of its next turn.
43 Medium Undead, Lawful Evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 90 (12d8 + 36) Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 19 (+4) Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +6, Wis +4 Skills Intimidation +7, Perception +3, Stealth +9 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Common, Phyrexian Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3 Multiattack. Vraan makes three melee attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. If the target is humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be charmed by the vampire for 1 minute. While charmed in this way, the target is infatuated with the vampire. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0. Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage. The vampire can also grapple the target (escape DC 14) if it is a creature and the vampire has a hand free. Nimble Escape. Vraan takes the Disengage or Hide action.