Events Come to a Head - RSP Encounter

The vicious, warlike kobolds of the Gharndral tribe seek to expand their holdings into the swamplands. These raiders stalk through the mire, plotting to attack the nearest settlement.

A band of four black-scaled, armored kobolds slink through the mire, escorting a tailless kobold. The disfigured kobold carries a heavy sack, slick with a dark, wet patch, slung over his shoulder. The guards move steadfastly forward while the tailless kobold smirks callously while jostling the sack. "That worthless town won't know what hit them."

Area Features

The area has several features of note:

• Trail: A 10 ft. wide trail wends through the swamp. On the trail, movement is without penalty.
• Bogs: Bogs stretch for a mile each side of the trail. It costs 2 squares of movement to move into a square with a shallow bog; the DC of Acrobatics checks in such a square increases by 2. Bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.
• Deep Bogs: A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It costs Medium or larger creatures 4 squares of movement to enter a square with a deep bog, or must swim (DC 10 Swim check). Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog. Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.
  The water in a deep bog provides cover (+4 AC, +2 Reflex saves)for Medium or larger creatures. Smaller creatures gain improved cover (+8 AC, +4 Reflex saves). Medium or larger creatures can crouch as a move action to gain improved cover. Creatures with this improved cover take a –10 penalty on attacks against creatures that aren't underwater. Deep bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.

Running the Encounter

Scartail Whort

This spindly kobold is almost five feet tall and is missing most of its tail. He holds a hulbous burlap sack over his shoulder. He also has a small light catapult (under the effects of shrink item) and 40 GP
The tailless leader of the band is Scartail Whort, a siege engineer and woodsman experienced in executing raids on unsuspecting towns. Scartail’s modus operandi is a devious form of biological warfare. Assisted by cunning traps, the Gharndral capture trolls indigenous to their lands and slowly dismember them until all that remains is a still-regenerating head. Scartail carries a Small light catapult ensorcelled with shrink item, and plans to launch the troll heads into the village during the dead of night. Once inside, the enraged trolls regenerate before slaughtering the unprepared townsfolk.
To prevent the trolls prematurely regenerating, Scartail used Vermin Heart to collect a swarm of tiny, biting spiders, which now share the sack with the heads.

Tactics

Kobolds: The kobold guards form a shieldwall, taking advantage of their Shield Wall teamwork feat. Panicked, Scartail inadvertently drops the sack containing the three troll heads. Scartail and the kobold raiders flee when they lose three of their number, or if one of the trolls regains its body. Troll Heads: Each of the troll heads ends up somewhere different when Scartail drops his sack.

• The first head falls into a deep bog. The swamp water extinguishes fires and dilutes acid, so the PCs must retrieve the submerged troll head before they can safety dispatch it. Finding the head in the murky water requires a DC 10 Swim check followed by a DC 20 Perception check.
• The second spills free of the sack, but only travels 15 feet before coming to rest in the coarse swamp grass. The head gurgles and spasms while it regenerates on the ground behind the wall of kobold fighters.
• The final head remains in the sack along with the writhing, agitated spider swarm. The spider swarm escapes the sack when the PCs investigate it, leaving the third troll head to regenerate while the PCs deal with the swarm.

Free of the biting spiders, the first two heads begin regenerating, and become full trolls when their hit points reach 0. The heads are still conscious (thanks to Diehard), and bite at anything entering their square. If any of the trolls regain their bodies, they randomly attack the nearest creature, be it PC or kobold.
The trolls and the swarms fight to the death. Kobold Guards/Dragonshield (4)

Statblocks

Scartail Whort Stat Block

Scartail Whort CR: 1

Small small humanoid (kobold), lawful evil

Armor Class: 16

Hit Points: 44

Speed: 29 ft

STR

12 +1

DEX

15 +2

CON

14 +2

INT

8 -1

WIS

9 -1

CHA

10 +0

Skills: Perception 1d20+1
Initiative: 1d20+2

Senses: Darkvision 60 Ft
Passive Perception 11

Languages: Common, Draconic

Challenge Rating: 1

Dragon’s Resistance: The kobold has resistance to a type of damage based on the color of dragon that invested it with power (choose or roll a d10): 1–2, acid (black 3–4, cold (white 5–6, fire (red 7–8, lightning (blue 9–10, poison (green).
Heart of the Dragon: If the kobold is frightened or paralyzed by an effect that allows a saving throw, it can repeat the save at the start of its turn to end the effect on itself and all kobolds within 30 feet of it. Any kobold that benefits from this trait (including the dragonshield) has advantage on its next attack roll.
Pack Tactics: The kobold has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the kobold’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Sunlight Sensitivity: While in sunlight, the kobold has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Actions

Multiattack: The kobold makes two melee attacks.
Spear Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: 1d20+3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6+1 piercing damage, or 1d8+1 piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Light Crossbow Simple Ranged Weapon Attack: 1d20+2 to hit, range 80/320 ft., Hit 1d8+1 piercing damage. Has 10 bolts.
GEAR: Small light catapult (under the effects of shrink item), 40 GP

A kobold dragonshield is a champion of its race. Almost all dragonshields begin life as normal kobolds, then are chosen by a dragon and invested with great powers for the purpose of protecting the dragon’s eggs, but once every few years a kobold hatches with an innate version of the dragonshield’s abilities. Accomplished at hand-to-hand combat, it bears many scars from desperate fights and carries a shield made out of cast-off dragon scales.
Uncommon Courage: A dragonshield knows that it has a place of honor in the tribe, but — being kobolds at heart — most of them feel unworthy of their status and thus desperate to prove themselves deserving of it. A dragonshield’s natural kobold cowardice is still present in its makeup, and thus it might still run away from a threat. But it also has the ability to rally in the face of certain death, inspiring other kobolds to follow it in a charge against the invaders of their warren.

Kobold Guards/Dragonshield Stat Block

Kobold Guard CR: 1

Small small humanoid (kobold), lawful evil

Armor Class: 13

Hit Points: 30

Speed: 30 ft

STR

10 +0

DEX

15 +2

CON

12 +1

INT

8 -1

WIS

8 -1

CHA

8 -1

Skills: Perception 1d20+1
Initiative: 1d20+2

Senses: Darkvision 60 Ft
Passive Perception 11

Languages: Common, Draconic

Challenge Rating: 1

Pack Tactics: The kobold has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the kobold’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Sunlight Sensitivity: While in sunlight, the kobold has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Actions

Multiattack: The kobold makes two melee attacks.
Spear Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: 1d20+3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6+1 piercing damage, or 1d8+1 piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

A Kobold guard is a homebrewed blend of a kobold and a kobold dragonshield. They have increased AC and HP.

Spider Swarm Stat Block

Spider Swarm/Swarm of Insects

CR: 1/2

Tiny beasts, unaligned

Armor Class: 12

Hit Points: 22

Speed:

STR

3 -4

DEX

13 +1

CON

10 +0

INT

1 -5

WIS

7 -2

CHA

1 -5

Skills: 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.
Spider Climb: The swarm can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Web Sense: While in contact with a web, the swarm knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web.
Web Walker: The swarm ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.

Senses: Blindsight 10 ft., Passive Perception: 8

Languages: --

Challenge Rating: 1/2

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack 1d20+3 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm's space. Hit: (roll:4d4) piercing damage, or 5 2d4 piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.

A veritable carpet of tiny black spiders swarms toward you.