Looking for an aspect of Kord

Jack99

Adventurer
So, in my campaign, my players are about to go rummaging around the mind of a god, I assume it will be Kord. They will have to find their way through his memories, battling different aspects of his subconsciousness in order to find out where the Divine Source is. (It's a mythical place that gives the gods the power to be, well gods. Without it, they lose a significantly portion of their power)

Anyway, the last hurdle will of course be Kord himself, or rather, an aspect of Kord, since its only in his mind. Worth noting that Kord is only an exarch IMC (although the players are trying to change that), so I was aiming for a level 26 solo.

Otherwise, I have no preferences. So in case someone has anything along those lines, or is up for the challenge, I would love to see what you guys can up with. I am feeling a bit uninspired atm.

Cheers
 

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Here's something I whipped up. I went a bit overboard on the storm god theme. And I basically made him into a pro wrestler. He probably should have an immediate action ability of some sort, and I am still working out some sort of "throw one creature at another" ability.

The Mighty Contender Level 26 Solo Brute
Large immortal humanoid XP 45,000
Initiative
+21 Senses Perception +18; truesight
HP 992; Bloodied 496
AC 38; Fortitude 39; Reflex 38; Will 37
Immune fear; Resist 20 lightning, 20 thunder
Saving Throws +5
Speed 6
Action Points 2
:bmelee: Thunderclap Punch (standard; at-will) • Thunder
Reach 2; +29 vs AC; 3d6 + 9 damage plus 1d6 thunder damage, and the target is pushed 3 squares. The Mighty Contender cannot make a thunderclap punch attack if he has two targets in a grab.
:bmelee: Lightning Lock (standard, sustain minor; at-will) • Lightning
Reach 2; +27 vs Reflex; 1d8 + 9 damage and the target is grabbed (until escape). Grabbed creatures take a -5 penalty to escape. Sustain: Grabbed creatures take 2d6 damage plus 2d6 lightning damage. The Mighty Contender can grab up to two targets at a time.
:melee: Mighty Brawling (standard; at-will)
The Mighty Contender makes two thunderclap punch attacks and a lightning lock attack, or two lightning lock attacks.
:melee: Rider on the Storm (move; recharge 4 5 6) • Lightning, Thunder
The Mighty Contender shifts his speed, moving through occupied squares and difficult terrain, but must end his move in an unoccupied space. The Mighty Contender makes an attack against each enemy whose space he moved through:
+27 vs Fortitude; 2d8 + 9 lightning and thunder damage, and the target slides 1 square.
:melee: Mighty Wallop (standard; recharge 6) • Lightning, Thunder
Reach 2; +29 vs AC; 4d10 + 9 damage plus 2d10 thunder and lightning damage, and the target is pushed 10 squares and knocked prone.
:branged: Thunderbolt (standard; at-will) • Lightning, Thunder
Ranged 20; targets one, two, or three creatures; +27 vs Reflex; 3d8 + 9 lightning damage, and creatures adjacent to the target take 10 thunder damage and are knocked prone.
:close: Thunderous Word (standard; recharges when first bloodied) • Thunder
Close burst 10; +27 vs Fortitude; 3d10 + 9 thunder damage, and the target is deafened and dazed (save ends both). Aftereffect: The target takes 2d10 thunder damage.
:close: Those Mighty Thews (free 1/round, when the Mighty Contender scores a critical hit or bloodies a creature; at-will) • Fear
Close burst 10; +27 vs Will; the target is stunned until until the start of the Mighty Contender's next turn.
Storm God's Rage (free, when first bloodied; encounter) • Lightning, Thunder
The Mighty Contender gains 1 action point. Until the end of the encounter, the Mighty Contender's attacks deal an extra 3d6 lightning and thunder damage. In addition, the Mighty Contender's Fortitude and Will defenses increase by 2, but his AC and Reflex defense decrease by 4.
Indomitable
The Mighty Contender makes saving throws at the beginning and at the end of his turn.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Supernal
Skills Acrobatics +31, Athletics +35, Endurance +34, Intimidate +24
Str 35 (+25) Dex 26 (+21) Wis 20 (+18)
Con 32 (+24) Int 20 (+18) Cha 23 (+19)
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.
 

Only an exarch? Such a shame.

Are you familiar with Kord's history?

One thing you could try is reading back through the editions and various supplements that have information on him. He has changed considerably from his humble beginnings in Greyhawk. As one of the more popular gods of Greyhawk, he has also had quite a bit of material written about him, including several Dragon articles IIRC.

As a plot device, you could have the adventurers experience various portions of Kord's own life, from before he was even a god to his rise and fall and rise and, given he's now just an exarch, his fall again.
 

@Menta55

Thanks, interesting stuff. Not a huge fan of mixing the two concepts (wrestler & storm) but definitely a good start.


Only an exarch? Such a shame.

Are you familiar with Kord's history?

One thing you could try is reading back through the editions and various supplements that have information on him. He has changed considerably from his humble beginnings in Greyhawk. As one of the more popular gods of Greyhawk, he has also had quite a bit of material written about him, including several Dragon articles IIRC.
I am not overly familiar, no. Looking at the wiki, I see there is a few things written about him. Do you happen to know which product has the most information? I need to do a lot of hunting down to get certain of those products, so I rather focus on those with a lot of info in them.

As a plot device, you could have the adventurers experience various portions of Kord's own life, from before he was even a god to his rise and fall and rise and, given he's now just an exarch, his fall again.
Pretty much the intent. Since I knew nada about Kord, I was going to make things up.
 

I am not overly familiar, no. Looking at the wiki, I see there is a few things written about him. Do you happen to know which product has the most information? I need to do a lot of hunting down to get certain of those products, so I rather focus on those with a lot of info in them.

You'd be better off asking the guys on Canonfire: Canonfire!
 

Kord is a surprisingly hard God to find any real interest in. He’s all about Strength, Battle and Bravery. Now there is nothing wrong with those as concepts, its just that they are very similar (in expression) as any powerful creature (e.g. a lot of creatures are strong, brave and love battle). So the trick is to find something interesting that you can build a unique encounter out of.

My approach in this instance is to create a two stage encounter that exemplifies the spirit of Kord in an identifiable, and interesting way.

Stage 1
Aspect of Kord – Glorious Battle
This form is all about loving battle, with lots of movement and storm themed thunder and lightning. In this form The Aspect revels in just having a grand old fight and enjoying itself, it doesn’t care who it fights but wants everyone to fight it.

Stage 2
Aspect of Kord – Ultimate Champion Form
When bloodied the Aspect changes from the reckless Glorious Battle Form into the highly focused Ultimate Champion Form. In this form it wants to concentrate on having a one on one battle with an enemy as if it was enacting a right of personal combat. Whilst in this form it will mark a foe and then go after it, trying to ignore everything else. In this form it has a range of powers that discourage or distract non marked enemies from interfering with it.

I have tried to design these creatures in an interesting way, they are a little unusual (and maybe a bit fiddly?), and as such I don’t think I will have the balance of actions quite right in this first draft. (once you see the builds you might understand why it isn’t that straight forward)


Aspect of Kord Level 26 Solo Brute
Huge Immortal Humanoid (glorious battle form) XP 45,000

Initiative +20 Senses Perception +27, darkvision, truesight 10
Battle Pledge (psychic) aura 10; All enemies ending their turn inside the
aura who haven’t made an attack that includes the Aspect of Kord this
turn take 15 psychic damage and are dazed (save ends)
HP 1,000; Bloodied 500; see Bloodied Transformation
AC 38; Fortitude 40, Reflex 37, Will 39
Immune fear;
Resist 20 thunder, 20 lightning
Saving Throws +5
Speed 8
Action Points 2

:bmelee: Keen Sword (Standard; at-will) thunder, lightning
Reach 3; attack +29 vs. AC; 3d6+10 damage, this attack scores a critical
on 18 to 20 and deals 28 + 3d10 thunder and lightning damage, and the
target is dazed (save ends)

:melee: Boot Ward (Minor; at-will) 1/ round
Attack +27 vs. Reflex; 2d8+10 damage; on hit target is pushed 4 squares

:melee: Rolling Steel (Standard; recharge :5::6:)
Aspect of Kord moves up to 8 squares, and may move through enemy
squares but must end in free space, this movement provokes opportunity
attacks; Aspect of Kord makes an attack against each enemy it passes
through; attack +29 vs. AC; 3d8+10 damage; on hit slide target 3 squares
and target is knocked prone

:ranged: Thunder Bolt Reprisal (Immediate Reaction; at-will) thunder,
lightning, hit by a weapon ranged attack
When hit by a weapon ranged attack Aspect of Kord may make the
following attack as an immediate reaction; Range 40; does not provoke
opportunity attacks; attack +27 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+10 thunder and
lightning damage; on hit target is pulled 10 squares

:close: Whirlwind Blade (Standard; recharge :5::6:) thunder
Burst 3; attack +27 vs. Reflex; 4d10+10 damage; on hit slide target 2
squares; on miss target takes half damage and may shift 1 square as an
immediate free action

:close: Personal Challenge (Standard; encounter) teleport, psychic, fear
Burst 10; primary target; attack +27 vs., Will; 4d6+9 psychic damage; on
hit target is teleported to any square within 3 squares of Aspect of Kord
and is immobilised until the end of its next turn; on miss target is pulled 3
squares and slowed (save ends); all other enemies in burst; attack +27
vs. Will; on hit target is pushed 5 squares and stunned until the end of
Aspect of Kords next turn, after effect target takes a -2 penalty to attack
(save ends)

:close: Lightning Discharge (Minor; recharge :5::6:) lightning
burst 5; attack +27 vs. Fortitude; 1d10+8 lightning damage

Indomitable
Aspect of Kord cannot be stunned; any effect that would stun Aspect of
Kord instead dazes it for the appropriate duration; Aspect of Kord can
take immediate reactions while dazed

Bloodied Transformation when bloodied
When bloodied Aspect of Kord transforms into its Ultimate Champion Form
(see separate stat block)

Alignment Unaligned Languages supernal
Skills Athletics +28, Endurance +27, History +23, Intimidate +24,
Religion +23
Str 30 (+23) Dex 24 (+20) Wis 28 (+22)
Con 28 (+22) Int 20 (+18) Cha 22 (+19)
Equipment greatsword



Ultimate Champion Form Level 26 Solo Soldier
Huge Immortal Humanoid (aspect of Kord) XP 45,000

Initiative +22 Senses Perception +27, darkvision, truesight 10
Divine Light (radiant) aura 5; all non marked enemies entering or starting
their turn inside aura take 20 radiant damage
HP 500; considered bloodied
AC 42; Fortitude 40, Reflex 37, Will 39
Immune fear;
Resist 20 radiant, 20 thunder, 20 lightning; Vulnerable 10 necrotic
Saving Throws +5
Speed 7, fly 6 (clumsy)
Action Points 0

:bmelee: Glowing Sword (Standard; at-will) radiant
Reach 3; attack +33 vs. AC; 2d10+10 radiant damage, on critical 2d10+30
radiant damage and target is blinded (save ends)

:melee: Rain of Glowing Steel (Standard; encounter) radiant, lightning,
requires mark
Reach 3; marked target only; 5 attacks against the same target; attack
+33 vs. AC; 1d10+10 radiant damage; for each hit target takes 5
cumulative ongoing lightning damage (save ends)

:melee: Crushing Assault (Standard; recharge :5::6:) radiant
Reach 3; attack +33 vs. AC; 4d6+10 radiant damage; on hit secondary
attack against the same target; attack +31 vs. Fortitude; on hit target is
knocked prone and takes a -5 penalty to AC (save ends), after effect
target takes a -2 penalty to AC (save ends)

:melee: Practiced Assault (Standard; at-will) radiant, requires mark
Marked target only; Ultimate Champion makes 2 Glowing Sword attacks
against the same target

:ranged: Mark of Honour (Minor; at-will) 1/round
Range 5; does not provoke opportunity attacks; attack +31 vs. Will; on
hit target is marked; while marked on its turn if target does not attack
Ultimate Champion or end its turn adjacent to it then the target takes 20
radiant damage and is dazed until the end of its next turn; Ultimate
Champion may only have 1 Mark of Honour active at any one time (any
new mark removes an existing mark), if Ultimate Champion does not attack
its mark on its turn then the mark is removed at the end of its turn

:ranged: Riposte Against Dishonour (Immediate Reaction; at-will) psychic, hit
by unmarked enemy
When hit by an attack from an unmarked enemy Ultimate Champion may
make the following attack as an immediate reaction; range line of sight;
attack +31 vs. Will; 2d8+8 psychic damage

:close: Brilliance of Kord (Standard; encounter) requires mark
Burst 10; requires marked target to be inside burst; marked target; attack
+31 vs. Fortitude; 3d8+8 radiant damage; on hit target is immobilised; all
other enemies inside burst; attack +31 vs. Will; 5d10+8 radiant damage;
on hit target is blinded (save ends); on miss half damage

:close: Swords of Honour (Standard; encounter) summoning; requires
mark, sustain minor
Requires mark; burst 10; summons 1 Sword of Honour per unmarked target
inside burst (see separate stat block); these appear in any free square
inside the burst that is not adjacent to the marked enemy; these Swords
act on an initiative 1 less than the Ultimate Champion; minor action to
sustain

Godly Reactions
Ultimate Champion can take any number of Immediate Reactions in a
round, but is still limited to 1 per turn

Indomitable
Ultimate Champion cannot be stunned; any effect that would stun
Ultimate Champion instead dazes it for the appropriate duration; Ultimate
Champion can take immediate reactions while dazed

Alignment Unaligned Languages supernal
Skills Athletics +28, Endurance +27, Insight +27
Str 30 (+23) Dex 24 (+20) Wis 28 (+22)
Con 28 (+22) Int 20 (+18) Cha 22 (+19)
Equipment greatsword, radiant platemail



Sword of Honour Level 26 Minion (Soldier)
Medium Immortal Animate XP 0 (see Aspect of Kord)

Initiative +24 Senses Perception +18, darkvision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion
AC 42; Fortitude 39, Reflex 39, Will 35
Immune radiant, poison, disease;
Resist 15 fire, cold, acid, lightning, thunder
Speed teleport 5

:bmelee: Sword Strike (Standard; at-will) radiant
Attack +33 vs. AC; 15 radiant damage

:melee: Pinning Parry (Immediate Reaction; at-will) missed by melee attack
When missed by a melee attack Sword of Honour may make the following
attack as an immediate reaction; attack +31 vs. Reflex; on hit target is
immobilised until the end Sword of Honours next turn

Bound to Honour
If Sword of Honour starts its turn more that 10 squares away from the
Ultimate Champion it must teleport to the nearest available square that is
within 10 squares of Ultimate Champion as a standard action

Floating Sword
Sword of Honour cannot be knocked prone

Alignment Unaligned
Str 28 (+22) Dex 28 (+22) Wis 20 (+18)
Con 10 (+13) Int 10 (+13) Cha 8 (+12)


General design notes:
I have tried to use a different approach to acting multiple times in a round, it was my hope that I could get away with using of auras and reliable immediate reactions (certainly in the case of the Ultimate Champion).

Unusually (for me) I am not sure if this creature is actually threatening enough, in so far of it being able to consistently put out enough damage. (usually I err on the side of overpowered rather than underpowered), I will give it a bit more time and take a bit of feedback to see if this is true or not.

Anyway this is my initial proposal, I hope it is useful.
 
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That's a very interesting take on things Mesh. It's been a while since I have used the solo-which-changes in a battle, so might be a good idea to go that way. Will think about things a couple of days (I sorely lack time atm) and get back to you (and Menta55)

Cheers
 

If you want to stick to a more traditional view of Kord, you could take the basic premise of Mesh's aspect of Kord -- transforming mid-battle -- and reskin it as such: initially, the aspect of Kord brawls with the PCs, using bare fists and wrestling (a brute form) until he is bloodied, at which point he becomes serious, and draws his greatsword Kelmar (and becomes a soldier). Though maybe I would make the soldier form do more damage than the brute, simply because it increases the tension in the second half of the solo fight.

Another thought is that Kord, at least in pre-4e editions, was the Brawler, the Mighty Contender, a god of not only strength and courage, but also competition. Perhaps he could have select powers that reflect his desire to test himself against one character (probably the defender or a particularly brawny striker or leader), and then a suite of powers that try and keep the rest of the party from interfering.
 

Perhaps he could have select powers that reflect his desire to test himself against one character (probably the defender or a particularly brawny striker or leader), and then a suite of powers that try and keep the rest of the party from interfering.

That was my intention with the second stage "Ultimate Champion Form".
 


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