D&D Tomb of Annihilation

(Jeff_L) #1

OneaarakocratribehaslaidclaimtoaremoteChultan
monasterycalledKirSabal.Thissite’sexistenceiswellknown
inPortNyanzarubecausethestructurescanbeseenfromthe
RiverOlungthroughoccasionalbreaksinthejunglealongthe
easternbank.Littleisknownbeyondthat,however,because
thecliffsidestructuresaresodifficulttoreachfromtheground.
TheaarakocrathereshelterthelastdescendantsofOmu’s
royalfamily,whohopetosomedayrestoretheirreign.


Batiri(Goblins)


Chultishometoscoresofindependentgoblintribes
collectivelyknownastheBatiri.ABatiritribeisruledbya
queen(usethegoblinbossstatistics).Whenaqueendies,
fightingensuesuntilanewqueenemergesvictoriousand
proclaimsherselfrulerofthetribe.WhiletheBatirihavemany
culturalandmythicalaspectsthatmakethemunique,they
behaveessentiallylikeothergoblins;theyaresuperstitious,
cruel,suspiciousofoutsiders,fractiousamongthemselves,and
justaslikelytotortureandeatotherhumanoidsastheyareto
tradewiththem.Theyarenotonlysadisticbuthighlycreative
intheirtortures.Forexample,theyenjoytyingenemiesto
trees,dousingtheminhoney,andleavingthemtobedevoured
byinsectsoverthecourseofseveraldays,ifalargerpredator
doesn’tfinishthemofffirst.
WarMasks.Batiriwarriorswearoversizedwoodenwar
masksintocombat.Eachgoblinpaintsanddecoratesitsown
masktomakeitlookasfearsomeaspossible.Asidefrom
intimidatingenemies,thesemasksservethesamepurpose
amongtheBatiriascoatsofarmsamongnobleknightsof
Faerûn.Batiriofopposingtribesmightnotknowanenemy’s
givenname,butthey’llknowSnarlingCrocodileorFangedApe.
BattleStacks.Batiriwarriorssometimesrideoneach
other’sshouldersinbattle,inaformationknownasabattle
stack.Thesecanbeuptoninegoblinstall.Eachgoblintracks
itshitpointsindividually,butthestackmovesandmakes
abilitychecks,attackrolls,andsavingthrowsasonecreature.
Onlythegoblinatthetopofthestackcanattack,andonlythe
goblinatthebottomcanmove(allgoblinsstackedonits
shouldersmovewithit).Thegoblinatthetopmakesall
Intelligence,Wisdom,andCharismaabilitychecksandsaving
throwsforthestack.Thegoblinatthebottommakesall
Strength,Dexterity,andConstitutionabilitychecksandsaving
throwsforthestack.Abattlestackcan’tjump,butitcan
grappleorshoveanothercreature,swingfromvines,anduse
theDash,Disengage,Dodge,andHideactions.Thestackhas
advantageonmeleeattacksbecauseofitsbuilt-in“pack


tactics”effect;allthegoblinsarewavingspearsattheenemy,
evenifonlyonecanhit.

Whenagoblininthestackdropsto 0 hitpoints,itis
thrownfromthestack.IfthestacksucceedsonaDC 10
Dexteritysavingthrow,itremainsintact(albeitonegoblin
shorter).Onafailedsave,thestackcollapsesandallthe
goblinsfallproneina 5 - foot-squarespace.
Toformanewbattlestack,agoblinmustuseitsactionto
climbontotheshouldersofanotherwillinggoblinwithin 5
feetofit.Othergoblinscanjoinanexistingbattlestackinthe
sameway.Agoblincanuseitsactiontoremoveitselffroma
battlestack,landinginanunoccupiedspacewithin 5 feetof
thebottomofthestack.
TheBatiriinventedbattlestacksasawaytocombat
creaturesmuchlargerthanthemselvesaswellasawayto
reachenemiesintrees.Thebattlestackformationhasthe
addedeffectofmakingthepunygoblinsappeartallerand
morefearsometotheirlargerenemies.Battlestacksarenot
effectiveagainstotherground-basedthreats,sinceallbutthe
topmostgoblingiveuptheirattacksandmobilitytobepartof
thestack.

Dwarves


MostoftheshielddwarfstrongholdsbeneathChultwere
destroyedbyintensevolcanicactivity.Hundredsofdwarves
wereforcedtofleetheircollapsinghalls,onlytobe
slaughteredanddevouredbyjunglepredators.Afewmadeit
toPortNyanzaru,wheretheyremaintothisday.Someof
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